Major Fed Team Decides To Skip Ellis Park Derby, Train Up To Kentucky Derby

Major Fed, runner-up in the Indiana Derby on July 8, had been under consideration for Sunday's Ellis Park Derby at the Henderson, Ky. track. Instead, Travis Foley, assistant and son to trainer Greg Foley, told the Daily Racing Form that the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper will head straight to the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

Based at Churchill Downs, Major Fed worked a half-mile beneath the Twin Spires in :50.20 on Aug. 1.

“We're happy with where we are with him and comfortable with the points situation,” the younger Foley told drf.com. “Everything's good and we didn't feel like we needed the race in between.”

Major Fed also owns a second-place finish in the G2 Risen Star Stakes, and a fourth from the G2 Louisiana Derby, leaving him with a total of 38 points toward the Kentucky Derby. He currently sits 16th on the points leaderboard.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Grade 1-Winning Millionaire Concrete Rose To Be Offered At 2020 Keeneland November Sale

Grade 1 winner and millionaire Concrete Rose will be offered as a racing or broodmare prospect during the premier Book 1 of this year's Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which begins Monday, Nov. 9, and follows the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland on Nov. 6-7.

Concrete Rose, a 4-year-old daughter of successful young sire Twirling Candy who has won six of seven races and earned $1,218,650, will be consigned by Lane's End, agent for co-owners Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing.

“We're excited to offer Concrete Rose as a racing or broodmare prospect with such great companies as Lane's End and Keeneland,” Ashbrook racing manager Bo Bromagen said. “Working with them as partners gives us the greatest opportunity to showcase her.”

“Lane's End proudly welcomes Grade 1 winner Concrete Rose back to our sale consignment, this time as a racing/broodmare prospect at Keeneland November,” Lane's End director of sales Allaire Ryan said. “Concrete Rose was previously sold by Lane's End at Keeneland September in 2017 and from the start of her racing career has been a banner sale graduate for us and for our versatile resident stallion Twirling Candy. To date, she is the sire's leader of lifetime top performers with over $1.2 million in career earnings – more than Grade 1-winning sons Gift Box and Collusion Illusion.

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to highlight our November consignment with a filly of her caliber,” Ryan added. “Her combined talent, looks and breeding will make her a sought-after prospect for any top-level program.”

“Concrete Rose is a once-in-a-generation elite athlete that everyone dreams of owning,” BBN Racing founding partner Brian Klatsky said. “It's been an honor and a privilege for all of our partners at BBN Racing to be associated with her. She has already created memories of a lifetime and is not done yet.”

“She is something to have in your barn,” trainer Rusty Arnold said. “Great mind on her. She is not complicated. She is easy to train. You hear this from trainers, but she is one of those horses you just stay out of her way and she'll say 'I'll get the rest done.'”

Concrete Rose's connections had high hopes for the filly when she began her career in a maiden race at Saratoga at odds of 12-1.

“About the eighth pole, I decided she was a good horse because she was about five lengths back and she flew by the leader and galloped out pretty strong,” Arnold said. “From that day on, she trained like a special horse, and she acted like a special horse.”

Advancing to graded stakes company in her next start, Concrete Rose proved her talent with a 3-length triumph in Keeneland's Grade 2 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine.

“She's beautiful, incredibly athletic, stands over some ground,” Bromagen said. “She's well-balanced with a great shoulder and hip. But her mind really makes her stand apart. She's incredibly smart. When she progressed from her 2- to 3-year-old year, you could sense the change in her personality from doing things on talent to really taking ahold of the bit and going after them.”

Concrete Rose opened her 3-year-old campaign with a win in the G3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs and remained undefeated for the year. Her outstanding performance at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day in the G3 Edgewood, in which she defeated Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Newspaperofrecord by 3 3/4 lengths, cemented her status among the sport's most talented 3-year-old fillies on turf. She polished her resumé in her next race with a nearly 3-length victory in the $750,000 G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, a showcase of division standouts.

