In this week's edition of the Friday Show, Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills is joined by news editor Chelsea Hackbarth and horse racing writer and handicapper Andrew Champagne to review some of those who didn't get the support among voters representing the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, Daily Racing Form and National Thoroughbred Racing Association/Equibase.

Nevills thinks Dr. Schivel should have been a finalist in the Sprint category. Hackbarth asks, “Who did he beat?” Nevills and Champagne both think G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Golden Pal should have been a finalist, either in the sprint or male turf division. He didn't make either list.

Nevills said he abstained from voting in the steeplechase category, insisting it isn't his area of expertise. Hackbarth reminded Nevills that she expanded Paulick Report's horse racing coverage to include major North American steeplechase races in 2021.

Champagne mostly wants people to agree to disagree respectfully.

On that we can all agree.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, below:

The post Friday Show Presented By PHBA: Snubbed In Eclipse Award Voting appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“At that time it was just blowing smoke, but now it doesn't seem as far-fetched,” Lawson said.

Diego Herrera, just 17 years old, was originally booked to ride 13 horses on Sunday, Jan. 2. He began the afternoon with the first turf win of his career at Santa Anita Park, taking a starter allowance race aboard Phil D'Amato trainee Solo Animo.

He ended the evening by picking up a 14th mount just 30 minutes prior to the Grade 1 Charger Bar Handicap at Los Alamitos. The apprentice easily guided Juan Aleman trainee Kiss Thru Fire to a half-length victory, earning the first graded stakes win of his career.

“It was pretty cool,” Herrera acknowledged. 

Though his official riding career began in 2021, Herrera has been involved in match racing since he was as young as 11. Prior to that, he and his pony “Sparky” would dream up match races on the beach near the family home in Inglewood, Calif. 

“I'd pretend that somebody else was running against me, I'd run him about 10 yards, then stop him and turn him back and do it again,” Herrera remembered. “He was the sweetest pony ever, just let me do whatever with him, and he was pretty fast, too!”

Diego Herrera and “Sparky” (photo provided)

That's not to say that Sparky didn't enter his fair share of match races, too, some right along the river bed where Herrera had learned to ride.

“Match racing is a part of the Mexican culture,” Herrera explained. “ Wherever we can race a horse against a horse, we do it!”

Diego Herrera and Sparky win a match race (photo provided)

If he wasn't riding Sparky, a young Herrera was practicing his form atop a bale of hay, or following his father around on jobs with his landscaping business with the hope that they'd be able to stop at the racetrack on their way home.

“I never wanted to be home,” he said. “When I was four years old, I'd hear my dad wake up and go to put on my little boots and want to go to work with him.”

Herrera's father, from Agua Caliente in Mexico, worked cattle aboard horses on his family farm, and since moving to the U.S. has owned racing Quarter Horses for years. When his son was old enough, the family traveled as far away as Washington and Colorado so that he could ride in the match races.

Since school was important to Herrera's mother, he committed to finishing his high school diploma at the charter school of Lennox Academy. The arrival of the pandemic in early 2020 made it a bit easier for Herrera to get a job on the racetrack in the mornings, then head home to complete his online studies.

“My parents both busted their bum to give me a better life,” said Herrera. “I knew I needed to respect that.”

Continuing his education even while working at the track and riding as many as two tracks in one day, Herrera earned his diploma last month. 

Meanwhile, his racetrack education had continued at Los Alamitos under the tutelage of the Andrade family, first as a hotwalker and a groom, and eventually as an exercise rider. Oscar Andrade Sr. was once a rising superstar in the Quarter Horse jockey ranks, setting a record that still stands when he rode seven winners during a single night at Los Alamitos on June 5, 2001.

Sadly, tragedy struck just months later when Andrade Sr. was paralyzed from the chest down in a racing accident. His wife, Elena, began training in 2004, and they've remained major players in the Quarter Horse industry in Southern California. 

“I owe a lot to them,” Herrera said. “They taught me that you never stop learning in this business, and that every horse is different every single day. They taught me the discipline, and that you have to be open to learn new things and never stop learning.”

April Ward, longtime assistant to Hall of Fame (Thoroughbred) trainer Bob Wheeler, has been with Herrera from the beginning of his professional career and books all his Quarter Horse mounts. However, Los Alamitos racing director Scott Craigmyle suggested the young jockey try Thoroughbreds, as well, and introduced Herrera to agent Vince DeGregory, a legend in his own right. The pair began making the rounds at Santa Anita Park.

