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Four-Time Local Riding Champion Napravnik Returns To Fair Grounds For New Vocations Day

On Saturday, February 27, retired jockey and horse advocate Rosie Napravnik will be on site at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for “New Vocations Day at the Races.” A four-time local riding champion who was instrumental in the opening of the New Vocations facility in Covington, La., Napravnik will join host Joe Kristufek on the live feed during the racing day to help build awareness, promote success stories, and inspire donations for Thoroughbred aftercare.

“Rosie is one of our favorites and it's great to have her back at the Fair Grounds to help shed light on such an important cause and to share her valuable insight with the fans,” said Fair Grounds senior director of racing Jason Boulet.

Napravnik, who retired in 2014 following her Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) win with Shanghai Bobby, is one of the winningest female jockeys of all-time in both victories and earnings. In 2012 she became the first female rider to capture the Kentucky Oaks (G1), guiding Believe You Can to victory, and she won the race again just two years later with Untapable. She is now married to trainer Joe Sharp and together they have two sons, Carson and Tucker.

“Before and after my riding career, I've been exposed to a lot of the other things that horses can do, and that's a big part of the reason why I'm so passionate about it and why it's so important to me,” Napravnik said about Thoroughbred aftercare. “I have a lot of experience in the other disciplines and I've seen retired racehorses really excel. I got my first off-the-track Thoroughbred back in 2008 and watching him transform, his potential, his trainability, his eagerness to do something else and to learn new things and please really inspired me. After riding so many of those horses and seeing how much they put out for us on the racetrack, it's just something I can't avoid making a part of my life.”

Recognizing the need for expanded Thoroughbred aftercare in Louisiana, Napravnik reached out to New Vocations, the largest racehorse adoption program in the country, in the fall of 2019.

“It was amazing how it all came together rather quickly,” said New Vocations Thoroughbred program director Anna Ford. “When we move into a facility it usually takes a lot longer. Rosie's connections and her relationship with the facility in Louisiana really sped up the process. We were able to get a start-up grant from the Right Horse to basically fund almost half of running the program for the first two years. That really helped us get on our feet. Then the Louisiana HBPA stepped in and they have really supported our efforts.”

In the “check-off” program, consenting Louisiana HBPA member owners have contributed $5 per starter to race horse aftercare. At the conclusion of the meet, Fair Grounds will then match that dollar amount.

On Saturday, Napravnik will join simulcast host Joe Kristufek to provide information on how to donate a horse, how to adopt a horse, and how fans can contribute to the cause. She will also share adoption success stories, which will be supported by video of retired racehorses thriving in their second careers.

“I want to help make sure that horses have the opportunity to do something after racing because they really deserve it,” Napravnik said. “They have so much life ahead of them when their racing career is over. I can't ignore that, especially in a place like Louisiana that has such a high demand for organizations to help bridge that gap.”

In addition to promoting Thoroughbred aftercare awareness, Napravnik will also offer her race-by-race selections via the “expert picks” on twinspires.com and the Twin Spires app, and on the simulcast feed.

“During my riding career, I never handicapped to pick the winner, I handicapped to make my horse the winner,” Napravnik said. “But there's a lot of insight I can give on how each of the riders could see the race unfolding and how it might play out from a pace and trip perspective. I can't promise you I'm going to be a good picker, but I can promise you there will be a lot of valuable insight.”

For those who would like to contribute a financial donation to the Louisiana chapter of New Vocations and support the Fair Grounds Day at the Races with Rosie Napravnik, visit https://horseadoption.com/donate and click the button with Rosie's picture on it in the top row, middle column.

“I'm really excited for the New Vocations Day,” Napravnik said. “I love coming back to the Fair Grounds and really enjoy being a part of the racing day. It's just so nice to have a day dedicated to letting people know where we are with the organization, our accomplishments of the past two years and the potential of what we can do in the future. I really look forward to sharing some of the unique success stories adopters have had with their horses. I think it's going to be super fun but also enlightening to everybody.”

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Ryan Elected President Of Consignors And Commercial Breeders Association

The new officers and board members for the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association (CBA) were installed at its most recent meeting.

Allaire Ryan of Lane's End Farm will serve as president, Walker Hancock of Claiborne Farm has been named vice president and Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Farm will serve as treasurer. Outgoing president Gray Lyster will continue to serve the organization as past president.

The board consists of 15 members: eight from the Top 20 consignors and seven from other consignors and commercial breeders. Each year, a portion of the board rotates off and new board members are appointed to fill those positions from among eligible CBA members.

