Win Willy, owned by Jer-Mar Stables and trained by Mac Robertson, has been entered in the $500,000 Indiana Derby on Saturday at Hoosier Park.
Derek Bell has been named to ride in the 1 1/6th mile race.
Win Willy returned to the races two weeks ago following a layoff that began just prior to the Kentucky Derby when he was withdrawn for consideration after a less than perfect x-ray. The 3-year-old colt finished third in the 6 1/2 furlong sprint over Arlington's polytrack. Robertson admitted that Win Willy was not fully tuned up for the return.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Rhone Wins 1,000th
Thoroughbred trainer Bernell Rhone recorded his 1,000th career victory when Cooltime won the sixth race at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, OK on Sunday. Cooltime, ridden by Rhone’s son in law Dean Butler, is owned by Will Carlson of Saint Paul, MN and Jerry Pint of New Prague, MN.
Rhone, a Canterbury Park Hall of Fame member, was the first trainer to bring a horse onto the grounds in the spring of 1985 at the then soon-to-open Canterbury Downs racetrack. He has operated a stable at the Shakopee, MN track each season since and was the leading trainer in 1996.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Right Way To Go About Business
Racing lost a gentleman last week when jockey agent Chuck Diton passed away. Chuck handled the books of several riders over the years at Canterbury and other racetracks, most recently booking mounts for Ry Eikleberry and Nik Goodwin.
I had the good fortune of crossing paths with Chuck on a regular basis over the years as he made his rounds on the Canterbury backside. Chuck was a guy you looked forward to seeing. He was always first to wish you a good morning or a good day. He had a way of finding a bright side in situations that would get others down.
Chuck will be missed in this game. For many, this is not a job but a lifestyle and a home and he made it a better place to inhabit.
David Miller, in his must read blog, View From The Quarter Pole , offers an eloquent tribute.
jm
I had the good fortune of crossing paths with Chuck on a regular basis over the years as he made his rounds on the Canterbury backside. Chuck was a guy you looked forward to seeing. He was always first to wish you a good morning or a good day. He had a way of finding a bright side in situations that would get others down.
Chuck will be missed in this game. For many, this is not a job but a lifestyle and a home and he made it a better place to inhabit.
David Miller, in his must read blog, View From The Quarter Pole , offers an eloquent tribute.
jm
Thursday, September 24, 2009
NTRA Thoroughbred Notebook
News and notes from around the Thoroughbred racing world, compiled by NTRA Communications.
HOLD ME BACK TOPS NINE IN KENTUCKY CUP CLASSIC
Second behind Summer Bird last time out in the Shadwell Travers Stakes at Saratoga, Hold Me Back will take on older horses for the first time as the 7-5 morning line favorite in a field of nine in Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. The Kentucky Cup Classic is the centerpiece of three graded stakes events at this year’s Kentucky Cup Day of Champions. Supported the Classic on the card are the Grade III, $100,000 Kentucky Cup Distaff for older fillies and mares at a mile and one sixteenth, and the Grade III, $100,000 Kentucky Cup Sprint for three-year-olds at six furlongs.
Trained by Bill Mott, Hold Me Back can earn a trip to the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 7 at Oak Tree at Santa Anita if he performs well on Saturday. With the Breeders’ Cup World Championships to be run over the synthetic track at Santa Anita, Mott admitted that Turfway’s synthetic Polytrack was a factor in shipping his charge to Turfway Park. Earlier this year, Hold Me Back captured the Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway.
“The surface was part of the reason for our decision to come,” said Mott. “He’s done well there, and the timing was good for us.”
One of Hold Me Back’s toughest rivals on Saturday may be Dubious Miss, who tracked a wire-to-wire winner to finish second earlier this month in Arlington Park’s Grade III Washington Park Handicap.
“He ran real well in his last at Arlington,” said Dubious Miss’s trainer Paul McGee. “I do think he really likes the Polytrack. He also ran good on it at Keeneland [winning an allowance race in April 2008], so we thought we’d try him in this race at Turfway.”
The complete Kentucky Cup Classic field, in post position order, is: Jazz in the Park (jockey: Jon Court, morning line odds: 30-1); Hold Me Back (Julien Leparoux, 7-5); Sligovitz (Leandro Gonçalves, 6-1); Wicked Style (Robby Albarado, 9-2); Your Round (Miguel Mena, 30-1); Timeless Fashion (James Lopez, 8-1); Furthest Land (Garrett Gomez, 6-1); Godolphin Gray (Aldo Canchano, 30-1); and Dubious Miss (Calvin Borel, 7-2).
SATURDAY’S JIM MCKAY MARYLAND MILLION FEATURES 114 STARTERS
The 24th Jim McKay Maryland Million, a festive homecoming for Marylanders, attracted 114 entrants to Saturday’s 12-race program at Laurel Park. The day will offer purses of $1.23 million in races restricted to offspring of Maryland-based stallions.
In the day’s featured event, the $200,000 Maryland Million Classic at 1 1/8 miles, a wide-open field of 10 will face the starter including the defending champion Cuba and three others who have tasted victory on Maryland’s Day At The Races.
Cuba has been made the co-fourth choice at 8-1 by Maryland Jockey Club handicapper Frank Carulli. Trained by Bobby Dibona at Monmouth Park, the son of Not For Love won the 2008 Classic by four lengths as the favorite. This year the eight-year-old has won one time in seven tries, but Dibona believes he is peaking at the right time.
