Eric Hamelback and Ed Martin, the CEOs respectively of the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI), will be the featured guests discussing one of the most fundamental changes to the administrative structure of horse racing in history. Peter Ecabert, the National HBPA's general counsel, also will participate.

HISA general counsel John Roach and the HISA Authority's interim executive director Hank Zeitlin declined invitations to take part.

“We look forward to opportunities for discussion with you after Lisa Lazarus takes on her role as CEO next month,” Zeitlin responded in an email.

Roach and Zeitlin referenced pending litigation as the reason for not participating. The National HBPA and 12 of its state affiliates have a lawsuit pending in Federal District Court in Lubbock, Texas. Additionally, nine individual states, along with two state racing commissions and the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, filed a separate suit in Federal District Court in Lexington, Ky.

The National HBPA believes HISA is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to a private non-governmental organization – the Authority. The Kentucky HBPA, the radio show's presenting sponsor, did not join the suit, though it was represented on the National HBPA's executive committee that voted unanimously to pursue a legal challenge.

HISA is now the acronym for both the legislative act and the regulatory Authority the law created.

The HISA legislation was passed by Congress in late 2020 and included as part of a year-end spending and Covid-19 relief bill. The law grants the Authority broad powers to create, regulate and enforce rules with respect to medication/drug, safety and integrity matters for thoroughbred racing in the United States. The Authority is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission, which must approve any regulations it proposes. Currently, regulations have been submitted to the FTC and published for public comment, others await submission, while no regulations have been approved or disapproved.

“We are less than 5 1/2 months from HISA's legislatively mandated implementation,” said Kentucky Racing Spotlight co-host Jennie Rees, a veteran turf journalist who works as a communications consultant for both the National and Kentucky HBPA along with other entities in horse racing. “Our show by design is not political. HISA is clearly a polarizing issue, but we thought this close to such a paradigm shift in thoroughbred racing that it was important to get straight talk, facts and informed perspective about what it means for the industry – including racing's consumers, the horseplayers – without the rhetoric or heated emotions.

“We are disappointed that HISA thus far has declined to participate. The invitation remains. I dare say the majority of racing participants – including many supporting or opposing the law – have no idea what is and isn't in the legislation. We wanted to take one step toward changing that.”

The National HBPA represents close to 30,000 licensed owners and trainers throughout America, making it the largest thoroughbred horsemen's organization in the world. ARCI is the umbrella organization of the official regulatory and rule-making bodies for horse and greyhound racing throughout North America and parts of the Caribbean. The organization's members heretofore were the only independent entities recognized to license, enforce and adjudicate matters pertaining to racing.

Kentucky Racing Spotlight, co-hosted by Joe Clabes, airs weekly through March 4 on ESPN 680-AM/105.7 FM, the region's sports-talk leader. The program also will be streamed live at espnlouisville.com, on the ESPN 680 app and the TuneIn and iHeart apps. The replay will be available on espnlouisville.com under the podcasts tab. All shows also are archived at davisinnovation.com/kyracing.

Kentucky Racing Spotlight is also sponsored by Davis Innovation equine marketing, the Louisville Thoroughbred Society and NKYTribune.com.

Previous shows archived at
https://www.davisinnovation.com/kyracing

The post Straight Talk About HISA: NHBPA, ARCI CEOs To Appear On Kentucky Racing Spotlight This Friday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Koenig is co-chair, with Sen. Damon Thayer, of the Pari-Mutuel Wagering Taxation Task Force appointed to review taxation policies on gambling on the Commonwealth's horse-racing products. Koenig said on last Friday's Kentucky Racing Spotlight weekly radio show on Louisville's ESPN 680 that based on the task force's findings, he will introduce legislation for a flat 1.5-percent tax on the gross (before winning bettors are paid off) of pari-mutuel wagers, including the highly successful historical horse racing operations. Such a measure would substantially increase the tax on bets placed on Kentucky racing through online platforms, known as Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW).

Another provision Koenig is championing in the bill he plans to introduce during the current 2022 state legislative session: rounding payoffs down to the penny, rather than down to the dime on a $1 mutuel.

The practice of rounding down is known as breakage. It's a decades-old policy that allows racetracks and any licensed bet-taker, including ADWs, to keep the extra money, to the frustration of horseplayers who believe it should be returned to winning bettors.

“The thing I'm perhaps most excited about is the elimination of breakage on live racing,” Koenig told Kentucky Racing Spotlight hosts Joe Clabes and Jennie Rees on the show. “It's something that happens at every track everywhere. Win, place, show … they (pay off) – at least in Kentucky and most other states – to every 20 cents (on a $2 mutuel). You pay $3.20 or $3.40 or $3.80. But it doesn't work out that way. You might deserve $3.47 or $3.68. We're going to try to make that happen. Because it's your money and it goes back to – I don't know, the 1930 or 40s – when the only place you could gamble legally was the track. There were long, deep lines, and they didn't want to pay everybody to the penny every time they came up.”

If Koenig is successful, Kentucky would be the first state to essentially eliminate breakage. New York, with a sliding breakage calculation, is the only state in the last 30 years to address breakage, but the proposed plan for Kentucky is easily the most player-friendly of any, according to industry expert Pat Cummings of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation.

“I think not only will it be great for the bettors, but I believe it will be an incentive for people across the country to bet on Kentucky racing,” said Koenig, an Erlanger resident whose district in Boone and Kenton County is adjacent to Turfway Park. “Maybe if you're a bettor like me who bets $5 to win, place on a race, it's not that big a deal. But if you're somebody who doesn't mind betting $200 across the board on a horse, that adds up to real money over time. I think the tracks will get the money back with additional wagering.”

