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Zulu Alpha Better Than Ever Ahead Of Kentucky Turf Cup Title Defense

The fields are set for America's biggest day of turf racing this year outside the Breeders' Cup, with a sensational stakes quintet on tap Saturday at the RUNHAPPY Meet at Kentucky Downs.

Each stakes on the Calumet Farm Day program is worth at least $500,000, with the four Grade 3 stakes highlighted by the $1 million Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles. The other graded stakes are the $700,000 RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint at six furlongs, whose winner will receive a fees-paid spot in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint Nov. 7 at Keeneland as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series' “Win and You're In” program, along with the $500,000 English Channel Ladies Turf at a mile, the $500,000 Real Solution Ladies Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs and the $500,000 Bal a Bali Juvenile Turf Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs.

The Kentucky Turf Cup is headed by Michael Hui's 2019 winner Zulu Alpha and Donegal Racing's 2018 winner Arklow. Both became Grade 1 winners after their 1-2 finish a year ago at Kentucky Downs, with Arklow winning Belmont Park's Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in his next start and Zulu Alpha taking Gulfstream Park's $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf in January.

Zulu Alpha will try to join Rochester and Da Big Hoss as the only repeat winners in Kentucky Turf Cup history, which dates to the first year the track opened in 1990.

“He had a maintenance work on Monday, and I'm marking the days off on the calendar to race day,” said trainer Mike Maker. “I've got to say he's coming into the race this year even better than last, because he's had such a great year.”

Said Hui: “I spoke with Mike, obviously about Zulu, because I always ask about him first. He says he's never been better and expects him to have his usual performance where he always shows up. He loves Kentucky Downs. As far as the post (10), I'm glad he drew outside rather than the inside, and he'll get a good look at Arklow (post 5) in his new blinkers.”

Here's a closer look on the Calumet Farm Day Stakes:

$500,000, Grade 3 English Channel Ladies Turf at a mile (7th race, 3:27 p.m. Central): Chad Brown, the future Hall of Famer who is a presence at this meet for the first time, already has one stakes win with Flavius in Monday's $750,000 Tourist Mile. Now he's got 9-5 favorite Regal Glory in this race for fillies and mares. Regal Glory is a multiple graded-stakes winner, taking last year's Grade 2 Lake Placid and Grade 3 Lake George at Saratoga, along with two other stakes at age 3. In two starts this year she was second to her talented stablemate Newspaperofrecord in Belmont's Grade 3 Intercontinental and fourth to her in the Grade 1 Just a Game. Brown also entered 5-1 Tapit Today, who finished most recently was a good fourth in Monmouth Park's Grade 3 Matchmaker.

Secret Message won Churchill Downs' Grade 3 Mint Julep for trainer Graham Motion, whose horses always must be respected. A Grade 2 winner in Woodbine's Nassau Stakes last year, Secret Message was a decent sixth in Keeneland's very tough edition of the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, then a good third in Saratoga's Perfect Sting.

English Affair earned a free spot in this race by virtue of taking Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs Ladies Preview at 14-1 odds over soft turf. English Affair was to be cross-entered in Sunday's $500,000 TVG Stakes (formerly the Ladies Marathon). Trainer Rusty Arnold last year won two stakes, including the RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint with Totally Boss, who is back this year.

Lady Apple certainly has the back class but has been off form this year in four races since taking the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic. If the surface change does the trick, she could be formidable at a price. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Lady Apple is a multiple graded-stakes winner who finished third in last year's Kentucky Oaks. She's also the only millionaire in the field of 12, with one also-eligible.

Mitchell Road is out of the same mare as 2019 adjudged Kentucky Derby winner Country House. She got back in the win column in taking the Ellis Park Turf but struggled over soft turf in the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf. The firm turf should suit her much better.

Ask Bailey is 20-1 in the morning line and could provide value in the exotic wagers as she figures to come flying late. The Mike Maker-trained Ask Bailey was second in last year's 2-year-old filly stakes at a mile.

