Month: October 2023

Number One Dude Made Slight Morning-Line Favorite For Oklahoma Classics Cup

The field for the Oklahoma Classics Cup, powered by FanDuel TV, has been set with two past winners of the race included in the field of six for the 1-1/16 miles main event on Friday, Oct. 20 at Remington Park.

Returning Classics Cup champ That's Something and Absaroka, winner in 2021, will face four others in the $131,000 guaranteed race for Oklahoma-breds, 3-year-olds and older. Number One Dude, second to That's Something in the Cup a year ago, has received morning-line favoritism at 8-5 odds. Ghost Hero, the pace-setter before tiring to 10th in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby in September, is the very close second-favorite in the morning line at 9-5 odds. That's Something checks in as third favorite at odds of 5-2.

Number One Dude is still searching for his first win of the season after a fourth-place effort in open company in the $100,000 Governor's Cup on opening night of the Remington Park season. The 5-year-old owned by Terry Westemeir of Broken Arrow, Okla. and trained by Scott Young, then finished second in the Red Earth Stakes on Sept. 22 against fellow Oklahoma-breds over the turf, beaten by seasoned grass veteran Tap the Dot.

Leandro Goncalves has his normal mount on Number One Dude who also ran second in the 2021 Classics Cup behind Absaroka.

Ghost Hero returns to face Oklahoma-breds for the first time since winning the Will Rogers Stakes at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla. on May 8. The 3-year-old owned by Norman Stables of Thomasville, Ala. and trained by Jayde Gelner has been competitive in open company stakes action since that score. He ran fourth in the Texas Derby in late May at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, then third in the Hilton Memorial at Charles Town in West Virginia in August before his tiring 10th in the Oklahoma Derby.

A colt by Shaman Ghost from the Super Saver mare Queen Buxley, Ghost Hero has posted a pair of workouts since his Oklahoma Derby attempt to ready for the Classics Cup. Regular jockey Floyd Wethey, Jr. will have the mount. Ghost Hero is undefeated in Oklahoma-bred stakes company at Remington Park, winning the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile and the Don McNeill Stakes last year as a 2-year-old.

Owner and trainer Lynn Chleborad will saddle That's Something, attempting to have the first repeat winner in the Classics Cup since Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer Shotgun Kowboy won his third straight Cup in 2019. The 6-year-old gelding by Read the Footnotes from the Concern broodmare Cherokee Princess has raced twice this season at Remington Park. He sprinted six furlongs on Sept. 14, finishing third in his first race off a layoff of nearly 10 months. A turf attempt at 7-1/2 furlongs on Sept. 22 produced a fifth-place effort in the Red Earth Stakes, 6-3/4 lengths behind Tap the Dot and 5-1/4 lengths behind Number One Dude. Jockey Luis Quinonez will have his regular spot on That's Something.

Absaroka, finished a distant eighth, beaten 21-1/4 lengths by That's Something last year in the Classics Cup. The denial in his attempt to repeat victory in the race was also his last attempt against Oklahoma-breds. He recently finished third in a $20,000-level claiming event at Remington Park on Sept. 27. Trained by J.R. Caldwell since being claimed in April for $5,000 at Will Rogers Downs, Absaroka will gain the riding expertise of Remington Park's leading jockey, Stewart Elliott.

Number One Dude is the top earner in the Classics Cup with $465,700 bankrolled. He shares the honor for most career wins in this race with Absaroka, both have visited the winner's circle nine times.