“I just fell in love with the place,” Herrera said.

DeGregory helped Herrera get his first mount on Thoroughbreds, and though Herrera is now represented by Lawson, he'll never forget the influence of the older horseman. DeGregory's resume includes jockeys like Angel Cordero Jr., Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay Jr., Bill Shoemaker, Alex Solis, Jacinto Vasquez and Jorge Velasquez, in addition to Victor Espinoza, Darrel McHargue and Joel Rosario.

“He told me never to put myself below these other riders,” said Herrera. “We all go out and do the same thing, and we're all in the same game, so I should always be confident in myself.”

Herrera quickly learned how much he enjoyed the strategy that is such a crucial part of the Thoroughbred game.

“In Quarter Horse races you get a clean break and you go on with it,” he explained. “The Thoroughbreds are so different, with different strategies and techniques, so I think that's one of the big reasons I like it so much. I get the same adrenaline rush going 300 yards as I do turning into the stretch in the longer races.”

In 2021, Herrera rode 44 Thoroughbred winners from 376 starters, as well as 25 Quarter Horse winners from 198 mounts, according to Equibase. He plans to keep up with both breeds for the time being, letting Ward work out the scheduling with Lawson.

“Most people are surprised when I tell them he's only 17 years old,” Lawson said. “His work ethic is impeccable, and the fact that he pays attention to what he's told when working the horses in the morning and in the afternoon is impressive. It's refreshing to see that kind of development in somebody so young.”

“I just want to keep doing what I'm doing, become a better and smarter rider, then hopefully after the bug is gone (in April) I can stay at Santa Anita and continue to be successful,” said Herrera. “I have to be on my A-game, and make sure my mentality is right every time I walk out of the jock's room. I may ride a lot of longshots, but I try to be very confident in my horse and in everyone behind the scenes.”

Diego Herrera rides Solo Animo to victory in a starter allowance race at Santa Anita on Jan. 2, 2022

Gentry Farms' Kiss Thru Fire wins the Charger Bar Handicap and is the first repeat winner in this race since champion Quirky in 2015-16. Jockey Diego Herrera also wins his first G1 stakes. Juan Aleman trains the multiple G1 stakes winner Kiss Thru Fire. pic.twitter.com/auhZk19X4M

— Los Alamitos Race Course (@losalracing) January 3, 2022

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: From Quarter Horses To Thoroughbreds, 17-Year-Old Herrera Is Off And Running appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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This was the year of the litmus test for Thoroughbred racing: from the ongoing federal doping case against Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis to the actions of the sport's top jockeys, as well as the ongoing drama surrounding Kentucky Derby first-place finisher Medina Spirit.

• Reports: Navarro Sobs In Court As Judge Sentences Him To Five Years In Prison For PEDs Case: This aggregation of the results of Jorge Navarro's sentencing hearing – in which the former trainer became emotional and eventually began openly weeping in court as Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil characterized his actions – was far and away our most-read story of 2021. Other stories about the Navarro were also well-read this year, including the feds' argument that performance-enhancing drugs “have corrupted much of the horse racing industry,” the news that Navarro's attorney believes he is facing “almost certain deportation” after his prison sentence is completed, and a recap of the prosecution's sentencing letter for Navarro which calls his use of PEDs “animal abuse in the service of greed.”
  
  The federal trials are expected to continue through 2022, with another prominent former trainer, Jason Servis, among those who have entered a not guilty plea and are awaiting trial.
• Report: Irad Ortiz Jr. Fined $1,000 For Punching Paco Lopez: Actions of the sport's jockeys were a particularly hot topic this year, with reigning Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz, Jr. on the top of that list. Other news about the elder Ortiz brother that made it into our most-read stories includes: a video and opinion piece about Ortiz' dangerous riding that caused another jockey to fall (and later resulted in a 30-day suspension for Ortiz), his escape from serious injury in a June fall at Belmont Park, and a three-day suspension for his ride in the G1 Vosburgh Stakes.
• Medina Spirit Collapses, Dies After Santa Anita Workout: The tragic death of the Kentucky Derby first-place finisher was a shock to the racing community, and another hit at the end of a year in which the colt failed a post-race drug test after the Run for the Roses, trainer Bob Baffert's record of five positive tests in the preceding year was examined, Baffert issued a public apology for his handling of the scandal, Churchill Downs banned Baffert for two years, bettors filed lawsuits against Baffert in attempt to recoup losses on the Kentucky Derby, and Baffert filed a lawsuit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for extra testing of Medina Spirit's samples.
  
