Tag: jockey club round table

Saratoga Set for 155th Season of Racing

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y–Nothing new at old Saratoga this summer. As has been the case for many decades, most of racing's stars will be in town for America's most important Thoroughbred meet of the year.

The first race of the 40 days of the 155th season opens at 1:10 p.m. Thursday with a 10-race program at Saratoga Race Course. By the time the meeting reaches its conclusion on Labor Day, Sept. 4, over 400 races, including 71 stakes worth $20.8 million, will have been run. The traditional opening-day feature is the $175,000 GIII Schuylerville S. for 2-year-old fillies.

Godolphin's Cody's Wish (Curlin), quite likely the most popular horse in the country, leads the deep lineup of standouts expected to compete at Saratoga this summer. That group includes 2022 Eclipse Award winners Forte (Violence), Nest (Curlin), Elite Power (Curlin) and Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), all of whom won over the track during their championship seasons. Unbeaten Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) is on course for the GI Test on the Whitney Day program on Aug. 5.

Todd Pletcher, the 14-time leading trainer at Saratoga, said that Forte will prep for the GI Travers in the GII Jim Dandy on July 29, but the decision has not been made on whether Tapit Trice (Tapit) will run in the GI Haskell on July 23 at Monmouth Park or the Jim Dandy. He said his grass star Up to the Mark (Not This Time) is likely to run in the GI Arlington Million at Colonial Downs, Suburban S. winner Charge It (Tapit) is a candidate for GI Whitney S. on Aug. 5 and that Far Bridge (English Channel) will follow his Belmont Derby score with a start in the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational of Aug. 5.

Cody's Wish, the winner of six straight and nine of his last 10 starts for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, is on course for the $1 million Whitney. It will be a distance test for GI Met Mile winner; he was third in his lone try at 1 1/8 miles in 2021 at Saratoga.

Todd Pletcher will have all of his stars at Saratoga | Sarah K. Andrew

Three years after the Saratoga season was conducted without fans because of the Covid-19 pandemic and following last year's record-setting summer with remarkable weather, this Saratoga meet appears ready to settle into the familiar groove with the focus fixed squarely on the equine talent. It's business as usual at the Spa.

“I think you always think about Saratoga that way,” said Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. “The COVID year was certainly strange, because it was the first time I'd ever seen empty stalls here because some people were unable to attend. But, aside from that, I think you always come into Saratoga expecting to see the best horses in the Midwest and the East Coast and we'll probably get some California shippers. It's that time of the year when you expect to see top-class horses, running in all the big races.”

This will be the 10th season that Jason Fitch and his brothers Adam and Patrick, have operated Kings Tavern, a fixture on Union Avenue across from the main entrances to Saratoga Race Course. Jason Fitch said that in the past few weeks the track has awakened from its annual slumber.

“The vibe is hard to describe. It's because it's kind of like COVID never happened,” he said. “It's like, everything's back to normal. Everybody's happy. Everyone's excited.”

Kings has a solid year-round local clientele and Fitch said with some out-of-town track customers already making their first visits of 2023, one season flows into the next.

“It kind of felt like the track ended like yesterday,” he said. “For me, personally, it feels like, just yesterday was Labor Day.”

During the racing season Kings opens early: at 9 a.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m., Wednesday-Friday and on Sunday.

In recent years, the New York Racing Association has unveiled a series of capital projects on the grounds. Last year, the rebuilt Wilson Chute enabled NYRA to add one-mile dirt races to its lineup. This year, the most notable addition is very important–the backstretch healthcare clinic building–but not something that the average racegoer would be aware of.

Saratoga's patrons will notice a change of admission pricing and the move to an all-access ticket. NYRA announced in March that daily tickets purchased at least 24 hours in advance will cost $7 and the day-of-the-event price is $10. Since 2019, a grandstand ticket cost $7 and clubhouse entry was $10. The new approach will allow all visitors to go into the clubhouse. General admission on Travers Day will be $30, but $25 in advance.

Some of the bigger names in sport will compete early in the meet. In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) trained by Chad Brown will go after her second-straight win in the GI Diana Saturday and Clairiere (Curlin) will try to repeat in the GII Shuvee on July 23 against Nest, who will be making her 2023 debut.

Nest showed that she was of championship caliber last summer with GI wins in the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama. Pletcher said that the Shuvee run is intended to set her up for the GI Personal Ensign on Aug. 25.

“We wanted to get started a little earlier,” Pletcher said. “Unfortunately, she got sick when she first came in and we basically missed a month. It took a little while, to get her well enough to get her back into training. Our original plan was to either run at Keeneland or Churchill and then the Ogden Phipps. It's just unfortunate that set us back to the point where she is just now getting ready.”

The Saratoga season features important off-track events, too. The Jockey Club's annual Round Table will be conducted on Thursday, Aug. 3, the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame will induct its newest members on Aug. 4 and the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale of select yearlings will take place on Aug. 7-8.

Pletcher and Chad Brown have been the kingpins on the trainer's table for 12 consecutive years and it's a very safe bet that they will be vying for the title once again. Brown has won the last two and five of the last seven. Defending champ Irad Ortiz Jr. has won the jockey's competition four times.

2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage | Horsephotos

Though the $1.25 million Travers, first run in 1864, is always the marquee race of the season, it could be a crucial test to determine the 3-year-old male title following a spring in which three different horses won the Triple Crown races. That trio, GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic), GI Preakness S. winner National Treasure (Quality Road) and G1 Belmont S. champ Arcangelo (Arrogate), may meet in the Travers on Aug. 26. If that happens, it will be an oddity: just the fourth time in history and first since 2017. Arcangelo is already based at Saratoga and being pointed to the Travers. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has not announced which horses he will run at Saratoga–in his return to the track after missing 2022 due to a ban imposed by the New York Racing Association–but on Monday did not rule out National Treasure for the Travers. He said that recent Los Alamitos Derby winner Reincarnate (Good Magic) is a Travers possibility.

Mage was given a break following his third-place finish in the Preakness on May 20 and resumed training in June. After his next scheduled breeze Friday at The Thoroughbred Center a decision will be made on whether he will make his next start in the Haskell or the Jim Dandy.

“It's a special moment, for sure,” said Mage's co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “To have all the classic winners in one spot it's lovely for the fans and lovely for the horse players. Like any athlete or representative of an athlete, you want to run against the best and compete against the best and hopefully put forth a good effort. For ourselves, as a collective, our lifelong dreams have been the Kentucky Derby and the Travers. Our dreams are those two races. It's been an incredible ride to have accomplished one and to have a decent shot to accomplish the second one would be, it's really the stuff of dreams. The Travers is our end-all, be-all. That's what we're focusing on.”

Cody's Wish | Sarah K. Andrew

Cody's Wish is a very talented 5-year-old with a distinctive backstory. He is named for Cody Dorman, of Richmond, Kentucky who was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. As a result of the syndrome, Dorman uses a wheelchair and communicates with a tablet. They met in 2018 during a Make-A-Wish Foundation visit to Gainsborough Farm. The young foal interacted with Dorman and laid his head on the boy's lap, which led to his naming.

Mott's always-strong barn is especially heavy with headliners this year with Cody's Wish, Sprint champion Elite Power, and War Like Goddess (English Channel) in the lineup.

Once a seasonal visitor to Saratoga, Mott has a large part of his stable based at Saratoga for most of the warm weather months. He said he looks forward to the meet.

“It's fun. It's exciting to be a trainer here,” he said. “It's fun when there's enthusiasm around. We enjoy it.”

In the late 1950s, Saratogians feared that NYRA, then a new organization, might drop Saratoga, which was far less popular than the meets at Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack. In 1957, the state legislature passed a bill guaranteeing Saratoga a 24-day season without competition at the downstate tracks. By the 1970s, Saratoga's stature had risen again and it is the most significant meeting on the NYRA calendar. Benefitting from warm, dry weather last summer, NYRA lost just 16 grass races–compared to 45 in 2021–and registered a record all-sources handle of $878,211,963, a jump of 7.7% from the previous year. Excluding fan-free 2020, NYRA reported its seventh-straight season of one million in paid attendance.

