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Tom’s Ready Arrives At Old Friends Retirement Center

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY, is proud to welcome multiple graded stakes winner Tom's Ready. The 7-year-old son of More Than Ready — Goodbye Stranger, by Broad Brush stood initially at Spendthrift Farm and then at Red River Farms in Louisiana.

Bred in Pennsylvania and campaigned by the late Tom Benson's GMB Racing and trainer Dallas Stewart, Tom's Ready broke his maiden in his third start as a 2-year-old at Churchill Downs, and followed that win with a close 2nd in the Street Sense Stakes. A second-place finish to Gun Runner in the Louisiana Derby (G2), qualified Tom's Ready for the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 12th behind winner Nyquist. His career apex came the following year when he captured the 2016 $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park. He went on to defeat older horses, including champion sprinter Runhappy, in the Ack Ack Stakes (G3), again at Churchill. He ended the season with a fifth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. At 4, he captured the Leemat Stakes at Presque Isle Downs and the Bold Ruler Handicap (G3) at Belmont Park. Tom's Ready retires with earnings of $1,036,267.

“I truly respect and appreciate the great work of the staff at Old Friends as we have come to know Michael Blowen and his great work,” said GMB Racing's Gayle Benson. “We have had St. Aloysius there for a number of years, and it gives us great pleasure to have our wonderful Tom's Ready retire to Old Friends. He was our first purchase, he is a Grade II winner, and he raced in the Kentucky Derby and the Breeder's Cup, so we are very proud of him and he is deserving of the great care that Old Friends will provide.”

“We're honored to add Tom's Ready to our other old friends,” said Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen. “I'm certain that his many fans will be very excited to see him when we, hopefully, open for tours post-virus. Meanwhile, he already has his head in the carrot bucket.”

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‘The Case Is So Strong’ For Allowing Woodbine To Continue Racing, Says Lawson

News last weekend that new COVID-19 lockdown measures will force the closure of Woodbine before the end of its scheduled meet was met with frustration and uncertainty for track management and horsemen. The move seems unfair to Toronto Sun columnist Steve Buffery, who writes that the track has demonstrated an exemplary ability to keep COVID-19 at bay at a facility that sees 2,000 backstretch workers in the barn area every day.

Since the pandemic began, Buffery writes the track has seen one positive in its jockey colony, and that contact tracing determined the rider had been exposed to the virus outside of track property.

Training will still be permitted at Woodbine, which seems counterintuitive to Buffery, who points out that people will still need to enter the property for daily care of the horses associated with those activities.

According to the editorial published Tuesday, Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson has reached out to government officials to discuss whether there is a way to allow the meet to complete its last few days. Lawson said he has not had a response from the government and has been unable to reach anyone on the phone.

Many have expressed concern for the futures of the horses (particularly those less successful runners) and the people who rely on them if the track can not complete the meet as planned. Woodbine will lose three weeks' worth of racing, with about $5.2 million in purses not being distributed as planned.

“They didn't do enough due diligence and homework to understand what we're doing,” Lawson told Buffery. “The decision was made without enough understanding of the Woodbine situation and the thousands of people that worked there in a COVID-free environment.

“The case is so strong.”

Wednesday’s Insights: Dennis’ Moment Returns

8th-CD, $89K, OC100k/N2X, 3yo, 1m, 4:36 p.m. ET
‘TDN Rising Star’ DENNIS’ MOMENT (Tiznow) makes his return to the races here. Last of eight as the 4-5 favorite after stumbling badly at the start in the 2019 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the GIII Iroquois S. winner has made only one start since, finishing up the track as the chalk in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Feb. 29. The Albaugh Family Stables colorbearer’s worktab includes a local five-furlong bullet in :58 1/5 (1/46) for Dale Romans Nov. 8. TJCIS PPs

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Godolphin Wins Third Straight John Deere Award As Outstanding Breeder of Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series

Strengthened by victories from She’s a Julie (Elusive Quality), Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Essential Quality (Tapit), Godolphin has won its third consecutive John Deere Award, honoring the outstanding breeder of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships and the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.

The John Deere Award, presented by Breeders’ Cup Limited and NTRA Advantage, emphasizes the contributions of breeders to the Breeders’ Cup program. The industry’s breeders provide funding for the purses for the World Championships through the annual nominations of foals and stallions. NTRA Advantage and John Deere will award a John Deere TS Gator Utility Vehicle to Godolphin.

The John Deere award winner is determined by the breeder who received the highest number of first-place finishes in Graded/Group stakes in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series of 81 stakes races in nine countries, and in the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championships races. Each Grade/Group 1 win was worth 10 points; Grade/Group 2 wins were worth six points; Grade/Group 3 wins were worth four points; and listed stakes wins were worth two points.

Godolphin-bred runners earned 40 points by winning four Group/Grade 1 races in England and the United States. Godolphin finished 10 points in front of both Coolmore Stud and Northern Farm/Northern Racing, which tied for second place with 30 points each.

“The Breeders’ Cup and John Deere’s commitment to International Racing reflects the goals and ambitions of the global Godolphin breeding program to strive to compete at the highest level,” said Jimmy Bell, President, Godolphin USA. “Godolphin is honored to be recognized with this award.”

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