The current board members from the Top 20 consignors are: Conrad Bandoroff, Denali Stud; Carrie Brogden, Machmer Hall Sales; Neal Clarke, Atlas Farm/Bedouin Bloodstock; Liz Crow, ELiTE Sales; Walker Hancock, Claiborne Farm; Adrian Regan, Hunter Valley Farm; Allaire Ryan, Lane's End Farm and Mark Taylor, Taylor Made Farm.

Board members from other consignors/commercial breeders are: Tom Hamm, Three Chimneys Farm; Ben Henley, Airdrie Stud; Derek MacKenzie, Vinery Sales; Zach Madden, Buckland Sales; Gray Lyster, Ashview Farm; Mark Toothaker, Spendthrift Farm and Sean Tugel, Gainesway Farm.

“The CBA owes a debt of gratitude to outgoing president Gray Lyster for the time and service he dedicated to this organization and I'm delighted he will continue to contribute to our cause as past president,” Ryan said. “The CBA is a vital body in today's marketplace, and I am motivated to achieve the goals we have set in order to maintain the best sales environment possible for consignors and breeders.”

The CBA is a trade organization with more than 300 members. The association's membership accounts for over 80 percent of the annual auction revenue in North America, as either breeder or consignor. The CBA works democratically on behalf of every consignor and commercial breeder, large and small, to provide representation and a constructive, unified voice related to sales issues, policies and procedures. The Association's initiatives are designed to encourage a fair and expanding marketplace for all who breed, buy or sell thoroughbreds.

The association was founded in 2005 and is based in Lexington, Ky.

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Churchill Downs To Sell Arlington Park, Pursue Relocation Of Racing License

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Tuesday that it has launched a process to sell the 326 acres in Arlington Heights, Ill. that are currently the home of Arlington International Racecourse. CBRE will bring the redevelopment opportunity to market on behalf of CDI.

CDI is committed to running Arlington's 2021 race dates from April 30 – Sept. 25, and does not expect any sale of the Arlington site to close prior to the conclusion of Arlington's 2021 race meet or that the conduct of the sale process will impact Arlington's racing operations this year.

“Arlington's ideal location in Chicago's northwest suburbs, together with direct access to downtown Chicago via an on-site Metra rail station, presents a unique redevelopment opportunity. We expect to see robust interest in the site and look forward to working with potential buyers, in collaboration with the Village of Arlington Heights, to transition this storied location to its next phase,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI.

“In the meantime, we are very committed to pursuing the relocation of Arlington's racing license to another community in the Chicagoland area or elsewhere in the state. We are exploring potential options with the State and other constituents and remain optimistic that we can find solutions that work for the State, local communities and the thousands of Illinoisans who make their living directly or indirectly from thoroughbred horse racing. We are committed to the Illinois thoroughbred racing industry and will consider all options in working toward opportunities for it to continue into the future.”

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Canadian Horse Of The Year Sealy Hill Dies At Age 17

Sealy Hill, the 2007 Canadian Horse of the Year and successful broodmare, has been euthanized due to the infirmities of old age, BloodHorse reports.

The daughter of Point Given resided at Bonne Chance Farm in Versailles, Ky., where she spent nearly her entire broodmare career, owned either by Bonne Chance or Regis Farms. She will be buried on the farm.

Sealy Hill raced as an Ontario-born homebred for Eugene Melnyk, trained by Mark Casse, winning seven of 18 starts for earnings of $1,747,081.

She is best known for her 2007 campaign, where she secured the Sovereign Awards as Canada's Horse of the Year, champion turf female, and 3-year-old female. Her season started in the U.S., including a win in the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks, then she moved back to Woodbine for the summer, where she became the first – and so far, only – horse to sweep Canada's Triple Tiara: the Woodbine Oaks, Bison City Stakes, and Wonder Where Stakes. She added runner-up efforts in the G2 Canadian Stakes and G1 E.P. Taylor Stakes in the fall.

Sealy Hill raced for one more season, where she earned placings in three graded stakes, including a runner-up effort in the 2008 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita Park.

As a broodmare, Sealy Hill had nine foals, with seven starters and five winners; four of which won in graded stakes company.

The most prominent among them is Cambier Parc, by Medaglia d'Oro, whose four graded stakes victories for owner Larry Best's OXO Equine include two against Grade 1 competition.

Sealy Hill passed the mantle of Sovereign Award success on to her first foal, the Distorted Humor filly Hillaby, who was named Canada's champion female sprinter of 2014. Other notable runners out of Sealy Hill include Grade 3 winners Belle Hill (by Sky Mesa) and Gale Force (by Giant's Causeway).

Sealy Hill's final foal, the Into Mischief colt Eleven Central, was born in 2018 and is working toward his first start at Palm Meadows Training Center. He was purchased as a yearling by Best for $950,000. The mare did not catch when she was bred to Distorted Humor in 2019, and she had not been bred since then.