February, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fonner Files: New Year, New Wagers For ‘Little Track That Could’

Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak shares slices of life from the Grand Island, Neb., racetrack throughout the 2022 meet in the Fonner Files.

“The Little Track That Could” begins its 69th season of Thoroughbred horse racing on Saturday, Feb. 19.

Fonner Park, in Grand Island, Neb., gained that fitting nickname when it successfully raced through the original COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Fonner again attempts the uncertain when it becomes the only racetrack in North America to offer the Omni bet. Also known as a swinger bet, the wager is essentially a show quinella.

A bettor must correctly select at least two horses to finish in the top three placings. A two-horse Omni bet has three possible winning combinations: first and second, first and third, or second and third. At least two horses must be selected.

The minimum Omni wager amount is $2 and there is a 15 percent takeout. If three selected horses finish in the top three, the payoff is the combined total of all three winning combination payoffs.

“We know there will be some initial interest and if there is sufficient action we'll keep it,” said Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak. “We all don't have the same tastebuds, and any chef will tell you that items don't make it to the menu unless you try them first as a daily special.”

The wager startup cost was sponsored and presented by Pat O'Neill, a Fonner Park director and local business owner.

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Lukas: Ethereal Road Headed For Grade 2 Rebel

After watching Ethereal Road work five furlongs from the gate Tuesday morning at Oaklawn, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said the eye-catching maiden winner earlier in the meeting will make his next start in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds Feb. 26.

A son of Quality Road, Ethereal Road finished seventh, fifth and third in his first three starts before storming home to break his maiden by four widening lengths at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 29 under Luis Contreras.

The performance was noteworthy because Ethereal Road hesitated and bobbled at the start, according to footnotes from the official race chart, and trailed by 16 lengths after a quarter mile and 12 ½ lengths after a half mile before he began picking off rivals on the second turn.

Five-wide turning for home, Ethereal Road mowed down five horses in the final three-sixteenths of a mile to win going away at odds of 19-1. The final time over a fast track was 1:46.82.

Lukas said he doesn't know why, under extraordinary circumstances, it finally clicked for Ethereal Road, a $90,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sales graduate who is owned by Aaron Sones.

“If I knew that, I would be a better trainer,” Lukas said. “Man, you talk about left. He was in another area code.”

Because Ethereal Road is a large horse – he stands 16.3 hands and weighs around 1,300 pounds – his poor break was magnified when compared to a smaller horse, Lukas said.

“It takes them three-eighths of a mile to get that momentum again to get going,” Lukas said. “But when they get going, if they've got ability, again, I emphasize that – they've got to have ability – when they get going, they pass horses if they've got the ability. What he did on the turn, if you just took the video and ran it up the half mile and said, 'Oh, here, let's watch this,' – from the half mile (pole) to the wire, that was spectacular. Every jump he passed a horse.”

Ethereal Road had his penultimate work for the Rebel Tuesday morning, covering five furlongs out of the gate in 1:01.80.

Lukas said Contreras will ride Ethereal Road in the 1 1/16-mile Rebel, which is Oaklawn's third of four Kentucky Derby points races. It figures to draw a large field, with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert scheduled to be represented after winning the Rebel a record eight times, including the last two runnings with Nadal in 2020 and Concert Tour last year.

Lukas won the Rebel in 1989 with Manastash Ridge and again in 2013 with Will Take Charge, who captured an Eclipse Award that year as the country's champion 3-year-old male.

In addition to Ethereal Road, other locally based Rebel candidates include Dash Attack for trainer Kenny McPeek, Barber Road (John Ortiz), Ben Diesel (Dallas Stewart) and Chasing Time (Steve Asmussen).

Dash Attack won the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 1, a 1-mile race that was Oaklawn's first Kentucky Derby points event. Baffert collected Oaklawn's second, the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 29, with unbeaten Newgrange. Barber Road finished second in the Smarty Jones and Southwest. Ben Diesel was seventh in the Smarty Jones and third in the Southwest. Chasing Time was a 7 ¾-length first-level allowance winner at 1 mile Jan. 14. Favored in all five career starts, the Rebel will be his stakes debut.

Lukas said Ignitis, who finished third in the Smarty Jones, is under consideration for the Rebel. Ignitis ran 11^th in the Southwest. Call Me Jamal also is under consideration for the Rebel, trainer Mike Puhich said Tuesday morning.

“There's an allowance race the same day,” Puhich said. “I'm going to keep the door open.”

Call Me Jamal broke his maiden at 1 1/16 miles Dec. 18 – Ethereal Road was third – and ran seventh in the Southwest. Call Me Jamal was beaten eight lengths.

“People don't realize what kind of trouble he had, either,” Puhich said. “I thought he was going to run dead last on the far turn.”

The Rebel closed Feb. 11 with 111 nominations. It offers 85 points toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby to the top four finishers (50-20-10-5). Post positions will be drawn Monday.

Barber Road also breezed Tuesday morning, going 5 furlongs in 1:00.40. Barber Road worked in company.

