October, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

NTRA Stakes Rundown: Breeders’ Cup ‘Win And You’re In’ Races Take Center Stage

Santa Anita takes center stage this weekend with six Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In races,” while the nation's top-rated horse, Knick's Go, preps at Churchill Downs for an anticipated start in the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic in November. Belmont Park and Paris' Longchamp also host important weekend racing, including “Win and You're In” qualifying races to the Breeders' Cup, as top horses in virtually every division begin their final preparations for the World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar in California.

Races in this weekend's rundown are listed in chronological order (all times Eastern). Full previews, when available, can be found through the link for each race.

TVG will feature racing from Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Woodbine and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices. TVG will also be covering the full card from Longchamp on Sunday morning featuring five Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series races – the Prix de L'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (Turf Sprint), Qatar Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe (Turf), Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Juvenile Turf), Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and Prix de L'Opera Longines (Juvenile Fillies Turf).

“America's Day at the Races” will be broadcasting live from Belmont Park on Friday, Oct. 1 on FS2 from 12:30 – 5:30 pm; on Saturday, Oct. 2 on FS2 from 12:30 pm – 6:30 pm; and on Sunday, Oct. 3 on FS2 from 12:30 – 4:30 pm., FS1 from 4:30 – 5:30 pm and on FS2 from 5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Sunday's “America's Day at the Races” will include special coverage of the Qatar Pris de l'Arc de Triomphe on FS2 from 8 – 10:30 am.

Friday, October 1

6:30 PM ET – $200,000 Chandelier Stakes (Grade 2-Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Santa Anita on TVG
Grace Adler looks to keep her perfect two for two record intact as the daughter of Curlin takes on six rivals in this Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifying race for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The Bob Baffert-trained filly won the seven-furlong Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante last out. Indiana-bred Electric Ride, trained by John Sadler, exits an impressive 8 ½ length maiden special weight score in her August 28 debut at Del Mar.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100121USA6-EQB.html

7:00 PM ET – $200,000 Eddie D Stakes (Grade 2T) at Santa Anita on TVG
Racing returns to the Camino Real Hillside Turf Course on Santa Anita's Autumn Meet opening day card with a field of nine in this Grade 2 turf stake. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen ships in Bloom Racing Stables' Snapper Sinclair from the Midwest to face eight rivals, including the lone distaffer and multiple stakes-winning mare Charmaine's Mia.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100121USA7-EQB.html

7:30 PM ET – $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes (Grade 1, Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Santa Anita on TVG
A Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifying event for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the American Pharoah features the Bob Baffert-trained Rockefeller, who is one for one after breaking his maiden in a six-furlong sprint at Del Mar on August 28. The Medaglia d'Oro colt is one of three entered for Baffert, including debut maiden winner Corniche and the twice-placed maiden Flying Drummer.
Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100121USA8-EQB.html

Saturday, October 2

2:33 PM ET – $200,000 Miss Grillo Stakes (Grade 2T) at Belmont Park on FS
Kentucky-bred Sail By, trained by Leah Gyramati, is the most experienced in the six-horse field of 2-year-old fillies. The daughter of Astern finished third out of four in the off the turf P.G. Johnson Stakes last out at Saratoga. Prior to that race, Sail By finished second in the Colleen Stakes over five furlongs on the Monmouth Park turf course after winning her turf debut on Belmont's inner turf course. Trainer Chad Brown sends out maiden winner McKulick (GB) and maiden Kinchen (IRE), who finished a troubled second at Saratoga in her only start.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL100221USA4-EQB.html

4:22 PM ET – $400,000 Lukas Classic (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs on FS2
Maryland-bred Knicks Go, the No. 1 rated horse in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for eight consecutive weeks and winner this year of the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and Whitney (G1), headlines a six-horse field that includes Tacitus and Independence Hall. Trainer Brad Cox is using the Lukas Classic as a prep race for Knicks Go's expected start in the $6 million Longines Breeder's Cup Classic on November 6 at Del Mar.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD100221USA8-EQB.html

