Thoroughbred U

July 28, 2016

Covering Claiborne

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The Bluegrass State is getting a big dose of some much needed rain today. It was not the best weather for touring but I had a great visit to Claiborne Farm, nonetheless.

Claiborne Farm was established in Paris, KY in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock. Over a century later it is still operated by the Hancock’s. Seth Walker Hancock, Jr. is the 4th generation Hancock horseman and manager. The farm sprawls across 3,000 acres. The pamphlet, provided at the tour, states Claiborne has had 22 Racing’s Hall of Fame horses, 63 Champions, 17 Horses of the Year, 22 Kentucky Derby winners, 19 Preakness Stakes winners, 22 Belmont Stakes winners, and 29 Breeders’ Cup winners. It also pointed out that half of all Triple Crown winning horses have been sired by their stallions.

Though it has 50 barns my hour long tour just featured a few of those. The first stallion I was introduced to was Orb. Orb is only 6 years old. He won the Kentucky Derby in 2013. He was sired by Malibu Moon and his dam is Lady Liberty. Orb’s 1st crop were foaled in 2015. Kevin, the tour guide, held Orb still so I could pet him. Kevin lives on the farm. His father and grandfather both worked there too. He has an abundance of detailed information on the stallions.

Flatter came out of his stall for a visit. He was foaled in 1999 and Claiborne was his breeder. His sire was A.P Indy and his dam was Praise by Mr. Prospector. Mr. Prospector is buried in 1 of the 3 horse cemeteries on the property. Flatter is the sire of multiple graded stakes winners including Upstart.

Lea is adorable and loves to savor his peppermints. He packs them in his gums and sips water to enjoy the flavor. Lea is a multiple graded stakes winner and is 7 years old. He is the progeny of First Samurai and Greenery. This is his first year at stud.

Blame by Arch and Liable is 10 years old. In 2010 Blame won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and an Eclipse Award for Champion Older Horse. His breeder was Claiborne. He has sired multiple graded stakes winners since 2011.

War Front is the most expensive stud on the farm. The son of Danzig and Starry Dreamer was born in 2002 and won multiple graded stakes. He retired to stud in 2007. Air Force Blue and Hit It A Bomb are some of his 2015 champion offspring. I gave a big hug and he stuck his tongue out! As Twitter’s famous Woodbine Racetrack barn cat, Gator Kitten (@Gatorkitten) would say, he is “to sassys”!

The tour concluded with a visit to one of the cemeteries. Secretariat is one of the most well know Thoroughbreds buried there. He was purchased in 1972 to stand at Claiborne Farm. His stall is currently empty. It is waiting for a pretty special stud to come along.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Claiborne Farm. I hope you like the stallion pictures. Tours are available 7 days a week for most days of the year. To arrange your own visit go to Claiborne Farm . Thanks for reading my story. Check back soon for more Thoroughbred news and adventures.

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July 22, 2016July 22, 2016

Where Our Chrome Is In A League Of His Own

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After much anticipation, our champ, California Chrome, returns to race tomorrow, 7/23/16! In his last race, on 3/26/16, in the $10 million dollar Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in UAE, Chrome finished in first place. I feel strongly that he will be triumphant again Saturday when he races at Del Mar.

Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, CA was inaugurated in 1937. The San Diego Handicap, a stakes race for Thoroughbreds ages 3 and older, began at Del Mar the same year. This race has a purse of $200,000. It is a Grade II race on the dirt at a distance of 1 and 1/16 miles, 9 furlongs. The San Diego Handicap is a favorite prep race for the $1 million dollar Pacific Classic which takes place at Del Mar as well. Del Mar has a few slogans. Most people are familiar with “Where the Turf Meets the Surf”, as Del Mar sits beautifully right on the beach. More recently, the track goes by “Cool as Ever”, to attract a new, young and fashionable crowd. I like my new slogan, “Where Our Chrome is in a League of His Own”!

