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Pacific Classic Contenders Put In Final Works

Summer Wind Equine's Magic On Tap worked five furlongs under jockey Abel Cedillo in :59 flat this morning for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in a final prep for the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic which is now one week away. It was one of five works, at Del Mar and Saratoga, by nominees for the signature event of the summer season.

“It went well. We're running in the Pacific Classic,” Baffert said via text of Magic On Tap's exercise.

Working with stablemate Private Mission, who Del Mar clockers also timed in :59 for five furlongs, Magic On Tap completed a series of three workouts since finishing fifth in the $250,000 Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 17.

A stumble at the start severely compromised the 5-year-old son of Tapit's chances in the 1 1/16-mile San Diego Handicap, the major prep for the 1 ¼-mile TVG Pacific Classic. Magic On Tap had arrived at Del Mar with a record of three victories in six career starts and earnings of $228,800 and was fresh from a win in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., in May.

Later in the morning, Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella sent MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm's Tizamagician out for a five-furlong work in one minute flat with an interim clocking of :36.20 under exercise rider Austin Solis, the son of retired Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis.

“He looked great. Couldn't be better,” Mandella said of the 4-year-old son of Tiznow.

Tizamagician has five wins in 18 career starts and earnings of $427,851. He stamped himself as a TVG Pacific Classic contender by winning the 1 ½-mile Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes on July 18.

Perry and Denise Martin's Mo Mosa, trained by Michael Maker, went five furlongs in 1:00.60 at Del Mar under exercise rider Marcelo Medina in a team work with stablemate Fight On. Track clockers recorded splits of :11.2; :23.0; :35.2, and a final quarter in :25.1.

“It was a great work, we were very pleased with it,” said Nolan Ramsey, in charge of the Del Mar string for Maker. “We need to speak with the owners. The Pat O'Brien is an option, but it (Pacific Classic) is still on the table for discussion.”

Mo Mosa finished fourth — behind TVG Pacific Classic nominees Express Train, Tripoli, and Royal Ship – in the San Diego Handicap shipping in from a stakes victory in May at Lone Star Park in Texas.

Cupid's Claws, owned by Flawless Racing and partners and trained by Craig Dollase, worked five furlongs from the gate at Del Mar in 1:00 under Umberto Rispoli.

“He looked good and he finished up very well,” Dollase said. “It's a go for the Pacific Classic.”

At Saratoga, Todd Pletcher-trained Dr Post worked four furlongs in :49.22, 27th of 80 at the distance. “We're pleased with his workout and he'll go west,” Pletcher said. “He is scheduled to ship on Tuesday.”

TVG Pacific Classic nominee The Great One went six furlongs in 1:13.20, but trainer Doug O'Neill said the 3-year-old is more likely to stay in competition with his age group peers in the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes on August 29. Trainer Mike McCarthy said Independence Hall, who worked Friday, still has the Charlestown Classic as the main target.

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Revised CHRB Whip Penalties On Target For BC, Largely With Guild’s Blessing

In an attempt to get a revised whip violations penalty scheme on the books before Del Mar hosts the Nov. 5-6 Breeders' Cup, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Wednesday advanced a rule amendment that mostly has the blessing of The Jockeys' Guild because it strips out a previously controversial proposal that would have docked jockeys 50% of purse earnings if they over-whipped while finishing first, second or third in graded stakes.

That purse penalization had been proposed by the CHRB in March in an attempt to disincentivize riders from disregarding the number of times and manner in which a Thoroughbred can be struck with the whip, particularly if the jockey believed the reward of winning a multi-million-dollar stakes far outweighed the cost of incurring a comparatively smaller fine or suspension.

When the Guild and other stakeholders argued last month that going after purse money was too harsh, the CHRB voted 4-3 to table the measure and revise it. The new version that the board voted 6-0 on Apr. 21 essentially is the same proposal, except with the purse penalization removed from the new language of Rule 1688.

Left intact from last month's version was an amendment to change the maximum fine of $1,000 and a minimum suspension of three days to a minimum fine of $500, or, if determined by the stewards to be an egregious or intentional violation, a larger fine, a minimum suspension of three days, or both. That is the meat of the measure that now advances to California's mandatory 45-day public comment period before it will come back to the CHRB for a final vote.

