Undefeated Flightline closed as the favorite following the completion of betting on Sunday in Pool 1 of the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Future Wager. Life Is Good follows at 6-1 ($15.56), GII Jim Dandy S. winner Epicenter was next at 7-1 ($17.42), and Country Grammar is the fourth betting choice at 12-1 ($27.14). The pool generated $205,249 in total handle, which was a 138% increase from the first pool of the Classic Future Wager in 2018, the last time this wager was offered. The second will be offered over Labor Day weekend with the pool opening Friday, Sept. 2 at 12 p.m. ET and ending at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 5. Betting on all Breeders' Cup Future Wagers will be offered via Breeders' Cup partner TVG.com, and other advanced deposit wagering (“ADW”) sites, racetracks, casinos, simulcast centers, and off-track betting sites.
The stewards at Thistledown have imposed a one-year suspension and $1,000 fine on trainer Alejandro Murillo Rodriguez after a 2-to-5 winning favorite from his stable tested positive for metabolites of the Class 1/Penalty Category A drug Nikethamide on June 21.
Murillo Rodriguez has appealed the penalties. Potentially complicating the adjudication is that the horse in question, Two Eagles (Morning Line), got claimed for $7,500 out of that sprint victory against fellow Ohio-breds. Two Eagles subsequently started and ran fifth for new connections on July 18. The stewards did note in the Aug. 8 ruling that the entire matter would be referred to the Ohio Racing Commission.
Nikethamide is a respiratory and circulatory stimulant that was developed in the mid-20th Century to reverse tranquilizer overdoses in humans. It is no longer used for that purpose because of the evolution of safer, more effective, medications and is not believed to be legally sold in the United States for any human or veterinary purpose.
But online searches bring up plenty of ways to acquire Nikethamide via sources in Argentina and Europe. The drug has gained black-market favor with high-altitude mountaineers who use it in lozenge form to gain a respiratory efficiency boost, despite the known risks to cardiac health.
The Ohio-based Murillo Rodriguez has been training since 2018. He currently has 15 wins from 113 starters this year. The website thoroughbredrulings.com that is maintained by The Jockey Club lists one previous drug infraction for Murillo Rodriguez, a $1,000 fine for a dexamethasone overage in a Mahoning Valley winner in 2020.
Class 1A medications on the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) Uniform Classification of Substances list are considered the most dangerous and harmful drugs, and thus carry the highest recommended penalties. The ARCI's recommended penalty for a first-time 1/A violation by a trainer is a minimum one-year suspension and a minimum fine of $10,000.
Decades ago, Nikethamide was abused by human athletes and administered to equine athletes to get them to run faster. It seemed to fade from the doping scene in the early 2000s decade, but has resurfaced sporadically since then in both human sports (professional tennis player Marin Cilic in 2013) and in racehorses.
Its recent detection in Thoroughbreds has resulted in penalties that have included a six-month trainer suspension and $5,000 fine (West Virginia in 2013) and a $75,000 fine and a four-year suspension (New Mexico in 2017).
According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, “It is well known that Nikethamide is metabolized very rapidly…Hence, there is difficulty in proving that Nikethamide has been used as a doping substance.”
Unless he prevails with his appeal, Murillo Rodriguez's suspension starts Aug. 18 and will run through Aug. 17, 2023. Two Eagles has been disqualified from the victory for then-owner Murillo AAA Racing, with the purse money redistributed.
Get ready for the Duke of Love show, Queen's Plate edition.
When the leggy, robust colt steps onto the racetrack ahead of the 163rd running of the Queen's Plate on Aug. 21, expect a raucous reception from members of his ownership group, MyRacehorse (MRH), which could number up to 40 people that afternoon at Woodbine.
The other 950-plus who have shares in the handsome Ontario-bred will be tuning in from all over the world, literally, as Duke of Love contests the biggest race of his career to date.
No doubt, everyone associated with the horse through MRH, the affordable Thoroughbred ownership company founded by Michael Behrens in 2018, is champing at the bit to see Duke of Love burst from the gate in the 163rd running of the Plate.