“I think we’re doing great,” Dibona said. “He’s looks really, really good. We pointed to this race. We had a very hard campaign last year. We won one at Gulfstream in January, and then he got a little cranky so we backed off. We freshened him, and it looks like he’s rounding into form at the right time.”
The 9-5 morning line favorite for the Classic is Broadway Producer, who won the 2008 Maryland Million Turf and is looking to become the second horse in Maryland Million history to follow up with a win in the Classic the following year, joining Master Speaker who did it in 1988-89. The son of Not For Love is winless in four starts during his six-year-old campaign but trainer John Terranova has been pointing towards the Classic all year. Ramon Dominguez, the nation’s leading jockey in terms of purse earnings, will ride.
“We’ve had this race in mind since the springtime when we decided to try to back off and freshen after a winter campaign in which he did very well,” Terranova said. “We kept him in New York and kind of had him in light training for a couple of months. We gave him a turf race as a prep, and we’re going back to the dirt for the Classic. He’s in excellent shape. He’s in top shape-real sharp. He’s rarin’ to go.”
Introduced in 1986, the event has now been officially designated as the Jim McKay Maryland Million after the Maryland General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in support of the name change during the 2009 Legislative Session. The Hall of Fame broadcaster originally proposed the Maryland Million concept and remained the event’s Chairman of the Board until his death on June 7, 2008. There will be a special presentation to the McKay family at Laurel prior to the third race.
BREEDERS’ CUP TO OFFER PICK 6 WAGER ON BOTH DAYS OF NOVEMBER EVENT
The Breeders’ Cup announced this week that an all Breeders’ Cup Pick 6 wager will be offered on both days of this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships, November 6-7, at Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park. The announcement is the latest in a number of fan-friendly initiatives the Breeders’ Cup has enacted over the last several months including online ticketing, the switch to colored saddle towels, creation of a handicapping micro-site and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
The Breeders’ Cup, Thoroughbred racing’s global championship event, consisting of 14 races and purses totaling $25.5 million, will held at the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita for the second consecutive year. The Breeders’ Cup will also be televised live by ABC/ESPN with nine hours of live domestic coverage and in 130 foreign countries.
Wagering on the Breeders’ Cup races will also be conducted in more than 40 countries around the globe. (International post times for England, Ireland, France, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand are attached).
The Championship Friday program will consist of six Breeders’ Cup races, beginning with the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon, and will be followed by five consecutive Breeders’ Cup races for females, culminating with the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (gr. 1). The Marathon will begin the all Breeders’ Cup Pick 6. If no one hits the Pick-6, the pool will be carried over into the Saturday Breeders’ Cup Ultra Pick 6. Friday’s nine race program will also include the Grade II Las Palmas Handicap and two allowance races.
Championship Saturday will feature eight Breeders’ Cup races, culminating with the Grade I, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. Saturday’s 10-race card will also include the Grade II Oak Tree Derby and the Damascus Stakes.
“We believe that the schedule of six Championships races on Friday and eight on Saturday will provide better balance to the program and greater betting opportunities for the fans," said Kenneth Kirchner, President of FalKirk International and wagering consultant to the Breeders’ Cup. "Fans should find the Pick 6 sequence on Friday and Saturday to be great bets and based on last year's $1 million Friday Pick 6 handle, we could enjoy a substantial carryover into Saturday."
The official race order for the two-day event will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
JOCKEY JOE TALAMO TO APPEAR ON TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O’BRIEN MONDAY
Southern California-based jockey Joe Talamo, one of the stars of the Animal Planet series “Jockeys”, will be a special guest this Monday night, September 28, on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
In addition to an interview with O’Brien, Talamo is expected to take part in a demonstration on an Equicizer device, which simulates the race-riding experience jockeys encounter while in the saddle during a race.
Sharing The Tonight Show couch with Talamo as a fellow guest on Monday will be actress Drew Barrymore. The show will air on the East Coast at 11:30 p.m., after the late, local news. Check local listings for viewing times in your area.
disney needs extras for “secretariat” on monday, tuesday at keeneland
Walt Disney Studios has invited the public to come out to Keeneland on Monday and Tuesday, September 28-29, to serve as unpaid extras for the shooting of the movie “Secretariat” at the Lexington, Ky., racetrack. All ages are welcome. The only requirement is that those who come need to be wearing 1970s-period clothing.
Sign-in for each day will take place at 8:00 a.m. Hot dogs and drinks will be supplied to the first 250 extras. There will also be audience giveaways. Fans are advised by Disney to enter through Gate 2 and to “bring a good book”.
HOLD ME BACK TOPS NINE IN KENTUCKY CUP CLASSIC
Second behind Summer Bird last time out in the Shadwell Travers Stakes at Saratoga, Hold Me Back will take on older horses for the first time as the 7-5 morning line favorite in a field of nine in Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. The Kentucky Cup Classic is the centerpiece of three graded stakes events at this year’s Kentucky Cup Day of Champions. Supported the Classic on the card are the Grade III, $100,000 Kentucky Cup Distaff for older fillies and mares at a mile and one sixteenth, and the Grade III, $100,000 Kentucky Cup Sprint for three-year-olds at six furlongs.
Trained by Bill Mott, Hold Me Back can earn a trip to the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 7 at Oak Tree at Santa Anita if he performs well on Saturday. With the Breeders’ Cup World Championships to be run over the synthetic track at Santa Anita, Mott admitted that Turfway’s synthetic Polytrack was a factor in shipping his charge to Turfway Park. Earlier this year, Hold Me Back captured the Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway.