A field of 7 horses will compete at 6:10 p.m. PT (9:10 p.m. EST) in race 9 tomorrow in the San Diego Handicap. The contenders are as follows by post position/horse/age, gender, state of birth/jockey/trainer/owner/sire,dam

Hard Aces/6YO, H, KY/Santiago Gonzalez/John W. Sadler/Hroni’s Racing, LLC/Hard Spun, All In With Aces
Dortmund/4YO, C, KY/Gary L. Stevens/Bob Baffert/Kaleem Shah, Inc/Big Brown, Our Josephina
Soi Phet/8YO, G, CA/Kent J. Desormeux/Leonard Powell/Benowitz Family Trust, Mathilde Powell, Paul A. Viskovich/Tizbub, Summer Jersey
Crittenden/4YO, G, KY/Martin Garcia/Eoin G. Harty/Godolphin Racing, LLC/Distorted Humor, Calla Lilly
Follow Me Crev/4YO, G, KY/Alonso Quinonez/Vladimir Cerin/Holly and David Wilson/Quality Road, Vicki Vallencourt
California Chrome/5YO, H, CA/Victor Espinoza/Art Sherman/California Chrome, LLC/Lucky Pulpit, Love the Chase
Win the Space/4YO, C, KY/Mike E. Smith/George Papaprodromou/Kretz Racing, LLC/Pulpit, Teamgeist

Hard Aces has won just 6 of 32 races. He has raced at Del Mar. His trainer, John W. Sadler, won the San Diego in 2013.

Dortmund is probably Chrome’s strongest competitor. He has a 8 in 10 record and has experience at Del Mar as well. His trainer, Bob Baffert and owner, Kaleem Shaw, won the San Diego in 2014. His jockey, Gary L. Stevens won the San Diego in 2015.

Soi Phet has a 5 in 33 record. He has not raced at Del Mar.

Crittenden has raced and won at Del Mar. He has a 4 in 15 career. Martin Garcia, his jockey, won the San Diego in 2014.

Follow Me Crev has a 5 in 17 record. He has raced 5 times at Del Mar.

I believe California Chrome will win as he is the favorite and looks to be the strongest contender. He has won 12 times in his 21 career races. I am ready to see him with lucky 13! He has raced at Del Mar 3 times. His jockey, Victor Espinoza, won the San Diego Handicap in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2013.

Win the Space has won 3 of 11 races. He has started at Del Mar 3 times. His jockey, Mike E. Smith won the San Diego in 2006.

Good luck to California Chrome! I hope he wins this race. He is expected to do so. He is our 2014 Horse of the Year and is on top and on the road to grabbing that title in 2016. He has just these last 5 races. After the San Diego Handicap, he will race in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on 8/20/16, the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on 10/1/16, the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on 11/5/16 and finally, the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream on 1/28/17. Following that, he will retire to stud at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky.

Enjoy week 2 of Del Mar and opening day of Saratoga. I won’t make it to the track this weekend so tell me all about your adventures. I will post again next week. Until then, have fun at the races!

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July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

Yearning For Yearlings

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The official start of the yearling sales season kicked off yesterday, 7/12/16, at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, KY. This sale came one day after the Summer Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale. I was especially excited to attend day 2 because it marked the first time I part owned a Thoroughbred at an auction.

I was not on hand, due to my day job, for the horses of racing age sale. That sale was quite a success. Compared to last year, more horses were sold fetching a higher overall price, a higher average price and far fewer unsold horses. 72 horses sold versus 65 the prior year. The total sale brought in over $5 million dollars compared to less than $4 million in 2015. The average price per horse rose by over $8.5 thousand dollars. Finally, only 19 horses did not get sold this July, where as last year 31 did not sell. The sale topper was the 7-year-old mare, Storm Lucy at $575,000. Malibu Moon and War Front sired 5 Thoroughbreds each in that sale making them the top sires by numbers in the sale. Taylor Made Sales Agency was the top consignor.

