December, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Applications Now Open for 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover

Applications are now open for the 2021 competition year of the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 15, 2021 and accepted trainers will be announced Feb. 15, 2021.

As the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover was postponed to 2021 due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 edition of the Retired Racehorse Project’s banner event will include competition groups both for horses that would have competed in 2020, as well as those entering for 2021. The two groups will compete separately, including two separate Finales to crown each year’s Thoroughbred Makeover Champion. Applications for the 2020 competition year closed earlier this year, though new owners of horses already entered for 2020 may apply to compete.

Entering its seventh year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the Thoroughbred Makeover features competition in 10 disciplines for recently-retired Thoroughbreds in their first year of retraining for a career after racing. Horses and their trainers may compete in one or two disciplines of their choice, including Barrel Racing, Competitive Trail, Dressage, Eventing, Field Hunter, Polo, Ranch Work, Show Hunter, Show Jumper, and Freestyle (a freeform discipline showcasing skills of the trainer’s choosing).

Horses and trainers will compete for more than $100,000 in total prize money per competition year, plus the coveted title of Thoroughbred Makeover Champion at the Kentucky Horse Park Oct. 12-17, 2021. The Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium includes not just the competition, but educational seminars, a vendor fair, the Makeover Marketplace horse sale, and the Makeover Master Class, featuring demonstrations and insight from leading trainers. The Finale features the top five horses in each discipline and will be live-streamed for viewers at home.

The Thoroughbred Makeover is open to professionals, amateurs, juniors (ages 12 and over), and teams. Applicants are required to provide information about their riding and competition background as well as references, including one from a veterinarian. Applicants are encouraged to provide links to riding video, which is a requirement for first-time competitors. Competitors do not need to have acquired their horse at the time of application, though they must register their horse no later than July 31, 2021.

For a complete list of rules, click here or visit the Retired Racehorse Project’s website here for more information.

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Tapizar, Sire Of Monomoy Girl, Moves To Japan For 2021

Tapizar, a Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner and sire of champion Monomoy Girl, will relocate to Yushun Stallion Station in Japan for the 2021 breeding season, Racing Post reports.

The 12-year-old son of Tapit previously stood at Gainesway in Lexington, Ky., where he entered stud in 2013. From five crops of racing age, he has sired 231 winners and his runners have earned more than $22.4 million.

His most successful offspring is Monomoy Girl, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2018 and likely champion older mare of 2020. She won the Breeders' Cup Distaff during both campaigns, and her nine career graded stakes wins also includes the 2018 Kentucky Oaks. Last month, she sold to Spendthrift Farm for $9.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November sale, and she will remain in training for 2021.

Other runners of note by Tapizar include Grade 2 winners Jeltrin and Amalfi Coast, and Grade 3 winners Honey Bunny, Project Whiskey, and Solidify.

Tapizar is best known during his own on-track career for his victory in the 2012 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Park. All three of his career graded stakes wins came at Santa Anita, also adding the G3 Sham Stakes and G2 San Fernando Stakes. In total, he won six of 14 starts for $972,632.

Tapizar is expected to arrive at his new farm in mid-January.

Hieronymus Announces Retirement From Keeneland

G.D. Hieronymus, who has served as Keeneland’s Eclipse Award-winning Director of Broadcast Services since 2000, has announced his retirement effective Feb. 1, 2021. Hieronymus will continue to work during Keeneland’s Spring and Fall race meets and on special projects for the track and its industry and philanthropic partners.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this institution for the past 20 years,” Hieronymus said. “Keeneland’s Broadcast Services is synonymous with excellence. We have raised the bar for our industry and I am proud of this legacy. I’m grateful to my amazing crew and the countless relationships I have made throughout my career and I’m excited to continue my work with the Keeneland team while also expanding my work in the industry.”

“On behalf of the entire Keeneland family, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to G.D. for his leadership, passion and commitment to Keeneland and the Thoroughbred industry,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “While G.D. has always celebrated the rich history of our sport, he continues to pave the way for innovations that strengthen racing. We wish G.D. all the best in his retirement and look forward to his continued collaborations with Keeneland.”

Joining the Keeneland team in July 2000 as the Director of Broadcast Services after 19 years at Hammond Communications, Hieronymus celebrated many groundbreaking achievements and award-winning productions, including:

Development of the first high definition control room at a Thoroughbred race track in North America.
Seven-time recipient of the International Simulcast Award.
2004 Eclipse Award recipient for Local Television Achievement.
Directing award-winning commercials and features for Keeneland, Thoroughbred farms and other industry partners.
Serving as director of photography for the Kentucky Derby Museum film “The Greatest Race,” which continues to be featured today.
Winner of the 2012 Charles W. Engelhard Award from the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association for outstanding service and coverage in media for the Thoroughbred industry.

In addition to his continued collaboration with Keeneland, G.D. looks forward to spending more time with his wife, Laura, and daughters, Kelly and Lindsay.

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Racing League Teams Taking Shape

John Gosden, alongside fellow Newmarket trainers Sir Mark Prescott, Robert Cowell and David Simcock, will make up one of the dozen teams of the Racing League tournament which begins next summer. Another Newmarket team is comprised of Michael Bell, Ed Dunlop, James Fanshawe and Roger Varian. Clive Cox, Nicky Henderson, Charlie Hills and Jamie Osborne are representing Lambourn. Another team is Mick Appleby, Michael Dods, David O’Meara and Paul Midgley. Mick Channon has joined Paul and Oliver Cole, Eve Johnson Houghton and Hughie Morrison. France will also send a team combining trainers Philippe Decouz, Gavin Hernon, and Edouard Monfort.

The Racing League will see 12 teams of 30 horses each compete over 36 races during a six-week period at Newcastle, Doncaster, Lingfield and Windsor. Each event is worth £50,000, with an overall prizemoney of £1.8 million for the series beginning on July 29 and running until Sept. 2.

In November, six previous teams were released: Tim Easterby and Richard Fahey; Charlie Fellowes, Hugo Palmer and George Scott; Andrew Balding and Richard Hannon; George Baker, David Menuisier, Gary Moore and Amanda Perrett; Roger Charlton, Alan King, Martyn Meade and Brian Meehan; and, representing Ireland, Joseph O’Brien and his brother Donnacha.

Jeremy Wray, Racing League Chief Executive said, “We are really pleased to have such an illustrious group of trainers forming the 12 teams and are delighted to be adding an international flavour with the teams from Ireland and France. The next step will be for each team to select their three jockeys.”

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