In a well-timed announcement on Monday, the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency said a new report it commissioned showed that the meet at Saratoga Race Course generates $371 million in economic activity and more than 2,900 jobs in the Capital Region.

The post Saratoga Set for 155th Season of Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Campbell: The Horse Racing Industry Nexus

For those of you who like playing the futures, or simply enjoy speculating on odds, there is a website out there for you called Polymarket. They take compelling types of questions, (some less so, depending on your persuasion), and offer you the chance to “buy in” with either a “Yes” or “No.” It's all based on $1.00, and that is what you get for each share you buy, if you are correct.

An example: Will Britney Spears' Dad be out of her conservatorship before Oct. 1? If you don't agree, you could get shares for .63 apiece. If you do, then that will run you .37. A recent addition was, “Will the KHRC rule to disqualify Medina Spirit from the Kentucky Derby by Oct. 15?” Who knows about that one!

Cashing in on opinions continues apace. In this speculative vein, if we were to construct one of these “prop bets,” what do you think the odds are that the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Act, also known more popularly as “HISA,” will be ready during the Summer of 2022? I am hopeful of this prospect after listening to Charles Scheeler's upbeat appraisal on the current state of the federal legislation that was signed into law by the Trump Administration late last year.

On Aug. 15, The Jockey Club hosted virtually its annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing. Its panel of participants included Scheeler, who was elected chairman of the HISA board in late May, after an illustrious career as a lawyer and advising George Mitchell through the well-known MLB Report that bears the former U.S. Senator's name. The Round Table topics that were discussed hit on a myriad of issues related to the sport of Thoroughbred racing, but none were as important as what Scheeler had to say, in my estimation. Nearly, everything else had the air of marketing and salesmanship, rather than true reporting of anything earth-shattering. Scheeler expressed himself emphatically, and without hesitation, which was refreshing to hear. A replay of the Round Table is available here.

It sounds like, at this point, the two HISA committees (one each for racetrack safety and anti-doping policies) are hard at work, hoping to produce a structure that can be weighed and measured. According to the chairman, that draft should be ready by the fall, and a subsequent “final copy” will be polished by next spring. The Federal Trade Commission will then review these recommendations and cherry pick the ones they think will work within the bounds of the law. In other words, they could like them all, some, or none of them. Where Scheeler provided little in the way of illumination was funding. How and who exactly is going to pay for this – the taxpayers, the sport itself, the bettors? I've been concerned about this point for quite some time now, and I know I am not alone (See Paulick Report editor-in-chief Natalie Voss' article on this topic). What we do know is that once the target date of July 1 arrives, and everything is in place, then it goes “live.”

In his presentation, Scheeler referenced the ubiquitous “industry,” mentioning that the two halves of HISA could only succeed with broad support from it. I've been struck by that word for some time now, and I wondered just exactly of whom he was speaking? Did he mean the members of The Jockey Club? The various racing and breeding organizations that exist? What about those that own or work on horse farms? The betting public or reps from the gaming sector, was that it? During the broadcast, other panelists followed with the same overt usage. I went to my trusty dictionary, and though it has several definitions, in this context its meaning appears to be a “particular form or branch of economic or commercial activity.” It is not just The Jockey Club presenter at the Round Table; “industry” or “industry-wide” regularly gets tossed around when it comes to matters pertaining to horse racing.

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Pulling the curtain back, Thoroughbred racing as an “industry” exists in several wide-ranging, and seemingly disparate pockets. It is not like steel, automobiles, or cosmetics. When it comes to the sport, there are multiple industries intricately involved. There is agriculture, which touches most. Equine-related entertainment networks and racetracks bring together connections, which in turn engages the fans and/or the bettors. Of course, gambling is probably the most prominent of all of these. It influences racing because that is where the money comes from for purse structures and keeping the lights on.

