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Friday’s Racing Insights: Laoban Full-Sister Debuts At Keeneland

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

1st-KEE, $80K, MSW, 2yo, 4 1/2f, 1:00 p.m.

The opening day of the 2022 Keeneland Spring Meet features the first 2-year-old races of the year and the first opportunity for freshman sires to get their second careers off to a winning start. Success as a new stallion is of no concern for Uncle Mo, the sire of first-time starter DOMINICANA. A daughter of the SP Speightstown mare Chattertown, Dominicana is a full-sister to GSW and late sire Laoban. Purchased for $300,000 from the 2021 Keeneland September Sale for owners Don Alberto Stable and RT Racing Stable, the bay filly has worked three furlongs at Keeneland three times since Mar. 1 for superb 2-year-old trainer Wesley Ward, most recently going in :37 1/5 (14/28) Apr. 2. Jockey John Velazquez gets the ride as Dominicana takes on the boys in her career debut.

Freshman stallion Mo Town (Uncle Mo) will be well represented with two first-time starters here. Drawing the rail is MO'S TREASURE, a son of SP Beautiful Treasure (Unbridled). He is a half-brother to MGSP Flying Private (Fusaichi Pegasus) as well as six other winners from eight to race. He's had two four-furlongs works from the gate on this track for trainer John Hancock, going in :48 flat (10/65) Mar. 26 and :48 4/5 (18/72) Apr. 2.

Also representing Mo Town is BAYTOWN GET IT ON for trainer Paul McEntee. The chestnut comes in for his debut off of two bullet works including a four-furlong effort from the gate Mar. 24 in :47 flat, the fastest of 29 at the distance. TJCIS PPs

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Lukas, Romans To Exchange Stories, Interview Each Other At Ellis Park

Tri-State horse-racing and sports enthusiasts can enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience watching legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas and Kentucky stalwart Dale Romans exchange stories, interview each other, and take questions from the public on Saturday Aug. 14 at Ellis Park.

“D. Wayne and Dale: A Conversation” is set for 11 a.m. Central in the Ellis Park beer-garden pavilion. The free event kicks off a big weekend at the track, with the RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby and four other stakes taking place Aug. 15.

The public and media members will have the opportunity to ask questions after Lukas and Romans' unscripted conversation. Commemorative postcards will be on hand for fans to get autographs, for which donations will be accepted to benefit Second Stride, a TAA-accredited aftercare facility that retrains and adopts out retired racehorses for second careers.

John Hancock, the third generation Henderson horseman alternately described as the Mayor or Godfather of the Ellis backstretch, will introduce Lukas and Romans.

Lukas is often called the most transformative trainer in horse racing's modern era, meshing a corporate-focused business approach with a tireless work ethic to the inexact science of training horses.

His first of four Kentucky Derby victories came in 1988 with Winning Colors, only the third filly to wear the roses. Lukas' 14 Triple Crown victories (including six Preaknesses and four Belmonts) were a record until Bob Baffert surpassed the mark. Lukas remains the only trainer to sweep the Triple Crown races in one year with two different horses. His 20 Breeders' Cup victories remain a record, as do his 25 individual horses voted Eclipse Award champions.

The Lukas “training tree” is the most comprehensive in American racing and includes his former assistant Todd Pletcher, who this year follows his mentor into the Hall of Fame. Lukas' former assistants' former assistants also are of note, headlined by Brad Cox, who worked for Lukas' one-time assistant Dallas Stewart, and Michael McCarthy, who worked for Pletcher.

The life-long Louisvillian Romans grew up not far from Churchill Downs and spent summers at Ellis Park with his dad, owner-trainer Jerry Romans. Diagnosed at an early age with severe dyslexia — Romans prefers the term “learns differently” — the fractional times of races helped him learn math and race charts and the Daily Racing Form helped him learn to read. Lynn Romans refused to let her son fall between the cracks, making a deal with him: “Just get through high school and be the best horse trainer you can be.” That led Romans to replacing Bill Mott, who held the record for 31 years, as Churchill Downs' all-time winningest trainer in 2017. Romans now is No. 2 behind record-setting trainer Steve Asmussen.

“We wanted something special for the public as a prelude to Ellis Park Derby Day,” said Jeff Inman, Ellis Park's general manager. “Wayne is on the short list for the all-time great trainers, and we're fortunate that for the first time he's stabled with us this summer. We want our fans to get the chance to not just see him saddling a horse or in the winner's circle, but really up close and personal. The same is true with Dale.”

“These aren't just two of the best trainers in racing, but two of the best story-tellers,” said Marty Maline, executive director of the Kentucky HBPA. “With Wayne and Dale going one-on-one, there's no telling where this impromptu conversation will go.”

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‘Memorable Meet’: Ellis Park Readies For Full Capacity Summer

Ellis Park's 2021 racing season is only five weeks away, with the trickle of horse vans and trailers bringing in the racing stock soon to become a steady stream.

Western Kentucky's annual summer race meet opens Sunday June 27 and closes Saturday Sept. 4, with racing Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays along with Thursday July 1. Ellis Park will operate at full capacity following last year's pandemic-mandated health measures that prevented having general admission and limited reserved seating.

Horses were allowed entry into the Ellis backstretch earlier this month, with daily training commencing May 13.

Stall space is especially coveted this year at Ellis Park. That's because Churchill Downs, which is replacing its turf course, will be closed for its normal summer off-season stabling and training. The Louisville market is a significant source of horses for Ellis Park's race meet, with many Churchill-based horsemen making day trips to Henderson to race during the summer. However, area training centers and Churchill's satellite Trackside training facility will continue as major suppliers of horses for the Ellis racing programs.

