NBC Sports begins its 2023 horse racing coverage with the first major event of the year, the $4.5 million Pegasus World Cup Series, from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., this Saturday, Jan. 28, live at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. In its seventh year, the Pegasus World Cup Series includes the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1).
The 2023 Pegasus World Cup field features multiple Grade 1-winner and 2022 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) second-place finisher Cyberknife, who is the morning-line favorite at 5-2. Also expected to compete in the 12-horse field at 1 1/8 miles on the dirt are 2022 Florida Derby (G1) champion White Abarrio and 2022 Awesome Again (G1) winner Defunded, the latter trained by two-time Pegasus World Cup champion Bob Baffert.
The 12-horse field of this year's Pegasus World Cup Turf includes 2022 Fort Lauderdale (G2) winner City Man, 2022 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) fourth-place finisher and 5-2 morning-line favorite Ivar, and 2022 Hollywood Derby (G1) winner Speaking Scout.
Ahmed Fareed hosts Saturday's coverage alongside analyst and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, analyst Randy Moss, reporters Britney Eurton and Nick Luck, and handicapper Matt Bernier.
NBC Sports will also present highlights of the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3) during the 90-minute program, which will be run earlier in the day on Saturday. In addition to world class racing, the Pegasus World Cup is a special race day that combines the fusion of celebrity attendees, fashion, and entertainment. This year's event includes a live performance featuring musical artists Kygo and OneRepublic. Joe Jonas will give the 'Riders Up' command.
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via authentication, giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
NBC SPORTS AND HORSE RACING
NBC Sports is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Royal Ascot, and Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series.
To the surprise of no one, Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 San Vicente Stakes goes through Bob Baffert. The trainer of nine out of the 11 horses nominated to the seven-furlong stakes for Derby hopefuls, Baffert has entered four out of the five that are scheduled to run Sunday at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
A two-time graded stakes winner, Baffert's Havnameltdown, fresh off a 1 ¼ length score going seven eighths in the G3 Bob Hope Stakes Nov. 20 at Del Mar, rates top billing with leading man Juan Hernandez aloft.
A first-out maiden five furlong winner July 24, Havnameltdown then marched to a gate to wire victory in the G3 Best Pal Stakes at six furlongs Aug. 14. In his only defeat, Havnameltdown ran second, beaten 5 ½ lengths by his highly regarded stablemate Cave Rock in the G1 Del Mar Futurity Sept. 11.
Owned by longtime Baffert clients Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Florida-bred Havnameltdown, a bay colt by the Lion Heart stallion Uncaptured, was purchased for $200,000 out of the Ocala Breeders Sales 2-year-old in Training Sale this past April. With three wins from four starts, he's the leading money earner in the field with $288,000.
A 2 ¾ length first-out maiden winner for Baffert going six furlongs here on Dec. 26, Faustin, who also earned an 89 Beyer Speed Figure, will again be ridden by Ramon Vazquez. Off as the 4-5 favorite in his debut, Faustin would appear to have a huge chance as he tries to muscle his way on to the Derby Trail.
Purchased for $800,000 out of the same Ocala 2-year-old in training sale that produced Havnameltdown, Faustin is by Curlin and is owned by Michael Lund Petersen.
Off at even money in his debut, Baffert's Fort Warren ran to the betting, as he won in virtual gate to wire fashion by a half length under Hernandez while earning an 88 Beyer. With Hernandez committed to Havnameltdown, John Velazquez takes over on the $550,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase.
By Curlin, Fort Warren is owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, LLC.
Baffert's fourth entrant is Gilmore, who broke his maiden by four lengths going a flat mile at Los Alamitos on Dec. 10. Off at 1-5 with Hernandez up, he rallied powerfully off the turn for home while earning an 81 Beyer.
A $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling, Gilmore is also owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, LLC and will be ridden for the first time by Mike Smith in what will be his third start.
In a seemingly impossible role that would redefine upset should he win, trainer Ryan Hanson's Man Child will take on team Baffert in what will be his sixth career start. Most recently second, beaten a head as the 6-5 favorite in an ungraded 6 ½ furlong stakes at Turf Paradise Dec. 21, Man Child was a well beaten third behind Havnameltdown in his second start, the G3 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar Aug. 14.
