Indiana Grand | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Side By Side’: Fever Temple’s Half-Brother, Even Fever, Ponies Him To The Gate At Indiana Grand

Fever Temple and DeShawn Parker stepped onto the track for the afternoon's fourth race Tuesday, July 28 and were greeted by a familiar face. The pony horse assigned to take them to the gate was none other than half-brother Even Fever, a retired racehorse who recently joined the pony horse team of Liz Klopp at Indiana Grand.

“I knew Even Fever was being used for outriding at Ellis Park, but I didn't know he was here at Indiana Grand until a few weeks ago,” said Brandi Steele, trainer of Fever Temple. “Liz (Klopp) came up to me and told me she had just bought him (Even Fever) to add to her pony horses. It was pretty cool to see them side by side on the track today.”

Although Even Fever is grey and Fever Temple is dark bay, Steele sees the family resemblance in the two geldings. They all hail from her owner Jim Edgar's mare, Cecilia's Fever, and with six foals of racing age, four are currently or have been under the care of Steele. Even Fever was trained by Tom Dorris in Illinois for Edgar.

“We have had four in the barn by Jim (Edgar's) mare Cecilia's Hope and they are all dark bay and all look the same in the face,” noted Steele. “Looking at Even Fever, even though he's grey, he has the same facial features as all the others.”

Even Fever completed his racing career in 2018, racing primarily in Illinois. The now 10-year-old son of Even the Score won 10 races during his career and earnings in excess of $167,000. He is now excelling as a pony horse in his second career on the track.

Fever Temple, Lucky Fever, and Cecilia's Hope are all part of Steele's barn and currently racing. Fever Temple finished fourth in his start Tuesday. Lucky Fever has had four starts this year. Cecilia's Hope, a two-year-old, will make her racing debut Monday, Aug. 3 at Indiana Grand in the afternoon's third race.

Steele has been training for Edgar, former Governor of Illinois, for the past three years. Edgar has been a longtime proponent of horse racing and still owns part of a Standardbred, but his main focus these days is in the Thoroughbred industry.

“Jim has a farm around the Springfield (Illinois) area, but he breeds here in Indiana and his horses stay over here,” said Steele. “He has seven or eight brood mares right now.”

Although retired, Edgar is still actively involved on numerous boards and lends his expertise as a consultant. He was inducted into the Lincoln Academy of Illinois as Laureate and awarded the Order of Lincoln in 1999, the state's highest honor. He also has a state park named in his honor, the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area located in central Illinois. The stakes winning owner remains passionate about horse racing and attends the races frequently to watch his horses compete at Indiana Grand. His best horse to date was Fighting Fever, who won in excess of $276,000 before her retirement to the brood mare ranks in 2006.

The post ‘Side By Side’: Fever Temple’s Half-Brother, Even Fever, Ponies Him To The Gate At Indiana Grand appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Straight Fire 6: Indiana Grand Adds New Jackpot Wager

Indiana Grand is adding a new gimmick to its wagering platform. The Straight Fire 6, a jackpot Pick 6 wager, will be offered, and to help initiate the wager, a unique world record will ignite the bet in Race 2 Monday, July 20.

“We are always looking for ways to promote our racing product and thought it would be fun to kickstart our Straight Fire 6 with a $100 guaranteed pool, which will be the lowest in the world,” laughed Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing. “With all the serious issues going on right now, we wanted to add some humor into the launch of our Straight Fire 6. We had an employee contest to name the wager and the $100 guaranteed pool gives us the distinction of setting another record – the lowest guaranteed pool of all-time!”

The Straight Fire 6 will join a list of similar wagers across the United States offering a jackpot format. The wager needs one unique ticket to take the “jackpot” or the entire pool. If there are multiple tickets with all six winners, then 50 percent of the pool will be paid out and the remaining 50 percent goes into the carryover. The Straight Fire 6 is offered daily beginning in Race 2 and extending through Race 7.

Live racing continues through Wednesday, Nov. 18 with action held Monday through Thursday beginning at 2:20 p.m. Three more Saturday programs are slated for all-Quarter Horse days Aug. 8, Oct. 23 and Oct. 24.

The post Straight Fire 6: Indiana Grand Adds New Jackpot Wager appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Indiana Racing Commission Approves Eldorado Acquisition Of Racetracks — With Conditions

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved the transfer of permits and licenses for Indiana Grand and Hoosier Park from Caesars Entertainment to Eldorado Resorts Inc. at a Monday morning meeting — but that approval came with a number of conditions.

A report from commission staff last week highlighted a series of concerns about Eldorado's past management of racetracks it has owned, including Pompano Park, Scioto Downs, Presque Isle Downs, and Mountaineer Park. While the report noted representatives of Eldorado had presented come exciting plans and promises to the commission about its commitment to the future of Indiana racing, there were concerns about its financial liquidity and tendency to reduce staff and other costs, to the disadvantage of racing operations.

At a presentation before the commission, which was held as an in-person meeting at Indiana Grand, representatives from Eldorado did not dispute the findings of the report or previous reports from consultant Doug Reed noting concerns about its history of racetrack management.

