November, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Illinois HBPA Withholds Consent For TwinSpires To Operate In Illinois

The organization representing owners and trainers at FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing (formerly known as Fairmount Park) is withholding consent for the TwinSpires betting platform to accept wagers from Illinois residents.

The board of the Illinois Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association, which represents horsemen at the southern Illinois track 15 miles from downtown St. Louis, cites the closure of suburban Chicago's industry icon Arlington Park by Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), TwinSpires' parent corporation, as a prime motivation for withholding consent. With CDI not owning a functioning racetrack in Illinois in 2022, TwinSpires must under state law have a contract with another duly licensed track to conduct business in the state starting Jan. 1. The only remaining Prairie State horse tracks are FanDuel and Chicagoland's Hawthorne Race Course, with CDI seeking approval through the FanDuel track.

Illinois law also gives horsemen consent rights before an advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platform can enter into a relationship with an Illinois track to conduct business in the state.

Illinois HBPA president Jim Watkins said his organization's board believes the issue is of the magnitude that it should go before the Illinois Racing Board. The IRB has scheduled a hearing on Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. Central via WebEx. The racing regulators have the power to overrule the horsemen's veto if they believe the horsemen's action was unreasonable, he said.

“That's where we're at now,” Watkins said. “We just felt this was an issue the racing board should be able to weigh in on, whether TwinSpires continues to be allowed to operate in Illinois. That's a big reason we withheld our consent.”

Watkins said the horsemen are upset not just that CDI shut down Arlington Park but then would not sell to ownership wishing to maintain racing at the 94-year-old track. CDI is the majority owner of Rivers Casino Des Plaines, located 10 miles from Arlington Park. The company has an agreement to sell the Arlington Park property to pro football's Chicago Bears for a reported $197 million.

“CDI wants their cake and to eat it, too: 'We're not willing to be involved in the racing, but we want to still utilize our ADW powers in Illinois,'” Watkins said.

Beyond the situation with TwinSpires in Illinois, Watkins believes there are fundamental issues with the entire ADW model that the industry must address to maintain horse racing's viability.

“This is where the system is really flawed,” he said. “It's an agreement between three parties. In Illinois, the track and the ADW provider negotiate the contract, and the third — the horsemen — is just the consenter. There are so many questions left unanswered. Obviously with the increased numbers of people using ADWs, the horsemen and the tracks get so much less of that it could spell doom for us.

“The framers of these ADWs intended for it to basically be a third to the provider, a third to the track and a third to the horsemen. But they take out fees up front, and those fees are unspecified in purpose and amount. What is an ADW fee? What does that mean? The racetracks don't ask the ADW to pay their security payroll and the electric bill. And the horsemen don't ask the ADW company to pay the feed bill and hay bill and straw bill.”

Watkins said the Illinois HBPA also “wants to bring light to a flawed system” under which online betting platforms operate. Watkins said that the ADWs make the lion's share of the net proceeds at the expense of horsemen's purse accounts and brick-and-mortar tracks and simulcasting facilities, even as the online technology siphons off the majority of bettors.

“It's inherently flawed, just the way it is set up,” Watkins said. “I think it's going to be the death of horse racing if we continue to go at the rate we're going. This was so well-said by a Chicago horseman: 'We traded dollars for quarters when we went to simulcast wagering. Now, with the ADW wagering, we're trading dollars and quarters for nickels.' The recipe has to be changed if horse racing — at least for the mid-level and smaller tracks — is going to exist.”

Watkins points to a July 14 article by former New York Racing Association head Charles Hayward, now publisher of Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, that illustrates the inequities of the ADW splits.

“Because of the pandemic of early 2020, Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW), Computer Robotic Wagering (CRW) and other off-track outlets handled 97 percent of the total U.S. racing handle last year,” Hayward wrote. “The on-track handle was the remaining 3 percent, or $333 million.

