Robin Goodfellow’s racing tips: Best bets for Wednesday, April 10
Mail Sport's racing expert Robin Goodfellow delivers his tips for Wednesday's meetings at Market Rasen, Lingfield and Kempton.
Chad Brown Joins the TDN Writers’ Room
Fresh off a yet another win in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, trainer Chad Brown joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to offer up insight on Sierra Leone's definitive victory and share how he hopes to see the $2.3-million son of Gun Runner progress from here. Brown was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.
While Sierra Leone's come-from-behind Blue Grass win was one of the more visually impressive Kentucky Derby preps of the year, the race left plenty of room for improvement for the colt going forward when he proved to be a handful for the Keeneland gate crew while loading.
“As the pace was moving along at a solid rate and I saw the horse moving up down the backside, I felt pretty good,” Brown said. “The only anxious moment was when he was loading into the gate. I didn't see that coming. He's been a pretty straightforward horse. When we inherited the outside post with the 11 scratching, he was the last one to load in there… and he just kept looking at that crowd. It's been something with this horse, he always kind of wants to look right. You know, you saw in the GII Remsen S. when he was kind of acting green, and he still wants to lean in a little bit when he passed that horse on Saturday.”
Chad Brown Joins the TDN Writers' Room from Thoroughbred Daily News on Vimeo.
Saturday's win marked Brown's third Blue Grass score, following the success of juvenile champion Good Magic (Curlin) in 2018 and Zandon (Upstart) in 2022. That pair went on to run second and third, respectively, in the GI Kentucky Derby. Brown said that he believes Sierra Leone will give him his best shot to date to get that first Derby score.
“This horse really looks like he's looking for the mile and a quarter,” said Brown. “Yes he's going to have to pass a lot of horses, but it looks like it'll be a good pace and hopefully if he can just get a clear run and uses his big stride, he would be the best chance we've had in this race.”
Later in our breeding spotlight section, we took a look at the Coolmore stallion Maximum Security and WinStar stallion Independence Hall. We also welcomed a new sponsor, Pleasant Acres Stallions in Ocala, Florida, which is home to stallions like Doppelganger and Simplification.
Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Bill Finley and T.D. Thornton took a look back at the major Kentucky Derby and Oaks preps from coast to coast, from Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief) earning a breakout victory in the GI Ashland S. to the showdown between Stronghold (Ghostzapper) and Imagination (Into Mischief) in the GI Santa Anita Derby.
Click to watch as a video or to listen to the podcast.
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Maryland Legislature Approves Plan to Reform State Racing Industry
A bill to radically reform Maryland's racing industry has passed both chambers of the state legislature, with the House voting 105-32 Monday night to approve a project that will see among other things ownership of Pimlico Race Course transferred from 1/ST Racing and Gaming to the state and the establishment of a year-round training facility for Maryland's horsemen and women.
After the Maryland House of Delegates initially passed the legislation unanimously, the bill was subsequently amended by the Senate. This amended bill was then sent back to the House for Monday's concurrence vote.
The legislation will now go to the desk of Maryland governor, Wes Moore, for a final signature, with a veto seemingly unlikely.
“I've worked with governors going back to the mid- to late-1970s in Maryland, and most were very supportive of the industry in one shape or form. But Governor Moore was absolutely committed to this project. His support was instrumental in getting this passed,” said Alan Foreman, voting member of the non-profit Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority (MTROA), about passage of HB 1524, otherwise known as “Pimlico Plus.”
The MTROA is an industry-led non-profit created last year by the legislature to essentially oversee and help facilitate the Pimlico Plus plan. Pending gubernatorial approval, the rollout of the plan will be a multi-year project beginning June 1, when the law goes into effect.
Among key provisions of the plan, the legislation requires the formation of a non-profit to manage daily operations of Maryland's new industry infrastructure. Those responsibilities are currently filled by the Maryland Jockey Club, owned and operated by 1/ST Racing. The MTROA will have ultimate oversight of this new entity.
“Like the [New York Racing Association] reports to the franchise oversight board, the entity to be created in Maryland will report to the MTROA,” said Foreman.
Though much-needed renovations to Pimlico could begin later this year, said Foreman, the 2025 Preakness is still expected to be staged at the Baltimore track, with the 2026 edition set to be hosted temporarily at Laurel Park.
“After Preakness 2025, Pimlico will undergo full construction, and the plan is that the 2027 Preakness will be at Pimlico under the auspices of the new non-for-profit.” said Foreman. “For the horsemen, racing will be conducted at Laurel for the next three years.”
Like Pimlico, Laurel is currently operated by 1/ST Racing under the umbrella of The Stronach Group (TSG). Transfer of Pimlico from 1/ST Racing to the state comes at a nominal one-dollar price-tag.
The MTROA has already negotiated a licensing agreement with 1/ST Racing to operate and promote the GI Preakness S. and the GII Black-Eyed Susan S., Maryland's two signature races.
“It's a 10-year agreement with five-year renewals,” said Foreman. “After ten years, if the state wanted to buy it out, it could. But any renewals would be for five-year intervals.”
Complementing a revamped Pimlico will be the selection of a year-round companion training facility to accommodate the horses not stabled at Pimlico. According to Foreman, some 1,300 horses are expected to be split evenly between the two facilities.
The MTROA has identified eight potential training facilities for purchase, rating them by several criteria, including their location, size, cost to purchase and cost of redevelopment. According to this rating system, two facilities come out jointly on top: Shamrock Farm and Mitchell Farm Training Center.
Shamrock Farm Training Center is a 155-acre facility just over 20 miles from Pimlico. Mitchell Farm Training Center is a 97-acre facility near the Aberdeen Proving Ground. The third-rated facility is the Bowie Race Track, a 131-acre training facility.
The legislation also allows the Maryland Stadium Authority–a state-founded entity to help fund and operate key building projects in Maryland–to issue $400 million in bonds to help bankroll the Pimlico Plus plan.
Ultimately, ownership of Laurel Park will be transferred fully to TSG for redevelopment at the beginning of 2028, “unless we have to extend the lease,” said Foreman.
According to Foreman, state taxpayers won't be on the hook should the non-profit formed to manage daily operations going forward run into operating deficits.
“If there's an operating loss when the non-for-profit takes over, the Thoroughbred purse dedication account has to backstop the losses. It will not come from taxpayer dollars,” said Foreman.
“I can't overstate the historical moment this is for Maryland racing. It's historical for the City of Baltimore. This is great for the City of Baltimore. It stops decades of worries about Pimlico and the future of the Preakness in Maryland and Baltimore. It's great for the Park Heights community. And I think it's great for the racing industry overall,” said Foreman.
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Stable Recovery Spring Meet Gala Saturday
Stable Recovery will hold its second annual Spring Meet Gala Saturday at Fasig-Tipton's Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. The event kicks off at 6 p.m. with a mocktail hour and will offer men in the substance abuse recovery program the chance to share their transformative stories.
The evening will also include numerous items in live and silent auctions, including a Knicks Go package, a Not This Time halter, horseshoes from Medina Spirit and Arabian Knight, and a California Chrome saddle towel. Bidding on silent auction items begins Wednesday. For more information, click here.
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