Month: April 2023

The Friday Show Presented By Icon Global: Jareth Loveberry Talks Two Phil’s

Jockey Jareth Loveberry's saddle has taken him a lot of places over the course of his career, but the top of the Kentucky Derby points standings was uncharted territory until last weekend.

Following a convincing victory in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 25 at Turfway Park, Two Phil's sits at the top of the list with 123 qualifying points, assuring the son of Hard Spun a spot in the Kentucky Derby on May 6. Loveberry has been aboard Two Phil's for all but one of the colt's career starts, and this would be his first Kentucky Derby mount.

A start the Derby would continue an amazing career progression for Loveberry, whose riding career began at Great Lakes Downs in his native Michigan. He has won meet titles at Mountaineer, Canterbury Park, and Hawthorne Race Course, and he was the final leading rider at Arlington Park in 2020 and 2021. He most recently finished third in the jockey standings during the recently completed Fair Grounds meet in Louisiana.

On the Chicago circuit, Loveberry became the first-call rider for perennial leading trainer Larry Rivelli, who conditions Two Phil's for owners Patricia's Hope LLC and Phillip Sagan.

On this week's episode of The Friday Show, Loveberry discusses his Jeff Ruby trip aboard Two Phil's, recovering from a hairline fracture to his fibula that could have put that mount in jeopardy, and his journey through the blue-collar tracks of the Midwest and Southwest to potentially ride in the biggest race on the calendar.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

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Gun Runner Filly Wicked Halo Victorious In Return At Oaklawn

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Wicked Halo, making her first start since a narrow third in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), was back in the winner's circle after an impressive victory in Friday's inaugural $250,000 Matron Stakes at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark.

Favorite Wicked Halo, with Tyler Gaffalione in the irons, was third early as Pretty Birdie battled with I'm the Boss of Me through early fractions of :21.15 and :44.25 for the first half mile. The winner dropped back to fourth and last around the turn for home, but was all fight through the stretch as she wore down second-choice Matareya, who assumed the lead entering the stretch. Wicked Halo drew off late to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:09.31 over a sealed track rated muddy.

“Talented group of mares and the exciting part is for her to come back running that fast,” winning trainer Steve Asmussen said. “She finished off the year in spectacular fashion. I think she had four stakes wins and then was third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She got a little break off that. For her to come back and beat a filly the quality of Matayera in such a competitive fashion is very exciting.”

Wicked Halo, a multiple Grade 2 winning 4-year-old daughter of Gun Runner, improved her record to 7-0-4 from 12 starts and is now a millionaire with $1,032,700 in purse earnings. She returned $4 and $2.20 as the even money favorite. There was no show or exotic wagering after the scratches of Dealing Justice, Samurai Charm and Teddy's Barino.

Live racing resumes Saturday for a 13-race card highlighted by the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) and three other stakes races. The richest day in Oaklawn's history begins with a 12:15 p.m. first post. The Arkansas Derby is race 12 at approximately 6:24 p.m.

Stakes Quotes:

Winning trainer Steve Asmussen (Wicked Halo): “Talented group of mares and the exciting part is for her to come back running that fast. She finished off the year in spectacular fashion. I think she had four stakes wins and then was third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She got a little break off that. For her to come back and beat a filly the quality of Matayera in such competitive fashion is very exciting.”

“It's very exciting for her to start her 4-year-old season running as fast as she did. I don't think we should be surprised with that with the Gun Runners, knowing how he was. He was a fabulous 2-year-old, a great 3-year-old and an unbeatable 4-year-old. And I think the Gun Runners are showing as they age they also continue to get faster.”

(This was a great race for Oaklawn to come up with) “Absolutely. The timing of it is ideal for the Churchill Downs' (Grade 1) Derby City Distaff at seven-eighths” on Kentucky Derby day.

Winning jockey Tyler Gaffalione (Wicked Halo): “She had a very impressive season last year. Got a nice freshening. Everybody said she had been working great. She came out and ran a great race. Very impressive.”

Jockey Flavien Prat, second on Matareya: “She ran a good race. She broke well and I was in the pocket. Made a big move down on the inside. I thought I was home free and just got outrun.”

Jockey David Cabrera, fourth on Pretty Birdie: “Missed the break a little bit and she's a horse than you can't rate. Having the other one (I'm the Boss of Me) right next to her the whole way didn't help.”

The post Gun Runner Filly Wicked Halo Victorious In Return At Oaklawn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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HISA Anti-Doping And Medication Control Program Delayed 30 Days By Texas Judge

Saying the Federal Trade Commission jumped the gun by giving the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)  the go-ahead to launch its Anti-Doping and Medication Control program on the same day the FTC approved its regulations on March 27, a federal judge in Texas ordered the program's implementation to be delayed until May 1, 2023.

Judge James Wesley Hendrix, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas in Lubbock, made the order in response to a motion from plaintiffs in a lawsuit  seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the HISA program from going into effect as planned.

Hendrix agreed with what he called a “narrow procedural claim” made by the National HBPA and a number of affiliates that “not enough time passed between when the rule was published as final and when the rule took effect.”

Ruling that when an agency makes a “substantive rule” (described as one that “controls our behavior”) it must ordinarily wait 30 days for it to take effect, Hendrix wrote in his order that the delay “ensures that regulated parties have the time to challenge the rule's validity or bring themselves into compliance.”

Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act was cited as the basis for the required 30-day waiting period. HISA officials said the program was launched on March 27 based on a statement in the Federal Register indicating the rule would take effect immediately on approval by the FTC.

“Obviously we are disappointed by the decision,” HISA chief executive officer Lisa Lazarus said during a media call. “As a result we're going to suspend operations for 30 days … we're going to hand the keys back to the states.”

HISA will continue to operate its racetrack safety program, which is unaffected by the District Court order.

Lazarus said 700 samples were collected in HISA's first five days of operations, but those samples now will be subject to the state racing rules that were in place before March 27 – not the HISA rules approved by the FTC. State rules will be reinstated until the 30-day delay is over on May 1.

“We discussed appealing, or trying to reverse the order, but ultimately we are here to serve the industry and I think that just creates more chaos,” Lazarus said.  “We felt that, weighing all the interests and considering the importance of bringing as much stability to such an unstable scenario to the industry, it's best to accept the decision, communicate it, plan for it and use this 30 days to improve our processes and our functions.”

John Roach, outside general counsel for HISA, said the transition back to the states should not be a problem, as the personnel used to collect samples for HISA previously worked for state commissions.

“We're going to bend over backwards following the order but also to offer assistance and transition in any way we can,” Roach said.

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