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Ontario Breeding Program Sees Growth In 2021

Over the last four weeks, The Jockey Club released its annual statistics for the North American breeding industry and Ontario showed positive gains across the board.

The number of Ontario-sired live foals reported to The Jockey Club through Oct. 4 was up 2.6 percent over last year, the number of stallions registered in the province increased by 12.5 percent and the number of mares reported bred through Oct. 18 was up 13.9 percent. Ontario was the only jurisdiction with positive gains in all three categories.

“Ontario, in terms of growth on the breeding side, is the number one jurisdiction in North America,” said David Anderson, Breeder Representative on the board of Ontario Racing and member of the Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) Committee. “I just got back from the fall sales and quite honestly that's all everyone wants to talk about, are our programs. I think they are innovative and they are forward thinking, and we're going to bolster our numbers and bolster our quality going forward.”

Among the programs drawing interest from breeders and owners are the 2021-22 Mare Recruitment (MRP) and Purchase Programs (MPP), and the new for 2021 Ontario Sire Heritage Series and Sales Credit Program.

The Mare Recruitment and Purchase Programs offer breeders incentives totaling $800,000 for bringing new in-foal mares to the province. The MRP offers all breeders a $5,000 (CDN) incentive for every new mare brought to the province to foal in 2022, while the MPP gives Ontario residents a rebate of up to 50 percent, to a maximum of $25,000 (CDN), on the purchase price of an in-foal mare from an Ontario Racing recognized public auction. Mares enrolled in both programs are then eligible for a $2,500 (CDN) incentive if they are bred to a registered Ontario Sire in 2022.

“Last time we did the program was two years ago and we exhausted all the funding, we had to turn people away. And we got 129 new mares in the province, of which 79 of them bred back to Ontario sires,” said Anderson. “I think there's a lot of potential here in the province of Ontario going forward.”

The Ontario Sire Heritage Series saw Ontario Sired three-year-old colts and geldings and three-year-old fillies accumulate points in a trio of $80,000 legs at Woodbine and Fort Erie Racetracks over five, six and seven furlongs. The $100,000 finals, the Lake Ontario and Ashbridges Bay Stakes at 1-1/16 miles, are slated for Friday, Nov. 19 at Woodbine Racetrack with Reload offspring Red River Rebel and Sunsprite leading the way in the colt/gelding and filly point standings. A total of $70,000 in bonuses will go to the top three point earners in each division.

In addition, owners with registered Ontario Bred horses competing in claiming races at Woodbine and Fort Erie Racetracks earned credits for the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) Ontario yearling and mixed sales each time their horse visited the winner's circle this season.

“Hopefully with some of the new programs, like the new Heritage Series, it's going to create new demand for the Ontario Sired horse,” said Peter Berringer, president of the Ontario division of the CTHS. “You have to be optimistic when the numbers show we've stabilized, and increased slightly, and are trending in the right direction.”

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Texas 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale Set For April 6, 2022

The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie have announced that the 2022 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale will be held on Wednesday, April 6, at the Dallas-area racetrack. The breeze show will be held Monday, April 4.

The 2022 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale comes on the heels of the strong 2021 Texas Summer Yearling Sale. That sale saw an increase in the number of horses cataloged and sold, as well as a positive jump in the average and median sale prices.

“Based on what we saw with the Texas Summer Yearling Sale, I think there's a lot of anticipation for the upcoming Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in April,” TTA Sales Director Foster Bridewell said. “I think we're uniquely positioned in the 2-year-old sales landscape to provide a quality sale for our owners, trainers, and breeders and still attract out of region buyers and sellers.”

The sale will be held about three weeks before Lone Star Park kicks off its 2022 Thoroughbred meet with 48 days of racing starting on April 28. As usual, the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity, for TTA Sales graduates and Accredited Texas-breds made eligible through consignor or buyer berths, will be held on closing weekend at Lone Star with two divisions, each at $150,000 guaranteed.

Graduates of the Texas Yearling or 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale will also be eligible for the new Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby and Oaks for 3-year-olds. Both will be held at Sam Houston Race Park in 2023.

