Month: January 2021

Math Wizard ‘Going To Move Forward,’ Aimed At Pegasus World Cup

The fields for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) will be firmed up on Friday, when the connections of the invitees must confirm their intent to run in the Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational series at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has every intention to run Grade 1 winner Math Wizard in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup. The 5-year-old son of Algorithms was listed second in preference on Reserve Invitees list released last week but is expected to draw into the 12-horse field due to the recent retirement of defending champion Mucho Gusto and the likelihood of Anothertwistafate, No. 1 on the Reserve list for the Pegasus, being committed to the Pegasus Turf.

Math Wizard, who captured the 2019 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx, came off a three-month layoff to finish fourth in the Dec. 12 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream Park. The Harlan's Holiday was won in impressive front-running fashion by Tax, who won by 4 ½ lengths while covering 1 1/16 miles in a sharp 1:41.15.

“If all goes well, he'll run in the Pegasus,” Joseph said. “He's doing good. Normally, when he comes off a layoff, it takes a race or two for him to come back to order. We wanted to get him the race in the Harlan's Holiday. I feel like he's going to move forward off that race.”

Math Wizard is winless in seven starts since registering a 31-1 upset victory in the Pennsylvania Derby. Heading into Parx's signature race, he had gone winless in six starts following his 18 ½-length victory at Gulfstream Jan. 31, 2019, when he was claimed by Joseph and owner John Fanelli for $25,000.

The post Math Wizard ‘Going To Move Forward,’ Aimed At Pegasus World Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Blood-Horse To Change Frequency Of Print Magazine And Tablet Edition From Weekly To Monthly

BloodHorse announced today that, beginning April 1, 2021, the publication is changing the frequency of its print magazine and tablet edition from weekly to monthly and adding a premium online service.

“Readers' habits are evolving,” said Carl Hamilton, chairman of BloodHorse. “Social media and the internet are the go-to sources for real-time news, and the COVID pandemic has accelerated change in our readers' habits and the media industry at large. Providing a content-rich magazine once a month in addition to our regular and now premium online content will give our readers robust, interactive tools they can use as owners, breeders, and fans to stay abreast of the Thoroughbred industry.”

The new premium portion of the website, called BloodHorse+, will provide exclusive content to subscribers, including multi-media videos, a FOX Sports / BloodHorse show produced by the New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) previewing upcoming events each week, and other content based on the sport's calendar of events. Users will also have access to a detailed stakes winners section supplemented with comprehensive statistics as well as a monthly credit on equineline.com.

“NYRA is pleased to partner with BloodHorse and FOX Sports to provide racing fans with engaging weekly coverage highlighting the very best that the sport has to offer both on the racetrack and off,” said Tony Allevato, NYRA chief revenue officer and president of NYRA Bets. “This new platform is an exciting addition to the racing media landscape and we are excited to be a part of its growth.”

The monthly BloodHorse magazine will have a 100-page minimum and provide additional feature stories that are longer and more in-depth. The content currently provided byBloodHorse.com and BloodHorse Daily will remain available to all users.

“Transitioning the magazine to a monthly schedule will enable BloodHorse staff to analyze and focus on noteworthy people in the industry, racing, breeding, sales, the health and welfare of horses, and other topics that are important to industry participants,” said Evan Hammonds, editorial director of BloodHorse. “The timely, insightful information our users expect from our website and the Daily won't change.”

More details on the monthly magazine and BloodHorse+ can be found at BloodHorse.com/FAQ.

The post Blood-Horse To Change Frequency Of Print Magazine And Tablet Edition From Weekly To Monthly appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Journeyman’s Horse Fever Statue to Go Through OBS Ring for Charity

A most unusual offering will be up for sale at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The last hip to go through the ring on Tuesday, Mar. 16, will be “Clockwork Fury,” a horse statue with an intriguing history that is part of the Horse Fever 20/20 public art project. The public art, which features life-sized horse statues by various artists, has given over $350,000 in grants to artists and organizations.

Breeders will be familiar with Clockwork Fury as he has greeted visitors at Ocala’s Journeyman Stud, owned by Brent and Crystal Fernung, for the past decade. The winning bidders of the statue about 10 years ago recently had him upgraded by his original artist, Mark Hershberger, and are sending him through the ring to raise funds for Florida Thoroughbred Charities (FTC) and Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA).

“This past year [due to the COVID-19 pandemic], FTC didn’t get to have their gala, had to cancel their big golf tournament. They lost a lot of money,” said Crystal Fernung. She said FTC supports Second Chances, where incarcerated women care for retired racehorses and get vocational training in horse care. “Second Chances is such a great program. I drive by it every day. With FTC being the major source of income, we thought if there was a way we could donate ‘Fury’ and get him sold, we could help. OBS is a game changer.

“Anyone from anywhere can buy him,” continued Fernung. “Creech Horse Transportation has philanthropically offered to deliver him to wherever they have a truck going. We’ll have internet bidding and people can see him in person at the [OBS] January sale [Jan. 26-27].”

Clockwork Fury is the official anniversary ambassador for the Horse Fever project, but is unique in that he has been donated back to the program by the Fernungs. His recent upgrade by his original artist has been monumental.

Clockwork Fury at Journeyman Stud | Courtesy of Crystal Fernung

“He’s made it through four hurricanes,” said Fernung. “There’s bluebirds that come to nest in him every year. Mark has preserved their nest and placed it inside him. Now he has 2020 technology, has fiberoptics in him. There’s so much more Mark could do now. He’s fiberglass, like all the others. But when Mark created him 20 years ago, he had him cut up in different shapes, painted him to look like metal, then put all that back together. His eyes are antique opera glasses that Mark had found. His star is a solar panel. His tail is these big, heavy chains, and when you move his tail, his head moves. We had no intentions of buying anything when we saw him 10 years ago, but when Mark had dry ice coming out of his hips and nose, it was, ‘Whoa.’ When they knocked him down to us for $15,000, Brent looked at me like, ‘What did you just do?'”

Fernung said she wants the “horse” that has served their farm so well to be able to continue to help others by the use of his proceeds.

This will be the fourth Horse Fever event in Ocala after projects in 2000, 2005, and 2011. Many of the statues from the earlier installations can still be seen around Ocala, while some have even traveled out of state. There will be a total of 15 horses for Horse Fever 20/20, all of which are scheduled to be unveiled Feb. 8. For more information, visit mcaocala.org/hf-2020.

The post Journeyman’s Horse Fever Statue to Go Through OBS Ring for Charity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights