Real Rider Cup Goes Virtual

The 2020 edition of The Real Rider Cup–an annual competition designed to showcase off-the-track Thoroughbreds and raise funding FOR the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP), New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program and The Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show–is going virtual this year. The champion will be crowned Oct. 24.

This fundraiser invites individuals working in various parts of the racing industry to compete against each other on a Thoroughbred over a show jumping course wearing the silks of one of their sponsors. Each competitor pledges to raise a minimum of $1,000, which goes directly to the aforementioned beneficiares.

Each rider will submit a video of themselves navigating a pre-determined course of jumps aboard an off-track Thoroughbred and the public will be invited to choose their favorite rounds. There will be no competitor limit.

“This year has been strange and unsettling,” says event organizer Anita Motion. “Our hope is that we can encourage as many people as possible to get involved, raise much-needed funds for our benefactors and have lots of fun while we do it. We can’t wait to start ramping up the competition and seeing how creative competitors can be to attract votes and donations.”

In addition, there will be calendars available for purchase featuring stunning Thoroughbred artwork or bid to bring home the 18 original pieces donated by the artists in an online auction.

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Kendra Scott Offers Horseshoe Charm to Benefit TAA

Fashion and lifestyle brand Kendra Scott will offer 50% of proceeds from sales of its horseshoe charm to benefit the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Aug. 30 through Nov. 7. The charm retails for $35 and is available in four colors. It can be purchased here.

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Matt Miller Winner Of TIF Summer Prop Contest, $25,000 Distributed To Charitie

Matt Miller of Northbrook, Illinois is the winner of the 2020 TIF Summer Prop Contest after a weeks-long battle with fellow Illinoisan Doug Slayton, of Champaign. Miller and Slayton, finished the last week of the contest each with a best four-week score of 36 points.

On the tiebreaker, Saratoga's late pick five on Saturday would be in play. Miller guessed $2,468 with Slayton guessing $2,200.05. The actual result was a sensational $28,144, putting Miller's guess closer to the actual return.

Miller chose to direct $5,000 to the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs. Slayton chose to split the $3,000 second-place donation across all three charities at $1,000 each – including the Belmont Child Care Association (Anna House) and the Edwin J Gregson Foundation.


Donald Wells of Paris, Kentucky improved his overall score with a nine-win week in the final opportunity to finish in a third-place tie with TIF Board Member Tom Reynolds of Dallas, Texas, who also had nine wins. Wells won the tiebreaker and chose to direct $1,000 to Churchill's Backside Learning Center.

The eighth and final week of the contest went to Craig Brogden of Lexington, Kentucky, who was one of two players tied with 10 correct props and won on the tiebreaker. Brendan McGowan of Bethesda, Maryland finished second while Cory Stauble of Louisville was best of nine with nine correct and won the third-place tiebreaker.

Brogden chose to direct the $1,250 to be split across the three charities, and indicated he will match that contribution with a personal one as well (thank you, Craig!). McGowan directed $500 to Anna House and Stauble directed $250 to the Churchill Downs Backside Learning Center.

Over the eight weeks of the contest, which generated more than 800 total entries, winning participants chose to direct a total of $14,420 to the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs, $6,915 to the Belmont Child Care Association and $3,665 to the Edwin J Gregson Foundation. Contributions will be made from the Lavin Family Foundation on behalf of the winners.

“We are incredibly thankful for the participation of so many over the course of the contest, and especially the generosity of the Lavin Family Foundation for providing the donations to the three nominated charities, each of whom do tremendous work, enriching the lives of our industry's incredibly dedicated workers and their families” said Patrick Cummings, TIF's Executive Director.

The final, updated overall Top 20 for the contest is below:

1st – Matt Miller – Northbrook, IL – 36 (11-9-8-8)*

2nd – Doug Slayton – Champaign, IL – 36 (10-9-9-9)

3rd – Donald Wells – Paris, KY – 35 (10-9-8-8)*
4th – Tom Reynolds – Dallas, TX – 35 (9-9-9-8)

5th – Bradley Anderson – Sarasota, FL – 34 (10-8-8-8)

6th – Craig Brogden – Lexington, KY – 33
6th – Len Dodson – Carlsbad, CA – 33
6th – Connor LeClair – Cohoes, NY – 33
6th – Robert Lee – Albany, NY – 33
6th – Patrick Ray – Vancouver, BC – 33
6th – Phil Spade – Dallas, TX – 33
6th – Anthony Stabile – Howard Beach, NY – 33

13th – Tommy Massis – Toronto, ON – 32
13th – Jeff O'Reilly – Springfield, PA – 32
13th – Josh Ross – Westport, IN – 32

16th – Sean Beirne – Louisville, KY – 31
16th – Jeffrey Coakley – Waikoloa, HI – 31
16th – Ken Kasowicz – Chicago, IL – 31
16th – Alex Kibrick – Boston, MA – 31
16th – Patrick O'Connor – Wichita, KS – 31
16th – Paul Weizer – Leominster, MA – 31

*Won tiebreaker

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Calhoun: Derby Distance ‘Could Be A Great Equalizer’ For Last-Minute Entry Mr. Big News

Trainer Bret Calhoun announced late Monday that Mr. Big News, winner of the Oaklawn Stakes at 46-1 back in April, would be entered in the 146th Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old son of Giant's Causeway hasn't run since finishing sixth in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes on July 11, and Calhoun had even been considering a switch to turf, since Mr. Big News is out of a daughter of Galileo.

“After the Blue Grass, I don't think we got quite the trip we wanted there, and it was a little bit disappointing,” Calhoun said. “So, I thought with his pedigree that maybe we should shift gears and try to make a top turf horse out of him, so we started pointing toward the (Grade 2) American Turf (1 1/16 miles on the grass at Churchill on the Kentucky Derby undercard).

“In the last week or so, we've gotten him over the turf course twice here (at Churchill), and its been very soft. We've had some rain, and its not drying out well. It looks like we're going to have some more rain and moisture throughout the week, so we felt like the turf course was going to be a little too soft for his liking. We started thinking about the Derby again, which had been in the back of our mind for the past month, knowing its probably not going to overfill. We really think he'll relish the mile and a quarter, he's training really well over the dirt here, so we decided to take a swing.

“Besides that, (owner) Chester Thomas has had a bad case of Derby fever the last few days!”

Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Stable, Mr. Big News was a $95,000 yearling purchase for Thomas' Allied Racing Stable at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall sale. The colt has won two of his seven starts and earned $168,553.

In Saturday's rescheduled Run for the Roses, Mr. Big News drew post position nine and has morning-line odds of 50-1. He'll be ridden by jockey Tyler Gaffalione in the 1 1/4-mile dirt classic.

“The distance is definitely a key factor; you can't run him too far,” Calhoun said. “He's always finishing big, he's always galloping out strong, so I think that could be an equalizer in here. Obviously there's some horses on paper that are more talented, but I think the distance could be a great equalizer.”

Thanks to the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters Association (NTWAB), which has assembled a group of pool reporters providing independent reporting to members unable to be on the Churchill Downs grounds this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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