coronavirus | Horse Racing Free Tips

Racing at Lone Star to Resume July 19

Racing at Lone Star Park, which was suspended July 5 after an employee in racing operations tested positive for COVID-19, will resume this Sunday, July 19, with strict protocols in place, according to the track’s Twitter feed. The protocols provide for live attendance, but fans will be required to wear facemasks, follow social distancing rules and will be subjected to temperature screening.

Sunday’s nominal feature is a first-level allowance for main-track sprinters and the track has drawn programs through July 22. The Wednesday program, which begins at 1:35 CT, is highlighted by four Texas-bred/Texas-stallion stakes races that were to be contested during the supension.

According to a post on the Texas Thoroughbred Association Twitter feed, purses at Lone Star are being raised by 18% beginning this weekend, though none of the purses for the races drawn through the coming week reflects the hike. The post also indicates that two additional race dates have been added, Aug. 5 and Aug. 12. The races for those dates will be those that were previously canceled and brought-back book races. Both divisions of the $100,000-estimated Texas Thoroughbred (Sales) Futurity will be run Aug. 11, however the second legs of the Texas Stallion Stakes have been postponed. The TTA said it hopes to conduct those races at Sam Houston Race Park in January.

The post Racing at Lone Star to Resume July 19 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: COVID-19 And Positive Drug Tests

It's been a busy news week in horse racing. COVID-19 continues to disrupt the racing business, most recently with the cancellation of this weekend's racing at Del Mar. How might a second wave of coronavirus cases impact the racing business as a whole?

Also this week, Arkansas officials announced the disqualification of Bob Baffert trainees Charlatan from the G1 Arkansas Derby and Gamine from an allowance race at Oaklawn Park due to lidocaine overages. Baffert has also been handed a 15-day suspension. Baffert asserts those tests were the result of the horses' exposure to a Salonpas patch used by an employee. That raises the question — should the means of exposure to a substance factor in to a commission or steward's decision when disqualifying a horse?

Ray Paulick and Natalie Voss sit down to discuss these questions in this week's edition of The Friday Show. Watch below and share your thoughts.

The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: COVID-19 And Positive Drug Tests appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Laurel’s Leading Rider Sheldon Russell Out Four To Six Weeks With Broken Wrist

Jockey Sheldon Russell, the leading rider at Laurel Park's current summer meet, will miss at least two months with a broken right wrist suffered in a gate mishap Thursday at Delaware Park.

Agent Marty Leonard said the 32-year-old Russell was hurt after being unseated by his mount Maliceinthepalace, a 3-year-old filly trained by Michael Gorham, as the horses were loading for Delaware's third race. Maliceinthepalace would go on to run fourth under Alex Cintron.

“Walking into the gate the horse just reared up and he came off. When he came off, he landed on the ground and used his hand to brace his fall and that's what did it,” Leonard said. “The second he hit the ground he said he knew it was broken. They went and got X-rays and that confirmed it.

Leonard said Russell, married to Laurel-based trainer Brittany Russell, is expected to be out “four to six weeks.”

“You never expect that to happen,” Leonard said.

Sheldon Russell led Laurel's summer meet, which began May 30 following a 2 ½-month pause in live racing amid the coronavirus pandemic, with 20 wins and $568,391 in purse earnings, five wins ahead of runner-up Trevor McCarthy.

Russell had five multi-win days during the summer stand, including hat tricks June 6, 8 and 12. He is the regular rider for multiple stakes-winning 3-year-old filly Hello Beautiful, under consideration for the Test (G1) Aug. 8 at Saratoga and trained by his wife.

A winner of 1,392 career races, Russell ranked second in Maryland with 93 wins and $3.3 million in purses earned in 2019. The state's leading rider in 2011, he is a seven-time meet champion owning five titles at Laurel and two at Pimlico Race Course between 2008 and 2015.

Though he has been ridden at full health since the spring of 2017, Russell's career has been beset by injuries. He suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb in 2016; torn labrum and fractured shoulder in a November 2015 training accident; broken ribs (2015, 2010), punctured lung (2015), broken foot (2013), broken wrist (2008) and fractured vertebrae (2007, 2008).

“Unfortunately, he's gone through this before. It's never, 'why me' with him. I don't know how he does it, but he takes it well. He takes it in stride. I'm sure he's disappointed, but he's a true professional. He's just going to get healthy and get back to riding again. That's what he does,” Leonard said. “He's a great person.”

Laurel's summer meet, which had been racing Fridays and Saturdays since May 30, will move to a three-day schedule starting Thursday, July 23. Racing will be conducted Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Saturday, Aug. 22.

The post Laurel’s Leading Rider Sheldon Russell Out Four To Six Weeks With Broken Wrist appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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AIM Services Holds Saratoga Fundraiser

Ramon Dominguez will serve as the honorary committee chairman for AIM Services’ annual Saratoga fundraiser, held in town from July 26-Aug. 2. AIM is the area’s largest provider of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and its re-imagined annual fundraiser will be a door-to-door downtown event called “Croquet OFF the Green,” aimed to bring foot traffic to recently re-opened Saratoga retail shops and restaurants while raising awareness and funds for AIM Services.

The event also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act which coincides with the launch date. All activities are being conducted according to the NY-Forward COVID-19 recommendations.

AIM is seeking croquet “players,” honorary committee members ($100 donation), and sponsors for the event.

“Among the people who receive quality innovative services from AIM are those with traumatic brain injuries,” said Dominquez, a Saratoga Springs resident. “As a jockey who had to retire early due to a head injury, I am just one of 54 million people annually who experience a traumatic brain injury. AIM gives people with TBIs a chance at living the most independent life possible.”

Anyone over 18 years of age can register to be an AIM Services Croquet OFF the Green player. Thirty participating Saratoga businesses will have croquet wickets on display on their entrance door or front display windows. Inside they will have scorecards and stamps to mark that you visited their store. Patronage at a store with a wicket counts as a croquet score. Every stamp gives the player an entry into the grand prize drawing. There is no limit to the number of stamps a player can receive.

“We knew that the event had to be drastically different this year and we are thrilled with the positive response we have received from Saratoga business owners and the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce,” said Chris Lyons, Executive Director of AIM Services, Inc. “We hope that as the players go from store to store to complete their wickets, they support each store and also take the opportunity to support AIM.”

“We have all had to figure out a new normal as we go about our lives in the shadow of this pandemic, and a large part of that is rethinking how we can support the community around us,” said Stacy De Garay, sales Manager at Savory Pantry in Saratoga Springs. “AIM Services has always provided invaluable resources to people of diverse abilities in Saratoga and the surrounding counties, so it is important that we continue to help out with their fundraising efforts, as different as they may be this year.”

The grand prize drawing will include chances to win an overnight package in Saratoga Springs, private boat rental on Saratoga Lake, retail and dining gift certificates, a Lake George Holiday Inn Resort stay with two cruise passes from the Lake George Steamboat Co., a custom corn-hole kit and various retail and dinner gift certificates.

The post AIM Services Holds Saratoga Fundraiser appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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