Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC (SSR), a simulcast wagering facility and prospective applicant for a Massachusetts sports wagering license, has appointed Michael Buckley as its new chief operating officer, replacing outgoing COO Chip Tuttle, the company announced Wednesday.
Buckley is a principal at Belmont Capital, LLC, which is one of the three primary owners of SSR. He has been participating in the ownership and management of SSR for the past seven years. Buckley succeeds Tuttle, who resigned his position in October to resume full-time status at CTP, the Boston communications agency where he is a partner. He will continue to be available to consult to SSR for a transitional period.
“On behalf of the SSR ownership, we are pleased to have Mike take on this new role as we work toward implementing sports betting along with our simulcast wagering business,” said Richard Fields, one of Sterling Suffolk's principal owners.
“I'm excited about this opportunity to help lead Sterling Suffolk Racecourse into its next phase as a premier sports wagering company in Massachusetts,” said Buckley.
Tuttle has served as Sterling Suffolk's COO since 2007. Prior to that, he worked as the company's head of marketing and communications from 1992-1997.
“We're sorry to lose Chip after his many years of great service to the company,” said Joe O'Donnell, another of Sterling Suffolk's principal owners. “We're grateful for everything Chip has done to move Sterling Suffolk forward and help set the stage for our successes ahead.”
“I've been affiliated with Sterling Suffolk Racecourse and Suffolk Downs for more than 30 years. It has been a big part of my professional life and I'm very appreciative of the opportunity the ownership gave me and for my time with the company,” said Tuttle. “SSR is well positioned for future success and I look forward to helping Mike in his new role. It is the right time for me to focus more of my attention and resources on my other business interests.”
John Rizzo, SSR's longtime financial consultant and prior Chief Financial Officer who was worked for SSR since 1995, will continue in his role with the company.
In August, Massachusetts legalized sports betting, including both retail and mobile rights for the state's simulcasting facilities.
The horse's hair coat insulates by trapping and warming air; however, wet or muddy hair can reduce its insulating value and increase heat loss. As little as 0.1 inch of rain can cause cold stress by matting the hair and reducing its insulating value. A horse will continue to develop a natural winter coat until December 22 (winter solstice), as the daylight become shorter. Horses begin to lose their winter coat (and start forming their summer coat) as the daylight become longer starting on December 23. Therefore, blanketing before December 22 will decrease a horse's natural winter coat.
Although blanketing tends to be a personal decision, blanketing a horse is necessary to reduce the effects of cold or inclement weather when:
No shelter is available during turnout periods and the temperatures or wind chill drop below 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
There is a chance the horse will become wet from rain, ice, and/or freezing rain. Becoming wet is usually not a problem with snow.
The horse has had its winter coat clipped.
The horse is very young or very old.
The horse isn't acclimated to the cold.
The horse has a body condition score of three or less.
If blanketing a horse, make sure the blanket fits properly. Poorly fitted blankets can cause sores and rub marks along the straps. Remove the blanket daily, inspect it for damage, and reposition it. Make sure the blanket stays dry and never put a blanket on a wet horse.
More information on winter horse care can be found here.
Sign up for the University of Minnesota e-newsletter here.
Awake At Midnyte – Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) contender Awake At Midnyte galloped 1 1/8 miles Wednesday morning over a fast track at Keeneland with exercise rider Connor Murray aboard. Trained by Doug O'Neill and owned by Reddam Racing, this will be the first Breeders' Cup start for the 3-year-old filly.
“She just needs to get a trouble-free, clean ride to let her run her race and have some horse to finish,” O'Neill said. “Whether she's fast enough to win I don't know, but I think she's fast enough to hit the board. She's a top filly that I think deserves the opportunity. She's training really well going into it, but we'll need a lot of things to go our way for sure.”
Awake At Midnyte has made one previous start at Keeneland in the 2022 Ashland Stakes and was fourth, beaten by fellow Longines Distaff contender Nest.
Awake at Midnyte gallops at Keeneland on Nov. 2, 2022
Blue Stripe – Pozo De Luna's Blue Stripe galloped 1 1/2 miles at 9 o'clock with Efrain Lopez aboard for trainer Marcelo Polanco.
Blue Stripe will be making her fourth start of the year in Saturday's Distaff. She returned to the races April 30 following a seventh-place finish in last year's Distaff and won the Santa Margarita right off the bench.
“The break after the Breeders' Cup last year was by design,” Polanco said. “We wanted to keep her fresh.”
And she will be fresh for Saturday's race, which will be her first start since winning the Clement L. Hirsch on Aug. 6 at Del Mar.
“There was one other race in between (the Zenyatta at Santa Anita Oct. 2), but we didn't want to do too much,” Polanco said.
Hector Berrios, who was aboard for the Del Mar victory, has the mount Saturday.
October 30, 2022: Blue Stripe, trained by Marcelo Polanco and entered in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, exercises at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on October 30, 2022. John Voorhees/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Clairiere/Society – Trainer Steve Asmussen, who won his one and only Distaff in 2014 with Untapable, has two chances this year with the 4-year-old Clairiere, who ran fourth in the race last year coming off a win in the Cotillion Stakes, and the 3-year-old Society, who will try to better her stablemate coming off her own victory in the $1 million race at Parx.
“She's obviously coming off two very fast races,” Asmussen said of Peter Blum's Society. “She's trained really well over this racetrack. It's just an unbelievably accomplished group of older mares this year, but she's running as fast as anybody and we're excited about trying her.”
October 30, 2022: Society, trained by Steven M. Asmussen and entered in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, exercises at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on October 30, 2022. Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Stonestreet Stable's Clairiere, who has won two Grade 1s and was second in another, is coming off a fifth-place finish in the Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 27, the only time in her 15-race career she was worse than fourth. That day she was uncharacteristically fractious in gate.
