Among all entry points to horse racing – the horses, wagering, fashion, becoming a jockey or trainer – Ronald, Joseph and Giovannina Solevo chose food. The sibling team, better known as Ronnie, Joe and Gi, opened in 2018 what has become one of Saratoga Springs' toughest restaurants to book for a dinner reservation (or any meal during Saratoga's summer race meet): Solevo Kitchen + Social.
Month: January 2022
Handicapping Heavyweight: Kenny Mollicone To Receive First King Of The Turf Championship Belt
Kenny Mollicone established himself as the National Turf Handicapping Champion by winning the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge last September during the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs. Now he'll have the belt to prove it.
Mollicone, a 47-year-old real-estate developer from Somerset, Mass., will be presented the Global Tote King of the Turf Championship Belt during Sunday's awards dinner that wraps up the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) at Bally's Las Vegas. The Global Tote belt was designed to mimic boxing's iconic world championship belts.
“I love it!” Mollicone enthused recently when texted a photo of the Global Tote Championship Belt. “Never had a trophy quite like that. Never had a championship belt. I'm going to put it right in my office. Put it right in a case.”
Asked if he's been getting the proper respect for being King of the Turf, he said with a laugh, “Believe it or not, I've had more than a few people who bet horses stop me and go, 'Hey, King of the Turf!' It's pretty funny.”
Mollicone won the six-day competition based on Kentucky Downs' races with an aggregate bankroll total of $5,783.90 after playing in all three of the individual two-day, live-money contests. That gave him a comfortable $1,163.90 advantage over runner-up Christy Moore of Fishers, Ind. Mollicone also earned $20,000 as the overall winner.
“Like Kentucky Downs, the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge is one-of-a-kind in American racing,” said Dallas Baker, Head of International Operations for Global Tote's parent company, BetMakers Technology Group. “We wanted our King of the Turf to get a champion's trophy as unique as the tournament format and its venue. It's especially appropriate to use boxing's fabled world-championship belts as our inspiration for an event in Kentucky, which of course gave us Muhammad Ali.”
Eleven competitors earned Kentucky Downs-sponsored berths for the NHC, which runs Jan. 28-30. Moore, who already had earned the maximum two NHC qualifying seats, instead received an entry for the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, in which she finished fourth out of 522 entries.
“It's taken just two years for the Kentucky Downs King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge to become one of the most coveted prizes in the world of handicapping contests,” said Brian Skirka, Monmouth Park's marketing manager who has served as the Kentucky Downs' King of the Turf tournament director the past two years. “Andy Muhlada was a great inaugural champion in 2020, and 2021 champ Ken Mollicone – with the introduction of the new Global Tote King of the Turf Championship Belt – will literally carry his title into 2022.
“An unmatched layout and quality of turf racing gives Kentucky Downs such amazing content that serves as the ultimate ingredient with which to concoct a world-class contest series. I'm excited to work with the team to create this year's contest series.”
While the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge features live money, with players keeping their final bankroll in addition to any prize money, the NHC's format utilizes mythical $2 win and place wagers on a single horse in mandatory and optional races. Competitors must play 18 races each of the first two days, after which the top 10 percent of entries based on mythical bankroll qualify for the third day's semifinals, where players pick their 10 races to play. The subsequent top 10 players advance to the Final Table, featuring seven mandatory races.
Mollicone finished 194th in last year's NHC out of 563 entries, his first time qualifying for the world's most prestigious handicapping competition.
“I had a horse that was 16-1 in the last race at Saratoga and got disqualified,” he said of the COVID-delayed 2021 NHC. “If he hadn't been taken down, I'd have been in the semifinals. I'm still sick about it. Watch the replay.”
Also qualifying for the NHC through Kentucky Downs, with hometowns are Marikate Carter (Saratoga Springs, NY), George Chute (Dedham, MA), Erin Doty-McQuaid (Nicholasville, KY), Gary Gristick (Lebanon, PA), Lawrence Kahlden (St. Petersburg, FL), Chris Larmey (Kennewick, WA), Nick Noce (Rochester, NY), Joseph Regan (Marlboro, MA), David Rink (Bannockburn, IL) and Gary Wright (Staten Island, NY). In addition to Moore, Ed Deicke (Lido Beach, NY) earned a Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge berth at Kentucky Downs after being double-qualified for the NHC.