The July Selected Yearling sale did not exceed 2015’s results. The number of horses sold declined, as did the total price as well as the average price while the number of horses that failed to meet the reserved price increased. The 2016 sale sold 183 Thoroughbreds versus 205 the year before. Last year’s sale made over $20 million dollars while this year brought just over $17.6. On average horses dropped from $97 thousand dollars to $86 thousand each. This year 110 horses were not sold versus only 83 the prior Summer sale. Seen above is the sales ring screen showing an Uncle Mo filly bringing in $250,000. A colt sired by Curlin, hip 222, was the sale topper at a price of $475,000.

Wearing hip 235, pictured above, is a horse that I part owned thru a pinhook partnership I bought into last Fall. He came in with a 4 way tie of top selling horses. This colt, sired by Graydar, brought a price of $200,000. He sold to Twin Creeks Racing Stable, LLC. I loved his unique coloring, best seen in the sunlight. I can not wait to see how well he does on the track later in life!

Hips 338 seen at top left was sired by Speightstown and sold for $350,000. On the right is hip 326, another horse sired by Curlin, who sold for just $90,000. He is in front of the walking ring screens as hip 324 by Stay Thirsty who sold for $260,000.

Touring the grounds a bit I saw some interesting reminders of the exciting sales graduates that Fasig-Tipton has sold before. On July 19, 1975 the Lexington location of this great auction company sold the amazing Seattle Slew for just $17,500. He went on to win the Triple Crown in 1977. He has a whole building complete with art named for him as seen above. Below, we see a reminder of American Pharaoh, our last Triple Crown winner. He was featured as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale in New York in 2013 and bought back by his owner. This is where the next major yearling sale will take place on August 8 and 9th, The Saratoga Sale. My group has several horses in that auction so I will be following it closely.

I hope you all enjoy the yearling auctions. Check back with me weekly for more Thoroughbred news or adventures.

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July 9, 2016July 9, 2016

Who’s Who At Age 2

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So, Thoroughbred U, who’s who at age 2? Well, I would be rich if I knew for sure. I was fortunate to explore that question a bit last Saturday (7/2/16) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. I saw eleven races that day, two of which were stakes for 2-year-olds.

Race 7 was the 115th running of The Bashford Manor. This race is the 1st chance race for 2-year-old colts to compete in a graded stakes race. Classic Empire, wearing the red blanket above, and owned by John C. Oxley was the winner. I will definitely follow this horse. He is trained by Mark E. Casse and Julien Leparoux is his jockey. Classic Empire is sired by Pioneer of the Nile, the same sire as American Pharoah. Sambuca Classica by Cat Thief is the dam of Classic Empire. He won by 3/4 of a length, finishing 6 furlongs in a fast 1:09.39. Recruiting Ready finished 2nd and Tip Tap Tapizar was 3rd.

The 8th race, the 116th running of The Debutante, had a lot of similarities. This is the 1st opportunity 2-year-old fillies have at a graded stakes win. The same owner, jockey and trainer won as in the Bashford. Pretty City Dancer was the winner. She is a filly by Tapit and Carson City. Pretty City Dancer covered the 6 furlongs of dirt in 1:11.01. She is the lovely gray horse in the 2nd picture grouping on the right. Anna’s Bandit took 2nd place and Country Candy finished 3rd.

Mark E. Casse won the title of leading trainer at Churchill for the Spring meet. The night I attended was the last day of the meet. He has a barn at Churchill where my beloved Tepin lives! If you love Tepin check my site out for several good Tepin stories.

Not a 2-year-old but I threw in a picture of The Kelly’s Landing Overnight Stakes winner Alsvid just to complete my re-cap of my Churchill adventure.