“It caught us off guard,” Asmussen said of the incident. “We pride ourselves on how they act and how well they school. That is 100 percent our responsibility and we feel that we have that base covered. If we have if we're fortunate enough to have success in the Distaff, we will be extremely pleased that it happened last time and not this.”
October 30, 2022: Clairiere exercises at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on October 30, 2022. John Voorhees/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Malathaat/Nest – Trainer Todd Pletcher's powerhouse Longines Distaff duo of Malathaat and Nest visited the starting gate and then galloped 1 1/2 miles Wednesday morning.
First out at 7 o'clock was Shadwell Stable's Malathaat with Amelia Green aboard. Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House's Nest followed at 8:45 with Nora McCormack aboard.
Pletcher said the gate schooling was normal operating procedure for his fillies that have not had any issues at the gate in the past. Both Nest and Malathaat are scheduled for paddock schooling sessions Thursday.
November 1, 2022: Malathaat, trained by Todd A. Pletcher, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 1, 2022. Carolyn Simancik/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders CupNest gallops at Keeneland on Nov. 2, 2022
Search Results – Klaravich Stables' Search Results galloped about one mile on Keeneland's dirt track Wednesday morning with trainer Chad Brown observing. One of many formidable contenders in the Longines Distaff, she must step up at the Grade 1 level around two turns in order to do so. The daughter of Flatter owns two narrow losses in nine furlong Grade 1 affairs, the G1 Personal Ensign last out.
Despite being a top-level winner around one turn, when taking the eight-furlong Acorn, Brown was not tempted to drop her back in trip for the seven-furlong Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, a race in which he trains morning line favorite Goodnight Olive.
“I think seven furlongs is just too short for her,” Brown said. “I have Goodnight Olive in there and I don't think she can run with her. There are other good horses in there besides Goodnight Olive, too. If I ran her at seven at this point, she'd be off the bridle the whole time. We are just going to have to work out a trip and hope she stays better at Keeneland.”
November 1, 2022: Search Results, trained by Chad C. Brown, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 1, 2022. Carolyn Simancik/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Secret Oath – For a report on what Secret Oath did Wednesday morning preparing for the Distaff, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas pointed to the filly's exercise rider, French jockey Mickaelle Michel.
Michel, a globetrotting 27-year-old, relocated to America this year. Lukas has had her up on Secret Oath for three breezes at Churchill Downs since the 3-year-old filly returned to Kentucky following a third-place finish in the Cotillion at Parx on Sept. 24. This week, Michel is riding her during morning gallops.
“I think it's good for him because I know the filly,” she said, “and it's really good for me to participate at the Breeders' Cup.”
In addition to the exercise duty, Michel will ride the Lukas-trained No Guilt in the second race Friday. It will be her first time on the grounds of a Breeders' Cup.
Michel said the Kentucky Oaks winner felt good to her during the filly's opening tour of the Keeneland surface. The Distaff will be Secret Oath's first race at the Lexington track.
“She was fresh this morning and exciting,” Michel said. “She's really lovely to train. She's easy. She's a perfect horse. She's good and she's really easy to train.”
Due to wet track conditions at Churchill Downs Monday, Lukas opted to skip Secret Oath's final half-mile breeze for the Distaff. During her time on the track Wednesday, Lukas had Michel ask Secret Oath to briefly pick up the pace.
“We gave her a routine gallop, but from the quarter pole to the seven-eighths pole, we let her zip a little, just let her take a deep breath,” Lukas said.
Michel was the top apprentice in France in 2018, but started traveling after finding that she could not get enough mounts in her home country. She rode on the second-tier National Association of Racing circuit in Japan in 2019 and picked up experience on dirt. The pandemic slowed her career and she and her husband moved to the U.S. in late spring. She had her first mount on May 26 at Churchill Downs and has five wins from 83 starts.
Luis Saez will ride Secret Oath from post three in the Distaff. She is 15-1 on the morning line.
November 1, 2022: Secret Oath arrives at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 1, 2022. Carolyn Simancik/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
The Ed Brown Society's Chairman Greg Harbut and President Ray Daniels announced six new Ed Brown Scholars on Tuesday evening. The announcement was made at the Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center during the Opening Night Art Exhibit celebrating African American equestrians, co-sponsored by the Ed Brown Society, Breeders' Cup Festival Week, and Commerce Lexington.
Jaida Alee, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Equine Science and Management; Chanler Robinson, a junior at Ohio State University, majoring in Animal Science; Sophia Vega, a freshman at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Animal Science; Harrison Goode, a junior at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Equine Science and Management; Jeffrey Mitchell, Jr., a doctoral student at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine and Deanira Smith, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine were all recognized as Ed Brown Scholars for the remainder of the 2022-2023 academic year.
Each Ed Brown Scholar was awarded a $3,000 scholarship and will gain industry exposure, training, and experience through the EBS career development program that will properly position them to pursue successful careers within the equine industry.
Of this announcement, Chairman Greg Harbut said: “At the Breeders' Cup, many will place their wagers on who they believe will be the winners of world championship races. In that same spirit, the Ed Brown Society is making this investment in young people of color who are running strong academic races in pursuit of their equine careers, and we believe they will finish strong.”
About the Ed Brown Society
Founded by Living The Dream Stables, the Ed Brown Society (EBS) celebrates the rich history of African-Americans in the equine industry while creating opportunities for young people of color to gain industry exposure, training and experience, through academic scholarships, development programming and professional internships. EBS focuses on identifying and qualifying students of color, with demonstrated interest, skills and commitment, to become successful professionals in all aspects of the equine industry.
For more information about EBS visit www.EdBrownSociety.org.