“I will tell you, I read Executive Director Pittman's report, I've read the Reed report. I'm not going to stand in front of you and offer excuses,” said Tom Reeg, chief executive officer at Eldorado. “I know the Reed report was not acceptable to me, it's not acceptable to this commission, and you've seen us make changes immediately upon the issuance of it. But also understand you can't fix those issues in a couple of months by hiring one guy. We've seen the list of conditions in Executive Director Pittman's report; we understand that the commission, if they give us the opportunity to own these tracks, they'll hold our feet to the fire. We are ready and willing to accept all of the conditions in that report.”

One of the newer company developments highlighted by Eldorado to reassure Indiana's racing industry was the hiring of Joe Morris as its senior vide president for racing operations. Morris formerly held the title of senior vice president of West Coast operations at The Stronach Group before departing in 2017. Morris admitted that when approached for the position earlier this year, he had reservations.

“Eldorado and the tracks lacked expertise in their management,” said Morris, who said he too studied the company's racing history with concern. “The managers did lack authority, and they were mired in bureaucracy. It took too long to get a decision made.

“When I was talking with Anthony [Carano, COO of Eldorado] about taking this position, I had the same three concerns [as consultant Doug Reed]. The racing people need to be making racing decisions and we've fixed that in this case. The corporate structure actually mandates that.”

Morris pointed to increases in daily handle at Scioto Downs, which was the first North American harness track to reopen after the COVID-19 shutdown. He attributed the improvements to new wagering menus, better analysts guiding horseplayers through the track's card, and an adjustment in post times to address computer wagering. Morris also said he brought in new surface experts to Scioto and would plan to do the same in Indiana.

In addition to a $20 million to $25 million commitment to an escrow account for racing, the company plans to allot $60 million for facility improvements across racing and casino operations. Morris spoke of additional barns and dormitories at Indiana Grand, as well as a need to stimulate Indiana-based ownership across all three racing breeds.

“The future of racing is very bright here,” said Morris. “There's nothing to fix; I think we can polish it up a little bit.”

Several speakers, including horsemen and commissioners admitted that they were initially skeptical of Eldorado's ability to avoid a repeat of the mistakes outlined in last week's staff report. But many said after intense discussions with Eldorado management, they have instead become hopeful the company will boost racing in the state with careful oversight from the commission.

A couple of speakers said they were not convinced.

“I'm hearing some good stuff. I'd love to believe it,” said Nat Hill, longtime horseman in the state and one of the directors at the Indiana Standardbred Association.

“No horseman's group can afford to publicly oppose the acquisition of Caesars by Eldorado. A horseman makes his living at the track, and a track has the absolute ability to refuse entries. Over the years, horsemen and horsemen's groups have learned to go with the flow. In no circumstance will they ever likely oppose a change in ownership.

“Perhaps most disturbing to me personally is the lawsuit instituted by Eldorado to kill harness racing in Florida by replacing it with jai alai. How can it be overstated that Eldorado is using every legal means possible to kill harness racing in Florida? What will their plans be in Indiana in years to come?”

Ultimately, the commission's approval included a list of conditions, including all 22 requirements suggested by commission staff. Eldorado will therefore be committed to getting NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance for its racetracks, required to keep ownership of both Hoosier and Indiana Grand, will be required to maintain existing staffing levels. Eldorado representatives also committed to continuing a program launched by Caesars to improve gender and racial diversity in its company's management.

The post Indiana Racing Commission Approves Eldorado Acquisition Of Racetracks — With Conditions appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Street Sense Filly Remains Perfect on Turf at Indiana Grand

4th-Indiana Grand, $32,500, Alw, 7-13, (NW2LX), 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.42, fm.
NASTY (f, 3, Street Sense–Valiant Passion {GISP, $132,900}, by Lion Heart), firming into 4-5 favoritism to build on an eight-length graduation when trying turf and two turns for the first time June 18, LNJ Foxwoods’s Nasty traveled like a winner every step of a Monday allowance at Indiana Grand and came home a measured one-length winner. Wrangled back to sit in a stalking second beneath Fernando de la Cruz, the $230,000 Keeneland September yearling acquisition traveled strongly down the back and was allowed to stride into the lead nearing the end of the second turn. Roused in upper stretch, Nasty kicked into a clear lead and perhaps idled a stride or two once making the front, but she kept on nicely to maintain a safe one-length margin over her chief market rival Sister Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) and remain on an upward trajectory. Nasty faced a pair of talented fillies in two main-track appearances to start her career, finishing fourth to ‘TDN Rising Star’ Ain’t No Elmers (Goldencents) on her Feb. 15 debut at the Fair Grounds before coming home fifth to Casual (Curlin) in an Oaklawn maiden Apr. 11. She could scarcely have been more impressive last time, settling a bit off the speed before whooshing home to graduate by eight emphatic lengths. One of four winners to race from as many to race from her dam, the 2010 GI Spinaway S. third-place finisher, Nasty hails from the female family of GI Breeders’ Cup winner Skywalker and has a foal half-brother by Good Magic (Curlin). Sales history: $230,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-0, $42,900. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
O-LNJ Foxwoods; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Brad H Cox.

The post Street Sense Filly Remains Perfect on Turf at Indiana Grand appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post