MRH, championed by the late B. Wayne Hughes of Spendthrift Farm, brought together 5,314 owners who purchased shares in 2020 Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, the majority of whom are still partners in the stallion's breeding career.
Harry Rice, East Coast Racing Manager with MRH, gets emotional at the thought of adding a Canadian classic crown to the company's success stories.
“I'm so excited,” said Rice, whose father, a jockey valet in New York, owns a share in the horse. “I think it's awesome how parallel our journey in America with Authentic is with Duke of Love in Canada. They are both quirky horses. Authentic, as he got closer to the Kentucky Derby, time was his best friend. I think that's the same with the 'Duke.' He's such a cool horse. He's quirky, for sure. He runs with his head up in the air like a giraffe.”
A son of Grade 1 winner Cupid, a son of the renowned Tapit, Ontario-bred Duke of Love was an $85,000 MyRacehorse purchase from the Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in Maryland. He is the second foal out of Tell The Duchess, a daughter of the prolific sire Smart Strike.
Bearing a noticeable likeness to his sire – good sized, and bigger framed – the bay, bred by Caldara Farm Inc., Patrick Costello, David Whitford and Tom Zwiesler, launched his career on November 14, 2021.
Campaigned by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee and three-time Plate winner Josie Carroll, the then 2-year-old proved to be up to the challenge.
With Justin Stein in the irons, Duke of Love, in front by a head at the stretch call, went on to record a two-length triumph in the 5 ½-furlong main track race at Woodbine.
It wasn't only jockey and rider who took notice of the polished effort.
“Right then and there, Josie's husband Charlie [Nash] said it,” started Rice. “He said, 'I don't say this very often, but he's going to be our Plate horse.' The horse got into a ton of trouble, and he still ran a great race. It gives you chills thinking about it.”
Duke of Love completed his rookie season with a fifth in a turf race at Gulfstream in early December.
After prepping for his three-year-old campaign in Florida, he was back on track at his home base, trouncing his rivals to the tune of a 5 ½-length score at 6 ½ panels over the Toronto oval Tapeta on May 7.
His first stakes test, the 7-furlong Queenston on June 12, yielded a fourth-place finish, albeit only 1 ½ lengths behind highly regarded The Minkster.
After a second to top Plate contender in the Grade 3 Marine one month later, Duke of Love saddled up for the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial on July 24.
A tough trip, from start to end, produced a fourth-place finish.
Stuck behind a wall of horses late, Stein and Duke of Love were able to find daylight, and rallied impressively despite the tangled journey.
“He was in trouble the whole away around,” offered Rice. “Justin gave him a terrific ride. I have been happy everything he has done for us. The last race, he put it all together. If he didn't get in trouble, there might have been a chance he got through and won. But I'm happy with that effort.”
So too was Stein.
“I don't think we've seen the best of him yet,” said the veteran rider. “He's grown up, yet he's still growing up. I can't wait to ride him in the Plate.”
Jim Mahoney, one of the MyRacehorse shareholders, made the trek, about a two-hour road trip from his home in Buffalo to watch the Plate Trial.
The longtime racing fan was hard to miss.
Clad in purple, replete with leopard-print collar, pockets and cuff, accompanied by a purple fedora framed by a leopard-print band, along with a white silhouette of a horse and the words 'Duke of Love' on the back of the ensemble, Mahoney caught the eye and camera lens of more than a few people at Woodbine that afternoon.
Jim Mahoney
Perhaps all that missing was a red carpet and paparazzi.
“When they first offered the horse, there was a retro look in what they sent out, and I just wanted to make it fun,” said Mahoney, who will be bringing some family members to the Plate. “I painted the MyRacehorse logo on it. I thought it was a fun thing to do. The last time I was at Woodbine was in 1996 for the Breeders' Cup, so it was amazing to come back for the Plate Trial. It's a wonderful track and the people are really nice. The whole experience is just wonderful. I wasn't sure what the reception was going to be with what I was wearing, but as soon as I walked through the gates, a lot of people smiled, congratulated me, gave me the thumbs-up, and took pictures. I think it went over fairly well.”
