Bill Badgett | Horse Racing Free Tips

Florida Sire Stakes Moved As FL-Bred 2YO Incentives Announced

In an effort to further enhance the 2-year-old program in the state of Florida, 1/ST RACING, the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA), Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (FTHA) have announced that $1.75 million in Florida-bred racing incentives will be offered at Gulfstream Park in 2023. The renewed Florida-Bred Incentive Fund (FBIF) will pay out a total of $450,000 in bonus money to 2-year-old maiden winners.

The FBIF program offers Florida-bred two-year-old open maiden winners a minimum bonus of $2,500 for maiden-claiming races and up to $10,000 for a Florida-bred two-year-old winning an open maiden special weight race at Gulfstream.

The FTBOA will offer an additional $100,000 in win bonuses for eligible Florida-sired winners of open maiden special weights, paying $5,000 for up to 10 races for males and females.

“It's imperative that we all work together to promote and build a robust breeding and racing industry in the state of Florida,” Billy Badgett, 1/ST RACING's Executive Director of Florida Racing Operations, said. “To that end, it's important to attract new owners to our sport throughout Florida and the industry. These incentives, and the change in dates of the popular Florida Sire Stakes program, gives us a great opportunity to fulfill these goals.”

Additionally, the Florida Sire Stakes series, to be run at Gulfstream for the 10th straight season, offers $1.2 million in purses and have been pushed back on the annual racing calendar to give owners and trainers more time to prepare their Florida-bred juveniles for the lucrative series. The dates for the 2023 FSS are as follows:

Sept. 9–$100,000 FSS Desert Vixen S. and $100,000 FSS Dr. Fager S. at six furlongs;
Oct. 21–$200,000 FSS Susan's Girl S. and $200,000 FSS Affirmed S. at seven furlongs;
Dec. 2–$300,000 FSS My Dear Girl S. and $300,000 In Reality S. at 1 1/6 miles

“Florida's stakeholders are aligned with one focus–what can we do to help our breeding and racing industries?” said FTHA President Joe Orseno. “We need to find ways to make it worthwhile for breeders and owners to invest in our state. We believe that the new Bonus Program will encourage greater interest in buying and breeding Florida-breds. By moving the dates of the FSS races, late-developing 2-year-olds will have a better chance of participating. We are excited about the future of the Florida Thoroughbred industry.”

“FTBOA is pleased to work with Gulfstream and FTHA on a program for 2023 featuring our priority Florida Sire Stakes program while enhancing our Florida Breeders Incentive Fund for the benefit of our highly regarded Florida-bred 2-year-olds at Gulfstream on a summer through winter basis,” commented FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell.

FTBOA President George Isaacs added, “We are pleased with the continued FSS races as our industry centerpiece promoting Florida stallions and farms. I also consider it a plus anytime we can offer purse incentives for our bread and butter two-year-olds competing at all levels at Gulfstream. We anticipate this will be one of many cooperative efforts improving the industry economics and stability.”

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Florida Racing Official Ed Mackie Passes Away

Ed Mackie, a much respected and admired presence in Florida racing for 50 years, died suddenly Wednesday evening. He was 75.

Mackie was Gulfstream's director of mutuels since 2002, but before that had served in similar roles at Hialeah Park and Biscayne Dog Track. Mackie was also director of mutuels at Calder Race Course, Tropical Park and Gulfstream Park West since 2003. Before working in pari-mutuels, Mackie was a champion amateur jai alai player.

Mackie was admired by those he worked with as well as horsemen for his knowledge, his wit, and his calm under pressure.

“To say he will be greatly missed is an understatement,” said Bill Badgett, executive director of Florida Racing Operations for 1/ST Racing. “He was dedicated not only to our company, but to the entire racing industry. This is a huge loss to horse racing. Someone like Ed is valuable far beyond his knowledge, because he was an amazing colleague who was calm and could handle any situation thrown at him. I will miss talking to him every day.”

Mackie is survived by his wife, Linda, three children, and six grandchildren.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 23 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Fred Hunter's University (2401 S University Dr, Davie, FL 33324) with a memorial service at 4 p.m.

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Gulfstream’s Tapeta Track to Debut Sept. 23

A new era at Gulfstream Park is set to begin Sept. 23 when the track will hold its first ever races on a Tapeta synthetic surface. Including two substitute races, there are three races in the condition book scheduled for that day on Tapeta along with three grass races that will instead be run on the synthetic surface.

The Gulfstream grass course will be given a break after the card of Sept. 19 and will not be used again until the Championship meet begins. Once that happens, Gulfstream will be the first track in the world to use three distinct surfaces–dirt, grass and a synthetic track. The Tapeta surface was built over what used to be the outer portion of the turf course.

Training has yet to begin on the Tapeta surface as Gulfstream is awaiting the arrival of a new rail that is set to be shipped in from Great Britain. According to Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing operations for the Stronach Group, the new track should be open for training on Sept. 21.

Having a Tapeta surface means that Gulfstream will no longer have to move races to the dirt when inclement weather makes it is impossible to use the turf course. Whenever that happens, there are usually a number of scratches with the end result being a race with a small field that does not attract a lot of handle. Moving a race from the turf to Tapeta ordinarily does not result in a lot of scratches.

“When you start putting all the positives together, it was a plus, plus, plus for everybody,” Badgett said of the decision to install a Tapeta track. “Last year we had 100-something races taken off the turf. Obviously, when you go from having a 12-horse field scratched down to four horses it depletes the handle immensely. We are always working to try to raise purses and it hinders that when your field size falls to pieces.”

The Tapeta course will essentially replace the turf course over the next two months. Through last year, racing in South Florida moved to Gulfstream Park West at this time of the year, which meant the Gulfstream turf course got what was a badly-needed break. Gulfstream Park West is no longer in operation, which has made Gulfstream a year-round operation.

“For the last six years we have gone to Gulfstream Park West and October and November was the time we used to renovate the turf course,” Badgett said. “We run on it 10 months out of the year and somewhere along the line it needs a break. If we didn't have Tapeta and if we tried to run on the turf this time of year we would have to use the turf course very sparingly.”

Badgett also raised the possibility that some dirt races could be moved to the synthetic track.

“If there is a monsoon or a torrential downpour, that's another reason why putting in the Tapeta track is a plus,” he said. “Especially down here, you can get hurricanes and severe weather at any given time. Moving races from the dirt to the Tapeta is something to definitely think about.”

Once turf racing returns, the Tapeta track will take on a new role. While races will be regularly carded on the surface, they, for the most part, will be for cheaper horses. The plan will be to reserve the turf course for stakes, allowances and for other higher level races.

“We will be saving the turf course for the better horses,” Badgett said.

But Badgett said that a time may come when Gulfstream will look to card top-level races and, possibly stakes races, on the Tapeta surface.

“Down the road, having a stakes on Tapeta is a possibility,” he said. “It is a learning experience for everybody right now and we're kind of waiting to see what happens. Once the horses get their sea legs underneath them so far as running on it and who likes it and who doesn't we'll have a better idea of what we will be doing. We're going to start out having some starter series on it and will build up from there.”

Though racing on Tapeta will be a new wrinkle for Florida horsemen, Badgett said he has gotten nothing but positive feedback from that group.

“We just had a meeting with horsemen and they are all are extremely upbeat,” he said. “Everybody is looking forward to it. The meeting went really well and there was no negativity whatsoever.”

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Sharon Boland, Daughter Of Hall Of Fame Jockey, Happy To Be ‘Back At The Races’

As she accepted congratulations from a stream of well-wishers at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., after winning Saturday's sixth race on the turf with 5-year-old mare Twirling Star, trainer Sharon Boland struggled to keep her emotions under control.

It wasn't just winning two races on a card under her own name for the first time that caused Boland to choke up. The occasion also gave her a chance to reflect on a lifetime around Thoroughbred racing that has provided rewards lasting far beyond the excitement of getting to the winner's circle.

“I was still breaking babies five or six years ago, but I was pretty much thinking about getting out of the game because it was changing so much. I had a lot of owners who said 'You need to be back at the races. This is what you love, and this is what your passion is.' So I came back, and it's paying off,” she said.

Boland, who also won the first race with 5-year-old gelding He's Royalty, has 12 horses in training at Tampa Bay Downs and six more babies at Lambholm South in Reddick, Fla., including a few she bred and “which I'm quite excited about.”

Boland learned to gallop horses at Lambholm South when it was known as Hobeau Farm and later galloped for trainers Bill Badgett and the late Sarah “Sally” Lundy.

Saturday's victories were her first of the meeting. He's Royalty, who broke his maiden in the 5 ½-furlong first, is owned by Bart Brookshire and was ridden by Mike Allen, while Wilmer Garcia rode Twirling Star for Boland and owners Anthony Ali, Khaleef Ali and Yanush Ali in the 1-mile sixth. The victory was the mare's second.

Boland is the daughter of National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame member Bill Boland, who won the 1950 Kentucky Derby on Middleground as a 16-year-old apprentice jockey. A day earlier, Boland had won the Kentucky Oaks on Ari's Mona. Before turning 17 that July, he earned the first of his two Belmont Stakes victories on Middleground. Boland and Middleground finished second in the Preakness to Hill Prince.

Bill Boland lives in Palm Coast, Fla., with his wife of 68 years, Sandy. In honor of his Kentucky Derby victory, Sharon named her property, which is in Reddick, Middleground Farm.

“My dad taught me everything I know, mostly about integrity,” Sharon said. “Meaning you've got to be able to go home and sleep at night. You do the business right, work hard, hay and oats and it will pay off. You treat people fairly and be honest, and that is what I try to do.”

Following Saturday's victories, Boland was just as happy for Allen, Garcia and her team that helps care for her horses on the Tampa Bay Downs backside. “You can't take credit for everything. It is 99 percent the horse, but it takes all of us and all the hours you put in.

“I have a lot of people supporting me, and winning two today means the world to me.”

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