“… I'm not doing it to cost the (tracks) money or even to help their product. I'm doing it because with the passage of this HHR (legislation) and increasing the numbers of HHR machines, we've taken care of the breeders, taken care of the owners; the trainers and jockeys are running for bigger purses,” Koenig continued, referencing legislation passed last February to protect historical horse racing. “The only person we haven't taken care of is the bettor. You can't run the show without all of those people — but you have to have the bettors.”

The task force was convened in the wake of last year's passage of SB 120 that cleaned up the language to ensure that historical horse racing was legal under the Kentucky constitution. Some lawmakers felt HHR should be taxed at a higher rate, with more money going to the state's General Fund. Subsequent testimony documented that — by being taxed on the gross rather than on net revenue and with a mandated amount going toward purses for live racing — the excise tax on HHR is effectively 32.2 percent.

That places Kentucky's tax rate on the high end of surrounding states with casino gaming, testimony before the task force documented. While standardizing the 1.5-percent excise tax, Koenig's bill would increase the tax on online and phone wagers made in the state from 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent.

“There is a range of tax rates when you make a wager,” said Koenig, who continues to work on the language of the bill before filing. “… When you're at a track and you go to the window, go to a (self-bet) machine, there's a 1 1/2-percent tax on that. But if I am at Keeneland or Churchill Downs and I bet on a simulcast race, say Oaklawn, that's taxed at 3 percent. If I bet on that same race at Oaklawn on my phone, it's taxed at one-half of 1 percent. I'm sure these tax rates made sense when they were created. But now, they don't make so much sense.

“… I believe we're going to generate a fair amount of money, especially with raising the ADW tax from a half of a percent to 1 1/2 percent. It's very complicated because within those tax rates you're funding purses for thoroughbreds, for standardbreds, funding the University of Louisville (equine business) program. Funding pays for improvements at the track. It's more complicated than I ever thought. We're going to make it more even, so that it makes more sense, and we're going to generate some additional revenue for the General Fund.”

Koenig said his bill also will remove any restrictions on how Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) supplements can be used as long as recipient horses are foaled in the commonwealth and sired by a Kentucky stallion. The bill would leave it up to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's KTDF advisory committee to set the policy but would be expected to allow the Kentucky-bred supplements to be added onto claiming races for the first time.

Among other likely provisions:

Funding for the equine programs at the University of Kentucky and the Bluegrass Community & Technical College.

Requiring that the horse-racing industry pay for the cost of its regulation, with the budget for the racing commission currently coming out of the General Fund.

Creation of a revenue stream to provide help for problem gamblers. HHR facilities would be required to maintain and share self-exclusion lists, where problem gamblers who ask to join the list will be refused admission to such properties.

Kentucky's 2022 legislative session runs through April 14.

Kentucky Racing Spotlight, presented by the Kentucky HBPA, will run Fridays from 6-7 p.m. ET through March 4 on ESPN 680/105.7 with streaming at espnlouisville.com, the ESPN 680 app and the iHeart and TuneIn apps. The shows are archived at davisinnovation.com/kyracing. In addition to the Kentucky HBPA, Kentucky Racing Spotlight is sponsored by Davis Innovation, NKY Tribune and the Louisville Thoroughbred Society.

The post Taking Up For Bettors: Kentucky Rep. Koenig Seeks To Eliminate ‘Breakage’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Albarado's final mount in a career spanning 34,113 races, 5,222 victories and more than $221 million in purse earnings will be Saturday at Turfway Park. He retires from a career that began in 1990 and saw the jockey capture the 2020 Preakness Stakes on the 3-year-old filly champion Swiss Skydiver. Albarado's career highlights include the 2007 Preakness and Breeders' Cup Classic and 2008 Dubai World Cup with two-time Horse of the Year Curlin and riding 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft.

Program co-hosts Jennie Rees and Joe Clabes will talk with Albarado about his career and future plans. Also joining this Friday's show will be Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer and Louisville Thoroughbred Society co-founder Gene McLean.

In addition to airing on ESPN 680-AM/105.7 FM, the region's sports-talk leader, Kentucky Racing Spotlight will be streamed live at espnlouisville.com, on the ESPN 680 app and the TuneIn and iHeart apps. The replay will be available on espnlouisville.com under the podcasts tab and posted on Kentucky Racing Radio's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

If Kentucky Racing Spotlight should get pre-empted for breaking news – as happened last week — the show will be pre-recorded and air Saturday morning at a time to be determined. Check out Kentucky Racing Spotlight's Facebook page (@Kentucky Racing Spotlight radio) and Twitter (@KyRacingSptlght) for any updates.

The Kentucky HBPA, the show's presenting sponsor, represents about 6,000 licensed owners and trainers at all five Kentucky thoroughbred tracks. Other sponsors include Louisville Thoroughbred Society, NKYTribune.com and Davis Innovation.

The post Robby Albarado On Ky Racing Spotlight Friday; Damon Thayer, Gene McLean Also Join Jennie And Joe appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hosted by horse-racing communications veterans Jennie Rees and Joe Clabes, Kentucky Racing Spotlight assumes the time slot filled much of the year by Inside Churchill Downs. The program will showcase Kentucky racing and horsemen, with one focus being Turfway Park's winter meet, while also featuring the week's major stakes nationally as well as the breeding industry and horse auctions. This week's featured handicapper is Horse Racing Nation's Ed DeRosa.

In addition to being on ESPN 680-AM/105.7 FM in Louisville, Kentucky Racing Spotlight will be streamed at espnlouisville.com, on the ESPN 680 app and the TuneIn and iHeart apps. The replay will be available on espnlouisville.com under the podcasts tab.

Regular segments will include interviews with Kentucky racing's policy-makers, the Louisville Thoroughbred Society's corporate member of the week and behind-the-scenes looks at aspects of the racing or breeding industry.

