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Campbell: New Mexico Racing Is At A Critical Crossroads In The Face Of Another COVID-19 Shutdown

The author submitted the following open letter to the New Mexico Racing Commission to be read at its regularly-scheduled meeting on Jan. 14. The letter originally appeared on HorseRacing.net and is reprinted here with permission.

Since early last year, New Mexico has by order of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, closed racetracks across the state because of what most would agree is “a public health crisis.” Sunland Park, near the New Mexico-Texas line, cancelled the 2020 Sunland Derby. This is not only an important stop on the Kentucky Derby Trail, but has attached to it, contests that the very lifeblood of the Thoroughbred world in that part of the country.

The 2021 meeting is delayed, and at this point the running of that series probably will not take place. Over in Hobbs, New Mexico, Zia Park, which is attached to a casino attempted to run during the last part of the year, but was halted when COVID-19 cases skyrocketed. For Quarter Horses that run at Ruidoso Downs, their season is also in jeopardy as we head towards the late spring and early summer.

What is so perplexing about this situation is that other states across the nation, from New York to California, have re-opened tracks and succeeded at keeping people safe. A racetrack is no different than a Walmart. Isn't it? Social distancing actually might be more effective at the former than the latter when protocols are in place, especially when it comes to cleanliness. Thus, it appears politics and fear have come to dominate the world of racing in New Mexico, just as it has in other sectors. I am not saying that is unwarranted. However, the effects of these decisions, to remain closed, will have far-reaching ramifications on everything from breeding operations to the very livelihoods of those that make their living around horses that run.

To say that it will take years for this industry in New Mexico to recover is not an understatement. The loss of the Sunland Derby races has already forced trainers within the state to seek races elsewhere, which could in turn change the trajectory of home-bred operations.

Take Todd Fincher, for instance. He would normally be preparing his star, Señor Buscador, to run in the late March highlight of that series, but instead he was forced to move his whole operation to Sam Houston Race Park.

The loss of revenue for him, his staff, his clients, will be substantial. The pressure is mounting. Fincher has a large operation, but what about the smaller outfits that cannot afford to travel? How about the backstretch workers or exercise riders who rely on seasonal work to survive? The situation is reaching a critical juncture. How will the state respond?

Crescit Eundo…

That's a Latin phrase from Lucretius' De Rerum Natura. It is the story of a thunderbolt whose momentum steadily builds like a temporal avalanche of energy. The phrase was a “motto” for New Mexico back in 1887, but it remains on the state seal to this day. Translated…“It grows as it goes.”

As a professional turfwriter who covers horse racing, my passion for this sport delves into my bones. I am also the grandson of those who lived and loved the Land of Enchantment. I pen this statement to you, New Mexico Racing Commission, with a heavy heart, but with conviction.

The stifling nature of COVID-19 has decimated hallmark trails like the Sunland Derby, driven trainers of impeccable character like Todd Fincher to other locales, and jeopardized the future of breeding operations that help families exist. Though New Mexico is not Kentucky, lacking a legacy of state investment in racing; still, it is the third largest industry within. For now, its potential remains as an economic juggernaut, and like a Jicarilla Apache basket, an intricately woven part of New Mexican culture.

The industry is facing its darkest hour. The time is now for you to impress this upon the Governor like never before! Get the tracks and casinos open. Send those fine backstretch employees, trainers, jockeys, racing officials, and every person who is impacted by these closures, safely back to work.

The racing world is watching, New Mexico! Remember: there's power in momentum, Crescit Eundo—It grows as it goes…

J.N. Campbell is a turfwriter based in Houston.

The post Campbell: New Mexico Racing Is At A Critical Crossroads In The Face Of Another COVID-19 Shutdown appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Beholder’s First Foal, Q B One, Nears Debut at Santa Anita

He has yet to race, but Q B One (Uncle Mo) has already been the subject of several stories and a video feature from XBTV. That’s the way it is when your dam is one of the best horses of her era.

Now, the story of Q B One is about to heat up even further. After the 3-year-old colt worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 Jan. 8 at Santa Anita, trainer Richard Mandella said that Q B One was “a couple of weeks from starting.” He will start for her owner and breeder, Spendthrift Farm, who also campaigned Beholder.

Asked to gauge Q B One’s talent level, Mandella seemed uncertain.

“He’s a big gangly colt and doesn’t take life too seriously,” Mandella said. “He works better than average, but he hasn’t shown yet in his workouts that he is a star. But he is doing what we ask and a little more sometimes. It’s hard to say how good he is.”

Q B One arrived at Mandella’s Santa Anita barn last Mar. 20 to prepare for his racing career. He had his first recorded workout Mar. 30 and had several more breezes until Mandella decided to back off on him. Between July 27 and Dec. 5, he did not have a published work.

“I got him up to five-eighths and he kind of lost interest on me,” the trainer said. “So, I just gave him a little break and kind of backed up to zero and started over again. We’ve been happier with his works. We just have to hope it stays this time.”

Q B One worked three furlongs on Dec. 5, the first of a string of six breezes.

“We’re not trying to make him do much,” Mandella said. “Just like with any other horse, we’re just trying to get him ready to run. He’s training a little more forward than he did before.”

Does he see any similarities to Beholder, the winner of 16 stakes and a champion at two, three, five and six?

“It’s apples and oranges,” he said. “I haven’t seen anything to make me see her. But I’ve had a lot of others that didn’t show me that either. He does shows enough that it could happen.”

