The Racing Biz, LLC, a media company focused on Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the mid-Atlantic region, has partnered with freelance journalist Teresa Genaro and NTRA Director of Communications Alicia Hughes to launch a series of digital panel discussions designed to tackle issues of diversity and inclusion within the Thoroughbred industry.
The series, titled “Truth to Power,” will bring together various participants within the racing realm to share their perspectives on racial, gender, and social inequality and how it impacts the sport as a whole. In addition to featuring industry stakeholders, the multi-part series will also seek out diversity experts from other sports to help illustrate why greater inclusion is crucial for any business seeking sustainable growth.
The first panel will take place on February 24 at 5 p.m. ET and is set to feature noted bloodstock agent Greg Harbut, a third-generation horseman, and his business partner, Lexington-based entrepreneur Ray Daniels, to discuss their experience as Black owners in the racing and their non-profit the Ed Brown Society, which is working to create opportunities for people of color in the Thoroughbred industry through scholarships, internships, and apprenticeships.
“As a biracial female working in the Thoroughbred industry, the issue of diversity – specifically the lack thereof in this sport – is a deeply personal one for me,” Hughes said. “I am hoping we can further enlighten aspiring allies while holding industry leaders accountable to have their practices match their statements denouncing systemic injustice.”
In addition to Harbut and Daniels, the panel will also feature an interview with Rose Grissell, head of Diversity and Inclusion for the British Horseracing Authority, which has had a Diversity in Racing Action plan in place since 2018.
“With each passing year, the United States becomes a more multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural society,” said Frank Vespe, owner and publisher of The Racing Biz. “The future of the Thoroughbred industry here will depend in no small part on its ability to adapt to that changing landscape and to speak to, and most importantly, listen to, people of all races and ethnicities.”
“The racing industry has been slow to become more inclusive and equitable,” Genaro said. “The sport could not survive without the labor of people of color, yet their voices are seldom part of the big conversations about its future. Increasing the participation of people of color and of women, on boards, in offices, and as customers, is an essential step in the industry's growth.”
The panel will be streamed on both The Racing Biz website (www.theracingbiz.com) and social media platforms @TheRacingBiz as well as on the NTRA's Twitter account @NTRA.
Tentative dates for future panels include March 17 and April 7, both at 5 p.m. ET.
Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable's Vequist, whose victory in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland secured the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly for her, plus Grade 1 winners Dayoutoftheoffice and Simply Ravishing headline the 84 3-year-old fillies nominated to the 84th running of the $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) on April 3, opening Saturday of Keeneland's 2021 Spring Meet when the track also will run the $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2) among six graded stakes worth $2.1 million.
The 1 1/16-mile Central Bank Ashland awards 100 points to the winner on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1). The next three finishers receive 40 points, 20 points and 10 points, respectively, to the $1.25 million race on April 30 at Churchill Downs.
Thirty-four fillies who raced in the Central Bank Ashland have won the Kentucky Oaks, including champion Monomoy Girl (2018), Cathryn Sophia (2016) and Lovely Maria (2015).
Click here for a list of Central Bank Ashland nominees; click here for their past performances.
The Central Bank Ashland, the ninth race on April 3 with a 5:30 p.m. ET post, and the Toyota Blue Grass at 6:38 p.m. are part of Keeneland's blockbuster 11-race card that day. Other stakes are the $300,000 Madison (G1) for fillies and mares at 7 furlongs on the dirt; $200,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Keeneland Select for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on the turf; $200,000 Shakertown (G2) for 3-year-olds and up at 5½ furlongs on the turf; and $200,000 Commonwealth (G3) for older horses at 7 furlongs on the dirt.
Keeneland will offer a $500,000-guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Four and a $500,000-guaranteed All Stakes Pick Five that day.
Post positions for the Central Bank Ashland, Toyota Blue Grass and the other April 3 races will be drawn Tuesday, March 30.
Vequist, trained by Butch Reid, is a daughter of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. In addition to her Breeders' Cup victory, she won the Spinaway (G1). Vequist is third on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard behind Stonestreet Stables' Clairiere and OXO Equine's Travel Column.
Clairiere, trained by Steve Asmussen, won the recent Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fair Grounds to grab the top spot. She and Stonestreet's Pauline's Pearl are nominated to both the Central Bank Ashland and the Toyota Blue Grass.
Trained by Brad Cox, Travel Column was second in the Rachel Alexandra in her 2021 debut after closing 2020 with a victory in the Golden Rod (G2) and a third-place finish in the Darley Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland.
