February, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Champions Essential Quality, Monomoy Girl Arrive At Oaklawn Park

It was championship Thursday at Oaklawn as Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox sent his two Eclipse Award winners, Monomoy Girl and Essential Quality, to the track to train in preparation for weekend stakes engagements.

Cox said Monomoy Girl and unbeaten Essential Quality arrived at Oaklawn around 8 p.m. (Central) Wednesday following a van ride of approximately eight hours from Fair Grounds, where both horses have been based this winter.

Both horses galloped over a fast track Thursday morning under exercise rider Fernando Espinoza. Essential Quality will make his 3-year-old debut in Saturday's $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3). Monomoy Girl is ticketed for Sunday's $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older fillies and mares.

Essential Quality (3 for 3) will be making his first start since clinching an Eclipse Award as the country's champion 2-year-old male in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland. The gray son of super sire Tapit is the 3-2 program favorite for the Southwest, Oaklawn's second of four Kentucky Derby points races. Essential Quality will break from the rail in the 1 1/16-mile race.

“Just see how it shakes out,” Cox said moments after watching Monomoy Girl gallop. “I'm sure there's going to be some speed in there. We'll see.”

The Southwest and Bayakoa were originally scheduled to be run Feb. 15 before being postponed twice because of severe winter weather. Cox said the delay didn't affect Essential Quality's preparation for the Southwest because he was able to breeze the colt 5 furlongs twice (Feb. 14 and Feb. 20) at Fair Grounds.

“Monomoy Girl, kind of the same thing, really, as far as preparation,” Cox said. “Just two extra works.”

Monomoy Girl will be making her first start since winning the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland. A winner of 13 of 15 career starts, Monomoy Girl was an Eclipse Award winner in 2018 (3-year-old filly) and 2020 (older dirt female). She drew the extreme outside, post 6, for the 1 1/16-mile Bayakoa, a major local prep for the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17.

“Monomoy Girl draws outside all the time, it seems,” Cox said. “Fourteen of fourteen in the (Kentucky) Oaks, 11 of 11 in the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs.”

Cox said the Apple Blossom is the major spring objective for Monomoy Girl, who has never raced at Oaklawn.

Essential Quality schooled in the paddock Thursday afternoon. Abrego said Monomoy Girl is scheduled to school in the paddock Friday.

Cox won his first Eclipse Award as the country's outstanding trainer in 2020. He was Oaklawn's third-leading trainer last year.

First post Saturday is 12:15 p.m. and the Southwest is scheduled as Race 10 at 4:58 p.m. First post Sunday is 1 p.m. and the Bayakoa is scheduled as Race 9 at 5:11 p.m.

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Best Bets: Fountain of Youth Undercard Picks

America’s Best Racing, Belle Premium American Vodka, and handicapper (and avid gambler) Monique Vág team up to provide horseplayers with their best bets of the weekend. Vág will identify her top picks as well as at least one longshot play of the weekend, a nice opportunity to swing for the fences on a win bet or to take a shot with a show bet. She also will occasionally look for strong exacta plays for the weekend or try to spot a nice opportunity for other wagers.

President Lifts Several Immigrant, Non Immigrant Travel Restrictions; H-2B Visa Cap Reached

President Joe Biden issued a Proclamation on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2020, to revoke Proclamation 10014 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak) and sections of related Proclamations that added nonimmigrants to the travel suspension. Click here to view President Biden's Proclamation.

Originally issued on April 20, 2020, by then-President Trump and extended by him in June and December through sections of Proclamations 10052 and 10131, respectively, Proclamation 10014 prevented certain immigrants and nonimmigrants from traveling to the United States. Included in this group were individuals who either were selected to receive the opportunity to apply for visas – including H-2B visas – through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery or who had already received such visas, causing labor challenges for many industries, including the horse racing industry. President Biden's Proclamation revokes these restrictions.

In other foreign worker developments, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had received enough H-2B worker petitions by February 12 to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B visa cap of 33,000 visas for the 2nd half of fiscal year 2021.

In December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 became law and included a provision that provides the DHS with the discretionary authority to release an additional 64,716 H-2B visas when sufficient need is demonstrated. The NTRA, through its involvement with the H-2B Workforce Coalition, supports efforts to make these additional visas immediately available to seasonal businesses struggling with labor issues.

The H-2B visa guest worker program is a nonimmigrant visa program used by many industries that need temporary non-agricultural help when domestic workers are unavailable. For the horse racing industry, racehorse trainers rely heavily on the H-2B program to fill various backside positions. Demand for H-2B visas often exceeds their availability and the cap level is quickly reached, leaving employers in need.

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First Of Four Free Online NHC Qualifiers Set For March 6

The first of what will be four free online qualifiers for the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) is set for March 6 on HorsePlayers.com, the official online qualifying site of the NHC. The top five finishers will earn automatic berths to the 2022 NHC, which is slated be held at Bally's Events Center from January 28-30.

Each winning prize package includes NHC entry, tour points, a four-night stay at the host hotel, and up to $400 travel reimbursement.

Registration is now open at https://www.horseplayers.com/contest/882157/nhc-tour-free-nhc-tour-free-contest-pick-pray-must-be-2021-nhc-tour-member.html.

The reminder of the free contest schedule for 2021 is as follows:

May 2 – One round, 5 NHC spots
September 12 – One round, 5 NHC spots
November 5-6 – Two rounds 5 NHC spots

Participants in the online qualifier must be a NHC Tour member for the current year in order to be eligible to win qualifying spot to the NHC and must be a registered Tour member prior to participating in this contest. Players failing to register for NHC Tour membership prior to the start of this event will forfeit opportunity to win qualifying package.

Tour membership starts at $50 and includes entry to the year's remaining free online qualifiers, as well as access to dozens of contests each week. To sign up for the NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership. Individuals also must be registered at HorsePlayers.com.

Every free online contest on HorsePlayers.com is determined by mythical Win and Place wagers on a series of mandatory races across the country with selections submitted in advance of the first designated contest race per the “Pick and Pray” format.

For more information on the NHC and NHC Tour, visit www.ntra.com/nhc.

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