“When Jennie and Joe came to us with their vision for the show, our board knew it was a concept we wanted to embrace,” said Marty Maline, executive director of the Kentucky HBPA. “The show will help bring attention to what should be a strong meet at Turfway Park as well as keeping tabs on Kentucky horsemen who head south for the winter. One of the Kentucky HBPA's missions is to promote our horses and horsemen, and this show will do just that.”

The post Jennie Rees, Joe Clabes Launch ‘KY Racing Spotlight’ Radio Show On ESPN 680/105.7 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A year ago, when the Breeders' Cup was at trainer Rusty Arnold's hometown track of Keeneland, Gear Jockey was awaiting his first victory. That didn't come until this past January in the colt's first start as a 4-year-old.

Even though he started off 0 for 8, Gear Jockey has uncorked only two truly bad races, the first being his debut at six furlongs on dirt at Saratoga by almost 23 lengths. Stretched out to a mile on grass, the winless colt still ran very well, including finishing a close third at 67-1 odds in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita in 2019.

In fact, his tantalizing talent was such that Gear Jockey made a fleeting appearance on last year's Kentucky Derby trail. That ended in his second poor race in Gulfstream Park's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, his last race on dirt. He subsequently was sidelined for six months with a repairable leg fracture.

Back on grass, Gear Jockey won maiden and allowance races and came very close to winning a graded turf stakes. Still, Arnold thought there was more the horse could do.

“We sat down and said, 'Let's sprint the horse. He's just not finishing off, and he shows a lot of talent,'” Arnold said. “We've sprinted him three times on turf, and I think we've found his game.”

Gear Jockey earned a second-level allowance victory, was a rallying third after breaking slowly in Saratoga's Grade 3 Troy and then captured the Grade 3, six-furlong FanDuel Turf Sprint. That victory not only proved worth $576,600 to Calumet Farm but with the added perk of giving Gear Jockey a fees-paid berth in the five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series' Win And You're In program.

Gear Jockey needed to win the FanDuel Turf Sprint to even make the Breeders' Cup. That was no small feat as Gear Jockey was the last horse to get into the overflow Kentucky Downs' race. If he lucked into the race, he made his own luck coming out with an authoritative 2 1/2-length victory over the well-regarded Diamond Oops.

“It was by far his best race,” Arnold said. “He did everything right…. (But) if one more horse had entered, we'd have been out. I can't tell you how big it was.”

The five-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint also includes third-place Bombard and Fast Boat, who beat Gear Jockey in the Troy Stakes. Sixth-place Got Stormy, who won the 2020 Ladies Sprint at Kentucky Downs, is going in the $2 million Mile on turf.

“I don't think the Breeders' Cup can be much tougher than that race,” Arnold said. “… I'm confident my horse is going to show up. It's a little shorter than I'd like, but we're hoping we've got him sharp enough.”

The Kentucky Downs victory provided a special thrill for Calumet Farm owner Brad Kelley, who grew up in Bowling Green and Franklin, Ky., started his path to billionaire status back in Bowling Green and now lives in Franklin, Tenn. Kelley also is a previous owner of Kentucky Downs, and Gear Jockey won with Calumet Farm the racing card's day sponsor.

“It was nice to win a big race for him close to his home,” Arnold said.

A third-generation horseman, Arnold is tied for No. 2 with Bill Mott in all-time victories at Keeneland at 288, trailing only D. Wayne Lukas' 296.

Arnold also is one of the most successful trainers to never have won a Breeders' Cup race. Kelley won the short-lived Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint in 2012 with Hightail racing the name of Kelley's old Bluegrass Hall. But Calumet Farm has never won a Breeders' Cup race.

“Disappointing is the wrong word,” Arnold said of himself being 0 for 14 in the Breeders' Cup. “But it's on your bucket list. You don't want to be one of the guys who has won the most graded races without winning the Breeders' Cup.

“I'd like to win for any of my owners. I want to win one for Calumet; I'd like to win one for myself. I'm a little bit jealous on that.”

Calumet also has its homebred Lexitonian in the $2 million Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint. The 5-year-old horse, trained by the farm's private trainer Jack Sisterson, won Saratoga's Grade 1 Vanderbilt. Detroit City is on the also-eligible for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and needs two scratches to run.

“If he shows up on his best effort, he'll be right there,” Sisterson said of Lexitonian, who finished second by a nose in last year's Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar. “It's great the support and the passion that Mr. Kelley has for this sport. Although he doesn't come, he watches every race. People don't know how emotional he gets after a big win.”

The post ‘We’ve Found His Game’: Gear Jockey Comes Into Turf Sprint Off Career Best appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Last we checked you had 12 wins to go.

“We had one winner (Thursday) in the second race at Saratoga. So we're at 11 now. We have some good chances the rest of the week throughout the country. But with 11 to go, it's getting pretty exciting.”

And that's 11 to break or 11 to tie?

“Eleven to tie. A dead-heat in horse racing is a win.”

But not in your mind; I have a feeling that you won't be satisfied with a tie.

“The target is 11. If we can get 11, the rest will take care of itself.”

You're very open about being very goal-minded, and you've been thinking about this for some years.

“Absolutely. We're blessed with opportunity. We train for the greatest owners in the country and we have a lot of chances to win races. I'm not surprised by the races we win; I'm kind of surprised by the races we get beat in. I think getting to a significant milestone like this allows you an opportunity to look back and reflect on the ground you have covered.”

You've had some wonderful lines about the pursuit to be No. 1 I think one time you said, “Why aspire to be No. 2?”

“Well, if it didn't matter, why do they keep counting, right? Extremely blessed to grow up in horse racing and be a part of it my whole life. Very fortunate to still have my parents involved in it, and we have collectively enjoyed the pursuit. It will mean a lot when we get there.”