A $45,000 Keeneland September Yearling by Creative Cause, Man Child's lone win came in his debut, a five furlong maiden sprint at Los Alamitos July 3—a race he won on the lead by a half length.
Owned by California Racing Partners, Ciaglia Racing, LLC, Michelle (Yu) Hanson, Richard Pearson, Timothy Husted, and Robert Dronk, Man Child, who has an overall mark of 5-1-1-2, will be ridden back by Diego Herrera.
THE GRADE II SAN VICENTE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 2 of 9 Approximate post time 1 p.m. PT
Havnameltdown—Juan Hernandez—124
Faustin—Ramon Vazquez–120
Fort Warren—John Velazquez—120
Man Child—Diego Herrera—120
Gilmore—Mike Smith–120
First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 12:30 p.m. Admission gates open at 10:30 a.m.
On New Year's Eve, 2022, Fight On Lucy loaded onto a van at Belmont Park and headed north, leaving her racetrack career behind her. It was a moment to celebrate; at the end of a very busy month and a near-record year, TAKE THE LEAD was hitting a remarkable milestone of 1,000 horses retired through the program since it launched nearly 10 years ago.
The TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred Retirement Program was unveiled by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) in 2013 to assist the owners and trainers at the New York Racing Association tracks in finding accredited aftercare for their horses. TAKE THE LEAD serves as a liaison between the horsemen and women and the aftercare organizations, gathering the necessary information, diagnostics, and paperwork on each horse, then finding a placement with a Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-approved partner and arranging for transportation from the track. The initiative is funded primarily by NYTHA and through a portion of the claiming surcharge on horses claimed at NYRA racetracks.
“Rick Violette started the program when he was president of NYTHA, and it has really blossomed,” the organization's president, Rick Schosberg, said. “The word has spread; we get calls pretty much daily about horses that need retirement homes, and we go to work. Our team is small – myself, our Executive Director Andy Belfiore, our Aftercare Coordinator Kristen Mason, and our bookkeeping guru Dionne Johnson – but we are all dedicated to making sure our horses have the very best chance of happy and healthy lives beyond the track.”
Fight On Lucy is a fitting representative of the 999 horses who came before her. Bred in New York by the venerable Bongard family's Rojan Farm, she earned $314,429 the hard way, making 39 starts over five seasons. She was raced by a partnership of Ellen Bongard and her sister Barbara, Carla Skodinski, Ellen Petrino, and Kathleen Condon. Her trainer, Pat Kelly, is a founding member of TAKE THE LEAD and its sister program, TAKE2.
The decision to retire Lucy was, in part, a legal one. Sadly, Ellen Bongard passed away unexpectedly two years ago, and the estate needed to be closed. But it is also in keeping with TAKE THE LEAD's mantra of retiring “one race early.” The connections made the decision to send Lucy on to her second career, rather than to sell or continue to race under a different ownership, while she was 100-percent sound.
“We had a big powwow up in Saratoga last year to talk about her,” Kelly explained. “Lucy was still competitive, and the owners loved watching her run and keeping Ellen's memory alive. It was heartbreaking from that standpoint, but Lucy was turning seven, and the owners wanted to do right by her. It was time to make a plan.”
Cindy Norton, who served as Rojan Farm's manager for many years, added, “The owners were never going to run her in a claiming race, and we wanted to see her retired while she was sound and happy.”
Coming Full Circle
Fight On Lucy traveled from Belmont Park to New Vocations in Gansevoort, NY, just a short drive from where she was foaled. Waiting to greet her was Amanda Vance, who oversees New Vocation's New York operation. It was a special moment for Vance, who had played a pivotal role in Lucy's life when she was just two weeks old.
While the end of her racing career was carefully orchestrated, the start to Lucy's life had not gone so smoothly.
As Norton explained: “Her dam got colic two weeks after Lucy was born. We tried surgery, but it was not successful.”