“The surface was part of the reason for our decision to come,” said Mott. “He’s done well there, and the timing was good for us.”
One of Hold Me Back’s toughest rivals on Saturday may be Dubious Miss, who tracked a wire-to-wire winner to finish second earlier this month in Arlington Park’s Grade III Washington Park Handicap.
“He ran real well in his last at Arlington,” said Dubious Miss’s trainer Paul McGee. “I do think he really likes the Polytrack. He also ran good on it at Keeneland [winning an allowance race in April 2008], so we thought we’d try him in this race at Turfway.”
The complete Kentucky Cup Classic field, in post position order, is: Jazz in the Park (jockey: Jon Court, morning line odds: 30-1); Hold Me Back (Julien Leparoux, 7-5); Sligovitz (Leandro Gonçalves, 6-1); Wicked Style (Robby Albarado, 9-2); Your Round (Miguel Mena, 30-1); Timeless Fashion (James Lopez, 8-1); Furthest Land (Garrett Gomez, 6-1); Godolphin Gray (Aldo Canchano, 30-1); and Dubious Miss (Calvin Borel, 7-2).
SATURDAY’S JIM MCKAY MARYLAND MILLION FEATURES 114 STARTERS
The 24th Jim McKay Maryland Million, a festive homecoming for Marylanders, attracted 114 entrants to Saturday’s 12-race program at Laurel Park. The day will offer purses of $1.23 million in races restricted to offspring of Maryland-based stallions.
In the day’s featured event, the $200,000 Maryland Million Classic at 1 1/8 miles, a wide-open field of 10 will face the starter including the defending champion Cuba and three others who have tasted victory on Maryland’s Day At The Races.
Cuba has been made the co-fourth choice at 8-1 by Maryland Jockey Club handicapper Frank Carulli. Trained by Bobby Dibona at Monmouth Park, the son of Not For Love won the 2008 Classic by four lengths as the favorite. This year the eight-year-old has won one time in seven tries, but Dibona believes he is peaking at the right time.
“I think we’re doing great,” Dibona said. “He’s looks really, really good. We pointed to this race. We had a very hard campaign last year. We won one at Gulfstream in January, and then he got a little cranky so we backed off. We freshened him, and it looks like he’s rounding into form at the right time.”
The 9-5 morning line favorite for the Classic is Broadway Producer, who won the 2008 Maryland Million Turf and is looking to become the second horse in Maryland Million history to follow up with a win in the Classic the following year, joining Master Speaker who did it in 1988-89. The son of Not For Love is winless in four starts during his six-year-old campaign but trainer John Terranova has been pointing towards the Classic all year. Ramon Dominguez, the nation’s leading jockey in terms of purse earnings, will ride.
“We’ve had this race in mind since the springtime when we decided to try to back off and freshen after a winter campaign in which he did very well,” Terranova said. “We kept him in New York and kind of had him in light training for a couple of months. We gave him a turf race as a prep, and we’re going back to the dirt for the Classic. He’s in excellent shape. He’s in top shape-real sharp. He’s rarin’ to go.”
Introduced in 1986, the event has now been officially designated as the Jim McKay Maryland Million after the Maryland General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in support of the name change during the 2009 Legislative Session. The Hall of Fame broadcaster originally proposed the Maryland Million concept and remained the event’s Chairman of the Board until his death on June 7, 2008. There will be a special presentation to the McKay family at Laurel prior to the third race.
BREEDERS’ CUP TO OFFER PICK 6 WAGER ON BOTH DAYS OF NOVEMBER EVENT
The Breeders’ Cup announced this week that an all Breeders’ Cup Pick 6 wager will be offered on both days of this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships, November 6-7, at Oak Tree at Santa Anita Park. The announcement is the latest in a number of fan-friendly initiatives the Breeders’ Cup has enacted over the last several months including online ticketing, the switch to colored saddle towels, creation of a handicapping micro-site and the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge.
The Breeders’ Cup, Thoroughbred racing’s global championship event, consisting of 14 races and purses totaling $25.5 million, will held at the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita for the second consecutive year. The Breeders’ Cup will also be televised live by ABC/ESPN with nine hours of live domestic coverage and in 130 foreign countries.
Wagering on the Breeders’ Cup races will also be conducted in more than 40 countries around the globe. (International post times for England, Ireland, France, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand are attached).
The Championship Friday program will consist of six Breeders’ Cup races, beginning with the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon, and will be followed by five consecutive Breeders’ Cup races for females, culminating with the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (gr. 1). The Marathon will begin the all Breeders’ Cup Pick 6. If no one hits the Pick-6, the pool will be carried over into the Saturday Breeders’ Cup Ultra Pick 6. Friday’s nine race program will also include the Grade II Las Palmas Handicap and two allowance races.
Championship Saturday will feature eight Breeders’ Cup races, culminating with the Grade I, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. Saturday’s 10-race card will also include the Grade II Oak Tree Derby and the Damascus Stakes.
“We believe that the schedule of six Championships races on Friday and eight on Saturday will provide better balance to the program and greater betting opportunities for the fans," said Kenneth Kirchner, President of FalKirk International and wagering consultant to the Breeders’ Cup. "Fans should find the Pick 6 sequence on Friday and Saturday to be great bets and based on last year's $1 million Friday Pick 6 handle, we could enjoy a substantial carryover into Saturday."
