August, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘It’s Pay Back Time’: Mage Co-Owner Teams Up With Steve Dwoskin In Fight Against Pediatric Cancer

Kentucky Derby (G1) hero and Curlin Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Mage will carry the hopes of OGMA investments LLC, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing LLC and CMNWLTH in Saturday's Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. The 3-year-old son of Good Magic will also help champion the cause to find a cure for pediatric cancer while clashing with Curlin Florida Derby winner Forte, Preakness (G1) victor National Treasure and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo.

Earlier in the summer, Restrepo pledged to donate a portion of his share of Mage's winnings for the rest of the 2023 racing season to the Dwoskin Children's Cancer Research Fund at the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, which was named to honor Steven Dwoskin, the Gulfstream Park-based owner and trainer who has donated many, many millions of dollars to the university's cancer research.

There is no doubt Dwoskin will be rooting for Mage, who finished second in the $1 million Haskell Invitational (G1) at Monmouth Park following Restrepo's pledge.

“Absolutely,” Dwoskin said Wednesday morning. “The owner [Restrepo] went to the University of Miami and saw that I was a big contributor there to cancer research. He got in touch, and we had lunch. He wanted to give part of the horse's earnings. Mage came in second after we met, and he donated part of his earnings to children's cancer. Beautiful!”

The 80-year-old horseman and auto parts businessman feels fortunate to be able to help fund the fight against pediatric cancer.

“It's very rewarding. It's a beautiful thing. I've worked my butt off all my life,” said Dwoskin, whom the University of Miami had previously honored with the naming of the Dwoskin Proton Therapy Building. “God's been good to me by giving me gifts to earn some money. It's pay back time.”

Dwoskin went on to describe a very special motivation for his dedication to find a cure for pediatric cancer.

“I had this calling, when I saw this lady on TV who had a son who died of cancer. She started a place called Heroes Hangout,” he said. “We went to visit her and saw that she let all the kids go to her place to play games and take home little gifts. When I saw that, I got very moved and said, 'We've got to cure children's cancer.'”

Dwoskin has somehow found the time between his philanthropy and business obligations to train the winners of 934 races, including Fay's Rhonda Cares, a 2-year-old daughter of Mendelssohn who scored an impressive off-the-pace 5 ¼-length debut victory at Gulfstream Park last Sunday.

Dwoskin had intended to pinhook the $100,000 yearling purchase at the OBS April sale, but the Kentucky-bred filly failed to meet her reserve.

“Nobody wanted her. We raced her Sunday and now the phone is ringing off the hook,” Dwoskin said. “Her dam produced Flameaway, so the breeding is very good. We'll run in her in a non-winners-of-a-race [other-than] and see what she does and then decide what to do in the future.”

The post ‘It’s Pay Back Time’: Mage Co-Owner Teams Up With Steve Dwoskin In Fight Against Pediatric Cancer appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Texas-Breds To Benefit From Purse Increases At Sam Houston, Lone Star

Texas-breds are receiving a raise during the 2024 Thoroughbred race meets at Class 1 tracks in Texas. The Texas Thoroughbred Association, Texas Horsemen's Partnership, Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park came together to collectively approve the new purse structure alteration.

For 2024, Texas-bred maiden special weight and allowance races will carry a minimum purse of $40,000 at Sam Houston and Lone Star Park. This is being accomplished by reconfiguring the allocation of funds provided by the TTA to the tracks from the Texas Horse Industry Escrow Account (HIEA). The minimum purse of $40,000 for these races is a $7,000 increase per race – a 21% increase over 2023 levels for the same race conditions.

“It is gratifying to see what can be accomplished when the Thoroughbred industry and the racetracks work together. Supporting Texas horse owners and breeders and promoting the value of Texas-bred horses is our number one priority,” commented Tracy Sheffield, President of the Texas Thoroughbred Association.

HB 2463 was passed in the 2019 legislative session. Derived from a portion of state sales taxes on equine goods and services, it provides up to $25-million per year to stimulate the Texas Equine Industry, with 70% ($17.5 million) earmarked for purse funds and the remaining 30% ($7.5 million) available to the official state breed registries (TTA, TQHA, TABA, TPHA) for Texas Racing Commission-approved events and programs. Funds became available in 2020.

