Deshawn Parker | Horse Racing Free Tips

Horseshoe Indianapolis Jockeys Collect Toys for Charity

In its eighth year, the jockeys at Horseshoe Indianapolis collected 70 toys that will be donated to the Shelby County CASA (Court Appointed State Advocates) for kids displaced in current home situations. “This toy drive is a great thing we do because we are helping a lot of kids who don't have the opportunity to enjoy Christmas every year,” said DeShawn Parker, winner of more than 6,000 career races. “It makes all of us feel good to do something as a group to help out each year.”

In addition to the annual toy drive, throughout the year the jockeys also raise funds for PDJF (Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund) and for HVAF (Hoosier Veterans and Families) Inc. of Indiana. “It's nice to help and I want to help out whenever I can,” added Marcelino Pedroza, Jr., who is a three-time leading jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “Giving back is important to me. It's the way I was raised, and I want to help any way I can. I hope we can brighten the day of a few kids this Christmas.”

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DeShawn Parker Scores 6000th Win

Jockey DeShawn Parker scored his 6000th win aboard For Mama at Horseshoe Indianapolis Tuesday night. Only 20 other jockeys have reached that milestone.

“This means the world to me, and I was riding for my dad, because I couldn't have been here without him,” said Parker, who lost his Dad, Daryl, a longtime steward in the state of Ohio in the spring of 2021 to cancer. “He knew I was getting close to this milestone, but he never said much about any of the milestones. He's the one that kept me calm, and if I was getting worked up over something, I would give him a call and tell him what was going on and he'd calm me down. I miss not being able to do that.”

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Unified Reports Stays Undefeated With Win In Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile

On Monday, trainer Dallas Stewart welcomed his first grandchild into the world, and just a few short days later, Henry Lane Stewart and family watched from afar as Valene Farms' Unified Report would score yet another Louisiana Champions Day win for grandpa.

Sent off as the .70-1 favorite in the $100,000 Juvenile, the sophomore son of Unified, tracked the pace set by the embattled Grunt and Charco through contested fractions of :21.76 and :45.63. Four-wide on the turn for home, he battled briefly with eventual third place finisher Charco mid-stretch before putting that rival away. Unified Report led into the deep stretch, and held safe of the late closing 1.80-1 second choice, the maiden Bron and Brow, stopping the timer in 1:10.55.

“Truly it all goes back to thanking Mr. Murray (owner Valene),” Hernandez said. “Year after year, he just keeps finding these really good Louisiana-breds. I think this is like the third or fourth year in a row we've won one of these 2-year-old (stakes) races. He (Unified Report) looked like he was the best horse in the race and I just did my job, give him the cleanest trip we could. He's a young horse, but he was two for two (coming in) so he's got a little experience behind him. There were for of them in front, so I just let him find his rhythm, I got him in the clear and off he went. What really impressed me today was the way he galloped out. He hit the wire and kind of stepped away from those horses again, so he kind of shows you that he wants to stretch out and go to two turns.”

With the win, Unified Report remained perfect from three starts, increasing his bankroll to $154,720 in the process.

Bron and Brow, who finished third at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., in his career debut, added blinkers for the Juvenile, and after a difficult trip with some traffic trouble, he too stamped himself as a youngster to watch.

“It was a little troubled trip for me,” jockey Deshawn Parker admitted. “He was trying to run and had nowhere to go for a while. So once I came out of the turn, I tried to dig him out. But it was real trouble. Trouble. He's a maiden but he won't be a maiden much longer.”

“We had a horrible trip,” assistant trainer David Carroll added. “He was loaded the whole way, had to check hard off heels, then had to wait for room. He closed fast. To me, he was much the best horse in the race. He's a talented colt and we look forward to running him back. That's racing.”

A longtime supporter of Louisiana racing, Murray Valene was thrilled with his colt's performance.

“We had an undefeated filly (Big Time) win for us on this day last year, and this year it was the colt (Unified Report),” Valene said. “I want to thank Dallas Stewart and his team for doing such a great job. This colt looks like he wants to go longer and he might have the talent to do it successfully.”

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Who Took the Money Rolls In Louisiana Champions Day Turf

Who Took the Money, the Allied Racing Stable homebred, has been a challenge in many ways, but in Saturday's $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La., he may have found his niche.

Off slowly in the field of 11, the 3-year-old gelded son of Street Boss, was far off the early pace set by 1.30-1 favorite Mangelsen through honest early fractions of :23.81, :48.97, and 1:14.15 with the rail 20 feet out on the Stall-Wilson Turf Course, but once jockey Deshawn Parker found clear sailing to the outside, the horse did the rest.

“We wanted to get a little better break, but he didn't break too sharp today,” Parker said. “He was so relaxed on the backside. When I called on him, he gave me an explosion. He gobbled them up so fast. As soon as I got to them, he just rolled by.”

Sent off as the third choice at 3.40-1, Who Took the Money stopped the timer in 1:45.93 for the 1 1/16 miles distance on grass, besting fellow deep closers Budro Talking (13.40-1), also trained by Calhoun) and Treys Midnight Moon by 5 ¾ and 7 ¾ lengths respectively, while the pacesetting Mangelsen faded to third.

Who Took the Money was cross-entered in the Classic, but trainer Bret Calhoun opted to run eventual runner-up Highland Creek there instead.

“We tried him (Who Took the Money) on turf once before and he ran alright,” Calhoun said. “We had two horses that could have gone either way so I had to make a tough decision. Knowing his pedigree, I just thought he would be the right one for the grass. He really showed the kind of turn of foot today that we were wanting to see. We were disappointed a little early on because of the break and we were kind of buried behind traffic. I wasn't optimistic early in the race, but when he (rider Parker) kicked him out. The horse exploded.”

Last year as a 3-year-old, Who Took the Money flipped in the post parade prior to the running of the Crescent City Derby, but won the race anyway as the .50-1 favorite. His behavior hasn't improved all that much since.

“He's not as difficult to train as he is to run,” Calhoun explained. “The antics in the paddock and going to the gate, he'll test you. He's got quite a bit of ability, but he's got some (mental) issues.”

With the win, Who Took the Money boosted his record to 8-5-0-1 with earnings of $217,627.

“At the top of the stretch I was looking at Bret and I didn't think we had a shot, and then boom,” Thomas said. “We really didn't know what to expect. We thought he'd be alright on the turf. Bret made a good call (to run him in this race). Deshawn rode a great race. We're delighted.”

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