“The expanded stakes program for Texas Thoroughbred Association sales graduates certainly gives buyers something extra to think about when they're bidding on horses,” Bridewell said. “Our graduates have had success in the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity, and that's carried over in other stakes races around the country, including the first, second, and third place finishers in this year's Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington Park.”

“Also, thanks to the passage of HB 2460 in 2019, the Texas horse industry benefits from the infusion of $25 million per year, increasing purses and Accredited Texas-bred incentive awards,” Bridewell added. “It really does pay to breed, sell and race in Texas.”

The entry deadline for the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale is Jan. 17, 2022.

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‘A Person I’ll Never Forget’: Racing Industry Remembers Jockey Miguel Mena

Friends and colleagues from across the horse racing industry continue to share stories of jockey Miguel Mena, who tragically passed away Sunday evening in an accident on I-64 in Louisville.

Mena was a fixture around the racetrack and spent nearly every morning breezing horses for different trainers. Away from the racetrack, the 34-year-old native of Peru would constantly update his social media pages with photos of his family, including two young daughters Naelah and Montserrat. Along with his two daughters, Mena leaves behind his wife, April, and many friends and family.

Here are some memories that were shared of Mena:

· Jason Barkley (trainer): “I don't know that I can put into words what Miguel Mena has meant to us from Day 1. He was such a great person to be around and always smiling when he came to work. I was proud to have him ride for us and I was lucky enough to be his friend.”

· Declan Carroll (jockey) – “I've been lucky to know (Mena) my entire life. He was a special person and words can't describe how much he'll be missed.”

· Wayne Catalano (trainer): “Miguel was a wonderful young man. He came in cheerful. He was an unbelievable kid and great rider. I feel for his family and two young girls. They were his everything.”

· Emerson Chavez (exercise rider) – “I have so many good memories and stories to count – each one holds extraordinary value to me. … I'd like to thank him for welcoming me to my arrival in this country and offering me selfless friendship. … I'm devastated, sad and can't understand everything that happened. … Seeing so many people disgraced by his sudden departure only makes me confirm the magnificent person he was.”

· Florent Geroux (jockey): “I lost more than a friend – a true brother. He'll never be able to be replaced.”

· Tim Hanisch (agent): “I really enjoyed working with him. We had a good business relationship together but we were friends outside the track. He was one of my favorite people from the racetrack. He always had a smile on his face and was in a good mood. We'd get dinner together a lot in New Orleans at Fair Grounds. I thought a lot of him as a rider and a person. He had a really severe injury (in 2018) and admired what he showed to come back from something like that.”

· Colby Hernandez (jockey): “Miguel was not just a friend to me, he was family. There are no words that I can ever say to express our relationship. We rode for a lot of the same people and worked together almost every morning and afternoon. Things will never be the same.”

· Brian Hernandez Jr. (jockey): “We are all just going through it together. We all lost such a good friend. Miguel was always in such in a good mood. He knew how to read the racing form so well. I spent the last 15 years sitting next in jocks room. It's just really hard knowing we won't see him in that room again. … There are no words, post or pictures that can describe the honor, respect or love I have for Miguel. I truly loved the friendship we had.”

· Michelle Lovell (trainer): “I will always cherish the memory of us winning my first graded stakes race together. He rode a brilliant race. He's a person I'll never forget.”

· John Ortiz (trainer): “We lost a great friend. He was a wonderful father, husband and just a great person in general. It has been an absolute honor to have worked with him. We at Ortiz Racing send our deepest condolences to Miguel's family. He will be missed by many and especially by all of us here.”

· Dale Romans (trainer): “He was such a good person. I don't know anybody who had a bad word to say about Miguel.”

· Jose Santos Jr. (agent): “Over the past two years I had the fortune to work side by side with Miguel. He was one of the most likable guys I had been around. I think a lot of us who knew Miguel felt the same way. I eternally appreciate all of the opportunities he gave me and I will never forget what we accomplished.”

