Letter To The Editor: John Good

An open letter to Ben Huffman, Chris Polzin, Dan Bork, and Tyler Picklesimer, racing secretaries at CD & KEE, IND, ELP and KD, respectively–

The Thoroughbred racing industry continues to demonstrate its willingness to embrace technology, innovation and transparency for the long-term good of the sport. Our recent flagship events and race meets have been a credit to the sport– a phenomenal product showcasing the equine and human stars and stories, and generating record handle. There is national TV exposure that we could have once only dreamed of. History will look kindly on those who had the resolve to pursue HISA, and 2022 promises to usher in a new era that will finally standardize regulations and practices within the sport. The much-needed increase in purse money in Kentucky and elsewhere has helped create a more viable environment for owners and trainers, and is finally offsetting years of stagnation in purses, while the costs of raising and training Thoroughbreds appreciated unabated.

Moments like these can also be opportunities to re-evaluate business models and think outside the box. A bold proposal would be to double the claiming price of every race when the condition books are written for Keeneland, Churchill and Indiana Grand next spring. With the current purse structure, the horses should be worth more. The horses are worth more. This explains the absolute claiming frenzy of today–sometimes dozens of claims in for a single horse–resulting in millions of dollars each racing week going unspent. This presents an opportunity to impact the economic outlook of buying at the yearling and 2-year-old-in-training sales. Of course, anytime you buy an unraced youngster at an auction, you're trying to buy a classic contender, and the dream is always alive until proven otherwise. But if an increase in claiming prices, one that appreciated in tandem with increased purses (double), supported the idea that “my thirty-grand claimer would now be a sixty-grand claimer”, that would have a dramatic effect on the mentality of buyers at auction, serving as an incentive to have more would-be claiming owners participate in auctions. It would be the ultimate shot in the arm for that precarious “middle market,” and could impact the economics of breeding and raising Thoroughbreds for a generation to come.

How to implement? The condition could read something like: Claiming Price $50,000. For horses that have not started for more than $25,000 in their last 2 starts (races where entered in Kentucky or Indiana since April 8, 2022 not considered). This would imply that once the horse had started twice under the new structure, the connections would be free to enter for any price. Upper-echelon claimers could be raised by a declining percentage scale if deemed appropriate. If this continued through the fall, it would achieve a significant rebalancing of value in the Thoroughbreds racing in Kentucky and Indiana, and galvanize other circuits to reciprocate.

As a fringe benefit, we'd also achieve a more palatable ratio of equine value to available purse money, removing a potential focal point from those who will use any hint of prosperity within the sport as propaganda to further their cause of seeking the demise of the whole industry.

If we don't do it now, when do we do it? When does the baseline value of the horse, so easily definable once he is racing, appreciate in value to reflect his earning potential? Is a $30,000 horse still a $30,000 horse in 2045, as he was in 1997? If so, how does the early development of these Thoroughbreds remain feasible, given the inflation experienced with the associated costs?

John Good is a former trainer on the Kentucky circuit, who served prior to that as a longtime assistant to Bob Baffert and also worked under legendary Irish trainer Dermot Weld. Good transitioned away from Thoroughbreds in 2015, but remains an avid fan of racing

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Ellis Park Adds Stakes Race

Officials at Ellis Park have announced the creation of the Tri-State S., an overnight stakes worth $60,000 for males 3-year-olds and upward at the distance of one mile over the main track. The race will be carded Aug. 7 and will share the program with a trip of turf stakes as part of the Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend at the Henderson, Kentucky, track.

“This fills a void for older males going long on dirt,” racing secretary Dan Bork said. “We have the Good Lord for sprinters, and the mile distance out of the first-turn chute could attract sprinters stretching out another three-sixteenths of a mile as well as two-turn horses–and, of course, milers. It's the male version of our popular Groupie Doll S. for fillies and mares.”

The Tri-State revives a name used on a stakes that started on dirt and was moved to 1 1/16 miles on turf before being discontinued some years ago. Preview Weekend, which features 5 1/2-furlong, one-mile and 1 1/4-mile races for older males, has filled the niche for male turf horses, along with a new 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby for 3-year-olds.

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Longtime Racing Executive Robert Bork Passes At Age 83

Robert Bork, who made a tremendous impact on the racing industry for over four decades, passed away peacefully at his home in Houston on June 11, at the age of 83.

Bork attended La Salle University in Philadelphia and after graduating, worked as an agent with the Internal Revenue Service. When Thoroughbred racing was legalized in Pennsylvania in 1969, he was hired by the Rooney Family and served as a controller at Philadelphia Park. He became vice president and general manager of Philadelphia Park and general manager of Garden State Park in New Jersey. He followed that as vice president, general manager and chief operating officer of Arlington International in Chicago.

Sam Houston Race Park opened as the first Class 1 racetrack in Texas in 1994. The following year, Bork was hired as its senior vice president and general manager. Under Bork's leadership, the northwest Houston racetrack came into prominence as one of the premier evening tracks in the country. Promoted to president of Sam Houston Race Park in August, 2002, he also held the position as senior vice president and general manager of (greyhound racing) Valley Race Park in Harlingen, Texas.

Supporting national initiatives for the racing industry was also a priority for Bork, who served as director and secretary of the Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA) and chaired its 2020 Technology Committee.

Bork was intrigued by the challenge of developing a racetrack in a new market after working at previously established properties.