Do you recall when you took over No. 2, and who did you pass?

“Hollendorfer. And I was fortunate enough to meet him when he had a string at Arlington, I think in the early 1990s…. When we got to No. 2, he has always encouraged me, let me know that I was capable of catching him. Dale Baird — a tremendous feat, no matter where you win races. If you're in horse racing, you know how hard it is to win a horse race at any level. I think it's extremely significant to hopefully one day end up being the all-time winningest horse trainer.”

Did you ever meet Dale Baird?

“I met him when I was stabled at Hawthorne in the fall and he'd come in there to buy some horses.”

Did you ever tell him, “I'm coming after you?”

“Oh, gosh no. Back then I was just hoping to win a race. But years later, with opportunity, we've accumulated some numbers.”

Do you remember when it occurred to you that “I can be the all-time winningest trainer?” Or was it a gradual realization?

“Oh, by the time I was 12. I don't know. I was just extremely fortunate in the situation that I grew up in, of knowing and believing and being correct about what great horsemen my parents were. (Having) one older brother, out of south Texas or not, who won the Eclipse and was leading rider in New York and five-time Golden Whip award winner (in France). When you have that kind of example in front of you, what are you scared of?”

Ron Flatter of Horse Racing Nation said that you're very aware that the Baird record is just for North America, that a trainer in South America owns the overall mark. (As Flatter wrote: “At his rate this year of 1.51 wins per day, Asmussen is on pace to break Baird's record on or around July 30…. The world record is still about 1 1/2 years away for Asmussen. Peru-based trainer Juan Suárez Villarroel, who added five wins since Sunday, has 9,871 victories, according to the website Página de Turf. Since last fall Suárez Villarroel has averaged 0.75 wins per day, meaning Asmussen could close the gap by early 2023 if both maintain their current win rates.)

“Juan Suárez Villarroel. He's like 300 ahead of me, and he's still winning a couple hundred a year.”

And that's your next goal?

“Winning the Derby is my next goal. But the beautiful thing about this is we feel we're in the middle of it. It's never been better. The stable is very strong right now. We have some outstanding prospects that should continue to win.”

Does it ever wear you out being so goal-oriented? Or, because you don't get worn out from being goal-oriented, you are able to be goal-oriented? If you follow…

“This is what I'd want to do on vacation. I think the saying is extremely (apt): If you do what you love, you don't work a day in your life. We're unbelievably blessed to be given the opportunity to be in horse racing.”

When's the last time you took what most people would think of as a vacation?

“Me and Julie have taken some vacations, including the whole family went to Hawaii last year after Christmas.”

No racetracks there.

“No, (but) time with the family. I think that's my favorite part about horse racing: how involved and how much the whole family cares the whole time – from my parents to Julie to the boys to my in-laws. Easy to follow and fun to be a part of it.”

Julie told me once that you got married on a dark day. A Tuesday, maybe?

“We got married on a Tuesday. All three of our children, she was induced (into) labor on Tuesdays, on dark days. Yeah, our life has worked around horse racing.”

Now you could come up with the record-tying win, record-breaking win at any of six or seven tracks.

“Right now we're racing here at Ellis Park, Louisiana Downs, Indiana Grand, Monmouth Park and Saratoga on a regular occasion right now.”

You slipped in a couple at Colonial Downs on Monday, I noticed.

“I got a couple in at Colonial. When a horse is ready to run, you've got to find a race for them.”

What will it be like if you're not there in person when you get the record?

“You're there in person. I mean, if it happens. I'm anxious for it to happen, and I want to celebrate the accomplishment of it. But you will immediately worry about winning the next one.”

Are you sending Darren Fleming, your assistant here at Ellis, some live shots so he can maybe have a chance at being the one (when you get the record)?

“Everything you enter, you're trying to win with; that's kind of the idea.”

But there's trying to win and then there's …

“No, we have some very nice horses in this week at Ellis. But I'd be surprised if it happened before the first or second week of August. In the month of August, with meets closing and other meets just starting, we don't have as many entries as usual.”

Can you give us an update on Midnight Bourbon (the Preakness runner-up who clipped heels and fell in Monmouth Park's $1 million Haskell), since he did break his maiden last summer at Ellis?

“He's back jogging.”

That's amazing he came out of that unscathed.

“It is. Well, I don't know about the word unscathed. (You don't know) what it did to his head and stuff like that. His energy level is good. He looks good under tack. He's got a few abrasions and nicks that need attention, and we'll doctor those and keep him moving for the time being. But his energy level is very high.”

Final question, the big stakes weekends at Ellis Park are a couple of weeks off. But do you have any horses at this point targeted for Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend or the following week when we have the Ellis Park Derby and the 2-year-old stakes?

“We do. Undecided on exactly who, but we will be represented on those stakes days.”

The post ‘This Is What I’d Want To Do On Vacation’: Asmussen 11 Wins From All-Time Record appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The fact that the Juan Cano-trained Lamartine made Dugan a winner right off the bat in a $50,000 claiming race was a huge perk. On Saturday, Lamartine, claimed by Two Dimes for $32,000 on June 6, attempts another big step by running in the $75,000 Good Lord Stakes at the RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park. And even though she's still a new to horse ownership, Dugan has a good idea what they're facing plunging into stakes company.

After all, Dugan is the women's basketball coach at Louisville's Bellarmine University. Last year, the Knights moved up from NCAA Division II to Division I. The team that went 18-11, losing in their conference tournament semifinals of the COVID-shortened season in 2019-2020, went 5-11 in last season's Division I debut.

“I'm going to compare this to if we go up against the University of Louisville,” said Dugan, who coached Southern Indiana's women's basketball team from 1991-1999, taking the Screaming Eagles to the 1997 Division II national championship game. “They historically are in the top five. Just to have that opportunity, to see where you are and to see what you're made of what you have in you, hopefully that's where we are on Saturday at post time.”