Here is the field in post position order with jockey/trainer and morning-line odds: Mitchell Road (Luis Saez/Bill Mott 8-1), Princess Causeway (Chris Landeros/Ian Wilkes 15-1), Tapit Today (Javier Castellano/Chad Brown 5-1), English Affair (Rafael Bejarano/Rusty Arnold 6-1), Frond (Gerardo Corrales/Ben Colebrook 20-1), Regal Glory (Jose Ortiz/Chad Brown 9-5), Lady Apple (Ricardo Santana/Steve Asmussen 6-1), Secret Message (John Velazquez/Graham Motion 4-1).

$500,000, G3 Real Solution Ladies Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs (8th race 3:59 p.m. Central): The Ladies Sprint provides a scintillating showdown among Got Stormy, the 2-1 favorite in the overflow field of 15, and Into Mystic and Kimari. The Mark Casse-trained Got Stormy has consistently been tough competing against males in Grade 1 races, including winning last year's Fourstardave at Saratoga and finishing second in her title defense this year, along with a second in last year's Breeders' Cup Mile. Now she'll sprint for the first time in her glorious career that has seen her earn $1.6 million to date. Kimari, trained by Wesley Ward, has only been beaten once in the United States, and that was when a good fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita. Whether intended as a prep or not, Ward has effectively used England's Royal Ascot meet, where Kimari was second for the second time in a prestigious race this year, as a stepping stone to Kentucky Downs victory. Into Mystic was sent to trainer Brendan Walsh in Kentucky with the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Sprint (check off win) and this stakes in mind. She's a very fast horse who in May was a good fourth in Santa Anita's Grade 2 Monrovia, whose 1-2 finishers were the talented Jolie Olimpica and Oleksandra. That effort came after she won a 3 1/2-furlong allowance race in a mixed-breed race against quarter horses on dirt at Los Alamitos.

The rest of the field isn't shabby, including Intuicao making her first U.S. start after racing in Brazil, and stakes-winners Cariba, Mentality, I'llhandalthecash, Winning Envelope, Quebec and Jakarta. (A note on Jolie Olimpica: She was to run in this race but spiked a temperature before she was scheduled to fly out from California.)

Here is the field in post position order with jockey/trainer and morning-line odds: Intuicao (Florent Geroux, Paulo Lobo 20-1), I'llhandalthecash (Jose Ortiz/Raymond Handal 20-1), Winning Envelope (Julien Leparoux/Chris Block 20-1), Quebec (Adam Beschizza/Joe Sharp 30-1), Change of Control (Colby Hernandez/Michelle Lovell 15-1), Mentality (Gerardo Corrales/Wesley Ward 15-1), Cariba (Irad Ortiz/Christophe Clement 8-1), Got Stormy (Tyler Gaffalione/Mark Casse 2-1), Into Mystic (Joe Talamo/Brendan Walsh 6-1), Jakarta (Luis Saez/Mike Maker 10-1), Kimari (Julio Garcia/Wesley Ward 4-1), Surrender Now (Ricardo Santana/Steve Asmussen 15-1). Also eligible: Dixieincandyland (Javier Castellano/Eddie Kenneally 30-1), Lady Lawyer (Joel Rosario/Chad Brown) 15-1, Bohemian Bourbon (Julien Leparoux/Ian Wilkes 20-1)

$500,000 Bal a Bali Juvenile Turf Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs (ninth race, 4:32 p.m. Central): A good way to bet is trainer Wesley Ward, who won the first two runnings of this stakes with fillies. With 2-year-old fillies now having their stakes on Sunday, Ward has only colts in this spot this year but they are the two favorites in Saratoga turf debut winner Outadore (2-1) and Fauci (5-2), who won a Keeneland maiden race on turf and was second in Saratoga's Skidmore on grass.

Another interesting horse is 9-2 third choice County Final, who won his debut on grass at Churchill Downs then was second in the Grade 3 Bashford Manor on dirt. Transferred to Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, County Final romped in Monmouth Park's off-the-turf Tyro Stakes. Asmussen also entered Cowan, who will try turf for the first time.

