December, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Most Everybody Has Been Encouraging’: Pat Valenzuela Considering Comeback

Jockey Pat Valenzuela is considering a comeback, the 61-year-old told Thoroughbred Daily News this week. He hasn't ridden since Dec. 8, 2016, and recently underwent a knee replacement, but Valenzuela has been galloping and breezing horses at Del Mar and at Santa Anita.

The veteran rider said the knee replacement has solved the problems he has been having since tearing his ACL at the end of 2016, and that he can now ride pain-free.

Valenzuela, who has had a history of substance abuse problems and numerous suspensions during his career, is unsure where he will be able to make his comeback. If the California Horse Racing Board is unwilling to license him as a jockey, Valenzuela said he would considering riding in New Mexico or Louisiana.

“I'm getting a good response,” Valenzuela told TDN. “I'm just grateful to be able to get on any horses. Most everybody has been encouraging. I'm not hearing anything negative from anybody. I'm just trying to keep it simple and moving forward. As far as the physical fitness part of it, I think it'll will take me another month to 45 days to get ready. The weight is the most important thing. When you get older it's harder to lose weight. I weigh 128 now. I am working hard and eating light meals. Usually one meal a day. Just trying to stay away from fats and saturated fats.”

Valenzuela began riding in 1978 and has produced 4,346 victories from 28,398 starts, with earnings topping $165 million.

He won the 1980 Santa Anita Derby aboard Codex when he was 17-year-olds. He teamed up with the legendary hall of fame trainer Charlie Whittingham to win the 1989 runnings of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness aboard Sunday Silence. They were then second in the Belmont Stakes.

He has also won seven Breeders' Cup races from 1991 through 2012.

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Secretariat’s Legacy 2024 Calendar Honors Secrettame

The Secretariat calendar series, now in its seventh year, will honor Secretariat's daughter Secrettame for the 2024 edition. The series started in 2018 with the Living Legends theme honoring the last living Secretariat sons and daughters, then transitioned to descendants of Secretariat's important broodmares in 2022. Proceeds from the 2024 calendar will benefit The Secretariat Center and Old Friends. The series has already raised more than $33,000 for equine charities through six editions. This will be the first one with The Secretariat Center as the primary beneficiary.

“I've always wanted to work with The Secretariat Center, the only aftercare organization carrying the Triple Crown winner's name,” said writer and photographer Patricia McQueen. “With this calendar series likely winding down soon, it was important to make the change now. I'm thrilled that the previous calendars raised considerable funds for Bright Futures Farm, Old Friends, LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, and Victory Alliance Ranch, all very worthy organizations.”

McQueen published a book, Secretariat's Legacy, earlier this year.

“The Secretariat Center believes all horses deserve care, kindness and a purpose beyond the racetrack, and the Secretariat's Legacy calendar is such a fun way to remember all that Secretariat has done, and continues to do, for the racing industry,” added Shelley Mann, Executive Director of The Secretariat Center. “We look forward to celebrating his legacy with his fans, both old and new. Thank you to Patricia for generously supporting horses, as they transition into loving homes, through proceeds from her beautiful calendars.”

Secrettame, born in 1978, was a stakes winner at five after placing in the G2 Gazelle H. at three. Her first foal was the Mr. Prospector son Gone West, a Grade I winner and influential sire whose sire sons included Elusive Quality and Speightstown. Both of those also have a number of important sire sons standing currently, while Secrettame also produced MGSW and MGISP Lion Cavern, a full-brother to Gone West.

As with previous calendars, the Tony Leonard Collection continues to support the series with a photo of Secretariat and Ron Turcotte taken after the Kentucky Derby. Turcotte also has autographed a limited number of calendars.

The new calendars are available for $22 each, plus shipping, at SecretariatCalendar.com.

The post Secretariat’s Legacy 2024 Calendar Honors Secrettame appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Ghostzapper Colt Tops Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed, Horses of Racing Age Sale

A weanling colt by Ghostzapper topped a variety of offerings at the 2023 Midlantic December Mixed and Horses of Racing Age sale, held Tuesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Md. The sale's top five hips included two weanlings, a broodmare prospect, and in-foal mare, and a horse of racing age.

A late May colt by Ghostzapper (Hip 29) topped the sale when sold for $82,000 to Machmer Hall from the consignment of Northview Stallion Station (David Wade), agent. The bay colt is first foal out of the unraced Exaggerator mare Dance All Day, a half-sister to graded stakes placed Queen's Plate winner Safe Conduct and to Dancing Duchess, a two-year-old stakes winner this year. Hip 29 hails from the immediate family of Canadian Horses of the Year Fatal Bullet and Pink Lloyd and was bred in Maryland by Owen Kiernan.

