Rubinstein to Receive TOC Award

Josh Rubinstein has been selected by the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) as recipient of the 2021 Ed Friendly Industry Service Award. The award is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions and service in the Thoroughbred racing industry. Originally known as the TOC Chairman's Award, it was renamed for the television producer, Thoroughbred owner and TOC founding member following his death in 2007. Among former awardees are some of the most prominent names in Southern California racing, including Mace Siegel, John Harris, Bob and Beverly Lewis, Jerry and Ann Moss, and Clement Hirsch.

Rubinstein is President and Chief Operating Officer of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC), a position he has held since 2018. He has been with DMTC for 35 years and has held positions in communications, sales and marketing before being named Executive Vice President in 2013. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA), the California Thoroughbred Horsemen's Foundation (CTHF) and Southern California Off-Track Wagering Inc. (SCOTWINC).

Rubinstein will be recognized at TOC's Southern California Annual Meeting at Del Mar Aug. 13.

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Horses Of All Ages On Offer At Newtown Paddocks Monday

Fasig-Tipton will offer racehorses during their traditional July time slot for the 10th straight year Monday, but with an added twist. After adding a broodmare portion to last year's auction, most of which was a dispersal, the sales company has decided to incorporate breeding stock again this year and has therefore renamed the auction the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of All Ages Sale.

“Last year with the dispersal, it kind of sparked the concept,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “And you know, we had some people this year who reached out to us and said they'd like to try it again. You know, I think what we're seeing in the world that we live in is people are looking for trading opportunities and looking for liquidity options. There's a time and a place and often times circumstances change for every owner or particular consigner. It just creates an opportunity in the marketplace for a person to sell their horse and those horses were well received last year. I think that's why we've got another group this year.”

There are 216 horses catalogued to Monday's sale, 27 of which were late supplements added last week. There are several black-type winners on offer including graded stakes winners Newgrange (Violence), Ete Indian (Summer Front), Enforceable (Tapit), Easy Time (Not This Time) and Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro).

“The composition of a racehorse sale changes from year to year, but there are certainly a lot of attractive offerings as you go through the catalog or go online and evaluate,” said Browning. “The great thing about the horses of race age sale is that there are horses that fit in every circuit that's racing, both in the United States and internationally. So if you're looking for a horse that might be able to run a starter, we've got some of those. If you are looking for potential candidates for Grade I races or graded stakes races down the road, or even in the near future, we've got some of those too. It's a great composition in terms of variety of offerings and it continues to gain more and more momentum every year that we have the sale and more acceptance.”

The timing of the sale is key, just days before the start of two prestigious and very popular meets, Saratoga and Del Mar. With the big purses offered at this meets creating increased demand and the strong markets at the juvenile and breeding stock sales earlier this year, Browning said he expects the momentum to carry right into the July auctions.

“Racing is pretty good right now,” Browning said. “Purses are very, very strong on several of the key circuits. People seem to be generally enthusiastic about buying racehorses and racing prospects. So we think, hopefully, the positive momentum that we've seen in the last 18 months will continue.”

The July sale has had some pretty successful graduates, such as last year's second highest-priced horse Stilleto Boy (Shackleford), who brought $420,000 and has placed in four Grade Is and won the GII Californian S. for his new owners. The sale has also produced the likes of GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint winner Wavell Avenue (Harlington) and GIII Westchester S. winner Nicodemus (Candy Ride {Arg}).

Bidding begins at 3 p.m. Monday at Newtown Paddocks and will be followed by the Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale Tuesday.

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Report: Geroux Heading to Del Mar This Summer

Florent Geroux, who currently sits seventh in the national earnings rankings for jockeys in 2022, will ride in California full-time for the first time this summer at Del Mar, according to a report in Blood-Horse. Geroux, perennially one of the leading rider in Kentucky in the spring and fall, used to spend summers in Saratoga, but had moved his tack to Ellis the past few years.

Geroux's agent, Doug Bredar, told Blood-Horse his client will ride for “almost everybody at the top of the standings” at Del Mar and that the move could serve as a trial run for Geroux to move to California for the long run.

“This is short-term for the moment,” Bredar said. “We just wanted to test the waters. We've had a lot of people, a lot of horsemen out there have asked us to go in the past. We feel that now is the right time.”

The California jockey standings, dominated by Flavien Prat for the better part of the past six years, suddenly have an opening at the top after Prat decided to move his tack to New York full-time in a quest to win his first Eclipse Award. The move has paid off for Prat, who is winning at 21% at the Belmont Park meet and has surged to second nationally in earnings, behind only Irad Ortiz, Jr. The current leading rider in California, Juan Hernandez, is 10th in the country in earnings.

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HKJC Executive, New TOC President Bill Nader Joins Writers’ Room

As a well-respected industry veteran of several decades coming off an immensely successful run as an executive with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Bill Nader could likely write his own ticket for most jobs in the industry. It was recently announced that after 15 years in Hong Kong, Nader would be coming home to America and become the new president and CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Tuesday, Nader joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about why he left Hong Kong for the TOC, his analysis of the current state of California racing, what lessons can be taken for America from the growth of Hong Kong racing and more.

“I was coming back anyway and had made the decision to leave at some point this year,” Nader said of returning home. “We've been pretty much locked down [in Hong Kong] for the last three years, so I haven't been back [to America] for three years. My family used to come visit from time to time, but they haven't been able to do that. So I was ready to wrap it up and head home. Then this opportunity presented itself and through the process of getting to know the board at the TOC, I became very comfortable with their commitment and dedication. I'm certainly not a California guy, but I'm very familiar with the rich history of racing in California. Even now with a horse like Flightline who may be the world number one when the rankings come out next month, and you think of horses like Arrogate, Zenyatta, California Chrome, Best Pal, going all the way back to Seabiscuit, it's a rich, rich, rich history. You have some of the world's most beautiful racetracks, great weather, so there's so much to build on there. I'm excited for the opportunity.”

Nader was later asked what has made Hong Kong racing so successful under his tenure, during which annual handle more than doubled from HK$60 billion to HK$133 billion, and whether the formula behind that success can be translated to American racing.

“I think it comes down to quality control, number one,” he said. “The two segments you really want to make sure you take care of are horse owners and horseplayers. If you get those two things right, then the foundation is solid. We've made tremendous investments in increasing purse money and handle. When you look at what makes racing attractive to the horseplayer, it's good field sizes, quality racing, great liquidity, and integrity. On integrity, have our own racing lab, one of the world's best racing labs, at Sha Tin. Our racing stewards are very good and vigilant in protecting not only the integrity of the sport but the integrity of the wager. There's also vertical integration here within the Hong Kong Jockey Club framework, where everything is under our roof. So we're not only the operator, we're the regulator, we do our own food and beverage, we do own our show, we do our own broadcasting. The people who work here in the key positions are among the best in the world. So everything structurally is in a great spot.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers discussed what to do about a redundant national stakes schedule, analyzed NYRA's suspension of Bob Baffert and previewed a busy holiday weekend of racing. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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