The official race order for the two-day event will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
JOCKEY JOE TALAMO TO APPEAR ON TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O’BRIEN MONDAY
Southern California-based jockey Joe Talamo, one of the stars of the Animal Planet series “Jockeys”, will be a special guest this Monday night, September 28, on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
In addition to an interview with O’Brien, Talamo is expected to take part in a demonstration on an Equicizer device, which simulates the race-riding experience jockeys encounter while in the saddle during a race.
Sharing The Tonight Show couch with Talamo as a fellow guest on Monday will be actress Drew Barrymore. The show will air on the East Coast at 11:30 p.m., after the late, local news. Check local listings for viewing times in your area.
disney needs extras for “secretariat” on monday, tuesday at keeneland
Walt Disney Studios has invited the public to come out to Keeneland on Monday and Tuesday, September 28-29, to serve as unpaid extras for the shooting of the movie “Secretariat” at the Lexington, Ky., racetrack. All ages are welcome. The only requirement is that those who come need to be wearing 1970s-period clothing.
Sign-in for each day will take place at 8:00 a.m. Hot dogs and drinks will be supplied to the first 250 extras. There will also be audience giveaways. Fans are advised by Disney to enter through Gate 2 and to “bring a good book”.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Win Willy Third; Perfect Bull to Run Saturday
Jer-Mar Stables Win Willy made his first start since being withdrawn from Kentucky Derby consideration a day before entries were taken. Training at Arlington Park this summer, the 3-year-old colt conditioned by Mac Robertson returned to the races in a 6 1/2 furlong sprint over the poly-track. Win Willy dropped to the back of the eight horse field and rallied very wide to finish third. Mac had two entered and won the race with King A. J., owned by Twin Citians Chris West and John Mentz.
Canterbury's champion 3-year-old old colt and winner of the Minnesota Derby and the Minnesota Classic Championship, Perfect Bull, is entered in the $75,000 Prairie Meadows Derby. The closing night derby is carded as race 5 with a post time of 8:17pm. Perfect Bull, trained by Bernell Rhone, will be ridden by Dean Butler in the 1 1/16 mile route.
Rhone is two wins away from 1000 and has two live runners entered tonight at Remington Park.
Canterbury's champion 3-year-old old colt and winner of the Minnesota Derby and the Minnesota Classic Championship, Perfect Bull, is entered in the $75,000 Prairie Meadows Derby. The closing night derby is carded as race 5 with a post time of 8:17pm. Perfect Bull, trained by Bernell Rhone, will be ridden by Dean Butler in the 1 1/16 mile route.
Rhone is two wins away from 1000 and has two live runners entered tonight at Remington Park.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
NTRA Thoroughbred Notebook
News and notes from around the Thoroughbred racing world, compiled by NTRA Communications.
BRIBON TO TACKLE LAST YEAR’S TOP TWO IN WOODBINE MILE
New York invader Bribon, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Ventura and defending champion Rahy’s Attorney head a well-matched group of 10 turf specialists for Sunday’s Grade I, $1 million Woodbine Mile at Woodbine in suburban Toronto.
For the second consecutive year, the Woodbine Mile is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series, giving the winner a guaranteed starting berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, November 7 ,at Oak Tree at Santa Anita.
Marc Keller’s Bribon, trained by Robert Ribaudo, won the Grade I Metropolitan Mile over Belmont Park’s main track on May 25 before returning to the racing wars August 9 at Saratoga, easily winning a one-mile allowance event. It was the first time in over two years that he’d raced on grass, a surface he’d competed on in his first 10 career starts from 2005-07, the first seven of which were in France.
To be ridden by Alan Garcia, the six-year-old French-bred gelded son of champion Mark of Esteem is on a three-race win streak and is the 5-2 morning line choice.
Juddmonte Farms’ Kentucky homebred Ventura, a five-year-old daughter of Chester House, comes into the race off a five-month layoff as she tries to become the first filly or mare to win the Woodbine Mile. Trained by Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, Ventura, the 7-2 second choice, has raced only three times this year, all in Grade I events. The field’s leading money-winner with over $1.6 million and last year’s runner-up in the Woodbine Mile before her explosive victory over Indian Blessing in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita, Ventura will be ridden as usual by Garrett Gomez. A win would give Frankel a third Woodbine Mile victory, following Riviera in 2000 and Leroidesanimaux in 2005.
Trainer Ian Black will saddle last year’s surprise Woodbine Mile winner Rahy’s Attorney, the 9-2 third choice with Slade Callaghan aboard. Rahy’s Attorney seeks to become the race’s first back-to-back winner. Co-owned (and bred) by Ontario’s Ellie Boje Farm, along with Mitch Peters, Dean Read and Jim and Jean MacLellan, Rahy’s Attorney scored a 12-1 upset in the Mile last year, holding Ventura safe by one and one-quarter lengths. He would go on to be voted a Sovereign Award as Canada’s top Turf Male.
Two other turf stakes highlight an exceptional Woodbine Mile undercard: the Grade I, $750,000 Northern Dancer Stakes, presented by V-Tech, at one mile and one-half for three-year-olds and upward, includes defending champion Champs Elysees and Marchfield, Canada’s Older Male Horse of 2008; and the Grade II, $300,000 Canadian Stakes, at one mile and one-eighth for fillies and mares, features Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf champion and Eclipse Award winner, Forever Together.
SOUL WARRIOR WILL TRY TO WIN ANOTHER DERBY AT LOUISIANA DOWNS
Soul Warrior, winner of the August 1 West Virginia Derby over Big Drama and Mine That Bird, has been made the 2-1 morning line favorite in a field of seven for Sunday’s Grade II, $750,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La. John Velazquez will ride for trainer Steve Asmussen.
