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Joe Hirsch Legacy Equine Academy Scholarship Awarded to UK’s Charles Churchill

Charles Churchill, a University of Kentucky senior majoring in Equine Science and Management from Louisville, has been awarded the 2021/2022 Joe Hirsch Legacy Equine Academy Scholarship.

The scholarship was originally established at UK in 2005 but to keep in step with current industry needs, was recently modified to include a preference for diverse students to encourage inclusivity throughout the equine industry. It now resides in UK's College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, which is home to the Equine Science and Management undergraduate degree program. The scholarship was made possible by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form and many other contributors and is coordinated in conjunction with the Legacy Equine Academy.

“I am extremely grateful for the Joe Hirsch Legacy Academy Scholarship Fund because it has provided me with additional funds to allow me to continue my studies at the University of Kentucky,” Churchill said. “I am very new to the equine program, as I formally applied to alter my major at the top my junior year. By transferring into the program, I look forward to pursuing my interests in the executive management of racetracks. I hope to do this by utilizing UK's curriculum to develop my knowledge on various direct and indirect economic contributions of wagering and necessary protocol required for a successful racing program in respective jurisdictions.”

Since becoming an equine major, Churchill said he has joined organizations that can assist him in becoming the professional he aspires to be. He is a member of the UK Horse Racing Club, the UK Collegiate Professional Horsemen's Association and a Wildcat Wrangler, the student ambassador team within the equine major.

“Not only have these clubs provided me with a network of young professionals that I can discuss industry topics with, but it has given others the opportunity to share their unique perspective and life experiences, allowing us to formulate genuine, lifelong friendships with other students in the College of Agriculture,” Churchill said. “By completing my college career at Kentucky, I am exposed to an extremely caring group of faculty members as well as a network of likeminded students who are capable of compassion and helping their fellow members of the agriculture community.”

Churchill completed an internship with the Keeneland track maintenance team during the summer of 2021.

“The racing industry would not exist and could not function without the contributions of the Black community and people of color. We at the NTRA are committed to supporting the communities we serve. Last year, we embarked on an initiative to create greater diversity and cultural awareness at all levels of the business, including positions of power, by collaborating with Legacy Equine Academy,” said Alex Waldrop, NTRA president and chief executive officer. “Through this venture, the NTRA will help fund scholarships for students in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Equine Programs with the intent of fostering a more inclusive Thoroughbred racing industry for generations to come. Change cannot wait, so we will work with all of our racing partners to further the goal of a more diverse, inclusive environment for all participants in our sport.”

James MacLeod, director of UK Ag Equine Programs, agreed. “There is no reason to delay efforts to address diversity and inclusivity challenges. Academic scholarships enable students to focus entirely on educational opportunities and reach their full potential. We are very grateful to the NTRA and partners for their support,” he said.

The Legacy Equine Academy, which encourages students in grades 6–12 to attend college and pursue equine, agriculture, natural resources and environmental science degrees, is the brainchild of Ronald Mack, the organization's founder and CEO.

“We are so proud and excited for Charles to receive the Joe Hirsch Legacy Equine Academy Scholarship,” Mack said. I've admired his passion for equine studies and his determination to leverage that passion by pursuing an array of professional opportunities in the horse racing industry. This scholarship contributes to accomplishing Legacy Equine Academy's goal of bridging the historical contributions of African American trailblazers in horse racing history to the modern standards and professional opportunities in the equine industry. Charles is a true 'Legacy Leader.'”

The scholarship had originally been placed into the UK College of Communication and Information because UK didn't at that time have an equine undergraduate program. The Equine Science and Management undergraduate degree was launched in 2007 and since then has become one of the fastest growing majors at the university and is now currently the largest major in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, making it a natural fit to administer the scholarship.

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The Huge Gamble That Paid Off: Remembering The Inaugural Breeders’ Cup

This is the 38^th time, going back to 1984, that I join horsemen, horseplayers, racing media and fans in anxiously awaiting the list of pre-entered horses for the Breeders' Cup that will be released for public consumption on Wednesday.

Back in the 1980s when I was working in the Los Angeles office of Daily Racing Form, the Nov. 10, 1984, date of the inaugural running and the details – a seven-race $10-million extravaganza – were put in print so frequently in the long run-up to the event that they were burned into memory.

I recently came across the West Coast special edition of the Form that our office produced for that first-ever Breeders' Cup at now defunct Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif. For $1.75, readers got the regular Daily Racing Form along with a 96-page insert featuring cover art by Pierre “Peb” Bellocq and chock-full of Breeders' Cup news, features and past performances for the day's races.

The lead news story on this revolutionary day of racing and the main column in the Breeders' Cup special section were, naturally, written by Daily Racing Form's esteemed executive columnist, Joe Hirsch. Hirsch quoted John Gaines, the man who created the Breeders' Cup, about the event's prospects for having a long-term impact on the industry: “The test of time has still to be met,” Gaines told Hirsch, “but on the eve of the inaugural, it looks to me like the Breeders' Cup is here to stay.”

Though he wasn't without an ego and for the greater good of the event opted to step away from active oversight of the Breeders' Cup during its formative years, Gaines was quick to praise others who helped transform his idea into reality.

“Ideas don't climb mountains,” Gaines told Hirsch. “People climb mountains. The reason the Breeders' Cup is here today is because of men like Johnny Nerud, Brownell Combs, Bunker Hunt, John Mabee and others who have worked so hard on its behalf.”

Hirsch was such an icon in racing media that he got a sneak preview of the Cup before Gaines unveiled the concept at a Kentucky Derby week luncheon in 1982. Gaines invited Hirsch to a breakfast meeting, promising him that the meeting would lead to “the most important story” he would ever write.

The concept at the outset was for the Breeders' Cup to be almost fully funded through foal and stallion nominations. Simulcasting was in its infancy, and neither that nor hospitality and ticket sales were seen as significant contributors to Breeders' Cup's early success. For the program and funding mechanism to work, Gaines needed the support of his fellow breeders and stallion owners.

“I realized it was a huge gamble because it involved motivating people to work together who have spent their lives competing against each other,” Gaines told Hirsch. “Needless to say, there was a lot of give and take when everyone got together. There were diverse points of view, but accommodations were made and there were many compromises. People fought hard for what they thought was right. I would say it was a quintessential American experience. … It was like a group of mountain climbers climbing the mountain while tied together. If we fell, we were going to fall together, but I think now we are standing at the top together.”

Gaines said he could see changes to Breeders' Cup from time to time. “The program is not cast in stone,” he said. “We're trying to put on the best show possible, and if we can see a way to improve it with change, then changes will be made.”

As noted, the original Breeders' Cup was a one-day, seven-race event, with five races each offering a $1-million purse, the Turf offering $2 million and the Classic $3 million. It's grown to 14 championship races spread over two days with purses now totaling $31 million, topped by the $6-million Classic.

Stallion and foal nominations, while still an important part of funding, have been joined by simulcast wagering and ticketing as key revenue generators, along with sponsorships. The inaugural Breeders' Cup is the only one where on-track wagering of $11,466,941 was more than the simulcast handle, $8,009,109. The last two years, simulcasting wagering exceeded $150 million over the two days. Ticket prices for the event have accelerated just as much as wagering.

NBC Sports, led by its Standardbred-owning president, Arthur Watson, was “all in” from the outset, scheduling four hours on network television and putting together a 10-person broadcast team led by Dick Enberg and Dave Johnson. Michael Weisman, executive producer for the telecast, told Daily Racing Form's George Bernet, “This type of production is unprecedented and we're geared up for it with our best people. We are treating this event as we would a World Series or Super Bowl … which it is.”

That first championship day was as good as anyone could have hoped for. So was the NBC Sports telecast that I watched on a small TV in the Form's Bimini Place editorial office (someone had to work, putting together Monday's results issue!).

There was instant credibility when Chief's Crown won the Juvenile as the odds-on favorite to seal an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male, winning for the sixth time in nine starts. Finishing second behind the Danzig colt was Tank's Prospect, who would win the 1985 Preakness. Third-place finisher Spend a Buck would go on to score in the Kentucky Derby and become the champion 3-year-old male and 1985 Horse of the Year.

There were outstanding performances by the likes of Eillo in the Sprint, Royal Heroine in the Mile and Princess Rooney in the Distaff. Lashkari lodged a massive 53-1 upset in the Turf, defeating the globe-trotting 1983 Horse of the Year All Along.

Wild Again (inside) holds off Gate Dancer to win first Breeders' Cup Classic at 31-1

There was drama in the day's second race when Fran's Valentine was disqualified from first for interference at the stop of the stretch in the Juvenile Fillies, making Outstandingly the winner. But that was nothing compared to what would come with the stretch run of the Classic when Wild Again emerged with a narrow victory at 31-1 odds over Gate Dancer and 3-5 favorite Slew o' Gold. Adding to the intrigue was the fact that Wild Again, making his 16^th start of the year, was supplemented to the race by his connections at a cost of $360,000 in hopes of winning first prize of $1,350,000.

Jockey Pat Day moved Wild Again to the lead down the backstretch and held off Slew o' Gold and Angel Cordero Jr. and a hard-charging Gate Dancer and Laffit Pincay Jr. the length of the stretch to win by a head over Gate Dancer. Slew o' Gold was another half-length back, but stewards quickly lit the inquiry sign for the second time that day after the three horses exchanged bumps as they raced to the wire. After a lengthy deliberation, stewards left Wild Again as the winner but disqualified Gate Dancer from second to third for causing most of the problems by lugging in to the other two horses.

John Gaines' huge gamble paid off. The Breeders' Cup was off and running. It clearly has stood the test of time now, and I can't wait for the next chapter.

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Bellocq, Leggett Selected to Hall of Fame’s Joe Hirsch Roll of Honor

Renowned Eclipse Award-winning cartoonist Pierre “Peb” Bellocq and the late Eclipse Award-winning writer William Leggett have been selected to the National Museum of Racing’s Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor.

Bellocq, 94, was born in France in 1926. At age 19, the French racing journal France Courses gave him national exposure by publishing one of his cartoons of a jockey. Bellocq signed the drawing as “Peb,” a signature that became his lifelong moniker. By 1954, Bellocq’s work had achieved international acclaim and he was contracted by Laurel Park owner John D. Schapiro to do drawings for the prestigious Washington, D.C. International Stakes. Bellocq decided to relocate to the United States and in 1955 accepted an offer to work as the staff cartoonist for the Morning Telegraph and its sister paper, the Daily Racing Form, a job he held until December 2008.

“My father was a jump jockey in the south of France and my grandfather was a trainer. His father was a breeder. I was among horses right from the start,” Bellocq said.

Along with his work for the Form, Bellocq has been commissioned by numerous racetracks to produce vibrant murals capturing the flavor of the sport. His large-scale cartoon collages became fixtures at tracks such as Churchill Downs, Del Mar, Arlington, Oaklawn, Aqueduct, and The Meadowlands.

Leggett, who was born in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1931, became one of racing’s most celebrated and respected writers during his 30-year career at Sports Illustrated. He spent time as president of both the National Turf Writers Association and the New York Turf Writers Association and won an Eclipse Award for his racing writing in 1979.

“He had a tremendous knowledge of Thoroughbred racing,” said the late Whitney Tower, who worked with Leggett at Sports Illustrated for nearly 20 years. “He was an exceptional man, a great talent, and he contributed a lot to the success of Sports Illustrated. He knew his way around. The trainers respected him. He was very popular.”

In 1993, Leggett was one of the eight inaugural members of the Saratoga Springs Sports Hall of Fame. He died in 1996 in New York City at the age of 64.

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Channel Maker, Sadler’s Joy Face Off For The 15th Time In Joe Hirsch Turf Classic

Grade 1-winning multimillionaires Channel Maker and Sadler's Joy will face one another for the 15th time, while each making their respective fourth straight appearance in Saturday's 43rd running of the Grade 1, $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic over the Widener turf at Belmont Park.

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic honors the late horse racing columnist and founding president of the National Turf Writers Association, whose notable accomplishments include earning the Eclipse Award of Merit (1992) and the Big Sport of Turfdom Award (1993).

The 1 ½-mile mile test for older horses is one of five graded stakes events carded for Saturday's action-packed program, which also includes the Grade 2, $150,000 Pilgrim for 2-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles over the inner turf; the Grade 2, $150,000 Kelso for 3-year-olds and upward going a one turn mile over the main track; the Grade 2, $150,000 Gallant Bloom for fillies and mares going 6 ½ furlongs over the main track, and the Grade 1 $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational – a classic-distance test for 3-year-olds over the inner turf.

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic has historically been used as a prep towards the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf. Horses to have scored the Joe Hirsch-Breeders' Cup Turf double include Manila (1986), Theatrical (1987), Tikkanen (1994), Buck's Boy (1998), English Channel (2007) and Main Sequence (2014). Other prominent victors of the prominent turf event include the great John Henry (1984) and fan-favorite John's Call (2000), both of whom won the Joe Hirsch as 9-year-olds, and champions Waya (1978), All Along (1983), and Sky Classic (1992).

R.A. Hill Stable, Wachtel Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Gary Barber's Channel Maker, winner of the 2018 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, will attempt to be the first non-consecutive winner of the race since Val's Prince won in 1997 and 1999.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Channel Maker was a wire-to-wire winner of the 2018 edition and was previously sixth in 2017 and second to Arklow in last year's running. The 6-year-old veteran of 35 lifetime starts arrives at the Joe Hirsch off a frontrunning victory in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational on August 29 at Saratoga, where he set an easy pace up front and responded well when urged by jockey Manny Franco, powering home in the final eighth of a mile to a 5 ¾-length triumph, garnering a 108 Beyer Speed Figure. He matched that figure when taking the 2018 Joe Hirsch.

“He seems to be doing well,” said Mott, whose other Joe Hirsch victories came with Theatrical (1987) and Shakespeare (2005). “Manny rode him very well the last couple of times and we're lucky to get him back. The race he ran last time, you can't expect that every time. But if he shows up, he's usually a factor.”