Next week I’ll be visiting at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, KY. Monday (7/11/16) will feature the July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale. The sale begins at 5 p.m. EST. There are over 100 entries and there has to be some big winners in the catalogue. This sale historically turns out graded stakes winners. Might this be where the next best 2 year-old is?

The following day is the July Selected Yearling Sale. This sale will be especially meaningful to me because it will mark the 1st time I’ve ever owned a horse at an auction. I bought into a pinhooking partnership last Fall and I’m excited to see how the 1st of my group’s 12 yearlings sells.

Thank you for following and look for my Fasig-Tipton story next week. If you are going to the auction, leave a comment.

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July 2, 2016

Racing in the Red, White and Blue!

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Happy 4th of July weekend! I hope everyone has some fun plans for the 3 day weekend. I am heading to Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY this evening for the closing night of the 38 day long Spring race meet.

On 7/2/16, Churchill is hosting “Downs After Dark-My Country ‘Tis of Thee”. The theme is patriotic. I spent a good part of my day yesterday planning my dressy red, white and blue attire. In addition to 11 live Thoroughbred races there will be displays of military equipment, thousands of American flags, music by Wildwood and a presentation to honor 4 soldiers.

The 1st race posts at 6 p.m. EST. Gamblers will delight in the mandatory payout of the Single 6 Jackpot which may be around $3 million dollars! To play, bet races 4 thru 9. Other special contests are featured as well. I am especially excited to see the 3 stakes races. These are the Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes, the Debutante Stakes and the Kelly’s Landing Overnight Stakes.

The 115th running of the Bashford Manor is a 6 furlong dirt race for 2 year-olds. In race 7, nine horses will compete for their 1st time in a graded stakes race. This race has a purse of $100,000 and posts at 9 p.m. EST.

The 116th running of the Debutante is another 6 furlong dirt race with an equal purse of $100,000. The 8th race is for 2 year-olds as well but they must be fillies. 10 horses are entered. 9:39 p.m. EST is the post time.

The 7th running of the Kelly’s Landing Overnight Stakes is longer at 7 furlongs on the dirt. The purse is $67,000 and participants must be 3 or older. It is the 10th race on the card and features 7 horses. Post time is 10:42 p.m. EST.

In other news, per Equibase there have been as many as 10 horses named Fourth of July. Two of those were quarter horses. The most recent Fourth of July was foaled in March, 2012. He was sired by Street Cry and his dam was Dixie Holiday. The last time he raced at Churchill Downs he won. That was last November. He had a workout at Churchill last week. His jockey is Channing Hill. Wayne M. Catalano trains this horse for Avers Wexler. In 12 starts Fourth of July has 2 wins, 2 times placing and 1 time in third place.

Leave me a comment if you are going to Churchill Downs tonight. I’ll get a ton of pictures to share for those who can’t be there. Have a blessed and happy 4th of July!

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June 24, 2016June 24, 2016

Greetings from Gainesway

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It is my first day of vacation and I started it out on the right ~~hoof~~ foot! Earlier in the week I logged on to Horse Country and booked a tour to Gainesway Farm. This is the home of many Thoroughbreds including Tapit, seen above!

The tour started in the office before 12:30 pm. Marilyn Brashear, the receptionist, and two sweet dogs offered a warm welcome as we collected in the seating area. We were surrounded by lovely equine art and many framed cover shots from Bloodhorse magazine. Ian Tapp, with Sales and Bloodstock Development, fetched us and led us onto the beautifully maintained grounds. He explained that the area had once belonged to the Shawnee Indians. Several generations of horseman have owned the land, Ben Ali Haggin, C.V. Whitney, John Hay Whitney, John R. Gaines, Graham Beck and Antony Beck. The farm has rolling hills and plenty of bluegrass, clover and rye making it a great place for Thoroughbreds to thrive.

