July, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fiya Commands $400,000 To Lead Wanamaker’s July Sale

As bidding progressed in the Wanamaker's July Sale, it was Fiya who sparked a heated bidding war.

The tremendously impressive 3-year-old who posted a 98 Beyer Speed Figure and 9 Ragozin last out was purchased by Robert Masiello for $400,000.

An excited Masiello stated, “I'm very happy to be able to sign the ticket for Fiya. He's been really impressive this year and his last race certainly hinted that he might have some star quality. I was a bit nervous about participating in an online auction, but the experience was very seamless and intuitive. I'm really looking forward to getting Fiya into Tom Albertrani's program and hopefully we can have some fun.”

Fiya was bred and owned by Ann Merryman who employed her son, Michael Merryman with the training effort, marking a massive success for the mother and son duo. When asked about the decision to sell in an online auction,

Ann Merryman said, “I loved the transparency of putting Fiya for sale for everyone to see. This enabled me to get market value for a horse without taking it out of training and shipping it to a sale. The team at Wanamaker's was exceptional and I really believe they are moving the industry in a great direction with their platform; the monthly sales will enable so many more owners to capitalize throughout the year.”

Wanamaker's second-ever auction was rounded out by the sales of Gymnastic for $25,000, Pupetta for $5,000, and Mixology for $4,000.

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Gulfstream Park: Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Guaranteed At $1.1 Million; Mandatory Payout Rescheduled For Aug. 9

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $1.1 million Friday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the 16th consecutive racing program Thursday, when multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $3,541.40

The carryover jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 jackpot pool has been rescheduled from Sunday, Aug. 2, to Sunday, Aug. 9, due to forecasts that Tropical Storm Isaias may pose a weekend threat to Florida.

Friday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10. Combination looms as a popular 'single' in Race 6, having won seven of his last eight starts. The 4-year-old son of Alternation, who is rated as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the starter allowance, has been claimed out of his last five starts, most recently by owner Frank Calabrese and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. for $25,000.

Races 8 and 10 will also be included in Friday's Stronach 5 sequence. In Race 8, a mile turf race for $40,000 claimers, stakes winner Joseph-trained Captain D will seek to make amends for recent disappointment against better company. Race 10, a $12.500 claiming race for non-winners of three races, will be contested at five furlongs on turf. The Stronach 5 will be kicked off by Race 6 at Laurel Park, followed by Race 8 at Gulfstream, Races 7 and 8 at Laurel and Race 10 at Gulfstream.

The post Gulfstream Park: Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Guaranteed At $1.1 Million; Mandatory Payout Rescheduled For Aug. 9 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Connections ‘Taking Things Slow,’ But Top Florida-Bred Chance It On Comeback Trail

As the annual FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series gets under way at Gulfstream Park Saturday with the running of the $100,000 Dr. Fager and $100,000 Desert Vixen, last year's hero, Chance It, will continue making progress along the comeback trail in Ocala, FL.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds LLC's stable star, who was victorious in two of the three legs of the 2019 Florida Sire Stakes, was sent to the sidelines with a foot injury sustained during the running of the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) March 7.

“He's doing really well. He's gotten bigger and stronger. He's happy. He came out of the Tampa Bay Derby with a foot injury, and it takes a while to grow a foot,” said Mary Lightner, syndicate manager of Shooting Star Thoroughbreds LLC. “We just started putting him under tack two weeks ago.”

Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Chance It, who won his 2020 debut in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream to take a step onto the Derby Trail, is being patiently handled on the comeback trail from an injury that resulted in the first off-the-board finish of his career.

“At the training center, it's up and down hill, so he's getting a lot from walking up and back from the track. Probably, in a week and a half, he'll start jogging,” Lightner said. “We're going real slow with him. We hope to get him back running in the fall.

“It's about three-quarters of a mile to the track and back. It's up and down hill on the horse path,” she added. “We're having our groom walk him up to the track and back. He's doing good and doing everything right.”

Chance It bounced back from a second-place finish in his career debut last June to turn in a brilliant 9 ¼-length maiden-breaking triumph at Gulfstream. The overachieving son of Currency Swap came right back to capture the $100,000 Dr. Fager before finishing second in the $200,000 Affirmed and winning the $400,000 In Reality by 7 ¼ lengths to close out a highly productive 2-year-old campaign.

“It was an unbelievable year – hard to duplicate, that's for sure. I think he became the workingman's horse and had a huge following because of his pedigree that no one thinks about. I think they kind of saw him as overcoming a lot to win those kind of races and be that kind of horse,” Lightner said. “Everybody got behind him. We had a great time.”

Coming off a three-month layoff, Chance It made a sweeping move to the lead in the mile Mucho Macho Man only to be headed by multiple-stakes winner As Seen On Tv in mid-stretch. Chance It found a late reserve of energy to fight back and win by a head.

“He really laid his body down to win that race. I can't take anything away from As Seen On TV. They both ran a great race,” Lightner said. “You thought he was beat and he came back. He has a huge heart. It makes you so proud of him.”

Lightner is looking forward to a long future for Chance It.

“There are a lot of races for him. Nobody thinks of him as a stallion and as long as he stays healthy and we try to do the right thing by him, he can run until he's 5 or 6 years old. That's why we're taking things slow with him and that everything's right before we send him back,” she said. “Saffie is looking forward to getting him back, but he's on the same page. He doesn't want to rush anything.”

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Letter to the Editor on Diversity in Racing: Jacqueline Durvin

Thank you for your series Diversity in Racing; I appreciate that you and other voices in racing are thinking about how to cultivate a more diverse and inclusive environment throughout the horse racing industry.

For full disclosure I am a recent graduate of the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, but I am also an autistic person with ADHD— in a word, neurodiverse. What that means is that my brain is quite literally “wired” differently at its most basic level. Neurodiversity currently describes the Autistic, ADHDers, the Epileptic, and people with Tourette Syndrome. The extent to which this affects a person ranges widely and uniquely. As with most other neurodivergent people, my strengths are often exceptional and my weaknesses require some form of accommodation in order for me to reach parity with an abled person; fortunately, many such accommodations are now recognized as an unanticipated positive for the abled workforce as well, e.g. sound dampeners, and work-from-home capabilities.

I think racing would benefit from fostering outreach with the neurodiversity movement because an effectively placed neurodivergent person with an opportunity to participate in his or her special interest has the potential to create some extraordinary results, e.g. Michael Phelps (ADHD), Anthony Hopkins (Autism) and Greta Thunberg (Autism). The special interest is the capacity of the neurodiverse brain to form a powerful fixation on something and the relentless motivation to learn all which is known about a subject.

As most people with a stake in the well-being of horse racing already know, racing is facing existential threats from without and catastrophic weaknesses from within. It will need people with a natural dedication and passion for racing, a knack for unorthodox problem solving, the capacity to lay bare the ugly problems facing horse racing and the unflinching determination to change the conditions which brought such ignominy to such a marvelous sport.

Racing needs the neurodiverse.

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