The 1 1/8-miles race for three-year-olds also features the return of Godolphin Racing’s Regal Ransom, who has not started since running eighth behind Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby on May 2.
BREEDERS’ CUP LAUNCHES MICRO SITE BREEDERSCUP360.COM
The Breeders’ Cup has announced the launch of BreedersCup360, a specialized Website focused on all aspects related to wagering on the Breeders’ Cup. The site places a particular focus on the international competitors who are not as well known to many U.S.-based horseplayers. In addition to providing the most up-to-date betting information on the Breeders’ Cup, users will have access to more than 100 race videos spanning all 14 divisions with critical commentary on each.
The site will also include statistics, providing the user with wagering trends on trainers, jockeys and sires and dams compiled from the first 25 runnings of the Breeders’ Cup.
Additional features of BreedersCup360 include: Full Breeders’ Cup social media integration (Twitter, Facebook, widgets, Flickr and YouTube); links to many Breeders’ Cup sections from other racing entities such as The Blood-Horse, Thoroughbred Times, Equidia and At the Races; content provided by TVG, HRTV, ATTHERACES, The Player’s Network, Equibase, and Daily Racing Form; detailed European analysis, including insights from At the Races, as well as BC360 international correspondents Nick Luck and Fanny Salmon; handicapping analysis from Simon Bray (TVG), Caton Bredar (ESPN/Breeders' Cup), Donna Brothers (NBC Sports), Dick Jerardi (Philadelphia Daily News/Daily Racing Form), Jeremy Plonk (ESPN.com/HorseplayerPRO.com), Jeff Siegel (HRTV), Tim Turrell (ESPN Breeders' Cup/HorseplayerPRO.com) and others; special contributions from Jerry Bailey (ESPN/Breeders’ Cup), Jerry Brown (Thoro-Graph) and Randy Moss (DRF/ESPN Breeders' Cup)
BreedersCup360 is also fully interactive. Fans can share their opinions about races and Breeders’ Cup contenders alongside the site’s analysts and contributors.
"Breederscup360.com is an interactive Welcome Mat for bettors looking for the latest handicapping content to specifically prepare them for Championship weekend,” said Peter Rotondo, Breeders’ Cup Vice President of Media and Entertainment. “This well respected team of international and domestic contributors will provide expert commentary and analysis on all Breeders' Cup hopefuls from around the world in these final weeks before the Breeders' Cup."
The site was built entirely with open source software -- one of the first such sites from a major racing organization -- and it was designed by Jessica Chapel of raceday360.com. Chapel is also a member of the NTRA Online Marketing Task Force.
SEVEN-FIGURE MEDAGLIA D’ORO FILLY HEADLINES WEDNESDAY AT KEENELAND SALE
Fillies ruled the day on Wednesday at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky. Highlighting the sales action was a Medaglia d’Oro filly purchased for $1.3 million by Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation.
Consigned by Summerfield, the filly is out of the stakes-placed Unreal Zeal mare Beaties for Real, and is a half-sister to Grade III stakes winners Friel’s for Real and Ryan’s for Real.
Bruce Hill, general manager of Live Oak, described the filly as “well balanced and elegant.”
Elizabeth Moran’s Brushwood Stable paid the day’s second-highest price of $725,000 for a filly by Bernardini out of the unraced Storm Bird mare Listen Now. Consigned by Legacy Bloodstock, agent for Spruce Lane Farm and Samuel G. Nappi, the filly is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Listen Here.
On Wednesday, Keeneland sold 229 horses for $32,718,000, down 35.60 percent from 2008 when 270 horses brought $50,807,000. The average decreased 24.07 percent from $188,174 to $142,873. The median of $100,000 was down 37.50 percent from last year’s $160,000.
Through its first three days, a total of 451 horses have been sold for $91,474,000, down 44.28 percent from 2008 when 570 horses brought $164,164,000. The average of $202,825 was down 29.58 percent from $288,007, while the median of $150,000 declined 31.82 percent from last year’s $220,000.
“We are going through a painful correction and no one is exempt,” said Keeneland Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell. This is where the Thoroughbred market is now.”
Case Clay, president of Three Chimneys Sales, agreed.
“Today, people understand we are in a different world now,” he said. “Those that understand the current market are getting horses sold. There is fair, honest trade going on. Some new people will get in the business because of the good value. Today, I’ve had calls from people who are watching the market and thinking now is the time.”
The September Sale continues through Monday, September 28. The entire sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.
Calder commitment Brings Crime stoppers Reward to $10,000
Calder Casino & Race Course in Miami has pledged $3,000 to Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade County to bring the reward money to $10,000 for a tip resulting in the arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the killing and mutilation of horses in South Florida, including a gruesome discovery last week on a ranch in Miami. The horse was the 20th in South Florida to be reported killed and slaughtered since March.
“The Thoroughbred racing community is appalled at the recent rash of horse slaughters in South Florida,” said Calder’s Director of Public Relations Michele Blanco. “No horse deserves such a tragic end. We hope our contribution to the reward fund helps find the perpetrator or perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
Richard Masten, Executive Director of Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade said, “We know someone out there knows something and we just need that person to come forward. We appreciate Calder’s help in trying to make that happen.”