Trainer Valerie Lund brings Bodenheimer in from Minnesota, where he won his first start on turf by 11 1/4 lengths and then took Iowa's Prairie Gold Juvenile on dirt by a neck.

Here is the field in post position order with jockey/trainer and morning-line odds: Baytown Bear (Jack Gilligan/Paul McEntee 50-1), Perfect Mistake (Jack Gilligan, Paul McEntee 50-1), Perfect Mistake (Rafael Bejarano/John Ortiz 20-1), Petit Verdot (Joe Talamo/John Ennis 15-1), County Five (Jose Ortiz/Steve Asmussen 9-2), Boss Bear (Luis Saez/Mike Maker 20-1), Bodenheimer (Brian Hernandez/Valorie Lund 6-1), Scorsese (Tyler Baze/James Chapman 50-1), Cowan (Ricardo Santana/Steve Asmussen 8-1), Outadore (Irad Ortiz/Wesley Ward 2-1), Fauci (Tyler Gaffalione/Wesley Ward 5-2).

Grade 3, $1 million Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles (10th race, post time 5:04 p.m. Central): Zulu Alpha, a very good fourth in last year's Breeders' Cup Turf, has made a claim as being America's best distance turf horse after winning the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf and tacking on Grade 2 victories in Gulfstream Park's Mac Diarmida and Keeneland's Elkhorn. His only defeat in four starts was by a neck to stablemate Bemma's Boy in Gulfstream's Pan American (G2).

Arklow is trying to regain his 2019 form, and trainer Brad Cox has been pleased how the 6-year-old horse has responded in training to the addition of blinkers.

While Zulu Alpha and Arklow's rematch is the main story line, the supporting cast is solid in the field of 12, with four other horses needing scratches to run. Others in the race include stakes-winners Postulation, the 2017 Kentucky Turf Cup runner-up; Eons, Red Knight, He's No Lemon and stakes sponsor Calumet Farm's American Tattoo.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the New York-bred 12-1 shot Red Knight is making his first start since January.

“I'm actually a little worried about Red Knight,” said Mike Maker, Zulu Alpha's trainer. “He had plenty of options up there (in New York) and they chose to come down here. You have to respect that. Look at the horses he's been running with.”

Maker also is running Grand Journey, who has been training with Zulu Alpha. “I said that as good as he's working, there are not very many options for him so take a shot.”

Here's the field in post-position order with jockey, trainer and morning-line odds): Changi (Tyler Baze/Jeanne Dolan 50-1), Red Knight (Luis Saez, Bill Mott 12-1), Grand Journey (Irad Ortiz/Mike Maker 15-1), Eons (Flavien Prat/Arnaud Delacour 20-1), Arklow (Florent Geroux/Brad Cox 9-2), Postulation (Julien Leparoux/Michael Matz 8-1), He's No Lemon (Javier Castellano, Graham Motion 10-1), Bundibunan (James Graham/Ignacio Correas 30-1), American Tattoo (Adam Beschizza/Jack Sisterson 30-1), Zulu Alpha (Tyler Gaffalione/Mike Maker 7-5), Standard Deviation (John Velazquez/Graham Motion 12-1), Hierarchy (Corey Lanerie/Joe Sharp 12-1). Also eligible: Celerity (Gabriel Saez/Waylon Cundiff 50-1), Tintoretto (Joe Talamo/Michael McCarthy 30-1), Perfect Tapatino (Adam Beschizza/Roger Attfield 50-1), Surprise Twist (Joel Rosario/Arnaud Delacour 50-1).

Grade 3, $700,000 RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint at six furlongs (race 11, 5:36 p.m. Central): This is a fantastic betting race with 2019 winner Totally Boss a hefty 9-2 favorite over a trio of 5-1 choices in the intriguing Front Run the Fed, multiple graded-stakes winner Kanthaka and last year's Tourist Mile winner Bound for Nowhere.

