January, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Waldorf Farm & Climax Stallions Hosting Open House Saturday

Waldorf Farm and Climax Stallions will host an open house at Waldorf Farm this Saturday, Jan. 8 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tom Durkin will host the event, which will take place in a heated outdoor space. Refreshments will be provided and a raffle will be held. All in attendance will be offered a free season to new stallion Son of Thunder, a full-brother to Laoban. Also available for viewing will be stallions Mr. Monomoy and Bustin Stones. The Waldorf Farm address is 89 Waldorf Road, Valatie, NY 12184. Call (518) 766-9400 for more information.

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Bloodlines Presented By Caracaro: Alittleloveandluck To Kick Start Arrogate’s First Crop

Getting the New Year off to the right start, Alittleloveandluck (by Arrogate) became her sire's first stakes winner with a powerful finish in the Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream on Jan. 1.

The racers by the champion 3-year-old of 2016 have generally been horses of good size, and like their sire, they have the look of athletes who probably would appreciate some time as they come along. When Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms bought Arrogate as a yearling in the 2014 Keeneland September sale for $540,000, there were hopes of his being a bit more forward.

Juddmonte's Garrett O'Rourke said, “When we bought him, he wasn't what I thought of as a leggy Unbridled's Song, but by August of the next year, he'd grown into a leggy animal, and then we had to let him have time to balance out and strengthen into that frame.

“When horses are growing, they can look awkward. They will grow out of proportion in one way or another, and it's common sense that they should be better athletes if you let them get it together on their schedule. When they do get balanced, they run up to their abilities.

“This fellow was worth the wait.”

Indeed, Arrogate was worth everything. After finishing third on debut on April 17 of his 3-year-old season, Arrogate buried his competition in a maiden special and a pair of allowances with the manner of a horse who had places to go.

So trainer Bob Baffert sent him to Saratoga, and the Grade 1 Travers was his stakes debut. The galloping gray won by 13 1/2 lengths and set a new track record of 1:59.36. With exhilarating victories in the Travers and Breeders' Cup Classic in 2016, then the Pegasus Cup and Dubai Cup in 2017, Arrogate proved himself the best horse in training during that period.

His final three starts were losses against competition he'd been handling previously and left a sense of perplexity for those assessing form, but at his best, Arrogate was a marvelous racer and breeders sent him a book of mares that indicated their assessment of the horse was as high as handicappers.

Retired to Juddmonte for the 2018 season, Arrogate covered good-sized books of mares in his first three seasons at stud. The results from the juvenile racing have been slow coming, including from Juddmonte's own stock, all of whom were retained in the American training program.

“We had a lot that went through the typical stages,” O'Rourke said. “They were showing talent, got runs in, then had a tibia soreness, bone bruising, or sore shins. We brought those home, either for turnout or light activity to keep them ticking over, and a lot of them have gone back to training. We're hoping a few nice, talented ones are in the group.”

Knowing when to go on and when to ease up is a key exercise of horsemanship, especially for breeders racing their own stock. Often enough all owners get a horse who develops the muscle to go on but possibly not the physical sturdiness or maybe the bone hardness or even the mental readiness to take on the challenges of racing. Except with time.

From her race results, Alittleloveandluck wasn't one who needed time off, beginning her racing at Saratoga in August and continuing monthly thereafter until she scored a maiden special victory at Gulfstream on Nov. 11. The Ginger Brew was her next start.

Out of Canadian champion turf mare Points of Grace (Point Given), Alittleloveandluck is a half-sister to 2016 Canadian champion juvenile filly Victory to Victory (Exchange Rate).

This filly was one of a baker's dozen juveniles by Arrogate who won their maidens last year, and their cumulative results were good enough to push the sire to 13th on the freshman sire list. From the first crop of 100, 35 have started, for earnings of $876,759 from a first's season's racing that produced no black-type horses.

Until the first day of 2022.

Progress from the stallion's colts and fillies is a point of considerable interest to racing fans, as well as to breeders and buyers, because there won't be an endless supply of Arrogates.

In late May of 2020, the 7-year-old was found lying in his stall at Juddmonte, unable to rise. Some of the most celebrated veterinarians from Hagyard and Rood & Riddle equine clinics were brought in to assess and evaluate the situation. But there was nothing to be done.

Arrogate was euthanized on June 2.

“The autopsy showed that he had a core lesion on his spinal cord,” O'Rourke said. “When evaluating the situation, the best vets available could not determine an external cause for the injury.

“Arrogate was such a high-energy horse that could not keep his legs on the ground. He loved to buck and run in his paddock; it was his playtime. The only thing that I've been able to think is that maybe he just played around so hard that his own exuberance caused the problem.”

A reason wouldn't make the result any better.

“It was a very hard pill to swallow,” O'Rourke said, “but we hope that he will leave a legacy.”

That hope for the great gray casts a hint of rose on the morning clouds, adds hope to the normalcy of farm life, and brightens the dream that one of those yearlings or young race prospects might be the one.

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Probabeel Possible For Royal Ascot

New Zealand's Horse of the Year Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) could appear at Royal Ascot this year for the G1 Queen Anne S. The four-time Group 1-winning mare, who is owned by Brendan and Jo Lindsay of Cambridge Stud, will trial next week and will target the same trio of races she did last Australian autumn-the G3 Bellmaine S., G1 Futurity S. and the All-Star Mile-before a potential intercontinental trip.

Cambridge Stud Chief Executive Henry Plumptre told SEN Trackside, “We have been talking to Nick Smith at Ascot and we have an invitation to go and run in the Queen Anne S. on the opening day of Royal Ascot, as opposed to going up to Sydney for the Queen Of The Turf, which is what she did last year [when second].”

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Keeneland Announces Record $7.7 Million In Purses For Revitalized 2022 Spring Meet Stakes Schedule

Keeneland will award a record $7.7 million for 19 stakes to be run during the 2022 Spring Meet, to be held April 8-29. The schedule features increased purses for all stakes and significant changes to the season's two historic classic preps: The purse of the Toyota Blue Grass (G2) for 3-year-olds on the first Saturday of the season has been restored to $1 million, and the Central Bank Ashland (G1) for 3-year-old fillies has moved to opening day of the meet and is worth a record $600,000.

Contributing to the stakes purse increases is a total of $1.5 million available from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF), pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Purses for some stakes doubled for 2022, most prominently the Maker's Mark Mile (G1) increased from $300,000 to $600,000, Stonestreet Lexington (G3) from $200,000 to $400,000 and Ben Ali (G3) from $150,000 to $300,000. Others, such as the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3), Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select and Shakertown (G2) received significant boosts.

During the 15-day Spring Meet, Keeneland will contest a total of 10 stakes on grass and nine stakes on dirt while offering multiple stakes on six days. Post time for the first race each day is 1 p.m. ET.

Keeneland will be closed for racing on Easter Sunday, April 17.

“Keeneland is thrilled to offer such a lucrative Spring Meet stakes schedule for horsemen, horseplayers and racing fans,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “Keeneland is coming off a record-breaking 2021 in terms of wagering, which we are reinvesting in purse money to further elevate our racing program. We look forward to world-class racing this April setting the stage for a huge racing year that will continue with the Fall Meet in October and the return of the Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 4-5.”

The 98th running of the Toyota Blue Grass and the 85th running of the Central Bank Ashland both are worth 170 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road to the Kentucky Oaks, respectively. The winners of each stakes will earn 100 qualifying points to the respective classic.

The early nomination deadline for the two stakes is Feb. 19. Late nominations are due March 23.

The Central Bank Ashland, at 1 1/16 miles, is one of three stakes for sophomores on opening day of the Spring Meet. The others are worth $400,000 each: the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3), a 1 1/16-mile turf race, and the return of the Lafayette, a 7-furlong dirt race.

The Lafayette was a fixture for 3-year-olds during the Spring Meets of 1937-2008. The race was run for older horses in 2015 and 2020 on the undercard of the Breeders' Cup.

“Keeneland in the spring is about 3-year-olds blossoming into talented runners, and we have focused on enhancing those stakes in particular to attract the best sophomores in the country,” Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “Moving the Central Bank Ashland to opening day makes the start of the Spring Meet extra special and provides a showcase for this historic Grade 1 event, which is the division's first Grade 1 race of the year. And the fact that Easter Sunday falls on the second Sunday of the meet – when Keeneland is closed for racing – allows us to present a blockbuster opening weekend with 10 stakes worth a total of $4.55 million.”