Truancy (Hip 127) was the sale's top broodmare prospect, sold for $55,000 to Country Life Farm, agent, from the consignment of Bill Reightler, agent. A two-time winner by Run Away and Hide out of the stakes winning Successful Appeal mare Successfully Sweet, Truancy is a half-sister four other winners, including graded stakes winner Confrontation and stakes placed Catch a Thrill. The 4-year-old filly hails from the immediate family of Grade 1 winner Mo Town.

Abracadabra (Hip 2), in foal to Practical Joke, sold for $52,000 to Cash Is King from the consignment of Northview Stallion Station (David Wade), agent for James F. Thames (Horse Play Racing). A winning daughter of Speightstown, the sale's top broodmare has already produced one winner from two foals of racing age; her two-year-old of this year has not yet started. Abracadabra is one of five winners out of the winning Ghostzapper mare Wicked Charm, who also produced graded stakes winner Bobby's Wicked One and graded stakes placed Wicked Fast. She hails from the immediate family of champion and multiple Grade 1 winner English Channel.

The top-priced horse of racing age was Paynter's Prodigy (Hip 200), sold for $40,000 to Flatbird Stable from the consignment of Marshall W. Silverman, agent. A 2-year-old son of Paynter, Paynter's Prodigy was a winner on November 11 at Laurel Park in his debut and only start to date. Out of the unraced Midnight Lute mare English Chocolate, Paynter's Prodigy is a half-brother to Kupp, a four-time winner this year of nearly $150,000. He hails from the immediate family of Grade 1 winners Manistique and Unbridled Command.

Overall, 148 offerings changed hands for $1,518,000. The RNA rate was 21%.

Full results are available online.

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2024 Charity Calendar Honors Secretariat’s Daughter Secrettame

There's big news with the release of the 2024 Secretariat's Legacy calendar, which celebrates Secretariat's daughter Secrettame and her notable descendants. While it's the seventh calendar in a series that has already raised more than $33,000 for equine charities through six editions, it's the first one with The Secretariat Center as the primary beneficiary.

“I've always wanted to work with The Secretariat Center, the only aftercare organization carrying the Triple Crown winner's name,” says writer/photographer Patricia McQueen, whose creative project is part of her research work on Secretariat as a sire. Her book Secretariat's Legacy was published in earlier this year. “With this calendar series likely winding down soon, it was important to make the change now. I'm thrilled that the previous calendars raised considerable funds for Bright Futures Farm, Old Friends, LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, and Victory Alliance Ranch, all very worthy organizations.” Old Friends returns as a beneficiary of the 2024 edition along with The Secretariat Center.

“The Secretariat Center believes all horses deserve care, kindness and a purpose beyond the racetrack, and the Secretariat's Legacy calendar is such a fun way to remember all that Secretariat has done, and continues to do, for the racing industry,” adds Shelley Mann, Executive Director of The Secretariat Center. “We look forward to celebrating his legacy with his fans, both old and new. Thank you to Patricia for generously supporting horses, as they transition into loving homes, through proceeds from her beautiful calendars.”

The calendar series started in 2018 with the Living Legends theme honoring the last living Secretariats, and then transitioned to descendants of Secretariat's important broodmares in 2022. “I owe big thanks to all the racing fans – especially Secretariat fans – who have supported both the Living Legends and Secretariat's Legacy series,” says McQueen. “Their loyalty has been remarkable, and they know that every dollar of profit has gone to the supported equine charities.”

The 2024 calendar is all about Secrettame, and her important descendants included in the calendar are:

Gone West, her grade 1-winning son who became an important sire;
Lion Cavern, another graded stakes-winning son;
Elusive Quality, Gone West's record-setting son who was also a leading sire;
Speightstown, a champion son of Gone West who has been a consistent sire of top horses for two decades;
Da Hoss, Gone West's two-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner;
Came Home, a son of Gone West who was one of the best runners of his generation;
Quality Road, Elusive Quality's son who is a strong carrier of the Gone West line today;
Smarty Jones, a champion son of Elusive Quality;
Union Rags, a Belmont Stakes winner out of a Gone West mare; and
Authentic, the only Horse of the Year descendant of Gone West to date.

As in previous calendars, the Tony Leonard Collection continues to generously support the series with a beautiful photo of Secretariat and Ron Turcotte after the Kentucky Derby. Mr. Turcotte has generously autographed a limited number of calendars to help raise even more funds.

The new calendars are available for $22 each, plus shipping, at www.SecretariatCalendar.com, which links directly to The Secretariat Center's online store offering other products benefiting the Center.

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