Growing up in Louisville, the graduate of Sacred Heart Academy (where she was a swimmer) and Eastern Kentucky University (where she walked on and earned a basketball scholarship) learned to love horse racing from her father.

“It's been a dream of mine forever,” Dugan said of horse ownership. “My dad used to take me to Churchill all the time, teaching me how to read the program and what he was looking for. I always said that if ever I had the opportunity to do it, I would. Growing up, I wanted to be a jockey. But I'm 6-3, so that didn't work out.”

She calls winning her first start as an owner “surreal.”

“I think it was 22 years to the day the last time I was with my dad, and we were actually at Churchill Downs,” Dugan said. “To fast forward and be in the winner's circle with your own horse, it was kind of cool. He got out to the lead, which he likes to do, and when he got to the top of the stretch, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, he went out too fast. There's no way. They're going to be coming rolling.' And he went to another gear. It was an awesome feeling. It was like winning a game.”

Dugan knew several members of Two Dimes, including managing partner Clint Glasscock, Brad Ray and Joe Montano, whose daughter Therese played for Dugan at Bellarmine. While she only owns a tiny fraction of Lamartine, emotions run big whether one is in for a hair or in for the whole horse.

“I went to see him the day before he raced, and he's beautiful,” she said. “A lot of times that doesn't have anything to do with it, but he looked like he could really run. I know nothing about horse racing other than trying to pick winners. But I look at his prior races and how he was doing, and I think they were smart to shorten up the distance. Because I think he's a sprinter.

“Being a coach, I kind of want to coach him. But I'm going to leave that to Juan. He's doing a fantastic job. I've asked him a couple of questions. I just love the differences of what it's like to coach an animal versus a human. It's a whole different ballgame, because they don't have any feedback for you – other than what they're telling you when they're running.”

The Brazilian-bred Lamartine is racing for a $50,000 purse, given that he's not a Kentucky-bred (for which the race purse includes $25,000 in Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Funds money). He's 15-1 in Jimmy McNerney's morning line and will be ridden by Gabriel Saez.

“There's not a lot out there for him, so we thought we'd take a shot at it,” Montano said. “It will be a tough race.”

Dugan thinks her horse and her team have one thing in common, saying, “I think they're going to surprise a few people this year.”

The field for the Good Lord Stakes, in post position, with jockey/trainer and odds: Lamartine (Gabriel Saez/Juan Cano) 15-1; Mocito Rojo (Jose Guerrero/Shane Wilson) 10-1; Bango (Marcelino Pedroza/Greg Foley) 7-5; Sir Alfred James (Colby Hernandez/Al Stall) 3-1; Dark Oak (Sonny Leon/Rey Hernandez) 20-1; Guest Suite (Emmanuel Esquivel/Cipriano Contreras) 5-1; I'm Corfu (Francisco Arrieta/Brittany Vanden Berg) 4-1. Mocito Rojo and I'm Corfu are expected to scratch.

The post ‘A Whole Different Ballgame’: Bellarmine Basketball Coach Enjoying First Foray Into Horse Ownership appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The 31-date RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park begins this Sunday and concludes Saturday Sept. 4. Racing is Friday, Saturday and Sundays, plus Thursday July 1. First post is 12:50 p.m. Central.

Cano, a married father of three (with a fourth on the way), was trainer Angel Montano Sr.'s longtime exercise rider and assistant. With health issues sidelining Montano in recent years, Cano largely ran the Louisville-based stable and was the one making the trip to Ellis Park to run its horses, including for six wins last summer. After Montano died Oct. 1 on his 80th birthday, Cano took over as trainer.

Outside the gaping absence of the Montano patriarch, Cano said not much has changed with the operation.

“I've been at Ellis Park for a lot of years. It's just a new name as the trainer,” he said at Churchill Downs. “I still have horses for Angel's kids. Joey comes out almost every day.”

The barn's trademark colors with the royal blue background and gold angel wings remain. Montano's seven sons and daughters gave Cano their dad's equipment and golf cart, saving the young trainer tens of thousands of dollars. The Montanos, their spouses and friends continue to help populate the barn, including the recent formation of Angel Wings LLC.

“Angel intended for him to take over,” said son Joe, who long has been involved in the stable and has helped Cano navigate the considerable paperwork, payroll and taxes any trainer encounters. “We've been a team together for 10 years anyways, so it just continued on.

“Juan has a couple of clients he picked up; people are interested in what he's doing. He works hard, takes good care of the horses and gives them a lot of attention. He's looking forward to a good summer.”

Cano has doubled the “six or seven” horses with which he started, including several he claimed for himself. The stable has three wins, a second and five thirds out of 19 starts at Churchill Downs' spring meet, with three days remaining. One of those wins came at 44-1 odds with Super Sol in a May 31 allowance race.

“I've had a good meet,” said Cano, who turns 36 on June 24. “Churchill Downs is a little tough to win a race. I got a little lucky this meet. I've got a couple of horses I think will do good at Ellis Park.”

Montano, a four-time meet leader at Ellis Park, paid forward his success in America with his generosity and mentorship of Cano and other young Hispanics at the track. Montano arrived from Mexico at age 17 on a Greyhound bus with a fourth-grade education, $100, six sandwiches and three words of English. He worked his way into becoming one of the very few thoroughbred trainers in Kentucky in the 1950s and '60s whose native language was Spanish, then stamped himself among the state's winningest stables in the 1970s. A trainer for 60 years, Montano was the dean of the Kentucky horsemen at the time of his death. His last wins came at Ellis Park last summer.