BRIBON TO TACKLE LAST YEAR’S TOP TWO IN WOODBINE MILE
New York invader Bribon, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Ventura and defending champion Rahy’s Attorney head a well-matched group of 10 turf specialists for Sunday’s Grade I, $1 million Woodbine Mile at Woodbine in suburban Toronto.
For the second consecutive year, the Woodbine Mile is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series, giving the winner a guaranteed starting berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, November 7 ,at Oak Tree at Santa Anita.
Marc Keller’s Bribon, trained by Robert Ribaudo, won the Grade I Metropolitan Mile over Belmont Park’s main track on May 25 before returning to the racing wars August 9 at Saratoga, easily winning a one-mile allowance event. It was the first time in over two years that he’d raced on grass, a surface he’d competed on in his first 10 career starts from 2005-07, the first seven of which were in France.
To be ridden by Alan Garcia, the six-year-old French-bred gelded son of champion Mark of Esteem is on a three-race win streak and is the 5-2 morning line choice.
Juddmonte Farms’ Kentucky homebred Ventura, a five-year-old daughter of Chester House, comes into the race off a five-month layoff as she tries to become the first filly or mare to win the Woodbine Mile. Trained by Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, Ventura, the 7-2 second choice, has raced only three times this year, all in Grade I events. The field’s leading money-winner with over $1.6 million and last year’s runner-up in the Woodbine Mile before her explosive victory over Indian Blessing in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita, Ventura will be ridden as usual by Garrett Gomez. A win would give Frankel a third Woodbine Mile victory, following Riviera in 2000 and Leroidesanimaux in 2005.
Trainer Ian Black will saddle last year’s surprise Woodbine Mile winner Rahy’s Attorney, the 9-2 third choice with Slade Callaghan aboard. Rahy’s Attorney seeks to become the race’s first back-to-back winner. Co-owned (and bred) by Ontario’s Ellie Boje Farm, along with Mitch Peters, Dean Read and Jim and Jean MacLellan, Rahy’s Attorney scored a 12-1 upset in the Mile last year, holding Ventura safe by one and one-quarter lengths. He would go on to be voted a Sovereign Award as Canada’s top Turf Male.
Two other turf stakes highlight an exceptional Woodbine Mile undercard: the Grade I, $750,000 Northern Dancer Stakes, presented by V-Tech, at one mile and one-half for three-year-olds and upward, includes defending champion Champs Elysees and Marchfield, Canada’s Older Male Horse of 2008; and the Grade II, $300,000 Canadian Stakes, at one mile and one-eighth for fillies and mares, features Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf champion and Eclipse Award winner, Forever Together.
SOUL WARRIOR WILL TRY TO WIN ANOTHER DERBY AT LOUISIANA DOWNS
Soul Warrior, winner of the August 1 West Virginia Derby over Big Drama and Mine That Bird, has been made the 2-1 morning line favorite in a field of seven for Sunday’s Grade II, $750,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La. John Velazquez will ride for trainer Steve Asmussen.
The 1 1/8-miles race for three-year-olds also features the return of Godolphin Racing’s Regal Ransom, who has not started since running eighth behind Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby on May 2.
BREEDERS’ CUP LAUNCHES MICRO SITE BREEDERSCUP360.COM
The Breeders’ Cup has announced the launch of BreedersCup360, a specialized Website focused on all aspects related to wagering on the Breeders’ Cup. The site places a particular focus on the international competitors who are not as well known to many U.S.-based horseplayers. In addition to providing the most up-to-date betting information on the Breeders’ Cup, users will have access to more than 100 race videos spanning all 14 divisions with critical commentary on each.
The site will also include statistics, providing the user with wagering trends on trainers, jockeys and sires and dams compiled from the first 25 runnings of the Breeders’ Cup.
Additional features of BreedersCup360 include: Full Breeders’ Cup social media integration (Twitter, Facebook, widgets, Flickr and YouTube); links to many Breeders’ Cup sections from other racing entities such as The Blood-Horse, Thoroughbred Times, Equidia and At the Races; content provided by TVG, HRTV, ATTHERACES, The Player’s Network, Equibase, and Daily Racing Form; detailed European analysis, including insights from At the Races, as well as BC360 international correspondents Nick Luck and Fanny Salmon; handicapping analysis from Simon Bray (TVG), Caton Bredar (ESPN/Breeders' Cup), Donna Brothers (NBC Sports), Dick Jerardi (Philadelphia Daily News/Daily Racing Form), Jeremy Plonk (ESPN.com/HorseplayerPRO.com), Jeff Siegel (HRTV), Tim Turrell (ESPN Breeders' Cup/HorseplayerPRO.com) and others; special contributions from Jerry Bailey (ESPN/Breeders’ Cup), Jerry Brown (Thoro-Graph) and Randy Moss (DRF/ESPN Breeders' Cup)
BreedersCup360 is also fully interactive. Fans can share their opinions about races and Breeders’ Cup contenders alongside the site’s analysts and contributors.
"Breederscup360.com is an interactive Welcome Mat for bettors looking for the latest handicapping content to specifically prepare them for Championship weekend,” said Peter Rotondo, Breeders’ Cup Vice President of Media and Entertainment. “This well respected team of international and domestic contributors will provide expert commentary and analysis on all Breeders' Cup hopefuls from around the world in these final weeks before the Breeders' Cup."
The site was built entirely with open source software -- one of the first such sites from a major racing organization -- and it was designed by Jessica Chapel of raceday360.com. Chapel is also a member of the NTRA Online Marketing Task Force.
