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Former KY Derby Starter Long Range Toddy Scores For New Connections, Halts 29-Race Winless Skid

Long Range Toddy, a prominent contender on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in 2019, exerted his back class to capture Sunday's Race 8 feature at Gulfstream Park, visiting a winner's circle for the first time since he won the 2019 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park.

Making his first start for Zenith Stable and trainer Victor Barboza Jr., the 7-year-old son of Take Charge Indy stalked the early pace before drawing clear by 2¼ lengths under Emisael Jaramillo. Long Range Toddy boosted his career earnings over $1.2 million while running seven furlongs in 1:22.47 in his first start since finishing off the board in the April 8 Commonwealth (G2) at Keeneland for owner/breeder Willis Horton Racing LLC and trainer Dallas Stewart.

“The horse came into my barn three months ago, but I waited to give confidence to the horse. It was a good race for the horse,” Barboza said. “I was impressed. The next time, he'll run in a stake. I don't know if it will be at Gulfstream or somewhere else.”

Long Range Toddy ($6.80), who finished 16th in the 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1), has been graded-placed multiple times since his Rebel score but had been unable to break through with a win in 29 subsequent starts.

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Long Range Toddy, Footnote from Controversial ’19 Derby, Wins for First Time in Four Years

When Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy) won the eighth race at Gulfstream Park Sunday, the 7-year-old put to rest a losing streak that dated back to before the controversial 2019 GI Kentucky Derby, a race in which he earned historical footnote status by being the horse who was fouled in the only disqualification of a Derby winner for an in-race incident.

Long Range Toddy's 2 1/4-length score in a seven-furlong allowance/optional claimer July 16 was his first victory since Mar. 16, 2019, when he took a division of that year's split GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park, two prep races prior to his brush with infamy in the Kentucky Derby.

Despite his win drought being ended, another remarkable aspect of Long Range Toddy's career remains intact: Although he flirted with favoritism before Sunday's race went off, he closed as the 2.4-1 second choice. Amazingly, this means that despite bankrolling more than $1.2 million in earnings in a career that now spans 37 starts all up and down the class structure, the betting public has never once sent off Long Range Toddy as the favorite in the wagering.

How many other equine millionaires can claim that feat? TDN is not sure, because such esoteric stats aren't easy to verify (although we'd welcome input from readers with better memories or access to a more robust database).

For a large chunk of his career Long Range Toddy was campaigned by his breeder, Willis Horton. Owner Zenith Racing acquired him in the spring of 2022. In a trainer switch on Sunday, he started for the first time for conditioner Victor Barboza, Jr. The winning rider was Emisael Jaramillo. It was lifetime win number five Long Range Toddy.

In the 2019 Kentucky Derby, Long Range Toddy was a 54-1 long shot already beginning to fade on the far turn when he was forced to check sharply as part of chain-reaction crowding that the Churchill Downs stewards deemed to have been caused by first-across-the-wire Maximum Security.

After 22 agonizing minutes of examining replays, the stewards took the win away from Maximum Security, placing him behind Long Range Toddy, who ended up 17th under the wire. Country House was declared the official winner of the Derby via DQ. The connections of Maximum Security sued in federal court to get the result overturned, but the DQ stood.

As fate would have it, this past week actually turned out to be newsworthy for the only three remaining active alums of that bizarre 2019 Derby.

On July 12, Gray Magician (Graydar), who finished 19th and last in the 2019 Derby, won a $20,000 claiming sprint at Canterbury Park by 3 1/2 lengths as the 9-10 favorite. He's been claimed five times and has had six different trainers while racing at 15 different tracks globally, from Meydan to Arizona Downs. His lifetime record now stands at 5-for-41 with $921,460 in earnings for current owner Kirk Sutherland and trainer Jose Silva, Jr.

Also on Sunday, just hours before Long Range Toddy's win, the connections of Tax (Arch), who crossed the wire 15th in the 2019 Derby, announced the retirement of the 7-year-old, who most recently ran second in the Mar. 11 GIII Challenger S. at Tampa Bay Downs. Tax retires at 5-for-19 and with $1,102,190 in earnings. He was owned in partnership by R.A. Hill Stable and trainer Danny Gargan.

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Stronach Group To Close Golden Gate Fields, Focus On Santa Anita

In order to focus on its racing and training venues at Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs, The Stronach Group will close Golden Gate Fields at the end of its 2023 racing meet, the organization said in a release late on Sunday.

With the goal of increasing field sizes and adding another day of racing to the weekly racing calendar at Santa Anita Park, come Jan. 2024, officials hope this consolidation will serve to further elevate the overall customer experience at Santa Anita Park.

“The Stronach Group remains steadfastly committed to racing in California,” said Belinda Stronach, Chairwoman, Chief Executive Officer and President, The Stronach Group. “We believe that the future success of racing depends on a business model that encourages investment in Southern California, one of North America's premier racing circuits. Focusing on Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs as state-of-the-art racing and training facilities that offer enhanced program quality, increased race days, expanded wagering opportunities, and premier hospitality and entertainment experiences is vital to ensuring that California racing can continue to compete and thrive on a national level.”

Stronach added, “We recognize that the decision will have profound effects on our valued employees as well as the owners, trainers, jockeys and stable personnel at Golden Gate Fields. The Stronach Group is committed to honoring labor obligations and developing a meaningful transition plan.”