“… Here is a model of how the racetrack and the purse account would split a million dollars bet through an ADW: The ADW operator receipts would be $70,000, or 40 percent greater than the $50,000 total proceeds to the racetrack and the purse account.”

The Illinois HBPA signed a one-year contract with TVG to operate in Illinois, Watkins said. FanDuel, part of the corporate enterprise that operates the TVG racing channel and betting platform, is the southern Illinois track's equity partner to operate the sports book. While the company is not a partner in the racetrack, it received branding and naming rights as part of a contract that includes the long-term sponsorship of the St. Louis Derby, worth $250,000 in 2021.

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The A-B-C’s – As In Ce Ce – Of An Eventful Year For Victor Espinoza

Not long after 2021 got started, Victor Espinoza chose to take a hiatus from his Hall of Fame riding career to be with his ailing mother in Mexico.

He returned, about two months later, to the realization that “I had no business, basically.”

Six years after guiding American Pharoah to a Triple Crown sweep that ended a 37-year span without such a champion, Espinoza found himself sitting out the entire series, watching from Santa Anita or his homes in Arcadia and Del Mar, while riding “two or three horses a week.”

He managed six wins from only 33 mounts at Del Mar's summer meeting – a far cry from the 51, 53 and 64 in winning riding titles here in 2000, 2006 and 2007. Half the number of victories he recorded in winning the title for the track's inaugural Bing Crosby Season in 2014.

Summer turned to fall and his mother, Gloria, who had suffered back fractures in a fall in late 2020, passed away.

“She was 92 and had a good, long life, but you're never ready for something like that,” Espinoza said. “Mentally, I thought I was ready, but I was not. It was very hard for me, like it is for anyone who loses a parent.

“But life has to go on. So I focused on my job, knowing the Breeders' Cup was coming up.”

And the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships, the second to be hosted by Del Mar, would provide Espinoza an opportunity to roar in what had, to that point, the look of a “Lion In Winter,” year for him.

Espinoza, 49, guided Ce Ce, a 5-year-old Bo Hirsch homebred daughter of Elusive Quality trained by Michael McCarthy, to a 2 ½-length victory in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, upsetting 2/5 favorite Gamine. It was the fourth Breeders' Cup win for Espinoza, his first since completing American Pharoah's 2015 tour de force in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Espinoza said he woke up the morning of the race feeling prepared, just like he has many times before on big race days in his 30-year-career. “(Ready to) show what I've learned over the years …that I can still ride and that I'm still one of the best at what I do.”

He's not one to study past performances hard and long, but said he looked at the other four entrants in the paddock and considered Ce Ce to be a standout. And at the end of the seven-furlong run she had proven him correct.

“The first quarter it's kind of hard to judge how fast the horses were going,” Espinoza said. “I thought the pace was decent, but not what I wanted. So, I wanted to be a little closer to the front and I moved my hands just a little, not much, to encourage Ce Ce forward.

“I figured if I hit the three-eighths within two or three lengths, Ce Ce was going to have plenty of energy coming home. From watching races earlier I figured the track was a little better in the middle than on the rail and went there (five paths wide) turning into the stretch.

“Ce Ce was so quick and full of energy that in no time we were in front and I was like, 'Wow, keep going, this is fun.' ”

Espinoza had been aboard the mare for 10 of her last 12 starts before the Filly & Mare Sprint, five on each side of trips to Kentucky in September and November of 2020, where John Velazquez took over fourth and fifth-place finishes in Grade I events, the latter to champion Monomoy Girl in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland.

“We got sidetracked last year at the end of the summer and Victor missed a couple rides on her,” McCarthy said. “She still ran reputably, she still ran well. But Victor gets along with her the best of any and it was a fantastic ride in the Breeders' Cup.”

Espinoza reflects on his eventful 2021 with a perspective forged from three decades at his chosen profession and – through last Sunday according to Equibase statistics – 22,647 mounts, 3,458 wins and purse earnings of more than $206 million.