“With Juan, given the timing, I think Angel thought he was going to be one who could take the next step,” said Joe, a licensed assistant trainer whose full-time job is with Ford's Material Planning and Logistics team. “He turned a lot of responsibility over to Juan in the last year or so. They thought the same as far as caring and training horses, and Angel taught Juan a lot of things as far as galloping, working, how a horse feels and getting one ready to go long or short.

“Juan took a lot of what Angel taught him and incorporated it with what he learned working for other people. The family felt Juan was going to be the one to take over. It was easy for us to give him all of Angel's equipment. We knew Angel wanted him to have it. He was part of our family and still is.”

Cano grew up riding horses and cows in his native Guatemala before coming to Kentucky. He started out as a hotwalker and then groom for several trainers before pursuing a position as an exercise rider in Ocala, Fla. Upon returning to Kentucky, trainer Rick Hiles suggested Cano speak with Montano about a job. The trainer watched him gallop one horse and gave Cano a salaried job. It was the start of a 12-year relationship during which the elder Montano offered constant encouragement and assistance.

“He helped me a lot,” Cano said, adding in reference to getting the long hair off a horse's body, “One time they needed someone to clip a horse. Angel said, 'Juan, can you clip the horse?' I said, 'I don't know how, but I'll try.' I went out and bought clippers like you use for people. I clipped one. It took all day, and it looked like a cartoon. Wrong kind of clippers. Angel said, 'Juan! What are you doing?' And he went and bought me a pair of clippers for horses. After that, I clipped horses for all kinds of trainers.

“Angel gave me a chance to claim a horse. I claimed one for $5,000 and he won for $7,500. I got really lucky with my first horse. It was a three-horse field. The horse was claimed off me, but I made money off him and claimed another one. I used to always have one horse, then two. While working for Angel, I would groom and gallop my horses and do all my other work.”

In addition to the added training responsibilities, Cano continues to get on most, if not all, of his horses in morning training.

“It's not easy to run a stable, but I'm happy to do it,” he said. “All the Montano kids have helped me. Every time they come to the barn, they say, 'Keep doing what you're doing.' Miguel said, 'My daddy is happy for you.' I'm working hard. On race day, when I run a horse, I basically live with the horse all day in the barn.”

Horse owner Peter Patel, who claimed two fillies for Cano to train, said he likes knowing that the trainer sees and touches his horses every day.

“He's working hard, that's the main thing” Patel said. “I always loved small trainers. I like to help them out. He's doing wonderful, and I hope he does well. He's hands-on.”

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So while Thomas didn't buy any 2-year-olds as he has the previous two years, he did acquire 15 mares whose pedigrees worked well with Mr. Money. Had he not suddenly found himself in the stallion business, Thomas said no way he'd have gone on such a broodmare spending spree.

“I've been trying to downsize,” Thomas said with a laugh. “The answer's not no. It's hell no! But Mr. Money was such a nice horse, and he still is. Everybody who goes out and sees Mr. Money are like, 'OK, what kind of deal can I get if I bring four mares here?' He's going to have a heck of a nice book, and we were three or four weeks late to the game.

“We're really excited about Mr. Money, and it seems like the folks in Florida are very excited about him. He's getting a lot of new girlfriends.”

The original plan was to race Mr. Money at age five. That changed after a post-work endoscopic exam in late November revealed a breathing obstruction, which Thomas believes explained a poor performance in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile after Mr. Money's snappy victory in Churchill Downs' GIII Ack Ack. Rather than roll the dice that a surgical procedure would return the horse to peak form, the decision ultimately was made to retire him. Mr. Money is one of four stallions at Journeyman, standing for $5,000.

Brent Fernung, who with wife Crystal owns and operates Journeyman, had never met Thomas. After more or less rejecting the horse when Thomas's main trainer, Bret Calhoun, first made an overture, Fernung then looked at Mr. Money's race videos, loved what he saw “and now I've got to crawfish my way out of this mess,” he said. He called Thomas “and he had me talked into it lock, stock and barrel five minutes into the conversation.”

Fernung quickly learned that, given the choice between going small and big, Thomas opts for bigger. Thomas told Fernung he'd breed “10 or 12” mares to Mr. Money. The number for 2021 right now is set for 23. Thomas also funded a substantial advertising campaign.

Chester Thomas | Sarah Andrew

Owner support “is important anywhere, but it's particularly important down here in Florida, where if you look historically stallions have been made by their owners,” Fernung said. “When I heard the enthusiasm that Chester had for this, combined with the quality of the horse, it was a no-brainer for me to want to get involved. Chester has been great. You can't ask any more of an owner than to support his own stallion. It's not cheap to do, but it's a necessity if you really want to make a horse down here.

“I always look for a horse that has something that just makes you turn your head. When I got to watching Money's races, he's winning by five, six, seven in $500,000 races. He's beating these horses for fun. He's got to have enough pedigree to make a stallion, which he does, but they have to rise above just another stakes horse. He certainly did this, the way he won those four races in a row.”

Even with Mr. Money arriving right before New Year's, whereas Fernung would prefer a new stallion be on hand by early November, he said the reception has been excellent. He expects Mr. Money will be bred to between 75 and 100 mares.

He can only hope that Mr. Money mirrors Thomas's ascent in horse racing.

Four years ago, Thomas decided to switch his focus from mainly a claiming operation and inexpensive auction purchases to investing in better-bred and pricier yearlings and 2-year-olds to upgrade his stock with the goal of participating in racing's biggest events. With Josh Stevens his main bloodstock agent, Thomas's Allied Racing soon reaped the results.

Mr. Money provided Thomas with his first Breeders' Cup starter, finishing fourth in the 2018 GI Juvenile at Churchill Downs straight from a maiden victory.

