February, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Report: Florida Horseman Lichoa Receives Three-Month Jail Sentence On Money Laundering Charge

Central Florida horseman Alfredo Lichoa on Wednesday was sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to violating federal money laundering laws, according to a report in Bloodhorse.com.

Lichoa, who came to the U.S. from his native Venezuela 20 years ago, worked in the Ocala area as farm veterinarian for Franks Farm and more recently was general manager for the Iadisernia family's Northwest Farms. He began training horses in 2018 and it is in that role that he got caught up in an FBI investigation that would lead to the indictment of Lichoa and four other men.

According to the original indictment, Lichoa was identified to undercover FBI agents as someone who could help launder money through a racetrack horsemen's account. In a secretly recorded FBI sting operation, Lichoa accepted $50,000 he was told came from bribes made to corrupt Brazilian politicians.

The indictments were unsealed last March, shortly after another investigation yielded more than two dozen arrests in a doping probe that included charges against trainers Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro and others. Both investigations came out of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Lichoa pleaded guilty last October.

Prosecutors sought a sentence of 12 to 18 months, with half of the time allowed to be served by home detention. According to Bloodhorse.com, Judge Jed S. Rakoff may have been swayed by some of the 18 letters of support for Lichoa submitted by family members and horse industry professionals who have either worked with or done business with him.

Lichoa is to report to prison on Aug. 31, the delay being set so that he will have time to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before serving his term. Lichoa's attorney, in an appeal for home incarceration, had cited the high percentage of COVID cases in the federal prison system and suggested Lichoa was especially vulnerable because of health issues.

Gulfstream Park: Castellano Returns, Irad Ortiz Jr. Rides Five Winners; Jackpot Has $400,000 Guarantee On Thursday

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano returned to action Wednesday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., after sitting out for three months while rehabbing from surgery on his right leg.

The five-time Championship Meet titlist finished fourth aboard Sexy Dream in Race 9, a mile optional starter allowance for 3-year-old fillies that was taken off the turf. While the result may not have been what he would have likes, Castellano was more than happy to get back to riding horses in the afternoon.

“I'm every excited, very motivated,” Castellano said. “That was my first mount. We all are looking to win first time. It didn't work out, but we're looking at the big picture. We're looking to get fit, riding a lot of horses. I'm looking to work hard. Hopefully, I'll get a lot of support from the owners and trainers.”

A winner of 5,328 races and more than $354 million in purse earnings, Castellano had arthroscopic surgery to clean up some debris in his right leg, near the hip, Nov. 16 in New York. He went through physical therapy and returned to Florida earlier this month to start getting on horses.

Castellano is named on two horses Thursday – Todd Pletcher-trained Deemed Essential in Race 7, a maiden special weight on turf for 3-year-old fillies, and Graham Motion-trained All Come True in Race 10, a mile optional claiming allowance for older fillies and mares on turf.

Castellano won a record five consecutive Championship Meet riding titles at Gulfstream from 2011-12 through 2015-16. During that time, he was voted the Eclipse Award as champion jockey four times, from 2013-16.

Thursday's Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $400,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $400,000 Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for a second racing day following Saturday's mandatory payout. Multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $4,130 Wednesday.

The jackpot pool 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.

WHO'S HOT: Fresh off a natural grand slam Sunday, defending two-time Championship Meet titlist Irad Ortiz Jr. rode another five winners Wednesday, scoring aboard Cat Lady ($4.60) in Race 1, Jacohare ($13.80) in Race 2, American Matters ($7.60) in Race 5, Dem a Wonder ($4.60) in Race 6, and Subsidiary ($10.60) in Race 8.

Ortiz sits atop the jockey standings with 93 wins.

The post Gulfstream Park: Castellano Returns, Irad Ortiz Jr. Rides Five Winners; Jackpot Has $400,000 Guarantee On Thursday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card: Upping The Ante For Kentucky Derby Points

The stakes got a lot bigger last Saturday for horses on the road to the Triple Crown with the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. The nine-furlong race is the first of seven contests that will offer 85 Kentucky Derby qualifying points (50-20-10-5 to the first four finishers), virtually assuring the winners will get into the Derby field.