· Al Stall Jr. (trainer): “There was no question his talent. He caught everyone's eye at an early age. I noticed him at Churchill in the early 2000s. The size of the race didn't bother him at all.”

Churchill Downs will hold a moment of silence following Race 5 Wednesday (approximately 3:03 p.m.). Those who are unable to attend can view the ceremony on “America's Day at the Races” on FS2 or through the simulcast channel on the Churchill Downs LIVE app.

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Bloodlines: Good Timing, Quick Decisions Brought Sandstone To The Winner’s Circle

On the day that Churchill Downs ran the Street Sense Stakes, Oct. 31, a daughter of the 2006 juvenile champion and 2007 Kentucky Derby winner won the companion feature, the Rags to Riches Stakes for fillies.

Bred in Kentucky by Mark and Cindy Stansell, Sandstone won her stakes debut by 10 3/4 lengths in 1:44.18, which was faster than the colts ran in the Street Sense Stakes at the same distance.

Sandstone is the last foal out of her dam, the Seattle Slew mare Seattle Shimmer, who was 20 when she foaled this stakes winner.

Mark Stansell said, “Sandstone was one of the very best physicals out of her dam, who always threw nice babies. Seattle Shimmer had a very nice hip and would put that hip on foals, even from stallions who were a little light behind,” and due to the yearling filly's appeal on physique and pedigree, the breeders got $165,000 for Sandstone at the 2020 Keeneland September sale.

“This was a really nice yearling,” Stansell said. “One reason she only brought $165,000 was that the foals from old mares, anything over 15, are not highly sought after [in the commercial market]. If that mare hadn't been old, Sandstone would have brought more. She was that nice.”

Now a winner in two of her three starts, the Rags to Riches was the stakes debut for Sandstone, and she became her dam's first stakes winner. Two earlier foals, Sway Away (Afleet Alex) and Shaken (Uncle Mo), placed in Grade 2 company. Sway Away was second in the G2 Best Pal, San Vicente, and San Carlos; Shaken was third in the G2 Rachel Alexandra.

Yet, they almost never were.

The dam of these three talented stakes horses, as well as other good winners, was one of the last foals by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew (by Bold Reasoning), himself a foal of 1974. The near-black champion had problems with his neck vertebrae late in life that required surgery and curtailed the last years of his stud career.

A foal of 1999, Seattle Shimmer was bred in Kentucky by Albert Finney, and Mickey and Karen Taylor. She and her stakes-winning dam received the best of care, but when the filly was born, she was “severely contracted as a foal,” said Kentucky horseman Bob Sliger, who spent many years with the Eaton Farms yearling division.

Contracted tendons are not rare among Thoroughbred foals, and the condition's name accurately describes the problem. A foal's long tendons are tightly contracted, rather than loose and flexible, when the foal is born. This can cause considerable problems with standing and nursing, and if not addressed appropriately and as early as possible, the malady has the potential to cripple a foal for life.

Seattle Shimmer, however, was in good hands.

Sliger continued: “We used PVC pipe to help get her legs straightened out, and it helped her a lot. She was broken but never went into training. That's when they had just lost Seattle Slew, and they went out of the horse business. When they did that, they gave the mare to me.”

For Sliger and former Eaton Farms manager Billy Tillery, Seattle Shimmer bred some very nice prospects, including Sway Away.

Sliger recalled that “Mark had bought three foals out of the mare off me and was crazy about Seattle Shimmer. She was a beautiful mare, a kind and lovely mare. Just a sweetheart, and Mark really wanted the mare.”

Stansell said he “was buying weanlings to resell as yearlings, and I got to know Bob after buying the third foal out of the mare, went and bought mare and the foal at side, who turned out to be Sway Away.

“She is buried in my back yard, he continued. “I have 87 acres, but buried her there.”

To produce Sandstone, Stansell “bred her to Street Sense, and this was one of the very best physicals out of the mare.”

In addition to the other foals out of Seattle Shimmer, Stansell sold, then repurchased and raced Shaken, and the half-sister to Sandstone “has an exceptional Vino Rosso foal in Book 2 of the November sale,” the breeder concluded.

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