March, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Week in Review: Shift to New York a Curious Move on Prat’s Part

Flavien Prat is in the right place at the right time in Southern California. Young and gifted, he dominates the circuit in a way no jockey has in years. He picked up his 60th win of the meet Saturday, 25 more than runner-up Juan Hernandez. He won three stakes on the card, giving him 15 for the meet. And he rides for just about all the top barns on the circuit, most notably Bob Baffert.

It's far, far from broke, but Prat is intent on fixing it. On Saturday, he told Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form that he plans to ride the Keeneland meeting in April and then will move to Belmont Park. Belmont opens Apr. 28.

Prat told Privman that he thought riding in New York would give him as better shot of a winning an Eclipse Award. He was an Eclipse finalist in 2021, but lost out to Joel Rosario.

“It feels like if you want to give yourself a chance to get an Eclipse Award that you need to go to New York,” he said. “That's just the way it is. I never thought I'd leave here, to be honest.”

It's not that Prat isn't good enough to ride in New York. Far from it. The problem for him will be that he will have to find a way to stand out in what is the most crowded jockey colony in the country. There's Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz Jr., Luis Saez and Rosario. John Velazquez, who has been riding in California, will be back. Umberto Rispoli has also announced that he, too, will be making the shift from California to New York.

The competition Prat will face in New York will be fierce, hardly the case in California, where the jockey colony has never been weaker. That's a big part of the reason Prat has been so successful in California…he's just a lot better than everyone else. The question is, how much has that played into his dominance there?

Prat will no doubt enjoy some success in New York. The key will be breaking into the top barns. He's won 13 races and 10 stakes for Chad Brown. He's had four winners over the years for Todd Pletcher. He won the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby via disqualification on Country House (Lookin at Lucky) for Bill Mott. That suggests that those trainers may give him a chance, but there's no way he can move into any of the top stables, push aside the regular New York riders and take over.

He will be in the top five in the standings in New York and maybe better. But there is no chance that he will dominate that circuit like he does in California. So is it better to be the fourth leading rider in New York or the No. 1 rider in California? One would think that the answer is the latter. Prat obviously disagrees.

Richard Mandella is Derby Bound

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella has not started a horse in the Kentucky Derby since 2004. He's had five runners in the Derby over all and none have finished better than fifth. Neither of which is that surprising. Mandella is one of only a few top trainers that does not put a big emphasis on winning the Derby or other 3-year-old stakes. He likes to bring horses along slowly and many of his best runners have been four or older.

But that may be about to change.

Having never raced beyond seven furlongs, Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) had some questions to answer in Saturday's 1 1/16-miles GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita. He answered them all and did so with authority, winning by 5 3/4 lengths. He may not be as talented as Life Is Good (Into Mischief), but he wins his races the same way. Forbidden Kingdom rockets out of the gate, runs away from the competition and has more than enough stamina to complete the job.

That may not be so easy to do at 1 1/4 miles, but Mandella is the perfect trainer to get the horse to relax and stretch his speed out another furlong and a half.

A win in the GI Santa Anita Derby and/or the Kentucky Derby would be huge for the sire, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). While he's gotten off to a good start as a sire, he still hasn't had that Grade I star dirt horse to put on his resume. With Forbidden Kingdom, that may about to change.

It's Ladies Day at the Hall of Fame

The nominations for the next class of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame came out last week and five of the six horses nominated were fillies. The sixth was a gelding.

That's something we might all have to get used to. Unless they are a gelding, you can't expect to get more than eight or nine career starts anymore out of a male horse who has the talent to be a Hall of Famer. They'll likely end their careers after their 3-year-old year and go stand at stud, not enough time to put together a career that includes enough starts and wins to be considered Hall of Fame worthy.

But most top fillies race, at least, until they are four. The two no-brainers on the Hall of Fame ballot are Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Tepin (Bernstein). Beholder ran 26 times and raced at six. Tepin raced 23 times and raced at five.

Since Curlin was inducted in 2014, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is the only modern era, non-gelding male to get into the Hall of Fame. Whether or not a horse with a short campaign can make it into the Hall of Fame will be put to the test when Justify (Scat Daddy) becomes eligible. He raced only six times, but is, of course, a Triple Crown winner. All other Triple Crown winners are in the Hall of Fame. Justify will be eligible in 2024.

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MTHA Approves 10% Laurel Purse Boost Through March

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association approved a 10% across-the-board purse bonus for overnight races through the end of month at its Board of Directors meeting March 3.

The 10% increase is based upon the purse structure in place at Laurel Park prior to a two-week shutdown of live racing to accommodate a racing surface improvement project.

The MTHA in mid-January approved a 20% increase in overnight purse money that took effect Jan. 16 and ran through the end of February. It was designed to compensate for the loss of six racing days and was in conjunction with the addition of three Thursday programs in February.

The board also voted to examine the financials at the end of March and then decide whether to extend the 10% purse bonus through April. Based on statistics, the 20% purse bonus provided roughly the equivalent of purse money that was lost due the canceled days.

The March condition book shows a minimum purse of $18,700 for $5,000 claiming races; $26,400 for claiming $10,000-$8,000; $42,900 for waiver/maiden claiming $40,000-$32,000; $50,600 for a maiden special weight event; and $61,600 for a “non-winners of three races other than” allowance.