During the 1980s, the eight stone barns, a few seen above, housed as many as 52 stallions. Now they have eight available sires living on the farm. These lucky sires are Afleet Alex, Afleet Express, Birdstone, Empire Maker, Hat Trick, Karakontie, Tapit and Tapizar. The stalls are clean and well ventilated to keep a comfortable environment for their tenants year round.

Entering barn three, I met Afleet Alex. When he raced he won the 2nd and third legs of the Triple Crown after a third place finish in the 2005 Kentucky Derby. He won an Eclipse Award that same year. His progeny include Texas Red, Materiality, Afleet Express and many more.

Next, I had the pleasure of viewing Birdstone. He was a Belmont Stakes winner in 2004. Swipe, Mine That Bird and Summer Bird are some of his well know offspring.

Then, Empire Maker made an appearance. The name is so appropriate. The empire he produced includes Bodemeister and Pioneer of the Nile. The later is the sire of the only Grand Slam winner, American Pharoah. When Empire Maker was racing he was 2nd in the Kentucky Derby and he won the Belmont Stakes.

With much built up anticipation, Tapit finally hoofed it on over. He is the beloved sire of Juba, Twitter’s favorite horse! Tapit is stunning, as he looks snow white. He is the leading sire for 2014 and 2015. He is well on his way to the 2016 title as well. He sired the adorable, Lani. Some of his other crops include Creator, Frosted, Tapizar, Tonalist, Untapable, Mohaymen, Cupid and many more.

Our next stop was the breading shed. As MTV Cribs would have put it, “this is where the magic happens”. Tapp went into a lot more in depth information on that subject. I admit, it is quite the process and it was educational. We learned about resident teasing stallion, Bud. He has an important job to do up to three times per day during the busiest of seasons.

As the tour was about to wrap we walked thru the barn that houses Afleet Express and To Honor and Serve. Afleet Express is a multiple graded stakes winner including both the Pegasus Stakes and the Travers Stakes in 2010. He began his stud career in 2011. His graded stakes winning filly Diva Express frequents Churchill Downs.

To Honor and Serve won the Cigar Mile in 2011 and the Woodward Stakes in 2012 as well as a few more multiple graded stakes. He came to Gainesway in 2013 and his crop produced some pricey Thoroughbreds at the sales.

The Gainesway tour was wonderful. I would love to see their mares, weanlings and yearlings too. It was such a neat experience to view these champion sires up-close. If you find yourself in Lexington, KY, I recommend checking the place out yourself. Enjoy my photos and check back soon for my next Thoroughbred story.

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June 17, 2016June 17, 2016

A Big Fan Of Wise Dan

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Wise Dan will make an appearance at Churchill Downs this Saturday! Prior to the race, that was named for him, he will parade for his fans. He has raced at Churchill eleven times and won 7 of those races. I had the pleasure of watching him parade at Keeneland this past October, as seen above. He raced there on 10 occasions with a lot of success as well.

Wise Dan was quite a champion at many more tracks during his racing career. He was bred in Kentucky by Morton Fink, his owner. He was foaled on 2/20/07 . Wiseman’s Ferry is his sire and his dam is Lisa Danielle. He began racing in 2010 and he stayed with the game for 31 starts. During those years he racked up 6 Eclipse Awards, he was Champion Older Horse, Champion Grass Horse and Horse of the Year all in both 2012 and again in 2013. He won the Breeders’ Cup Mile in each of those years as well. He won 23 races total and was second twice as well. Charles LoPresti was his trainer throughout his career and his latest jockey was John R. Velazquez. In 2011 and 2013, Wise Dan won the Grade 2 Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs.

Tomorrow, Wise Dan will be present to witness the first ever Wise Dan Stakes! The Firecracker which was inaugurated in 1991 was renamed for the two time champ Wise Dan this year. It is a 1 and 1/16th mile (8.5 furlong) race on the grass, the Matt Win Turf Course, for Thoroughbreds 3 years old or older. The purse in $200,000.

