June, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

D. Wayne and Laurie Lukas Join ‘Let’s Talk’

The TDN's 'Let's Talk'–a podcast series featuring TDN's Christina Bossinakis and TVG's on-air analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion on personal and professional issues often faced within the racing community.

The latest edition features Hall of Fame horseman D. Wayne Lukas, who collected his latest Grade I victory with Secret Oath in the May 6 Kentucky Oaks.

Wayne Lukas is no stranger to success. Inducted into racing's Hall of Fame in 1999, the Antigo, Wisconsin native has spent over four decades reshaping and even defining the sport of horse racing. And while the victories may not be as plentiful as they may have once been, the 86-year-old continues to find himself on center stage on the big days, as was the case with Secret Oath when running fourth in the latest running of the GI Preakness S. While many other octogenarians are content with enjoying the fruits of their labors in retirement, Lukas continues to forge ahead with the same passion and intensity that he displayed during the zenith of his training career.

“I still get up at 3:30 every morning and now at my age, that alarm doesn't go off–I usually beat it,” he said. “But if it does go off, at 3:30 in the morning at my age, you might [want to] tip back and say, 'Woah boy.” But I refuse to let myself do that. I refuse to let the old man in.”

Well lauded for the string of assistants who have gone on to become top-level trainers in their own right, Lukas remains very forthright about the influence he has tried to exact over his team throughout the years. The one-time basketball coach underscored that it wasn't only the star graduates like Todd Pletcher, Kiaran McLaughlin, Dallas Stewart, et al that he tried to mentor, but also the ones that may not have been able to reach the heights of some of their contemporaries. Often referred to as 'The Coach,' Lukas has certainly earned that moniker.

“It bothered me that I was able to develop six or seven kids and give them a certain experience and there were seven or eight or 10 on the team that I really couldn't influence in that area,” he explained. “They just weren't good enough but they were good, hard-working kids. Kids that had the dream as much as the ones that were playing. And it always bothered me a little bit. I tried to influence all my players.”

And that philosophy branched over to racing.

“So when I got into horse racing, I was very upset if we had two or three horses that didn't turn out, especially if I bought them. And I wanted to make everyone of them profitable.”

Also during the discussion, Lukas addressed several of the pressures of training, often magnified with age, and many of the present-day player's tendency to migrate toward a younger trainer with a higher win percentage.

He said, “When you get to my age, most people wonder, is he out? Is he still doing it? They often turn to a younger person.”

Later in the program, Lukas is joined by his wife, Laurie. Candid about her first impression of Lukas, the lifelong horsewoman was quick to point out that the man was, in many ways, quite different than that of his public persona.

“When I first met him, it was just a chance meeting and I wasn't super impressed..I thought he was really full of himself,” she admitted. “I'd known of him for years and years like everyone else. I just thought he had a bit of an ego.”

She continued, “But the first time we had a conversation on the phone, it was a totally different deal. He has so much depth. The conversations were fascinating. He's so engaging and very intelligent. And that was my surprise. I didn't expect that.”

And what makes the relationship work?

“I have such great respect for her as a horseperson,” affirmed Lukas. “I don't have to go home at night and hold a clinic or a seminar on what we're trying to do or where we're trying t go.”

Laurie added, “We both get it. I understand that passion and that drive. And I won't be complaining about why we can't go to dinner tonight or why we can't do this or that because I get it. That really helps.”

The show is sponsored by 1/ST Racing and Healthnetics.

To watch the entire 'Let's Talk' podcast, click here. And for the audio only version, click here.

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Hollendorfer, Stronach Group Reach Legal Settlement

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and The Stronach Group (TSG)-controlled subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields have reached a settlement in the legal disputes that have been ongoing since 2019, according to notice of settlement court filings dated Wednesday.

The details of the settlement were not disclosed in the notices, however. It's currently unknown, therefore, if the terms include any remuneration, for example.

It's similarly unknown if the settlement terms open the door to the possibility of Hollendorfer once again training and racing at TSG-owned facilities.

TDN reached out to Hollendorfer's attorney, Drew Couto. There is “nothing I can share,” Couto said. “Everything is confidential.”

Attorney Richard Specter, representing TSG, did not respond before publication to an emailed request for comment.

This settlement doesn't draw to an end Hollendorfer's legal wranglings.

The trainer is also engaged in ongoing litigation against the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC). These cases are being heard in the Superior Court of San Diego County.

TSG banished Hollendorfer from its facilities after four of the trainer's horses were catastrophically injured during Santa Anita's ill-fated 2018-2019 winter/spring meet, when the track experienced a well-publicized spike in equine fatalities during an unusually wet spell.

The trainer subsequently launched legal actions in Alameda County Superior Court against the Pacific Racing Association, the corporate operators of Golden Gate Fields, in August of 2019.

Hollendorfer sued the Los Angeles Turf Club, TSG's subsidiary owners of Santa Anita, in September of 2019. This lawsuit concerned seven causes of action.