Totally Boss has raced only twice this year, most recently rallying strongly only to lose Keeneland's Grade 2 Shakertown by a head to his Rusty Arnold-trained stablemate Leinster. Totally Boss could join Hold the Salt (2008-2009) as the only repeat winner of the stakes.

Bound for Nowhere scratched out of last Saturday's $250,000 turf sprint at Churchill Downs to run for the bigger purse. He also has run twice this year, a pair of narrow losses that included third by a total of a neck in the Shakertown. Front Run the Fed, coming in off a Belmont Park allowance race, will be flying late as he seeks to win for the fifth time in his last seven starts. Kanthaka, who was briefly on the Kentucky Derby trail in 2018 while based in California, has raced just once this year, finishing second by a head to the classy mare Oleksandra in Belmont's Grade 1 Jaipur in his first start for trainer Graham Motion.

Stubbins was second in last year's Grade 3 Franklin-Simpson at Kentucky Downs behind his Doug O'Neill-trained stablemate Legends of War then beat older horses in Keeneland's Grade 2 Woodford and finished a fast-flying fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.
Imprimis, fourth in last year's RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint, has raced only once this year, finishing first in Saratoga's Troy Stakes only to be disqualified to third.

Archidust is 2 for 2, in a pair of small stakes at Monmouth Park, since being sent to trainer Steve Asmussen. He was fourth in last year's Grade 3 Franklin-Simpson in his only prior turf start.

American Anthem makes his first start for trainer Mike Maker and first start on turf. The 6-year-old horse was a two-time Grade 2 winner on dirt when trained by Bob Baffert and most recently was third in New York's Grade 1 Carter for trainer Danny Gargan.

Chicago shipper Richiesinthehouse boasts 14 wins out of 21 starts, including going 12 for 16 on synthetic surfaces.

Here is the field in post position order with jockey/trainer and morning-line odds: Renaissance Frolic (James Graham/Saffie Joseph 50-1), Stubbins (Joel Rosario/Doug O'Neill 6-1), Front Run the Fed (Javier Castellano/Chad Brown 5-1), Totally Boss (Florent Geroux/Rusty Arnold 9-2), Bombard (Flavien Prat/Richard Mandella 20-1), Kanthaka (Jose Ortiz/Graham Motion 5-1), American Anthem (Tyler Gaffalione/Mike Maker 12-1), Bon Raison (Adam Beschizza/Jack Sisterson 30-1), Imprimis (Irad Ortiz/Joe Orseno 8-1), Richiesinthehouse (Brian Hernandez/Larry Rivelli 15-1), Archidust (Ricardo Santana/Steve Asmussen 12-1), Bound for Nowhere (Julio Garcia/Wesley Ward 5-1). Also eligible: Tiger Blood (Tyler Gaffalione/Mike Maker 20-1), Fast Boat (Adam Beschizza/Joe Sharp 15-1), Hollis (Gabriel Saez/John Ortiz 30-1), Admiral Lynch (Luis Saez/Mike Maker 15-1) .

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Q&A: Jeffrey Cannizzo Of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. On Proposed Changes To State’s Breeding Program

The landscape of breeding in New York is going to look very different by 2030, and a set of proposed modifications to the state's breeding program spearheaded by New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. aim to make sure it's a positive shift.

In late August, the rule changes hit the public comment period with the goal of expanding the number and quality of broodmares entering the state, while also rewarding owners and breeders who support New York sires. Breeding farms producing nearly 20 percent of the state's foal crop are being run by people approaching retirement, so the need to refresh the broodmare population and maintain a foal crop large enough for NYRA tracks to continue carding 600 state-bred races per year was imperative.

The proposal would create an exemption to the rule requiring incoming pregnant mares to breed back to a New York stallion in order to earn “resident” status so long as they were purchased for $50,000 or more at auction, or a threshold determined by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund. Mares purchased under the threshold will still be subject to the “breed back” rule to attain residency, as they had before.

