Month: April 2023

‘We Know He Loves This Course’: Andthewinneris Returns To Keeneland For Transylvania

Susan Moulton's Andthewinneris, impressive winner of last fall's Castle & Key Bourbon (G2) Stakes at Keeneland, headlines a field of 12 3-year-olds entered Tuesday for Friday's 35th running of the $400,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3) at the Lexington, Ky. track.

The 1 1/16-mile grass test will go as the eighth race on the 10-race program that opens the 15-day Keeneland Spring Meet. First post is 1 p.m. ET with the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania scheduled to go off at 4:44 p.m.

Trained by Wayne Catalano, Andthewinneris opened 2023 with a victory in the Bob Bork Texas Turf Mile Stakes at Sam Houston and in his most recent start finished fourth after a troubled trip in the Black Gold Stakes at Fair Grounds.

“He got bumped pretty good coming out of the gate and then bumped again at the top of the stretch,” Catalano said of Andthewinneris in the Black Gold. “He's doing great here, and we know he loves this course.”

Corey Lanerie has the mount on Andthewinneris and will exit post position three.

Also in the field is the Black Gold winner, Blue Diamond Stud Farm's Wonderful Justice (GB). Trained by Brad Cox, Wonderful Justice is undefeated in two starts and will be ridden Friday by Florent Geroux and break from post position four.

Invading from Florida are the 1-2 finishers in Colonel Liam (L) at Gulfstream Park: Three Diamonds Farm's Dude N Colorado (GB) and D. J. Stable's Webslinger.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Dude N Colorado finished third in the Kitten's Joy (G3) in his graded stakes debut prior to winning the Colonel Liam. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount and will break from post position 12.

Webslinger has compiled a 5-2-2-0 record on grass for trainer Mark Casse and features a victory in Monmouth's Nownownow Stakes on his resume. Javier Castellano has the mount and will break from post position two.

Also coming from Florida is Madaket Stables, Little Red Feather Racing and William Strauss' Nagirroc. Trained by Graham Motion, Nagirroc won the Futurity (G3) prior to finishing third here in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). Flavien Prat has the mount and will break from post position nine.

The field for the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania, with riders and weights from the inside, is:

  1. Freedom Trail (Frankie Dettori, 118 pounds),
  2. Webslinger (Castellano, 118),
  3. Andthewinneris (Lanerie, 120),
  4. Wonderful Justice (GB) (Geroux, 118),
  5. Rarified Flair (Chris Landeros, 118),
  6. Mi Hermano Ramon (John Velazquez, 118),
  7. Mo Stash (Luis Saez, 118),
  8. Candidate (Joel Rosario, 118),
  9. Nagirroc (Prat, 118),
  10. Movisitor (Adam Beschizza, 118),
  11. Carl Spackler (IRE) (Tyler Gaffalione, 118),
  12. Dude N Colorado (GB) (Ortiz Jr., 118).

The post ‘We Know He Loves This Course’: Andthewinneris Returns To Keeneland For Transylvania appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

HISA Authority: Plaintiffs In La Lawsuit Have ‘No Right’ to Add New Parties

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority reiterated to a judge on Monday a belief that the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit spearheaded by the state of Louisiana have “no right” to expand the scope of their complaint by letting new entities join the nine-month-old case in United States District Court (Western District of Louisiana).

“Plaintiffs characterize their joinder of new parties as a 'routine amendment,'” the Apr. 3 court filing stated. “But they do not dispute that the purpose of their amendment is to transform the preliminary injunction already in force in Louisiana and West Virginia into a nationwide injunction by adding a 'broad collection' of new plaintiffs stretching 'literally from coast-to-coast.'

“Nor do Plaintiffs deny that their recent maneuvering is intended to circumvent the difficult standard that applies to the still pending intervention motion previously filed by these same parties,” the filing continued.

“And they do not contest that had the original Plaintiffs been denied a preliminary injunction, none of the new parties seeking to piggyback on that relief would have joined this suit but instead would have tried their luck elsewhere.

“To the contrary, in a separate challenge in the Northern District of Texas that has been ongoing for two years, many of these same parties conceded that their 'strategic' decision to join this suit is motivated by their belief that the original Plaintiffs had found 'a judge who had previously been generous to those plaintiffs with equitable relief,'” the filing stated.

