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Louis Cella Named To Equibase Management Committee

Louis A. Cella, the president of the Oaklawn Jockey Club, has been appointed to serve on the Management Committee of Equibase Company LLC, it was announced Wednesday by Equibase Company Chairman Ian D. Highet.

In 2017, Cella was named president of Oaklawn, succeeding his late father, Charles J. Cella, and became the third generation of his family to serve on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (TRA). Cella has also been a member of The Jockey Club since 2017 and serves as a director of the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau and on the board of trustees for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Cella fills a board seat being vacated by Daisy Phipps Pulito, racing manager of the Phipps Stable, who joined the Equibase Management Committee as a representative of The Jockey Club in 2016.

“As someone involved in all aspects of Thoroughbred racing, Louis is not only passionate about our sport, but brings a vast knowledge and experience to this committee, and we look forward to his contributions,” Highet said. “Daisy's personal and professional involvement in Thoroughbred breeding and racing, as well as her background in sports and television, provided a valuable perspective to the committee, and we thank her for her service.”

The Equibase Management Committee is composed of members from each of the company's two general partners – The Jockey Club and the TRA. The TRA representatives are Peter Berube, Happy Broadbent, Christopher McErlean, David O'Rourke, Mike Rogers, and Josh Rubinstein. Besides Highet and Cella, The Jockey Club representatives are C. Steven Duncker, James L. Gagliano, Stuart S. Janney III, and Nick Nicholson.

Equibase Company is a partnership between subsidiaries of The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and serves as the Thoroughbred industry's official database. Through its website and mobile applications, Equibase offers a comprehensive array of free statistical information as well as premium handicapping products and reports in support of the North American Thoroughbred racing industry. Additional information is available at equibase.com.

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Remsen: Zandon’s Owner Files Protest Over Foul That ‘Cost The Horse An Inch’

The finish of last Saturday's Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct was decided by nose, with Mo Donegal finishing ahead of Zandon.

According to the Equibase chart notes, second-place finisher Zandon “rallied to the lead in upper stretch, lost the advantage to the winner [Mo Donegal] before the eighth pole, dug in gamely on the inside in the final furlong, had the winner's rider [Irad Ortiz, Jr.] attempt to intimidate him late then bumped approaching the wire and just missed in a determined effort.”

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. was subsequently suspended 30 days for an incident that occurred on Friday at Aqueduct.

After a stewards' inquiry into the finish, the order of finish was confirmed. However, the Daily Racing Form now reports that Zandon's owner Jeff Drown has filed an appeal with the New York State Gaming Commission.

“We're hopeful the Gaming Commission will see there was a rules violation and there should be a review,” Drown's attorney Drew Mollica told DRF. “[Zandon] was beaten an inch. No way in the world the foul that occurred didn't cost the horse an inch.”

According to DRF, two of NYRA's three regular stewards were out of the stand on Saturday. Monmouth steward Stephen Pagano filled in for Commission steward Braulio Baeza, Jr., and retired Commission steward Carmine Donofrio filled in for Jockey Club steward Jen Durenberger.

Equibase Analysis: 12-1 On The Morning Line, Officiating Looks Very Tough In Mr. Prospector Stakes

This Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park drew a field of seven sprinters running seven furlongs in an intriguing race: not one of the group has finished in the top three in a graded stakes in 2021. That being said, three horses enter the race having either won their most recent race or the one just prior to that.

Dennis' Moment is one of the two in the former group, having won at the seven furlong distance in his most recent race and with a previous graded stakes win in his career as he captured the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes in the fall of 2019.
Officiating won at this distance one race before last, the win coming in the non-graded Bear's Den Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Doc Amster won last month at Gulfstream Park at the shorter distance of six furlongs and is trying this seven furlong trip for the first time.
Then there's Endorsed, with the highest career earnings in the field at $455,375. His best effort at this level came when second in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes in June of last year, and he enters the Mr. Prospector Stakes off a fast closing third place effort in his most recent start.
Poppy's Pride won four in a row between September and December of last year but has run poorly in two starts since returning from an eight month layoff in September.
Wind of Change (BRZ) finished fourth in last year's Mr. Prospector and enters this year's race off a runner-up finish two months ago.
Flap Jack rounds out the field, not having won in nine races since June, 2020 and still eligible to run in a second level allowance race.