“(Being) down at the first of the year was not a big deal because I've been there before,” he said. “There are a lot of ups and downs being a jockey. When things are going right, it's easy to motivate yourself. When they're not, you still have to think big – then if you accomplish even half of your goal, you're doing well.

“I knew (coming back) I have a group of trainers and owners who have always supported me, who continue to support me and I'll always be there for them.”

All with good reason. Espinoza has been on the backs of many, many good horses. He won a Kentucky Derby and Preakness on War Emblem in 2002. He did it again a dozen years later on the mercurial California Chrome, who he partnered with through two Horse of the Year campaigns. Then he was on top of the world in the wake of American Pharoah in 2015. He was a guest on major network daytime and late night shows and did a mercifully brief stint on “Dancing With The Stars” among many appearances.

Did he enjoy his time as a celebrity outside racing?

“Yes and no,” Espinoza said. “Being in the public eye and getting the attention is fun. But it's hard because it's not really much of a life. Your schedule is completely broken there's so much to do. For a while, I didn't have a full day to be at home and relax. I barely had time to get home and take a nap. Sometimes it's nice to have a life and do whatever you want.”

Would he do it all again?

“It would be a challenge, but if I found the right horse, absolutely. I know it would only last for a short time, not years and years in my case.”

Three years after American Pharoah, Espinoza came perilously close to a paralyzing injury in a workout spill at Del Mar. He made a remarkable comeback and within seven months was winning races again. Stakes victories aboard Astronaut for John Shirreffs in the Del Mar Handicap during the summer meeting and Ce Ce in the Breeders' Cup were Nos. 106 and 107 for Espinoza, third on the track's all-time list, and only one behind second-place Corey Nakatani. Ten of the stakes victories have been achieved since returning from injury in 2019.

He once was the youngster in a Del Mar jockey colony that featured veterans Laffit Pincay, Jr., Chris McCarron and Eddie Delahoussaye. Hall of Famers all, who retired from racing at ages 57, 47 and 52, respectively. Only McCarron did so of his own volition, not upon doctors' advice after an injury.

Next summer at Del Mar, Espinoza will be 50 and sharing a room with Hall of Famers Mike Smith, 57, Kent Desormeaux, 52, and a bunch of riders who are, more or less, half their age.

“For sure they (young riders) remind me of myself when I first came up here with the big goals and trying to be the best and beat the best I could,” Espinoza said. “Nobody knows what's in the future, so I don't know how long I'm going to ride. When I was doing the (TV circuit) I talked to some retired baseball players about (ending) careers and they said the time comes and there's a feeling you get inside.

“But right now, I feel great, I'm excited and I'm still looking forward to riding horses that have a chance to win. That's what I'm here for.”

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Strava Tops HORA Portion of KEENOV

Strava, a promising juvenile colt by super sire Into Mischief, topped Friday's 10th and final session of the Keeneland November Sale, bringing $825,000 from legendary University of Louisville basketball Denny Crum. Consignor and part-owner WinStar Farm stayed in for half.

There were 435 horses catalogued for Friday's session with the first 148 being broodmares and weanlings and the remaining 287 comprised of active racehorses. This was the first time the horse of racing age portion was consolidated into a single and final session.

A total of 231 horses grossed $9,122,400 Friday with an average of $39,491 and median of $14,000. The RNA rate was 11.83%. Of those, 127 were horses of racing age, which brought $8,029,000.

WinStar Racing led all consignors during the final session, selling 22 racehorses for $2,456,500 and an average of $113,932. Their consignment accounted for three of the top five sellers and six of the top 11, including three for Juddmonte. Elite was second with 21 head bringing $1,707,000. They represented four of the top 12.

The red-hot Into Mischief was the day's leading sire, with seven of his offspring selling for $1,163,000.