“The purse restructuring shows dedication to Texas-breds on the racetrack and it has a positive impact on a large number of Texas horsemen,” said Bryan Pettigrew, Vice President and General Manager of Sam Houston Race Park. “The owners and trainers I have spoken with are praising the change. It's putting more money on the table for Texas-breds.”

Finalizing the purse transition comes at an opportune time. The Texas Thoroughbred Association's annual Summer Yearling Sale is August 28. According to TTA, the sale will be one of the largest in history and there's a tremendous level of excitement and anticipation for Monday's sale. Of the 271 catalogued sale entries, almost 100 are Texas-breds, proving they are in high demand, thanks in part to the numerous Texas breeders' incentives now in place and proven by their success on the racetrack.

One of the largest consignors at the sale is Highlander Training Center whose catalogue includes 22 Texas-breds in Monday's yearling sale.
“Increasing purse money for Texas-breds and raising the level of maiden special weight purses will absolutely have a positive impact on the yearling sale,” noted Jeff Hooper, Chairman & CEO at Highlander Training Center. “Purses drive the business, and this very positive news will create increased enthusiasm and interest among owners and trainers looking for quality Texas-bred racing prospects.”

Since the passage of House Bill 2463, the racing program has been expanded in the state. First of all, the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity at Lone Star Park was revamped with a $150,000 purse for each division. The $100,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby and Oaks were both added to the Sam Houston Race Park calendar to further support the industry. Numerous top stallions have moved into the state, strengthening the Texas Stallion Stakes, a six-race series for the offspring of participating Texas stallions. The increase in Texas-bred maiden special weight and allowance race purses is the latest development. The overall 2024 HIEA plan is pending Texas Racing Commission approval.

The post Texas-Breds To Benefit From Purse Increases At Sam Houston, Lone Star appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘He’s A Trier’: Awakened Delivers Rousing Performance In Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard

Riverdee Stable and Ten Strike Racing's Awakened secured the first stakes triumph of his career with an off-the-pace score in Wednesday's Grade 1, $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard, a 2 3/8-mile hurdle test for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Jack Fisher, Awakened improved from a game runner-up effort last out in the Jonathan Kiser Novice on August 2 at the Spa to provide Fisher with back-to-back triumphs in this event after saddling Snap Decision to victory last year.

“I was pretty confident, just because I knew he'd like the distance and I knew he'd like the ground being firm,” said Fisher. “I thought he was too far back and it would be tough to get through, but knowing here it opens up in the stretch so he could just wait. It is what it is. You take what you can get. It's the first Grade 1 win for Riverdee Stables, which I train a lot of horses for.”

Awakened broke from third post position under Thomas Garner and settled on the inside well off the pace set by West Newton, who led comfortably through the first two turns under Stephen Mulqueen with Jimmy P tracking in second over the firm footing. Grade 1-winner Noah And The Ark raced in mid-pack early, but was rushed up into the backstretch for the first time to assume second position from Jimmy P while West Newtown maintained his advantage entering the stretch a second time.

The running order remained unchanged into the backstretch for a final time before L'Imperator moved up into contention, but bobbled on the penultimate fence and lost position to the advancing Noah And The Ark. West Newton gave way entering the final turn as Jimmy P took command along the inside with Noah And The Ark putting in a game challenge in the center of the course and 5-2 mutuel favorite McTigue splitting those two foes from off the pace.

Awakened made up ground with every stride entering the final straightaway under steady urging from Garner, taking command to the inside of Jimmy P passing the eighth pole. The top trio had drawn clear from the rest of the field with McTigue gaining on Jimmy P, but there was no denying Awakened, who crossed the wire one length the best in a final time of 4:32.51.

A resolute Jimmy P fended off McTigue by a neck with Merry Maker finishing fourth another seven lengths back. L'Imperator, Redicean, Caramelised, Noah And The Ark, West Newton and Theocrat completed the order of finish.

Garner said Awakened was professional in victory.

“Look, I was just a passenger the whole way, the horse did everything,” Garner said. “He traveled great, jumped great. I wasn't in the position that I wanted to be in, I wanted to be further forward. I got a lovely run down inside. I haven't panicked, last down the back, which is the last hurdle nowadays, he's winged it. I've been right there. I just had to wait a little bit to get into the straight, I let him open up.”

