October, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Santa Anita Derby Winner Practical Move Returns In Friday Allowance At Santa Anita

Practical Move, sidelined since winning the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 8, is set to return to the races on Friday in a competitive one-mile classified allowance at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by Tim Yakteen, Practical Move is listed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite for his comeback. Regular rider Ramon Vazquez will be in the irons. Also entered in the field of seven is the comebacking Grade 2 winner Newgrange (3-1), who has been off since a seventh-place effort in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap March 4 for trainer Phil D'Amato. Yakteen will also start American Admiral, most recently second in the Sept. 17 Los Alamitos Special.

Practical Move won the Santa Anita Derby by a nose, making him a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs a month later. However, while in Louisville, Practical Move spiked a temperature the week of the race and had to be scratched.

Practical Move returned to the work tab Aug. 13 at Del Mar. He has had nine drills for his comeback. In September had two six-furlong works followed by a pair of quick five furlong moves with the most recent completed in 59.60 seconds on Saturday.

“Everything has been straightforward,” Yakteen said of Practical Move's preparation.

While it's going on six months since Practical Move's last start, Yakteen said he appears to be much the same colt physically as in the spring.

“I haven't really seen any change. He's a big horse as it is, 1,250 pounds, so I wouldn't want him to put any more weight on anyway,” Yakteen said. “I'm very happy with what I've seen and how he's coming in.”

Ideally, Yakteen is hoping a good effort Friday could propel Practical Move to the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile here on Nov. 4.

“We'll take it one race at a time. The main thing is we want him to come back how he left off,” Yakteen said. “If he does, we'll put our heads together and think about the Breeders' Cup. It would be nice if we could entertain that.”

By Practical Joke, Practical Move is owned by Leslie A. Amestoy, Pierre J. Amestoy and Roger Beasley. Prior to his win in the Santa Anita Derby, Practical Move won the G2 San Felipe on March 4 at Santa Anita and G2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December. His career mark is 4-1-2 in seven starts with earnings of $884,200.

Also in the field Friday is Grade 1 winner Tripoli (8-1) for trainer John Sadler and a pair of colts trained by Bob Baffert, Mr Fisk (4-1) and Tahoe Sunrise (4-1). Mr. Fisk and Tahoe Sunrise most recently dead-heated for the win in the restricted Shared Belief for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar July 17.

Practical Move's comeback goes as the eighth race on a nine-race card set for Friday. It is a second-level allowance that's also open to horses who have not won a race since June 18. Post time is scheduled for 4:42 p.m. Pacific.

The field in post position order: Tahoe Sunrise, Victor Espinoza (4-1); American Admiral, J.G. Torrealba (6-1); Mr Fisk, Juan Hernandez (4-1); Newgrange, Edwin Maldonado (3-1); Practical Move, Ramon Vazquez (8-1); Tripoli, Tiago Pereira (8-1); Divine Armor, Antonio Fresu (9-1).

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Leading Breeders’ Cup Classic Hopeful Arcangelo Has First Work At Santa Anita Park

Leading Breeders' Cup Classic contender Arcangelo had his first work at Santa Anita Thursday. With trainer Jena Antonucci on hand from New York to observe, Arcangelo was officially credited with a five furlong move in 1:02.20.

“We're just getting him used to the track,” Antonucci said after the drill. “There's plenty of time go fast.”

Winner of this year's Belmont Stakes and Travers, both in New York, Arcangelo is the No. 1 ranked contender in this year's official Breeders' Cup Classic rankings. The $6 million Classic at 1 ¼ miles will be run Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

For Thursday's work, which came under exercise rider Robert Mallari, Arcangelo was outfitted in the low-cut blinkers he has worn in recent races. Antonucci said he will remain in the equipment for the Classic.

“I think they've worked out well to this point,” Antonucci added with a grin.

