Horse Racing Free Tips

Anchor Down’s First Winner Comes at Ellis

Longshot Drop Anchor (Anchor Down) started slowly but finished up strongly to become the first winner for his freshman sire (by Tapit) Sunday at Ellis Park. With just an abbreviated worktab on display, the grey was let go at 12-1 and was a bit sluggish from the blocks. He was shuffled back to last entering the turn, but got back into the bit to tug his way slightly closer heading for home. Guided very wide for the stretch drive, Drop Anchor shifted in sharply when switching leads but leveled off nicely after that to power past his competition by a widening 1 1/2 lengths. Fellow firster Rye Sense of Humor (Distorted Humor) completed the exacta.

The winner was the fifth-most expensive yearling by his sire last year when he brought $90,000 at Fasig-Tipton July. Anchor Down scored a pair of open-length victories going a one-turn mile at Belmont in the 2016 GIII Westchester S. and GII Kelso H.–the latter victory came over Tamarkuz, who sired his second winner one race later at Ellis. Anchor Down was also second in that year’s GI Metropolitan H. and now stands at Gainesway Farm.

The winner’s dam is out of SW and GSP Tres Coronas (Chief’s Crown). She produced a Tapwrit filly this season before being brad back to Enticed.

2nd-Ellis, $37,600, Msw, 8-9, 2yo, 6f, 1:12.32, ft.
DROP ANCHOR (c, 2, Anchor Down–Black Coronas, by Curlin) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $25,800. Click for the Equibase.com chart. O-Harold Lerner LLC, AWC Stables, Nehoc Stables & David A Bernsen LLC; B-Chad Frederick & Phoenix Farm and Racing (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. *$55,000 Wlg ’18 KEENOV; $90,000 Ylg ’19 FTKJUL

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Tom Ludt Leaves Phoenix Thoroughbreds

Tom Ludt, who joined Phoenix Thoroughbreds as head of U.S. operations in December of 2017, has left the company, Racing Post reported. According to Ludt, he accepted a termination agreement offered by Phoenix’s creator, Amer Abdulaziz Salman. Abdulaziz’s brainchild operates on multiple continents and has enjoyed Group 1/I success, but first came under investigation in November of 2019, as first reported by Racing Post.

Abdulaziz allegedly stole €100 million from sham cryptocurrency OneCoin-which he allegedly helped operate as an international Ponzi scheme-and reinvested those funds into thoroughbreds through Phoenix. The November investigation resulted in a guilty verdict for former lawyer Mark Scott on charges of fraud and laundering $400 million in illegal funds for OneCoin. Scott created Fenero Funds allegedly to route money between destinations.

Both Abdulaziz and Phoenix Thoroughbreds deny all allegations. After news of the investigation broke, Ludt asked Abdulaziz about the veracity of the allegations.

“[The Racing Post story] was the first I heard of [the allegations], so I was shocked,” Ludt told Racing Post. We had discussions afterwards and he [Abdulaziz] completely denied that he had anything to do with it. I don’t remember the exact dates but there was some dialogue and I point blank asked what the heck was going on because I’d spent the last two and a half years of my life travelling the world for this company and I didn’t want to get dragged down with a bad reputation.

“He’s continually denied it and he’s indicated he had investors from that company [Fenero] but never OneCoin. I’ve never been involved [in the fund], so I don’t know, but everything’s changed since then. I continued to ask him to do some interviews with the press to talk about it and he just wouldn’t do it. Everything changed when that came out.

“He told me that Mark Scott invested [in Phoenix] through Fenero, but that’s all I knew. He did not deny Fenero funds had gone into Phoenix.”

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Tapit Daughter of Winter Memories Successful in Eventful Saratoga Unveiling

2nd-Saratoga, $72,000, Msw, 8-9, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:44.94, fm.
SEASONS (f, 2, Tapit–Winter Memories {MGISW, $1,268,100}, by El Prado {Ire}) got the job done in her much-anticipated first start Sunday, but not without plenty of drama. The regally bred filly showed a very upbeat worktab leading up to this unveiling, punctuated by a :48.79 bullet over the Oklahoma turf Aug. 3 (XBTV Video), and was backed down to 4-5 from an already telling 9-5 morning line prediction. Away in good order, the chestnut took up a stalking spot along the fence as second timer Frankel At Ascot (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) showed the way through poky fractions. Seasons looked like she might run into traffic trouble as the field bunched up turning for home, but she pushed her way through a seam outside of the pacesetter in midstretch. Just as she was striking the front, Frankel At Ascot veered in abruptly, broke through the temporary rail and lost rider Tyler Gaffalione. Still with her mind on business, Seasons boxed on to fend off longshot Ice Queen (Cairo Prince) by a neck. Both Frankel At Ascot and Gaffalione reportedly escaped serious injury. The winner is a full to Winter Sunset, MSW & MGSP, $248,873. Her uber talented dam was a debut winner here in 2010 and concluded her career with a victory in the local GI Diana S. two years later for Darby Dan’s Phillips Racing Partnership and trainer Jimmy Toner. Winter Memories, herselfa daughter of MGSW Memories of Silver (Silver Hawk), produced a Union Rags colt in 2019 and a Quality Road filly earlier this term before being bred back to American Pharoah. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $39,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-LNJ Foxwoods and Phillips Racing Partnership; B-Phillips Racing Partnership (KY); T-James J. Toner.

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Ellis Raising Overnight Purses

Ellis Park is increasing its base purses by 20% starting with Friday’s races, the track announced Sunday. The increase boosts the purses of all overnight races, which are claiming, maiden and allowance races. It comes on top of a $6,000 per-race increase in Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) purse supplements announced last week for non-claiming maiden and allowance races.

With the hike for the remaining three weeks of the RUNHAPPY Summer Meet at Ellis Park, maiden special weight (non-claiming) races will have a purse totaling $46,200 for Kentucky-bred horses and $47,300 for entry-level allowance races. Open $5,000 claimers, which are not eligible to run for KTDF supplements, will compete for $12,600 in money paid out to the horses’ owners.

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