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Five of those stakes will be run opening Saturday, led by the Toyota Blue Grass, Keeneland's signature Triple Crown prep. For 2022, the purse of the 1 1/8-mile race has been increased from $800,000 in 2021 and returns to the $1 million status of 2015-2019.

The other stakes that day are the $500,000 Madison (G1), for fillies and mares at 7 furlongs; $400,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association for 3-year-old fillies at 1 mile on the grass; $350,000 Shakertown (G2), for 3-year-olds and up at 5½ furlongs on the turf; and $300,000 Commonwealth (G3), for older horses at 7 furlongs.

Opening Sunday will present two stakes for 3-year-olds: the $400,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select, at 7 furlongs, 184 feet, on dirt for fillies; and the $200,000 Palisades, at 5½ furlongs on the grass. The Beaumont is worth 17 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, with the winner collecting 10 points.

For the remainder of the Spring Meet, racing will be held Wednesday through Sunday with the exception of Easter Sunday.

Stakes action returns Friday, April 15, with the $600,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1), for 4-year-olds and up at 1 mile on turf, and the $200,000 TVG Limestone, for 3-year-old fillies going 5½ furlongs on the grass.

Saturday, April 16, will present three stakes: $500,000 Jenny Wiley (G1), a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares; $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington (G3), for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles; and $200,000 Giant's Causeway (L) a 5½-furlong turf race for fillies and mares.

The Stonestreet Lexington, which is the final prep on this year's Road to the Kentucky Derby, awards 34 Derby qualifying points. The winner will earn 20 points.

Four graded stakes on the remaining days of the season will showcase older horses. The first is the $300,000 Baird Doubledogdare (G3), for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles, on Friday, April 22.

Two stakes will be run Saturday, April 23: $350,000 Elkhorn (G2), at 1½ miles on the turf, and $300,000 Ben Ali (G3), at 1 1/8 miles on dirt. The Ben Ali was moved from the second Saturday of the season.

The April 29 closing-day feature is the $300,000 Bewitch (G3), for fillies and mares racing 1½ miles on the turf.

Keeneland 2022 Spring Meet Stakes Schedule

Date	Stakes	*KTDF Contribution to Purse**	Division	Distance
April 8	$600,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1)	$100,000	3YO Fillies	1 1/16 Miles
April 8	$400,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3)	$100,000	3YOs	1 1/16 Miles (T)
April 8	$400,000 Lafayette	$100,000	3YOs	7 Furlongs
April 9	$1 Million Toyota Blue Grass (G2)	$150,000	3YOs	1 1/8 Miles
April 9	$500,000 Madison (G1)	$100,000	4YOs & Up, F&M	7 Furlongs
April 9	$400,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association	$100,000	3YO Fillies	1 Mile (T)
April 9	$350,000 Shakertown (G2)	$50,000	3YOs & Up	5½ Furlongs (T)
April 9	$300,000 Commonwealth (G3)	$50,000	4YO & Up	7 Furlongs
April 10	$400,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select	$100,000	3YO Fillies	7 Furlongs, 184'
April 10	$200,000 Palisades	$50,000	3YO	5½ Furlongs (T)
April 15	$600,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1)	$100,000	4YOs & Up	1 Mile (T)
April 15	$200,000 TVG Limestone	$50,000	3YO Fillies	5½ Furlongs (T)
April 16	$500,000 Jenny Wiley (G1)	$100,000	4YOs & Up, F&M	1 1/16 Miles (T)
April 16	$400,000 Stonestreet Lexington (G3)	$100,000	3YOs	1 1/16 Miles
April 16	$200,000 Giant's Causeway (L)	$50,000	3YOs & Up, F&M	5½ Furlongs (T)
April 22	$300,000 Baird Doubledogdare (G3)	$50,000	4YOs & Up, F&M	1 1/16 Miles
April 23	$300,000 Ben Ali (G3)	$50,000	4YOs & Up	1 1/8 Miles
April 23	$350,000 Elkhorn (G2)	$50,000	4YOs & Up	1½ Miles (T)
April 29	$300,000 Bewitch (G3)	$50,000	4YOs & Up, F&M	1½ Miles (T)

*Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. All KTDF purse allotments are subject to approval of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

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