John Hernandez First Recipient Of Herb & Darlene Likens Scholarship

The Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (ITOBA) awarded its first Herb and Darlene Likens Scholar Award recently at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. John Hernandez of Monticello, Ind. is the recipient of the first $2,500 scholarship from the newly installed program.

John is a graduate of Twin Lakes High School in Monticello, Ind. He is currently attending Ivy Tech in Lafayette, Ind. His father, Martin, works at Elliott Farms in Brookston, Ind., making John eligible for the award earmarked to families associated with Thoroughbred racing in the state of Indiana.

“This award was initiated by ITOBA this past spring to offer something to the thousands of people working behind the scenes in the Thoroughbred industry in the state,” said Tom Mosley, President of ITOBA. “Martin, John's father, has had his hands on so many horses that have emerged from this state. Martin is a prime example of a hard-working, dedicated, loyal horseman who is the backbone of the Indiana Thoroughbred industry.”

Elliott Farms is Indiana's largest and oldest farm in the state. It is well known nationally for breaking, training, breeding and sale prep of the horses raised at the farm. Martin Hernandez has been a huge part of the entire services offered by Elliott Farms for more than two decades.

The Herb and Darlene Likens Scholar Award was created to assist Indiana's breeders, owners, farms, and their employees and families in their post high school educational expenses. The award is named after the Likens, longtime owners and breeders in the state, who assist with the award. The Likens are still active in breeding and racing Thoroughbreds from their farm in Madison County.

The Likens' Scholar Award leads into ITOBA's biggest event of the year, Indiana Champions Day set for Saturday, Oct. 30 at Indiana Grand. Racing begins at 12 p.m. and will feature four Thoroughbred stakes with followed by five Quarter Horse stakes, pushing purses for the day to more than $1 million. Numerous activities will complement the afternoon racing card, including a Cigar Rolling Station with free cigars to the first 200 racing fans, sweatshirt, hat, and license plate giveaways, two $1,000 handicapping contests, five $1,000 Megabet drawings, strolling entertainment, and food and beverage specials. The afternoon will be capped off with an appearance by the Headless Horseman.

Indiana Champions Day will also include two book signings associated with racing. Otto Thorwarth, who portrayed Ron Turcotte in the Disney movie “Secretariat,” will be available to sign his new book “No Ordinary Champion.” Tina Cleary, former Quarter Horse jockey, will also be available to sign her book “Growing Up With Moocher” based on a former Indiana racehorse. Both signings will take place trackside from 2 until 5 p.m.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Thursday, Nov. 11. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 11. First post all other Thursdays leading up to the end of the meet begin at 3:25 p.m. A special Indiana Champions Day highlighting the state's top Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses will be held Saturday, Oct. 30, beginning at noon. More information about the 2021 racing season is available at www.caesars.com/indiana-grand.

The post John Hernandez First Recipient Of Herb & Darlene Likens Scholarship appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

2022 Indiana Grand Dates Approved

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission approved a request for dates for the 2022 racing season at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino during a Tuesday meeting. The 127-day racing season will begin Apr. 19 and end Nov. 23, 2022. The schedule marks the most racing dates in one season for Indiana Grand.

The bulk of the racing season will be contested Monday through Thursday. First post Monday through Wednesday will be 2:30 p.m. while racing on Thursdays will begin at 3:30 p.m.

Of the 127 days, seven will be Saturday cards dedicated to Quarter Horse racing with a start time of 10 a.m. Included in the Quarter Horse days will be the AQHA Bank of America Challenge Championships set for Saturday, Oct. 22 with a first post of 6 p.m. EST.

Indiana Grand will offer five Saturdays of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. Live racing will be conducted Saturday, May 7 during Kentucky Derby Day with a post time yet to be determined. Three summer dates are included with racing set for Saturday, June 11, July 9 and Aug. 6. Post times for each of these cards will be 5 p.m. The final weekend racing program is set for Saturday, Oct. 29, featuring Indiana Champions Day with nine stakes included on the card for both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. The event will begin at 12 p.m.

Finally, special holiday racing programs will be held Monday, May 30 and Monday, July 4 beginning at 12 p.m. Also, Thursday racing in November will move to 2:30 p.m. due to shorter daytime hours in Indiana.

The post 2022 Indiana Grand Dates Approved appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Indiana Commission Approves 127 Race Dates At Indiana Grand In 2022

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC) met Tuesday, Oct. 19 and approved a request for dates for the 2022 racing season at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. The 127-day racing season will begin April 19 and end November 23, 2022. The schedule marks the most racing dates in one season for Indiana Grand Racing & Casino Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing.