4:30 PM ET – $200,000 City of Hope Mile (Grade 2T) at Santa Anita on TVG
Trainer Peter Miller sends out Mo Forza in the compact five-horse City of Hope Mile field. The Kentucky-bred son of Uncle Mo won last year's edition of this one-mile turf contest and has won three consecutive Grade 2 turf stakes in California. Trainer Michael McCarthy's Smooth Like Strait seeks another win to add to his impressive Santa Anita resume where he has won four one-mile turf races.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100221USA3-EQB.html

4:40 PM ET – $500,000 Champagne Stakes (Grade 1, Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Belmont Park on FS2
Wit looks to atone for his only loss in three career starts in the Champagne, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifying event for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The Kentucky-bred Practical Joke colt stumbled at the start of the Hopeful (G1) in his last start but rallied to finish second to Gunite, who also is entered in this one-turn mile over Belmont's main track. Impressive debut winner Jack Christopher, who earned a lofty 92 Beyer Speed Figure in his only career start, looks to give trainer Chad Brown his third Champagne victory.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL100221USA8-EQB.html

5:14 PM ET – $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational (Grade 3T) at Belmont Park on FS2
Piedi Bianchi, the 2020 Indiana Horse of the Year, takes on eight male rivals in this six-furlong turf sprint for trainer Carlos Martin. The Indiana-bred 6-year-old Overanalyze mare won the Smart and Fancy Stakes at Saratoga in her most recent start and is cross-entered in the $150,000 Cardinal at Indiana Grand on October 6. Christophe Clement saddles New York-bred Therapist, a 6-year-old Freud gelding who has won at least one stakes race every year since his 2-year-old season. Clement has trained the winner of three of the previous five Belmont Turf Sprint Invitationals.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL100221USA9-EQB.html

5:26 PM ET – $300,000 Ack Ack (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs on FS2
Stonestreet Stables sends out undefeated homebred Beau Liam in the one-mile Ack Ack on the main track. The 3-year-old son of Liam's Map broke his maiden in May at Churchill Downs and collected two allowance wins this summer at Saratoga for trainer Steve Asmussen. Beau Liam is one of only two 3-year-olds in the 11-horse field that also includes graded stakes winners Guest Suite, Mo Mosa, Mr. Dumas, Plainsman and Rushie.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD100221USA10-EQB.html

5:45 PM ET – $500,000 Woodward (Grade 1) at Belmont Park on FS2
A compact field of six will line up for the 68th running of the Grade 1 Woodward, led by Kentucky-bred Maxfield. The 4-year-old Street Sense colt has won three of five starts this year, including two Grade 2 races at Churchill Downs: the Alysheba and Stephen Foster. Trainer Brendan Walsh hopes to secure a second Grade 1 for his charge, who won at the highest level as a 2-year-old in Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity. Code of Honor, a Grade 1 winner in Belmont's Jockey Club Gold Cup as a 3-year-old, looks for his second win in three starts as a 5-year-old for trainer Shug McGaughey. The son of Noble Mission leads the field with lifetime earnings of $2.8 million.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL100221USA10-EQB.html

7:00 PM ET – $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (Grade 2, Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Santa Anita on TVG
Dr. Schivel aims for a fifth consecutive win in this Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifying event for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Kentucky-bred 3-year-old Violence colt closed gamely to take the Bing Crosby (G1) against older horses in his most recent start, a second consecutive win against his elders. C Z Rocket, who won this race in 2020, finished second last out as the favorite in Del Mar's Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2).

