Month: October 2022

Leon Suspended for Ride on Rich Strike

The Churchill Downs stewards have suspended jockey Sonny Leon 15 days for his controversial ride on second-place finisher Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in Saturday's GII Lukas Classic S.

The head-on view of the race clearly showed Leon leaning into jockey Tyler Gaffalione on winner Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) and he appeared to elbow his rival rider.

In a ruling issued Sunday, the stewards determined that Leon was guilty of “intentionally attempting to interfere with and impede the progress of a rival by repeatedly making physical contact with another rider in the stretch.”

Leon did not respond to a text message from the TDN seeking comment.

At about the time that Rich Strike started to come over and jostle with Hod Rod Charli,e it appeared that Leon's saddle might have slipped, which could have caused him to lose balance. Rich Strike's trainer, Eric Reed, told Horse Racing Nation that Leon told him his saddle did in fact slip.

“Sonny said the saddle loosened to the left,” Reed told the website. “He said, 'I started to lose my balance. The saddle slipped over and made me lean to the left.' If that doesn't happen, we win the race.”

Rich Strike passed Hot Rod Charlie a few jumps before the wire and appeared to have the race won, but Hot Rod Charlie surged again in the final strides to win by a head.

Several pundits took to Twitter to claim that Rich Strike would have won if not for the incident and that Leon cost his mount the race. Retired jockey and TV analyst Richard Migliore tweeted:

Leon's suspension is for 15 racing days and begins Oct. 9 and runs through Oct. 29.

Leon's greatest moment came in the GI Kentucky Derby when the jockey, who was largely unknown outside the Ohio circuit, guided Rich Strike to victory and was widely praised for his ride.

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‘No One Is Less Rich Than They Were 15 Months Ago’: Harness Horsemen Assess Bloodstock Market Ahead Of Lexington Sale

Much like the Thoroughbred auction marketplace, the Standardbred industry is enjoying record returns in the sales ring despite waves of economic and political uncertainty on a global scale.

Ahead of the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, set to begin Monday, Harness Racing Update spoke with six experts in the Standardbred bloodstock field about how events like the war in Ukraine and inflation are affecting their corner of the marketplace, and how it might affect it in the future.

The two common themes among the respondents was that the unsteady parts of the global marketplace have not had a noticeable effect on the wealthy buyers who would purchase racehorses, and that the bloodstock marketplace operates differently from other economies.

“No one is less rich than they were 15 months ago,” Tom Grossman, owner of Blue Chip Farm in Wallkill, N.Y. “Despite everything you read, most people with disposable income have never been richer in this country, which is a whole weird concept.”

The experts were divided over how closely the Standardbred industry follows its Thoroughbred counterparts in terms of marketplace ebbs and flows.

Among the trends that mirrored the Thoroughbred realm was the idea that a high purse structure at the races is helping draw interest and dollars into the auction market to take advantage. Another common theme is that both markets are becoming less dependent on the whims and bidding wars of a small handful of extremely wealthy participants to carry the fortunes of the overall market.

“I think the horse economy has quietly diversified itself,” Grossman said. “Our reliance on our top 10 buyers is much lower, in my mind, than it ever has been. The next group of 40, 50, 60, 70 people that can and will sign $100,000 for Standardbred and $250,000 for Thoroughbred is much deeper than it ever has been.”

Read more at Harness Racing Update.

The post ‘No One Is Less Rich Than They Were 15 Months Ago’: Harness Horsemen Assess Bloodstock Market Ahead Of Lexington Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Sonny Leon Handed 15-Day Ban For ‘Intentionally’ Interfering Rival In Lukas Classic

Journeyman jockey Sonny Leon, whose perfectly timed winning ride aboard Rich Strike in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby brought him national fame, has been suspended 15 days for an ugly incident in deep stretch of the G2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Oct. 1.

Leon was aboard Rich Strike for trainer Eric Reed and engaged in a battle in the final furlong of the 1 1/8-mile race with Hot Rod Charlie and jockey Tyler Gaffalione to their inside. Rich Strike gained a narrow advantage but drifted out under left-handed encouragement from Leon, who then guided his mount inside to engage Hot Rod Charlie. The two horses brushed repeatedly with Leon thrusting his left elbow toward Gaffalione and Hot Rod Charlie and momentarily losing his balance.

Despite the incident, Hot Rod Charlie came on again to prevail by a head.

The stewards ruling, dated Sunday, Oct. 2., said Leon was suspended for “intentionally attempting to interfere with and impede the progress of a rival by repeatedly making physical contact with another rider in the stretch.”

According to a report in Horseracingnation.com, Leon told Reed after the race that his saddle slipped, causing him to shift to his left side. The stewards apparently didn't buy the excuse.

Leon will not appeal the suspension, according to Daily Racing Form. The suspension runs on the following days: Oct. 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 29. Leon is currently based at Gulfstream Park.

Owned by RED TR-Racing LLC, Rich Strike came from more than 17 lengths behind to win the Kentucky Derby under Leon, who saved ground and skillfully guided the Keen Ice colt through traffic to a three-quarter length victory over favored Epicenter. The win was Leon's only graded stakes victory in a North American career that has seen him win 821 races from 5,546 starts, mostly at small tracks in the Midwest.

Video of the incident can be seen below.

 

The post Sonny Leon Handed 15-Day Ban For ‘Intentionally’ Interfering Rival In Lukas Classic appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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