With Kentucky Downs picking up a seventh racing day for 2022, the format for the King of the Turf Handicapping Challenge has not yet been set. Kentucky Downs will race Sept. 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11 and 14. Mollicone says he's participating however it's structured.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “I've got to defend myself. Have to go for another belt.”
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Pegasus: Knicks Go Arrives At Gulfstream ‘Happy, Fresh And Full Of Himself’
Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go was 'full of himself' on his first morning at Gulfstream Park Tuesday since shipping from New Orleans for a title defense in Saturday's $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by 1 S/T.
The Brad Cox-trained 6-year-old, widely expected to be named Horse of the Year next month, will make the final start of his career in the Pegasus World Cup, which he won last year by a dominating 2 ¾ lengths, before starting a second career as a stallion.
“He shipped in here, arrived last night about 11:30. He settled in fine last night. His temp was good. He looked good this morning walking a little bit. His energy level was really good and we decided to train him,” Cox said. “We just jogged him about a mile and a half. He went really, really good. He seemed happy, fresh and full of himself.”
Following his victory in last year's Pegasus, Knicks Go went on to establish himself as the premier older horse in North America, finishing off his 2021 campaign with a four-race winning streak, including victories in the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga and the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar.
“We're trying to do what we did last year with shipping from New Orleans here. We didn't have a plane this year, but that's all good. That's not going to be an excuse. He's capable of getting on a van and taking his show on the road. He did that from Ellis to Saratoga for the Whitney the week of. It's a similar situation,” Cox said. “He certainly seems like he hasn't regressed one step from the Breeders' Cup. We're in good shape.”
In this year's Pegasus World Cup, Knicks Go, whose victories last year were accomplished with dazzling speed from gate to wire, is expected to receive a serious challenge for pacesetting duties from CHC Inc. and WinStar Farms LLC's Life Is Good, the front-running winner of the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar.
Knicks Go will once again be ridden by Joel Rosario, who has been aboard the Maryland-bred son of Paynter in all 10 starts since he was transferred to Cox.
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New Board Members & Officers for RRP
The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) has elected new officers and board members for three-year terms. Sue Smith, Richard Lamb, Malinda Lawrence, JudithAnn Hartman, and Clare and Tom Mansmann have all moved into new roles.
Smith, the former vice chair and current executive director of CANTER Pennsylvania, has been named the new board chair. She has served on the RRP board since 2015. Dr. Carolyn Karlson, who conceived of the format for the first Thoroughbred Makeover in 2013, is the outgoing chair and was voted member emeritus status.
“It is an honor to be nominated to the position of board chair, as the RRP's mission is crucial to the continued success of Thoroughbred aftercare,” said Smith. “I am proud that we have developed a versatile, engaged board bridging both the racing and sport industries. Like all of our board members, I bring a unique perspective with 14 years' experience in aftercare. I've worked alongside trainers on the backside of tracks who have felt the direct impact of the RRP both in increasing demand for ex-racehorses and adding value to horses directly off the track. This shift is palpable and gives me great hope for the future of the industry and the breed. I look forward to another exciting year with the organization and hope to carry on in the spirit of my predecessors.”
Lamb joined the board two years ago this month and has taken the vice chair role. He has officiated at the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium for several years, coached for the U.S. Pony Club Team at USEF National Pony Jumper Championships and for members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Modern Pentathlon, and is a clinician.
Lawrence, Hartman, and the Mansmanns (who are sharing one seat) are all new additions to the board. Lawrence is a founding RRP board member who has returned to the board to serve again. An attorney for the federal government, Lawrence established the RRP's nonprofit status and was integral in RRP's foundation. She has also been named secretary.
Hartman sponsors the Top Maryland-Bred special award at the Thoroughbred Makeover under the name of Copper Beech Stables. She previously worked in research and development and was a professor of chemistry at the United States Naval Academy.
The Mansmanns, who operate Virginia's Pacific Farms, have competed in the Thoroughbred Makeover since 2016 and have actively advocated for and promoted the RRP.
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