Month: June 2023

Munnings Filly Sprints To Astoria Victory

Closing Act (Munnings) put it all together here to secure the first black-type victory of her young career in the Astoria S. as the 3-5 favorite.

A step slow on debut May 11 beneath the Twin Spires, she showed a good turn of foot in the lane to run down rivals for a neck win over an experienced rival. Brushing with Living Magic after leaving the blocks, she was urged along to keep pace from the outside of rivals and went as far as four wide into the final bend. Gaining ground steadily to launch her bid coming up on the quarter pole, Closing Act took the lead in upper stretch and shook away under a right-hand stick into the final furlong. It was 3 1/4 lengths back to pacesetter Union Suit and Living Magic came on from the back to round out the trifecta.

“She made a few mistakes first time out and we told Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] that we thought she'd be more forwardly placed and more professional, and she was,” said Scott Blasi, Steve Asmussen's assistant. “She got a lot out of her first race. Super proud of her today. She's really gone through a growth spurt this month and she's filling out and looks beautiful.”

A Texas-bred daughter of Munnings, the victress is the most recent to the races thus far for Evening Show, who also counts a yearling filly by Competitive Edge to her tally. That dam hails from the female line of Tuesday Evening (Nodouble), who herself produced GISP Madame Pandit (Wild Again).

Said daughter would go on to tally GISW Mea Domina (Dance Brightly) and GSP Ivory Empress (Seeking the Gold), who would gain her fame via 'TDN Rising Star' MGSW McCraken (Ghostzapper); GISP & MGSW Four Graces (Majesticperfection); 'TDN Rising Star' GSP With Dignity (Declaration of War); and MGSP Bondurant (War Front). This is the extended family of GISP & MGSW Greek Sun. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

ASTORIA S., $145,500, Belmont, 6-11, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:06.59, ft.
1–CLOSING ACT, 122, f, 2, by Munnings
          1st Dam: Evening Show (SP, $237,664), by Master Command
          2nd Dam: Good Evening, by Dixieland Heat
          3rd Dam: Tuesday Evening, by Nodouble
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Douglas Scharbauer (TX); T-Steven Asmussen; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $82,500. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $124,500.
2–Union Suit, 122, f, 2, Union Rags–Ojai, by Verrazano. ($9,000 Ylg '22 KEEJAN). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Madaket Stables LLC and Highlight Thoroughbreds; B-Farfellow Farms Ltd. & W. S. Farish (KY); T-H. Graham Motion. $30,000.
3–Living Magic, 122, f, 2, Justify–Living The Life (Ire), by Footstepsinthesand (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-HnR Nothhaft Horseracing LLC (KY); T-Phil Schoenthal. $18,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, 1HF, 4HF. Odds: 0.70, 3.95, 10.90.
Also Ran: Golden Ghost (GB), Donate Life. Scratched: Low Mileage.

The post Munnings Filly Sprints To Astoria Victory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Letter to the Editor: Amanda Luby

I didn't realize how badly I wanted Jena Antonucci to win the GI Belmont S. Saturday until Arcangelo slipped up the rail and drove past National Treasure under a perfect ride by Javier Castellano and I started screaming at the TV and feverishly clapping the horse onto the wire. It wasn't until Acrangelo crossed the wire first and Javier pumped his fist in the air that I started jumping up and down, tears streaming down my face that I realized how much it mattered to me, a nearly 50-year-old woman who's loved Thoroughbred racing since growing up in Oklahoma and reading the Black Stallion books as a child.

I don't even know Jena, but her reputation as a superb horsewoman preceded her win, that reputation spread by the women in the industry devoted to aftercare, quality horsemanship, and always doing right by the horse. You see, there's a network of us in the sport in various segments of participation, from equine attorneys and small breeders like myself, to exercise riders, grooms, hotwalkers, bloodstock agents and pedigree consultants, media, farm staff both in and out of the office, racetrack employees, veterinarians, and trainers, many of us who weren't born into the industry, but who found our way into racing because of the sheer love of the animal. These women represent a large swath of participants in the sport doing their best to make it better, oftentimes unheralded, underpaid, unnoticed, and underappreciated.

We all know how hard it is for small trainers–let alone female trainers–to get support from owners and racetracks. While Jena's win was the second win for a female in a Triple Crown race (jockey Julie Krone being the first by winning the Belmont S. in 1993), the 30 years between such victories reflects the painfully slow growth in opportunities that women continue to experience in racing, a sport with a rich history of hurting itself.

There's no need to regurgitate the depths of those issues here, but I will conclude with this: representation matters. Jena's win matters, for all of us. It gives us hope. It ignites fires in young girls across the nation and it re-sparks old flames that have flickered in the winds of time.

Amanda Luby, Welbourne Stud

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Horses Now Included In USDA Livestock Forage Disaster Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers several livestock disaster assistance programs including the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP), the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), and the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP).

Horses are now eligible for LFP for the 2022 grazing season. Qualifying horses include those that contribute to the commercial viability of an operation and are maintained for the purposes of pleasure, roping, pets or show. The FSA has extended the application deadline to June 2, 2023, and has waived the measurement fee for pastures that were not previously certified by producers.

Additional eligibility requirements for LFP 

The producer needs to be in control, or at risk, of the horse and the pastureland during the entire grazing period.

The horse must be grazing on eligible land for two months prior to a county being designated eligible for LFP as rate by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

For additional information about LFP and to file an application, producers should contact their  FSA county office.

The post Horses Now Included In USDA Livestock Forage Disaster Program appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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