Beginning Friday, March 11, or when programming changes can be made with InCompass, the connections of horses that finish seventh through last in each race will receive $300.

The post MTHA Approves 10% Laurel Purse Boost Through March appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Race Meet Agreement at Center of Hollendorfer, TSG April Trial

A trial on the long-gestating legal battle between trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and The Stronach Group (TSG), along with its subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park, is scheduled for Apr. 4 in the County of Los Angeles Superior Court of California.

The non-jury trial, however, is focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action against TSG, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and Santa Anita, and excludes some of Hollendorfer's broader causes of action.

TSG banned Hollendorfer–formerly one of California's most prolific trainers numerically–from its facilities after four of his horses were catastrophically injured during Santa Anita's 2018-2019 winter/spring meet, when the track experienced a well-publicized spike in equine fatalities during an unusually wet spell.

In short, Hollendorfer argues in a brief, dated Feb. 25, that when TSG ejected him from its facilities in June of 2019, the company exceeded its authority as written into the race-meet agreement and as outlined in the California Horse Racing Board's (CHRB) rulebook. More broadly, Hollendorfer maintains that he was denied fair procedure when he was told he had 72-hours to vacate TSG properties after a brief and impromptu meeting with TSG representatives on June 22 of 2019.

In response, TSG maintains it has a common law right of exclusion, and that its authority was also granted through language in the stall application–an agreement between the individual trainer and the racing association–as well as through a CHRB rule pertaining to removal or denial of access. In pre-trial briefs, TSG has argued that the company twice gave Hollendorfer the opportunity to discuss his situation, and therefore, met the elements of fair procedure.

Hollendorfer has been barred from TSG-owned facilities since June of 2019–a period that has seen the trainer's fire-power decline markedly.

A court filing from late last year states that Hollendorfer's stable has shrunk from more than 120 horses in California to an average of just 10, with another 25 to 30 horses traveling between three to four other states.

According to Equibase, Hollendorfer trained 35 winners and earned $1,619,956 in prize money last year. In 2018, he trained 176 winners and accrued $7,191,756 in prize money.

Hollendorfer's legal tussle with the operators of Santa Anita dates to September of 2019, when he filed his initial lawsuit, and the following month, when LA County Superior Court denied his application for a temporary restraining order.

The plaintiff's brief summarizes the defendants' arguments. For one, TSG contends that the terms of the stall application–a document referenced by and woven into the race meet agreement–empowers them to “refuse horse race entries,” the brief states.

Furthermore, CHRB Rule 1989, concerning removal or denial of access, “provides a racing association–as a licensee–unfettered discretion to exclude any other licensees from their premises, including where such exclusion deprives another licensee of vested fundamental rights without Fair Procedure, due process, or equal protection under the law, or any other form of recourse or redress,” the filing adds.

Hollendorfer, however, asks the court to focus on a certain section of the race meet agreement “which provides that the 'agreement of CTT shall be a condition precedent' to the execution of a decision by Defendants 'to limit or eliminate' a trainer's 'ability to participate in racing or training activities' at their racetracks.”

Since the start of legal proceedings, the CTT has supported Hollendorfer's argument that he was denied due process and fair procedure.

Hollendorfer also takes aim at CHRB rule 1989, contending that the agency wields ultimate jurisdiction as to access eligibility of licensees onto CHRB-licensed grounds.

“Plaintiff contends that Defendants' interpretation of the Rule is without merit, inconsistent with controlling case law, and would otherwise constitute the improper abrogation and/or delegation of the CHRB's legislated responsibilities and duties to private entities,” the brief states.

The CHRB has taken no disciplinary actions against Hollendorfer for the fatalities in the winter and spring of 2018-2019, and he has continued to train at Los Alamitos racetrack.

A CHRB investigation into the fatality spike at Santa Anita that winter found no smoking gun. A concurrent investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Task Force similarly found no evidence of “criminal animal cruelty or unlawful conduct.”

The court's ruling will have a significant bearing on Hollendorfer's broader claims for damages when he is expected to take them before a jury.

The ruling is also expected to have a bearing on the outcome of ongoing negotiations to revise the race meet agreement contract currently used in California.

Hollendorfer filed his initial lawsuit against the Pacific Racing Association–the corporate operators of Golden Gate Fields–on Aug. 12, 2019, in Alameda County Superior Court. That Court also subsequently denied Hollendorfer's application for a temporary restraining order. The trial date in that case is scheduled for Mar. 21.

Hollendorfer is also engaged in ongoing litigation against the CHRB and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. These cases are being heard in the Superior Court of San Diego County.

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Flightline Resumes Training With Santa Anita Jog

Undefeated Flightline was back on the track Saturday at Santa Anita Park after a hock injury forced him to miss a planned start in the San Carlos Stakes (G2) later that day at the Arcadia, Calif. track.

“He jogged a mile which is pretty routine,” trainer John Sadler said of the 2021 Runhappy Malibu Stakes (G1) winner, a son of Central Kentucky sire Tapit who caught the eye of the racing world in winning his three career starts by a combined margin of 37 ½ lengths.

“We think his setback (with the hock issue) is over and he's back to training.”

Flightline is campaigned by a partnership comprised of West Point Thoroughbreds, Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Woodford Racing, and breeder Summer Wind Equine.

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