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100221USA8-EQB.html

7:30 PM ET – $300,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes (Grade 1T, Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Santa Anita on TVG
Going to Vegas is in search of her third consecutive win when she enters the starting gate for the Rodeo Drive, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifier for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The Richard Baltas-trained 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Goldencents exits her biggest career win in the John C. Mabee (G2) at Del Mar last month. The nine-horse field also includes Mabee runner-up Dogtag, who has finished second in each of her four 2021 starts.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100221USA9-EQB.html

8:00 PM ET – $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes (Grade 1, Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Santa Anita on TVG
Florida-bred Medina Spirit returns to Santa Anita, where the 3-year-old colt prepped for his upset win in the Kentucky Derby. The son of Protonico will face older horses for the first time in the Awesome Again, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifying event for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic. Medina Spirit most recently won the Shared Belief Stakes in August, his first start since a third-place finish in the Preakness. Pacific Classic (G1) winner Tripoli and Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Idol also are entered in the eight-horse field.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100221USA10-EQB.html

8:30 PM ET – $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship (Grade 2T) at Santa Anita on TVG
A 13-horse field is scheduled to compete in the John Henry Turf Championship, a 1 ¼ mile turf contest that features the winner of last year's running, United. The Richard Mandella-trained Kentucky-bred Giant's Causeway gelding has two wins and two fourth place finishes in five starts since. Chilean-bred Master Piece will make his second start for trainer Michael McCarthy, following a fast closing second in the Del Mar Handicap (G2) in August.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100221USA11-EQB.html

Sunday, October 3

2:36 PM ET – $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes (Grade 2T) at Belmont Park on FS2
Undefeated Annapolis, trained by Todd Pletcher, takes on stakes company for the first time in the 43rd running of the Grade 2T Pilgrim Stakes going 1 1/16 miles over the inner turf at Belmont Park. The Pilgrim winner has won three of the last five winners of the Grade 1T Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL100321USA4-EQB.html

4:44 PM ET – $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (Grade 3T) at Belmont Park on FS2
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out defending champ My Sister Nat along with Orglandes in Sunday's Grade 3, $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya, an 11-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares, at Belmont Park.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL100321USA8-EQB.html

5:16 PM ET – $400,000 Frizette Stakes (Grade 1, Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Belmont Park on FS2
Winchell Thoroughbreds and L and N Racing's Echo Zulu will try to cement her status as the top juvenile filly on the East Coast in the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes. The Frizette is a “Win And You're In” qualifying event offering an automatic entry into the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on November 5 at Del Mar.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL100321USA9-EQB.html

6:00 PM ET – $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes (Grade 3) at Santa Anita on TVG
Multiple Grade I winner Ce Ce heads a field of six fillies and mares going 6 ½ furlongs in the Chillingworth, named for the late Sherwood C. Chillingworth, a highly respected longtime director and Executive Vice President of the Oak Tree Racing Association, which conducted a fall meeting at Santa Anita from 1969 through 2009.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100321USA5-EQB.html

8:00 PM ET – $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes (Grade 2, Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In”) at Santa Anita on TVG
The Bob Baffert-trained Private Mission, originally scheduled to run in the Grade I Cotillion Stakes near Philadelphia Sept. 25, will take on older competition for the first time on Sunday as she bids for her third consecutive win in the Zenyatta. Named in honor of racing's 2010 Eclipse Horse of the Year, the Zenyatta, which has attracted a field of eight fillies and mares three and up, will be contested at a mile and one sixteenth.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA100321USA9-EQB.html

6:12 PM ET – $150,000 Ontario Fashion Stakes (Grade 3) at Woodbine on TVG
Boardroom, a multiple graded stakes winner who is undefeated in two starts this season, takes on a wide-open field of seven in the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion Stakes at Woodbine. Summer Sunday, the 2019 Canadian Champion Sprinter and an earner of nearly $700,000, also is entered in the six-furlong dash.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO100321CAN10-EQB.html

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Transatlantic Syndicate Magnolia Racing Blossoms at Goffs

Some enterprises of great pitch and moment take years to come to fruition. Some take just a few weeks.

