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Golden Pal To Target Breeders’ Cup After Easy Skidmore Victory

Ranlo Investments' Golden Pal surged to the front and drew away in the stretch, posting an impressive 3 ½-length score in a gate-to-wire victory in Friday's $85,000 Skidmore for juveniles at Saratoga Race Course.

After a runner-up effort by a neck in his turf debut last out in the Group 2 Norfolk on June 19 at England's Royal Ascot, Golden Pal shipped back to the United States and entered the sixth running of the Skidmore off three strong breezes at Saratoga. That momentum carried over into the afternoon, where Golden Pal broke sharp from the outermost post 6 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard, leading the field through an opening quarter-mile in 21.99 seconds and the half in 44.37 on the Mellon turf course labeled firm.

Out of the turn, Golden Pal opened up even more while never seriously challenged, completing 5 ½ furlongs in a final time of 1:00.88 [challenging the track record of 1:00.21 set by Carotari in August 2019].

“He's a really cool horse,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “It's special when you get on horses like that. I'm so happy to be able to get on him. Hopefully he stays sound and healthy and he can keep doing what he did today.”

Golden Pal, the 2-5 favorite, returned $2.90 on a $2 win wager and improved his career earnings to $73,056. Trainer Wesley Ward said the effort could set up the Uncle Mo colt for a spot in the Grade 2, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint going 5 ½ furlongs on November 6 at Keeneland, where Ward is primarily stabled.

“He's something special, this guy. I think we just got a little peek at it,” Ward said. “From everything we've seen here, they're coming into his homecourt like Michael Jordan in the United Center in the Breeders' Cup this year. He's a very, very nice colt. I'm very thankful for the owner.

Bred in Florida by Randall E. Lowe, who operates under the nom de course Ranlo Investments, Golden Pal made his career debut on April 17 over Gulfstream Park's main track, running second to Gatsby before traveling to the prestigious Royal Ascot meet two months later, where he led the field before The Lir Jet won in the final jumps. He is out of 11-time stakes-winning turf sprinter Lady Shipman, who was also bred and campaigned by Lowe.

“[The owner] afforded me the time that myself and my team has needed, and this horse had some issues and my team has really worked hard on this guy,” Ward said. “He's so fast and he's so gifted. To get him to this point is special.”

Ward trained the exacta, with Fauci finishing four lengths clear of Sky's Not Falling for second. Sunny Isles Beach, also trained by Ward, ran fourth, followed by Kentucky Knight and Baytown Bear.

“My horse broke good but the other horse [Golden Pal] had more speed, so I wasn't going to go up there and battle head and head,” said Fauci jockey Tyler Gaffalione. “He settled nicely and put in a nice run down the lane, but the other horse was much the best today.

“He's [Golden Pal] pretty quick. He's a nice horse,” Gaffalione added. “I rode him in his first start and he's a really fast horse, but it seems like he's starting to get the mental side of it now.”

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with a 10-race card that includes the Grade 1, $400,000 Fourstardave for 3-years-old and up going one mile on the inner turf in Race 9 at 5:46 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:10 p.m.

The post Golden Pal To Target Breeders’ Cup After Easy Skidmore Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Federal Court Upholds Arizona Simulcast Signal Equality Law

A bid by The Stronach Group (TSG)’s simulcast signal brokerage company to keep the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) from enforcing a law requiring companies that provide off-track- betting signals to sell them to anyone in the state who wants to buy them got stymied by a federal appeals court ruling Aug. 20.

A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging whether a relatively new state statute or the federal Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (IHA) should take precedence in the dispute between TSG-owned Monarch Content Management, LLC, and the ADG.

According to Capitol Media Services in Arizona, the basis for the case dates to 2018, when the newly reopened Arizona Downs sought access to Monarch’s menu of simulcasts, which include TSG tracks and other popular winter signals like Tampa Bay Downs. Monarch initially agreed to send its signals to the track itself but refused to do business with the Arizona Downs OTB sites, presumably because three of them (at that time) were in the Phoenix area, where they would compete with OTBs controlled by Turf Paradise.

Capitol Media Services reported that last year lawmakers “voted to force Monarch into that all-or-nothing situation: If it wants to do business with Turf Paradise, the law reads, it has to provide the same signals to anyone else who wants it.” It also gave the state racing commission the authority to review simulcast contracts to determine whether fees are “excessive or unreasonable” or the terms are “anti-competitive or deceptive.” Monarch and co-plaintiff Laurel Park then sued to block that law.

According to the court opinion authored by Judge Andrew Hurwitz, the panel held that the plaintiffs, “had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims. The panel first held that that the IHA, pertaining to interstate horse race wagering at off-track sites, did not preempt [the state law]. The panel determined that on their faces, the IHA and the Arizona statute regulated different actors and activities. The IHA did not address how the states can regulate simulcasts, and the Arizona statute did not address Laurel Park’s statutory right to consent before interstate wagering on its races could be conducted. Thus, it was not facially impossible to comply with both laws. The panel further rejected plaintiffs’ argument that [the state law] frustrates the intent of the IHA.”

The judgment continued: “The panel assumed arguendo that Monarch’s simulcasts were expressive in certain respects. The panel held, however, that the Arizona statute did not regulate that expressive content, but rather only Monarch’s conduct-the “offer” to sell simulcasts to live-racing permittees and OTB sites. The statute’s requirement that Monarch must make simulcasts available on equal terms was plainly incidental to the statute’s focus on Monarch’s non-First Amendment business practices.”

Tom Auther, an Arizona Downs owner, told Capitol Media Services that he is treating the ruling as a victory. But the judgment won’t automatically give his track or OTB network access to the Monarch-brokered signals, because Monarch chose back in January to cease selling any signals to Arizona entities.