In 2019, By My Standards (Goldencents) became Thomas's first graded stakes winner in the GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby. Mr. Money followed with Grade III victories in the Pat Day Mile, Matt Winn, Indiana Derby and West Virginia Derby. He just missed on bagging the coveted Grade I when collared on the wire of the Pennsylvania Derby by Math Wizard (Algorithms), whom Mr. Money had decisively defeated at Indiana Grand and Mountaineer Park.

Today, Allied Racing is one of the top owners in the country, checking in at No. 13 in purse earnings for 2020, including By My Standards winning a trio of Grade II stakes. In addition, Mr. Big News (Giant's Causeway) finished third in the 2020 GI Kentucky Derby, giving Thomas a runner in America's greatest race for the second straight year, following By My Standards' 11th in 2019.

While upgrading his racing stock, Thomas also began a breeding program, concentrating on Louisiana.

Thomas with his new stallion last September | Coady

Thomas, who continues to own 75% of Mr. Money to 25% for Spendthrift Farm, believes had Mr. Money held on in the Pennsylvania Derby, he would be residing at Spendthrift in Lexington today. Fernung agrees and says “it was a long neck from Lexington to Ocala,” making it possible for them to have a stallion in Florida with legitimate Kentucky credentials.

“We're benefiting from the fact that he got snagged at the wire in the Pennsylvania Derby,” he said.

Thomas and his team opted to give Mr. Money the chance to make it big in a regional market rather than getting overlooked in the hyper-competition for mares in Kentucky.

“We want him to be successful,” Thomas said. “There's nothing like conquering and winning.”

Thomas said he will sell some of his mares in foal at regional markets with the hopes of getting Mr. Money progeny into the northeast. Some will foal in Florida and a few could land in Texas, but the bulk of babies will be born in Louisiana, he said. Under those states' current rules, those horses can be made eligible for the Florida Stallion Stakes Series as well as Louisiana-bred stakes.

“Florida is a great place for a stallion,” Thomas said. “They've got a lot of horses there. They've got that stakes series. They have good incentives, stallion rewards. They race year-round down there, so that seemed like a good regional market for us to introduce Mr. Money to. And it's not that far from Louisiana.

“I really like the Louisiana program. Our Louisiana-bred horses are carrying the weight for us now,” he continued, referencing his racing stable.

Thomas is putting the same calculated acceleration into his newfound stallion operation that he utilized for his racing operation. Having missed out on the early-November broodmare auctions, he worked with highly regarded pedigree consultant Alan Porter to secure nicely bred fillies and mares via the claim box. He also bought one mare at auction and another privately.

“I am very competitive,” Thomas said. “I don't like losing. So when I focus on something, I really give it my best… It's a numbers game. So the more mares they get, especially if they're the right bloodline crosses, the better odds you get of getting some good racehorses. When you look at the stallion awards, the breeders' awards, look at the purse money, it makes sense–as much as I like to race horses and as competitive as I am–to support this stallion.

“As an owner, I think some of my most fun years are ahead of me. It's 2021. We'll have foals in '22 and '23. It will be 2024 with the first Mr. Money 2-year-olds. The first Mr. Money that wins, now that will be fun.”

The post Right On the Money appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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But no Churchill Downs jockey can match the resilience and longevity of Melancon, whose tenure of riding full-time under the Twin Spires for 36 consecutive years is unprecedented. Melancon, whose first official race was in 1971, arrived at Churchill Downs for the 1974 spring session. Up through his retirement on July 4, 2010 at Churchill Downs, the jockey had won at least one race per meet with the exception of the three he did not ride: fall of 1974, spring of 1979 and spring of 1993, when he fractured three ribs at Keeneland.

Melancon died at age 65 Thursday morning with his wife of seven years, Denise Hasher Melancon, at his side in their Louisville home. The former jockey succumbed to complications from the debilitating stroke he suffered four years ago.

“It's a personal loss. Larry was a very close friend and we worked together for a lot of years, going back probably as long as we can both remember,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. “He was a good man and well-liked throughout the racing community. He was respected by a lot of horsemen, and a lot of good horsemen, like Lynn Whiting. There were a lot of people who liked to have Larry on their team because he had such a good opinion of a horse. Riding, he'd always give you a good effort, and we had a lot of great outcomes.”

Melancon totaled 2,857 victories and more than $60 million in purse earnings through his 38 years riding. When he retired, his 914 wins at Churchill Downs ranked No. 3 all-time, with his 47 stakes victories ranking fourth. Even 11 years later, Melancon still ranks seventh in both categories.

“He was a fixture at Churchill Downs,” said jockey, friend and fellow Cajun product Robby Albarado, who in his first career race in 1990 back in their native Louisiana used one of Melancon's old saddles. “He showed up every day and did his job.”

Melancon was at Churchill Downs before the track's legendary all-time win leader Pat Day arrived. He rode an additional five years after his good friend and long-time rival retired in 2005.

Day ruled the roost at Churchill Downs in the 1980s and 1990s. Melancon rode for many of the same outfits and didn't get a lot of the top assignments in the afternoon unless Day was out of town. But he had a long and successful career making the best of his opportunities at the races. And Day is among the first to acknowledge that Melancon was the better choice to put on a horse in the morning.

“He was one of the best all-around horsemen that I've been around,” Day said. “Very proficient rider, but he understood the condition book. He understood horses. I was a good jockey. I wasn't what I'd call an all-around horseman like he was.

“It used to aggravate him. We'd sit down and start talking, and he'd say, 'Do you know if Lynn is going to run that horse back in the 'non-winners of two?' I'd say, 'Larry, I don't have a clue.' That was my agent's business. Larry knew everything. He'd seen the horse run.”

Mott recalled Melancon working Taylor's Special before the eventual 1984 Louisiana Derby and Blue Grass Stakes winner ever ran. After the work, Melancon simply told the trainer, 'Well, when you run him, just go get your coat and tie on.'”

