May, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fonner Files: Fonner Park Rides The Wave Of Success As Meet Closes

Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak shares slices of life from the Grand Island, Neb., racetrack throughout the 2021 meet in the Fonner Files.

Riding the wave of an unprecedented 2020 extended season of Thoroughbred horse racing, Fonner Park concluded the 2021 season with over $4.65 million in on-track mutuel handle.

Comparing numbers to 2019, rather than the 2020 season (when Fonner Park was closed to the public after the first four weeks due to the pandemic), Fonner was up 19 percent in parimutuel handle of Fonner Park guests betting on Fonner Park races.

The handle for out-of-state wagers on Fonner Park in 2021 was roughly $15.5 million, an increase of 447 percent compared to $2.8 million in 2019. The overall national horse racing industry handle was up approximately 12 percent for March and April, but Fonner Park was up 19 percent on-track.

“This year I spent extra on marketing to the horseplayers across the nation who got exposed to Fonner Park last year during the pandemic. I wanted to remind them that we were back and still a good bet,” said Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak. “In 2021 average field size bumped to 7.9 from 7.3 in 2020 and large fields are always a draw to the bettor regardless of quality.”

Sleepy Eyes Todd went on to win three stakes races after his 2020 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes win. Remarkably, he returned to defend his title off three multi-million-dollar, G1 races in three previous months. As a 2-5 favorite, he was beaten by 9-2 second-choice Mo Mosa, ridden by Armando Martinez and trained by Michael Maker.

Mo Mosa was named 2021 Horse of the Meet and First Alternate was the unanimous choice for champion older filly or mare after winning three stakes races in as many starts for trainer Stetson Mitchell.

“She's a blessing to me and my family and the special kind of horse horsemen pray for,” said Mitchell said.

By winning the final race of the year, Jake Olesiak won his sixth title as champion jockey, with a total of 46 wins, one more win than Armando Martinez.

David C. Anderson won his 15th champion trainer award at Fonner Park, with 36 wins from 169 starts. D and L Farms (Darcy and Lee Burghardt) won 15 races from 39 starts and earned leading owner honors.

The 2021 Feat of the Meet award was voted as Fonner Park's presence on the national stage with 2021 export handle five-times greater than 2019.

“I am convinced that the success and future of Fonner Park is directly attributed to our passionate community of staff, horsemen and race fans. Without our strong community support we could not survive,” Kotulak remarked.

Fonner Park

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Horse racing starts saliva-based testing pilot to screen jockeys for cocaine

Horse racing starts a two-month pilot of using saliva tests to screen jockeys for cocaine and other banned substances.

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2021 Triple Crown Trail: Three Heating Up, Three Cooling Down for May 5

This feature provides a capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Triple Crown trail and three horses whose stock has fallen since the 147th edition of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs May 1.

TB-Ed Initiative Launched by TBA

TB-Ed, a UK Thoroughbred Breeders' Association education and training initiative, was launched by the TBA on Wednesday.

The initiative, which offers a range of courses and resources that provide essential knowledge and guidance to new and existing industry participants, has also received financial support from the Racing Foundation, who co-funded the platform development and build with the TBA. Weatherbys is also a headline partner of the TB-Ed platform. Currently, the courses offered by TB-Ed include Understanding Pedigrees delivered by journalist and broadcaster Lydia Hislop, while there is also Nutrition of the Broodmare delivered by Catherine Rudenko, an independent nutritionist and consultant. New courses and content will be added periodically.

General website users can browse the pay-as-you-go catalogue and view a sample webinar for free, while you can also sign up to TB-Ed for free to receive access to a limited selection of free resources. Courses start at £50 and extra resources are priced accordingly. Alternatively, you can join as a TBA Associate for £60 per year which grants free access to all resources and discounts on courses. Finally, existing and new TBA members receive free access to all resources and discounted courses as part of their membership package. For more information, or to sigh up to TB-Ed, visit www.tb-ed.co.uk.

Caroline Turnbull, Education and Welfare Manager at the TBA, said, “TB-Ed will enable the TBA to provide up-to-date, relevant and expert knowledge to breeders who are committed to providing the highest standards of care for their horses. The launch follows extensive user research and testing, which has helped us to shape the structure and content for breeders' ongoing professional development. TB-Ed will also enable us to improve the accessibility and reach of training in the thoroughbred breeding industry, and will also be of interest to the wider equine community.”

Rob Hezel, Chief Executive of the Racing Foundation, said: “At the Racing Foundation our mission is to be a catalyst for improvement within the horse racing and Thoroughbred breeding industry. We are delighted to fund the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) online learning platform to facilitate continuous professional development for everyone in the breeding industry.

“By developing understanding of thoroughbred pedigrees and broodmare nutrition, the courses will benefit both people and horses, which are two of our key funding areas.

“In the course Understanding Pedigrees, the TBA has taken what has traditionally been a complex area reserved for industry experts and made it accessible to all. Equally, Nutrition of the Broodmare will inform even the most knowledgeable in the business.

“We'd like to congratulate the TBA on the launch of its online learning platform and we look forward to seeing it contribute to improving the Thoroughbred breeding industry.”

“Weatherbys enjoys a close relationship with the TBA and we are delighted to support TB-Ed which will act as a great tool to educate and inform new and existing members of the Thoroughbred breeding community,” said Russell Ferris, Chief Executive at Weatherbys.

“Increasing access to training opportunities will ensure that the breeding industry can maintain the very highest standards in health, welfare and stud management. Breeders need easy access to the latest guidance on areas such as Weatherbys ePassports, the introduction of Equine Premises Numbers and other new initiatives and TB-Ed is the obvious location for that guidance.

“We look forward to working with the TBA over the coming months to build on the initial course material and include content in areas such as Thoroughbred genetics.”

The post TB-Ed Initiative Launched by TBA appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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