Back on Feb. 6, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint to their original June 29, 2022, lawsuit, with the chief changes involving the addition of 14 new individual Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association affiliates, plus a wide swath of states, racing commissions, and individual racetracks.

After the defendants moved to strike the amended complaint on Mar. 6, the plaintiffs followed up three weeks later by filing a memorandum in support of allowing the new entities.

“Defendants suggest that Plaintiffs engage in something sinister by seeking amendment to request expanded relief,” the plaintiffs' Mar. 27 court filing stated. “But parties across the country routinely amend to seek expanded relief without issue.”

The judge in the case has now been supplied with written legal arguments on both sides of the issue, paving the way for a near-future ruling on the defendants' motion to strike the amended complaint.

The post HISA Authority: Plaintiffs In La Lawsuit Have ‘No Right’ to Add New Parties appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Homeless Songs Back In Action At Leopardstown

Ireland is setting the pace when it comes to the Flat Turf season and Wednesday sees Leopardstown play host to the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Heritage S. Not seen since finishing seventh in the G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket in October, Moyglare Stud's brilliant Curragh Classic winner faces seven rivals in the mile contest including Qatar Racing's Listed Tetrarch S. winner Buckaroo (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who is also making a comeback having been off since the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas. Also featuring is Merry Fox Stud Limited and Newsells Park Stud Ltd's Mea Domina (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}), the Listed Prix Isola Bella winner who is making her debut for the Paddy Twomey stable.

The post Homeless Songs Back In Action At Leopardstown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Champion Wonder Wheel Headlines Opening Day Ashland At Keeneland

D. J. Stable's champion Wonder Wheel headlines a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered Tuesday morning for the 86th running of the $600,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1), the centerpiece of a 10-race program on opening day of the 15-day Keeneland Spring Meet.

Scheduled as the ninth race on the program with a 5:16 p.m. ET post time, the Central Bank Ashland will be contested over 1 1/16 miles on the main track. First post Friday is 1 p.m.

The year's first Grade 1 race for 3-year-old fillies, the Central Bank Ashland offers 200 points on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale for the first- through fifth-place finishers toward the Kentucky Oaks (G1). The Oaks, which will be run May 5 at Churchill Downs, is limited to the top 14 point earners that pass the entry box.

Trained by Mark Casse, Wonder Wheel is perfect in two Keeneland starts with victories in the Darley Alcibiades (G1) and the NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) last fall. She has compiled a career mark of 6-4-2-0 and in her lone start of 2023 finished second in the Suncoast (L) at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 11.

Tyler Gaffalione, who has been aboard for all of Wonder Wheel's starts, has the mount Friday and will exit post position two.

The Central Bank Ashland winner the past two years has gone on to earn the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly. Todd Pletcher trained both of them, starting with Malathaat in 2021 and Nest last year.

Pletcher brings Malathaat's full sister Julia Shining into this year's renewal. Owned by Stonestreet Stables, Julia Shining comes into the Central Bank Ashland off a third-place finish in the Suncoast in which she was 1¼ lengths behind Wonder Wheel.

Luis Saez, who has been aboard Julia Shining in all of her starts including the victory in the Demoiselle (G2), has the call Friday and will depart post position four.

Pletcher is the fourth trainer to win the Central Bank Ashland in consecutive years. No trainer has won the race three years in a row.

Also coming from Florida is CHP Racing's Guns n' Graces for trainer Chad Brown. Guns n' Graces finished second in the Davona Dale (G2) Presented by FanDuel TV at Gulfstream Park on March 4 in her stakes debut. Joel Rosario has the mount from post position three.

Coming from California is West Coast Stable's Pride of the Nile, trained by Doug O'Neill. A two-time winner on grass as a 2-year-old, Pride of the Nile was runner-up in the Starlet (G1) and the Las Virgenes (G3) before finishing fifth in the Santa Ysabel (G3) in her most recent start on March 5 at Santa Anita.

Frankie Dettori has the mount on Pride of the Nile from post position one.

The field for the Central Bank Ashland, with riders from the rail out, is: Pride of the Nile (Dettori), Wonder Wheel (Gaffalione), Guns n' Graces (Rosario), Julia Shining (Saez), Punchbowl (Flavien Prat), Defining Purpose (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Effortlesslyelgant (Ricardo Santana Jr.) All starters will carry 121 pounds.

The post Champion Wonder Wheel Headlines Opening Day Ashland At Keeneland appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights