Calo to Sub For McNerney at Turfway

Veteran race caller Tony Calo will fill in as the Turfway Park announcer while regular caller Jimmy McNerney recovers from neck surgery.

Calo, who has been the announcer at Finger Lakes since 2008, began his career in 1997 at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, CO. He also called at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields.

Turfway is set to begin another four-day race week beginning Wednesday. First post Wednesday-Friday is 5:55 p.m. EST and at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday.

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Spa City Records More Than A Title In Salute To Heroes Stakes At Indiana Grand

A win by Spa City in the inaugural running of the $75,000 Salute the Heroes Stakes was much bigger than the blanket and trophy. The win by the horse and Edgar Morales capped off a special Pick 5 Charity Challenge where 20 handicappers from across the nation placed wagers into the pool. Of those tickets, three players, Ellis Starr, Dan Tordjman and Jimmy McNerney, hit to tally a total of $2,839.65. On top of that, Trainer Tom Amoss called in and donated his trainer's percentage from the race to the cause, bringing the total donated to Homeless Veterans and Families (HVAF) of Indiana to $7,362.65.

Assistant trainer Katy Allen took the call from Amoss as the horse was walking out of the winner's circle to deliver the charitable news during the post-race interview. All proceeds will go to HVAF to assist with their various programs, from their food bank and housing for homeless veterans to their education and job search program. The organization is located in downtown Indianapolis and serves the region, which includes the local community around Indiana Grand.

Spa City is a recent acquisition through a claim by owner Maggi Moss and trainer Tom Amoss. His new connections saw potential right away in the four-year-old gelded son of Street Sense and thought the Salute the Heroes Stakes was a good spot to test his skills.

Starting from post six in the seven-horse lineup, Morales saw early on that using early speed was not the ticket to the finish line and sat patiently in mid pack with Spa City. Around the final turn, the gelding came to life and used the stretch to rally home for the easy win by three and three-quarter lengths. Bayou Cat and Rodney Prescott finished a comfortable second over Warrior in Chief and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. for third.

“I saw this horse came from off the pace before, so we thought that was the best way to go since there was so much early speed in this race,” said Morales. “The eight (Bybee) broke better than us so I stayed around him early. He ran a pretty good race at Churchill in his last start. He is a nice and easy horse to ride with a big stride and when I asked him for more, he gave it to me.”

Spa City earned his fifth career win in 14 career starts and boosted his career earnings tally to nearly $200,000. He is now three for three at Indiana Grand over the dirt course. He was bred by Godolphin.

“This horse is so nice to be around,” added Katy Allen, who has collectively worked for the Amoss Stable for seven years. “He is so sweet in the stall and when Tom (Amoss) claimed him, I was so happy because he won that race very handily. We were hoping for a big run tonight and we are happy with his performance.”

Amoss, a six-time leading trainer at Indiana Grand, is the track's all-time winning trainer in wins with more than 400 trips to the winner's circle. He also holds several other training records, including most wins in one season by a trainer (81) and most purse earnings by a trainer in one season ($1.5 million), both set in 2013.

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Breeders’ Cup Buzz: The Rides Of A Lifetime

Behind every winning race is a winning ride, and the Breeders' Cup has produced some of the most impressive piloting efforts the sport has seen.

When considering those winning trips, a share of the credit must, of course, go to the jockey's agents who booked the mounts for their riders. An agent knows a good ride when they see it.

With 37 years of Breeders' Cup races to draw from, we polled six jockey's agents to get their picks for the greatest riding effort in Breeders' Cup history. The answers cast a wide net from personal victories, to betting scores, to rooting for childhood heroes.

Doug Bredar

“For obvious reasons, it would be Gun Runner in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. I'm still surprised that Arrogate went off as the favorite. The bettors thought that Gun Runner would have issues going a mile and a quarter, but the connections felt otherwise. Arrogate had beaten him a couple of times, and it was not only an incredible thrill watching Florent Geroux win the race, but redemption for the way he did it. The fractions were 22.4, 46.1, 1:10.2 and 1:35. He went wire-to-wire and I thought it was an exceptional ride. Very fond memories of a special race.”

John Herbstreit

“Arazi and Zenyatta are the most impressive horse races I've seen. Even when Zenyatta ran second, she was impressive. Alysheba and Personal Ensign are my favorite wins. My favorite ride was Pat Day on Wild Again in the 1984 Classic.”