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Storm Eunice Forces Cancellations in UK/Ire

The approach of Storm Eunice, which will impact Ireland and the United Kingdom on Friday, has caused some racecourses to cancel their cards as a precautionary measure. Fakenham was called off on Thursday due to the severe weather warnings, and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board has cancelled Dundalk's Friday card, too. The storm is expected to bring high winds and, in some cases, snow.

“We discussed the situation with Jim Martin of Dundalk Stadium and Met Eireann this morning and again this afternoon and we felt with the current forecast for tomorrow it was prudent to make an early decision and cancel the fixture,” said IHRB Clerk of the Course, Brendan Sheridan via Twitter. “Many parts of the country are subject to Orange and Red Weather Warnings in the morning which would make travel unsafe and Met Eireann are also forecasting gusts with speeds in excess of 80km/h during race time.”

Kelso, one of three UK courses still set to race on Friday, will hold an inspection at 8 a.m. on Friday morning.

“We're only a yellow warning at the moment up here and we are getting nothing like the wind speeds down in England,” said clerk of the course Matthew Taylor. “Our concern would be snow more than anything and access to the racecourse maybe and the surrounding areas on high ground if they got heavy snow. We are in a trickier situation than most because it literally is just the waiting game.

“The problem as well is that the forecast is changing by the hour. We were supposed to be getting 10 centimetres of snow and then this afternoon it's changed back to rain so we don't know exactly what we're going to get.”

“We've got an 8 a.m. inspection so hopefully we can make the right call early.”

Lingfield and Southwell are both set to race as of Thursday evening, with Lingfield set to be inspected at 8 a.m. and Southwell, which is expecting 60-70mph winds, due for inspection at 10 a.m.

Kirkland Tellwright, clerk of the course at Haydock, is hoping by Saturday that the storm has weakened in advance of the course's Saturday meeting.

He said, “The main concern has been wind, which would be a problem on a raceday but shouldn't be the day before. There will be a lot of damage to repair, no doubt. Saturday is expected to be blustery, gusts of wind and more rain. Having walked the course a couple of times today, I'm pretty optimistic we'll get through.

“The hurdle course is heavy, soft in places, and is not in a bad place. The chase course is heavy, and very heavy in one or two places so we might be bypassing them. I've taken the second fence out in the back straight mainly as a precaution because it gives us more options in terms on how we get past that location.”

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Acclaimed Florida Horseman Luke McKathan Passes Away

James Bryan “Luke” McKathan, Sr., the patriarch of one of Florida's most successful racing families and an accomplished horseman and pinhooker, died Feb. 14 at the age of 89.

According to a lengthy profile on the McKathan family in a 2004 edition of the Florida Horse magazine, Luke McKathan was born and raised on a family farm in Alabama, where he picked cotton, and left home at 13 in search of a better life.

He began his career in racing with Standardbreds and found a job with legendary harness racing trainer and driver Billy Haughton. He branched out and became a Quarter Horse trainer before shifting gears again and becoming a Thoroughbred trainer in 1968.
McKathan's next stop was Marion County, Florida where he and his wife Jocelyn opened McKathan Farms in Reddick.

“I moved to Ocala as an alternative to being at the racetrack,” he told the magazine. “I was starving to death at the racetrack and you could do that anywhere. When I first came to Ocala, I was surprised that there were so many horsemen, but so few trainers. I didn't know if I would be successful and the first few years were difficult.”

After his early struggles, McKathan thrived while establishing himself as one of the most astute and versatile horsemen in the region. He seemed to be good at whatever he did, particularly when it came to pinhooking.

“He was very talented at communicating with the horses,” said his nephew David McKathan. “He was just very good at it. He was the best I've ever seen around a horse.”

McKathan became a mentor to many, including horseman Casey Seaman.

“He's an amazing man,” Seaman told the Florida Horse. “I've trained here for 10 years and I have learned so much. He's been my hero since making the decision to move to Florida. He thinks of the most difficult situations, applies common sense, and produces positive results.”

As one of the first to master the pinhooking game, McKathan had problems with the way horses were showcased at the 2-year-old sales and was instrumental in changing how the pre-sale works were conducted.

“I had to convince the sales company to have a horse work by itself and not in the company of another horse,” McKathan told the Florida Horse. “You always had to work horses together, and you'd find yourself selling one horse and bringing the other horse home. Everyone should have a few seconds to showcase what their horse can do so that the buyers will have the opportunity to see what the racing prospect is capable of doing.”

McKathan was also a tremendous teacher and taught his sons J.B., who passed away in 2019, and Kevin the business. They started their own consignment named McKathan Bros. and had one of their first big successes when privately purchasing 1997 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. winner Silver Charm for Bob Baffert. Often teaming up with Baffert, they were also involved in the careers of Real Quiet, Captain Steve, Silverbulletday and American Pharoah.

“The words 'no' and 'can't' weren't acceptable answers,” Kevin McKathan said of his father to the Florida Horse. “He would either make you or break you. He would give you all you could handle and in the end you were better for it.”

McKathan is survived by Jocelyn McKathan, his siblings Shirley and Miles, his children Kevin, Bo, and Brenda and several grandchildren.

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