The Kentucky Derby Championship Series also has eight races worth 170 points (100-40-20-10) and one race offering 34 points (20-8-4-2).

At Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby handed out 17 points to the top four finishers (10-4-2-1) and the winner gets free entry into the G1 Preakness Stakes.

A number of very good horses have come out of the Risen Star (formerly known as the Louisiana Derby Trial Stakes, including the one-two finishers in 2019: War of Will, who would win that year's Preakness, and Country House, who was awarded the G1 Kentucky Derby via disqualification of Maximum Security for interference.

Three years earlier, the Risen Star was won by Gun Runner, who would go on to win the G2 Louisiana Derby, finish third in the Kentucky Derby, and take seven of his final eight career starts, capped by the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic and G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

The El Camino Real Derby's heyday was back in the 1980s and '90s, when a trio of Preakness winners were victorious in the race (Tank's Prospect in 1985, Snow Chief in '86 and Tabasco Cat, who also won the Belmont Stakes, in '94). Two El Camino winners went on to finish second in the Kentucky Derby: Casual Lies in 1992 and Cavonnier in '96.

The race has had little impact on the Triple Crown since Golden Gate went to the Tapeta synthetic surface in 2007.

Following is a glance at the Risen Star and El Camino Real Derby, along with my grades for the winners, which are based on how the horses looked, what Beyer Speed Figure they received, historical significance of the race and perceived quality of field.

Feb. 13 Risen Star Stakes, 1 1/8 miles, Louisiana Downs

The three horses who finished within a length of each other in the G3 Lecomte Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds on Jan. 16 were back: Midnight Bourbon won the Lecomte, with Proxy second and Mandaloun third. The late-running Senor Buscador, winner of the Springboard Mile last out at Remington Park in Oklahoma Dec. 18, was a new addition to a mostly local lineup of 11 starters.

Midnight Bourbon and jockey Joe Talamo did not get the lead as they did in the Lecomte, usurped by Rightandjust, who crossed over from the outside post and went pretty quickly for the opening quarter mile (:23.65). Midnight Bourbon raced off Rightandjust's right flank, about a length ahead of Mandaloun and Florent Geroux, who were three wide throughout but more engaged than in the Lecomte after the addition of blinkers by trainer Brad Cox. Proxy, with John Velazquez up, was a close fourth for the opening half mile, running in spurts and slipping back going into the far turn after a second quarter mile in :24.80 and a third quarter in :24.29 (for half-mile and six-furlong splits of :48.45 and 1:12.74).

Mandaloun winning the Risen Star, Florent Geroux aboard

Midnight Bourbon poked his head in front of Rightandjust inside the quarter pole but Mandaloun quickly was alongside and began to edge away from the Lecomte winner. The fourth quarter went in :24.76 and Mandaloun ran his final furlong in :12.89 for a final time of 1:50.39 on a fast track.

Proxy ran an uneven race but finished with interest out in the middle of the track, closing from four lengths back after six furlongs and two lengths back at the furlong pole to draw within a 1 ¼ lengths of the winner. If the son of Tapit out of the multiple G1 winner Panty Raid (by Include) puts it all together he will be a tough customer in a rematch with Mandaloun.

The winner received a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, a big improvement from the 89 he got in the Lecomte and the third successive improved figure since his debut at Keeneland last fall. The blinkers, along with more racing experience, have turned Mandaloun into a very legitimate Kentucky Derby prospect for owner-breeder Juddmonte Farms and for Cox, who also has 2020 2-year-old male champion Essential Quality and Oaklawn's Smarty Jones winner Caddo River in his quiver.