  It isn't over yet. The KHRC has yet to schedule a hearing that may disqualify Medina Spirit from his Derby win, and the New York Racing Association has been legally required to hold a hearing to determine whether Baffert will be allowed to race at their tracks. It remains unclear when, whether, or how Baffert could fight CDI's action against him, or what the future holds for his stable's top 2-year-olds as owners contemplate the Derby.
• Beloved Son Of Secretariat Passes At 30: One of the four final offspring of the legendary Secretariat passed away at the beginning of 2021. The Darley-bred Secret of the Sea, from Secretariat's final crop, fell victim to Cushing's disease at the age of 30.
• Linda Rice's License Revoked, Trainer Fined $50,000: The New York State Gaming Commission revoked trainer Linda Rice's license for a period of three years and issued her a $50,000 fine for “actions inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interest of racing generally and corrupt and improper acts and practices in relation to racing.” The NYSGC first launched an investigation into Rice's operation in early 2018, on the claim that she traded money for information from the racing office, and an eight-day hearing at the end of 2020 concluded with a hearing officer's report that Rice's misconduct – which involved receiving and requesting confidential entry information in overnight races – was intentional, serious and extensive. Rice was subsequently granted a temporary restraining order on the license revocation until her appeals process is played out in court, and has continued to train in New York.
• Mejia Taken Off Monmouth Park Mounts, Has Hearing Scheduled After Suspicious Photo Surfaces: A photo of jockey Tomas Mejia taken by the track photographer was posted on Monmouth Park's Facebook page, but it was subsequently removed after officials were alerted to what appeared to be an object in Mejia's left hand. The jockey was later handed a 10-year ban by the Monmouth Park stewards for possession of an electrical device.
• Racehorse Escapes To Expressway At Ellis Park: The aptly-named Bold and Bossy drew widespread media attention for her jaunt down the interstate after getting loose at Ellis Park. That night, the 2-year-old filly survived a barn fire with some minor burns. The Paulick Report followed up on Bold and Bossy's condition and learned more about her trainer a few weeks later. 
• Joel Rosario Fined For Misjudging Finish At Oaklawn: A curious incident in Hot Springs resulted in Rosario receiving a $200 fine. Aboard Oaklawn Mile second-place finisher Rushie, Rosario rode his mount out for another sixteenth of a mile past the wire, apparently forgetting that a one-mile race at Oaklawn finishes at the first wire.
• Owner Placed On No-Entry List At Fair Grounds After Horse Turns Up In Bail Pen: This Paulick Report investigation resulted in Churchill Downs Inc. placing owner Kim Jackson on the no-entry list at Fair Grounds after her horse appeared in a Texas bail lot while still in the entries at the New Orleans track. Little Red Kid was advertised on social media Jan. 30 by a kill pen, but at that time was still supposed to be headed to the ninth race on Feb. 3. Trainer Jacoby Landry was fined $500 for “entering a horse no longer under his care.”
• Meet Kong, The Pony Who Stole The Show On Breeders' Cup Weekend: If you found yourself distracted during the horseback interviews of this year's Breeders' Cup winners, you weren't the only one. This year, people were interested in Donna Brothers' mount, black and white pinto – both readers and Paulick Report staff members. Kong is a 10-year-old American Spotted Draft/Percheron cross trainer Kristin Mulhall picked up at an auction. He was a pick-up horse at rodeos for many years, and the Breeders' Cup was his first weekend working the races. What a star!

We at the Paulick Report could not do the work we do without our readers and our advertisers. Thank you this holiday season (and always) for your support. 

The post What Did You Read? Paulick Report’s Top Stories Of 2021 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Bloodstock editor Joe Nevills leads the discussion, with editor in chief Natalie Voss and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth offering their thoughts on the case in which Dunne has been accused of using abusive, physically threatening and misogynistic language against Frost on multiple occasions.

Frost, 26, is Britain's most successful female jockey. By bringing to the BHA the complaint against Dunne – whose tirades were said to be witnessed by others – Frost said she has felt abandoned and isolated by fellow riders, saying, “I wouldn't wish it on anyone.” She also testified that the culture within horse racing makes it difficult for anyone to file complaints against others.

Dunne faces up to a three-year ban if found guilty of the charges against him.