The latter scenario is true of the new partnership between bloodstock agent Justin Casse and trainer Joseph O'Brien. When Magnolia Racing Syndicate spent €562,000 at the recent Goffs Orby Sale, the group was built on relationships years in the making, but sprouted quickly from an idea into action.

“I started kicking the idea of a transatlantic syndicate around three or four months ago,” said Casse. “The fine-tuning part of who would get behind me and support me in this came to mind in the last 30 days, when I left the Arqana sale in France.”

Magnolia Racing plans to purchase 10 or so yearlings at sales in Europe and America, race them as 2-year-olds in both North America and Europe and then sell them next fall and winter at horses-of-racing-age sales, said Casse. They picked up seven at Goffs, all with purchase prices between €42,000 and €125,000. The horses, all with turf pedigrees, will be trained by O'Brien at his base, Owning Hill in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

In just 30 days, Casse assembled a supportive group of partners. “Almost all of them have had some level of participation in racing, whether it be frequent attendees of the Derby, one-off pinhookers that have partnered with me, and handicappers,” he said. “There is one other industry professional involved.”

At Goffs Orby, they bought seven colts and fillies, just three of them for six figures; a Footstepsinthesand (GB) colt, a Zoffany (Ire) colt, and a Sioux Nation colt.

For Casse, it's a slight change of direction in career, but one that leads him back down familiar paths.

Casse's roots are in Florida, the scion of a family who made its name, in many ways, with 2-year-olds.

“The pinhooking and breeze-up part of me is looking at these horses for their value and what they could sell for if they run well,” Casse said, “as opposed to trying not to get carried away, and pay end-user prices.”

You might say the Casses are an American equivalent to the O'Briens; Justin and his brother, Mark, are the successful sons of a successful father; Joseph and his brother Donnacha, the successful sons of Aidan, perhaps the world's greatest trainer. Both O'Brien sons were champion jockeys in Ireland, and daughters Sarah and Ana have ridden professionally as well, while their mother Annemarie was the first in the family to be champion trainer. Training for just five years now, Joseph has already trained the winners of a British Classic, a Breeders' Cup race, and two Melbourne Cups.

The pair has partnered in the past; Casse purchased Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) for John Oxley for 525,000gns at the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Under Joseph's care, she was a 'TDN Rising Star' and Group 1 winner.

“I've been fortunate enough to have horses now with Joseph since the first year he started and what I've witnessed has far exceeded the expectations that I had,” he said. “I believe that he's a special person going special places and more than anything, I'm just happy to be a part of that.”

The concept of family is clearly a strong one, and one that resonates.

“Working with the family has been rejuvenating, and it has had a profound impact on my personal life as well as my professional life,” he said. “I think that their ability to stay close-knit and support one another and also care for old relationships in such a valuable place like they do has really taught me some life lessons. Aidan and Annemarie's level of horsemanship is equally matched by their ability to get the most out of people with compassion.”

In many ways as well, their lives prove to be a different model from the kind of self-promotional ones we find in America.

“Checking your ego at the door is key,” said Casse. “It was hard for some people to get past the prospect of my only working for family members, so that was always going to be difficult. As much as having the last name Casse could get you very far, it could also have its challenges from time to time.”

But Casse, who spent a semester in London while at Florida State, where he graduated with a B.A. in International Affairs, has always had an affinity for Europe. From his forays, he has brought back to America the likes of Preakness winner War of Will (War Front), who now stands at Claiborne Farm.

“In America, the attrition rate of the horses is tough,” he said. “European racing has been easy for me to get behind because it has a very high percentage of horses who make it to the races, and so we have a fair shot to succeed.”

He's not the only one who has caught onto this, he observed. “Obviously, Goffs had the greatest participation of Americans that it ever had. There's a heightened focus on turf racing in America. There's a great product here (in Europe) that can be developed, but yet, the prospect is to take advantage of American purse money while having the horses begin here. I have American partners in the syndicate who love the idea of running at Saratoga or Kentucky Downs in $150,000 maiden races. Obviously, there's a lot of prestige in Europe as well and it's really a hotbed for selling young horses when they run well first out, and that is a very promising prospect as well. The horses that we have begun to purchase have reasonably tradable prices, and prices where we can profit from earning purse money.”

