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Clerk Of Scales At Presque Isle Downs Suspended For Failure To Weigh-Out Jockeys

A longtime racetrack employee and the current Clerk of Scales at Churchill Downs Inc.-owned Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pennsylvania was suspended by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission's Bureau of Thoroughbred Horse Racing for 30 days beginning Jan. 8. Danny Hamilton was found by the stewards to have neglected to weigh-out jockeys before the eighth race Oct. 11.

Director of Enforcement Jason Klouser, who led the investigation, said, “The Racing Commission's investigators observed Danny Hamilton failing to weigh-out the jockeys for race 8, which is a violation of numerous sections of Pennsylvania's rules of racing.”

Klouser added, “At this point, the investigation into Hamilton's activities is ongoing to determine if there were any other violations.”

According to the stewards ruling which is posted on the commission's website, part of the duties of the Clerk of Scales and/or their assistant is to preside over the racing process from when the jockeys assemble before the race to weigh-out, all the way through its conclusion when they come off the course to weigh-in.

Hamilton appeared this past summer on an episode of Horse Racing Today co-hosted by Jamie Martinez in which he discussed his experiences and delved into his duties as a clerk.

On that program, Hamilton said, “We run a very tight ship here at Presque Isle.” When asked what happens if a rider's weight is off when he or she comes off the course, the clerk said with a laugh, “Well then we have real problems! Then the Racing Commission gets involved and stuff gets really real.”

He went on to say, “But we don't have that problem, all the riders come back heavier than what they went out. So, if you go out at 124 [pounds], chances are you're going to come in at 126 [pounds], 127 [pounds], because the saddle towel, the pad, the horse's are sweaty, it soaks up into the pad and saddle towel … it weighs a lot. If they come back lighter than they went out, major problem, if they come back heavier, then you're good to go.”

Growing up around racetracks, including Beulah Park and Delaware Park, Hamilton as recently as 2019 served as an inspector for the Ohio State Racing Commission. Since then, he's had several other stops at locations such as Oaklawn Park, where he was an integrity officer.

Hamilton was hired as the Clerk of Scales by Presque Isle Downs earlier this year after he was the horse identifier at the course during the 2022 season. An attempt was made to contact the track's Director of Racing, Matthew Ennis, but several messages were not returned.

Currently, Hamilton is serving as a placing judge at Fair Grounds, which is also owned by Churchill Downs Inc.

Klouser confirmed that, “We have notified the Louisiana Racing Commission of the pending suspension.”

As for the ruling, Hamilton is denied access to all grounds under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission and does have the right to appeal. He was unable to be reached for comment.

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Downes Named Emerald Downs Announcer

Bill Downes has been named track announcer at Emerald Downs for the Washington track's 2022 season which opens May 15. He replaces Tom Harris who recently stepped down.

Downes served as Indiana Grand track announcer from 2013 to 2021, and before that called races at Ellis Park, Beulah Park, Presque Isle Downs, and River Downs. He also was back-up announcer at Churchill Downs.

“I'm thrilled to come to Emerald Downs,” Downes said. “Emerald is a track I've always held in high esteem. I was there once for a two-day handicapping tournament, and the thing I noticed was an excellent on-track experience. Everyone was having a good time.”

Downes becomes just the fourth announcer in Emerald Downs' 27-year history. Robert Geller was in the announcer's booth from 1996 to 2015, followed by Matt Dinerman (2015-2017) and Harris (2018-2021).

The post Downes Named Emerald Downs Announcer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Ouzts Passes McCarron On All-Time List With 7,142nd Win

The ageless wonder, jockey Perry Wayne Ouzts, reached another milestone on Friday's closing-day program at Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, when he rode Wine Me Up Baby to a wire-to-wire 3 1/4-length victory in a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies. Wine Me Up Baby, an Ohio-bred by Kantharos, is trained by Michael Evans II for Sheltowee Farm.

The win was No. 7,142 for the 66-year-old Ouzts, moving the Arkansas native past Chris McCarron as the sixth all-time winningest jockey in North American racing. It was Ouzts' 76th win of the Belterra meet from 406 mounts, placing him second behind John McKee (90 wins) in the rider standings. Ouzts is winning at an 18% clip in 2020, having ridden 76 of his 411 mounts to victory. Earlier this year, on June 25, Ouzts rode five winners on an eight-race card at Belterra Park

Ouzts began his riding career in 1973, the year Secretariat won the Triple Crown, scoring his first victory in March of that year at defunct Beulah Park near Columbus, Ohio. He won 11 riding titles at Beulah and 18 at River Downs, the Cincinnati track that's been replaced by Belterra.

Ouzts is the winningest active rider in North American racing.

The top 10 all-time North American jockeys by wins are: Russell Baze (12,842); Laffit Pincay Jr. (9,530); William Shoemaker (8,833); Pat Day (8,803); David Gall (7,396); Perry Ouzts (7,142); Chris McCarron (7,141); Edgar Prado (7,078); Angel Cordero Jr. (7,057); and Mario Pino (6,959).