SEVEN-FIGURE MEDAGLIA D’ORO FILLY HEADLINES WEDNESDAY AT KEENELAND SALE
Fillies ruled the day on Wednesday at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky. Highlighting the sales action was a Medaglia d’Oro filly purchased for $1.3 million by Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation.
Consigned by Summerfield, the filly is out of the stakes-placed Unreal Zeal mare Beaties for Real, and is a half-sister to Grade III stakes winners Friel’s for Real and Ryan’s for Real.
Bruce Hill, general manager of Live Oak, described the filly as “well balanced and elegant.”
Elizabeth Moran’s Brushwood Stable paid the day’s second-highest price of $725,000 for a filly by Bernardini out of the unraced Storm Bird mare Listen Now. Consigned by Legacy Bloodstock, agent for Spruce Lane Farm and Samuel G. Nappi, the filly is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Listen Here.
On Wednesday, Keeneland sold 229 horses for $32,718,000, down 35.60 percent from 2008 when 270 horses brought $50,807,000. The average decreased 24.07 percent from $188,174 to $142,873. The median of $100,000 was down 37.50 percent from last year’s $160,000.
Through its first three days, a total of 451 horses have been sold for $91,474,000, down 44.28 percent from 2008 when 570 horses brought $164,164,000. The average of $202,825 was down 29.58 percent from $288,007, while the median of $150,000 declined 31.82 percent from last year’s $220,000.
“We are going through a painful correction and no one is exempt,” said Keeneland Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell. This is where the Thoroughbred market is now.”
Case Clay, president of Three Chimneys Sales, agreed.
“Today, people understand we are in a different world now,” he said. “Those that understand the current market are getting horses sold. There is fair, honest trade going on. Some new people will get in the business because of the good value. Today, I’ve had calls from people who are watching the market and thinking now is the time.”
The September Sale continues through Monday, September 28. The entire sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.
Calder commitment Brings Crime stoppers Reward to $10,000
Calder Casino & Race Course in Miami has pledged $3,000 to Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade County to bring the reward money to $10,000 for a tip resulting in the arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the killing and mutilation of horses in South Florida, including a gruesome discovery last week on a ranch in Miami. The horse was the 20th in South Florida to be reported killed and slaughtered since March.
“The Thoroughbred racing community is appalled at the recent rash of horse slaughters in South Florida,” said Calder’s Director of Public Relations Michele Blanco. “No horse deserves such a tragic end. We hope our contribution to the reward fund helps find the perpetrator or perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
Richard Masten, Executive Director of Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade said, “We know someone out there knows something and we just need that person to come forward. We appreciate Calder’s help in trying to make that happen.”
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Claiming Crown winner Gran Estreno qualifies for Breeders' Cup Classic
Gran Estreno, winner of the 2009 Claiming Crown Emerald, won the Grade 3 $200,000 Washington Park Handicap today at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill. The Washington Park Handicap is part of the Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge series. Gran Estreno now automatically qualifies for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 7 and should he start, would become the first Claiming Crown winner to participate in a Breeders’ Cup race.
The 6-year old Argentina bred Gran Estreno was ridden by E. T. Baird and is trained by Michael Stidham for owner Feel The Thunder Stable. He returned $12.20 to win.
The 6-year old Argentina bred Gran Estreno was ridden by E. T. Baird and is trained by Michael Stidham for owner Feel The Thunder Stable. He returned $12.20 to win.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Wally's Choice at Remington
If you have an extra $50,000 and want to own the second all-time Minnesota bred money earner you could claim Wally's Choice this evening in the fifth race at Remington Park.
The 8-year-old, multiple stakes winning son of Quick Cut will make his 40th career start and his first ever for a claiming price.
Wally's Choice will be ridden by Canterbury Park Hall of Famer Luis Quinonez in the one mile turf race. He has earned $484,563.
Other news....
Trainer Bernell Rhone has 995 career wins. His stable is now at Remington Park. Bernell has one entered this evening.
QH Make Out Artist, winner of the Canterbury Park Derby, is entered in the 11th at Prairie Meadows today. The 400 yard trial race is scheduled to cut loose at 5:30pm. The Ed Ross Hardy trainee is 4-1 on the morning line.
jm
The 8-year-old, multiple stakes winning son of Quick Cut will make his 40th career start and his first ever for a claiming price.
Wally's Choice will be ridden by Canterbury Park Hall of Famer Luis Quinonez in the one mile turf race. He has earned $484,563.
Other news....
Trainer Bernell Rhone has 995 career wins. His stable is now at Remington Park. Bernell has one entered this evening.
QH Make Out Artist, winner of the Canterbury Park Derby, is entered in the 11th at Prairie Meadows today. The 400 yard trial race is scheduled to cut loose at 5:30pm. The Ed Ross Hardy trainee is 4-1 on the morning line.
jm
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Some Statistics from the 2009 Meet
Thoroughbreds:
Mac Robertson dominated the summer again, winning 75 races. His horses won more than $1 million in purse money. This was Mac’s fifth consecutive training title. To put it in perspective, Bernell Rhone was second with 37 winners. The 75 wins were four more than the leading jockey. This is the first time in Canterbury Park/Downs history that the leading trainer has had more wins than the leading rider.
Mac won with 33 of 74 starters in August and hit the board 73% of the time. When the dust settled on Minnesota Festival of Champions Day, he had won four stakes bringing his total stakes wins for the meet to 12. He is the best.
Dean Butler won the thoroughbred riding title for the first time. He had 71 wins. Dean finished in the money 60% of the time and earned purses of $1,012,416.
