Month: March 2023

T.C. Stevens, Son of Jockey Gary Stevens, To Ride First Race

T.C. Stevens, son of Hall of Fame Jockey Gary Stevens, will ride his first race as a professional jockey at Fair Grounds March 19 for trainer Steve Asmussen. T.C. has been named on Motown Missile (Mo Town) in the race six. A regular exercise rider for trainer Brad Cox, T.C. has morning rides on Instant Coffee (Bolt d'Oro), Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), Zozos (Munnings), Strobe (Into Mischief), and Tapit's Conquest (Tapit).

“I am very grateful to Mr. Asmussen and his staff for giving me this opportunity,” stated Stevens. “I've had this dream of being a jockey for a very long time. While I realize I am further along in life than is the norm to start this career path, I know that I am prepared and will go out there on Sunday and do the absolute best that I can.”

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Kirkpatrick & Co. Presents In Their Care: Married Couple Enjoys A Simple, Beautiful Life Together With Horses

Moises Morales was 17 when he decided to leave Chihuahua, Mexico, and attempted to cross illegally into the United States in 1977. He had little idea what awaited him, but he was intent on getting there.

He was so determined that he walked through the desert day and night, only to be apprehended by border patrol agents and returned to Mexico.

Morales was undeterred. He hired a coyote, someone who specializes in smuggling people into the United States. This time, the teenager successfully eluded immigration officials and began work at Turf Paradise race course in Phoenix.

When it was time for horses to be shipped to Chicago, he slipped into a large box meant to contain horse blankets and was carried into the plane. He was able to leave the box once he was out of view.   Upon arrival in Chicago, he slept in that same box on Friday and Saturday nights, when barns were often checked for undocumented workers. He lived with the fear of detection until he became a citizen in 1982.

“It means everything,” he said of his citizenship. “I have a lot of respect for the country. You have everything you want, everything you need.”

Morales' decision to leave home could not have been more beneficial. He found work that he cares about as a groom. More than that, he found the love of his life. He spotted Nancy Duarte at a restaurant where she was working, and they were immediately drawn to each other. She soon left the restaurant to join him in working at the barn.

They have been married 38 years. They have a daughter, Haley, and a precious 6-year-old granddaughter, Asenet, who live a few minutes from Gulfstream Park. Morales and Duarte work for trainer Gustavo Delgado at Barn 22. They drive a 2010 Ford Explorer and live at the track, as happy together today as the day they were married.

“I can't keep separate from him,” said Duarte, 67.

Moises Morales

They are very much a team. Duarte walks the horses her husband grooms while jumping in wherever else she is needed. She also makes sure Barn 22 is a place of beauty. She has thriving plants everywhere that she tends to daily.

“I have them in my heart, plants,” said Duarte. Her love of nature stems from her mother, Lucilla, who still lives in Nicaragua.

“She takes care of horses and she takes care of the garden, too. She loves her plants as much as I think she likes horses,” said Gustavo Delgado, Jr., who works beside his father as his top assistant.

Morales, now 63, is as skilled with horses as his wife is with plants. His impressive resume includes a decade with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott that greatly expanded his knowledge of horses while allowing him to work with the great Cigar on a limited basis.

“He was like my second father,” Morales said of Mott. “He is one of the best trainers you can find. I learned a lot from him. But I learn a lot from everybody. Everybody has something to show me and I learn.”

Nancy Duarte

Delgado, Jr., 33, tries to soak up as much knowledge from Morales as he does from his father. “I'm grateful to my father because he is a good horseman. At the track, I would say he is one of the best because he knows how to condition a horse,” Delgado Jr. said. “But I will say I owe many of the things about how to take care of a horse to Moises.”

Morales excels at spotting issues with his horses. “One of the things you look for in a good groom, if you miss something, he will let you know right on time before it gets too late and you can't do anything,” said Delgado Jr. “Sometimes we create a major problem if we fail to attend to the minor ones.”

Morales could not be happier with his career. “I love what I do. I love working with the horses,” he said. “When it is work you really like, you do it for yourself.”

Some couples might find working together stressful and potentially volatile. Not these two. “We've been working together for a long time, since I met her. I enjoy it and she enjoys it because we help each other,” Morales said. “We are not people who are fighting and all of this. No, no.”

Although they said they have saved enough money to retire, they remain plenty vigorous enough to handle the daily grind. And nothing about their chores is a grind to them. When it comes to material things, they are content with what they have. They are not driven by bigger and better.