Also in this final edition of the Friday Show for 2021, Canadian legend Pink Lloyd has been named Woodbine's Star of the Week following his stirring victory in his career finale in last week's Kennedy Road Stakes at the Toronto, Ontario, track.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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The method of timing races at some tracks has changed in recent years from traditional beam systems that are tripped when the first horse passes designated poles to a GPS system based on transponders placed on a horse's saddle towel. The transition has not been seamless, and some tracks are now using a hybrid of both systems to compile accurate race times and running positions. Even that system can produce inaccurate times, as evidenced by several races on the two-day Breeders' Cup world championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.

In this week's edition of the Friday Show, Equibase president Sal Sinatra joins publisher Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth to talk about the race-timing challenges he inherited when he joined the company earlier this year and how he hopes timing problems will be resolved. Sinatra, a longtime racing executive who worked in the statistical department of Daily Racing Form when he was just getting started in the business, understands the importance of accurate data, including times, in a horse's past performances.

Paulick and Hackbarth review undefeated Woodbine Star of the Week Lady Speightspeare's victory in the G2 Bessarabian Stakes under Emma-Jayne WIlson. Owned and bred by Charles Fipke (who also owned and bred Lady Speightspeare's multiple graded stakes-winning dam), the 3-year-old Speightstown filly is trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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Aftercare has grown significantly since the TRF's founding, in the number of organizations that provide opportunities for retired Thoroughbreds and in awareness among many in the industry that it is simply the right thing to do,

TRF's Kim Weir joins publisher Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth in this week's edition of the Friday Show to talk about the TRF's Second Chances program that teams ex-racehorses with incarcerated men and women as part of a rehabilitation and vocational effort to get those individuals prepared for life outside of prison.

Weir is especially excited about an upcoming Horse Show on Oct. 21 that will be streamed live to showcase some of those inmates and the horses they care for. Go to www.trfinc.org for details.

Hackbarth had the opportunity recently to see real-world results of the program, writing about former Blackburn Correctional inmate Josh Ison, now working at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. (Read the story here.)  “The TRF Second Chances program at Blackburn taught me patience with horses, and people,” Ison said.

Paulick and Hackbarth review Woodbine Star of the Week God of Love, Mark Casse's third consecutive Cup and Saucer Stakes winner. The 2-year-old colt is the 99th stakes winner for Eclipse Thoroughbreds, a partnership that had its first runner 10 years to the day before the Oct. 10 Cup and Saucer.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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“We didn't go in thinking we were going to win, and a lot of people had kind of written him off, so for him to give that performance, it was very special,” Wycoff said. “I was glad for him that he got that double under his belt, and to see him win.”

The Mike Maker trainee is also listed as the winner of the 2020 edition of the Bowling Green, though that trip to the winner's circle came as a result of the disqualification of Sadler's Joy, who'd crossed the wire in front by a neck after impeding Cross Border at the sixteenth pole.

“Last year he did it with no fans and the disqualification, so it was nice to see him get the win today,” said Wycoff. “This horse has been a project, like so many we buy out of the horses of racing age sales in July.

“My son Jordan picked him out because of a race he ran for $16,000 at Woodbine, and we bought him for $100,000. He had multiple little issues, so we gave him time off like we do with all our horses. It took eight months until he was right. Whenever you own one that long — we bought him when he was four — you get attached to them and so does the whole team.”

Cross Border has been holding his own against some of the top turf horses in the United States for the past year, running second in the G1 Sword Dancer (Aug. 2020) and third in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Turf (Jan. 2021). 

“I still think we could have won the Pegasus, but we didn't get the best trip,” Wycoff said. “In high level turf racing around two and three turns, the trip is extremely important; he got a great trip Saturday in the Bowling Green. He's a very handy horse, likes the tight turns at Saratoga and Gulfstream, so we'll keep that in mind when pointing him to future races.”

A return trip to the G1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga is likely the next target for Cross Border.

“It might be a little short for him, but he's definitely earned the right to run in a Grade 1 again,” said Wycoff.

Cross Border winning the Bowling Green

Meanwhile, Wycoff's Three Diamonds Farm (named for his three children: Kirby, Ashley, and Jordan) will have several other runners coming up at Saratoga, including G2 Black-Eyed Susan and G3 Iowa Oaks winner Army Wife pointing to the Grade 1 Alabama. 

Currently residing in Saratoga for the summer, Wycoff spent Monday afternoon at a charity golf event, and planned to accompany his wife Debra to the high-level show jumping competitions at Saugerties (about 1 ½ hours away) on other dark days. They'll reside in the bucolic horse racing town of upstate New York until it's time to head south for the Kentucky Downs meet.

Wycoff has loved horses for as long as he can remember, from taking riding lessons as a young man in Pennsylvania to acquiring his training license at Penn National as a hobby during college. He remembers mucking 40 stalls every morning before heading off to class!

Wycoff and his wife met through horse racing 44 years ago, and Debra is still riding today.

“My wife loves the jumpers, and still shows her amateur jumpers,” Wycoff said, referring to a division in which the height of the jumps is up to 1.3 meters, or approximately 4 feet, three inches. “It does make me nervous, certainly, but after 40 years of marriage, what you want as a husband is your wife to have a smile on her face.”

A managing partner of the Philadelphia-based private equity firm Patriot Financial Partners, Wycoff decided to get back into horse racing in the early 2000s, once he and Debra's children were old enough. 

The couple ramped up their participation around 2010 when they were first introduced to Maker.

“We wanted to compete, to win, and in studying the business, we realized that we were not in a position then or now to buy very expensive, well-bred dirt yearlings and 2-year-olds,” Wycoff explained.  “We love turf racing because it's typically very close, so we concentrated on a part of the business where people didn't want to be. A lot of thought has to go into the horses you buy and where you race them, and we had to find trainers who could train two-turn turf horses. 

“It was apparent to us six years ago, when we claimed Bigger Picture, that horses that were middle level claiming horses at 1 1/16 miles could be stakes horses at 1 ¼, 1 ½ miles, if they were bred appropriately. According to my bloodstock advisers, I've unfortunately now made that obvious to everyone else!”

The Wycoffs and Maker have had significant success claiming horses and turning them into stakes competitors. Bigger Picture is at the top of that list: a $32,000 claim in November of 2015, he went on to win the G3 Red Smith in 2016, and the G3 John B. Connally Turf Cup and G1 United Nations in 2017.

Other claimers-turned-graded-stakes-competitors for the Wycoffs include Gianna's Dream and Roman Approval. 

The Wycoffs have also found success with purchases from the sales rings including: G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Fire At Will, G1 winner Next Question, multiple G3 winner Field Pass, and G2 winner Hembree.

One of the benefits of having turf horses that run long, Wycoff explained, is being able to have sound horses into their 6- and 7-year-old seasons who often go on to have successful second careers. While his son Jordan particularly enjoys the racing aspect of the family business, Wycoff's eldest daughter prefers the aftercare side, and now has a four-stall barn of her own in Chester County.

Bringing the Wycoffs full circle is the fact that they just closed on a horse farm of their own in Lexington, Ky. It's a combination show jumping/Thoroughbred facility just a few miles away from the Kentucky Horse Park, and it's the first farm the couple has owned in over 40 years.

“Today the fence man sent me the bill to repair the fencing,” Wycoff quipped. “You know, whatever you plan for, it might not be what's next, but there's always something to be grateful for.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Wycoff’s Three Diamonds Farm Runners Find Their Niche On Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Ouzts now sits at 7,200 career victories, sixth on the all-time list and first among active riders.

No one has followed Ouzts' career closer than John Engelhardt, a writer, photographer, host of the Winning Ponies podcast and former publicist at River Downs, the Cincinnati track where Arkansas native Ouzts rode for so many years. (Belterra racetrack and casino was built where the old River Downs was located.)

Engelhardt joins publisher Ray Paulick (a 67-year-old who will not be doing any horseback riding) and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth (who got to know Ouzts when she was working at defunct Beulah Park) to share stories and answer some questions about the riding legend who was the subject of the Hennegan Brothers' Eclipse Award-winning documentary, “Ironman Perry Ouzts,”

Ray and Chelsea also review last weekend's Connaught Cup and the winner, Avie's Flatter, who earned Woodbine Star of the Week honors.

Watch this week's show, presented by Monmouth Park, below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Monmouth Park: Perry Ouzts. Ageless Wonder appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“You have to train the horses that you have and you try to do the best you can for the owners that you have,” Ryerson said of the in-between years. “Then at times a nice one comes along, I think we have an idea of what to do with them when we get them. But if you should ever think that it's a given to always have nice horses in the barn, you're in the wrong business!”

With the filly now pointing to the Grade 1 Personal Ensign near the end of the Saratoga meet, 68-year-old Ryerson is remembering to savor the experience along the way.

