Indiana Grand | Horse Racing Free Tips

Belterra Park Stewards DQ Horse From Win, Alleging ‘Invalid/Fraudulent’ Eligibility Documentation

First-time starter Easily Influenced has been disqualified from an Aug. 17 victory at Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, after the board of stewards ruled that the horse's owner had “submitted invalid/fraudulent documentation determining eligibility for entry.”

Easily Influenced recorded a series of breezes for his owner, Marc Ricker, at the Ashwood Training Center in Paris, Ky., a facility Ricker operates and is recognized by Equibase as an official training center for recording workouts. Testimony at an Aug. 27 stewards hearing from Bud Bundy, who had served as the starter at Ashwood, indicated that he did not issue the approved pre-race starting gate card dated Aug. 4 used by trainer Sherman Mitchell for Easily Influenced's eligibility to enter the Aug. 17 race.

“In mitigation,” the stewards ruling states, “trainer Sherman Mitchell obtained the gate card from the owner of record for Easily Influenced. Further, this owner Marc Ricker, dba/Ashwood Training Center submitted invalid/fraudulent documentation determining eligibility for entry.”

Stewards ordered the $9,300 purse for the $7,500 maiden claiming race to be redistributed. Easily Influenced was disqualified and declared unplaced.

That same day, Aug. 17, stewards at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Ind., scratched first-time starter Delta Nine from a race after determining his gate card had not been issued by Ashwood's starter. Delta Nine was also trained by Mitchell and based at Ashwood. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission has not issued a ruling on the matter.

Ricker said he's done nothing wrong and is appealing the Ohio disqualification.

“It wasn't a fraudulent card,” Ricker said. “It's since been cleared up, as far as I'm concerned. The starter works for me. I own the training center. I've got signed affidavits from six people. The starter said (Easily Influenced) was OK, but he was out of gate cards to fill out. I printed more for him, but he wasn't going to be back in time.”

Ricker said he wasn't happy with Bundy's testimony before the Belterra Park stewards.

“He's since been fired,” Ricker said of Bundy. “I'm filing a complaint against him (with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission).”

Bundy could not be reached for comment.

Ricker said Ashwood's new starter is Barry Wilson.

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Indiana’s Richest Day Of Turf Racing Set For Wednesday At Indiana Grand

Indiana's richest day of turf racing is set for Wednesday, Sept. 8 featuring four stakes for Caesars Stakes Day at Indiana Grand. Purses for the day exceed $700,000 for the 11-race card which is capped off by four stakes, including the $150,000 Caesars Stakes (Listed) and the $150,000 Indiana Grand Stakes (Listed).

Heading the list of entrants in the Caesars Stakes, slated as Race 10, is Royal Prince from the Brad Cox barn. The 3-year-old son of Cairo Prince comes into the race off a second-place finish in the $100,000 KY Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Derby at Ellis Park in early August. The grey stakes winning colt has only missed the top three once in seven starts this season. He will start from post seven at odds of 8-5 with Fernando De La Cruz in the irons.

The Cox Stable will also saddle the favorite in the Indiana Grand Stakes, featuring the fillies over the turf running at a distance of one mile. The Uncle Mo filly Burning Ambition was a winner in her last start at Ellis Park in mid-August, her first and only start of 2021. She is now three for four in her brief career. De La Cruz will also ride from post eight at odds of 2-1 in Race 9.

The Caesars Stakes and the Indiana Grand Stakes will be bookended by the 21st running of the $100,000 Back Home Again Stakes in Race 8 and the 21st running of the $100,000 Circle City Stakes in Race 11. The four stakes will offer a special All Stakes Pick 4 on Races 8 – 11.

Caesars Stakes Day will also feature “Empire of Hope,” a Caesars Entertainment Racing initiative to place the spotlight on racehorse aftercare programs. Indiana Grand will offer several activities to raise funding for the cause throughout the program, including t-shirt sales and Peppermints for Ponies, where guests purchase peppermints to feed to the pony horses following Race 4 on the card.

A “Parade of Champions” will also take place with five current pony horses highlighted as retired racehorses. Ethan Hunt and Niceandeasydoesit, both serving as outriding horses, will be featured following the sixth race along with Gallant, Even Fever, and retired Quarter Horse Stealtheshowjo.

The afternoon card will also feature the $1,000 Caesars Stakes Warriors Contest, open to players both on-track and online. The top handicapper on the six contest races will receive a $500 gift card. The contest is open to all players currently residing in the United States that are 18 years of age and older. The contest begins on Race 5. Entries should be submitted to: indianagrandcontest@gmail.com by 4:20 p.m. to play.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Monday, Nov. 8. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, with first post on Thursday set 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.

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Racing Fans Get Inside Look At Indiana Grand Backstretch Thanks To Indiana Thoroughbred Alliance

Forty horse racing enthusiasts gathered to tour the backside of Indiana Grand Racing & Casino over the weekend. While enjoying free refreshments, guests were treated to an inside look of a horse racing barn and meet two jockeys-turned-actors, thanks to trainer Brandi Steele and the Indiana Thoroughbred Alliance (ITA).

