December, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hawthorne Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Violations Of Biometric Privacy Act

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Ill. alleging track management has violated the state's Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA), reports the Cook County Record.

According to the complaint, Hawthorne's security system uses facial recognition scans to help keep out “unwanted visitors.”

The problem, per the complaint, is that Hawthorne allegedly failed to provide notice or obtain consent before the scans were conducted and shared with a security company for comparison against a database. That is a violation of BIPA, which allows plaintiffs to be awarded damages of $1,000 to $5,000 per individual violation.

Based on attendance figures obtained by the Cook County Record, Hawthorne's potential liability in the case could exceed $200 million.

Lost And Found Presented By LuibriSYN HA: Grindstone And Giacomo Share The Spotlight In Pacific Northwest

About 2,500 miles away from the site of their crowning achievements, Kentucky Derby winners Grindstone and Giacomo are still considered royalty at Oakhurst Equine Veterinary Services and Thoroughbred Farm in Newberg, Oregon.

Grindstone, pensioned since 2019, turns 29 in late January and Giacomo will be 20 in February.

“We are very, very fortunate and blessed to have two unique and special horses,” said Ben Root, operations manager for the facility founded in 1996 by his parents Dr. Jack and Margaret (“Cookie”) Root. “These stallions give us an opportunity to be ambassadors for Thoroughbred racing. We get calls a few times a month from people wanting to see them and we welcome them.”

The Derby stars have totally different personalities.

“Grindstone still thinks he is king of the world,” Root said. “He screams and yells and bangs on his stall door when a horse walks by. He loves attention. When he is led in or out of the barn, he announces his presence to the other stallions. He knows he's special, he knows he's cool.

“Giacomo is as tame and sweet as you could ever imagine. He might nip a little bit but you can get right up to him and even hold him to get a picture taken. We even have had older school children do that. Especially for non-horse people, Giacomo is an angel.”

Both have their quirks. Grindstone inexplicably removes his halter from his head almost daily. In perhaps a subtle show of dominance, Giacomo backs away if his halter is touched but willingly stands still for treats, pettings and photos. When turned loose in his paddock each morning, the son of Holy Bull performs his self-taught routine that includes pirouettes, bucks, rears and a few laps at a gallop.

Grindstone makes a face for a visit from top author Laura Hillenbrand in 2017

Prior to pandemic restrictions, Oakhurst hosted Kentucky Derby parties for several hundred friends, family and clients and a “Breakfast with the Stallions” event where Giacomo was in a nearby pen so guests could get up close and personal.

The occasional admirers who visit the stallions include owners of their offspring for racing and non-racing activities.

“They just want to see the dad,” Root said.

Track announcer and publicist Jason Beem, a longtime friend of the Root family, has made frequent stops to mingle with Giacomo. Another notable devotee is a man who came during his layover at the Portland International Airport.

From Bluegrass to Pacific Northwest

Grindstone and Giacomo launched their breeding careers in the heart of Kentucky's famed Bluegrass region prior to landing in their forever home. Grindstone, by Unbridled, was at owner-breeder W. T. Young's Overbrook Farm before being purchased by the Roots in 2009. Giacomo campaigned for breeders Jerry and Ann Moss until Frank Stronach became a partner for his four-year-old season. He initially was on the stallion roster at Stronach's Adena Springs before hopscotching to other states.

Grindstone was leased to Oakhurst when the Stronach conglomerate operated the now shuttered Portland Meadows with the goal of infusing enthusiasm into the area's small Thoroughbred market.

Giacomo eventually was sold to the Roots with the understanding he would remain under their care regardless of his results as a stallion.

Both have had a measure of success as sires to augment their celebrity status. A current headliner is Milords Oathkeeper, a Root family-bred son of Giacomo and the Grindstone mare Milady Rocks. The gelding brought honor to his connections in winning the Josephine County Juvenile Stakes at Grants Pass Downs in November. With two wins in five starts, he has earned a meager $14,831, but the figure is irrelevant to the family. The Root clan has long participated with more profitable racers in Washington, California, and Arizona, but Milords Oathkeeper has an intangible value. Ben Root summarizes the significance of the victory in three words.

Milords Oathkeeper is the pride and joy for the Root family, carrying the blood of Giacomo and Grindstone

“Oregon is home,” he said.

To punctuate the point, Root said they have declined attractive purchase offers in favor of racing him as a three-year-old in 2022.

“The emotional attachment kind of throws financial reality out the window,” Root said. “My father walks by his horses every day and says 'look what we have here.' We treat them like kings. They have beautiful stallion halters with brass name plates. Their paddock fences are black because my father designed the farm to look like Kentucky. We never take any of this for granted.”

