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$3.65-Million Cezanne Passes Two-Turn Test With Los Alamitos Victory

Heavily-favored Cezanne didn't disappoint in his debut around two turns for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, capturing the $45,000 feature Thursday at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.

A $3.65 million purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2-year-olds in training sale in March 2019, the 3-year-old son of Curlin and the Bernardini mare Achieving is now 2-for-2 after dispatching of Mongolian Legend and three others 26 days after breaking his maiden going 6 ½ furlongs.

After breaking from the outside under jockey Flavien Prat, Cezanne, who is owned by Michael Tabor, Michael B. Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and co-breeder St. Elias Stable, Cezanne sat off the pace set by stablemate Bronn, then took charge with a quick burst at the top of the long stretch and went on to win by 1 3/4 lengths as the 1-10 choice.

“I think he made the lead a little early and was kind of lost (late in the stretch) but I thought it was good,'' said Baffert. “We wanted to get a nice two turn race into him. He needed it and he ran pretty fast.

“I'm glad we found this spot. He's got a ways to go, but he's improving. We'll have to see how he comes out of this, but we'll try to find a little stakes race for him, probably out of town.

“He's a heavy horse and he needed that,” Baffert added. “After his first race he was blowing pretty hard, but today he wasn't as tired. He's getting fit. I was very happy with his race. The party continues.”

Cezanne was the sixth individual betting choice at 19-1 in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5 that closed on June 28. Grade 1 Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law was the favorite at 2-1.

Cezanne, who has banked $57,000 for his wins, returned $2.20 and $2.10. There was no show wagering.

Mongolian Legend, the longest shot in the cast of five at 33-1, paid $6.80. Bronn, who was making his first start since graduating at Los Alamitos last Sept. 8, Itsthattime and Never Easy completed the order of finish.

Racing resumes Friday at Los Alamitos. Post time is 1 p.m.

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Shore Thing: Monmouth Opens Friday With Limited Crowd Size, COVID-19 Protocols

In accordance with new state restrictions, Monmouth Park will tentatively be limited on crowd size for live racing days starting with opening day on Friday, July 3, when post time for the six-race twilight card will be 5 p.m.

The restrictions on crowd size are part of the ongoing COVID-19 guidelines and the exact numbers are pending final guidance from state officials.

“We will continue to operate under the protocols mandated by the Governor's office,” said Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, operators of the racetrack. “We're happy and grateful that we'll get to kick off our 75^th season of racing tomorrow and look forward to fuller capacities when permitted.”

Outside dining at the racetrack will be utilized to the fullest extent possible, under state guidelines, as will the William Hill Sports Book, which will be permitted to open at 25 percent capacity.

Gates open for simulcasting, live racing and the Sports Book at 11 a.m.

Admission and parking are free all season except for Haskell Day on July 18.

Additional details will be forthcoming shortly.

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Cedeno Voted Jockey Of The Week After Five-Win Day At Delaware Park

After leading North America in total wins for the week and having a five-win day on Saturday, Carol Cedeno was voted the Jockeys' Guild Foundation Detox Jockey of the Week for June 22nd-June 28th. The award is voted on by a panel of experts for riding accomplishments by members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 riders in North America.

Carol Cedeno continued her prominence in the Delaware Park jockey standings as the native of Puerto Rico started her week with a triple on Monday, a triple on Wednesday and had a dominating performance on Saturday's card as she was victorious in five out of nine races.

The leading rider at Delaware Park began her day Saturday with a win in the day's opener aboard the three-year-old Tonalist filly Always a Queen, making it two in a row for the horse and rider tandem in capturing the $32,000 starter allowance for conditioner Scott Lake.

Aboard the three-year-old Tim Ritchey trained filly Dancer's Melody in the third race, Cedeno sat on the fence around the turn, cut the corner and took command to prevail by a head in the $42,000 allowance race.

Returning in the fourth aboard the 10-1 shot Grand Skylard, the veteran rider, applying her aggressive skills, finished strong aboard the claimer to just get up late for trainer Susan Cooney.

With her third triple on the week already secured, Cedeno continued her dominance in the sixth race aboard Baby Bam Bam, a $10,000 maiden claimer for Jamie Ness.

Making it a day to remember in winning her fifth race on the card, the journeyman rider guided Paradise Pride to a seven-length victory in the featured $42,000 allowance for conditioner Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon.

Cedeno led North America in total wins for the week with 12 victories, maintaining a 46% win percentage while in the money on 65% of her mounts. With 12 wins, three seconds and two third place finishes, her earnings totaled $242,850.

Cedeno has won 39 of 160 starts this year with earnings of $873,320. She has won 925 of 6,907 lifetime career mounts with earnings exceeding $22 million.

Jockey of the Week is sponsored by Foundation Detox, removing the toxins that affect our equine athletes. For more information visit JockeyTalk360.com/FoundationDetox.

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Nebraska Racetrack Casino Initiative Appears Headed To November Ballot

The Keep the Money in Nebraska political committee and partnership announced Thursday that enough signatures have been collected to give Nebraskans the chance to vote for casinos to be legal in the state.

Signature collectors gathered more than 475,000 signatures for three ballot initiatives that will legalize, regulate and tax games of chance.

“Nebraskans have been clamoring for property tax relief for many years, and these initiatives will finally provide a real solution rather than political rhetoric,” said Lance Morgan, President and CEO of Ho-Chunk, Inc., an entity owned by the Winnebago native American tribe. “To be clear, we're not trying to make Nebraska into Nevada. Nebraskans are already gambling. We're just trying to level the playing field with all of our bordering states and keep Nebraska's money in Nebraska.”

The ballot measures will limit the number of casinos to the six licensed horse racing tracks in the state. The tracks are located at Omaha, Lincoln, Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings and South Sioux City.

The proposed taxes on gaming revenues will bring $65-$80 million into the state, with 70% of that to be specifically allocated for property tax relief. The cities and counties where the tracks are located will receive 25% of the tax revenue. The state general fund and compulsive gambling assistance fund would split the remaining 5%.

With the signed petitions now turned over to the Secretary of State's office, the signatures will be authenticated by the appropriate counties. Ballot numbers will be assigned next month.

“We're confident Nebraskans will vote for the three ballot measures this November,” said Bob Moser, President of the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA). “It's a vote for the making the 'good life' even better for our state. It's only fitting that Nebraska's original citizens help lead the charge to revitalize our state's economy and firmly establish this industry.”

Keep the Money in Nebraska is a political committee and partnership between Ho-Chunk, Inc. and the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. The group supports a series of 2020 ballot measures to expand, tax and regulate casino gaming at licensed horse tracks in Nebraska. More than $350 million is being spent in neighboring states' casinos by Nebraskans every year — that's $65-$80 million in tax revenue Nebraska loses each year. Legalizing casino gaming can help keep that money here in Nebraska.

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