Derek Bell rode a lot less than past season but made the most of it, winning at a 29% clip. Already the winningest rider in Canterbury history by money won, his $732k in purse money moved the total to $10.88 million. Derek’s 60 wins makes him the leading rider by wins in CBY history with 871 career victories. Former leader Scott Stevens had 30 wins this year and has a total of 865.
Quarter Horses:
Ed Ross Hardy won his eighth consecutive Quarter Horse training title and ninth overall. Ed had 31 wins and now, as the leading trainer in CBY history, has 206 wins.
Ry Eikleberry was the leading QH rider for the second consecutive season. He had 17 wins. If you were to add his QH and thoroughbred wins the total would be 81 making him the all-around win leader. That would be the first time that has been accomplished here.
Jockey Tad Leggett had 12 wins this summer. He is the Historical Jockey Earnings leader with $917,643 in purses. He is now just two wins behind Scot Schindler for Historical Jockey wins with 94.
Owners Bob and Julie Petersen entered the meet as the Historical Owner Earnings leader. That lead increased as they won the owner title with 10 wins and $87,470 in purses. They are now the winningest QH owners with 55 wins. They passed Tom Maher who has 54 wins.
Chick Fight was named Horse of the Meet. She won the races that counted: The Frances Genter, the Minnesota Oaks, and the Minnesota Distaff Classic Championship. A complete list of divisional champions is below.
2008 Divisional Champions
• Horse of the Year- Chick Fight (owner: Bleu Valley Farm; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Older Filly or Mare – Bella Notte (owner: Art and Gretchen Eaton; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding – Perfect Bull (owner: Red Dog Stables; trainer: Bernell Rhone)
• Three-Year-Old Filly – Chick Fight (owner: Bleu Valley Farm; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Two-Year-Old – Bet Your Boots (owner: Cheryl Sprick and Richard Bremer; trainer: Troy Bethke)
• Sprinter – Bella Notte (owner: Art and Gretchen Eaton; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Claimer – Duke Deluxe (owner: Willard Mobley; trainer: Randy Rarick)
• Grass Horse – Mizzcan’tbewrong (owner: Last Call Racing Partnership; trainer: Richard Scherer)
• Quarter Horse – Stolis Kool Chick (owner: LMR Racing; trainer: Edward Ross Hardy)
• Older Horse - Duke Deluxe (owner: Willard Mobley; trainer: Randy Rarick)
Mac Robertson dominated the summer again, winning 75 races. His horses won more than $1 million in purse money. This was Mac’s fifth consecutive training title. To put it in perspective, Bernell Rhone was second with 37 winners. The 75 wins were four more than the leading jockey. This is the first time in Canterbury Park/Downs history that the leading trainer has had more wins than the leading rider.
Mac won with 33 of 74 starters in August and hit the board 73% of the time. When the dust settled on Minnesota Festival of Champions Day, he had won four stakes bringing his total stakes wins for the meet to 12. He is the best.
Dean Butler won the thoroughbred riding title for the first time. He had 71 wins. Dean finished in the money 60% of the time and earned purses of $1,012,416.
Derek Bell rode a lot less than past season but made the most of it, winning at a 29% clip. Already the winningest rider in Canterbury history by money won, his $732k in purse money moved the total to $10.88 million. Derek’s 60 wins makes him the leading rider by wins in CBY history with 871 career victories. Former leader Scott Stevens had 30 wins this year and has a total of 865.
Quarter Horses:
Ed Ross Hardy won his eighth consecutive Quarter Horse training title and ninth overall. Ed had 31 wins and now, as the leading trainer in CBY history, has 206 wins.
Ry Eikleberry was the leading QH rider for the second consecutive season. He had 17 wins. If you were to add his QH and thoroughbred wins the total would be 81 making him the all-around win leader. That would be the first time that has been accomplished here.
Jockey Tad Leggett had 12 wins this summer. He is the Historical Jockey Earnings leader with $917,643 in purses. He is now just two wins behind Scot Schindler for Historical Jockey wins with 94.
Owners Bob and Julie Petersen entered the meet as the Historical Owner Earnings leader. That lead increased as they won the owner title with 10 wins and $87,470 in purses. They are now the winningest QH owners with 55 wins. They passed Tom Maher who has 54 wins.
Chick Fight was named Horse of the Meet. She won the races that counted: The Frances Genter, the Minnesota Oaks, and the Minnesota Distaff Classic Championship. A complete list of divisional champions is below.
2008 Divisional Champions
• Horse of the Year- Chick Fight (owner: Bleu Valley Farm; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Older Filly or Mare – Bella Notte (owner: Art and Gretchen Eaton; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding – Perfect Bull (owner: Red Dog Stables; trainer: Bernell Rhone)
• Three-Year-Old Filly – Chick Fight (owner: Bleu Valley Farm; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Two-Year-Old – Bet Your Boots (owner: Cheryl Sprick and Richard Bremer; trainer: Troy Bethke)
• Sprinter – Bella Notte (owner: Art and Gretchen Eaton; trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Claimer – Duke Deluxe (owner: Willard Mobley; trainer: Randy Rarick)
• Grass Horse – Mizzcan’tbewrong (owner: Last Call Racing Partnership; trainer: Richard Scherer)
• Quarter Horse – Stolis Kool Chick (owner: LMR Racing; trainer: Edward Ross Hardy)
• Older Horse - Duke Deluxe (owner: Willard Mobley; trainer: Randy Rarick)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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