Casse's father Norm, of course, was a co-founder of the Ocala Breeders' Sale Company, among many other achievements. His farm, Cardinal Hill, was on Magnolia Avenue, and the elder Casse planted 30 of the trees up and down the driveway, giving his son the task of nurturing them. “The majority of our partners are from the South,” said Casse, where the magnolia tree is a symbol of the region.

Next up, Magnolia turns its eye toward Tattersalls and Fasig-Tipton October, where the 2022 purses at Kentucky Downs will make Kentucky-breds all the more appealing. While they'll get their start in Ireland with O'Brien, the forward types that they're buying could potentially race anywhere, and certainly in America.

Casse said that O'Brien would handle the Arqana October sale, while he'll head to Fasig. In Europe for two weeks now, he's been away from his 11-year-old son long enough.

“As much as the sales are important,” he said “we try to keep the sense of family more important.”

If there is one thing that Casse and the O'Briens have learned in their time in racing, it's that family trumps all.

The post Transatlantic Syndicate Magnolia Racing Blossoms at Goffs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Serpe Believes Emma-Jayne Wilson The Key To Safe Conduct Winning Breeders’ Stakes

Phil Serpe said jockey Irad Ortiz was the essential ingredient in Safe Conduct's victory in the Queen's Plate. Now the trainer is turning to Emma-Jayne Wilson for Sunday's (Oct. 3) $400,000 Breeders' Stakes on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course at Woodbine Racetrack because he feels she's the right rider to guide Safe Conduct to victory over 1 ½ miles.

“One thing I really learned was just how important a rider was for that particular (Queen's Plate),” Serpe said of the Aug. 22 race that Safe Conduct won by a head over Riptide Rock on the Tapeta track to claim the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

“Irad Ortiz was pivotal in getting that horse out of the one-hole… He's a big brute of a horse and if you watch the first 100 yards of that race, to me, that's where the race was won because he got that horse out of there and in position without having to use him.

“Taking that into consideration, we have a rider change to Emma-Jayne Wilson (for the Breeders' Stakes). She was going to ride him last year for us as a 2-year-old. The ball was actually in her court to ride him in the Queen's Plate. The horse had gotten sick and had a couple of bad starts… so I don't blame her for (choosing to ride Tidal Forces). In fact, she was one of the first people to text me after the horse won to congratulate me.

“We feel confident with her because the whole scenario changes. What we want now is just a nice, calm ride. She knows the turf course up there, it's her ballpark, so we're very happy to have her… I feel like he'll get the distance if he gets the right ride.”

Serpe's biggest concern is weather. Should it rain, it likely won't be Safe Conduct's game. The son of Bodemeister out of the Congrats mare Duchess Dancer wasn't a fan of soft going in his pre-Plate July 10 start in the Belmont Derby in which he finished 8th.

“The turf it had taken a lot of rain and he was just not getting through it,” Serpe said. “But we can't do anything about the weather… I actually think that grass is probably going to be his best surface, so I'm more confident about this surface than (the Tapeta).”

Serpe said Safe Conduct came out of the Queen's Plate in fine form and was back at his base in New York the next day.

“He is a big, strong horse and so he took that well. We just gave him a little breather, then brought him back down to Belmont. He had a terrific work the other day. We just blew him out a little bit (Tuesday, Sept. 28). We let him go about a half on the main track here in about :51. Really, just kind of let him go down the lane and gallop out strong. I think he went the last three-eighths in :38.2 and the last quarter in :24-and-change or something like that. He was stepping it up,” Serpe said.

The decision to skip the Prince of Wales — the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown — was a tactical one, Serpe said.