Other leading Kentucky Oaks point earners who are nominated to the Central Bank Ashland are trainer Tim Hamm and Siena Farm's Dayoutoftheoffice, who won the Frizette (G1) before finishing second to Vequist in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies; Albaugh Family Stables' Girl Daddy, who won the Pocahontas (G3) and was third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies; Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables' Simply Ravishing, who won the Darley Alcibiades before finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies; Brad King, Jim Cone, Scott Bryant and Stan and Suzanne Kirby's Moon Swag, third in the Rachel Alexandra, and Shadwell Stable's undefeated Malathaat, winner of the Demoiselle (G2).
McPeek, who conditions Simply Ravishing, leads all trainers by number of nominees to the Central Bank Ashland with eight.
The late nomination period for the Central Bank Ashland is Wednesday, March 17.
Ten of the top 11 horses on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) leaderboard, which is led by recent Risen Star (G2) Presented by Lamarque Ford winner Mandaloun and undefeated champion Essential Quality, are among 148 3-year-olds nominated to the 97th running of the $800,000 Toyota Blue Grass (G2), the richest of the six graded stakes worth $2.1 million to be run April 3 on opening Saturday of Keeneland's 2021 Spring Meet.
Brad Cox, who received the 2020 Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer, conditions both Essential Quality and Mandaloun. He trains a total of 13 horses nominated to the Toyota Blue Grass.
Click here for the list of the Toyota Blue Grass nominees; click here for their past performances.
“We thank the best racing operations in the U.S. for their support of Keeneland by nominating such an accomplished roster of horses to the Toyota Blue Grass,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “The race is an important part of Triple Crown season and the cornerstone of the Spring Meet.”
The 1 1/8-mile Toyota Blue Grass is one of the nation's most prominent steppingstones to the Triple Crown's first leg, the $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 1 at Churchill Downs. The winner earns 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, while the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers receive 40 points, 20 points and 10 points, respectively.
Joining the Toyota Blue Grass on Keeneland's 11-race card on April 3 are the $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1), a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies bidding to compete in the Kentucky Oaks (G1); $300,000 Madison (G1) for older fillies and mares at 7 furlongs on the dirt; $200,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on the turf; $200,000 Shakertown (G2) for 3-year-olds and up at 5½ furlongs on the turf; and $200,000 Commonwealth (G3) for older horses at 7 furlongs on the dirt.
That day, Keeneland will offer a $500,000-guaranteed All-Stakes Pick Four and a $500,000-guaranteed All Stakes Pick Five.
The Toyota Blue Grass will be the final race of Keeneland's April 3 card with a 6:38 p.m. ET post. NBC Sports Network will televise the race along with the Wood Memorial (G2) Presented by Resorts World Casino from Aqueduct and Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Post positions for the Toyota Blue Grass, Central Bank Ashland and the other April 3 races will be drawn Tuesday, March 30.
Mandaloun, a homebred racing for Juddmonte Farms, posted his initial stakes victory Feb. 13 in the Risen Star at Fair Grounds to move into the top spot on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.
Owned and bred by Godolphin, Essential Quality is undefeated in three starts with two Grade 1 victories at Keeneland: Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. He is second on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.
Among the top-ranked horses on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard who are nominated to the Toyota Blue Grass are the first five finishers from last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Third on the leaderboard is Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, winner of the Lecomte (G3), followed by Godolphin's Proxy, runner-up in the Lecomte and Risen Star; Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm's Keepmeinmind, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) who was second in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile; John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer, recent winner of the El Camino Real Derby (L) who was fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile; Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit, winner of the Robert B. Lewis (G3); SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm et al's Spielberg, winner of the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2); J. Kirk and Judy Robison's two-time Grade 1 winner Jackie's Warrior, fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing and William Strauss' Hot Rod Charlie, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Other notable horses nominated to the Toyota Blue Grass include the next six horses on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard: Gary Barber's Get Her Number, winner of the American Pharoah (G1); Albaugh Family Stables' Sittin On Go, winner of the Iroquois (G3) Presented by Ford; Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking, winner of the Withers (G3); Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Candy Man Rocket, winner of the Sam F. Davis (G3); Courtlandt Farms' Greatest Honour, winner of the Holy Bull (G3), and Shortleaf Stable's Caddo River, winner of the Smarty Jones (L).
Steve Asmussen and Todd Pletcher lead trainers by number of horses nominated to the Toyota Blue Grass, with 15 each.
Asmussen's nominees include the aforementioned Jackie's Warrior and Midnight Bourbon along with two fillies bred and raced by Stonestreet Stables: Rachel Alexandra (G2) winner Clairiere and Pauline's Pearl. Clairiere is the leading point earner on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
Joining Asmussen and Pletcher along with Cox as trainers with the most nominees to the Toyota Blue Grass are Chad Brown (nine), Bob Baffert (eight), Mark Casse (seven), Saffie Joseph Jr. (five), Kenny McPeek (five) and Dale Romans (five).
The late nomination period for the Toyota Blue Grass closes Wednesday, March 17.