Both Arizona Downs and Turf Paradise have called off their 2020 race meets because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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‘This Cannot Be A Celebratory Year’: Why Are Members Of Louisville’s Black Community Calling For A Kentucky Derby Boycott?

Louisville, Ky., has been one of the national hubs for racial justice demonstrations following the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of the city's police in March, and a group of local and national organizations has suggested the Kentucky Derby should not be immune to the greater happenings in the city and the country.

Pastor Timothy Findley Jr., the founder of the Louisville-based Justice and Freedom Coalition, provided insight on the Derby's role in those demonstrations in the past and present on the Bleav in Horse Racing With Ken Rudulph podcast, including his case for why the race and its surrounding events should be boycotted or even canceled this year. Calls from Louisville's Black community to boycott the race reach as far back as mid-July, but they have gotten louder as the Sept. 5 race gets closer.

The Justice and Freedom Coalition is one of four groups calling for a boycott of the Kentucky Derby – joined by No Justice No Peace Louisville, the Louisville chapter of Black Lives Matter, and the national group Until Freedom – deeming it an inappropriate time to hold the event while there is unrest in Louisville. Mayor Greg Fischer announced Thursday that he would not be attending the Derby, citing the protests planned in the city for Derby week, along with the rampant spread of COVID-19.

“This cannot be a celebratory year,” Findley said. “This cannot be a festive moment, especially in light of all that has happened, so we're not only asking people to boycott the Derby, we believe the Derby should be cancelled.

“Now, to be completely realistic, we know the chances of that happening are slim to none,” he continued. “But we also know this: the eyes of the world that week, and specifically that particular day, are on Louisville, are on Churchill Downs, and this is a time for people to understand around the world that black folk in Louisville, Ky., are not happy. That valuing this race over lives, it's evil, it's wicked, and it's a symptom of a much larger problem.”

This would not be the first time that Churchill Downs has been a potential focal point in the national Black rights movement. In 1967, activists attempted to slow and halt the progress of racing at the track, going as far as to execute a sit-in through the home stretch during a race, leading the riders to pull up their mounts and cancel the race. The issue at the time was housing discrimination in Louisville ahead of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrival to town, and plans were made for a sit-in to happen again on a larger scale during the Kentucky Derby itself if city officials did not meet with the Black leaders.

King got the meeting with the city's leaders, and concerned the Derby sit-in would do more harm than good, he instead convinced the organizers to hold a rally in downtown Louisville. A fair housing law came to the city a year later.

Findley said the changing times also change the demands. Simply calling for a meeting with city officials would not be sufficient. The list of demands published in June (which can be found here) call for sweeping change in local and state policy.

In the short term, the groups demanded the police officers involved in Taylor's death are charged, and that a plan be laid out showing how funds will be divested from the Louisville Metro Police Department and reinvested in other community resources. Looking further, the plan calls for programs to support small Black businesses, strengthen workforce development, increase rent support, and expand absentee voting, educational opportunities, and mental health support, among many other items.

In the interview, Rudulph pointed out many of Churchill's backstretch workers are minorities and they would be adversely affected by any kind of interference with the Kentucky Derby, both in terms of income and the payoff in satisfaction for hard work coming to fruition.

Findley recalled the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955 and 1956 to protest public transit segregation, and the level of sacrifice it took from everyone involved – even those who stood to lose plenty – to achieve the desired goal. For nearly a year, Montgomery's Black residents refused to ride public transportation, traveling miles every day to and from work.

“Historically, anytime there was a movement regarding inequities, regarding inequality, whenever there was a movement or an action to get something done, a revolutionary moment, there was sacrifice,” Findley said. “There was always sacrifice. People talk about the Montgomery bus boycott. I often tell people, 'Who do you think was impacted?' Yes, the government was when that chokehold was put on public transportation, but understand there were people that depended on the bus to get to work, to get around, and they made sacrifices because they understood the big picture.

“That has been a part of every single movement, that yes, I have the ability to benefit from this. Yes, I take pride in this, but the bigger picture is not simply my desires, or what I want,” he continued. “The bigger picture is the people, the oppressed people, what is right and what is wrong. I would argue that from a spiritual standpoint, from a natural standpoint, if we're going to see change, if a movement is going to be effective, there is going to have to be sacrifices from people who have a vested interest in certain aspects that are going to be moved against.”

Listen to the full interview on Bleav in Horse Racing With Ken Rudulph.

The post ‘This Cannot Be A Celebratory Year’: Why Are Members Of Louisville’s Black Community Calling For A Kentucky Derby Boycott? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Plans in the Pipeline For Owners And Spectators to Return to Arlington

Arlington International Racecourse is awaiting decisions from local and state health officials that would pave the way for spectators to once again be allowed at the races under socially distanced pandemic precautions.

The plan calls for a phased-in approach that would start with horse owners being allowed back to the track, then ramping up attendance to allow 2,000 people into the plant for live racing on the day of the GI Kentucky Derby simulcast.

The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago first broke the story Friday. Arlington has proposed hosting 500 to 800 spectators (ages 18 and up) on other race days through the end of the meet. Advance online registration would be required for designated seating areas along the homestretch. Access to the grandstand would only be permitted to bet and to use rest rooms.

Arlington president Tony Petrillo told the Daily Herald that the track initially was directed to submit spectator plans to the Illinois Department of Agriculture but that management has since been told to pursue approvals through the Village of Arlington Heights, where the track is located. The village, in turn, is working with the county and state.

“It’s nice the way our facility is laid out. People are sitting in pods, basically,” Petrillo told the Daily Herald. “I think [by] the beginning of next week we’ll have some clarity.”

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