Tickets for the 40th running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held Nov. 3 and 4 at iconic Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, will go on sale Thursday, May 4.
Month: March 2023
‘We Just Need Some Racing Luck’: Reincarnate Returns To Oaklawn For Arkansas Derby
Roughly 20 minutes after Reincarnate finished a troubled third in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) Feb. 25 at Oaklawn, trainer Tim Yakteen was asked if he would return with something for the Arkansas Derby.
“We'll come back,” Yakteen said.
True to his word, the Southern California-based Yakteen has returned to Oaklawn for Saturday's $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles. And he's back with a familiar face in birthday boy Reincarnate, the 5-2 program favorite for Oaklawn's fourth and final Kentucky Derby points race. Reincarnate actually turns 3 Saturday.
“This has been the horse that we planned on coming back with,” Yakteen said Wednesday afternoon. “Obviously, you need things to work out for you. Things fell into place and we're giving him another opportunity.”
The 1 1/16-mile Rebel, Oaklawn's third Kentucky Derby points race, marked Reincarnate's first start for Yakteen. Reincarnate, a son of champion Good Magic, had made his first five career starts for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The colt was transferred to Yakteen shortly before the Rebel, owing to Baffert trainees being ineligible for Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Churchill Downs suspended Baffert for two years after his 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, was disqualified because of a medication violation.
Reincarnate endured an eventful trip in the Rebel and was beaten 2 ½ lengths by Confidence Game after losing valuable position when shuffled back shortly after the start and having to check approaching the eighth pole under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. Reincarnate trailed by 11 lengths after the opening quarter – he had been on the early lead throughout most of his career – and was shut off when making his move in midstretch.
“I think it was a combination of everything,” said Yakteen, a former Baffert assistant who has given the return call to Velazquez. “What I liked the most is that he never gave up. Johnny never lost confidence in the horse and the horse never lost confidence in himself and he kept trying to the wire.”
Reincarnate has worked three times at Santa Anita in advance of the Arkansas Derby, which will offer 200 points (100-40-30-20-10, respectively) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. Reincarnate (15 points) is in a precarious position, ranking 34th on the latest Kentucky Derby leaderboard released by Churchill Downs. Reincarnate was a front-running neck winner of the $100,000 Sham Stakes (G3) at 1 mile Jan. 8 at Santa Anita, but was ineligible for its 10 qualifying points because he was still with Baffert. Reincarnate will likely need a top two finish in the Arkansas Derby to secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters.
“I focus on my own horses,” Yakteen said. “But in all fairness, there's no doubt that we're going to have to run a big race to guarantee ourselves a berth in the Kentucky Derby. Fingers crossed that we're given that opportunity because I definitely feel he's validated himself in some of his past starts, that he belongs there, and so now we just need some racing luck.”
A $775,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase, Reincarnate races for a high-profile ownership conglomerate that includes SF Racing (Gavin Murphy), Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf), Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin), Robert Masterson and Stonestreet Stables (Barbara Banke). Overall, Reincarnate has a 2-3-1 record from six starts and earnings of $231,900.
Yakteen finished fourth in last year's Arkansas Derby with Doppelganger, who moved to the trainer's barn shortly before the race to try and collect Kentucky Derby qualifying points after previously being with Baffert. Yakteen trains one the country's leading Kentucky Derby prospects this year in Practical Move and has another former Baffert trainee, Fort Bragg, entered in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Yakteen said he will be in Hot Springs Saturday to saddle Reincarnate.
The post ‘We Just Need Some Racing Luck’: Reincarnate Returns To Oaklawn For Arkansas Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Sonny Taylor Jr. Announces Retirement from NYRA
Sentell “Sonny” Taylor, Jr., who first joined the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) as an assistant clocker in 1964 at Aqueduct, has announced his retirement. The 85-year-old, currently serving as a NYRA placing judge, will step down on Apr. 2 after 58 years.
“Sonny Taylor is a friend, a mentor and an encyclopedia of racing–and we will miss him,” said NYRA's Senior Vice President, Racing Operations Frank G. Gabriel, Jr. “There's no one else like Sonny, and we look forward to honoring him in a way that highlights his many contributions to New York racing.”
A Chicago native, Taylor attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he played collegiate basketball. After working for the U.S. Postal Service, he joined the U.S. Army, serving in Germany, before a visit to New York changed the path of his life. Shortly after his discharge, Taylor accompanied his great uncle and NYRA clocker Earl Williams to the track and was hooked.
With Williams' recommendation, Taylor became an assistant clocker at NYRA, working under the tutelage of Jack Kennedy, a fixture in the racing office; he became an official timer in 1971 and a patrol judge in 1972. Taylor was on hand for Secretariat's record-shattering performance of 2:24 in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont of 1973.
Taylor timed two other Belmonts that resulted in Triple Crowns–Seattle Slew's renewal in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978. In 1981, at the suggestion of the late NYRA board chairman Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Jr., he became a placing judge.
In 2014, Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement honored Taylor with its Frankel Award for Lifetime Achievement. According to Old Friends, among the horses he assisted in placement were Ogygian, Gulch, Kiri's Clown, Awad, Hidden Lake, Polish Navy, Glitterman, Ruhlmann, Sunshine Forever, Commentator and Affirmed Success.
“I've seen plenty of great races and some terrific performances,” he said. “But I think what I've especially enjoyed the most is all the different kinds of amazing people I've met and encountered in racing.”
The post Sonny Taylor Jr. Announces Retirement from NYRA appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Fasig-Tipton April Digital Sale Bidding Now Open
Bidding on the 33 entries in the Fasig-Tipton April Digital Sale is now open and will close next Tuesday at 2 p.m. The catalogue, which can be viewed at digital.fasigtipton.com, features horses of racing age, breeding stock, 2-year-olds, and yearlings. There are offerings located throughout the United States, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
“There is something for everyone in this catalogue,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “We expect significant interest and a very active market.”
Among the entries in the digital auction are stakes-placed Buckey's Charm (Kantharos), who was covered by Mandaloun Feb. 20; recent GIII Royal Delta S. third-place finisher Don't Get Khozy (Khozan); multiple stakes-placed K P Slickem (Include), a half-sister to the dam of champion Forte (Violence), who sells in foal to Raging Bull (Fr); stakes-placed Regal Retort (Jimmy Creed), who was covered by Early Voting Feb. 23; stakes-winner Vilao (Grave Digger), who was covered by Omaha Beach Feb. 11; multiple graded stakes-placed Heavenly Hill (City Zip), who sells in foal to Not This Time; Athena's War (Kor) (New Year's Day), a full-sister to Maximum Security who sells in foal to Charlatan; multiple stakes-placed Queens Up (Classic Empire), who sells as a racing/broodmare prospect; graded stakes-placed Danessa Deluxe (Summer Bird), who was covered by Speaker's Corner Feb. 12; and multiple stakes-placed broodmare prospect Tyler's Dream (Carpe Diem).
The post Fasig-Tipton April Digital Sale Bidding Now Open appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
