Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, May 10-16

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.

Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where.

California

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 05/13/2022
Licensee: Peter Eurton, trainer
Penalty: $1,000
Violation: Late reporting
Explainer: Trainer Peter Eurton is fined $1,000.00 pursuant to California Horse Racing Board rule #1629 (Penalty for Late Declaration) and for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1865 (Altering Sex of Horse) for failure to properly report the gelding of the horse OCTOPUS which was scheduled to run in the eighth race at Santa Anita Park on April 15, 2022.

New York

Track: Belmont Park
Date: 05/14/2022
Licensee: Flavien Prat, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: For having waived his right to appeal Jockey Mr. Flavien Prat is hereby suspended 3 NYRA racing days, May 21st 2022, May 22nd 2022, and May 27th 2022 inclusive. This for careless riding during the running of the fourth race at Belmont Park on May 1st 2022. Suspended: 05/21/2022 to 05/27/2022 (3 days).

Kentucky

Some of the following rulings were not posted on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission website in time for inclusion last week.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/06/2022
Licensee: Reyluis Gutierrez, jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Reyluis Gutierrez, who rode Mr Dumas in the eighth race at Churchill Downs on May 5, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation. This being his first offense, Mr. Gutierrez was given the option and chose to pay a fine. Reyluis Gutierrez is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the riding crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/05/2022
Licensee: Brian Hernandez Jr., jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Brian Hernandez Jr., who rode Fair Haired Boy in the sixth race at Churchill Downs on May 4, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation (2nd offense). Brian Hernandez Jr. is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/11/2022
Licensee: Manuel Franco, jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Manuel Franco, who rode Idiomatic in the first race at Churchill Downs on May 6, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation. This being his first offense, Mr. Rosado was given the option and chose to pay a fine. Manuel Franco is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/11/2022
Licensee: Manuel Franco, jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Manuel Franco, who rode Turnerloose in the eleventh race at Churchill Downs on May 6, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation (2nd offense). Manuel Franco is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/11/2022
Licensee: Mitchell Murrill, jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Mitchell Murrill, who rode Warrior Johnny in the first race at Churchill Downs on May 7, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation. This being his first offense, Mr. Murrill was given the option and chose to pay a fine. Mitchell Murrill is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the riding crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/11/2022
Licensee: Jose Ortiz, jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Jose L. Ortiz, who rode Injunction in the sixth race at Churchill Downs on May 7, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation. This being his first offense, Mr. Ortiz was given the option and chose to pay a fine. Jose L. Ortiz is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/11/2022
Licensee: Jose Ortiz, jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Jose L. Ortiz, who rode Obligatory in the eighth race at Churchill Downs on May 7, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation (2nd offense). Jose L. Ortiz is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/13/2022
Licensee: Irad Ortiz Jr., jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode Obligatory in the twelfth race at Churchill Downs on May 7, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation. This being his first offense, Mr. Ortiz was given the option and chose to pay a fine. Irad Ortiz Jr. is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/13/2022
Licensee: Irad Ortiz Jr., jockey
Penalty: $100 fine
Violation: Failure to appear to watch race review
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Irad Ortiz Jr. is hereby fined $100 for failure to be present for the race replay review on ma 12, 2022 after being duly notified to appear.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/13/2022
Licensee: Gerardo Corrales, jockey
Penalty: Five-day suspension
Violation: Withdrawal of appeal
Explainer: Having withdrawn the appeal pf Stewards Ruling #21-0096 issued December 11, 2021, Gerardo Corrales is now hereby suspended 5 racing days, May 19, May 20, May 21, May 22, May 26, 2022.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/15/2022
Licensee: Brad Cox, trainer
Penalty: Ten-day suspension, $500 fine
Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: Upon receipt of notification from Industrial Laboratories, the official testing laboratory for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and confirmed at Texas A & M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, sample number E454454 taken from Warrior's Charge, who finished second in the eleventh race at Churchill Downs on June 26, 2021 contained phenylbutazone at a level of 2.51 ug/ml in blood (Class C)/ After waiving his right to a formal hearing before the Board of Stewards Brad H. Cox is hereby suspended 10 days, May 23 2022 through June 1, 2022 (inclusive) and fined $500. Warrior's Charge us disqualified and all purse money forfeited.

Read more about the story here at the TDN.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/15/2022
Licensee: James Graham, jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After a hearing before the Board of Stewards, James Graham, who rode Zmuda in the sixth race at Churchill Downs on May 13, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation. This being his first offense, Mr. Graham was given the option and chose to pay a fine. James Graham is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the riding crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

Track: Churchill Downs
Date: 05/15/2022
Licensee: Joseph Rocco Jr., jockey
Penalty: $500 fine
Violation: Excessive use of the whip
Explainer: After waiving his right to a hearing before the Board of Stewards, Joseph Rocco Jr., who rode Uninvited Guest in the fourth race at Churchill Downs on May 13, 2022 was found to have violated the crop regulation (3rd offense). Joseph Rocco Jr. is hereby fined $500 for his improper use of the crop by exceeding the allowable use in the overhand manner.