Highly respected private clocker Gary Young timed Arcangelo's work a bit quicker than the official time. Young had the son of Arrogate going five furlongs in 1:01.60 with a six-furlong gallop-out in 1:16.20. Fractions clocked by Young were 13.20 seconds for the opening furlong, 25.4 for a quarter mile, 37.60 for three furlongs and 49.80 for a half mile.

Antonucci is scheduled to return to New York Friday morning. She'll be back at Santa Anita later this month and will stay here through the Breeders' Cup.

In other Breeders' Cup news, three contenders trained by Steve Asmussen – Echo Zulu, Society and Private Creed – are scheduled to work on Friday, assistant Scott Blasi said. Stablemates Clairiere and Gunite will work Saturday.

Echo Zulu, a perfect 3-for-3 this year, is possible to take on males in the Breeders' Cup Sprint going six furlongs. Society, winner of the G3 Chicago at Ellis Park and Misty Bennet Pink Ribbon Stakes at Charles Town in her two most recent starts, is targeting the Breeders' Cup Distaff. Private Creed, a 3-year-old Jimmy Creed colt, is eyeing the five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint after earning his first graded-stakes win in the G2 Franklin-Simpson Stakes at Kentucky Downs Sept. 9.

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Assistants to Convicted Harness Trainers Avoid Prison in 2020 Doping Conspiracy Sentencings

Two assistants to a pair of already-convicted Standardbred trainers in the 2020 racehorse doping conspiracy scandal avoided prison terms beyond their time already served on Wednesday when a judge in United States District Court (Southern District of New York) sentenced them each to two years of supervised release and joint responsibility for monetary penalties. Both had cooperated with authorities in obtaining the convictions of others in the network, according to court documents.

Conor Flynn, who worked for the former trainer Richard Banca, pleaded guilty to one felony count of drug alteration and misbranding conspiracy, with two similar felony charges against him dropped, according to the court docket.

Brandon Simpson, who worked for the former trainer Renee Allard, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. via drug alteration and misbranding conspiracy, the docket stated.

According to a pre-sentencing report filed by his counsel, Flynn “timely accepted full responsibility for his ill-advised actions in a horse doping scheme organized by his then-employer and direct supervisor, Richard Banca [and] Dr. Louis Grasso, a licensed veterinarian who treated horses trained by Banca.

“Although Conor participated in the scheme, he played a minor role. Conor did not devise the scheme. Conor did not profit from the scheme, did not expect to profit from the scheme, and did not receive a raise or bonus in exchange for his participation in the scheme,” Flynn's court filing continued. “Squarely put, Conor, an unsophisticated young man with only a high school diploma, who desperately wanted to move up into Banca and Dr. Grasso's prominent horse racing circle, simply got caught up in Banca and Dr. Grasso's culture of misdeeds, ill-gotten power, and greed.”

According to a pre-sentence report filed by his counsel, Simpson admitted that he “assisted Mr. Allard in administering performance-enhancing drugs on a day of a race to enhance a horses race performance. In addition, Mr. Simpson also assisted in obtaining prescription drugs that were obtained without valid prescriptions, and those drugs were administered to racehorses in violation of the applicable racing rules and regulations.

“Significantly, Mr. Simpson does not hide from his illegal conduct. In fact, it is quite the opposite,” Simpson's court filing continued. “Mr. Simpson, after being contacted by authorities, agreed to cooperate with federal agents and prosecutors in an attempt to assist them in their efforts against other individuals and he did so knowing that it was the right thing to do in order to help in some way to right his wrongful behavior.”

The judgment on the court docket stated that Flynn must pay $16,220,794 in restitution that is “joint and several” with Bianca and a $129,975 forfeiture that is “joint and several” with Grasso.

Simpson's judgment stated that he must pay $31,435,782 restitution that is “joint and several” with Grasso and a $628,553 forfeiture that is “joint and several” with Allard.

Grasso in 2022 got sentenced to 50 months in federal prison. Banca was sentenced to 30 months. Allard got 27 months.

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Economic Indicators: Wagering, Race Days Continue Downward Trend In September, Year-To-Date

The trend of fewer races and lower pari-mutuel wagering volume continued in September in the latest economic indicator report released by Equibase, the Thoroughbred industry's official database.

For the month, with multiple racing days lost due to storms, Equibase reported wagering on U.S. races was $880,632,380, down 5.87 percent from September 2022 when $935,580,978 was bet. The number of race days declined by 7.43 percent and total races were down 8.80 percent. Purse money paid was down by 2.83 percent.

September 2023 had nine weekend days plus the Labor Day holiday, compared to eight weekend days plus Labor Day in 2022. Weekend days produce higher wagering figures than week days.

Third quarter wagering, including statistics from July, August and September, was worse, with total betting down by 6.68 percent – almost identical to the drop in the number of race days and races. Storms and excessive heat from coast-to-coast caused racing cancellations or surface transfers that adversely affected the summer's two premier meets at Saratoga and Del Mar. Both tracks sustained year-over-year wagering declines.

For the first three quarters of 2023, the story was similar: wagering, race days , and total races declined while purses were up slightly. Average wagering per race day was up by less than one percent.

Average field size was up marginally in September, in the third quarter, and year-to-date. For the first nine months of 2023, the average field size was 7.30 runners, up 1.62 percent from 7.19 in 2022.

If fourth quarter wagering is similar to 2022, the year-end total will be approximately $11.5 billion. From 1997 through 2009, wagering ranged between $12 billion and $15 billion annually – the highest coming in 2003 when $15.2 billion was bet. Since 2010, wagering exceeded $12 billion twice, in 2021 and 2022.

Purses paid out, on the other hand, hit an all-time record in 2022 when they topped $1.25 billion.

September 2023 vs. September 2022
Indicator	September 2023	September 2022	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$880,632,380	$935,580,978	-5.87%
U.S. Purses (Available)	$133,995,302	$138,305,022	-3.12%
U.S. Purses (Paid)	$127,944,705	$131,673,162	-2.83%
U.S. Race Days	374	404	-7.43%
U.S. Races	2,923	3,205	-8.80%
U.S. Starts	21,453	23,184	-7.47%
Average Field Size	7.34	7.23	+1.46%
Average Wagering Per Race Day	$2,354,632	$2,315,795	+1.68%
Average Available Purses Per Race Day	$358,276	$325,924	+9.93%

3rd QTR 2023 vs. 3rd QTR 2022
Indicator	3rd QTR 2023	3rd QTR 2022	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$3,055,467,201	$3,274,036,492	-6.68%
U.S. Purses (Available)	$390,256,835	$393,306,327	-0.78%
U.S. Purses (Paid)	$371,597,023	$378,162,702	-1.74%
U.S. Race Days	1,206	1,294	-6.80%
U.S. Races	9,443	10,140	-6.87%
U.S. Starts	67,750	71,936	-5.82%
Average Field Size	7.17	7.09	+1.13%
Average Wagering Per Race Day	$2,533,555	$2,530,167	+0.13%
Average Available Purses Per Race Day	$323,596	$292,243	+10.73%

YTD 2023 vs. YTD 2022
Indicator	YTD 2023	YTD 2022	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$9,129,984,403	$9,536,655,717	-4.26%
U.S. Purses (Available)	$989,057,359	$982,036,590	+0.71%
U.S. Purses (Paid)	$947,936,563	$945,222,310	+0.29%
U.S. Race Days	3,067	3,223	-4.84%
U.S. Races	24,857	26,010	-4.43%
U.S. Starts	181,555	186,950	-2.89%
Average Field Size	7.30	7.19	+1.62%
Average Wagering Per Race Day	$2,976,845	$2,958,938	+0.61%
Average Available Purses Per Race Day	$322,484	$293,274	+9.96%

* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

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