September, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kentucky Downs Turf Pick of the Day for Sept. 9

Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato give their best bet for each day of racing during the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs. $100 Win/Place format; highest bankroll at the end wins.

Steve Sherack: Tuesday's Results – Reward Night was sixth.

Race 9 – Bargain $17k KEENOV graduate Red Danger should offer solid value off a good-looking maiden win at second asking in his turf debut at Saratoga Aug. 11. The chestnut overcame some early trouble checking in traffic shortly after the start, made a strong, three/four-wide move on the far turn and put the race to bed nicely when challenged by the runner-up in deep stretch. He shows a four-furlong breeze in :48 3/5 (10/51) around the dogs over the Oklahoma turf Aug. 29 and trainer Brian Lynch has enjoyed a nice run of late, including a winner at this meet Sept. 6. Selection: #5 Red Danger (6-1).

Brian DiDonato: Tuesday's Results – Bugle of War finished ninth.

Race 7 – Most of this field seem like typical turf sprinters who want to go shorter than this 6 1/2-furlong trip. Jungle Juice (Ire) is proven over this course, however, having finished second over it for $20K last September and then wheeling back in six days to be to be fourth at this same $25K starter level. The quality of that starter last year was as strong if not stronger than what's signed on this time–the winner earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure next out when third in a Grade III at Keeneland and the runner-up was entering off a stakes placing of her own. Sure, there's some stakes form among Jungle Juice's competition here as well, but again, I'm not sure they're all going to relish the distance. Jungle Juice has been running exclusively on the dirt of late, and has earned some competitive figures that stack up reasonably well with these. The cutback from the one-mile Groupie Doll S. should give her an even bigger edge late, and trainer Anna Meah seems to do well going route to sprint. Selection: #7 Jungle Juice (8-1).

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Hot Trainer Steve Asmussen Joins TDN Writer’s Room

On his drive from Saratoga to Kentucky Downs Tuesday, Steve Asmussen stopped in every state he drove through and bought lottery tickets. Shocking that he didn't win.

Coming off one of the greatest week-and-a-half stretches in racing history, during which he won five Grade I races in Saratoga over nine days, Asmussen was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writer's Room, presented by Keeneland. If that wasn't enough, two of his wins, Gunite in the GI Hopeful S. and Echo Zulu in the GI Spinaway S., came from the first crop of Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}). Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year who was trained by Asmussen, is off to a sensational start at stud.

“Five Grade Is in nine calendar days, unbelievable,” said a jubilant Asmussen “We're blessed with the best horses in the world, but they just showed up when it mattered most. I was driving out of Saratoga yesterday, headed to Kentucky Downs for the races, and I could have got out and run around the car a couple of times. I was so excited. ”

While the horses have made Asmussen, sometimes Asmussen makes the horses. There's no better example of that than Max Player (Honor Code). An also-ran in May in the GIII Pimlico Special, he has since come back to win the GII Suburban S. and Saturday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. He is an example of a case when Asmussen went back to the drawing board, and it worked. He said there were two keys to the process, not letting Max Player fall behind early in his races and not shipping him to a track on top of a race.

“We felt he eliminated himself by not giving himself a chance getting away from the gate,” he said. “We took him back to the gate and pretty much started over.”

On the success of the Gun Runners, Asmussen said his offspring have the same mental attributes that the sire has, which goes a long way toward accounting for their success.

“It's the state of their minds, the acceptance of what their job is,” Asmussen said. “Gunite is the greatest example of what we want in a racehorse. Good level of talent, learns from his lessons and improves. [Assistant trainer] Scott [Blasi] and I were talking about him Tuesday morning. He ate up, and just stood there like he was saying 'when are we putting on the tack? When do we go to the track?' Unbelievable.”

When asked who he believed were his best prospects for next year's GI Kentucky Derby, Asmussen mentioned two horses, Saratoga maiden winner Stellar Tap (Tapit) and Gun Town (Gun Runner). Both are being pointed for the GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs. Stellar Tap is the horse who gave Asmussen his 9,446h career win, which pushed him past Dale Baird for No. 1 of all-time.

“Long term, we're very excited about both,” he said.

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Thoroughbreds, Spendthrift Farm and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reviewed the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup day card at Saratoga and the sensational performances from a pair of allowance horses who both earned 114 Beyer numbers over the weekend, Flightline (Tapit) and this year's greatest rags-to-riches story, Baby Yoda (Prospective).

The latest on the Jorge Navarro-Jason Servis case was a hot topic among the writers. The government released more wiretaps this week that caught the two miscreants discussing performance-enhancing drugs, oftentimes drugs they didn't know the name of and didn't know what they were for, yet still gave them indiscriminately to their horses.

Click here for the audio and here for the video link.

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Hagyard, Thoroughbred Charities Of America Launch Race To Give

Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and Thoroughbred Charities of America announced Sept. 8 the launch of the Race to Give, an online giving and awareness program to support Thoroughbred aftercare with the RaceToGive.org website as its central hub.

“2021 marks our 145th anniversary of caring for the equine industry,” said Hagyard's Dr. Luke Fallon. “These equine athletes have given us so much over the last century and a half. Our veterinarians created the Race to Give to demonstrate our appreciation. Leading an effort to support the critical area of aftercare in conjunction with other leading horse racing organizations was the right thing to do.”

The Race to Give calls to create teams and to challenge each other in fun and creative ways.

“The spirit of competition is at the heart of our industry,” said Ken Ford, CEO of Hagyard Pharmacy. “Hagyard's vision was to harness that spirit to not only raise money, but to also to expand the support of equine aftercare. By developing teams and then challenging each other, we could encourage a wider group of people to participate. Aftercare organizations which have been excellent stewards of our retired equine athletes have accomplished this through the generous support of donations from a concentrated nucleus of people in the industry. Race to Give is a new platform to encourage everyone who loves horses to donate.”

Organizations that have come alongside Hagyard and TCA include Keeneland, TVG, Thoroughbred Daily News, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and Resolvet.

“Everyone understands how important aftercare is for our sport,” said TCA president Mike McMahon. “It is exciting to see big names in our industry come together in year one. And I can only imagine how the list will grow in the years to come as other organizations see the impact and, frankly, how much fun it is to be part of this team of leaders.”

Hagyard and TCA note that on average Thoroughbreds retire from racing by age 6, meaning they still have a lot of life left after the racetrack since horses can live well into their late 20s. Responsible owners can set their horse up for future success by retiring them into a TCA-approved and TAA-accredited aftercare program where they can be retrained for their next career. Many Thoroughbreds will move into careers in new disciplines such as eventing, hunter/jumpers, dressage, western, polo, trail riding, equine-therapy, and much more.

“Like many involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing, Hagyard believes that it is our collective responsibility to protect the well-being of these horses we love that retire from racing and breeding,” Fallon said. “I echo everyone that is involved with Race to Give to please help us support these horses as they transition to their next careers.”

To make a donation, register to fundraise, or create or join a team please visit RaceToGive.org and follow #aracetogive on social media.

The post Hagyard, Thoroughbred Charities Of America Launch Race To Give appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Road to 2021 Breeders’ Cup: Three Heating Up, Three Cooling Down for Sept. 8

The path to the 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6 is a road with plenty of ups and downs as talented racehorses vie for a spot in one of 14 championship races and $31 million in purses and awards. This blog provides a capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Road to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and three horses whose Breeders’ Cup chances are not quite as strong as they were two weeks ago.