Crum Gets in the Game for Strava

Denny Crum, who put together a Hall of Fame career as the basketball coach for the University of Louisville, has been in the racing industry on and off over the years. However, he made a big splash at Keeneland November Friday when purchasing the promising juvenile colt Strava (Into Mischief) (Hip 3631) for $825,000 during the Horses of Racing Age Portion.

WinStar Farm, which bred, consigned and co-owned the colt with Siena Farm, stayed in for 50%. Strava will be returned to the care of trainer Dallas Stewart, who bid on Crum's behalf.

“He's had horses off and on,” Stewart said. “He's got a piece of another 2-year-old. He's been in the game a long time. He knows the ups and the downs. He has won a lot at the buzzer and he has lost a lot at the buzzer, so he knows what's going on.”

The conditioner continued, “It is hard to find the good ones. People are always like, 'When you find a good one let me know.' I was at a fish fry last night. I started talking to him about this colt and said, 'Do you want to go to the sale?' He said, 'Sure.' I showed him the race when he won at Keeneland. I was so impressed. We took the ride over there and he bought half of him and WinStar stayed in for half.”

Kenny Troutt's operation purchased the colt's dam SW & GISP Catch My Drift (Pioneerof the Nile) for $400,000 at the 2015 KEENOV sale. A $275,000 RNA at KEESEP, Strava won on debut for Stewart, WinStar and Siena Farm going six panels at Keeneland Oct. 9.

As for future plans for Strava, Stewart said, “He has been over at the sale a couple of days. You kind of back off of them a little bit going into the sale. He should be back at Churchill this afternoon. We will just ease him back into the training. We will put a campaign together for him later on. He will go back to the Fair Grounds this winter.”

Stewart and Crum have had success together before, most notably with a mare named Nasty Storm (Gulch). She won three graded events and placed in a pair of Grade Is before selling to Frank Stronach for $1.075 million at the 2002 KEENOV sale.

“We have had a couple horses together,” Stewart said. “We had one really, really nice filly named Nasty Storm. She was a graded stakes winner and we sold her for a lot of money to Mr. Stronach. We had a lot of fun with her.”

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IL HBPA Withholds Consent for TwinSpires to be in State

Edited Press Release

The board of the Illinois Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association cites the closure of suburban Chicago's industry icon Arlington Park by Churchill Downs Inc., TwinSpires' parent corporation, as a prime motivation for withholding consent. With CDI not owning a functioning racetrack in Illinois in 2022, TwinSpires must under state law have a contract with another duly licensed track to conduct business in the state starting Jan. 1. The only remaining Prairie State horse tracks are FanDuel and Chicagoland's Hawthorne Race Course, with CDI seeking approval through the FanDuel track.

Illinois law also gives horsemen consent rights before an advance-deposit wagering (ADW) platform can enter into a relationship with an Illinois track to conduct business in the state.

Illinois HBPA president Jim Watkins said his organization's board believes the issue is of the magnitude that it should go before the Illinois Racing Board. The IRB has scheduled a hearing Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. Central via WebEx. The racing regulators have the power to overrule the horsemen's veto if they believe the horsemen's action was unreasonable, he said.

“CDI wants their cake and to eat it, too: 'We're not willing to be involved in the racing, but we want to still utilize our ADW powers in Illinois,'” Watkins said.

“This is where the system is really flawed,” he said. “It's an agreement between three parties. In Illinois, the track and the ADW provider negotiate the contract, and the third–the horsemen–is just the consenter. There are so many questions left unanswered. Obviously with the increased numbers of people using ADWs, the horsemen and the tracks get so much less of that it could spell doom for us. The framers of these ADWs intended for it to basically be a third to the provider, a third to the track and a third to the horsemen. But they take out fees up front, and those fees are unspecified in purpose and amount. What is an ADW fee? What does that mean? The racetracks don't ask the ADW to pay their security payroll and the electric bill. And the horsemen don't ask the ADW company to pay the feed bill and hay bill and straw bill.”

Click here for previous TDN story on CDI's request for IRB approval.

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