The field by post-position and program order for the Oklahoma Classics Cup, with horse, jockey, trainer and morning-line odds:

  1. Kwontro: Alfredo Triana, Jr., Pat Swan, 12-1
  2. Ghost Hero: Floyd Wethey, Jr., Jayde Gelner, 9-5
  3. I'm Crenshaw: Lindey Wade, Federico Villafranco, 15-1
  4. Absaroka: Stewart Elliott, J.R. Caldwell, 8-1
  5. That's Something: Luis Quinonez, Lynn Chleborad, 5-2
  6. Number One Dude: Leandro Goncalves, Scott Young, 8-5 (morning-line favorite)

The Classics Cup will be race nine of 10 on the Oklahoma Classics Night, celebrating Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbreds. The scheduled post will be 11:05pm. The first race of the night is set for 7:07pm. All times are Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $331 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park is home to the Oklahoma Classics, the top night of racing in the state for Oklahoma-breds, on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Remington Park presents simulcast racing daily and non-stop casino gaming. Parking and admission are always free. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

The post Number One Dude Made Slight Morning-Line Favorite For Oklahoma Classics Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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EXCLUSIVE: Frankie goes to Hollywood! Dettori’s retirement U-turn was sparked by his non-stop success this year… with the 52-year-old relishing a fresh challenge of taking on the Americans in their backyard

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY MARCUS TOWNEND: If Dettori had doubts about a decision to extend his career in sunny southern California, they were swept away on a rainy, overcast morning by the Thames.

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Judge Throws Out PETA-Backed Lawsuit that Sought to Block Loan to NYRA for Belmont Renovations

An Albany County Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit from two New York taxpayers backed by PETA that attempted to block the State of New York from loaning NYRA $455 million that is earmarked for the construction of a new Belmont Park.

The new Belmont Park is expected to open for the 2026 spring meet.

The plaintiffs, Jannette Patterson and John Dileonardo, had argued that the New York State Constitution prohibited the state from giving or loaning state funds to any private corporation. The lawsuit, filed in June, was announced by PETA. Its press release issued at the time said the organization was “hoping to prevent a shady deal to fund a private entertainment business with money from New York taxpayers.”

“No responsible private lender would make such a staggering loan to NYRA,” read the original complaint.

But Judge Peter Lynch ruled that the state can issue loans where the loan is predominantly for a public purpose, which, he wrote, was the case with the rebuilding of Belmont Park.

“It is well settled that the constitutional prohibition against State loans to private entities or for private undertakings is not applicable where the loan is for a predominantly a public purpose, and private benefit, if any, is incidental,” Lynch wrote in his decision. “This interpretation of the constitution does not constitute an unauthorized and unlimited grant of an 'exception' to the prohibition, distinct from the enumerated exceptions set forth in NY Constitution, article VII, § 8 (1) and (2). To the contrary, where the appropriation is in furtherance of a predominantly public purpose it simply may not be construed as a private loan or undertaking in the first instance. Funding the renovation of Belmont Park Racetrack constitutes just such a public purpose!”

Lynch referenced a case where a court ruled that the state could contribute $600 million to the $1.4 billion it cost to rebuild the Buffalo Bills Stadium.

“Horse racing fans who attend Belmont Park are no different than football fans who attend the Buffalo Bills stadium,” he wrote. “They are part of the community, and their ability to enjoy the sport of their choice improves their quality of life. Considering Plaintiff's claim that the horse racing industry is in economic straits, it is manifest that the Legislature's funding plan to modernize.”

“The construction of a new Belmont Park will create thousands of jobs, generate billions in economic activity and secure the future of Thoroughbred racing in New York State,” NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna said after the decision was announced. “This decision recognizes the importance of this transformational project, which will deliver the world-class Belmont Park that New Yorkers deserve.”

NYRA was one of five defendants in the suit. The others were the State of New York; The New York State Assembly; Governor Kathy Hochul and State Comptroller Thomas P. Dinapoli.

The plaintiffs had asked for a preliminary injunction that would have halted the loan. Lynch denied that motion and dismissed the plaintiffs' complaint.

In their complaint, Patterson, Dileonardo and PETA tried to portray racing as a dying sport that did not deserve what amounted to a huge financial shot in the arm from the state. It said that attendance had dropped by 88% since 1978 and that taxes paid to the state from racing had fallen by 90% between 1970 and 2019. The suit called racing a “moribund industry that has seen 41 long-established racetracks shut down in the United States since 2000.”

The post Judge Throws Out PETA-Backed Lawsuit that Sought to Block Loan to NYRA for Belmont Renovations appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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