Moving forward, the company will work in cooperation with industry participants including the California Horse Racing Board, Thoroughbred Owners of California, California Thoroughbred Trainers, and Del Mar and Los Alamitos racetracks, to develop a plan to relocate horses and employees to Southern California while supporting all affected by this closure.

The California Horse Racing Board confirmed its commitment to work towards finding the best path forward for California horse racing in a release sent out soon after The Stronach Group's statement.

“Golden Gate Fields has been racing nine months out of the year in Northern California,” said CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney. “I think it is fair to say that race-date allocations will take on a new meaning when the Board opens discussions in August for 2024 race dates. I am acutely aware of the human impact of the closure–be they CHRB employees, CHRB contractors, licensees, and, of course, Golden Gate employees–and I will be working hard to ameliorate any negative consequences and to create job and role opportunities.”

CHRB Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales, who chairs the CHRB Race Dates Committee, expressed assurance that the GGF workforce and horsemen will be treated with dignity and respect and that there will be an open and transparent process.

“While we await more details and information, Golden Gate stakeholders and Northern California horsemen should know that horse racing will continue,” said Gonzales. “We look forward to receiving and implementing the industry's transition plan. We hope the upcoming CHRB meeting [Aug. 17] and Race Dates Committee meeting [Aug. 16, both in Del Mar] will be an opportunity to share more information with the public.”

Chaney said the possibility of new off-track wagering locations in the East Bay should be part of the ongoing discussions.

Not long after The Stronach Group released its statement, Alan Balch, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, released his own statement.

“Today, we learned with great dismay, fear, and anxiety, on behalf of all California trainers and their thousands of employees, of the Stronach racing company's decision to discontinue racing at Golden Gate Fields later this year,” Balch's statement read. “Were it not for our contractual obligations with Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita management, we would publicly disclose the reasons for our serious trepidation–all of which our CTT leadership has taken the initiative to discuss privately with Stronach management on several occasions, during last year and earlier this year. We can only say that we would have hoped those responsible for such a decision had taken their own contractual obligation for fairness, inclusion, communication, and honesty, as seriously as we have.

“The ramifications of this Stronach decision will be far-reaching and long-lasting. They will include, we believe, a great many unintended and mainly detrimental consequences for all of racing and Thoroughbred breeding throughout California and the West, including in Southern California. We can only hope that we are entirely wrong.”

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Golden Gate Fields To Close; Owner Stronach Group Seeks To Boost Santa Anita Field Size, Race Dates

In a major development aimed at consolidating, invigorating and innovating racing throughout Southern California, The Stronach Group today announced it will double down on its prestigious racing and training venues at Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs by closing Golden Gate Fields in the Bay Area at the end of the 2023 racing meet.

At the conclusion of the Golden Gate Fields meet, the company will focus on seamlessly transitioning horses from Northern California to Southern California with the goal of increasing field sizes and adding another day of racing to the weekly racing calendar at Santa Anita Park, come January 2024. This consolidation will provide expanded content opportunities, wagering prospects and will serve to further elevate the overall customer experience at Santa Anita Park.

“The Stronach Group remains steadfastly committed to racing in California,” said Belinda Stronach, chairwoman, chief executive officer and president, The Stronach Group. “We believe that the future success of racing depends on a business model that encourages investment in Southern California, one of North America's premier racing circuits. Focusing on Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs as state-of-the-art racing and training facilities that offer enhanced program quality, increased race days, expanded wagering opportunities, and premier hospitality and entertainment experiences is vital to ensuring that California racing can continue to compete and thrive on a national level.”

Stronach added “We recognize that the decision will have profound effects on our valued employees as well as the owners, trainers, jockeys and stable personnel at Golden Gate Fields. The Stronach Group is committed to honoring labor obligations and developing a meaningful transition plan.”

The inaugural meet at Golden Gate Fields was held in 1941. One of the track's most famous races came in 1950 when Noor and Citation met in the Golden Gate Handicap, with Noor getting the best of Citation while setting a world record of 1:58 1/5 for 1 1/4 miles.

Statement of California Thoroughbred Trainers executive director Alan F. Balch:

Today, we learned with great dismay, fear, and anxiety, on behalf of all California trainers and their thousands of employees, of the Stronach racing company's decision to discontinue racing at Golden Gate Fields later this year.

Were it not for our contractual obligations with Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita management (reproduced below), we would publicly disclose the reasons for our serious trepidation — all of which our CTT leadership has taken the initiative to discuss privately with Stronach management on several occasions, during last year and earlier this year. We can only say that we would have hoped those responsible for such a decision had taken their own contractual obligation for fairness, inclusion, communication, and honesty, as seriously as we have.

The ramifications of this Stronach decision will be far-reaching and long-lasting. They will include, we believe, a great many unintended and mainly detrimental consequences for all of racing and Thoroughbred breeding throughout California and the West, including in Southern California. We can only hope that we are entirely wrong.

Mutuality.
a. Track and CTT represent to each other that they are mutually interested in the continuance, maintenance, and improvement of thoroughbred racing in the State of California and, to that end, believe it most advisable and to their mutual best interests that any future differences of opinion between them with respect to the provisions hereof, the matters covered hereby, or any other matter or thing pertaining to thoroughbred racing wherein both Parties are interested, should be settled by them, without undue publicity, by negotiation and consultation.

Each Party will cooperate with the other to promote, foster, and retain public good will toward thoroughbred racing by conducting racing on the highest possible plane through maintenance of the high standards of fairness, inclusion, communication, and honesty.

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