Ron Ebanks

“Randy Romero on Personal Ensign in the mud getting up the last jump to nail Gary Stevens on Winning Colors (1988 Distaff). He was my idol as a kid and I couldn't have been more happy and proud of him.”

Jimmy McNerney

“Pat Valenzuela aboard Fraise in the 1992 Turf stands out the most. It was the first Breeders' Cup that I was old enough to 'legally' bet and I put $100 across the board on him. He came from last and P-Val made every right move weaving his way through the pack through the turn. When they straightened, he dove down and snuck through along the fence and nipped Sky Classic right on the money. There's no other path that he could've taken and had the same result.”

Mike Luider

“Gulch in the 1988 Sprint. Angel Cordero Jr. was masterful!”

Brian Beach

“Julie Krone's ride on Halfbridled in the 2003 Juvenile Fillies was one of the best I've seen. It's not always about weaving though traffic and getting up at the wire. It's sometimes about getting your horse to perform its best under adverse circumstances, and that's what happened in this race. They broke from the 14 post and Julie was able to get her filly to relax while going wide and still not expending too much energy until she could get a better position down the backstretch. By the time they turned for home Julie had Halfbridled in a perfect winning position with something left in the tank for the run to the wire.”

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McNerney Wins NHC Charity Challenge, Brunker Finishes Second

Jimmy McNerney, track announcer at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming and Turfway Park, both located in Kentucky, won the 7th annual $5,000 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Charity Challenge presented by Four Roses Bourbon with a final mythical bankroll of $68.60. Mike Brunker, assistant city editor and horse racing columnist at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, finished second with $64.20.

McNerney spent about six hours preparing for the Charity Challenge, including while his wife drove him from Cincinnati to Ellis this morning.

“The horse in the last (Del Mar Race 9, Friar's Road, $10.20) was the one I loved the most,” he said. “I just thought the pace scenario set up perfect for him and he definitely was the one.”

A field of 58 personalities competed in the Charity Challenge. As the winner, McNerney will have $2,500 donated in his name to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) and he chose the Dragonfly Foundation of Cincinnati, supporters of patients and families impacted by pediatric cancer, to receive $2,500.

McNerney chose the Dragonfly Foundation in honor of a family friend who has used their services

“When he explained what all they did for him, it really hit me and I thought, man, if I ever get a chance I'd like to donate to them. And I went through a couple of heart surgeries when I was a child. There's a lot of struggle with families in town who don't have a support group or places to go.”

McNerney “grew up at the barn,” as he tells it. His grandparents were both trainers. His dad was a jockey. His mom and her siblings also were steeped in the sport and two of them were riders, too.

“We were always at Ellis Park and Turfway so it's kind of cool that I get to actually call the two tracks I grew up at,” McNerney said.

McNerney has worked in racing office roles at Beulah Park and River Downs before he became an announcer.

“I became friends with Luke Kruytbosch and would hang out with him in the booth here at Ellis,” he said..”After he passed I never thought I'd get a chance because he was the one helping me. But I used to do impersonations of announcers just hanging out at the bar at Hoosier Park. One day [longtime announcer] Steve Cross had car trouble and the publicity lady, Tammy Knox, came to me and said, 'You're up.' I told her I'd only called races off TV and she said, 'Well, you're all we got.'”

McNerney served as a backup for several years before landing a gig at Fair Grounds for their Summer Quarter Horse Meet. He continues to work as an agent and currently has the book of DeShawn Parker, who this year has received two of the most prestigious career honors for riders, the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award presented by Santa Anita Park and the Mike Venezia Award from the New York Racing Association.

The top five in the Charity Challenge was rounded out by longtime industry video production specialist G.D. Hieronymus ($59.60), Forbes SportsMoney business writer Matt Rybaltowski ($56), and New York Racing Association/FOX Sports racing analyst and co-founder of In the Money Media Jonathon Kinchen ($45.30).

In addition to the charitable prize, Breeders' Cup is offering a $500 credit to the winner's HorsePlayers.com account The second-place finisher will get a $250 credit with third earning a $100 credit.

Players selected one horse for a mythical $2 Win and Place bets on the same eight races used as mandatory events on Day #2 at the NHC.

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