Main win contenders:

Officiating took seven tries to earn his first win, doing so on turf this past March. Following his maiden win and after missing by a neck in a non-graded stakes race on turf and a mediocre third place effort on dirt, he was privately transferred to the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. Then, after fourth and third place finishes on turf, Officiating was entered in the Bear's Den Stakes, scheduled for turf, but stayed in the race which was moved to dirt due to weather, earning a career best 110 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure and winning authoritatively by three and one-half lengths.

In his most recent race and following the Bear's Den, Officiating tried the Tapeta all-weather surface and two-turns in the Showing Up Stakes last month and ran poorly, demonstrating only he did not like the surface nor the distance. Cutting back to the distance of the Bear's Den while moving back to the surface of that race, it can be assumed Officiating can duplicate his effort in that race which is good enough to win. There is also little doubt about his being able to run as well considering his last two workouts on dirt coming into the race have been excellent.

Dennis' Moment was thought to be a top 2-year-old in the summer of 2019 following his 19 length win in July with a 106 ™ figure, virtually unheard of for a young two year old. He won the Iroquois Stakes two months later but after finishing last of eight in that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Stakes he was given time off to mature. When returning in the Fountain of Youth Stakes last February, 2020, Dennis' Moment was sent to post as the heavy favorite but finished 10th and last.

Rested another nine months, he ran poorly one year ago and was again given time off. This time the rest helped greatly as Dennis' Moment missed by a head in a six furlong sprint. Two races later in October, Dennis' Moment earned his first win in 25 months in a highly rated race at Keeneland at the distance of the Mr. Prospector, duplicating the 106 figure earned in the summer of 2019. With logical improvement off that effort in his fourth start off the rest and at the same distance of his last effort, Dennis' Moment has every right to earn a graded stakes win for the second time in his career.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Doc Amster (103), Endorsed (110), Flap Jack (101), Poppy's Pride (97) and Wind of Change (BRZ) (114).

Win Contenders, in preference order:

Officiating
Dennis' Moment

Mr. Prospector Stakes – Grade 3
Race 10 at Gulfstream Park
Saturday, December 11 – Post Time 4:32 PM E.T.
Seven Furlongs
Three Years Olds and Upward
Purse: $100,000

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Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: In Racing, Time Is Of The Essence

More than one Thoroughbred trainer has said that “time only matters if you're in jail,” but try telling that to a horseplayer. In North America, the fractional and final times of every race listed in a horse's past performances can play an important role in a bettor's decision-making process, not to mention the performance ratings – from Beyer and Brisnet speed figures to Thorograph and Ragozin sheets – that many horseplayers use.

The method of timing races at some tracks has changed in recent years from traditional beam systems that are tripped when the first horse passes designated poles to a GPS system based on transponders placed on a horse's saddle towel. The transition has not been seamless, and some tracks are now using a hybrid of both systems to compile accurate race times and running positions. Even that system can produce inaccurate times, as evidenced by several races on the two-day Breeders' Cup world championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.

In this week's edition of the Friday Show, Equibase president Sal Sinatra joins publisher Ray Paulick and news editor Chelsea Hackbarth to talk about the race-timing challenges he inherited when he joined the company earlier this year and how he hopes timing problems will be resolved. Sinatra, a longtime racing executive who worked in the statistical department of Daily Racing Form when he was just getting started in the business, understands the importance of accurate data, including times, in a horse's past performances.

Paulick and Hackbarth review undefeated Woodbine Star of the Week Lady Speightspeare's victory in the G2 Bessarabian Stakes under Emma-Jayne WIlson. Owned and bred by Charles Fipke (who also owned and bred Lady Speightspeare's multiple graded stakes-winning dam), the 3-year-old Speightstown filly is trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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