The post Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, May 10-16 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Abaan Looks to Stand Out

Abaan (Will Take Charge) looks to build upon his recent success with a bid in the GII Mac Diarmida S. over 1 3/8 miles on the turf at Gulfstream Park Saturday. The 5-year-old gelding, trained by Todd Pletcher, was last seen a clear winner over fellow Mac Diarmida entry Temple (Temple City) in the GIII W. L. McKnight S. Jan. 29. He also previously won the H. Allen Jerkens S. over this course in December.

Temple, breaking from post eight under Jose Ortiz, could be right there with a good trip, as the 6-year-old gelding has an ultra-consistent record, including a third last October in the 1 1/8-mile GIII Knickerbocker S. at Belmont Park. He was claimed by these connections for $80,000 in his next start, finishing second in a Nov. 19 Aqueduct optional claimer, and was third in another Big A optional claimer Dec. 5.

Though the elder statesman of the field at seven, Fantasioso (Arg) (Strategic Prince {GB}) has the class to keep up with his younger challengers. With jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. aboard, Fantasioso posted a dead-heat victory in the GIII John B. Connally Turf Cup S. over 1 1/2 miles at Sam Houston Jan. 30.

The post Abaan Looks to Stand Out appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Foley Considering Shorter Distances With Comeback Allowance Winner O Besos

The fifth place finisher in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Bernard Racing, Tagg Team Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Terry Stephens' O Besos made his much-anticipated return count on Sunday. The 4-year-old by Orb won the Fair Grounds' seventh race, a $47,000 allowance option claiming contest, by a hard-fought nose over Intrepid Heart.

“He had to run a little harder than we were hoping for,” trainer Greg Foley said. “He got banged around a little out of the gate. I don't know how much he loved it on the inside there.”

Now 8-3-1-1 with earnings of $320,224, all three of O Besos' wins have come at Fair Grounds with Brian Hernandez Jr. riding.

“We got that under his belt,” Foley said. “He looked great this morning, licked his tub, he didn't act like it took anything out of him. The horse looks amazing. He's put on 150 pounds of muscle in the right places. I couldn't be any happier with the way he looks.”

After the Kentucky Derby, O Besos ran second in the Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill Downs on May 29, 2021. Winning at 1 1/16 miles off the bench on Sunday, his connections are now considering their options for his next start.

“I just got to figure out what this horse really wants to do,” Foley said. “I'm not so sure he is a true long-distance horse. He might be a monster going seven-eighths or a one-turn mile.”

Speaking of past Kentucky Derby horses, Foley and his team are also weighing their options for Lloyd Madison Farms, IV's Major Fed, who was last seen finishing fifth in the locally run Tenacious Stakes the day after Christmas.

“Might be the same speech,” Foley said. “He could be great at one-turn. Other than that, all his brothers and sisters were really good turf horses, too, so we might stick him on the grass next time.”

The post Foley Considering Shorter Distances With Comeback Allowance Winner O Besos appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Steve Asmussen To Saddle Morning-Line Favorite Epicenter In Inaugural Gun Runner Stakes

Plenty of gifts for the horseplayer remain under the tree for Sunday's “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day” card at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. There are six stakes to feast upon on the 13-race program, which gets underway at noon CT.

The wagering menu includes a trio of Pick Five wagers, starting in races 1, 7 and 9. The sequence that begins in race seven is an “All Stakes Pick Five” with a $100,000 guaranteed pool.

With no perfect tickets in either early or late Pick Five when last we raced on Monday, the combined carryover of $103,891 landed in Sunday's late Pick Five, which begins in race 9.

Sunday's card unveils the inaugural running of the $100,000 Gun Runner and its sister race, the $100,000 Untapable. Both 2-year-old races events are named for Winchell Thoroughbred stars who were trained by Steve Asmussen. Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks points will be awarded to the top four finishers (10-4-2-1).

“If nothing else it shows we are getting old,” Asmussen said with a chuckle. “It's very exciting for Fair Grounds to have an Untapable and a Gun Runner Stakes. Those two (horses) are great examples of the Winchell program and how successful it has been. I'm just extremely fortunate to have been a part of it.”

With the game's all-time leading trainer at the helm, it seems only fitting that Winchell Thoroughbreds would send out the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/16 miles event in Epicenter.

“It would be very special to win the first running of the Gun Runner,” Asmussen admitted.