“Simple life is beautiful life,” said Morales, so pleased with the life-changing decision he made long ago.

Tom Pedulla, 2022 recipient of the Walter Haight Award from the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, wrote for USA Today from 1995-2012 and has been a contributor to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Blood-Horse, America's Best Racing and other publications.

If you wish to suggest someone as a potential subject for In Their Care, please send an email to info @ paulickreport.com that includes the person's name and contact information in addition to a brief description of the individual's background.

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Over 100 New Yorkers Rally In Support Of Belmont Modernization

Over 100 people, including union members, backstretch workers, trainers, veterinarians and farmers gathered Monday in Albany, New York, in support of a plan to modernize Belmont Park, which, according to a release, promises significant new job creation and as much as $1 billion in one-time ecomomic impacts while freeing up 110 acres of state-owned land at Aqueduct Racetrack for future development. The project was included in Governor Kathy Hochul's Executive Budget Proposal.

According to a release, Belmont Park's 117-year-old facilities have not been upgraded since 1968 and its modernization will provide a 'critical boost to New York's economy' while creating a world-class sports and hospitality destination when paired with the New York Islanders' UBS Arena adjacent to the track.

An independent economic analysis conducted earlier this year by the We Are NY Horse Racing coalition found that $1 billion would be generated by renovating Belmont Park and create 3,700 construction-related jobs. At least a third of that spending, $136 million, would be spent with Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBES). Upon completion, the release says Belmont Park would support $155 million in annual economic output and 740 new jobs. It is also expected that the modernization will pave the way for the New York Racing Association to bid to host the Breeders' Cup. Belmont last hosted a Breeders' Cup in 2005.

The release indicates that horse racing in the state of New York supports a total of 19,000 and generates $3 billion in economic activity. The project is to be funded through a construction loan from the state–paid back in full with interest–and therefore there is no cost to the state's taxpayers.

“Horse racing is an economic engine for our state, sustaining 19,000 hardworking New Yorkers' jobs and generating billions in economic activity. If we want these benefits to continue, it's critical that we modernize Belmont Park,” said State Senator Joe Addabbo, Chair of the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee. “As we enter the final stretch of budget season, I will continue to work with my colleagues to move this project forward and secure a strong future for horse racing across the state.”

“From Saratoga to Belmont, the immense positive impact horse racing has on New York is obvious–and we owe it to the thousands of families that depend on this sport for their livelihoods to ensure horse racing has a strong future in the Empire State,” said Assembly member Gary Pretlow, Chair of the NYS Assembly Committee on Racing and Wagering. “Building a new Belmont Park will safeguard horse racing for generations to come, drive economic activity, boost the state's tourism and hospitality sectors, and create good jobs for New Yorkers.”

Added We Are NY Horse Racing Spokesman Jack Sterne, “The vast majority of New Yorkers support modernizing Belmont Park, which is why over a hundred people came to the Capitol today to urge lawmakers to build a new Belmont,” said Jack Sterne, We Are NY Horse Racing spokesman. “This project will create jobs and boost New York's economy — and as legislators head into the final stretch of budget negotiations, we're going to continue making our voices heard so this transformative project is included in the final state budget agreement.”

 

 

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James, Longoria Back for More at OBS

Hotelier Greg James, who has over two decades of pinhooking under his belt, will be looking to follow up on a career year in the sales arena when the 2-year-old auction season opens next week with the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale. James, with consignor Jesse Longoria, will offer six juveniles at the three-day auction, led off by a New York-bred son of Laoban (hip 79) who is scheduled to work during Tuesday's first session of the sale's under-tack show.

“So far, Jesse is very optimistic,” James said of expectations for his March sextet. “We've got a nice New York-bred Laoban that he likes and we have a couple other horses that he calls push button. That's always a good word to hear around Jesse, that they are push button.”

A native of Louisville, James's interests in racing are multi-faceted. He purchased Benny the Bull (Lucky Lionel) for $38,000 at the 2004 Keeneland September sale. He sold a controlling interest in the future Eclipse Award winner to IEAH Stables and the speedy dark bay went on to win over $2.3 million. James also campaigned multiple graded stakes winner Victor Avenue (Avenue of Flags).

“I was involved in many facets of the game back in the '90s,” James said. “And I was attracted to some returns that I saw pinhookers getting. So I began to invest in different operations in Ocala. I have, off and on, been pinhooking probably about 25 years. My first venture, I think, with Jesse was all the way back in the late '90s. And we've been off and on doing business together since.”