Channel Maker has been a Grade 1-winner on the NYRA circuit for the past three seasons. Four starts after his 2018 Joe Hirsch victory, he won the Grade 1 Man o' War in May 2019 over last year's Joe Hirsch winner Arklow and multiple Group 1-winner Magic Wand. He boasts the highest amount of lifetime earnings having amassed $2,494,051 in a record of 35-6-5-4.

Bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm, Channel Maker is by two-time Joe Hirsch winner English Channel (2006-07) and is out of the Horse Chestnut mare In Return, making him a full-brother to two-time Canadian Grade 1-winner Johnny Bear.

Franco will pilot Channel Maker for the fourth time in a row from post 3.

Woodslane Farm's homebred Sadler's Joy also makes his fourth appearance in the Joe Hirsch but is still in search of his first victory, having finished fourth in 2017 and third in the past two editions.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, the 7-year-old son of 2004 Joe Hirsch winner Kitten's Joy will attempt to make amends after finishing a distant fourth to Channel Maker in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational last out.

Sadler's Joy and Channel Maker first squared off in the 2017 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, which was won by Beach Patrol, where Sadler's Joy finished fourth as the post time favorite.

“It's a good rivalry. They've both finished ahead of each other in the past,” Albertrani said. “A lot will depend on the weather and who prefers softer ground, so hopefully the rain can hold off.”

As of Wednesday, the National Weather Service calls for a 10% chance of precipitation for the Elmont, New York area with a high of 68 degrees.

Albertrani said Sadler's Joy is trip dependent and he does not want to see his horse too far off the pace to where he will need to make up a significant amount of ground.

“His ideal trip is not getting back too far,” Albertrani said. “There's a point where you just can't have him back too far and have him lose too much ground. That's where the race is usually won or lost. In these races where he makes a late move, he usually runs the quickest last quarter. Sometimes in a smaller field it helps him, so we just have to hope that he gets the right kind of trip.”

Despite his age, Albertrani said Sadler's Joy still has what it takes to compete at a high level. This year, he was third beaten three-quarters of a length in the Grade 1 Manhattan. In his following start, he crossed the wire first in the Grade 2 Bowling Green on August 1 at Saratoga before being disqualified to fourth.

“He still has it in him. He still trains well and he's still into it,” Albertrani said. “Hopefully, we can win another big race with him.”

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano will climb aboard Sadler's Joy for the 18th time from post 1.

Gestut Ittlingen's Laccario invades from Germany for trainer Andreas Wohler, whose only previous starter in the Joe Hirsch was Sabiango, who finished fourth in 2003.

The dark bay 4-year-old son of Scalo was seventh in his only start this year in the Group 1 Preis von Europa on August 15 at Cologne, which was his only off the board finish in eight lifetime starts. Laccario was a 1 ¼-length winner of the Group 1 Deutsches Derby in July 2019 at Hamburg going the Joe Hirsch distance.

Breaking from post 6, Laccario will be ridden by Dylan Davis.

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle a pair of contenders in Rockemperor and Master Piece.

Owned by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb and Wonder Stables, Rockemperor joined Brown's stable last summer after previously being campaigned in France by Simone Brogi and has finished in the money five of his six starts in North America. The son of Holy Roman Emperor was a last out third to stablemate Digital Age in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic on September 5 at Churchill Downs. In his prior effort, he was second beaten a neck to stablemate Instilled Regard in the Grade 1 Manhattan on July 4 at Belmont Park, where he registered a career-best 102 Beyer.

Bred in Ireland by Haras du Mezeray, Rockemperor is out of the Muhtathir mare Motivation whose dam Jade Island is a full-sister to multiple turf Grade 1-winning millionaire Yagli. He is a direct descendant of the prolific broodmare Best in Show.

Breaking from post 4, Rockemperor will be ridden by Jose Ortiz, who seeks a third win in the prestigious stakes.

Master Piece, a Group 2-winner in his native Chile, will make his North American debut for Brown. Owned by Don Alberto Corporation, the gray or roan son of Mastercraftsman won four straight races in the latter part of 2019, including the Group 2 Gran Clasico Coronacion on December 8 at Club Hippico.

Jockey Jose Lezcano will ride Master Piece from post 2.

Rounding out the field are Three Diamonds Farm's New York-bred Cross Border [post 5, Kendrick Carmouche], winner of the Grade 2 Bowling Green on August 1 at Saratoga and Highland Sky [post 7, Junior Alvarado], who was third in the Bowling Green for trainer Barclay Tagg.

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic is slated as Race 7 on Saturday's 10-race program, which offers a first post of 12:40 p.m. Eastern. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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