Month: August 2022

Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally, the dean of California conditioners and a man who is celebrating the unprecedented feat of spending his 74th summer at Del Mar this season, has been named the 18th recipient of the Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award. He'll be honored in that role at the seaside track on Saturday, Aug. 27.

The Pincay Award, named for, and presented by, the Hall of Fame rider, goes to those who have served the sport “with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination and distinction.”

McAnally, who turned 90 last month, checks all the boxes for eligibility for the coveted award through his stellar work during a prodigious training career that began 64 years ago and continues today.

Pincay, who retired in 2003 from an extraordinary riding career that saw him win a then world record 9,530 races, takes special pleasure in giving his award to a man he rode dozens and dozens of winners for over more than three decades.

“Ron put me on horses right from the beginning,” Pincay, who first rode in California in the late '60s, said. “He rode me on a lot of his horses and there were many good ones. Whenever I rode a horse for him, I rode with a lot of confidence. I knew I was going to be on a good one.”

McAnally, who first saw Del Mar working as a hot walker for his trainer uncle, Reggie Cornell, in 1948, saddled his first winner in 1958 and has gone on to score in more than 2,500 races since earning over $126 million in purses in the process. He was the winningest trainer in Del Mar history from 1998 until 2011 and currently sits fourth on the track's leader list with 447 firsts.

(Pincay, Jr. and McAnally shared top honors as leading conditioner and jockey at Del Mar for over a decade. The rider – 19 years after his retirement – still holds the Del Mar all-time mark with 1,013 firsts.)

McAnally, who was inducted into racing's Hall of Fame in 1990, trained a bevy of top-of-the-line horses over the years, but his masterpiece always will be the amazing campaigner John Henry, the nation's Horse of the Year in both 1981 and 1984 who raced until age 9 and won 27 of 45 starts under McAnally's tutelage. Overall, the hard-charging gelding won seven Eclipse Awards, a then record $6,597,947 in purses and an exceptional 18 stakes races in Southern California.

Among McAnally's many other topflight runners were Donut King, Olympio, Super Moment, Festin, Hawkster and Candy Ride. That last-named runner captured Del Mar's $1-million Pacific Classic in 2003 for McAnally's long-time clients Sid and Jenny Craig.

“He's one of the great trainers of all time,” said his fellow Hall of Fame conditioner, Richard Mandella, who has shared backstretches with McAnally for more than four decades. “And he's shown that with his ability to do well with every different kind of horse. He's a person I've watched and learned from throughout my career. He's just a terrific horseman.”

McAnally has manned the second-floor balcony of Barn I on the Del Mar backstretch overlooking the racetrack for more than 50 years, getting an eagle-eye view of his horses training and holding court for the many who stop by to chat, schmooze or reminisce. He continues to follow that practice today.

Pincay rode for 39 seasons, including 27 summers at Del Mar, earning five Eclipse Awards as the nation's foremost rider. He also led the country in earnings on seven different occasions while compiling his exceptional win mark. Now 75-years-old, the native of Panama lives in Arcadia near Santa Anita Park and continues to maintain a close connection to the game.

The list of previous Pincay Award winners follows:

2021 – Dr. Gregory Ferraro
2019 – Julie Krone
2018 – Martine Bellocq
2017 – Mike Smith
2016 – Chris McCarron
2015 – Victor Espinoza
2014 – Art Sherman
2013 – Eddie Delahoussaye
2012 – John Harris
2011 – Jerry/Ann Moss
2010 – Oak Tree Racing Assn.
2009 – Merlin Volzke
2008 – Pete Pedersen
2007 – Elwood (Bud) Johnston
2006 – Mel/Warren Stute
2005 – Noble Threewitt
2004 – Bob Benoit

The post Hall Of Famer Ron McAnally Named 2022 Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award Recipient appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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There were plenty of wonderful moments on Louisiana Cup Day, the annual stakes card saluting Louisiana Thoroughbreds.

One special highlight was the victory of Cheapskate Diva who took command in the $67,000 Louisiana Cup Distaff. The 4-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom was making her stakes debut for breeder/owner Keith Plaisance. Ridden confidently by Carlos Marquez, the bay filly crossed the wire of the mile and one-sixteenth turf stakes in 1.41.92, defeating a deep field of accomplished turf mares.

