The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships really begin to come into focus in summer and fall and this regular feature will offer a snapshot profile of one of the previous weekend’s standout stars.
Month: August 2023
New Site Plan for Turf Paradise, but Future Racing Still Hinges on Gaming Legalization
A conceptual site plan newly submitted to the city of Phoenix for the proposed industrial development at Turf Paradise calls for the closure of the track once the under-agreement sale goes forward and development begins. But the incoming owner is still floating the idea of resuming racing at the 67-year-old Thoroughbred venue in the future if historical horse race gaming gets legalized in Arizona.
Audrey Jensen of the Phoenix Business Journal first reported Aug. 8 on the new details about the project, which has been named Winner's Circle Business Park. It proposes eight industrial buildings and two data centers on the 213-acre property that is being acquired by developer CT Realty. The sale, which was announced back in April, is on target to close by the end of this year.
James Watson, the managing partner of CT Realty, told the Phoenix Business Journal, “If we can get [gaming legislation] accomplished I think we can put the racetrack back on a really firm footing and build really beautiful product around it. We're at the moment trying to get some support from the governor…to create a big income stream to the state through these taxes.”
The new details about the Turf Paradise sale and development came one day after Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) president Lloyd Yother wrote in an open letter that he would “fight like hell” to ensure racing in the state is not dead.
“There are still many avenues to consider that will save Arizona horse racing. There are even options that include the possibility of running a late race meet in 2023 or possibly early in 2024,” Yother wrote. “If these don't pan out, our board will continue to exhaust every means available to bring horse racing back to Arizona in the very near future.”
Back on Aug. 1, the current ownership that is selling at Turf Paradise announced it wouldn't be opening the track in November as planned for its 2023-24 race meet. In response, horsemen held out hope that the incoming ownership would be willing to operate the remainder of the scheduled season from January through May 4. That aspect of the plan has not been confirmed by CT Realty.
When Turf Paradise concluded its 2022-23 meet in May, Arizona was left without an operational commercial race meet.
Arizona Downs, 82 miles north of Turf Paradise in Prescott Valley, didn't apply for a June-through-September race meet this year because of financial difficulties. That track has been mentioned as being up for sale or lease for over a year. It formerly operated as Yavapai Downs between 2000 and 2010, when ownership at that time filed for bankruptcy.
Elsewhere in the state, Rillito Park in Tucson traditionally runs weekends from early February through early April. Earlier this year, Cochise County Fair in Douglas ran a two-day mixed meet Apr. 15 and 16, as did Santa Cruz County Fair at Sonoita May 6 and 7.
The post New Site Plan for Turf Paradise, but Future Racing Still Hinges on Gaming Legalization appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
CHRB Stewards Outline ‘Safety And Response Concerns’ Over Cedillo Accident At Del Mar
California Horse Racing Board stewards posted an explanation in their weekly minutes concerning the July 23 accident involving jockey Abel Cedillo shortly after the start of the fourth race at Del Mar on the seaside track's opening weekend.
Cedillo's mount, Get the Gold, was pinched at the start and clipped heels of a rival, sending the rider head first into the dirt in the one-mile race that began a short distance before the finish line. Cedillo fractured a bone in his neck and will be out about four to six weeks, according to Daily Racing Form.
Get the Gold did not suffer any serious injuries, according to reports.
The details of the incident, which can be read on the eighth page of the regularly published stewards minutes here, reveals failed communications between stewards and the paramedics who quickly arrived on the scene but failed to attend to Cedillo before members of the starting gate crew picked him up and carried him across the track to the winner's circle.
Cedillo told Daily Racing Form's Steve Andersen, “I think it was a mistake. They shouldn't have touched me. They should have stopped the race.”
The CHRB stewards minutes state: “With the rider lying motionless on the track and the field of horses having to cross where he was lying, steward Luis Jauregui used the radio to ask paramedics if they were going to be able to move him because a decision needed to be made on whether to stop the field and call off the race or continue, no response was given.
“A second radio call was made with the same request with no response. By this time the field of horses had passed the 3/4 pole. The paramedics were observed by the stewards opening the back doors to their vehicle and had not made contact with the rider and were not moving toward him. Steward Jauregui made a third radio call stating that the stewards needed to know if the paramedics were able to move him or not with no response.
“By this time, the field of horses had reached the half-mile pole. That was the last communication by the stewards during the race. The stewards made the decision amongst themselves that if the field of horses reached the 3 1/2 pole the race would be stopped and the horses ordered to pull up.
“At this point the stewards witnessed the rider being moved to the outside of the track. No mention, directive, or suggestion for this to happen was given by the stewards. With no further obstructions in the track the stewards had no reason to stop the race and it was allowed to continue.”
Track officials did not comment on the incident.
Five days after the incident, steward Jauregui and safety steward David Nuesch attended a July 28 meeting presented by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club that the CHRB called “continuing education for the assistant starters/clockers/outriders.” According to the minutes posted online, “It was reported that a good discussion was held, and topics of concern were shared.”
Stewards minutes also detailed what they said were “poor preparation for the race meet.” Opening day problems involved proper views of race videos not routed to stewards' televisions, equipment malfunctions with televisions, tote board freeze-ups, and equipment problems for placing judges.
The post CHRB Stewards Outline ‘Safety And Response Concerns’ Over Cedillo Accident At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
‘He’s Fast And He Can Sustain His Speed’: Ari Gold Chasing Second Stakes Win In Bald Eagle Derby
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Ari Gold, successful in his only prior stakes start, gets an opportunity to rediscover his winning ways when he returns to face similar company in the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby Sunday, Aug. 13 at Laurel Park.
The fifth running of the Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds, named for the two-time Washington D.C. International winner and the nation's champion handicap horse of 1960, is the second of two stakes scheduled for the turf on a nine-race program following the $100,000 Searching for 3-year-old fillies.
First race post time is 12:25 p.m.
Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who captured the inaugural Bald Eagle Derby with Channel Cat in 2018, Ari Gold will be making his second start of the year after finishing sixth in his season opener July 20 at Saratoga.
The 1 1/16-mile second-level optional claiming allowance was the first race in more than seven months for Ari Gold, who was also facing older horses for the first time. Bumped at the break, he was prominent early before dropping back and wound up beaten 5 ¾ lengths.
“It was strictly designed as a starting point to get him going again,” Eclipse founder and president Aron Wellman said. “We didn't love the fact that he had to run against older horses, 2x, optional claiming, which makes it even that much more difficult.
“We knew he had to shake off the rust, so we just wanted to get him going somewhere. I think the race is a little better than it looks on paper, and he's come out of it well,” he added. “This looks like a logical spot to run in stakes company against 3-year-olds.”
Purchased for $220,000 as a yearling in September 2021, Ari Gold ran fourth in each of his first two starts last fall, one on turf and one on the main track. He graduated in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight last November at Aqueduct and was a front-running winner of the 7 ½-furlong Pulpit in December at Gulfstream Park.
“We were really excited about him at the end of last year. He was getting good,” Wellman said. “We let him run two very organic races to start his career. We knew he was a bit green and finally decided to put the blinkers on him, which he acted like he probably needed to begin with, and it really woke him up.
“He's a different kind of horse because he's fast and he can sustain his speed,” he added. “Unfortunately, we had to send him to the sidelines for the winter, but he came back in the spring and has trained really well. We needed to get that race into him a few weeks ago at Saratoga and now, hopefully, he's ready to really blossom the second half of the season.”
Laurel summer meet leader Jaime Rodriguez gets the riding assignment from Post 3 in a field of eight.
“I don't think he needs the lead. I think it'll be a function of what the race looks like and who the other speed might be, but he's versatile,” Wellman said. “It's always nice to have a horse that can be tactical so he can make his own trip.”
Circling the Drain, bred and owned by Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds, is stakes-placed on both turf and dirt, having run third in the 1 1/16-mile Private Terms March 18 over Laurel's main track. The West Coast gelding ran third behind Nagirroc's track-record performance in the one-mile James W. Murphy May 20 at historic Pimlico Race Course, his grass debut, and exits a three-length restricted allowance victory July 8 on the Laurel turf.
Harold Lerner, Nehoc Stables, AWC Stables and Team Stallion Racing Stable's Mendelssohns March went unraced at 2 and has raced exclusively on turf since finishing sixth in the April 8 Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland. Second to Grade 1-placed Webslinger in the 1 1/8-mile Audubon June 3 at Churchill Downs, he shortens up after running sixth in the 1 ¼-mile Belmont Derby (G1) July 8.
Big Frank Stable, Enrico Ascione and Mad Dog Racing Stable's English Painter will be making his stakes debut in the Bald Eagle Derby. Since being purchased privately last fall following a maiden claiming triumph at The Meadowlands, the Munnings colt has alternated wins and losses in five starts for South Florida-based trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
“He's a hard-trying horse and we think distance is what he really wants. We've kind of waited for this race so we'll give it a try,” Joseph said. “He's a tall, good-looking, leggy kind of horse that took a little time to grow into his frame. He's just been ultra-consistent. He won his last race before we bought him and since then he's been first or second each race. He always shows up and tries.”
English Painter began 2023 with a one-mile, 70-yard starter optional claiming victory on the all-weather surface Jan. 12 at Gulfstream, where he was a neck optional claiming allowance winner going 1 1/16 miles on the grass April 8. He has raced just once since, beaten a neck while second in a 1 1/16-mile starter May 6 on the Gulfstream Tapeta.
“He's the kind of horse that lacks that true turn of foot, so we think the distance will help him the longer he goes. He is pretty versatile, though he's probably better on the grass,” Joseph said. “His game is he sits back and makes one run at the end. Going a little further I would think that he would probably be a little tactically closer just because it's a slower kind of pace, but he's a horse that's not going to be on the lead you wouldn't think.”
Tyler Conner gets the call from outermost Post 8.
Wertheimer and Frere's homebred Dataman returns to both the grass and stakes company off an 11 ¼-length allowance romp going a mile and 70 yards over a wet-fast main track June 28 at Delaware Park, a race originally carded for the turf.
In a two-week span last fall, he ran sixth behind Major Dude in the Pilgrim (G2) on the Belmont Park turf and fourth to Tuskegee Airmen in the Rocky Run over Delaware's main track. Jorge Ruiz rides from Post 5.
“I had him as a 2-year-old. He's grown up a lot. He's much more professional now than he was last year,” trainer Graham Motion said. “He ran super last time. I wasn't necessarily looking to get him back on the grass, but I don't see any other great options for him at the moment. He handles the grass. Hopefully he's just an improved horse having had some time off. We've always liked him.”
Also entered are Morris Kernan Jr. and Jagger Inc.'s Eldest Son, yet to race on turf but with one second in two tries on the all-weather; Ready Made Racing's Georgie W, a maiden winner on the grass in May at Indiana, where he exits a fifth in the July 8 Indiana Derby (G3) on dirt; and Gary Barber and Team Valor International's Sirtaki, a three-time winner in his native France making his North American debut.
The post ‘He’s Fast And He Can Sustain His Speed’: Ari Gold Chasing Second Stakes Win In Bald Eagle Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