The barn tour was the first of its type at Indiana Grand since 2019, due to biosecurity and security precautions at the Shelbyville track. Visitors were treated to meeting retired jockey Francisco Torres, winner of more than $68.8 million in lifetime earnings, including 12 graded stakes races. Torres played jockey Braulio Baeza in the ESPN movie “Ruffian” in 2007. Now a jockey's agent at Indiana Grand, Torres shared highlights of his career on and off the track and was open to answering questions.

Fellow retired jockey and movie star, Otto Thorwarth was also on hand for visitors to meet. Thorwarth played jockey Ron Turcotte in the 2010 Disney movie “Secretariat” and returned to Indiana Grand to later become chaplain.

Other speakers included Michael Mann, DVM, track veterinarian at Indiana Grand, Steele and Nate Brannin, managing partner of B&B Stables, a fractional ownership group based out of Indiana.

“I just wanted to give others the opportunity to be on the backside to see what all goes into taking care of these horses,” says Brannin, one of the organizers of the event.

“After a year of restrictions and shutdowns, it was so nice to be amongst the horses and sharing the passion of Hoosier horsemen and women with the fans,” says Christine Cagle, board member of the ITA. “We are very thankful to Indiana Grand and the Indiana Horse Racing Commission for allowing us to host this event.”

Participants were able to feed sweet potatoes to the horses in Steele's barn, take photos with the horses and ask questions varying from the daily routine of racehorses and the track vet's role to how they can become more involved in the industry.

“I believe there are a lot of potential racehorse owners out there, but they just don't know how to get involved,” says Brannin. “I hope this helps spark more interest.”

“Before I became a trainer, I never even thought about being in the horse racing industry,” says Steele, who stepped out on her own as a trainer in 2018 and has earned nearly $925,000 so far. “But after attending a backside barn tour like this and seeing what it was like, I fell in love. And here I still am.”

One lucky attendee had their name drawn for a free VIP experience at Cedar Creek Winery, a staunch supporter of Indiana horse racing, where employees are co-owners with Indiana-bred mare Drinkatthecreek with Michael Lauer Racing. The ITA hopes to offer more opportunities like this in the future, as well as continue their education series this fall and winter by offering more webinars and seminars on a variety of horse husbandry topics.

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DeShawn Parker Wins 2021 Mike Venezia Memorial Award

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced today that veteran jockey DeShawn Parker is the winner of the 2021 Mike Venezia Memorial Award.

Parker, based at Indiana Grand, was chosen in ballots cast by more than 350 professional jockeys at North American tracks. He outpolled a distinguished group of finalists including Junior Alvarado, Julien Leparoux, Scott Stevens and Gerard Melancon, and will be recognized in a special ceremony on Thursday, September 2 at Saratoga Race Course.

Created in 1989, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award is awarded to a jockey who displays the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that personified Venezia, who died as the result of injuries suffered in a spill in 1988. Venezia, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., won more than 2,300 races during his 25-year career.

“It's an honor just to be on the ballot for this award,” said Parker. “It's extra special that my fellow riders are the ones who made the selection. I take a lot of pride in being a role model both on and off the track. I will cherish this award.”

In a career that has spanned more than 30 years, Parker, 50, was America's leading rider in 2010 with 377 wins, becoming the first Black rider to do so since 1895. He led all jockeys again in 2011 with 400 wins; and is now closing in on 5,900 career wins. A native of Cincinnati, Parker was a dominant rider for more than 20 years at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia. He has also enjoyed considerable success at Indiana Grand, where he was leading rider in 2020, and at Sam Houston Race Park, where he was leading rider in 2015.

Winning the Venezia Award is another major accomplishment for Parker in a year he described as “personally emotional but exciting.” In early March, Parker lost his father, Daryl Parker, a longtime Ohio racing steward, to cancer. Parker called his father his mentor and inspiration for becoming a jockey, especially after telling his 5-foot-10-inch son to ignore the naysayers who said he was too tall to make it as a professional rider.

“My idol, my best friend and a great father!” Parker said of his father. “He meant so much to my life and my career. I can only hope to be as great as he was.”

Two weeks after the passing of his father, Parker was selected by a vote of jockeys nationwide as the winner of the 2021 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, presented by Santa Anita Park.

The Venezia Memorial Award is a 13-inch bronze sculpture with a title that reads, “The Jockey, A Champion.” Parker joins a legendary group of riders who have won the award previously, including Venezia, who posthumously earned the inaugural award in 1989, as well as Bill Shoemaker, Angel Cordero, Jr., Jerry Bailey, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens, Richard Migliore, Edgar Prado, Ramon Dominguez, Joe Bravo and Javier Castellano.

For Migliore, the 2003 Venezia Memorial Award winner who is now with NYRA TV, the award continues the legacy of Venezia.

“Winning the award myself was one the proudest moments of my career because Mike Venezia embodied everything you look for in a rider,” said Migliore. “He continues to be an example for today's jockeys and for our sport. DeShawn Parker is a worthy addition to this group of jockeys.”

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