Nurse mares were in short supply, but the Bongards had gotten to know one of the team at the equine clinic where the surgery was performed – Amanda Vance. As it happened, Vance had an older pony mare on her farm that she thought might serve as a companion to the now orphan.
“The pony's name was Bella – she was retired from riding, and she'd had foals in the past,” Vance said. “I thought, 'we can give it a try.' We shipped her over and at first she was not so sure about Lucy, but then she accepted her, and they were together until Lucy was weaned. Bella's last job in life was to bring up Lucy – and she did a good job of it.”
Lucy and Bella
Lucy made her racetrack debut at Belmont in October of 2018 and finished third.
She never earned headlines, but, as Barbara Bongard enthused, “She tried hard every time.”
Over her 39 starts, the dark bay New York-bred won three times, with four seconds and nine thirds.
“She was a very enthusiastic racehorse,” Kelly said. “She loved what she did.”
The team gave Lucy one final start in the Bay Ridge Stakes at Aqueduct Dec. 17, but it was a tough spot and, after a rough start, Lucy finished last. It might not have been the fairy-tale victory hoped for, but it is still a happy ending for the mare – as is the goal for all of the horses who go through the TAKE THE LEAD Program.
Lucy is now enjoying a little R&R before embarking on a second career.
“We're giving her a little time to hang out,” Vance said. “She's turned out with other mares, and she thinks that's the best. She loves her girl gang.
“When she's ready, we will get her started and evaluate her under saddle,” she continued. “We see what type of rider would best suit her and what she might want to do for a second career. She's willing and brave and she could go in any direction, but we will tell us what she wants to do. When she's ready, she will be available for adoption by one of our approved adopters.”
Vance is honored to be part of the Lucy story once again.
“I didn't think I would be as affected, but it's pretty special having her here at New Vocations,” she said. “It's been great to spend time with her again, and to be able to tell a future adopter her story first-hand, and share the photos of Lucy and Bella? That's going to be fun.”
Barbara Bongard, Cindy Norton and other members of the partnership have already been out to visit Lucy several times, and they plan to remain in touch no matter where the future takes her.
“Everyone is really attached to her,” Norton said. “We're excited to see what she might do next – hopefully she will make someone a nice little hunter or jumper. Amanda will figure it out. It's up to her now – it is pretty cool to see the story come full circle.”
Kelly concluded, “It really has been kind of a magical journey.”
Having been without a Santa Anita stakes mount since the Blue Norther on Dec. 30, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux will get a pair of added money opportunities with long shots on Saturday.
In the Grade 2, $200,000 San Pasqual going 1 1/8 miles, Desormeaux has the call on Messier for Bob Baffert. Earlier on the card in the Grade 3, $200,000 Las Virgenes, Desormeaux will ride the maiden Sweet Trouble for trainer Phil D'Amato. Messier is the 6-1 fourth choice in the San Pasqual while Sweet Trouble is installed as the longest shot on Jon White's morning line at 12-1 in the Las Virgenes.
On Thursday at Clocker's Corner, Desormeaux duly noted Saturday's opportunities are partially the result of some Santa Anita-based jockeys, including Flavien Prat, John Velazquez, and Frankie Dettori, riding elsewhere on Saturday.
“It's my first start (this meet) for Baffert and I get to ride for Phil – maybe I should get the guys to leave more often,” Desormeaux said.
Desormeaux's only previous stakes ride this season at Santa Anita was a sixth-place finish aboard Naughty Lottie for his brother, trainer Keith Desormeaux, in the Blue Norther on Dec. 30.
Through the first 12 racing days of the Classic Meet, Desormeaux ranks 16th in the Santa Anita jockey's standings with three wins from 21 mounts, a 14 percent success rate. He has one mount on Friday and five on Saturday.
“While the big guys are gone it's good to give the little guy a chance,” joked Desormeaux, himself a three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby who was enshrined in the Racing Hall of Fame in 2004. “I'm going to take advantage of every opportunity I get.”
Desormeaux's three Kentucky Derby wins came aboard Real Quiet in 1998 for Baffert, Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000 and Big Brown in 2008.
