Bloodstock agent Greg Harbut has begun leading a lecture series as part of an entrepreneur residency program at Wilberforce University, a private historically black university just outside Dayton, Ohio. According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, Harbut's goal is to introduce young African-American college students to the horse racing industry.
“It's a wonderful industry, an industry I hold near to my heart and an industry that has afforded me a lot of opportunities,” Harbut told the TDN. “From a factual standpoint, there just aren't minorities in this business. We have to make a strategic effort to go out and target people of color and market to people of color.”
Harbut told the TDN the best way to connect with the younger generation is to inform them of the history of American Americans in the sport of racing. He plans to assist interested students find internships in various segments of the Thoroughbred industry.
Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.
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Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Tuesday reaffirmed his vow to sign the historical horse race (HHR) gaming bill that passed both chambers of the state legislature last week, but he explained that a decision by the Senate to adjourn through this week means that the HHR-enabling measure won't become law until the end of the month at the earliest.
Beshear's remarks came via videoconference at the start of the Feb. 16 KHRC meeting. After the governor spoke, commissioners unanimously voted in a series of “emergency” measures contingent on the bill getting signed into law that are designed to keep HHR churning in the interim so the revenue that helps to pay for purses in the state continues to accrue.
The KHRC on Tuesday also gave the preliminary go-ahead for Kentucky Downs to begin the process of planning to open an “extension facility” that will operate HHR gaming and simulcasting, similar to the satellite location that opened 12 miles from Turfway Park under that track's licensure late in 2020.
State regulations allow each licensed racing association to operate an extension betting facility that's located within a 60-mile radius of its track.
Beshear and KHRC chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz spent the opening part of Tuesday's meeting lauding racing industry participants and regulators and thanking long lists of politicians for working toward the passage of SB 120. But it was not until the close of his seven minutes of remarks that Beshear dropped the only newsworthy nugget of his speech.
“It was unfortunate on Thursday that the Senate went ahead and recessed, which meant when [SB 120] passed the House, they couldn't enroll it and send it to my desk,” Beshear said. “They can't do that until they come back into session. With the news [Tuesday] that they're not coming back this week, it looks like it's going to be all the way into next week.
“That's regrettable,” Beshear continued. “I was certainly here in the [capitol] building Thursday night, and I know it's something that we would have all liked to have [had signed into law]. But, we did get the bill through, and my commitment—I'll make it today publicly—I will sign that bill as fast as it reaches my desk.”
The most telling comment from Rabinowitz underscored that in exchange for the legislature's redefining of “pari-mutuel wagering” so it now includes HHR, the tracks will now be under political pressure to cooperate on pending legislation that will raise Kentucky's taxes on HHR.
“I assured the legislators that this commission is committed to holding the [tracks] to their commitment to work constructively to revise and raise the tax structure of HHR,” Rabinowitz said. “Knowing the leaders that made those commitments, there's no doubt in my mind that the [tracks] will fulfill those promises.”
Prior to the unanimous voice vote that ratified the KHRC's conditional approval of the Kentucky Downs request to expand its licensed premises so it can include a to-be-built extension facility, it was revealed that no location for the HHR/simulcast business has been publicly disclosed, and that no firm timetable has been established for its opening.
Marc Guilfoil, the KHRC's executive director, told commissioners that “My understanding is that they've got it down to two, maybe three [locations as of] a month ago. They did not want to disclose those because of competition.”
Guilfoil added that “I think a timeline is very close to being started now that we got SB 120 passed.”
Jennifer Wolsing, the general counsel for the KHRC, said the Kentucky Downs request
came to the commission back on Dec. 4, and she noted that the new facility will not be within a 60-mile radius of another track or 40 miles from an existing simulcast facility.
Beyond the HHR business that made up the bulk of Tuesday's agenda, the KHRC unanimously approved a live racing request by Keeneland Race Course to drop Thursday, April 1, from its upcoming spring meet. This move allows the track to revert to a traditional Friday opening day; the request had the approval of recognized Kentucky horsemen's groups.
The post Slight Delay in HHR Bill’s Signage; ‘Extension Facility’ Greenlighted for Kentucky Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Last month, Brad Cox earned his first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer as a result of his barn's superior exploits during the 2020 season. The Louisville native looks primed to continue that stellar run this year as his trainees Knicks Go and reigning juvenile male champion Essential Quality rank as the top vote getters in the first editions of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll and NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll, respectively, for 2021.
Knicks Go captured the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in track-record setting fashion last November to cap off his 2020 campaign. The 5-year-old son of Paynter further signaled his presence as a leader in the handicap division when he began 2021 with a triumph in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes on Jan. 23, an effort that helped earn him 27 first-place votes and 341 total points.
Knicks Go is slated to be among the favorites for Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup where he is set to face fellow Grade 1 winner Charlatan, who notched 4 first-place votes and 250 points to rank second on the year's first Top Thoroughbred Poll.
Godolphin's unbeaten homebred Maxfield, winner of the Grade 3 Mineshaft Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 13, ranks third with 1 first-place vote and 232 points while champion distaffer Monomoy Girl (3 first-place votes, 223 points) sits fourth.
Colonel Liam, who captured the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes on January 23, is fifth with 146 points followed by champion filly Swiss Skydiver (124 points), Jesus' Team (102), and champion female sprinter Gamine (72).
Channel Maker, the champion turf male of 2020, is ninth with 56 points while champion male sprinter Whitmore (55 points) rounds out the top ten.
Godolphin homebred Essential Quality went unbeaten in three starts during his 2-year-old campaign, including victories in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Fittingly, the son of Tapit heads up the year's first Top Three-Year-Old Poll with 24 first-place votes and 325 points.
The Bob Baffert-trained Life Is Good ranks second with 5 first-place votes and 272 points while Mandaloun, winner of the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes this past weekend, is third with 4 first-place votes and 212 points.
Holy Bull Stakes winner Greatest Honour (1 first-place vote, 204 points) sits fourth with Medina Spirit (176 points) in fifth. Caddo River (1 first-place vote, 137 points) ranks sixth followed by Concert Tour (85 points), Keepmeinmind (84), and Jackie's Warrior (66). Risk Taking (63 points) completes the top ten.
The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll concludes following the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through November 6.
The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Polls can be found on the NTRA website at:
https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-february-16-2021/
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