It was the first stakes win for the filly and her trainer Joseph “Bobby” Felks, and while he was reticent about taking credit for her victory, Marquez and Plaisance gave him his due.

“I give all the credit to Bobby,” said Marquez. “She used to be more hyper, but Bobby has worked with her, and she did it easy for me today.”

Plaisance also praised Felks in the post-race interview.

“It was his idea to enter her in this,” said Plaisance. “Bobby felt she deserved a shot and to win over tough mares like Net a Bear and Fort Polk was amazing. My hat's off to Bobby!”

“Bobby is my middle name,” explained Felks. “I never really liked being called Joseph; everyone calls me Bobby.”

Felks was born in Chicago and is the only member of his family who desired a career in the racing industry. He had a summer job hot walking horses at Arlington Park and made his way to Louisiana when he served as an assistant for the late Edward J. Johnston. The respected horseman succumbed to cancer on August 28, 2021 at the age of 74. Eddie's career spanned 30 years with stakes winners including Pacific Pink, Zarb's Luck, Grand Basin and Is Too earning over $12 million.

Felks has eight horses in training and admits that he had his challenges with Cheapskate Diva. She made six starts at Fair Grounds with little impact.

“She was difficult in the beginning,” he explained. “I didn't know what to do to get her focused. The lightbulb finally turned on at Evangeline Downs, where she began to relax and showed more and more in each work. Winning the maiden $20,000 (on May 14) was a confidence builder, for sure.”

Marquez rode for Johnston and Felks named him on the filly and several other runners.

“It has worked out very well with Carlos,” said Felks. “He has won eight of nine races for me this summer.”

Felks reports that Cheapskate Diva, who reeled off four consecutive wins since May, will have some time off and likely make her next start at Fair Grounds. Her performance on Louisiana Cup Day was very special for the 53-year-old horseman and he remains grateful to Plaisance for his support.

“Training for Keith has been amazing,” stated Felks. “There is no pressure in developing his horses. I couldn't ask for a better owner!”

Matt Crawford, in his first month as Louisiana Downs racing secretary, also applauds the hard work of Felks.

“Bobby is a very dedicated horseman,” stated Crawford. “Whether you have eight or 80, training racehorses is a very demanding job. It's great to see Bobby win his first stakes race and we are happy that it took place on Louisiana Cup Day!”

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A rider doesn't necessarily have to win a lot of races in a week or a major stakes race to earn Jockey of the Week honors. Sometimes just one particular win at a prestigious racetrack for a very special trainer is what it takes.

For jockey Jacqueline A. Davis, it was her first win at Saratoga that garnered Jockey of the Week honors for Aug. 8 through Aug. 14 and the special trainer is her father, retired jockey Robbie Davis. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, honors jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

Davis is no stranger to Saratoga having been born there and spent summers watching her dad as he rode the Saratoga meeting. She has ridden at Saratoga at times over her career that began in 2008 but a Saratoga win has been elusive. Davis graduated from the inaugural class at the North American Racing Academy near Lexington, Ky., where she earned an associate degree in equine science.

What better way to record that first win at Saratoga than for your dad and on a 24-1 shot named Vallelujah leading to a huge and festive winner's circle celebration? This first win at the track known as the Spa was certainly worth the wait.

“This means the world to me because it's my first race at Saratoga and for my dad especially,” Davis told Horse Racing News' Andrew Capone. “I know he won a lot of races here as a jockey, but us together – I'm beside myself, I'm so happy. I didn't know if I was going to cry, laugh or fall off after the wire.”

“I'm so excited, I just can't believe it,” a very proud Robbie Davis told Maggie Wolfendale of FOX Sports. “I've been on this filly every day, and Jackie coming in from Finger Lakes to ride. This is just incredible – the only thing better than this is the Travers.”

Davis's career has taken her around the mid-Atlantic tracks and also Aqueduct. She has been riding the majority of the last two years at Finger Lakes where she currently sits in fifth place with 33 wins. Last year, she finished in the top 10.

Through Aug. 15, Davis has won 790 races from 7,290 starts with more than $17 million in purses. She is the sister of jockey Dylan Davis and Katie Davis McCarthy.

The other nominees for Jockey of the Week included Tyler Gaffalione who captured his first Arlington Million, Harry Hernandez who won nine races at Canterbury, Juan J. Hernandez who won the G2 Best Pal, and Vladimir Jensen who won the most races during the week with 11 at the Tillamook Fair.

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