Barber Named TOBA Owner Of The Year, Blum Breeder Of The Year

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association hosted its 36th annual National Awards Dinner at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa in Paris, Ky. on Saturday, September 11. Gary Barber was named TOBA's National Owner of the Year and Peter Blum was named the National Breeder of the Year. Angie Moore was named National Small Breeder of the Year and Drumette was honored with the Broodmare of the Year title.

The TOBA National Awards, hosted by TVG's Scott Hazelton, also honored the achievements of Thoroughbred owners and breeders in 18 states and Canada.

Frost or Frippery, who won the 2020 Claiming Crown Rapid Transit Stakes, was named the National HBPA Claiming Crown Horse of the Year.

Samantha Siegel was honored with the Industry Service Award, presented to a person or entity who has made exceptional contributions to the industry.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners received the Cot Campbell Racing Partnership of the Year award.

The Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year went to Kaytee Mountain owned by Sue Gallagher. This award was presented to the owner of the ex-Thoroughbred that has accumulated the most points in competition, as tracked by the United States Equestrian Federation.

In addition, John and Leslie Malone received the Robert N. Clay Award. In partnership with the Equine Land Conservation Resource, this award recognizes a member of the Thoroughbred community who has made an outstanding contribution to preserving land for equine use.

 

A complete list of winners is as follows:

Finalists for National Owner of the Year:

Gary Barber

Godolphin

Klaravich Stables

Spendthrift Farm LLC, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables LLC and Starlight Racing

Three Diamonds Farm

 

National Owner of the Year:

Gary Barber

 

State Breeders of the Year:

Arkansas: Bill and Mary McDowell

California: George Krikorian

Canada: Ivan Dalos

Canada: Lawrence P. Cordes

Florida: Charlotte Weber/ Live Oak Stud

Indiana: Greg Baer DVM and Deann Baer

Iowa: Allen Poindexter

Kentucky: Godolphin

Louisiana: Tri-Star Racing LLC

Maryland: Angie Moore

Minnesota: Lorie Michaels

New Jersey: John Bowers Jr.

New Mexico: R.D. Hubbard

New York: Twin Creeks Farm

Oregon: Janet and Patrick Cosgrove

Pennsylvania: Blackstone Farm LLC

South Carolina: Franklin Smith Sr.

Texas: James Wessel

Virginia: Lazy Lane Farm

Washington: Darrin L. Paul

 

National Breeders of the Year:
Peter Blum

 

National Small Breeder of the Year:

Angie Moore

 

Broodmare of the Year:

Drumette

 

Industry Service Award:

Samantha Siegel

 

Cot Campbell Racing Partnership of the Year:

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

 

Claiming Crown Horse of the Year:

Frost or Frippery

 

Rood & Riddle Thoroughbred Sport Horse of the Year:

Kaytee Mountain

 

Robert N. Clay Award:

John and Leslie Malone

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Claiming Crown Horse of the Year is Frost Or Frippery

Frost Or Frippery (Lewis Michael–Samantha Mulder, by Lac Ouimet) has been named the 2020 Claiming Crown Horse of the Year by the Industry Awards Committee of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA). The 8-year-old gelding will be honored at the 36th annual awards dinner held by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) Sept. 11 at Hill 'n' Dale Farm at Xalapa in Paris, Ky.

Claimed for $20,000 by Brad Cox for Steve Landers Racing LLC last April, Frost Or Frippery went on a five-race win streak and closed his 2020 campaign with a total of eight wins and four runner-up finishes in 13 starts and $167,350 in earnings. He won his sole out this year–a Jan. 22 starter allowance at Oaklawn–but has since sustained an injury in training and has been retired. In the course of his career, which began as a sophomore in 2016, Frost Or Frippery compiled a record of 67-22-12-13 and earnings of $381,918. A win in the $75,000 Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse S. at the 2020 Claiming Crown, held Dec. 5 at Gulfstream Park, led to the Claiming Crown Horse of the Year title.

“It meant a lot for him to win it, because there are a lot of claiming horses in the country,” said Landers, a long-time owner from Arkansas. “That's what the Claiming Crown is about: being the best at what they do. He acted like a more-expensive horse, like high-dollar, more class-type horse than he really was. But he didn't know what his class was. He'd just go out there and win.”

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‘Horse Who Gives You Everything’: Frost Or Frippery Honored As Claiming Crown Horse Of The Year

Steve Landers calls Frost Or Frippery “as hard-hitting a horse” as he's ever owned. There's no better example than the gelding's nose victory in the $75,000 Claiming Crown Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse. That day, the 7-year-old was shut off and had to check hard heading into the first turn, got shuffled back on the far turn, rallied to take the lead 70 yards out, then held on by mere inches.

Off that game performance and an 8-for-13 record (with four seconds) last year, Frost Or Frippery is honored as the 2020 Claiming Crown Horse of the Year, selected by the Industry Awards Committee of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA). Frost Or Frippery will be recognized at the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's 36th annual awards dinner Sept. 11 at Hill 'n' Dale Farm at Xalapa in Paris, Ky.

“He's not the most expensive horse I've ever had, but he showed the most heart,” said Landers, a prominent Arkansas auto dealer and long-time horse owner. “That's what it's all about: a horse who gives you everything he's got.”

Landers and trainer Brad Cox claimed Frost Or Frippery for $20,000 at Oaklawn Park on April 30, 2020. He won his first four starts and seven of nine overall for those connections. The gelding raced once at Oaklawn in January and subsequently sustained a training injury. He was retired after a career that saw him go 22-12-13 in 67 starts for earnings of $381,918.

All but six of the Maryland-bred's starts came in claiming races or under starter-allowance conditions. The 1 1/16-mile Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse is for horses that at some point ran for an $8,000 claiming price or cheaper.

The Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park marked the 10th track at which Frost Or Frippery competed.

“The hallmark of a good horse is one that is honest and tries every time, no matter their level,” Cox said. “Frost Or Frippery wasn't the best or the fastest, but he was as honest as they come. I'm glad the Claiming Crown rewards such horses and their owners.”

The Claiming Crown program is a partnership between the National HBPA and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). It was launched in 1999 to be the claiming horse owners' Breeders' Cup, a special event showcasing the blue-collar stalwarts that fill the majority of races in America.

“The group of horses that competed in the 2020 Claiming Crown provided a solid display of talent and class,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. “The event was designed as a means of featuring and promoting claiming-level horses while demonstrating to owners that claiming your way to success is an extremely important aspect within our industry. Frost Or Frippery exemplifies the true spirit of the Claiming Crown event, and we congratulate all the connections.”

Landers said he's touched that Frost Or Frippery is being recognized as the Claiming Crown Horse of the Year.

“Because of how tough the horse was,” Landers said. “He knew what he was doing. Didn't act stupid in the paddock, just went straight out there and did his job. It meant a lot for him to win it, because there are a lot of claiming horses in the country. That's what the Claiming Crown is about: being the best at what they do. He acted like a more-expensive horse, like high-dollar, more class-type horse than he really was. But he didn't know what his class was. He'd just go out there and win.”

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To Decide 2020’s Winningest Horse, Let’s Strike a Three-Way Match

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton

Saturday’s Claiming Crown races produced a three-way tie atop the North American leaderboard for winningest horse in terms of victories in 2020.

Galerio (Jump Start), Frost Or Frippery (Lewis Michael) and Combination (Alternation) all enter the final three weeks of the year tied with eight wins apiece.

How about scheduling a three-way invitational among these relatively matched geldings to settle the score prior to Dec. 31?

The category of most victories in a season is annually overshadowed by the purse-earnings rankings, which are dominated by high-end horses competing in elite graded stakes.

But the accomplishment of racking up the most wins on the year can be more difficult, because it usually involves keeping a less athletically gifted claiming- or starter-level horse in winning form over a 12-month span.

It’s also more intriguing to follow from an “everyman” perspective, because Thoroughbred racing’s annual victory leaders are generally overachieving underdogs who are easy to root for.

Combination was first up on Saturday. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee for owner Frank Calabrese already had eight wins on the year and was seeking his ninth in the $75,000 Claiming Crown Express S. at Gulfstream Park. The 4-year-old, who has been claimed six times this year for tags between $8,000 and $25,000 while primarily sprinting in south Florida, tracked the favorite but couldn’t power past, checking in third.

Frost or Frippery ran in Saturday’s final Gulfstream race, the $75,000 Claiming Crown Iron Horse S. The 7-year-old was claimed once this year, for $20,000 by current trainer Brad Cox on behalf of owner Steve Landers Racing, LLC, back in April, and spent most of this season roughing up optional claiming and starter allowance foes at Oaklawn Park, Churchill Downs and Indiana Grand. He unleashed a furious late bid to spurt clear in deep stretch but was almost nailed at the wire by another onrushing challenger. A tight photo revealed he got a nostril down first, earning win number eight on the year (21st lifetime).

Galerio was not in action on Saturday. He won his eighth race of the year back on Nov. 21 at Laurel Park. The 4-year-old was claimed that day for $35,000 and is awaiting his next start for new owner SAB Stable, Inc., and trainer Dale Bennett.

This trio ranks as tops in the continent. There are nine horses with seven wins right behind them. But none are entered to race in the next few days, so let’s assume that only the three currently tied at eight are likely to be in the running for nine wins in 2020.

Might Gulfstream be induced to try and bring them together in a season-ending invitational for winningest horse bragging rights?

They aren’t very far apart numbers-wise: All three routinely run low-80s Beyer Speed Figures.

Logistically, Combination is already stabled in south Florida, and Cox, the trainer of Frost Or Frippery, is maintaining a division there for the first time this winter.

The connections of Galerio would have to be incentivized to leave Maryland. But he does appear to have a slight class edge based on success against allowance-caliber competition and his $35,000 recent claiming valuation (versus $25,000 for Combination and $20,000 for Frost Or Frippery).

Frost Or Frippery’s sweet spot is 1 1/16 miles. Galerio’s is a mile. Combination, however, is strictly a sprint specialist at five and six furlongs. Gulfstream’s extended backstretch chute would allow for flexibility in carding some middle-ground distance that might bring these three closer together. Perhaps seven furlongs or a one-turn mile? Maybe Combination could get a weight break for being out of his element, distance-wise?

This concept might seem a bit outlandish, but it’s not without precedent. In 1997, when I was a member of the Suffolk Downs press box crew, a local gelding named Maybe Jack had 12 wins by December. So did a Finger Lakes-based gelding named Pro On Ice. We proposed an end-of-season match race to bring the two together, and both trainers agreed to participate in the “Showdown at Suffolk” to see who would emerge atop the North American leaderboard with 13 wins.

Concessions had to be made both ways. Maybe Jack had the home-track advantage and preferred two turns but was a closer. Pro On Ice had to ship but was speed-centric, which gave him a theoretical edge in a two-horse race. The purse was $15,000, with $10,000 to the winner (with the track also paying shipping costs for Pro On Ice and hospitality accommodations for his connections). Maybe Jack was weighted at 124 while Pro On Ice carried 119.

“This is good for racing,” Mike Ferraro, the trainer of Pro On Ice, said at the time. “This is not about winning or losing. It shines the national spotlight somewhere else besides the multi-million dollar outfits.”

The late Al Borosh, who trained Maybe Jack, agreed: “This match race grabs people’s attention. You can hear that just walking around the backstretch or in the grandstand.”

Maybe Jack pressured Pro On Ice straight from the start and the two raced in lockstep to the eighth pole before Maybe Jack opened up in deep stretch to win by 9 1/2 lengths. The showdown wasn’t a blockbuster success from a handle-generating standpoint, but it made a huge splash publicity-wise during an otherwise slow time of the year for the sport.

Match racing has drifted out of vogue in the 23 years since that race took place. But being the owner of the winningest horse on the continent remains a huge point of pride for smaller outfits.

“It just doesn’t get any better than this,” said Maybe Jack’s then-owner, John Buckley Jr., who at the time was campaigning a three-horse stable. “With the buildup with this race and all the hype, it was my finest moment in the business.”

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