Lindsy Reed is very much part of the team that produced one of the great upsets in racing history, 80.80-1 Rich Strike’s emergence in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. Trainer Eric Reed is assisted by his wife, Kay, and Lindsy, their daughter.
Month: June 2022
Hollywood Jet ‘Loves To Fight,’ Brings Seven-Race Win Streak Into Saturday’s Mr. Prospector
After seven straight wins, but just one against stakes competition, trainer Carlos Milian says it's time to test Hollywood Jet again.
He will do just that in Saturday's $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park, with the six-furlong feature teeming with both speed and talent. Milian isn't quite sure where Hollywood Jet fits in that, acknowledging that “this is the toughest challenge of his career so far.”
But Hollywood Jet is fast.
“Very fast,” said Milian.
The problem is, speed is in abundance in the Mr. Prospector, from the Carlos David-trained Quick Tempo, who is shipping in from Churchill Downs, to Oaklawn shipper Greeley and Ben, to the Kelly Breen-trained River Dog. Looming as a major contender off the pace is Drafted, who has posted victories in Grade 3 stakes in two of his past three races. In between, he was fifth in the Grade 1 Carter.
Then there's Hollywood Jet, claimed by Milian at the urging of his son on May 15, 2021 for $12,500.
The career statistics for the gelded 4-year-old son of Uncaptured are dazzling. From 14 career starts he has nine wins, two seconds and two thirds. He started his seven-race winning streak last Sept. 20, with his most recent score by 10½ lengths at Parx on May 17.
But with the exception of the Fishtown Stakes on March 7, Hollywood Jet has, Milian concedes, been carefully spotted. One other issue: The horse has only raced at Parx throughout his career.
“I've tried to guide him into easier spots than this race,” said the Parx-based Milian. “I really haven't tried a tough field like this for him. Now it's time to try better company.
“The way he is running lately he is telling me he is ready to go forward. The way he destroyed the field in his last race he is telling me he wants to try another stakes race.”
Since Milian claimed the horse for himself, Hollywood Jet has eight wins, a second and a third in 11 starts. He blames himself for the one off-the-board finish of the horse's career, with Hollywood Jet a well-beaten fifth against allowance company last July 14.
“I consider that my mistake because I tried to change the way he runs that race,” said Milian. “There was a lot of speed in that race too, so I told the jockey (Luis Ocasio, his regular rider) to take him back and make him close. He did not like that. He was fighting the jockey the whole way.
“He is a speed horse. That's the way he runs. I know there are a few horses in this race that are going to be tough to beat. I know a lot of them also have speed. But my horse loves to fight. He will be out there fighting with them for the lead. He loves that. That is how he loves to race.”
The other concern Milian has is shipping.
“I'm definitely worried about him going to another track for the first time,” he said. “It's not the same when you are shipping out the same day of the race like he will do for this. It's not the same for the horse. He is used to one track for his career and now we are shipping him out. So that could be an issue.”
The Mr. Prospector Stakes headlines a 12-race card on a Saturday card that falls in the middle of the start of three-day racing weekends at Monmouth Park. The track's first Friday card is set for a 2 p.m. start for an eight-race card. Post times on Saturday and Sunday are 12:15 p.m.
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No Animal Cruelty Charges Will Be Filed Against Veterinarian In Laoban’s Death
No animal cruelty charges will be filed in the death of Thoroughbred stallion Laoban due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, according to the Courier-Journal.
The Courier-Journal's Tim Sullivan reported in April that court documents in an insurance lawsuit had revealed that an injectable vitamin treatment given to Laoban could be to blame for the stallion's death. According to those reports, Laoban died minutes after getting an intravenous shot from veterinarian Dr. Heather Wharton of a vitamin cocktail designed to boost his waning libido. A document authored by attorney Harvey Feintuch in August noted that expired B12 was given at five times the recommended dosage, and that iron dextran, one of the vitamin components, had expired in 2012. One or more of the vitamins were supposed to be given intramuscularly but instead were given intravenously.