Al Stall, Jr. slowly removed his steam-covered glasses and took a moment to compose himself before an interview outside the Fair Grounds winner's circle last Saturday. The veteran Thoroughbred trainer had just saddled the winner of the Albert M. Stall Memorial, a stakes race named for his late father.
“It's funny how things come together,” Stall said, his voice brimming with emotion. “We've given the trophy here for the last few years, patting Billy Mott on the back, Joe Sharp. You know, it was great, both friends of mine…”
The poignant moment overwhelmed Stall, and he dropped his eyes for several moments, wiping away a stray tear before he continued.
“Then we were lucky enough to have a filly to be live in this race, and (the turf) came up soft, which is her thing, and everything went our way,” he said. “We'll take it.”
Reflecting on the interview several days later, Stall said he felt grateful for that unguarded moment.
“It makes you feel like you've got a heartbeat, instead of just going through the motions,” Stall explained. “It was definitely special.”
Stall grew up attending races alongside his father in New Orleans, and the pair traveled all around the country to watch the horses run. As an owner, Stall Sr. won the 1970 Kentucky Oaks with Lady Vi-E, and he served on the Louisiana State Racing Commission for 28 years, including nine years as chairman.
A member of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association Hall of Fame and the Fair Grounds Race Course Hall of Fame, Stall Sr. passed away in 2017 at the age of 85.
“He's the person that got not only me, but the rest of my family, as well as Tom Amoss and a few others to go the track, because he was always interested in racing from the time he was in high School in NOLA,” Stall said. “There are win photographs and pictures around the barn from when I was seven years old, and you can almost plot the chronological photos of my life from the late 60's to the present.”
In high school, Stall's love of racing grew as he took a job on the backstretch in the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, working under his assistant trainer and future Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Frankie Brothers. Stall kept up with Brothers through his time at Louisiana State University, earning a degree in geology just like his father.
Though Stall briefly followed his father into the oil industry after graduation, it was at the racetrack that he found his true calling. Stall spent five years as an assistant to Brothers, by then training his own string.
“It was basically a Harvard education,” Stall mused. “At that time we had horses at Louisiana Downs, Fair Grounds, everywhere, and they were all kinds of horses: cheap ones, middle ones, stakes horses, so you saw a lot of everything. (Brothers) was a working machine, so you saw what hard work would produce. If you couldn't learn being around that program, you weren't trying very hard.”
Perhaps the most important lesson he learned from Brothers was patience.
“Just to stay the course,” Stall clarified. “If your horses aren't running that well, if things aren't going that well, don't make wholesale changes; just stick with the program that's got you there. Be a little patient with how things are going.”
By 1991, Stall was ready to go out on his own as a trainer. He started with just one horse at Arlington Park, but built up his stable over the past 30 years and has now won nearly 1,700 races.
That patience he learned from Brothers has more than paid off over the course of Stall's career, leading to highlights like his 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic win with Blame, defeating the great mare Zenyatta.
“He's the best horse I've ever trained,” Stall said. “Blame made it all the way to the mountaintop. That race, we were paying attention to our horse for the most part, so the Zenyatta phenomenon affected us a little more after the race than leading up to. We had our own little pocket of excitement, so we didn't really notice the quiet crowd.”
Trainer Al Stall, Jr. leads Blame into the winner's circle following the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic
More recently, Stall trainee Tom's d'Etat made headlines at the age of six with a Grade 1 win in the 2019 Clark Handicap, and retired to stud after a solid 2020 campaign with two wins and a third from four starts.
“Tom got us really close, and it's quite fulfilling that those types of horses get to go somewhere nice like WinStar,” Stall said. “You know, he may be retired, but I'm an optimistic type of person. With the type of clients that I have, there's always something good around the corner.”
Trainer Al Stall Jr. with Tom's d'Etat at WinStar Farm.
For example, Stall sent out the talented 3-year-old filly named Carribean Caper to win her debut by eight lengths at the Fair Grounds last Saturday, just a few hours before he saddled Dalika to win the Memorial race.
The daughter of Speightstown will likely appear next in an allowance race at Keeneland, Stall said; he doesn't like to rush his trainees into big races.
“I like to keep horses around as long as I can; it just makes sense to me,” he explained. “I wouldn't feel comfortable gutting one out trying to make a certain goal. I want to give them a chance to be what they can possibly be, whenever that time can be.”
Perhaps some of Stall's most treasured memories, however, are the races he won with cheaper Louisiana-breds owned by his father and grandfather. Following a win in the 1991 Fair Grounds Sales Futurity with the filly Irish Gray, Stall Sr. talked about his son in the winner's circle.
“He's a good horseman, a better one than I am,” Stall Sr. said. “Since they were old enough to walk, we've had them out here, so this is just following through with what he really has always loved. Even though he's got a degree in geology from LSU, and you can't find a lot of oil out here in the infield, but he hit a little pay dirt today.”