For more information on Oakhurst Equine Veterinary Services and Thoroughbred Farm, visit https://oakhurstequine.com/

Liane Crossley is a Lexington-based freelance writer who has spent her entire career in Thoroughbred racing-related jobs in barns, press boxes and offices. She has worked for stables from Saratoga to Ak-Sar-Ben and from Canterbury Park to Oaklawn Park and about another dozen tracks in the eastern two thirds of America. A longtime contributor to Thoroughbred Times, her articles have appeared in Keeneland Magazine, Blood-Horse, Daily Racing Form, Thoroughbred Daily News, Breeders' Cup website, Horse Illustrated, European Bloodstock News, KyForward, Horse Illustrated, Young Rider and other publications. She is a seasonal member of Keeneland's media department.

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20 Years Celebrating the Legendary Tiznow

As the calendar turns to 2022, the final crop of foals from legendary racehorse and sire Tiznow will become yearlings. Soon-turning 25, Tiznow has sired over 80 blacktype winners including 14 Grade I/Group 1 winners after nearly two decades as a cornerstone stallion at WinStar Farm.

This year, the successful sire enjoyed his first full year of retirement. WinStar Stallion Manager Larry McGinnis said that Tiznow still shares a similar routine to the other stallions in the stud barn.

“He does get a bit more leeway because he's a teacher's favorite,” McGinnis admitted. “If there's a day where he wants to stay out in his paddock, we'll feed him outside. I think he has developed a little bit of a bravado as he's gotten older. He does try to intimidate the young boys as they go through. He does what he wants, when he wants and it will be like that for the rest of his life.”

Such a lifestyle is nothing new for Tiznow, who was well documented on the racetrack for doing most everything on his own terms. McGinnis said that attitude never wavered throughout the blaze-faced bay's career at stud.

“Tiznow is the smartest horse I've ever been around. When we first got him, I noticed that. He looks a lot and nothing fazes him. One time we had him on a tour and a girl got stung by a bee right next to him. She screamed bloody murder and he just stood there. He has never shown that he's afraid of anything.”

Tiznow and McGinnis have developed a special bond as they've shared the past two decades together at WinStar. Before Tiznow's arrival, McGinnis was the assistant manager at Prestonwood Farm as the property transitioned into WinStar Farm.

“They told me that we had a stallion coming in and asked if I wanted to be stallion manager,” he explained. “I didn't realize that the horse coming in was Tiznow.”

Tiznow was no shoo-in to become a successful Kentucky stallion when he first arrived at WinStar, but the grit and determination the California-bred son of Cee's Tizzy showed during his illustrious career on the racetrack was soon reflected in his offspring.

He was the leading freshman sire of his crop after producing 2005 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Folklore and 2009 GI Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed. His success continued throughout his career with the likes of 2008 GI Travers S. hero Colonel John, 2008 GI Belmont S. winner Da' Tara and 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Mile victor and now WinStar sire Tourist.

Tiznow prepares for the 2001 Breeders' Cup Classic | Horsephotos

“Tourist is pretty much like his dad-even-keeled,” McGinnis explained. “Nothing much gets him wound up. I've rarely seen one of Tiznow's progeny that didn't have composure and know how to handle things without getting excited about it.”

Tourist and Crestwood Farm's Tizdejavu are the only sons of Tiznow standing in Kentucky today, with several more at stud in regional markets. If his top performer this year in GSW Midnight Bourbon someday joins a stallion program, the colt could be the last of Tiznow's sons to begin a career at stud.

And yet, Tiznow still has his last few crops waiting to show their worth on the racetrack. Fittingly, his final crop that arrived this year came 20 years after the unforgettable day at Belmont Park when Tiznow won his second straight GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

Owned by Cees Racing Stable and campaigned to a champion 3-year-old and Horse of the Year season in 2000 by trainer Jay Robbins, Tiznow returned to the Breeders' Cup in 2001 to defend his Classic title with only one win to his resume as a 4-year-old.

Even his regular rider, Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron, couldn't be certain of Tiznow's true ability as they approached the starting gate.

“There was always some question in your mind of if he peaked as a 3-year-old,” McCarron said. “But the way he trained, I knew there was more. It was just a question of which Tiznow was going to come to the party. Fortunately, he rose to the occasion on the most important day of his life in the 2001 Breeders' Cup Classic.”

Sent off as a 7-1 gamble behind the top pick in Juddmonte homebred Aptitude as well as European invaders Galileo (Ire) and Sakhee, Tiznow stalked in third position for most of the trip until McCarron looked out of the corner of his eye to see Sakhee coming to their outside. The pair fought neck and neck down the stretch and as the wire grew closer, Sakhee bobbed his head in front.

“I had it in my mind that I was not going to hit him with the stick,” McCarron explained. “I wanted to let him be the boss. When Sakhee went by me by a neck I thought, 'Well, I've got nothing to lose. I might as well see if he'll respond from a little tap.' So I tapped him once left-handed and I felt him accelerate. He went back on and overtook Sakhee right in the shadow of the wire.”

The roar of the crowd swelled as race caller Tom Durkin exclaimed a line that will forever be held in racing's history book, pronouncing that Tiznow had won it for America.