Retired trainer Don Winfree referred to Melancon as the “real good mechanic” everyone wants to have.

“He could get on a horse, and if you had a little problem, he could help you pinpoint it,” he said. “For years I had a lot of young horses who hadn't started, were coming along. Larry was kind of my test pilot to help me value them before we'd make a start. I used to like to bet on the first-time starters. He'd say, 'Don, this horse can win for $30,000' or 'This horse can win for $50,000.' I told him, 'Larry, I don't want to know what he can win for. I want to know what he can't lose for.' Larry was a dear friend. We used to hunt and fish together, and he was the ultimate professional. Another good one gone.”

Every trainer who rode Melancon seems to have a similar story.

“He was unbelievably good in the morning,” said Al Stall Jr., for whom Melancon worked after he retired from race-riding. “If a horse breezed well, he'd say, 'Get the condition book out.' I didn't need to hear any details such as 'he switched leads' or 'he finished up strong.' When he said 'get the condition book out,' that means everything was ready to go. He was generally right. He rode a nice, patient race and was thoughtful early in a race and had a very strong finish.”

Beyond Melancon's skill with horses, Stall noted how people naturally gravitated to him, recalling a special summer when the former jockey went up with him to Saratoga in 2012.

“We had a really good time,” Stall said, adding of the current president of Claiborne Farm, “Walker Hancock was just a hotwalker, feeling his way up the ranks. Walker would bring all these young guys, his friends, around the barn. They just loved Larry. At night we'd all go to someone's house and Larry would cook Cajun food. Those kids were just in heaven. They thought Larry was like king of the world. Because he was funny — and he could cook.”

Melancon was a quiet leader by example on and off the track, including helping young riders. He and Day united with then-trainer and current WinStar Farm president Elliott Walden and former trainer Bill Million to get Churchill Downs' first full-time chaplain. The quartet subsequently worked to raise the money to build the backstretch chapel.

“He was a brother in the Lord,” Day said. “Larry was instrumental in the chaplaincy as we know it. And a fierce competitor on the racetrack.”

Melancon's mother, the late Winona Champagne, was a trainer. He grew up near Lafayette, La., in Breaux Bridge, the self-proclaimed Crawfish Capital of the World. Long before he was old enough to legally ride at a sanctioned track such as nearby Evangeline Downs, Melancon from the time he was 9 rode match races at the bush tracks around the Acadiana region, the cradle of so many talented American-born jockeys.

Sheila Day, Pat Day's wife, grew up in the area and knew Melancon since she was 6.

“The next step was to get into the 'big-time,' Evangeline Downs,” she said. “And he made Churchill Downs. Young people respected that Larry was able to climb those heights, to get to Churchill Downs. His family was very respected in the area. His legacy is going to live on for a long time.”

Melancon won 43 graded stakes, including Keeneland's Grade 1 Blue Grass on Bachelor Beau for trainer Phil Hauswald in 1986. He captured four Grade 2 stakes, including Churchill Downs' Stephen Foster, on the Niall O'Callaghan-trained Guided Tour. Melancon rode in the Kentucky Derby four times, his best finish being fourth on Amano in 1976.

He won Oaklawn Park's 1997 Rebel Stakes on the Whiting-trained Phantom On Tour, finishing second by a half-length in the Arkansas Derby. While Jerry Bailey was aboard for the horse's sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, Melancon the next year won the New Orleans Handicap on Phantom On Tour with his mother in attendance. Albarado said that win photo, prominently displayed in the Melancons' house, was his friend's favorite victory.

Melancon remained involved with the track after his retirement, galloping horses and helping out Stall and working as jockey Calvin Borel's agent. When he married Denise seven years ago, the couple began traveling and engaging in outdoors pursuits. With no warning symptoms, he suffered a stroke when the couple were in North Carolina to hike part of the Appalachian Trail.

“Larry was a very good rider and even better person who was courage personified in the face of great personal adversity,” said Caton Bredar, the racing broadcaster and a family friend.

Even last August the Melancons found a way to go fishing out on Lake Huron in Michigan, which proved Larry's last trip. Denise Melancon said her husband continued to greatly looked forward to the regular Monday night potluck dinners they'd have over with Dallas Stewart, the trainer getting a ramp for his house to accommodate Larry's wheelchair.

Melancon's health had deteriorated in recent months, with her son, Keelan Allen, and Albarado's son Kaden providing immeasurable assistance in his care with kindness, gentleness and compassion, Denise Melancon said.

“He was at home, went peacefully, for which I'm very grateful,” she said. “Everybody loved him. He never had a cross word and was so giving to people. We still did a lot after the stroke. I said, 'You are not going to be a victim of circumstances.' And we lived life.”

Said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson: “The Churchill Downs family is deeply saddened to learn the news of former jockey Larry Melancon's passing. Larry was amongst the winningest jockeys in Churchill Downs history and was known for his skilled horsemanship. More importantly, Larry was a class-act who was always willing to lend a helping hand. He will be greatly missed. Our condolences go out to his numerous friends and family during this difficult time.”

Melancon was preceded in death by mother Winona Champagne and father Vermillian Melancon. In addition to his wife, Melancon is survived by son Lance Melancon, Louisville; daughter Heather Schapansky, Tyler, Texas; stepson Keelan Allen, Annapolis, Md.; sisters Judy Theriot and Vickie Guchereau; and grandchildren Caleb and Nathan Schapansky and Lawrence Melancon.

Newcomer Funeral Home-East Louisville handled arrangements. Denise Melancon said her husband's ashes will join his mother in Breaux Bridge. No public service is scheduled, per the jockey's request. The family suggests memorial gifts go to The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation, 40 E. 52nd Street, New York, N.Y., 10022, or the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund, P.O. Box 803, Elmhurst, Ill, 60126.

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