Based on testimony delivered Wednesday by Shane Gusman, an attorney representing the Jockeys' Guild, the riders aren't likely to challenge the proposal before its expected adoption.

Gusman thanked the CHRB for addressing concerns that he aired on behalf of the Guild back in March. “We certainly appreciate the clear linking of the most egregious conduct with the significant, or higher, penalties, and the elimination of the 50% purse forfeiture provision,” he said. “Those were pretty large concerns of the folks in the Guild in California.”

Gusman did say that parts of the penalty scheme do “remain concerning,” including there now being no cap on the maximum fine. He said that creates a concern that “someone could get a fine that's out of whack” in relation to the infraction, and he asked the board to monitor the wide discretion that stewards will be given once the new version of the rule gets officially enacted.

Gregory Ferraro, DVM, the CHRB's chair, reminded Gusman that jockeys always have the avenue of appealing stewards' fines to the full board if they believe they're not fair, adding that, “I think your worries there are probably not significant.”

At the March meeting, CHRB Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales had said that “this rule is [about] making sure that the upcoming Breeders' Cup goes off [more] smoothly than anything else.” He articulated a concern that the combination of two days of Grade I stakes and too weak a penalty scheme would create “a wild west type of a situation” in which jockeys openly flouted the six-strike, underhand-only, no-more-than-two-hits-in succession rule in order to cash in on a lucrative and prestigious payday.

Scott Chaney, the CHRB's executive director, noted that it is standard for the stewards to hold daily briefings with visiting riders from other parts of the country and from overseas during the Breeders' Cup week, and that this year the stewards will be tasked with making sure no rider can say he or she wasn't aware of the whipping protocols and the penalties for violation.

“I think this protects the domestic rider,” Ferraro said with respect to the Breeders' Cup. “Our concern had been that riders, particularly from foreign countries, could violate the rule, and a $500 fine and three-day suspension would be meaningless to them. This allows for considerably more punishment for egregious violations and it's increasingly fair to our domestic rider colony.”

But the Breeders' Cup is only two days a year every several years in California. Chaney, a former steward, explained how the new proposed rule will also affect everyday riding.

“The idea is that it standardizes penalties throughout the state,” Chaney said. “Based on existing language, it appears that we have sort of a disparate application among boards of stewards. And so to be more fair to jockeys, particularly in Northern California, it would create a minimum fine. It also delineates the cases in which stewards would deviate from that fine” for any outlandish abuse of the whip.

CHRB commissioner Alex Solis, a retired Hall of Fame jockey who had spoken out against the version of the rule that was floated last month, was absent from Wednesday's meeting and thus did not cast a vote.

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CHRB’s Plans to Overhaul Whip-Violation Penalties Tabled for Now

As anti-whipping rules continue to evolve nationwide, one problem area that has emerged is the fairness of penalization. Do the various systems of fines and suspensions match the severity of the violations?

Or, put more directly, are there ample deterrents on the books to keep a jockey from totally disregarding the number of times and manner in which a Thoroughbred is struck with the whip if the rewards of winning an important graded stakes like a Breeders' Cup race far outweigh the comparatively small dent a penalty might make in a jockey's wallet?

On Tuesday, nine months after the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) enacted its six-strike, underhanded-only, no-more-than-two-hits-in succession rule using whips that meet new standards to soften the blows, the CHRB proposed new tweaks designed to “ensure an adequate financial disincentive in high-value graded stakes races for riding contrary to” those regulations.

But after hearing testimony from both proponents and opponents on the separate ideas to redraw the minimum fine and penalty structures while also giving stewards leeway to penalize jockeys 50% of purse earnings if they violate the whip rule while finishing first, second or third in graded stakes, the CHRB voted 4-3 to table the motion for the time being.

CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, said he was fine with the part of the amendment that would have changed the maximum fine of $1,000 and a minimum suspension of three days to a minimum fine of $500, or, if determined by the stewards to be an egregious or intentional violation, a larger fine, a minimum suspension of three days, or both.