Tiznow towers over rival Sakhee as he edges past the wire first in the 2001 Breeders' Cup Classic | Horsephotos

“I don't really know if in my notes previous to that if I was going to say that Tiznow wins it for America,” reflected Durkin. “I don't know, but it was in my subconscious somewhere. Some would argue that it was a rather jingoistic thing to say, but that was the story. Tiznow was carrying an American banner and he was trying to beat a foreign horse, so that was a big story there.”

The 2001 Breeders' Cup was the first international sporting event following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks six weeks earlier. SWAT teams lining the rooftops and security check-ins made for a very abnormal day at Belmont Park.

“When Tom Durkin screamed Tiznow wins it for America, that was a really happy day,” McCarron recalled. “With the devastation and the tragedy of 9/11, people were really longing for something to make them happy. It just so happened that the Yankees won the World Series that year and then when Tiznow wins it for America, that was kind of the icing on the cake.”

Tiznow retired after earning the title of the first and only horse in history to claim back-to-back Breeders' Cup Classics, leaving cherished memories in the hearts of racing fans as well as those who knew him best.

Today, McCarron looks back fondly on Tiznow's days in training when the opinionated and super-sized colt protested from being led into a stall and had to be turned around and backed in, as well as his most memorable antic during his final workout ahead of the 2001 Breeders' Cup when he refused to move forward on the racetrack, standing stoically for 35 minutes before finally moving ahead and putting in a blazing mile-long work.

“He had a very strong will and didn't do anything unless he was ready to do it,” McCarron said. “He was quirky, but what I learned from him was tremendous. He taught me a lot about the relationship between a person and a horse. Once I learned, I tried to figure out what made him tick and just let him be the boss. That's what he wanted, so I just followed his lead and fortunately, we had a lot of success together.”

These days, as both Tiznow and his rider enjoy the laid-back life of retirement in the Kentucky Bluegrass, it isn't uncommon for McCarron to stop in at WinStar. Along with visits from his old friend, Tiznow is still a fan favorite during the tours at WinStar and of course, he is happily looked after by McGinnis and the rest of the WinStar stallion team.

“He's just been kind of a rock,” McGinnis said, reflecting on his two decades with the stallion. “He helped my career out as much as Distorted Humor and Speightstown did. If it wasn't for them, I'd just kind of be a regular Joe. Tiznow was a good, useful sire that was a California-bred and really, if you think of it, shouldn't have been a stallion, but he made himself one by winning two Breeders' Cup Classics. I'm not sure if anybody is ever going to do that again.”

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Dec. 26 Insights

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency
HALF TO ALWAYS DREAMING MAKES CAREER BOW
4th-FG, $45K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 2:30 p.m.
Mike Ryan will be represented by the latest foal out of his and the late Gerry Dilger's blue hen Above Perfection (In Excess {Ire}) in BEYOND PERFECTION (Curlin). The Grade III winner is also responsible for GI Kentucky Derby and GI Florida Derby hero Always Dreaming (Bodemeister); GSW Positive Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile); and GISW Hot Dixie Chick (Dixie Union), who in turn produced GSW Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) and MSW & GSP freshman sire Union Jackson (Curlin). Gosolphin homebred Omkara (Ghostzapper) is out of stakes-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Kareena (Medaglia d'Oro). She in turn is a daughter of MGSW India (Hennessy), who also produced MG1SW Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}). This is also the family of Grade I winners To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) and Angela Renee (Bernardini). TJCIS PPs

PRICEY COLTS DEBUT IN ARCADIA
4th-SA, $67K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 3:30 p.m.
Bob Baffert unveils a pair of expensive sophomore colts on an action-packed opening day Santa Anita's winter meet. Michael Lund went to $1.1 million at the 2020 EASMAY sale to acquire SHAAZ (Uncle Mo) after he breezed in :10 flat. The dark bay is a half to MGSW Azar (Scat Daddy) and hails from the family of MGSWs Coal Front (Stay Thirsty) and Woodlander (Forestry). Shaaz displays the speedy worktab typical of a Baffert pupil with three bullets in his last four breezes, most recently covering six panels in 1:12 4/5 Dec. 19 (1/14). Baffert also saddles one for the Avengers in $900,000 KEESEP acquisition Hopkins (Quality Road). Out of SP Hot Spell (Salt Lake), the bay is a half to SW Saratoga Heater (Temple City) and SP Malocchio (Orb). Also making his career bow here is Spendthrift homebred Q B One (Uncle Mo), the first foal out of four-time champion Beholder (Henny Hughes), a half- to GISW and stallion sensation Into Mischief and GISW young sire Mendelssohn. TJCIS PPs

DRURY UNVEILS HALF TO ART COLLECTOR
6th-FG, $45K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 3:31 p.m.
Tom Drury unveils a half to his former pupil and GI Woodward S. winner Art Collector (Bernardini) in LEGIONNAIRE (Into Mischief). They are out of SW & GISP Distorted Legacy (Distorted Humor). TJCIS PPs

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