Grade: B+

Feb. 13 El Camino Real Derby, 1 1/8 miles, Golden Gate Fields

Michael McCarthy-trained Rombauer was the 6-5 favorite while making his first start since a fifth-place finish behind Essential Quality in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland last November 6. He was entered and scratched from the G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Jan. 30, reportedly at the request of the owners/breeders, John and Diane Fradkin, who preferred the El Camino Real Derby.

This was the Twirling Candy colt's first race over a synthetic surface, though he began his career on turf, winning his debut last July going a mile at Del Mar, then finished sixth in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf. He then ran a good second on dirt to Get Her Number in the G1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Sept. 26. Then came the Breeders' Cup, in which Rombauer broke from the 13 post in a 14-horse field, was 13 lengths back after a half mile, weaved through traffic and gained steadily in the short stretch at Keeneland to be beaten 6 ¼ lengths.

Rombauer and Kyle Frey defeat Javanica in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields

In the El Camino Real, Rombauer dropped back to last under Kyle Frey as It's My House set steady fractions of :24.00, :47.81 and 1:12.20 for six furlongs. Frey made a wide move on the turn and was up in the final yards to beat the filly Javanica by a neck, completing the distance in 1:51.64 after a mile in 1:38.56. Javanica, a Godolphin homebred by Medaglia d'Oro trained by Eoin Harty, was finishing second for the fourth consecutive stakes, beginning with the Glorious Song Stakes at Woodbine last October.

Rombauer received an 84 Beyer Speed Figure, compared to an 85 for his Breeders' Cup effort. This was not a particular strong field (the only two stakes winners won races restricted to California-breds) but a good stepping stone for Rombauer to prepare for much tougher competition down the road.

Grade: C

The only upcoming weekend Kentucky Derby points race is the Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse that is part of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Previously:

Feb 9 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

Feb 2 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

Jan 26 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

Jan. 18 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

Jan. 3 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

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NTRA CEO Alex Waldrop Joins TDN Writers’ Room

There's plenty to talk about in racing these days, and NTRA CEO Alex Waldrop joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning to dig into a good deal of the sport's most pressing topics. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Waldrop talked about how to capitalize and sustain the positive handle trends of the past year, how to pay for the groundbreaking Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, what movement he expects on H-2B visas with a new administration and more.

“Looking back over the last quarter and even the last half of last year, we were trending five, six, seven percent up over the prior year,” Waldrop said of the increase in handle the sport has seen. “So those trends are very positive. I do think they are related to the fact that new people are coming into the business. They're seeing horse racing as a viable option for the first time. I think that is attributable to a lot of the marketing dollars that were spent in 2020 to get eyeballs on our racing for the first time. And I think that's the way we keep this going. We continue to show our races on television, get more people in front of TV sets, mobile screens, all the distribution channels that we have out there, which are many now and are growing. That's the way to continue to grow.”

“Another way that I think we have to look at in 2021 is to get on more sports betting platforms,” he continued. “Sports betting is spreading across the country. It's a huge and growing business. If we can just get 5% of the number of people who are now betting on these mobile sports betting apps, that would be a huge win for horse racing. And I think in 2021, this is the year to really focus on what we can do to to piggyback on the success of sports betting in this country. To grow our visibility even greater.”

Asked about the tricky issue of funding HISA, Waldrop said that replacing the inefficiencies of racing's current patchwork regulation system will lead to savings on its own.

“HISA and the Authority, is all about centralizing the administration of medication control and racing safety matters. Putting it into one office. There will be significant savings. There'll be efficiencies when you compare costs that we now have for 30 state agencies,” he said. “I think 10 years ago we were spending almost $30 million a year on post race drug testing. That's an astronomical number. I don't think people realized we were spending that much money on drug testing. We're spending more than that now under the 30 state agencies. The second thing to remember is that HISA contemplates a broader-based and more equitable contribution from all industry participants, so not just one group or one tax will be paying for the costs of regulation.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers reacted to a strong weekend of stakes at Fair Grounds, highlighted some key points from last week's exclusive interview with USADA CEO Travis Tygart and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, analyzed the passage of a historical horse racing legalization bill in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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