However, Ferraro added that “I am concerned after this discussion that the rule concerning graded stakes races may be a little harsh.”

Shane Gusman, an attorney representing the Jockeys' Guild, argued against both aspects of the proposed amendment. He said in the first instance, the economic reality of mandating a minimum $500 fine (as opposed to the current “up to $1,000” fine that isn't often maximally imposed) would be too much of a hardship for most day-to-day jockeys in the state, especially if their whip violation was not overly egregious.

But Gusman also took umbrage with the half-the-earnings penalty in graded stakes, and he further argued that the CHRB's entire structure of the anti-whipping rule was unfair because it “continues to focus on the jockey” instead of penalizing the entire team that owns and trains a horse.

As soon as Gusman uttered those words, Ferraro interjected. “The jock is the only one with a crop in his hand,” he said. “What's the owner and the trainer got to do with it?”

Gusman replied by way of example: “It wouldn't be absurd to think that an owner and a trainer might say to their jockey, 'Win at all costs. I don't care [how] you use the riding crop. We'll figure it out.”

The last bit of that reference alludes to the connections of a horse offering to pay a jockey's fine if he gets penalized. Ferraro didn't buy that line of reasoning.

“Again, the jockey is the one that has control of the crop,” Ferraro said. “Is his trainer willing to pay the 50% [of the earnings] fine? I doubt it. There's an easy way to avoid the fine, and that's not to violate the rule.”

Two retired Hall-of-Fame riders weighed in on the subject.

The first, Darrel McHargue, now the CHRB's chief steward, argued in favor of the stiff graded stakes penalty. “If you put in a 50% penalty for a jockey's earnings, it disincentivizes that jockey from violating that rule,” he said.

The second was commissioner Alex Solis, who argued against increased penalties by citing three chief reasons: 1) The lack of national uniformity in anti-whip rules; 2) The fact that California riders are vacating the state because whip rules are already too strict, and 3) That the notion of docking a rider 50% of his earnings in a big race was “ridiculous.”

Solis said that, “When they have the whole Racing Integrity and Safety Act [framework put into effect nationally], who knows what they're going to come out with?”

Solis later added, “We just changed these rules not even, what, a year ago? And everybody's struggling [to comply]. They are doing a good job. I've talked to a lot of them, and they don't like it, of course. They say, 'We try. We do our best.' Now we're going to penalize them even more?”

Vice chair Oscar Gonzales said that the CHRB is trying to be “reform-minded” in crafting its anti-whip rule.

“We want to make sure horse racing isn't just hanging on by a thread, that we thrive, and that we are looked at by the public and potential owners as an industry that is in it for the long run,” Gonzalez said. “I agree with commissioner Solis that California jockeys are doing a great job, that they have proven to be resilient and have proven to be understanding of what we are trying to accomplish…”

But, Gonzalez added, he believes it's imperative for the board not to only hone proper day-to-day rules, but to keep in mind the need to “get the big event right,” which in his eyes means the Nov. 5 and 6 Breeders' Cup hosted this year by Del Mar.

“This rule is [about] making sure that the upcoming Breeders' Cup goes off [more] smoothly than anything else,” Gonzalez said, underscoring that with an influx of international riders who could be confused by trying to keep straight varying jurisdictional versions of whip rules, he wants to avoid “creating a wild west type of a situation.”

Commissioner Dennis Alfieri advocated for tabling the measure, noting that Solis made a good point about California's already troubling outflux of owners, trainers and jockeys.

“What's happening here is that we're making it so extreme that horses and jockeys are leaving the state and are planning to leave the state,” Alfieri said. “Enough is enough.”

The commissioners voting in favor of tabling the rule modifications were Ferraro, Solis, Alfieri and Damascus Castellanos.

Commissioners Gonzalez, Wendy Mitchell and Brenda Washington Davis voted against tabling the motion.

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In CHRB Reversal, Los Al Gets Year-Long QH License

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) voted 4-3 Jan. 21 to grant Los Alamitos Race Course a full-year Quarter Horse racing license for 2021, superseding a 5-1 vote from last month that awarded only a six-month license out of concerns that management wasn't doing enough to mitigate the 29 equine deaths that occurred at the track in 2020.