A bifurcated non-jury trial was conducted in the LA County Superior Court between April 4 and April 6 of this year, focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and Santa Anita.

In his ruling, judge Maurice Leiter found that Hollendorfer had no standing as a third-party beneficiary to seek a legal declaration of his rights under the race-meet contract in effect when he was barred from all TSG-owned facilities in June of 2019. Only the CTT could pursue these rights under that race-meet agreement on the trainer's behalf, the judge decided.

TSG's actions in 2019 appear to have led to a marked reversal of fortunes for the former numerical powerhouse trainer.

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.

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.

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Record Median As Steady OBS June Sale Concludes Sales Season

OCALA, FL – With a significantly larger catalogue this year, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds always figured to eclipse the record gross it set last year, but the three-day auction ended Thursday with, not just that new highwater mark, but also with a sale record median figure.

“A lot of horses got sold at a lot of different levels,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said. “That's always a good thing, particularly for the last sale of the year.”

A total of 653 juveniles sold at the June sale for a gross of $26,986,500–eclipsing the record of $24,626,450 set when 567 horses sold for $24,626,450 at the 2021 auction. The average was $41,327–down just 4.8% from last year's record mark of $43,433.

The median held steady at $25,000 for each of the sale's three sessions to top the previous record of $20,000.

“I think the median is a better tell-tale sign of the strength of the sale than the gross,” Wojciechowski. “As that median creeps up, we are still getting plenty of horses traded at the lower price levels, but covering all of our bases. Averages can get skewed, but the median seems to be a truer figure in a lot of these cases.”

The buy-back rate for the sale was 19%. It was 18.2% at the conclusion of the 2021 sale before falling to 17.2% with the inclusion of post-sale transactions.

“I think June continues to show that it is a stand alone sale. It has its own legs,” Wojciechowski said. “Plenty of quality horses come out of this sale.”

Peter Miller was busying makes the rounds on the OBS sales grounds all week and the trainer finally got on the board with three purchases Thursday, led by a $200,000 daughter of Good Magic (hip 984).

“It's tough. The market is tough for the good ones,” Miller said. “We are all on the same horses and you have to pay a lot more for them. It's been that way at pretty much every sale this year.”

The June sale brought the curtain down on a record-setting juvenile sales season.

“It was a great season for us,” Wojciechowski said. “And a lot of that was predicated on the quality of the horses that the consignors brought us. Without them, we wouldn't have a sale.”

De Meric Sales was the leading consignor at the June sale, with 28 juveniles sold for $1,889,000.

“It has been a great season for all of us,” said Tristan de Meric. “The market has been strong all the way up to this sale. This sale took a little bit of time to warm up, but it felt better yesterday and today.”

Asked to assess the quality of the season for his Wavertree Stables consignment, Ciaran Dunne said, “Overall, it was a good year. It doesn't get any easier, but it's not supposed to. We had enough bright spots to paint over the spots. When the dust settles and we look back on it, it will be a good year.”

Asked if he had seen a stronger middle market in 2021, Dunne said, “If there was one, I didn't see it. It's the same thing. We need two or three horses to carry the weight for the rest of them. And then it's a question of trading horses to stop paying bills. I think overall, we did a good job of that. Our clearance rate has been very strong. We took our lumps where we needed to take them.”

Looking ahead to restocking with the start of the yearling sales season next month, de Meric said, “I think it will be more of the same. You've got to be careful when you're buying. Hopefully we can find more of the right ones.”

Curlin Colt a Late Star

Trainer Ron Moquett struck late to secure a colt by Curlin

(hip 1087) for $370,000 as the final session of the OBS June sale wound down Thursday afternoon. Moquett, who did his bidding out back, saw off bloodstock agent Chad Schumer, bidding at the pack of the pavilion, to secure the chestnut colt on behalf of Alabama businessman Gus King.

“His pedigree is very good,” Moquett said of the colt's appeal. “He's a very strong, athletic-looking horse. We know he comes from good people, from the breeder all the way up. Hopefully we can just carry on the care that they gave him.”

Of King, Moquett added, “He sells a lot and now he's finally letting us keep a couple and buy a couple. He likes the sport, so I want him to do well.”

The session topper was consigned by Eddie Woods on behalf of his breeder, Hill 'n' Dale Holdings and Stretch Run Ventures. He is out of stakes-placed Distracting (Distorted Humor), a daughter of Teeming (Storm Cat) and half-sister to Grade I winner Streaming (Smart Strike). The colt RNA'd for $135,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale and was supplemented to the June sale after being scratched from the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale following an :11 flat work. He worked a quarter-mile last week in :21 3/5.

“He was a horse that was a really good individual,” Hill 'n' Dale's John Sikura said of the colt as a yearling. “He kind of slapped his feet when he walked. We thought people would overlook that and it wouldn't bother them, but as a yearling, they didn't overcome it.”