According to Sullivan's reading of Feintuch's report, Laoban's death was captured on video and the horse could be seen going into distress 58 seconds after receiving the shot from Wharton. (It is not unusual for larger breeding operations to have cameras in stallion barns.) Wharton returned to the stall and attempted to treat the stallion but was unsuccessful. A necropsy report later revealed a “presumptive diagnosis of anaphylactic shock can be made with a reasonable degree of medico-legal certainty.”
Woodford County Animal Control Supervisor Susan Jones told Sullivan this week that due to a lack of time and no cooperation from the insurance company, she was unable to file misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against Wharton before the statute of limitations ran out.
“This one just slipped through our fingers,” Jones told the Courier-Journal. “We didn't get to do our normal time of investigation there. We did not get to speak to the veterinarian because she had lawyered up, and her lawyer wouldn't allow us to speak to her.”
However, the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners is still expected to conduct an investigation into Wharton's actions.
Read more at the Courier-Journal.
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NYRA’s Acacia Clement A Champion For ‘Individualized’ Aftercare
Acacia Clement has loved horses for as long as she can remember. She fondly recalls her mother, Sherrie, passing on her own love of horses to her as she encouraged her through riding lessons as a child.
Clement gained a particular admiration for Thoroughbreds at 8-years-old when she was placed atop a retired racehorse named Siren. That admiration would later lead her to establish Racing for Home, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the retirement and rehoming of racehorses.
“We had always loved Thoroughbreds as far as a breed,” Clement said of her family's equine background. “No one wanted to ride Siren because she went so fast, but I loved it. She was my favorite of all the horses in the program and it felt like we were a team. And so, I always loved Thoroughbreds.”
As Clement entered her teenage years and began to explore other interests in pageantry and dancing, her affinity for horses never wavered. Thinking back to Siren and the camaraderie she felt working in tandem with the spirited mare, Clement decided to explore the possibility of adopting a Thoroughbred of her own.
Clement was drawn to visit the now defunct Suffolk Downs when she was 17 on the recommendation of the racehorse retirement organization CANTER, who informed her of the needs on the track's backstretch. It was there that she found Palace Diva, a Lido Palace mare who raced five times in 2009. The bay mare's best finish was a fifth-place effort on debut at Tampa Bay Downs. Her last race was in a maiden claimer on July 20, 2009 at Suffolk Downs where she finished sixth-of-8.
“We went to Suffolk Downs and picked out Palace Diva, who is still with our family,” said Clement.
When Clement returned from Suffolk Downs two months later with two more retirees, the family made a decision to launch Racing for Home, Inc., which was officially established in 2011 and operates out of DeCarli Equestrian Center in Ellington, Connecticut.
“We came back with two more horses and my family said, 'If you're going to do this, do it right,'” Clement said. “I went and did all the paperwork, which was a huge undertaking for someone right out of high school. We got 501(c)(3) and we've grown since then.”
The organization carefully evaluates each retiree it welcomes, giving them time to unwind from their racing schedules and to figure out what new career will work best for them.
“We do sanctuary, rehab and retraining,” Clement said. “It's very individualized and they usually need about six months of let-down time. It's very expensive to operate that way, but that's why we have a limited number. You want to give them some time to adapt and then see where their talents are. You start slow with some groundwork and eventually, you can start them under saddle and see if they're a candidate to adopt out. Obviously, they are individuals and some relax a little sooner than others or take to different types of training.”
Racing for Home, Inc. currently cares for 13 horses and has provided aftercare to 40 horses since 2011. The retirees' goals vary from being turned out as a pasture pet to being retrained for other disciplines of riding such as jumping and dressage. One of the farm's most famous alumni is permanent resident Celtic Chaos, a multiple stakes winner on the NYRA circuit who retired to the farm in 2021 after 47 lifetime starts.