The revisions would also extend the time a mare can be out of the state to be bred from 90 days to 120 days. Another significant change would create a $5,000 purse bonus for New York-sired runners who break their maiden in-state. If all runs on-schedule, the new rules could be in place in time for the November mixed sales.

Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills spoke with NYTB executive director Jeffrey Cannizzo about the proposed rule changes, the reasoning behind them, and how they'll help the New York-bred program.

Question: What were some of the motivating factors behind the proposed rule changes?

Jeffrey Cannizzo: The demographics of the people that are breeding and owning farms is dramatically changing, such that people are of the age that they're leaving our industry – not because of their desire or interest, just purely based on where they are in life, and whether they're going to be here long-term from now.

It's quite scary, when five of the leading perennial breeders are of the age where they're not going to be in this industry five to seven years from now, nor is anyone in their families picking up their farms or businesses. It's going to leave a major void. This is exactly the same void that's happening in every state. I'm attempting to be in front of a problem.

Over a year ago, we asked what type of tweak or rule change could we look at that doesn't jeopardize the program, that doesn't dramatically hurt one interest or entity. Realistically, some of the things that other states

are doing might be a good idea, and this is what we came up with. The one hole that we had was that mares from public auction, the influx that would come in to New York, was a marginal number.

In 2019, for example, there were only 98 mares that were bought from auction that actually came into the state of New York. If you went back six years from 2019 to 2014, the average number is right around 100.

So, we're basically bringing in 100 mares a year from bloodstock sales, which is a tiny number. The average price of those mares was $30,000, and there was only 20 of them that were bought for over $50,000. We saw this as an opportunity that if we tweak a rule that everyone would buy into and agree with, perhaps there would be more interest in bringing more mares into the state of New York and dropping foals here, and participating in the program.

Q: The proposal opens “resident mare” status to mares purchased at public auction for $50,000 or more, or a price determined by the New York-Bred Fund, without breeding back. Why is it important to have a minimum purchase price on incoming auction mares for this rule?

Cannizzo: The $50,000 threshold is being put in place if the rule is adopted so we can attract quality mares. New York is not necessarily similar to a lot of the other regional programs. It's become ultra-competitive. It's based on a commercial marketplace, and you have people from all over the country having foals in New York and participating in our commercial market. The point is, we're trying to attract quality. We're not looking to bring $500 mares into the state of New York. We're looking for people to upgrade their stock and for people from outside to participate with quality mares.

At the same time, this was one of the requests from our stallion population, because technically, it protects them to a certain extent. Like many other regional states, the stallion population obviously is a fraction of what Kentucky is, and the sire power isn't necessarily the same, nor will it ever be. So, what we're trying to do here is not devalue any of those stallions, because these mares under the current rules would be forced to be bred to the New York sires.

This is where it goes hand in hand with the commercial mar- ket and this is no different than any state, or the laws of economics for our industry – if you buy a mare of 'X'-value, you're not going to devalue her by breeding to 'Y'-value stallions.

The threshold was created as such so if people are going to participate and use New York sires, they're not going to be devalued in any sense, and if you are going to bring in a mare of significant value, realistically, you're not going to breed her down from what her value or price point was, and you're not going to get hurt under this circumstance.

It's protecting the commercial market and protecting the stallions in the state of New York, and it's the reality of our landscape.

We're looking to take that '20' number [of incoming mares to New York purchased at $50,000 or more] and realistically multiply it by five times or 10 times, based on how successful it goes. The good thing about the rule is if it for some reason doesn't work, the rule allows the Breeding Fund board to modify that initial price every year if they'd like. If the commercial landscape or the stallion industry changes, that level can go down and up.

Q: What was the scope of people who were consulted when forming the proposed rules, and how did the rules evolve throughout the feedback, if at all?

Cannizzo: This started over a year ago. There were several stakeholder meetings with all the stallion interests, key commercial breeders, our board of directors, and people that were elected into their roles by our constituents. NYRA, the horsemen, literally all participants played a part in the discussion dialogue, along with the Breeding Development Fund. It's their rule and their proposal change as well.