Prado and Pino are the only other active riders in the top 10.

Ouzts is one of three riders in the top 10 who have not been inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, along with Gall (who rode at Fairmount Park in Illinois) and Pino (who rides primarily in the Mid-Atlantic).

The post Ouzts Passes McCarron On All-Time List With 7,142nd Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘He’s What Ellis Park Was About’: James ‘Pops’ Schmitt Passes At Age 85

James E. Schmitt, known by everyone as Pops, became as much a fixture in trainer John Hancock's barn as soybeans in the Ellis Park infield.

When Pops died Aug. 19 at age 85 at his Evansville home, it left a hole in Hancock's stable and all their hearts.

Pops, a Marine veteran who served in the Korea, had a hello and a smile for everyone — also a few bucks if you were down on your luck. He put you in a good mood just seeing him walking or holding a horse, getting coffee in the track kitchen, up at the races or in Ellis Park's gaming area. He loved all that is good about horse racing, the beauty and nobleness of the Thoroughbred, the basic premise of seeing who has the fastest horse to the wire and the camaraderie in a barn working together to get a horse to the starting gate.

Pops retired in 1994 after 30 years with Alcoa. After his beloved wife of 50 years, Nancy Gay, passed away in 2006, Pops headed to the racetrack full-time to keep busy.

“He's what Ellis Park was about,” said John Hancock, who also referred to Pops as Jim. “When I was a kid growing up, he had three boys and my mom had three boys. His boys were the same age as me and my brothers. We all grew up together. Jim would go to the races everywhere. When his wife died of cancer, he said, 'I'm coming to the barn.' He was with me ever since. Everywhere I went, he was with me. I never saw anybody enjoy racing and the people like he did. We'd be pulling in the back gate at Presque Isle and he'd see somebody he knew and holler.

“It sounds corny, but he's probably the most-liked person I've seen ever. Never had a bad day. Never left mad. Other than my mom, he was my biggest fan. When times were tough and things weren't going right, he'd always walk up and say, 'Hey, the Man Upstairs won't give us more than we can handle. We'll bounce back.'”

Dana Hancock, John's assistant and niece, knew something was wrong when Pops wasn't at the barn by 5:30 in the morning of Aug. 19. He subsequently was discovered in his bed, as if he'd laid down for nap and never woke up.

“Pops always was the first one there every morning, turning on lights at the barn,” John Hancock said. “He'd go on and feed. I don't care if there was a foot of snow on the ground at Riverside Downs. He'd make his way across the bridge” from Evansville.

Pops sporadically had a horse he trained but never made it into the winner's circle until 2015. “He always wanted to win a race,” Hancock said.

So Hancock set him up with a horse who happened to be named Uncle Jimmy, a coincidence that delighted Pops. Uncle Jimmy won a 2-year-old maiden race at Mountaineer to give Pops the only victory of his limited training career.

“That was a big deal for him,” Hancock said. “Here's a horse named Uncle Jimmy, and Jimmy Schmitt saddled him.

“He did everything for me. He'd keep up with the feed. When it was time to order feed, he'd order it and go get it. I went to make the order the other day and didn't know what I was doing because he'd done it for some many years. He walked horses in the barn. You name it, he did it. Like this morning, we needed to get a load of hay. I told Dana, 'Get Pops and Sammy,' and I caught myself. Wherever I went, you'd see him right beside me. He loved going to the sales. He loved running horses at Beulah Park in the winter. He just loved the people. When Beulah Park closed, that really bothered him.

“I bought an old horse one time called Smoking Kay. Pops, one of my owners and I split her up three ways. We won five in a row before they claimed her. Pops really liked that old mare. At the time Beulah Park was giving away their horse of the meet award. She got the award. They called and wanted to know if I could come up. I said no, and Pops said, 'Do you mind if I go get it?' They gave him a leather halter, a blanket and a bag of carrots. He still has that blanket and that halter. It never went on another horse.

“You won't ever find another one like him.”

Schmitt is survived by his sons, Jimmy Schmitt (Sandy) and Duwayne Schmitt (Lisa); sisters, June Folz (Al) and Clara Lilly (Dave); grandchildren, Charish Draper (Joshua), Cody Schmitt, Jason Schmitt, Brian Schmitt, Jamie Schulte (Chris), Taylor Madison (Donavon), Austin Schmitt, Lindsay Brodasky (Tom), and Kyndel Dollison; 10 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; loving wife of 50 years, Nancy Gay (Kneir) Schmitt; and son Jeffrey Schmitt, who passed away in 2020.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12:00 p.m. Central, Tuesday, Aug. 25 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 618 East Virginia Street, Evansville. Burial will be in Park Lawn Cemetery where the American Legion Kapperman Post 44 will render full military rites.

Friends may visit from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 25 at Boone Funeral Home East Chapel, 5330 Washington Ave., Evansville.

Memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association at 3700 Bellemeade Avenue, Evansville, IN 47714 or Arthritis Foundation at 615 North Alabama Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

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