In the immediate aftermath of that controversial interim licensure in December, Los Al owner Ed Allred had threatened to close his track and develop the property for a purpose other than racing, which would also affect the afternoon Thoroughbred meets that Los Al hosts in June/July, September and December. Allred had cited concerns that Los Al could not compete with other national Quarter Horse venues under only a six-month license, because owners, trainers and the track's racing office all need to make plans for an entire year of racing.

Striking a much more conciliatory and cooperative tone than at the last meeting, Allred and other Los Al executives, in asking for a reconsideration, testified on Thursday that they now have a more comprehensive equine safety plan in place, including the recent hiring of three retired CHRB investigators to oversee improvements related to horse health.

Yet even as Los Al officials spoke of those beefed-up efforts to improve equine safety, the CHRB pressed track officials about two Thoroughbred training-related deaths that occurred at Los Al Jan. 17. One horse suffered a catastrophic leg fracture during a workout, and a filly that had just completed a workout and was about to be endoscoped in her stall by a veterinarian died suddenly. Both incidents are under CHRB investigation.

It's worth noting that back at the December meeting, an initial motion to grant a standard one-year license to Los Al failed after the board–which was short by one member because commissioner Alex Solis was not in attendance–deadlocked 3-3. A second motion to grant the one-year license conditional upon a mid-year safety review also came up tied 3-3. Faced with not granting any form of licensure to Los Al, the CHRB eventually settled 5-1 on the half-year license, with chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, the lone dissenter.

On Thursday, the CHRB took nearly three hours of testimony and public commentary on reconsidering the one-year license for Los Al. Prior to the vote, Ferraro reiterated his point from last month that granting only a half-year license made no sense considering the CHRB has the power to halt any California track's racing at any time over safety issues.

“What does a six-month license achieve, except animosity within the industry?” Ferraro asked rhetorically. “I don't see the need to limit the length of the license. Given the economic hardships resulting from the pandemic, why should the CHRB put at risk the financial viability of Los Alamitos and the Quarter Horse racing industry?”

Vice chair Oscar Gonzales, who had pushed hard for the six-month license last month, lauded Los Al Thursday for its renewed commitments to horse safety. But he said he still wasn't going to change his mind about wanting the track to be more closely watched because of its high number of equine fatalities.

“When I see an industry or a racetrack react in the way [Los Al] did by [giving] pushback on a one-year versus a six-month license, it makes me wonder what happens when the newly established federal regulatory powers take full effect,” Gonzalez said, alluding to the recently enacted Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.

Gonzalez then told his fellow commissioners who support granting a one-year license that they should be aware that “this phase of engaging with Los Alamitos is a new one. And I don't want anyone to think for a minute that the powers that have been vested by the state of California in the CHRB, that [those standards] are going to be compromised in any way. In fact, [closer scrutiny] is just a start if we don't see immediate and quick improvements when it comes to horse safety and the welfare of workers at Los Alamitos.”

Commissioner Wendy Mitchell said she sided with Gonzalez in this sense.

“There are some serious credibility issues, from my perspective, with the [Los Al closure] threats that were made at the last meeting,” Mitchell said. “This is our job and our responsibility…. If we do something you don't like and then you threaten to shut down, that's not the way to work with a regulatory body. And that's not an appropriate response.”

With the full seven-member board voting on Thursday, there was no chance for another round of deadlocks.

Voting in favor of granting a full-year 2021 license to Los Al were commissioners Ferraro, Solis, Dennis Alfieri and commissioner Damascus Castellanos.

Voting against were commissioners Gonzalez, Mitchell, and Brenda Washington Davis.

In other CHRB business, the agenda for Thursday's meeting included an option for the board to convene a closed session to hear two separate requests to overturn and appeal a Dec. 9 stewards decision not to disqualify Justify and Hoppertunity based on their 2018 scopolamine positives. With the open portion of Thursday's CHRB meeting extending to nearly five hours, it was not immediately clear before deadline for this story if those matters were taken up in the executive session or what action might have resulted.

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