Awakened made his first 10 outings on the flat for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and graduated going 1 1/4 miles in July 2021 at Ellis Park before moving to Fisher's care. Since then, he won a starter allowance traveling two miles on the flat in September at Colonial Downs and broke his maiden over hurdles in his next start 19 days later at Shawan Downs.

Sean Clancy of Riverdee Stable won this event, then called the New York Turf Writers Cup, as a jockey in 1998 aboard track record-setter Hokan. Clancy said Awakened had the makings of a jump horse ever since he broke his maiden on the flat.

“We actually watched him win a mile and a quarter turf race at Ellis from the press box here and I said, 'That's a jumper, that's a jumper.' So, I had been following him, and then Shug called me and said, 'You want to do something with Awakened?' He needed a little time then and we gave him the rest of the year off,” Clancy recalled. “We bought him around August 2021 and we didn't put a saddle on him. He wasn't inside a stall from August 15 to January 15. He just had some bone bruising, nothing major. He lived out and he's just been perfect ever since. He's a trier and loves firm ground.”

Clancy added that weather will determine if Awakened will make the trip to Far Hills for the upcoming meeting on October 21 after he finished sixth in the Foxbrook Championship Hurdle over yielding footing at least year's meet.

“I wouldn't go to Far Hills on soft ground. His only bad race on his form was at Far Hills on soft ground,” said Clancy. “He's still a novice, too. This was a Grade 1, but there was no Snap Decision, no The Mean Queen, and no Belfast Banter, so this was as much of a novice stake as anything. So, he still has his novice condition and I can still go that direction.”

Awakened, a half-brother to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Imagining, is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning A.P. Indy mare Daydreaming, who is a full-sister to Grade 1-winner Girolamo and graded stakes-winner Accelerator. Bred in Kentucky by Phipps Stable, he banked $90,000 in victory and returned $14.40 for a $2 win wager. Awakened was a $725,000 RNA at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Saratoga Race Course with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 2, $300,000 Mohegan Sun Ballston Spa in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

The post ‘He’s A Trier’: Awakened Delivers Rousing Performance In Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Keeneland Organizes Lexington to Kentucky Downs Charters

With both the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and the boutique Kentucky Downs race meet going on at the same time and 170 miles apart, Keeneland has arranged charter flights from Lexington to the Franklin, Kentucky racetrack to accommodate owners, trainers and others who are working the yearling sale, but also have horses running at Kentucky Downs.

The 40-minute flights go between Lexington's Blue Grass Airport and the Portland (Tenn.) Municipal Airport seven miles from Kentucky Downs. The roundtrip flights are Sept. 7, 9, 10, and 13–the last four days of the Kentucky Downs meet. The Keeneland yearling sale begins Sept. 11.

The flights depart at noon Eastern from the Triton Airways at the Blue Grass Airport, located at 4170 Aviator Road (not the main terminal), directly across U.S. 60/Versailles Road from Keeneland. They land in Portland Municipal Airport, also known as Douglas Hunter Field. The return flights will leave about 7 p.m. Central/8 p.m. Eastern.

“Keeneland is pleased to offer this service to anyone who is attending the September sale and wants to go racing on a particular day without five hours of driving,” said Tony Lacy, Keeneland's Vice President of Sales. “There are a lot of horses participating at Kentucky Downs that have, not only domestic owners, but international as well. With such a diverse group of people in town for the sale, it's wonderful for them to be able to go enjoy a very unique, very competitive, extremely rich meet for the few days that they are in Kentucky. It's important that we showcase the quality of Kentucky racing as the circuit gets stronger.”

The aircraft will be a King Air B200 with two pilots, WiFi and eight seats. Those seeking a spot should email charter@tritonairways.com. The cost for each seat is $625 per roundtrip.

Kentucky Downs is staging a pair of $250,000 allowance races on its Aug. 31 opening-day card restricted to 2-year-olds who went through the sales ring at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Keeneland is a minority partner with Kentucky Downs' ownership in the new Cumberland Run harness track that opens in Corbin in October and The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland, its sister historical horse racing and entertainment facility in Williamsburg in southeastern Kentucky.

The post Keeneland Organizes Lexington to Kentucky Downs Charters appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post