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Richard FitzGerald Ending Tenure as RMG CEO

Racecourse Media Group Chief Executive Richard FitzGerald will leave his position after a 12-year run. FitzGerald will slowly step down over a six-week period, with RMG Finance Director Martin Stevenson becoming acting CEO. RMG, which holds the media and data rights for 34 British tracks, has enjoyed a profitable run under FitzGerald, as his tenure included the deal for ITV to provide terrestrial coverage (through 2023) and Racing UK becoming Racing TV, with Irish rights also secured.

“It has been a fabulous and rewarding 12 years working for RMG,” said FitzGerald in a statement. “The business has flourished and delivered on the vision of the founding shareholders around a collective approach to commercialising their media and data rights.

“There is never a good time to step down but with resumption of racing, the new Watch & Bet deals, the terrestrial TV renewal and launch in Italy of fixed odds, and a new cycle of renewals starting shortly, it seems the right time to step down.

“It has been a great journey and I have enjoyed working with a strong, capable, committed and stable team to deliver the results we have been able to achieve consistently over the last decade.”

Added RMG Chairman Roger Lewis, “”On behalf of the board of RMG, I thank Richard for his exceptional leadership of the RMG team for almost 12 years. During this period RMG has produced great returns for our racecourses, generating over £800m of licence fees during his tenure of office.

“The recent renewal of the RMG contract with ITV until 2023, the successful launch of our new Watch & Bet Service in June, and ensuring RMG is fully operational following the COVID-19 outbreak and so generating significant revenues for our racecourses, has created the right moment for Richard to announce his decision to step down.

“The achievements of RMG, which have driven its financial performance with Richard as CEO are significant, and include a ground-breaking data licensing and production service, an innovative LBO deal with SIS, the securing of the rights to Irish racing, the rebrand and launch of Racing TV, enhancing its HD service, and the expansion of RMG opportunities across the world. Richard leaves RMG with our sincerest thanks and best wishes for having delivered an outstanding performance over a considerable period of time.”

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COVID-19 ‘Just Wiped Out Everything’: Parx Cancels Pennsylvania Derby, Cotillion

Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa. will not host the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby or Grade 1 Cotillion in 2020, according to the Thoroughbred Daily News. Both $1 million races, originally scheduled for Sept. 26, are victims of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We will not be running any open stakes races this year,” racing secretary David Osojnak told the TDN. “We will be going on hiatus. The virus, the plague, just wiped out everything. We think we will be able to come back stronger in 2021.”

The late September date is an issue this year because Churchill Downs postponed the Kentucky Derby to Sept. 5 and the Preakness was rescheduled for Oct. 3. That left Parx little chance of attracting top 3-year-olds for its premier stakes races.

Instead, Osojnak reallocated the purse money from the Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion to overnight purses, allowing him to keep them near levels from 2019 until casino revenue starts flowing again.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Tiz the Law Draws Post Six in Travers

GI Belmont S. winner Tiz the Law (Constitution) looks to take his next step down this unconventional GI Kentucky Derby trail in Saturday’s GI Runhappy Travers S. at Saratoga. The even-money morning-line favorite will break from post six with regular rider Manny Franco in the irons.

“I think he’s matured enough now that outside or inside is not going to bother him too much,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. “I’d prefer that he’s on the outside just because you have less chance of getting in trouble. Not that you can’t, but you have less chance. I think post six is fine. Five would have been fine. Four would have been fine. Any of those three would have been fine with me.”

‘TDN Rising Star’ Uncle Chuck (Uncle Mo) is the second choice at 5-2 and is drawn in post three. The undefeated Bob Baffert pupil will be piloted by Luis Saez. Belmont third-place finisher and GIII Withers S. victor Max Player (Honor Code) and GIII Peter Pan S. winner Country Grammar (Tonalist) were both given 6-1 morning-line quotes. Trainer by Linda Rice, Max Player drew post four with Joel Rosario in the irons. Chad Brown pupil Country Grammar will be in stall two with Irad Ortiz at the controls.

The rest of the field is as follows: First Line (First Samurai), post one, 30-1; Shivaree (Awesome of Course), post five, 30-1; Caracaro (Uncle Mo), post seven, 10-1; and South Bend (Algorithms), post eight, 15-1.

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Military March To Follow Benbatl Route

Last year’s G3 Autumn S. winner Military March (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), a leading fancy for the G1 Investec Derby before meeting with a setback in the lead-up to the race, will follow a similar path over the winter to his Saeed bin Suroor stablemate Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), the trainer said. Military March, last seen finishing fourth in the G1 2000 Guineas on June 6, is training towards an autumn return in Europe and will later target dirt races in Dubai.

“Military March is back in light training,” bin Suroor said. “We are not going to rush him and he will be out at the end of September or early October, where we will find a race for him. The horse is doing well physically. We will look to give him one more run in England, then take him to Dubai–but he needs to have one more run here to make sure he is fit when he goes out there as he is a big horse. We will target one of the Al Maktoum Challenge races to start with to see if he handles the dirt. Everyone is always searching for a horse for the Dubai World Cup and if he did well on the dirt he could be a horse for the race. We will have to see how he handles the dirt, but if he doesn’t we would switch him back to the turf. It is too early to say what the future plans will be, but if the dirt didn’t work out we could look at the Dubai Turf or Sheema Classic.”

As for Benbatl, who won the G2 Singspiel S. and G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 over the winter at Meydan and was last seen finishing third in the Saudi Cup, he is expected to resurface next in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois on Aug. 16 or the G1 Juddmonte International on Aug. 19.

“We will have a look at which race to go for closer to the time, as it doesn’t matter if he goes a mile or mile and a quarter,” bin Suroor said. “He always runs well fresh, like we saw when he won the Group 2 at Newmarket. We were getting him ready for the Dubai World Cup and he was flying, but he didn’t get the chance to run [with the meeting cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic] so we decided to give him a break as he had already had three runs.”

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