Sixth at odds of 13-1 after setting the pace in his career debut at Churchill on Sept. 18, Epicenter looked like a completely different racehorse in his second career start 3 ½ weeks later. Stretched out from seven furlongs to a mile, he battled the lead from post ten, took command late on the backstretch, and drew off to a 3 ½ length win.

“Nice horse, lot of talent,” Asmussen said. “I do believe with Churchill closing (the backstretch) this summer and us training the majority of our fall 2-year-olds at Turfway on synthetic, I didn't have a great read on him, or a lot of them, for their first runs. I thought his debut was a good race. He showed a little bit of ability and got a lot out of it, but he definitely got tired. He trained impressively off of it and his second race went exactly how we were hoping it and he looked well. That day Joel (rider Rosario) put him in the position to succeed and it will be a lot different going two turns at the Fair Grounds.”

By Not This Time, Epicenter is out of the Candy Ride mare Silent Candy, who was a stakes winning turf router during her career.

“I think two turns is his future,” Asmussen said of Epicenter. “He's got a nice pace about him and a pretty and sustainable way of traveling. The way he galloped out in his last start. He's been very consistent in his motion all along and I think two turns is what he wants to do moving forward.

With Brian Hernandez, Jr. calling the shots, Epicenter drew post one for the Gun Runner.

“I like the rail draw for the Fair Grounds,” Asmussen said. “Tight turns. Gun Runner himself had plenty of success from the one-hole at the Fair Grounds. The horse has been away from the gates in both of his races and I'd be surprised if he wasn't again.”

With three wins and three seconds from eight starts, Tom Durant's Tejano Twist (3-1 morning line) is the most experienced and accomplished 2-year-old in the Gun Runner field. The impressive, off-the pace winner of the Lively Shively Stakes last out at Churchill Downs, the son of first-crop stallion Practical Joke will test his merits around two turns for the first time on Saturday.

“The timing of this race and the chance to try two turns is perfect for us,” Calhoun said. “That's absolutely why we are here. I could have gone to the Springboard Mile for four times the money and I think that he would have fit very, very well in there, but at the end of the day it's time to find out how far this horse can run.”

Regular rider Joe Rocco, Jr. will invade to pilot Tejano Twist from post six.

“Do we need to start looking forward at the Road to the Kentucky Derby races or do we need to back off, freshen him, and make a sprinter out of him, that's the question he has to answer,” Calhoun said. “Pedigree-wise, on the bottom side, I'm a little bit suspicious. He's continued to move forward physically and mentally and has become a professional racehorse. With his style, he should be able to settle and relax, which should give him every opportunity to stretch out, if he can physically do it, if he's got it in him. That's what we are going to try and find out.”

A winner at first asking over seven furlongs at Churchill Downs on Nov. 19, Frank Fletcher Racing Operations and Ten Strike Racing's Rocket Dawg will also be asked the two-turn question for the first time by trainer Brad Cox.

“He surprised a little bit with how well he ran [on debut], as easy as he won,” Cox admitted. “We did like him, but thought he might need a race. He did win first time going 7/8s, I thought he did it the right way. He did it with a wide trip. I thought it was a very impressive race. He received a big Rag number. He is going to be up against it a little bit in regards to experience, most of these colts have three or four runs underneath of him. There is one colt (Tejano Twist) that has 8 races underneath him. We're hoping Dawg can make up in talent what he lacks in experience.”

At 3-1 in the morning line, Rocket Dawg will leave from gate three with Florent Geroux astride.

“In a perfect world I would like to run this horse in a first level allowance, get a foundation underneath him. He does things the right way. He acts like the further the better. We have always thought he was a horse that could stretch (out). He is going give us an opportunity on Sunday. I'm not necessarily thinking he has to win to have a race he can build off of.”

With a post time of 5:06 p.m. CT, the Gun Runner is scheduled as race 11 on the 13-race card. The remainder of the field with post position, jockey/trainer and morning line odds is as follows: Cypress Creek Equine's Waita Minute Hayes (post 2, Ashley Broussard/Ricky Courville, 8-1 ML), recently disqualified from the win in the Jean Laffitte Stakes at Delta Downs; Mark Stanley and Nancy Stanley's Surfer Dude (post 4, Reylu Gutierrez/Dallas Stewart, 5-1 ML), a game maiden winner over a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs last out; Michael McLaughlin's Kevin's Folly (post 5, James Graham/Tom Amoss, 8-1 ML), third in the Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga in early September; and Rich Strike (post 7, Sonny Leon/Eric Reed), claimed for $30K out of a 17 ¼-length maiden breaking win two starts back at Churchill Downs.

The post Steve Asmussen To Saddle Morning-Line Favorite Epicenter In Inaugural Gun Runner Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights