Sentient Jet Returns as Derby Partner

Sentient Jet is back for a seventh year as a corporate partner of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks and Churchill Downs and the private aviation company will team up with Derby contender Epicenter and Oaks hopeful Echo Zulu. Both horses will wear Sentient Jet branded blankets.

“The Kentucky Derby is tradition at Sentient Jet which is why we are excited to be partnering with Winchell Thoroughbreds once again in supporting Epicenter and Echo Zulu come Oaks and Derby Day. Under the training of Steve Asmussen, we are confident they will give an exciting performance on the racetrack,” says Andrew Collins President and CEO of Sentient Jet.

The fourth annual Derby Day Breakfast for Sentient Jet Card Owners will be hosted by celebrity chef and Sentient Jet ambassador Bobby Flay. In addition to cooking a Southern-inspired, Kentucky-influenced breakfast, Chef Flay will also be sharing his annual Derby Day betting tips via Sentient Jet's social channels www.instagram.com/sentientjet/?hl=en.

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Churchill Announces Ed Brown Society Partnership

Churchill Downs has become an Ed Brown Partner, the organization announced during a press conference with Governor Andy Beshear in attendance Wednesday morning. The Ed Brown Partnership of $50,000 is the highest level of participation in support of the work of the society, which is named in honor of Edward Dudley Brown, who was born into enslavement in Lexington, and went on to become one of the most accomplished horsemen in the history of Thoroughbred racing. The society is dedicated to increasing  minority participation in the industry.

Wednesday's press conference marked the one-year anniversary of Beshear's declaration of Derby Week 2021 as “Ed Brown Society Week.”

“The Ed Brown Society has an incredibly important mission: Providing mentorship to the next generation of African-Americans in the multi-billion-dollar horse racing industry,” Beshear said. “Thank you and congratulations to both of these institutions for moving our commonwealth forward with this innovative partnership.”

“Churchill Downs is committed to strengthening diversity both within our own organization and across the entire industry,” said Cathy Shircliff, Director of Community Relations. “We look forward to deepening our partnership with the Ed Brown Society to further their work to create inclusive opportunities for young people of color in the horse racing industry. This company hopes to be one of the many launch pads to the success of future Ed Brown Scholars.”

Ed Brown Society Chairman Greg Harbut, whose great-grandfather was the world-renowned groom of Man O' War, said, “As a third-generation horseman, and one of the few African American professionals in the industry, I am extremely excited about the work of the Ed Brown Society and I am delighted that Churchill Downs has joined us to advance our mission.”

Also Wednesday, the Ed Brown Society announced the hiring of Executive Director Daryl Love. Love most recently served as the Executive Director of Career Services at Kentucky State University, a role that will be utilized greatly in the placement of Ed Brown Scholars within partner organizations like Churchill Downs.

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From the TIF: The Future of Derby Futures & Modernizing Betting

The speed of legal sports betting's expansion across America in the last four years has surprised even the most bullish advocates. On any given day in a majority of states, Americans can bet on just about any outcome in the world of sports.

The next point in a game of tennis. The total runs in the next inning of a baseball game. The number of corner kicks for a team in a soccer match.

But if you legally wanted to bet on the Kentucky Derby other than the day before or day of the race, you have but a few weekends to place pari-mutuel bets, in limited pools, and through underdeveloped advanced deposit wagering.

Churchill Downs offered five opportunities to bet Derby futures for its 2022 edition, to be run this coming Saturday. Win and exacta pools were available, as well as a bet on the winner's sire and the sires of the exacta finishers. Total handle across all of the Derby-only pools was $1.88 million. An Oaks/Derby double future was offered and handled less than $85,000.

Roll back the clock to 2002 and Derby future betting was just three pools over three weekends with win betting only. Total handle that year was a combined $1.5 million which when adjusted for inflation, equates to about $2.36 million today. Despite additional pools and dates, interest measured by inflation-adjusted handle is down about 20%.