The partnership scored a pair of pinhooking home runs last year when a filly by Shackleford, purchased as a yearling for $40,000, sold for $300,000 at the OBS March sale and a colt by Race Day, purchased for $42,000 as a yearling sold for $475,000 at the OBS April sale.

“It was probably my best year,” James said of the 2022 results. “My highest horse that I ever sold before was $300,000, so the Shackleford replicated that and then the Race Day was certainly my biggest hit ever.”

Asked if his success at the juvenile sales last year made him change his approach at the yearling auctions, James said, “Well, obviously it gives you optimism that success is out there if you partner with the right people and do the right thing. So for me, that's Jesse Longoria. Jesse has always been brutally honest and I think he has an impeccable eye for a horse. So I am quite comfortable letting him spend my money to fund this venture.”

On behalf of James, Longoria purchased 10 yearlings last fall. Following the six scheduled to sell at OBS March, four will be catalogued at the company's April sale.

Working on a budget, the partners focus on the individual over pedigree.

“Jesse and I, we are looking for athletes,” James said. “It's hard for us to buy the pedigreed horses that we want. But we buy athletes and we have had success doing it.”

The colt by Race Day who sold for $475,000 last April is a case in point. Now named Tshiebwe, he was a close-up third in a Feb. 26 Gulfstream Park maiden special weight for trainer Todd Pletcher.

“He just ran third in a maiden special weight going long,” James said of the colt. “So I think there is some future for that horse. He was a little slow getting started, but it looks like they've got him going now.”

The Shackleford filly was purchased by Hideyuki Mori last March and, named Ecoro Ai, she is stakes-placed in Japan.

The highest-priced yearlings in James's March contingent were purchased for $35,000; Hip 79 brought that price at the Fasig-Tipton October sale and at that same price from the same auction were a colt by Mor Spirit (hip 252) and a filly by Take Charge Indy (hip 782). The group also includes a colt by World of Trouble (hip 617) purchased for $30,000 at Fasig-Tipton October; a colt by Frosted (hip 569) purchased for $25,000 at October; and a colt by Anchor Down (hip 608) acquired for $8,000 at Keeneland September.

“I think the most we paid for any yearling was $50,000,” James said. “We have a nice Bolt d'Oro that we were able to get for $50,000 [who will sell at OBS April]. So we are looking for athletes, for racehorses, more than pedigree. If there is some pedigree there, that's great, but we are going to buy the horse first.”

While he enjoyed top-level success in racing in the '90s, James currently has just one horse in training, but that could change soon.

“I only have one horse in training right now, but with the purse structure, racing is becoming more attractive again to me,” James said. “I cut my teeth in this business with claiming horses. And I have been thinking about putting something together and maybe claiming a few more and going back into racing a little heavier because the purse structure allows it now. Racing is tough. We all know that. But if ever there were good opportunities, I think it's now.”

Looking long-term, he did admit to one concern about racing's future.

“My only worries are, are we cultivating new horse racing fans? Slots are great, they have added such great purse money, but I do worry if we are cultivating horse racing fans or just relying on purse money,” James said. “So that's a decision I will have to make as I go forward.”

For James, who owns Radisson Hotel Louisville North, racing and pinhooking provide a pleasing counterpoint to his day job.

“I am in the hotel and shopping center business,” he said. “So this is quite apart for me from what I normally do, but I have always been able to mix the two together and enjoy them. I spend a lot of time at the sales. Jesse has taught me a lot. And I've learned a lot about what a good horse looks like through the years. Bernie Flint trained for me, and in my mind, there is no better judge of horse flesh than Bernie Flint was in his day. I love being around it. The pinhooking gives me a chance to be around it more.”

After their standout 2022 results, can James and Longoria strike again in 2023?

“I don't know,” James said. “You never know in this game what you can do. You have to be good and you have to be lucky. And anybody who says differently is wrong. Because that's what this game takes. It takes good fortune and good hard work.”

The under-tack show for the OBS March sale begins Tuesday morning with hips 1-208 scheduled to breeze. Hips 209-416 will work Wednesday, followed by hips 417-624 Thursday and hips 625-833 Friday. Each session of the show begins at 8 a.m.

The March sale will be held next Monday through Wednesday, with bidding beginning each day at 11 a.m.

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