What happens now, there's a 60-day public comment period, which started on Aug. 26, and it'll go through the end of October. That period is for anyone in the public to write a written comment to Tracy Egan, the executive director of the Breeding Fund, and those comments will be reviewed after 60 days by the Breeding Development Fund board. The board will either choose to move forward with the rule as-is, or they'll choose to adopt some of the comments if they feel they're necessary and modify the rule if need be.

Q: Realistically, how much could the plan change during the public comment period?

Cannizzo: Given it's taken over a year to get to this point, there was a lot of due diligence involved with this, even the threshold number. There were a lot of analytics involved with it; it wasn't just throwing at a dart board. You had all the participants involved in the state, and a lot of attorneys and a lot of due diligence. Realistically, people could bring up a lot of good points that we're not aware of, but at the end of the day, there was a lot of homework done behind this, so that remains to be seen.

The problem is, if there is a justified comment to change this, it starts the process over again. Don't get me wrong, it'll be a dramatically shorter process, but we'll have to rewrite the rule, it'll have to go back to the governor's legal review team, and then they've got to give us the go-ahead to re-publish it, and then there's another public comment period based on that. We've got a long-term approach to this, so we want to get it right, which is why you have a process like this where anybody from the public can comment.

Q: What are the benefits of extending the time a mare can leave New York to be bred from 90 days to 120 days?

Cannizzo: The thought is that because there are so many people partaking in breeding and conceiving the foals in Kentucky for example, those foals are being forced to ship from a younger age. The thought process in having the extra month is it's going to be better for the mares and better for the foals.

It's just the reality of our landscape, versus when the first rule was done 40 years ago, and in the '90s when it was modified.

The landscape has dramatically changed, and you have people that are participating in our program who want their foals at their farm, so they have to come back to New York. It's basically allowing people to utilize the program a little more from a flexibility standpoint, and realistically, from what we've been told from a veterinary component, it could be better for the horses themselves.

Q: How would funds be distributed under the proposed bonus for state-sired maiden winners?

Cannizzo: This was an idea for another carrot for the stallion industry and people that are supportive of New York- sired horses. This rule was important to NYRA. They're looking to increase our foal crops as much as we are, so they were willing to offer up $5,000 to winners in maiden special weight races if you're New York-sired. So, New York-sired horses in open or state-bred competition, the winner's share will be $5,000 more.

The trickle-down effect reaches the breeders, too, because if you're the breeder of a New York-sired horse and you're getting a 30-percent bonus for a win, now you're getting 30 percent of $5,000 more in purse money, too. It's the same deal for stallion awards. The 10-percent bonus for stallion awards will based on $5,000 more money.

The point is, because it's being paid through the purse structure, it's actually touching all the participants in that horse – the breeder, stallion, owner, and so on.

Q: Are you concerned that lifting the “breed-back” rule for non-resident mares purchased for over $50,000 might take some control away from the state's stallion owners, since they'll have a less captive pool to draw from than before?

Cannizzo: This is based on data and analytics. There were 20 mares that would fall under this category today, and of those mares, they were bought by stallion owners, anyway. So, the truth of the matter is that those mares weren't going to New York stallions right now, from the bigger picture of this. What's happening is the mares that are go- ing to be over this threshold that come in, it's all new-found mares and participants in the program. They're not necessarily being hurt because it's not happening today.

At the same time, the view is if we're increasing the mare population in New York state, those stallions have a better chance of actually acquiring or breeding to some of them down the road, too. If we're not increasing the mare population, they won't have a shot to begin with, so that's another factor to this.

At the end of the day, the stallion owners; the majority of them have farms, and those handful of farms control a large percentage of the mare population themselves, so they're participating in this as well.

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Thoroughbred Charities Of America Extends Support Of Retired Racehorse Project Through 2021

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) has extended its support of the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) as the title sponsor of the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium through 2021. The RRP announced the postponement of the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover earlier this summer and will be hosting a “double Makeover” for both 2020 and 2021 entries at the Kentucky Horse Park on October 12-17, 2021.