That dominance continued in her next race at Saratoga, where she won the inaugural $750,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational by 4 3/4 lengths. With the victory, the superstar captured two-thirds of the New York Racing Association's new Turf Tiara series.

“I've never seen a filly win by the margins that she did on the turf,” Arnold said. “Usually turf races are very close; the runners all stay together. Other than her Tampa race, which was coming off a layoff, she never had a close race.”

“Watch the replays of her races,” Bromagen said. “The greatest testament to her ability is what she's shown on the race track: the horses she beat and the level of competition.”

Out of the winning Powerscourt mare Solerina, Concrete Rose is from a family of successful North American and international performers. Her family includes Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand.

“Concrete Rose is an extremely accomplished racehorse – one of the best of her generation in her division – and her future is exciting whether she returns to the race track or begins her career as a broodmare,” Keeneland president-elect and interim head of sales Shannon Arvin said. “Keeneland is thrilled for the opportunity to present Concrete Rose at the November Sale with all the support a performer of her stature deserves.”

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Economic Indicators: Total 2020 Handle Continues To Show Signs Of Recovery

Equibase, LLC released its monthly report on Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing this Wednesday, Aug. 5. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Equibase is currently providing monthly reporting of its Economic Indicators Advisories. The Advisory is typically disseminated on a quarterly basis to provide key metrics used to measure racing's performance throughout the year.

While the pandemic means most tracks are currently racing without fans, average daily wagering in 2020 continues to show strong increases over 2019 numbers as racing remains one of the few sports able to operate in concert with pandemic protocols. In the month of July, average daily wagering was up 41.83 percent in 2020, while the year-to-date figures show an increase of 41.72 percent.

Overall wagering figures are still showing the effects of the rescheduled Kentucky Derby, though year-to-date total handle is down just 6.96 percent thus far in 2020. Considering that the total number of race days and races held in 2020 are down 34.25 percent and 33.08 percent, respectively, the total handle is actually doing quite well.

Additionally, numbers from the first six months of 2020 showed year-to-date wagering down 10.88 percent, so the differential is decreasing as 2020 goes on and racing adjusts to a “new normal.”

Whether the Kentucky Derby will be able to be held with fans present remains to be seen, and that could affect how handle continues to recover through the remaining months of one of the most unique years in recent history.

July 2020 vs. July 2019
Indicator July 2020 July 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $1,098,943,728 $942,243,633 +16.63%
U.S. Purses $90,224,084 $103,342,574 -12.69%
U.S. Race Days 398 484 -17.77%
U.S. Races 3,280 3,742 -12.35%
U.S. Starts 24,984 26,612 -6.12%
Average Field Size 7.62 7.11 +7.11%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,761,165 $1,946,784 +41.83%
Average Purses Per Race Day $226,694 $213,518 +6.17%

 

 

YTD 2020 vs. YTD 2019
Indicator YTD 2020 YTD 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $6,154,466,247 $6,615,017,905 -6.96%
U.S. Purses $414,380,742 $647,344,706 -35.99%
U.S. Race Days 1,699 2,588 -34.35%
U.S. Races 14,186 21,199 -33.08%
U.S. Starts 113,058 156,851 -27.92%
Average Field Size 7.97 7.40 +7.71%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,622,405 $2,556,035 +41.72%
Average Purses Per Race Day $243,897 $250,133 -2.49%

 

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Delaware Park Cancels Wednesday Racing After Heavy Rains

Due to the heavy rains from Tropical Storm Isaias yesterday, the live racing card at Delaware Park has been cancelled today.

The nearly five inches of rain that fell in the area yesterday has made the main track incompatible for racing.

Live racing is scheduled to resume tomorrow, Thursday, August 6, with a first race post time of 1:15 p.m. There is a carryover of $24,652 in the Pick-5 pool which starts in the third race with an approximate post time of 2:15 p.m.

Live racing will continue through closing day on October 17th. Racing will be conducted on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday. Thursday racing will continue through October 1st. First race post time is 1:15 p.m.

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