The field is as follows by post/horse/jockey/trainer:

Thatcher Street/Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr./Ian R. Wilkes
The Pizza Man/Florent Geroux/Roger A. Brueggemann
Granny’s Kitten/Gary L. Stevens/Michael J. Maker
Flatlined/Miguel Mena/Charles. L. Dickey
Conquest Typhoon/Joe Bravo/Mark E. Casse
Potomac River/Juan P. Vargas/Jose L. Lopez
R. Great Adventure/Joseph Rocco, Jr./Brian Williamson
Pleuven/Channing Hill/Philip A. Sims
Za Approval/Julien R. Leparoux/Mark E. Casse
Kasaqui/Robby Albarado/Ignacio Correas, IV
Behesht/Corey Lanerie/George R. Arnold

Watch the Wise Dan Stakes, race 7, at Churchill Downs at 9:05 PM EST on 6/18/16. Then, stick around for the next race at the same track. Posting at 9:39 PM is the Stephen Foster Handicap, part of the Breeders’ Cup Win And You’re In series for the Classic. Effinex will be back in action!

Have a happy Father’s Day! More to come next week…

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June 10, 2016June 10, 2016

Breakdown for the Belmont

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One more day to go to reach the crowning jewel! Tomorrow, Saturday, 6/11/16, is the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. It is the third leg of the Triple Crown of U.S. Thoroughbred racing. The “Test of the Champion” will post at 6:32 P.M. EST at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

A lucky 13 horses will compete. Only 4 of these contenders did not run in at least one of the prior legs of the Triple Crown. The field is as follows, by post/horse/jockey/trainer/ owner:

Governor Malibu/Joel Rosario/Christopher Clement/Jump Sucker Stable and Oak Bluff Stable
Destin/Javier Castellano/Todd Pletcher/Twin Creeks Racing Stabel and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
Cherry Wine/Corey Lanerie/Dale Romans/William Pacella, Frank L. Jones, Jr. and Frank Shoop
Suddenbreakingnews/Mike Smith/Donnie Von Hemel/Samuel F. Henderson
Stadivari/John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher/John Gunther, Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith
Gettysburg/Paco Lopez/Steve Asmussen/WinStar Farm
Seeking the Soul/Florent Geroux/Dallas Stewart/Charles Fipke
Forever d’ Oro/Jose Ortiz/Dallas Stewart/Charles Fipke
Trojan Nation/Aaron Gryder/Patrick Gallagher/Julie Gilbert and Dr. Aaron Sones
Lani/Yutaka Take/Matsunaga Mikio/Koji Maeda
Exaggerator/Kent Desormeaux/Keith Desormeaux/Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners/ Rocker O Ranch
Brody’s Cause/Luis Saez/Dale Romans/Albaugh Family Stable
Creator/Irad Ortiz, Jr./Steve Asmussen/WinStar Farm

Notice that there are a lot of repeats on trainers and owners. If the horse’s last race out was the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes, check my old stories to limit repetition.

Derby Deciphered

Preview Pimlico’s Preakness

Governor Malibu did not run the KY Derby or the Preakness. He is a New York bred horse so he is right at home. He has raced at Belmont 3 times of 7 starts in his career. He won twice, placed on 4 occasions and showed once as well. It took him 4 races to break his maiden. Most recently he finished 2nd in the Grade II Peter Pan Stakes.

Destin finished 6th in the KY Derby. He will likely position himself near the lead.

Cherry Wine was second in the Preakness Stakes.

Suddenbreakingnews came in 5th in the KY Derby.

Stradivari was the 4th horse to finish in the Preakness. He is know to run in the lead. Post position 5 is where American Pharoah broke from last year to win.

Gettysburg has had 7 starts. He has one win, one 2nd place and 1 third place finish in his career. His sire is Pioneer of the Nile who sired last year’s Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah. Gettysburg is grey and he finished 5th in both the Sam F. Davis Stakes and the Arkansas Derby. In his last race he was 3rd at Belmont. He is a front runner. He has a fun Twitter personality.