Of the colt's experience in Timonium last month, Sikura said, “We brought him to Maryland and Eddie said he didn't like the track, didn't work great. The horse had really trained well and he worked well here. And it's a world-class pedigree. He's the kind of horse that, being by Curlin with that family, if he has success on the racetrack, he has unlimited value.”

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Curlin Colt Tops OBS June Sale Finale

Hip No. 1087, a son of Curlin consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent, was sold to Gus King for $370,000 to top the final session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2022 June Sale of 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age.

The chestnut colt, who breezed a quarter in :21 3/5 at Saturday's Under Tack session, is out of stakes placed Distracting, by Distorted Humor, a half sister to Grade 1 winner Streaming.

Hip No. 983, a daughter of Collected consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, was sold to Sequel Bloodstock, Agent, for $260,000. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 at Saturday's Under Tack session, is out of Hottalabamba, by Into Mischief, a daughter of graded stakes placed So Long Sonoma.

Hip No, 795, a daughter of Irish War Cry consigned by Thorostock LLC, Agent, whose eighth in :9 4/5 was the fastest work at of the sale the distance at Friday's Under Tack session, went to Jebel Ali Stable for $250,000. The dark bay or brown filly is a half sister to stakes placed Jamaican Don out of D D Renegade, by Medalist, from the family of Grade 1 winner Lite Light.

Hip No. 994, a son of Pioneerof the Nile who breezed a quarter in :21 2/5 on Saturday, went to MyRacehorse for $250,000. Consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, the bay colt is out of graded stakes winner I'm a Looker by Henny Hughes, from the family of Grade 1 winner Dortmund.

Justin Casse, Agent, went to $250,000 for Hip No. 1090, a daughter of American Freedom consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent. The dark bay or brown filly, who breezed an eighth in:10 1/5 on Saturday, is out of Honey Ride, by Candy Ride (ARG), a daughter of Grade 1 winner Tarlow.

Hip No. 970, a daughter of Ghostzapper consigned by All Dreams Equine, Agent, was sold to Shepherd Equine Advisors, Agent for Larry Hirsch, for $240,000. The dark bay or brown filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Saturday, is out of High Authority, by Uncle Mo, a half sister to graded stakes winning OBS graduate Adios Charlie.

Hip No. 1109, a daughter of Practical Joke consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, was sold to Scott and Evan Dilworth LLC for $230,000. The dark bay or brown filly, whose Under Tack quarter in :20 4/5 was Saturday's co-fastest, is a half sister to graded stakes placed stakes winner Forewarned out of graded stakes placed stakes winner Fortune Play, by Five Star Day.

Randy Bradshaw paid $210,000 for Hip No. 972, a son of Accelerate consigned by Pike Racing, Agent. The chestnut colt, whose eighth in :10 flat was co-fastest at Saturday's Under Tack session, is out of History Supreme, by Speightstown, a daughter of graded stakes placed Bahama Bound.

Hip No. 783, a daughter of Bee Jersey consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, was sold to NBS Stable / John Ballantyne for $200,000. The chestnut filly, whose quarter in :20 4/5 was co-fastest at the distance on Friday, is out of graded stakes placed Dance Secretary (IRE), by Danehill Dancer, a half sister to champion Perfect Soul (IRE).

Frank Alosa, Agent for Gentry Farm, went to $200,000 for Hip No. 947, a son of Girvin consigned by Dynasty Thoroughbreds. The dark bay or brown colt, whose eighth in :10 flat was co-fastest at the distance at Saturday's Under Tack session, is out of stakes placed Grinch, by Salt Lake, from the family of stakes winner Miss Missile.

Hip No. 984, a daughter of Good Magic consigned by New Horizon Farm, Inc., Agent, was sold to Peter Miller, Agent, for $200,000. The bay filly is a half sister to Grade 1-placed Thirteen Squared out of graded stakes winner House of Fortune, by Free House.

For the session, 206 2-year-olds sold for a total of $9,594,900, compared with 166 grossing $8,397,450 at last year's third session. The average was $46,577, compared with $50,587 a year ago, while the median price was $25,000, identical to 2021. The buyback percentage was 20.5 percent; it was 16.2 percent last year.

Five older horses sold for $85,000, averaging $17,000 with a $13,000 median price.

For the entire sale, 658 2-year-olds sold for a record $27,082,500, compared with 567 bringing 2021's old mark of $24,626,450, The average was $41,159, compared to 2021's $43,433, while the median price was a sale record $25,000 compared with $20,000 in 2021. The buyback percentage was 18.3 percent; it was 16.9 percent last year.

The sale topper was Hip No. 525, a daughter of Uncle Mo consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, Agent, sold to Donato Lanni, Agent, for $725,000. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat at Wednesday's Under Tack session, is out of Ultralight Beam, by Giant's Causeway, a half sister to graded stakes winner His Race to Win.

Next on the OBS agenda is the October Yearling Sale. Selected Yearlings sell on Oct. 11 and Open Yearlings on Oct. 12.

To view the auction's full results, click here.

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