“We would love, love, love to win the Canadian Triple Crown, but we weighed it out and we thought that we would rather have a fresh horse to run a mile-and-a-half, than to take a chance running him on the dirt and then he goes backwards and we're not even coming,” Serpe said. “The Triple Crown in Canada is on three surfaces and, to me, that's a lot harder, or can be a lot harder, than running at three different distances — and, of course, you are at three different distances anyway.”

Serpe said it was an honour to win the Queen's Plate, even though neither he nor the owner — WellSpring Stables' Dr. Robert Vukovich of Colts Neck, NJ — made the trip to Woodbine due to COVID-19 restrictions and pandemic concerns.

“We didn't even know if we were going to make it or have personnel there, so we had three different plans intact as far as the horse was concerned. Fortunately, it all worked out well. I'm very sorry that I couldn't be there, because it's such a prestigious race, but we had to make sure we had people in the right spots in case something went backwards,” Serpe said, adding the fact Safe Conduct won without him there is the reason he won't be coming for the Breeders' Stakes.

“I'm going to stay here because I'm slightly superstitious,” he said, laughing. “If he runs a third time (at Woodbine), then I'll be there… My partner and assistant of 25 years, Lisa Bartowsky will be up again.”

However, this time, Vukovich is expected to be at Woodbine. It was Vukovich who picked out Safe Conduct — bred by Ontario's Mitchell Kursner — from the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and bought him for $45,000. Thanks to the $600,000 (Cdn – $467,952 U.S.) payday in the $1 million Queen's Plate, Safe Conduct now sports earnings of $603,202 (U.S.).

“I'm especially happy for (Vukovich) because he is a really, really good owner and a really good person,” Serpe said.

As for Serpe, the Plate proved to be a Godsend.

“We've had three or four pretty large outfits (in New York) where the trainer has retired,” Serpe said. “The pandemic put a lot of strain on people, including ourselves. Our purse earnings were down in 2020 about $800,000 from the year before. So, this money has helped immensely. For whatever reason, also, we've been going through a dry, dry, dry spell. Like, drier than the first year I was training horses… So, good things happened at the right time for us and we are grateful for that. The money went to good use, my employees.

“No new cars or boats or anything. The stable is our main focus.”

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Remington Executive Matt Vance Earns Industry Service Award

The Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma has paid tribute to Remington Park executive vice president Matt Vance for his perseverance in keeping horse racing alive and strong here throughout this two-year pandemic.

“The TRAO takes great pride in giving out the Industry Service Award,” said Danielle Barber, executive director of the TRAO. “In the nine years we have been hosting the Champion Awards banquet, the TRAO has only given out this award three times.”

Vance introduced precautions at Remington Park that helped curtail outbreaks at the Oklahoma City track. He introduced protocols, on behalf of track owner Global Gaming Solutions, that included daily temperature-taking for all employees, mask mandates and social distancing. Remington Park continued racing throughout the past two years with the only missed dates due to severe weather, not health issues.

“Everyone knows what a tough 2020 we all went through with COVID-19, and the challenges racing faced,” said Barber. “Yet, the exceptional guidance Matt Vance demonstrated during the most difficult hardship was undeniable. Remington Park and Thoroughbred horsemen couldn't have asked for better leadership during this time.”

Vance is the executive vice president of both Remington Park and Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. He oversees all live racing, pari-mutuel, simulcasting, operations and track maintenance for both venues.

“Matt's leadership and commitment to horse racing helped us navigate a very trying time during the pandemic at both tracks,” said Skip Seeley, Global Gaming's chief executive officer.

Remington Park's Thoroughbred Season continues Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-2, with the first race nightly at 7:07pm-Central.

Tracked by more than 167,000 fans on Facebook and 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $272 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park is home for the $1,000,000 Oklahoma Classics Night, an evening of stakes racing to celebrate Oklahoma-breds, on Friday, Oct. 15. Simulcast horse racing featured daily, the casino is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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