The trainer said Q B One will likely begin his career at six furlongs and “might need that first race to wake him up.”

Mandella did think enough of him to send a nomination fee to Oaklawn Park, which made Q B One eligible for the preps for the GI Kentucky Derby at that track. The first race in the series is the Feb. 15 GIII Southwest S.

“He’s obviously not going to be ready for the Southwest, but you never know what can happen.” he said. “So, we wanted to make him eligible for those races at Oaklawn.”

Nominations for the Derby preps at Santa Anita are not in yet.

After Q B One, there will be more to come. Beholder has a 2-year-old filly by Curlin named Karin With an I and a yearling filly named Teena Ella, who is by War Front. She is due to Bolt d’Oro this season.

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Turf Paradise To Re-Open Turf Course Jan. 25

The grass course at Turf Paradise, which management closed after conducting only three races over it the first two days of the meet Jan. 4 and 5, is now scheduled for a Jan. 25 reopening after having restoration work performed on its root system.

Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia detailed the maintenance work and plans for the reopening of the seven-furlong infield course during the Jan. 14 Arizona Racing Commission meeting.

“What happened with the turf course was nobody’s fault,” Francia claimed. “When we closed on March 14 [in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak], we suspended all activity. And that suspension included not taking care of the turf course during the summer…

“So when we started racing [on] it at the early part of the meet, the jockeys found it safe, but they were really just digging it up, and we could see that if we continued to run on it we were going to damage it and it’s not going to be able to continue,” Francia said.

“So we have been off of it. Last Saturday, the turf course was infused with liquid iron. And what that does, that’s like a human booster shot,” Francia explained. “That liquid goes right to the roots, and that was followed with a nitrate fertilizer. I was on the course Tuesday. I can already see the difference through Wednesday. We’re scheduled to go back on the turf Jan. 25, and hopefully this corrective action will take us through the rest of the meet,” which ends May 1.

Leroy Gessmann, who serves as both the Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) executive director and the National HBPA president, told commissioners that “we’re all anxious to get back on it, but we all understand the importance of getting a good root system on the turf course in order to run on it.”

Turf Paradise is flush with about 1,400 horses on its backstretch, an uptick from previous meets largely because of the influx of outfits from northern California and New Mexico, where racing has been recently curtailed because of restrictions related to the pandemic.

“We’re in the ninth day of the 84-day session,” Francia said. “We’ve been up every day in our handle, which is very encouraging, and this is without the turf course being in operation, which is very popular with the horseplayers.

“Handle-wise, we’re doing really wonderful,” Francia continued. “The on-track attendance every day is where we want it. It’s about 60 people a day. We can manage that, make sure everybody’s safe. They’re all wearing masks [but we try to] keep them socially distant.”

Francia told commissioners that since the backstretch opened in late November, 22 coronavirus positives have been reported among licensees who have been tested. He added that most of those positives were reported among off-track betting (OTB) mutuel tellers, one of whom died from COVID-19 complications.

Francia said there have been three coronavirus positives among backstretch personnel, and that all three were quarantined, subsequently tested negative, and are now back at work.

Without naming the licensees, Francia added that, “We did have a rider test positive [Jan. 13] who never entered the [jockeys’] room. He is quarantined. His jockey agent is quarantined. And the two other riders [who employ that agent] have been contact-traced and alerted.”

Francia said that, “I think one of the obvious things we can conclude there is our horsemen are outside. And being outside in fresh air is an advantage, and that helps with the prevention of this virus spreading. When we look at our OTB teller situation, [they are] not outside. They are in confined quarters, a restaurant or a bar, and there’s people going in and out.”

Added Gessmann: “Having hardly any breakouts [on the backside] has been fabulous. I would have never thought we’d get [this far into the meet] and only have two or three positives of horsemen back there.”

Gessmann also lauded Turf Paradise for the Jan. 11 reopening of the four-furlong dirt training track in the southwest corner of the backside, which will help ease congestion during morning training.

“The reports I’m getting back from exercise riders is it’s in good shape,” Gessmann said. “After sitting for 10 months with no use, it is worked up and getting conditioned. It’s been a big help to get that open.”

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Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented by Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: Northview Gets A Jump Start In Stallion Awards

Pennsylvania boasts one of the country's most lucrative incentive programs, and two farms that have invested heavily in stallions reaped the biggest rewards during the first 11 months of the previous year.

Northview Stallion Station, which closed its Pennsylvania operation at the end of last year's breeding season, led its peers comfortably by combined breeder and stallion awards, with $272,745.60.

What made Northview's standing especially impressive was that its incentive earnings came exclusively through stallion awards. That was helped greatly by the late sire Jump Start, a perennial leader in the Keystone State, who once again finished atop the sire list by earnings a year after his death.

Among Jump Start's best runners of 2020 was the Pennsylvania-bred colt Fire's Finale, who capped off his season with a closing score in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at Parx Racing. He earned $108,315 on the racetrack during his juvenile season.

Glenn Brok of Diamond B Farm finished second by combined awards, earning $197,405.12. The majority of those incentives came from breeders' awards, but the Diamond B operation stands several of the state's top stallions.

The biggest contributor to Diamond B's stallion awards in 2020 was veteran Talent Search, whose runners were led by stakes-placed Final Shot. Diamond B also stands Uptowncharlybrown who has two seasons on offer in the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's stallion season auction.

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