Not bad for a $40 Amazon purchase.
“I told him the purple suit has to come on the big day,” said Rice. “He said his wife might not let him, but he has to bring it. That was so cool, the outfit, and Josie loved it. Martha [Wakely, Manager of Racing Operations & Horsemen Concierge Services with Woodbine] told me we had a guy wearing a purple suit. I told her that I was pretty sure it wasn't one of our owners, but she said, 'Oh, it is. It's branded with Duke of Love on the back.' And then I saw the pictures and thought it was the coolest thing ever. At the end of the day, these are fans, passionate fans who love their horses and love the sport.”
Ardent supporters who will be out in force at the Queen's Plate.
Just how many MyRacehorse owners will be in attendance that day is still unknown.
“It's confirmed that we have at least 30 owners coming out, but that number could grow up to 40. We have a Queen's Plate experience for them, which includes a trip to LongRun (the Ontario-based organization that takes recently retired Thoroughbreds and through rehabilitation and re-training, finds them adoptive homes and new careers) as well as having a big race-day event.”
The mere thought of the 'Duke' experiencing a Canadian racing coronation less than three weeks from now is enough to make Rice a little teary-eyed.
Impossible, he admitted, to know how he'd react if the big-framed bay were to take all the spoils in the $1 million classic.
“I think we're just seeing the beginning of something special. I've been in racing my whole life and if we were to win this, I'd cry my eyes out. That's just how I am. Big wins, I get emotional. It's awesome.”
Their hopes ride on the hooves of a colt who combines size and strength packaged together with a quirky, yet endearing, personality.
Some members of the 3-year-old colt's ownership group, like Mahoney, are just as colourful.
And even if they aren't, the bond between the owners, through their joy of the game and of their horses, undoubtedly is.
It's what makes the 'Duke' and his merry band a most compelling show.
“MyRacehorse, through those microshares, has made the game more fun and enjoyable for people like me,” said Mahoney. “Everything about horse racing is fun and that's the way it should be. I've loved the sport for a long time and got away from it a bit after college. It was MyRacehorse that got me back in. And now, here we are with a horse in the Queen's Plate. I love this horse, and now he gets to be in a million-dollar race. Just how great is that?”
Undefeated Flightline closed as the favorite following the completion of betting on Sunday in Pool #1 of the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Future Wager. A $2 wager on Flightline will pay $6.98 with Kentucky's penny breakage, which puts him at 2-1 on the final odds board. Winner of the Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) on June 11, Flightline led the field of 23 horses and one “all others” wagering interest in the first Future Wager pool for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), which will be run at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 5.
Pool #1 of the Future Wager generated $205,249 in total handle, which was a 138% increase from the first pool of the Classic Future Wager in 2018, the last time this wager was offered. The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Future Wager is a win bet only with a $2 minimum.
Flightline was followed in the Future Wager by Life Is Good at 6-1 ($15.56). Trained by Todd Pletcher, Life Is Good was an impressive winner of Saturday's Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. The 3-year-old Epicenter, winner of the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga on July 30, was next at 7-1 ($17.42). Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Country Grammer was the fourth betting choice at 12-1 ($27.14). (Complete list of Will Pays for the 24 betting interests appears below).
The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Future Wager enables fans to bet on possible contenders for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic well in advance of the World Championships in November. Odds on horses in the pools could be more attractive than those available on Nov. 5.
The second Future Wager will be offered over Labor Day weekend with the pool opening on Friday, Sept. 2 at 12 p.m. ET and ending at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 5.
Betting on all Breeders' Cup Future Wagers will be offered via Breeders' Cup partner TVG.com, and other advanced deposit wagering (“ADW”) sites, racetracks, casinos, simulcast centers, and off-track betting sites.
Complete Longines Breeders' Cup Future Wager information is available at BreedersCup.com/FutureWager.