The TCA Thoroughbred Makeover features trainers, who can compete as professionals, amateurs, juniors and/or in teams, from across North America who have been working throughout the year to prepare recently-retired Thoroughbred racehorses to compete for more than $100,000 in 10 equestrian sports. The 2021 Thoroughbred Makeover event will feature two divisions of competition: one for horses who were eligible and registered for the postponed 2020 event, and the regularly-scheduled 2021 division.

“The work of the Retired Racehorse Project is an integral part of Thoroughbred aftercare,” said Erin Crady, executive director of TCA. “2020 marks the eighth consecutive year that TCA has supported the Thoroughbred Makeover because we believe in the importance of its mission. We must continue to work to create a market for Thoroughbreds once their racing days are over.”

TCA's support for the Makeover is part of its annual grant-making activity. TCA recently announced that its 2020 grantmaking topped $1 million for the first time in many years. For more than three decades, TCA has worked to support not only Thoroughbred aftercare but also programs that provide health and human services for backstretch and farm workers. This year, 70 non-profits were approved for grants including 45 aftercare organizations, 16 backstretch and farm worker programs, one research organization, five equine-assisted therapy organizations, and three Thoroughbred incentive organizations.

“The 2021 'mega-Makeover' will not only be our largest Makeover in history, but an incredible showcase of Thoroughbred sport horse talent that will draw competitors, horse shoppers and spectators from throughout North America,” said RRP executive director Jen Roytz. “We are incredibly grateful to TCA for seeing and supporting our vision for this exciting event and our greater mission to increase demand for Thoroughbreds after racing in the equestrian world.”

Trainers for the 2020 TCA Thoroughbred Makeover applied at the end of 2019 into early 2020, demonstrating their ability to successfully transition a horse off the track through applications, references and video. This year, 616 trainers were accepted for the 2020 TCA Thoroughbred Makeover, representing 604 unique individual trainers and teams. The majority of these trainers have elected to retain their entries when they were given the option to continue preparing for the 2020 division or roll their entry to the 2021 division.

Each horse and trainer will perform in one or two of the ten disciplines offered and will be scored on performance and progression in training. Featured disciplines include barrel racing, competitive trail, dressage, eventing, field hunter, polo, ranch work, show hunter, show jumper and freestyle (a freeform discipline allowing trainers to demonstrate any skill of their choosing). The top five scorers in each discipline will compete in a Finale competition, and an overall winner, scored by the judges from all ten disciplines, will be crowned Thoroughbred Makeover Champion. The 2020 and 2021 divisions will each have its own Finale and its own Thoroughbred Makeover Champion.

Some aspects of the 2020 TCA Thoroughbred Makeover will be offered virtually this year, including seminars (presented as webinars), the Thoroughbred Aftercare Summit, a virtual 5K, the vendor fair, and the innovative Makeover Master Class training demonstration and discussion. The ASPCA Makeover Marketplace horse sale has transitioned to a listing service this year, and dozens of transitioned and restarted horses originally intended to compete at the 2020 Makeover have been made available by their trainers for purchase or adoption.

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OwnerView Thoroughbred Owner Conference To Be Held Virtually During Breeders’ Cup Week

OwnerView announced today that the seventh Thoroughbred Owner Conference, which was scheduled to be held in Lexington, Ky., in the week leading up to the Breeders' Cup, will be conducted in a virtual format on November 3-4, 2020. The conference, presented by Breeders' Cup, Bessemer Trust, and Dean Dorton, was originally planned for July 19-22, 2020, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“We are committed to offering the owner conference in a safe format for attendees, so we made the decision to move our event online given the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. “Registrants will be able to watch nine panels on a range of topics relevant to Thoroughbred ownership and submit questions to our expert panelists from the comfort of their home or office.”

The registration fee for the virtual conference is $425. For more information about the owner conference, including the full schedule of panels and registration, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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