“We are constantly looking at the landscape of racing to determine what works best for our horsemen and our racing product,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “We feel we have become a national presence during the early part of the week, so we want to keep that intact, but we also want to provide weekend opportunities for our on-track racing guests. We think our 2022 racing dates will accommodate both our simulcasting patrons and horsemen as well as our on-track racing fans with a few more weekend racing opportunities next season.”

The bulk of the racing season will be contested Monday through Thursday. First post Monday through Wednesday will be 2:30 p.m. while racing on Thursdays will begin at 3:30 p.m.

Of the 127 days, seven will be Saturday cards dedicated to Quarter Horse racing with a start time of 10 a.m. Included in the Quarter Horse days will be the AQHA Bank of America Challenge Championships set for Saturday, Oct. 22 with a first post of 6 p.m. EST.

Indiana Grand will offer five Saturdays of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. Live racing will be conducted Saturday, May 7 during Kentucky Derby Day with a post time yet to be determined. Three summer dates are included with racing set on Saturday, June 11, July 9 and August 6. Post times for each of these cards will be 5 p.m. The final weekend racing program is set for Saturday, Oct. 29 featuring Indiana Champions Day with nine stakes included on the card for both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. The event will begin at 12 p.m.

Finally, special holiday racing programs will be held Monday, May 30 and Monday, July 4 beginning at 12 p.m. Also, Thursday racing in November will move to 2:30 p.m. due to shorter daytime hours in Indiana.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Thursday, Nov. 11. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 11. First post all other Thursdays leading up to the end of the meet begin at 3:25 p.m. A special Indiana Champions Day highlighting the state's top Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses will be held Saturday, Oct. 30, beginning at noon. More information about the 2021 racing season is available at www.caesars.com/indiana-grand.

The post Indiana Commission Approves 127 Race Dates At Indiana Grand In 2022 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Piedi Bianchi Splashes Into Indiana History With Victory In Cardinal Stakes

Piedi Bianchi, the standout Indiana bred mare by Overanalyze, has won races from coast to coast. Her connections always works in a stop in Indiana each year for stakes action, and her win in the $150,000 Cardinal Stakes Wednesday, Oct. 6 at Indiana Grand moved her into the record books. With total earnings now of $823,497, she is third on the list of all-time leading Indiana breds and second by only dollars behind Lady Fog Horn to be the all-time winningest Indiana bred female in Indiana history.

Based out of New York, Piedi Bianchi was accompanied by East Coast rider Tyler Gaffalione for her start in the Cardinal Stakes. Just as the field of eight was entering the starting gate, a torrential rain blasted down with horses almost at times unrecognizable on the television monitors.

Piedi Bianchi left from post seven and got into good early positioning as expected on the inside and was immediately joined by Magical Peapod and Florent Geroux, who placed pressure on them through the first half of the one and one-sixteenth mile race. Down the backstretch, Fireball Baby and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. joined in on the pressure, moving three wide at the halfway marker before slipping over to duel with just Piedi Bianchi.

In the stretch, Piedi Bianchi did what she does best, drew away from the field and was an eventual winner by four and one-half lengths at the finish line. Fireball Baby finished second over Bumble of Love and Rodney Prescott, who closed for third over the sloppy track.

Piedi Bianchi now has eight career wins in 27 career starts for owners Jay Oringer, Jack Bick, Lucien Bianchi and Jordan Rubenstein's Al Bianchi Racing, LLC, Adam Bayroff and Mike Maturo. Carlos Martin trains the striking grey filly who was a purchase by her connections for $80,000 out of the Ocala Breeders Two-Year-Old Sale in 2017. It was the fifth stakes win for Piedi Bianchi, who is a Graded Stakes placed six-year-old.

“She slipped a little at the start, so I didn't want to rush her, but she broke pretty good, so we were able to get near the front early,” said Gaffalione through an interview with Jimmy McNerney, guest racing analyst. “I wasn't concerned about the pressure because she was doing it easily and was pretty comfortable. When I threw to her a little, she gave me everything she had. She is just a classy horse.”

Piedi Bianchi is now behind all-time Indiana bred leader Bucchero, who has $947,000 in earnings, followed by Lady Fog Horn who earned in excess of $824,000 during her career. Piedi Bianchi is moving into the final strides of her racing career and her connections hope to retire her at the end of the 2021 racing season.

The post Piedi Bianchi Splashes Into Indiana History With Victory In Cardinal Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights