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Longines WRA Ceremony to Be Virtual

The 2020 Longines World Racing Awards ceremony will be held in a virtual format on Jan. 26 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Organised by Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), the event will celebrate the Longines World’s Best Racehorse, the Longines World’s Best Horse Race and the Longines World’s Best Jockey of the 2020 season. The ceremony will be released on multiple digital platforms including the social media accounts of Longines and the IFHA.

The Longines WBRR are established by international handicappers according to the performance of the horses in the top races and the highest rated race is determined by averaging the rankings of the first four placed horses. Previously, it was announced that the 2020 Longines World’s Best Jockey is Frankie Dettori. To view the full list and for more information on the Longines World’s Beset Racehorse Rankings, please visit www.ifhaonline.org.

“We are glad to celebrate once again the Best of the Best in horseracing,” commented Longines Vice President Marketing, Matthieu Baumgartner. “With this first digital edition, we encourage racing fans from all over the world to interact and post their contents using the hashtag #LonginesWorldRacingAwards.”

“We hope everyone will enjoy the behind-the-scenes moments this virtual ceremony allows us to present,” said IFHA Chairman Louis Romanet. “We are looking forward to celebrating the accomplishments of our honourees in this interactive format.”

The post Longines WRA Ceremony to Be Virtual appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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2020 E2SE Course Graduates at The National Stud

The 2020 TBA Entry to Stud Employment graduation ceremony took place via live stream from the Joan Westbrook Lecture Theatre on Dec. 18. The TBA Education and Employment Committee Chairman Sam Bullard presented the certificates, with the award for the Most Outstanding Student given to Sam Malone, 24, from York. Malone will join the team at Cheveley Park Stud for his placement in the new year. All graduates completed the nine-week training phase with certificates in the Principles of Horse Care, Transporting Horses and Manual Handling. They will next complete their Level 2 Diploma whilst on work placements in the new year.

Fully funded by the Thoroughbred Breeders Association and the Racing Foundation, the E2SE course started in 2018 and provides practical work-based training for individuals who wish to pursue a career in the Thoroughbred industry, but are lacking relevant experience. Once the course is completed, students who have achieved the required standard will have an interview for a minimum six to nine months paid position at a UK Thoroughbred stud farm.

“As we all know it has been a difficult year and so we are especially proud of these students and all they have achieved in nine short weeks,” said Fiona Dowling, Education Manager. “The majority had never worked with horses before coming to The National Stud and the level of improvement is just incredible. We are very excited to follow their careers and see them make a valuable contribution to the industry in the future.”

The post 2020 E2SE Course Graduates at The National Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Charles Town Sets Annual Wagering Record For Sixth Straight Year

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races concluded its live racing season this past Saturday night with an all-sources handle approaching $2 million, and despite an atypical year that saw multiple temporary closures due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the track was able to once again establish a new annual record for wagering volume per race – the sixth consecutive year it has done so.

The $231,518 bet per race at Charles Town in 2020 easily ran past the previous record high of $156,311 set in 2019 by more than 48 percent while handle per starter jumped more than 43 percent.

In addition to the year-over-year gains, Charles Town nearly tripled its wagering volume per race versus where it stood in 2009 when an average of $80,980 was run through the windows each race. The 2020 levels represent a 185 percent increase over where the track stood just a decade earlier. In fact, the difference is so great that racing at Charles Town in 2020 produced 50 percent more in gross pari-mutuel handle than 2009 despite the track conducting 100 fewer race days.

“2020 was obviously challenging for everyone but the job our whole team did in helping us not only return from a shutdown earlier in the year but allowing us to achieve business volumes for racing that are unprecedented in our history has been remarkable,” said Vice President of Racing and Sports Operations Erich Zimny. “We're also grateful for our fans and horseplayers who continue to support our product, our industry partners that have been critical to our success and the Charles Town HBPA which was very cooperative in a year that was as challenging for the local horsemen anyone.”

When a temporary shutdown of live racing forced the April cancellation of Charles Town's marquee event – the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic – 2020 saw another first as both of Charles Town's graded stakes were run on the same card for the first time. Rescheduled for the last weekend in August, local hero Runnin'toluvya tried to defend his title in the Classic having become the first West Virginia-bred to win the contest just a year earlier. The popular gelding by West Virginia stallion Fiber Sonde finished a credible third but nobody in the field of 10 older horses was catching the eventual winner as Thumbs Up Racing's Sleepy Eyes Todd powered home to a 7 1/2 length triumph over longshot runner-up Plus Que Parfait. Trained by Miguel Silva and ridden by local rider Carlos Delgado, Sleepy Eyes Todd has since come back to win the Lafayette at Keeneland on the Breeders' Cup undercard and the Mr. Prospector (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The 2020 Charles Town Oaks (G3) saw a front running 9-1 upset by Joseph Besecker's Fly on Angel who held off G1 winner Wicked Whisper by a diminishing half-length on the wire under jockey Fredy Peltroche. In winning the Charles Town Oaks, Peltroche joined Javier Castellano as one of only two riders to have captured multiple graded stakes at Charles Town having won the Oaks two years prior aboard West Virginia-bred Late Night Pow Wow.

The $5,603,606 wagered on the 2020 Charles Town Classic card fell just over $100,000 short of the mark for the largest single-card handle in track history, established in 2019.

West Virginia Breeders' Classics XXXIV took place on Oct. 10 and the late running Awsome Faith notched a 37-1 surprise in the featured $150,000 West Virginia Breeders' Classic, besting fellow longshot Buff's Eye View by a half-length. In the richest race for fillies and mares on the Breeders' Classics card, odds-on favorite Bridging the Gap controlled the field from the start, drawing off to a 6 1/4 length score.

The $3,371,681 bet on the West Virginia Breeders' Classics XXXIV program established a new record for the event.

For the third time in his career, Arnaldo Bocachica topped the annual jockey standing at Charles Town in both wins and earnings. Winning at a 30 percent rate in 2020, Bocachica's 160 winners from 541 starts allowed him to bank $ $2,771,238 in earnings over the course of the year. Gerald Almodovar's 75 victories were enough to claim him the runner-up spot on the list with Christian Hiraldo, Reshawn Latchman and Denis Arujo rounding out the top five.

For the fifteenth consecutive year, Jeff Runco took the top spot in the trainer standings by saddling 93 winners at Charles Town – 25 more than runner-up Ronney Brown. Charles Town's perennial top two conditioners were well clear of Anthony Farrior, who found the winners circle at Charles Town 46 times in 2020. Runco's 424 starters produced $2,114,150 in earnings, allowing him to also take the earnings title as one of only three trainers to hit the seven-figure mark in winnings, joining Brown and John McKee.

Currently, there are 174 live days scheduled at Charles Town for 2021 with the track's two graded stakes – the $800,000 Charles Town Classic (G2) and $400,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3) – both scheduled for Aug. 27. State-breds will take center stage on Oct. 9 as Charles Town will host the 35th renewal of the West Virginia Breeders' Classics.

Charles Town's 2021 racing season kicks off on Wednesday, Jan. 8, with post time for the first race scheduled for 7:00pm EST.

The post Charles Town Sets Annual Wagering Record For Sixth Straight Year appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Flood Of Northern California Horses Swells Fields, Boosts Wagering During Los Alamitos Meet

Large fields, a record Pick 6 pool and payoff, and a fourth consecutive sweep of the Grade 1 Starlet and Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert were among the highlights of the 11-day Los Angeles County Fair Winter Thoroughbred meet, which concluded Sunday at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.

Buoyed by an influx of more than 200 horses from Northern California – due to the current suspension of racing at Golden Gate Fields – the average field size for the season was nearly nine runners per race, compared to 6.97 for the 2019 Winter meet. There were 854 participants in 98 races during the season.

This led to a sizable boost in terms of business. The average daily handle on races run at Los Alamitos was up 36% over 2019 and average daily handle increased 20% on a comparable basis to last year's Winter season.

“This meet was an unprecedented one,'' said F. Jack Liebau, vice president of the Los Alamitos Racing Association. “In the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases in California and elsewhere, racing was conducted safely thanks to the excellent compliance by all participants with the preventative measures in place.

“As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak at Golden Gate Fields, trainers and caregivers were not permitted to accompany their horses to Southern California. Los Alamitos management and the connections of those horses from Northern California are indebted to the local trainers who stepped up and assumed the training and care of those thoroughbreds.

“Without their help, the meet would not have been as successful and the owners of the shippers from Northern California wouldn't have had the opportunity to race.

“The Southern California Off-Site Stabling and Vanning Fund also helped mitigate this situation by covering the costs of transporting horses from Golden Gate to Southern California. The efforts of many contributed to how well things went during these three weeks.''

A five-day Pick 6 carryover led to a record total Pick 6 pool – and payoff – Dec. 18. Chasing a carryover that had swelled to $423,178, bettors wagered $1,809,485 for a total pool of $2,232,663. The previous record of $1,558,329 was set Dec. 17, 2016.

There were six perfect tickets two days ago and each was worth $228,816, bettering the previous best of $110,732 Dec. 12, 2014.

Baffert's latest successes in the Starlet and Los Alamitos Futurity were provided by, respectively, 17-1 shot Varda and 19-10 second choice Spielberg. The nose victory by Spielberg over 33-1 shot The Great One was Baffert's seventh in a row in the Futurity and his 13th overall. He won it six times at Hollywood Park between 1997-2013.

The meet's other graded stakes – the Grade 3, $100,000 Bayakoa – was captured by Proud Emma for trainer Peter Miller and owners Gem Inc. and Tom Kagele.

The two other stakes were for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California. Sensible Cat won the $100,000 Soviet Problem for Irvin Racing Stable and trainer Carla Gaines while 13-1 shot Play Chicken won the $100,000 King Glorious for owner-breeder J. Paul Reddam's Reddam Racing LLC and trainer Doug O'Neill.

Baffert, O'Neill and Jonathan Wong shared the training title with five victories.

Baffert had the most wins (nine) for the year at Los Alamitos, combining the Winter meet with the Summer Thoroughbred Festival (June 27-July 5). O'Neill was second with eight and Steve Miyadi third with seven.

A closing day triple enabled Abel Cedillo to win the jockey title. He finished with 13 victories, one more than Juan Hernandez and two more than apprentice Jessica Pyfer.

For the year at Los Alamitos, Hernandez finished with 16 wins, one more than Cedillo. Edwin Maldonado was third with 13.

Daytime thoroughbred racing will return to Los Alamitos in 2021. The first of three meets is scheduled to begin Thursday, June 24 and continue through Sunday, July 4, followed by the Los Angeles County Fair season (Sept. 10-26) and the Winter meet (Dec. 2-12).

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