Sports betting is not legal in Kentucky at present, but that would not preclude Churchill Downs from striking future deals with operators in states that permit fixed-odds betting on racing.

The opportunity for the Kentucky Derby and its qualifying series to dominate the landscape in coming years is strong. While pari-mutuel futures on the big race have stagnated, a far more diverse market of fixed-odds opportunities should be within reach.

Click here to read the rest of this piece from the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation.

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Street Sense Filly Tops Todd Dispersal

An unraced 2-year-old filly by Street Sense (hip 1) topped the first phase of the dispersal of the Estate of the late Glen Todd–conducted on Fasig-Tipton's Digital Platform–when selling for $200,000 to NJP Racing. Named Adiva, the dark bay filly is out of Black Diamond Girl (Hard Spun), a half-sister to graded winner Big Truck (Hook and Ladder) and graded placed Logic Way (Freud). She was purchased by Todd's North American Thoroughbred Horse Company for $230,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Adiva has been working up to two furlongs at the Washington-based Pegasus Training Center, which consigned the dispersal horses.

“She was a rock star. She acted like it and trained like it and she sold like one,” said Pegasus Training Center trainer and director of horse operations Mike Puhich. “I am glad she sold for what I thought she was worth. I was kind of afraid, with as little exposure as she might get, that people might not see it, but everybody who saw her in person and saw her online saw that she looks kind of special. She is a very classy filly. One of the nicest that we have broken at the farm.”

NJP Racing also purchased the dispersal's second-highest priced offering, the multiple stakes-winning 5-year-old mare Princess of Cairo (Cairo Prince), for $115,000, as well as the unraced 3-year-old gelding Call Me Fast (Dialed In) for $60,000. All three will be joining Puhich's Kentucky string.

“It's a syndicate group,” Puhich said of NJP Racing. “They are from all over the place–a few of them are from New Zealand–and they are big clients of ours. They are going to our division in Kentucky and will be in my barn at Churchill Downs. It's kind of cool to be able to keep part of Glen's legacy going, too.”

Rounding out the trio of six-figure offerings at the dispersal was Five Star General (Distorted Humor). The 6-year-old, a multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed, was purchased for $110,000 by Kenny Alhadeff's Elttaes Stable.

During week-long bidding conducted online by Fasig-Tipton, 10 horses of racing age, 14 2-year-olds in training and seven yearlings sold without reserve. The group grossed $1,197,500, for an average of $38,629 and a median of $24,000.

“We were absolutely thrilled with the results,” said Puhich. “Fasig-Tipton did an amazing job getting it out there. This digital sale is the wave of the future. It's unbelievable. We had people from all over the country calling with interest and bidding. It was a shocking surprise.”

A longtime owner and breeder and pillar of the British Columbia Thoroughbred industry, Todd passed away Mar. 27.

“It was bittersweet,” Puhich said of the dispersal. “Mr. Todd was a very good friend and one of our best clients. We are very happy for the family that the horses did so well, but on the other side, the circumstances just takes it away.”

A total of 250 registered bidders cast 1,305 bids, with each horse receiving an average of 42 bids.

“We had four open houses for people to make an appointment and come in and we were booked full for four days in a row,” Puhich said of pre-sale interest in the dispersal. “There were a lot of people from Canada and local people, but we had interest and calls from all over the country. The way that Fasig-Tipton outlined it for us and recommended how we do the videos, the platform we were on took it to another level.”

Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales Leif Aaron was also pleased with the results of the dispersal.

“We are very appreciative of Glen Todd's family for entrusting Fasig-Tipton Digital with this piece of their father's legacy,” Aaron said. “We were able to move quickly to get a lot of horses sold in a short amount of time with a very strong result. Mike Puhich of Pegasus Training Center did a great job helping to facilitate the sale. It was a win for all parties.”

Fasig-Tipton is now accepting nominations for its May Digital Selected Sale, which will be open for bidding from May 12 through May 17. Entries close May 8.

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