“Celtic was known for having an attitude on the racetrack,” Clement said. “He was a tricky horse and he has really settled into his life as an OTTB. Celtic and my dad have an amazing bond, which is great to see.”
One of the newest retirees is Fish Trappe Road, who won the Grade 3 Dwyer over Big Sandy in 2017. He recently returned to the mainland after racing for the past two years in Puerto Rico. The grey gelding found himself in the organization's care after he finished ninth in his last race at Camarero and had his retirement secured by Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare.
Clement said she is hopeful that Fish Trappe Road will settle in as nicely as his former foe Celtic Chaos. The retirees met on three occasions on the racetrack, including the 2015 Sleepy Hollow at Belmont where Fish Trappe Road finished a close second 10 lengths the better of Celtic Chaos in fifth. The two would meet again two years later at Saratoga Race Course in the John Morrissey, which was won by Celtic Chaos with Fish Trappe Road in eighth, and in an allowance one start later.
“Fish Trappe Road has only been with us a little over a month, but he's put on a lot of weight and has settled in really well,” Clement said of the popular gelding. “We're really excited about him and he's going to do well. He's very relaxed since he got to the farm.
“The two actually raced against each other, and now they're in paddocks right next to each other,” Clement added, with a laugh.
Racing for Home, Inc.'s successes are thanks in great part to the dedication of Clement's mother, Sherrie Courtney, who Clement said spends countless hours overseeing the care and development of each retiree.
“My mom is amazing. I give so much credit to her; she is on the farm every day,” said Clement. “She gets on these ex-racehorses and she just has so much love, patience and empathy and really cares so deeply. I admire her so much in what she's been able to do and the success she's had with the horses she's worked with. Her kind heart comes through in their attitude and how they progress. She's been the biggest cheerleader of the program right from the start and now she's the heart and soul behind it.”
Clement reflected on the way aftercare cultivated a passion for horse racing that steered her down the path that led to a full-time position with NYRA this year as a television host and reporter on America's Day at the Races.
“Aftercare got me into the game in the first place. I always grew up watching the Kentucky Derby, the Breeders' Cup and big races like that and I enjoyed it, but I didn't really know anything about it,” said Clement. “So when I ended up getting our first horse, the Suffolk track kitchen was the first place I ever read a racing form.”
Clement also expressed her gratitude for the ways her position at NYRA provide a platform for the discussion of aftercare.
“It's been awesome to see on America's Day at the Races that we put an emphasis on aftercare and promoting events and the work aftercare groups are doing right here in New York,” Clement said. “I'm really proud to work for a company that puts aftercare at the forefront. NYRA realizes we need to focus on aftercare and they continue to ensure that that's at the forefront of the conversation.”
NYRA's commitments to aftercare include a $10 per start pledge to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), an accrediting body that inspects and awards grants to aftercare facilities. NYRA also supports the New York Thoroughbred Horseman's Association's (NYTHA) retirement program Take The Lead, which provides veterinary exams, treatments and other costs associated with retraining racehorses. These efforts are supported by an aftercare assessment fee of 1.5 percent of the claiming price of horses haltered on the NYRA circuit.
The lasting impression Thoroughbreds have had on Clement is that they are a breed as versatile and willing as they are athletic and competitive.
“Thoroughbreds can adapt to anything. They can be eventers, they can do dressage, be jumpers or ponies on the racetrack,” said Clement. “We had one horse who turned out to be a riding horse in a therapeutic program and was teaching children with autism. They're athletes, but they're also intelligent and sensitive. I think that willingness to please shows how well they can adapt.”
Clement said she is grateful not just for the way horses have shaped the trajectory of her life, but for the opportunity to give back as well.
“The most rewarding part of it is that we are fulfilling a need in the industry,” said Clement. “They are incredible animals and are so much more adaptable than people give them credit for. I'm really proud of how far we've come with aftercare and I'm proud my mom and our family can be a part of that.”
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