Currently, this horse racing nexus of “industries” on the whole could not continue in many states without the full support of non-racing revenue. To that end, in a state like Maryland, casino revenue given to the sport undermines the economic incentive to identify, monitor, and minimize the risks. HISA has faced stiff competition because of a hash of rules and regulations that are complex and interfere with a national agenda that includes safety and testing. It will not be easy for them to wrestle control away from locales that may not agree with the end product. What seems to be true is that horse racing supporters of this great sport continue to ensure the perpetual welfare for what could be termed a “hobby” for the wealthy. Take away non-racing revenue, and what would remain?

One need look no further than the situation in New Mexico and what has occurred this past year, to witness the utter collapse of an “industry.” When the state cut off casino funding because those entities were closed due to COVID, the horse people of the state suffered. Really and truly, all professional sport franchises, and for that matter the Olympic Games, have a similar problem when it comes to cash flow. Teams are always looking for new and better stadiums (i.e., Chicago Bears), and expect the public to fund them, despite the fact that the money is not beneficial to taxpayers whatsoever. The Thoroughbred “Industry” continues to be able to generate all the right incentives at all the wrong times. That is an investment that is not about future building, as it only exists in the present (See Donna Brothers' two-part series on this topic of survival into the future: part 1 part 2).

The Jockey Club Round Table participants spent significant time talking about growing the game. Who could lead the charge as an influencer in order to produce the next generation of supporters. I find this argument that the sport must change in order to attract new blood because the public demands it, a red herring. On the contrary, it is quite the opposite. I have come to the conclusion over the past few years that the public doesn't “think” about the sport of horse racing on a regular or even semi-regular basis, unless say, a scandal or horse deaths reach the mainstream media. The central issue is that sport is too insular, overcomplicated, and self-absorbed that it forgot that it needs new people to survive. It is like we have an expertly hand-built Ferrari, only to be left with wheels made of wood. It will not last.

With potentially an expensive set of programs that are due out in the form of HISA next year, where does that leave the sport and its grand plans for a revolution? It turns out, the so-called “industry” is sorely lacking in the stability department, with funding in several states that can be both essential and hugely detrimental. Downturns in the economy, which can affect everything from breeding operations to bettors' pocketbooks, makes for shaky ground because “help” never create self-reliance. Ayn Rand-esque warnings remind us that dependence is always subject to political winds (take Pennsylvania's travails). Will HISA suffer such a fate?

My sense is that everyone connected to Thoroughbred racing, Mr. Scheeler included, needs to think long and hard about how we respond to HISA's recommendations starting this fall. Racetrack safety and medication policies should be at the forefront of all our minds. If our “industry” cannot adequately respond, it may have a detrimental impact on the result, leading to a boutique sport on the verge of extinction. Those wooden wheels are not going to be able to drive this Ferrari, if industry-wide support does not occur. A nexus event if there ever was one … that much is certain.

As for that mythical Polymarket future wager on whether HISA rolls out by July of next year, I wouldn't necessarily bet against Scheeler and his blue-ribbon committees. Industry involvement or not, I hope they succeed.

J.N. Campbell is a turf writer with Gaming USA. His work can be found at www.horseracing.net/us.

 

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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Fixing The Easy Things

Racing has major challenges to deal with: competition from sports betting and casinos, distribution of wagering revenue, high takeout, medication, integrity and a growing perception problem with the general public about safety and welfare of the horses. That's why The Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining To Racing is the longest-running show in the game.

But there are some things that aren't that complicated and could be fixed quickly and easily. If only the people in charge really wanted to make a difference.

In this edition of the Friday Show, Ray Paulick and Natalie Voss bring up a few of those issues that almost everyone in racing should agree on: better communications, greater access to information, simple measures to enhance integrity.

We'll leave the big stuff to the poobahs and focus on getting some of the simple things fixed.

Watch The Friday Show below and let us know some of the issues in racing you believe can be fixed easily.

The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Fixing The Easy Things appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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