The trainer had to take his time developing Miss Marissa for owner Alfonso Cammarota, to whom Ryerson was recommended by Frank and Patricia Generazio three years ago. A New York-bred daughter of He's Had Enough, Miss Marissa needed four starts to break her maiden as a 2-year-old, then the pandemic last year caused major interruptions in the first half of her 3-year-old season.

Miss Marissa really started to put it all together last July, winning an allowance race at Ryerson's old stomping grounds of Monmouth Park to kick off a three-race win streak that culminated in the G2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico in October.

“That all followed stretching her out to two turns, which really helped her,” Ryerson explained. “She then ran a pretty good second in the Ladies (Handicap) in January, got beat by a filly of Todd (Pletcher's), and I didn't think the track was to her liking at all that day. We had made up our minds to give her a break after that, and she's come back very well.”

After a five-month layoff, Miss Marissa ran second to Dream Marie in the listed Obeah Stakes at Delaware on June 9, then stepped up to capture the G2 Delaware 'Cap a month later by 1 ¼ lengths.

“You like to see a filly progress from three to four – she's gonna have to run faster and all – and I think you can see signs that she's doing that,” said Ryerson. “You have Letruska, Swiss Skydiver, some other fillies that ran a good bit faster than her last year, but she's narrowed the gap. I think she has controlling speed, she's not one-dimensional where she has to have the lead, but she can carry her speed and there aren't a lot out there that have done that.”

Miss Marissa wins the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park.

He acknowledges that the Personal Ensign will be a big step up in class, but Ryerson thinks Miss Marissa is capable of continuing to progress in what will be her third start off the layoff.

“We're stabled here (at Saratoga) and she won here last year, so that goes into it,” the trainer explained. “I think her effort in the Delaware Handicap puts us there. It's a pretty big jump but I think it's time to try and make it, and we've got about six weeks to get ready for that.”

The Personal Ensign is a “Win and You're In” race which offers the winner an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Distaff this fall at Del Mar. 

Should Miss Marissa earn a trip to the West Coast, it won't be Ryerson's first experience at the Breeders' Cup. He saddled the winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 1995: Unbridled's Song.

Later a champion sire, Unbridled's Song also won the 1996 Florida Derby and Wood Memorial before a well-publicized foot issue leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The colt wound up finishing fifth in the Run for the Roses.

Ryerson also had multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Park Avenue Ball run in his hometown's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Monmouth Park. in 2007.

“I haven't had too many opportunities in the Breeders' Cup, but this filly, looking at her going into this year, I think if she can win a couple this year, she can get herself in that discussion,” Ryerson said of Miss Marissa.

No matter how this season pans out, Ryerson has come a long way from the 15-year-old kid who walked onto the Monmouth backstretch looking for a summer job. He became a well-known figure on the New Jersey circuit for several decades, but made the decision to move his stable to New York full time about 10 years ago.

“I was looking for a place that I could continue doing what I love doing; because of the lost dates in New Jersey, there were a lot of opportunities lost in the state,” said Ryerson. “My wife and all my kids still live in Monmouth County, along with all our grandchildren, so it wasn't an easy decision to make. 

“My wife understands, but she stays there while I work in New York because it keeps her happy, and I then try to be the grandfather I want to be. You try to make the time. It's not as much as I would like, of course, because it's hard sometimes, but it's doable.”

With 17 horses at Saratoga and another 13 at Belmont, Ryerson said he definitely still enjoys coming to work every morning.

“I know that I'm not getting any younger, but I love doing it and I think that I can offer clients a good option as a horse trainer. I'm probably as busy now, even though I don't have a huge outfit, compared to five years ago, 10 years ago, so I think it's been a good move (to New York).”

Besides, you just never know when the next good horse will walk into your barn.

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In this week's edition of the Friday Show, publisher Ray Paulick, news editor Chelsea Hackbarth and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills touch on those inductees and look ahead to the list of potential candidates for the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot – and Ray has a meltdown over one 2021 candidate who did not get enough votes for induction.

In his weekly Toast to Vino Rosso, Joe introduces us to another first-crop foal sired by Spendthrift Farm's Breeders' Cup Classic-winning son of Curlin. Finally, the team congratulates the ageless John Velazquez in our Star of the Week segment for his victories in the Kentucky Oaks and Derby and his ongoing commitment to his fellow riders through his work with the Jockeys' Guild and as a newly appointed member of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's standing committee on racetrack safety.

Watch this week's Friday Show below.

The post The Friday Show: Hall Of Fame Slam Dunks … And One Notable Miss appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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