“It is an interesting balancing act when you run a racetrack,” he explained. “You want to take care of your fans, because without their support, your business cannot grow. You also have to work closely with the horsemen and try to meet their needs and communicate with them on an ongoing basis. Finally, you have to have a good management team behind you, and we have a solid, dedicated group of professionals working at Sam Houston Race Park.”

Dan Bork, who serves as assistant racing secretary/stakes coordinator at Churchill Downs and racing secretary at Ellis Park, speaks proudly of his father's accomplishments in the racing industry.

“I lost count very early in my career about how many times I was asked if I was Bob Bork's son,” he said. “My dad was known as an industry leader and greatly admired by so many accomplished horsemen and racing executives. It was way more than a job for him; he truly loved the sport of horseracing.”

Dwight Berube, who worked for Bork throughout his Sam Houston Race Park tenure, is now the racetrack's vice president and general manager.

“Bob Bork set a tremendous foundation for the growth of Sam Houston Race Park when he was hired in 1995,” said Berube. “Throughout his 12-year tenure, he was admired by horsemen, horseplayers and employees and initiated many programs that have been emulated by racetracks across the country.”

Bork is survived by his wife of 58 years, Judith Bork; children Dina Ruggerio, Dan Bork and Michael Bork and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Robert Bork Jr; brother William Bork and sisters Janet and Karen.

The family wanted to extend their sincere appreciation to the physicians and healthcare team at M. D. Anderson for their exceptional care and kindness. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center or the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

Funeral arrangements are pending and a Celebration of Life honoring Bork will be held at Sam Houston Race Park in the near future.

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‘Memorable Meet’: Ellis Park Readies For Full Capacity Summer

Ellis Park's 2021 racing season is only five weeks away, with the trickle of horse vans and trailers bringing in the racing stock soon to become a steady stream.

Western Kentucky's annual summer race meet opens Sunday June 27 and closes Saturday Sept. 4, with racing Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays along with Thursday July 1. Ellis Park will operate at full capacity following last year's pandemic-mandated health measures that prevented having general admission and limited reserved seating.

Horses were allowed entry into the Ellis backstretch earlier this month, with daily training commencing May 13.

Stall space is especially coveted this year at Ellis Park. That's because Churchill Downs, which is replacing its turf course, will be closed for its normal summer off-season stabling and training. The Louisville market is a significant source of horses for Ellis Park's race meet, with many Churchill-based horsemen making day trips to Henderson to race during the summer. However, area training centers and Churchill's satellite Trackside training facility will continue as major suppliers of horses for the Ellis racing programs.

Ellis Park can accommodate about 750 horses for stabling, with other stalls reserved for horses shipping in on race day.

“It's a good but challenging problem to have, with demand greatly exceeding supply,” said Jeff Hall, Ellis Park's director of racing operations. “We are agonizing that we can't accommodate everybody. We do know this: That with our record purses and the outfits that will be on the grounds, we're going to have a memorable meet. That's especially true now that we'll be able to be at full capacity for fans after last year's COVID restrictions.”

Among the outfits stabling at Ellis Park for the first time are a pair of Hall of Famers: four-time Kentucky Derby winner D. Wayne Lukas and Bill Mott. While Mott will remain in New York, with his Ellis operation overseen by longtime Kentucky assistant Kenny McCarthy, the legendary Lukas, 85, will be out in the mornings astride his pony at Ellis Park this summer rather than going to Saratoga.

Trainer and lifelong Henderson resident John Hancock said 2021 will be like a trip down memory lane. Hancock grew up on the Ellis Park backstretch with fellow trainers Dale Romans and siblings Greg and Vickie Foley, whose dads were fixtures at the track. Those trainers will have horses stabled in Henderson for the first time in years.

“You've got the Foleys coming back, Hall of Fame trainers, people who have run horses but not been stabled here. It's great for the community,” Hancock said. “The farmers are going to be selling the hay and the straw. The restaurants and motels will be lively. This meet, the new faces that are coming and old faces coming back, it's going to put a lot of money into Henderson County and Vanderburgh County. It's going to be great for everybody.”

For Evansville's Bonnie Pittman, embarking on her sixth season as a trainer at Ellis Park, the opening of the barn area is a welcome annual rite after commuting 1 1/2 hours each way to a southern Illinois training facility for the winter.

“We come in here and the track is ready to go for us,” she said. “It's springtime and everything is popping. Everything will start getting busier in a couple of weeks. We're going to have lots of horses here this summer because of Churchill's closing. The barns will be packed. It will be a wild summer for us. There will be lots of things to do and lots of jobs. A lot of people will rent rooms around here and we all eat out about every day. It will be busy for everybody.”

Those messages of employment and dollars being spent are near and dear to Brad Schneider. The Henderson County Judge Executive this past winter testified before a Kentucky legislative committee on the importance of Ellis Park to his community and the need to preserve Kentucky's racetracks by passing legislation to protect Historical Horse Racing in the state.

Beyond being a civic leader and government official, Schneider just loves going to the races at Ellis Park.

“As a fan of Ellis Park and an admirer of the management team and staff at the track, I am so thankful they'll get to host a live meet without restrictions,” he said. “For our region, there is nothing more thrilling on summer weekends than to hear the call to the post for a race at Ellis. I can't wait to get a plate of Western Kentucky barbecue, a cold beverage and a program, place a bet or two, and watch the horses run!”

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