Seeking the Soul has only raced 3 times, breaking his maiden in his last race at Churchill Downs. At the same track, he placed 5th in his prior race on KY Derby day.

Forever d’ Oro is sired by Medaglia d’ Oro who was 2nd in the 2002 Belmont Stakes. The winner of the 2002 Belmont is pictured above in my #Flashback Friday photo. That is Sarava! I met Sarava last summer at Old Friend’s Farm In Georgetown, KY. Forever d’ Oro’s maternal grandsire was Lemon Drop Kid who won the Belmont Stakes in 1999. Forever d’ Oro has a nice family history but jut like Seeking the Soul he has only raced 3 times. He also broke his maiden in the last race, however it was at Belmont Park. He got his start at my home track, Keeneland!

Trojan Nation was 16th in the KY Derby.

Lani is my favorite Twitter character in the race. He has a nice following of fun stories, memes and videos. He was 9th in the KY Derby and 5th in the Preakness. He is the 1st Japanese horse to go for all three legs of the Triple Crown.

Exaggerator is the favorite. He was 2nd in the KY Derby and he won the Preakness Stakes.

Brody’s Cause was 7th in the KY Derby.

Creator finished lucky 13 in the KY Derby. He takes post position 13 which has never had a Belmont Stakes winner.

Belmont Stakes Fun Facts:

The purse is $1.5 million dollars
The drink is The Belmont Jewel
The flower is the white carnation, thus “The Run for the Carnations” with a blanket of 700 carnations
The race is 1 and 1/2 miles (12 furlongs) on dirt
The song is “New York, New York”
The trophy is the August Belmont Memorial Cup by Tiffany and Co.
5 other Grade 1 stakes are on Saturday’s Belmont card
NBC Sports Network will televise the event from 3 to 5 P.M. EST and 7 to 7:30 P.M. EST while NBC will cover the live race from 5 to 7 P.M. EST

Unfortunately, this isn’t the year for a Triple Crown winner but it is still going to be a great day for racing. Have a super weekend everyone. I’ll find something new to bring you next week!

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June 2, 2016June 2, 2016

The Shoemaker Is A Shoo-In

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Salutations to all of my faithful readers and anyone new who happens upon this story. I hope you each had a nice long holiday and are looking forward to some exciting racing this coming weekend. This Saturday will leave us hanging exactly one more week until the 148th Belmont Stakes but it marks the 1st race in the U.S. for the 2016 Challenge Series that paves the path to the Breeders’ Cup.

The 33rd Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be hosted at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California on November 4th and 5th in 2016. The Breeders’ Cup authorities identified 77 races in which the winner will automatically qualify for placement in a BC race. These 77 races are the 2016 Challenge Series, also known as the “Win And You’re In” races. 49 of these races take place in North America. The other 28 races are abroad in 11 countries. 59 of these races are classified as Grade or Group I thus they are some of the best races in the world.

Eight races in the Series have already taken place. The 1st and 2nd race was on 1/9/16 at Kenilworth in South Africa. Australia held 3 more races at Randwick in April. The May races were held at Palermo in Argentina, Club Hippico de Santiago in Chile and San Isidro, also in Argentina. These races gave us entries in 5 of the 2016 BC races.

BC Mile: Legal Eagle, Winx, Kitcat
Filly and Mare Turf: Smart Call, Azkadellia
Turf Sprint: Chautauqua
Longines Distaff: Corona Del Inca
Longines Turf: Don Inc

At the very same track that will host the BC this year, we will witness the 1st North American race in the series, The Shoemaker Mile! On June 4th the Grade I Shoemaker Mile will feature six Thoroughbreds with BC dreams. The Shoemaker Mile was inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewoood, CA as the Premier Handicap. The race now has a purse of $400,000. It is a turf race of 8 furlongs (1 mile) and eligible for horses 3 years old or older. Hollywood Park has closed and in 1990 the race name was changed in honor of Bill Shoemaker.

William Lee “Bill/Willie/The Shoe” Shoemaker was a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey. He died at age 72 in 2003. He received 2 Eclipse Awards. Willie won 11 races of the Triple Crown series. For 10 years he led in earnings and in 5 years he had the most wins. The Shoe won many awards and honors. I remember him most as Ferdinand’s jockey.

Last year’s Shoemaker Mile winner was the late, great Talco. He passed away months after his big win, following surgery. Talco was sired by Pivotal, his dam was Trylko. Rafael Bejarno was Talco’s jockey. Bejarno will ride Midnight Storm this year. Talco was trained by John S. Sadler and owned by Hronis Racing, LLC.

This years 6 entries by post position/horse/jockey/trainer/and owner are:

Heart to Heart/Julien Leparoux/Brian Lynch/Terry Hamilton
Twenttwentyvision/Flavien Prat/Richard Mandella/Ellen and Peter Johnson, Sr.
Tourist/Jose Lezcano/William Mott/Gary Barber, Wachtal Stable and WinStar Farm, LLC
Home Run Kitten/Joseph Talamo/David Hofmans/Tarabilla Farms Inc.
Cape Wolfe/Mike Smith/Philip D’Amato/Sterling Stables LLC, Andy Ellis, Mark Gorman, Mike Lewis and Jeff Owen
Midnight Storm/Rafeal Bejarano/Philip D’Amato/A Venneri Racing and Little Red Feather Racing

I have watched Heart to Heart Race live. He has a nice heart shaped star on his head. The photos above are him finishing second at Keeneland on 4/15/16 in the Maker’s 46 Mile. Miss Temple City won that race.

The Shoemaker Mile will be the 6th race at Santa Anita this Saturday, 6/4/16. Post time is 4:30 P.M. PT. (that is 7:30 P.M. EST). Don’t miss out on all the BC fun. The winner is a shoo-in for the BC Mile! As they like to say about the BC, “The Best Is Yet To Come”! Look back for my Belmont Stakes Preview story following the post position drawing next week for all the information that you might need.

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May 27, 2016May 27, 2016

Mounts To Memorialize

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Woo hoo! It’s a long weekend off for many Americans. It’s time for friends, family, the opening of pool season, maybe some picnics and of course, racing! More importantly, this federal holiday, Memorial Day, is a day to remember those that gave there lives so that we may live free. It is the day to honor those whose died while serving in the armed forces.

This morning, I got my “On this Day” reminder, from my personal Facebook page. Nine nice photos from my 5/27/13 trip to Camp Nelson National Cemetery, in Jessamine County, KY, were displayed. The acres of grave markers are beautiful in their own way. I have so much respect for the men and women who have served our country. Often, during the Memorial Day ceremony held at Camp Nelson, a riderless horse is led in by a solider to depict the loss of human life. As a horse writer and lover I respect the animals who have served as well. No horses are buried at Camp Nelson but many have memorials throughout the country.

The Civil War was a time of great loss for our country. About 620,000 people lost their lives during those tragic years of 1861 to1865. The animal lives lost is a far greater number. Factoring in mules along with horses their death toll exceeds one million for the Civil War alone. Horses have been instrumental to our military historically. Unless shot at close range, most of the shot horses endured numerous bullets before bleeding to death. Many horses simply worked to exhaustion, suffered deadly diseases or starved.

War isn’t happy and I like my stories to be positive but I am positively thankful to all of those who have served. I am appreciative of all, humans and animals, that has fought for my freedoms. Be especially thoughtful of those who gave their life in battle. However, remember to enjoy yourself this weekend because veterans have provided you with that privilege. There are a ton of stakes races this weekend and Monday. What race are you most excited about this weekend? Who’s made it to Belmont already?

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