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Saudi Cup Purse Money To Be Paid Out To All But Maximum Security

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced Monday its decision to award prize money to the connections of horses placed second to tenth in the 2020 Saudi Cup, a race held at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, Riyadh on Saturday, Feb. 29.

Prize money will be withheld from the winning horse, Maximum Security (USA) trained by Jason Servis, until the JCSA is able to satisfactorily complete its investigation and any inquiry.

This decision has been taken in the interests of safeguarding the integrity of racing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is based on the following considerations:

Following the running of the 2020 Saudi Cup Jason Servis and others were indicted on charges in the USA. The sealed indictment, which covers a period of time between 2018 up to February 2020, alleges that Jason Servis administered performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to horses in his care, including Maximum Security.

The administration of PEDs is prohibited under the JCSA Rules and the Horseman's Guide to the Saudi Cup, to secure the integrity of racing and the welfare of racehorses. Prior to the race the JCSA received no allegation and no indication that Maximum Security had ever been administered PEDs.

However, as a result of the USA indictment the JCSA received an objection to the participation of Maximum Security in the race. As a result of that objection and the indictment, the JCSA commenced its own investigation into the allegations which was notified to all connections of runners in the race, and to the wider public.

That investigation remains ongoing but has been hampered by the Covid-19 crisis and the fact that the JCSA is not a party to the ongoing legal proceedings in the USA. Therefore, unless and until the evidence that supports the sealed indictment in the US Proceedings is placed in the public domain, that evidence is unavailable to the JCSA's investigation and to any JCSA inquiry.

The JCSA is bound to reach a fair and reasonable decision on the objection and circumstances of Maximum Security's running in the race and it cannot do so without the consideration of relevant evidence that has been gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US Proceedings in respect of the sealed indictment.

Therefore, the JCSA cannot properly conclude its investigation and any inquiry by its Stewards' Committee cannot be commenced without consideration of all relevant evidence including that gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US.

The JCSA will make no further comment until the conclusion of the investigation.

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JCSA Withholding Saudi Cup Earnings from Maximum Security

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced Monday that it will continue to withhold payment from the $20-million Saudi Cup to the connections of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) as it continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the horse and former trainer Jason Servis. While that money is being withheld, a decision has been made to go ahead and pay the owners who had horses finish second through 10th in the Feb. 29 race.

Shortly after Saudi Cup, Servis was among 27 people indicted on federal charges involving the doping of race horses. In April, Saudi authorities announced they would withhold paying out the purse to all connections while an investigation was ongoing. The Saudi Cup winner is due to collect $10 million.

Monday’s announcement revealed for the first time that there was an “objection to the participation” of Maximum Security after the race. It did not spell out who lodged the objection and when. The JCSA said the objection and the indictments were what led to the investigation.

It also appears that no final decision will be reached until the case against Servis is adjudicated in the U.S. courts, as the JCSA said their investigation has been hampered by not being a party to the legal proceedings that are ongoing.

The statement read: “That investigation remains ongoing but has been hampered by the Covid-19 crisis and the fact that the JCSA is not a party to the ongoing legal proceedings in the USA. Therefore, unless and until the evidence that supports the sealed indictment in the US Proceedings is placed in the public domain, that evidence is unavailable to the JCSA’s investigation and to any JCSA inquiry. The JCSA is bound to reach a fair and reasonable decision on the objection and circumstances of MAXIMUM SECURITY’s running in the race and it cannot do so without the consideration of relevant evidence that has been gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US Proceedings in respect of the sealed indictment. Therefore, the JCSA cannot properly conclude its investigation and any inquiry by its Stewards’ Committee cannot be commenced without consideration of all relevant evidence including that gathered by the prosecution authorities in the US.”

That could mean that the payment of the purse will be withheld until Servis’s case has made its way through the courts, something that could stretch on for a couple of years.

The JCSA said it would make no further comment until the conclusion of the investigation, which leaves a handful of questions unanswered, including the results of drug tests performed on Maximum Security before the race.

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Dixiana Farm To Sponsor Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup

Keeneland has announced that William and Donna Shively's Dixiana Farm is the new sponsor of the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1), the Fall Meet's prestigious invitational turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies. The 37th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana will be held Oct. 10 on the second Saturday of the Fall Meet.

“Keeneland is pleased that Dixiana has become the sponsor of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “Dixiana has been a valued corporate partner through its sponsorship of other stakes at Keeneland, and the Shivelys are enthusiastic participants in our racing and sales. We are thrilled with Dixiana's new association with such a highly regarded international event as the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.”

Dixiana is a 700-acre Thoroughbred breeding and racing operation in Lexington that dates from 1877 when it was established by Major Barack G. Thomas, considered one of the first to make a living by breeding and selling racehorses. The Shivelys purchased Dixiana in 2004 and have restored the farm while cultivating its rich legacy.

“Dixiana and Keeneland both play an iconic role in the Bluegrass and the horse industry, and we are natural partners in promoting the very best in Thoroughbred racing and breeding,” Bill Shively said. “As longtime Keeneland race sponsors, Donna and I are very excited about the opportunity to support this premier Grade 1 event.”

The Challenge Cup honors Queen Elizabeth II, an astute Thoroughbred breeder and owner who attended the races at Keeneland on Oct. 11, 1984, during her private six-day visit to Central Kentucky. That day, she watched a mock Thoroughbred sale in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion, met members of the jockey colony and presented a trophy to the connections of the first winner of her namesake race, Cherry Valley Farm's Sintra, who was ridden by Keith Allen for trainer Steven Penrod.

Each year, Keeneland invites accomplished fillies from the U.S. and beyond to compete in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. Winners of the 1 1/8-mile race include champion Perfect Sting and millionaires Affluent, Dayatthespa, Film Maker, Memories of Silver, Riskaverse, Rushing Fall, Ryafan, Sweet Talker, Ticker Tape (GB) and Vacare. Last year, The Queen's Magnetic Charm (GB) competed in the race.

Keeneland's 2020 Fall Meet offers 17 days of racing from Oct. 2-24. On Nov. 6-7, Keeneland will host the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the second time.

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Wooderson, Half To Rachel Alexandra, To Enter Stud At Burdette Thoroughbred Farm In Arkansas

Wooderson (Awesome Again – Lotta Kim) has been acquired for stud duty by Burdette Thoroughbred Farm, Goshen, Ark., in a deal brokered by Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock.

A half-brother to champion Rachel Alexandra, Wooderson was also a talented horse whose race record includes three wins and a stakes place to subsequent Grade 1 winner Tom's d'Etat.

Trained by Todd Pletcher for Let's Go Stable, Wooderson was a maiden winner at Saratoga and later added wide-margin allowance wins at Keeneland and Monmouth Park. He followed up those wins with an excellent second to Tom's d'Etat in the Alydar Stakes at Saratoga; beaten only a length by Tom's d'Etat, subsequently winner of the Grade 1 Clark Handicap, he pulled almost seven lengths clear of the third to record a 103 Beyer.

Wooderson was the co-highest priced yearling by top sire Awesome Again to sell in 2016 when purchased by Let's Go Stable for $400,000 at Keeneland.

Out of the stakes-winning Roar mare Lotta Kim, he is a half-brother to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, whose 13 wins included the G1 Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Oaks, Haskell Invitational, Mother Goose Stakes and Woodward Stakes.

A stud fee will be announced at a later date.

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