Ellis Park can accommodate about 750 horses for stabling, with other stalls reserved for horses shipping in on race day.

“It's a good but challenging problem to have, with demand greatly exceeding supply,” said Jeff Hall, Ellis Park's director of racing operations. “We are agonizing that we can't accommodate everybody. We do know this: That with our record purses and the outfits that will be on the grounds, we're going to have a memorable meet. That's especially true now that we'll be able to be at full capacity for fans after last year's COVID restrictions.”

Among the outfits stabling at Ellis Park for the first time are a pair of Hall of Famers: four-time Kentucky Derby winner D. Wayne Lukas and Bill Mott. While Mott will remain in New York, with his Ellis operation overseen by longtime Kentucky assistant Kenny McCarthy, the legendary Lukas, 85, will be out in the mornings astride his pony at Ellis Park this summer rather than going to Saratoga.

Trainer and lifelong Henderson resident John Hancock said 2021 will be like a trip down memory lane. Hancock grew up on the Ellis Park backstretch with fellow trainers Dale Romans and siblings Greg and Vickie Foley, whose dads were fixtures at the track. Those trainers will have horses stabled in Henderson for the first time in years.

“You've got the Foleys coming back, Hall of Fame trainers, people who have run horses but not been stabled here. It's great for the community,” Hancock said. “The farmers are going to be selling the hay and the straw. The restaurants and motels will be lively. This meet, the new faces that are coming and old faces coming back, it's going to put a lot of money into Henderson County and Vanderburgh County. It's going to be great for everybody.”

For Evansville's Bonnie Pittman, embarking on her sixth season as a trainer at Ellis Park, the opening of the barn area is a welcome annual rite after commuting 1 1/2 hours each way to a southern Illinois training facility for the winter.

“We come in here and the track is ready to go for us,” she said. “It's springtime and everything is popping. Everything will start getting busier in a couple of weeks. We're going to have lots of horses here this summer because of Churchill's closing. The barns will be packed. It will be a wild summer for us. There will be lots of things to do and lots of jobs. A lot of people will rent rooms around here and we all eat out about every day. It will be busy for everybody.”

Those messages of employment and dollars being spent are near and dear to Brad Schneider. The Henderson County Judge Executive this past winter testified before a Kentucky legislative committee on the importance of Ellis Park to his community and the need to preserve Kentucky's racetracks by passing legislation to protect Historical Horse Racing in the state.

Beyond being a civic leader and government official, Schneider just loves going to the races at Ellis Park.

“As a fan of Ellis Park and an admirer of the management team and staff at the track, I am so thankful they'll get to host a live meet without restrictions,” he said. “For our region, there is nothing more thrilling on summer weekends than to hear the call to the post for a race at Ellis. I can't wait to get a plate of Western Kentucky barbecue, a cold beverage and a program, place a bet or two, and watch the horses run!”

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‘He’s What Ellis Park Was About’: James ‘Pops’ Schmitt Passes At Age 85

James E. Schmitt, known by everyone as Pops, became as much a fixture in trainer John Hancock's barn as soybeans in the Ellis Park infield.

When Pops died Aug. 19 at age 85 at his Evansville home, it left a hole in Hancock's stable and all their hearts.

Pops, a Marine veteran who served in the Korea, had a hello and a smile for everyone — also a few bucks if you were down on your luck. He put you in a good mood just seeing him walking or holding a horse, getting coffee in the track kitchen, up at the races or in Ellis Park's gaming area. He loved all that is good about horse racing, the beauty and nobleness of the Thoroughbred, the basic premise of seeing who has the fastest horse to the wire and the camaraderie in a barn working together to get a horse to the starting gate.

Pops retired in 1994 after 30 years with Alcoa. After his beloved wife of 50 years, Nancy Gay, passed away in 2006, Pops headed to the racetrack full-time to keep busy.

“He's what Ellis Park was about,” said John Hancock, who also referred to Pops as Jim. “When I was a kid growing up, he had three boys and my mom had three boys. His boys were the same age as me and my brothers. We all grew up together. Jim would go to the races everywhere. When his wife died of cancer, he said, 'I'm coming to the barn.' He was with me ever since. Everywhere I went, he was with me. I never saw anybody enjoy racing and the people like he did. We'd be pulling in the back gate at Presque Isle and he'd see somebody he knew and holler.

“It sounds corny, but he's probably the most-liked person I've seen ever. Never had a bad day. Never left mad. Other than my mom, he was my biggest fan. When times were tough and things weren't going right, he'd always walk up and say, 'Hey, the Man Upstairs won't give us more than we can handle. We'll bounce back.'”

Dana Hancock, John's assistant and niece, knew something was wrong when Pops wasn't at the barn by 5:30 in the morning of Aug. 19. He subsequently was discovered in his bed, as if he'd laid down for nap and never woke up.

“Pops always was the first one there every morning, turning on lights at the barn,” John Hancock said. “He'd go on and feed. I don't care if there was a foot of snow on the ground at Riverside Downs. He'd make his way across the bridge” from Evansville.

Pops sporadically had a horse he trained but never made it into the winner's circle until 2015. “He always wanted to win a race,” Hancock said.

So Hancock set him up with a horse who happened to be named Uncle Jimmy, a coincidence that delighted Pops. Uncle Jimmy won a 2-year-old maiden race at Mountaineer to give Pops the only victory of his limited training career.

“That was a big deal for him,” Hancock said. “Here's a horse named Uncle Jimmy, and Jimmy Schmitt saddled him.

“He did everything for me. He'd keep up with the feed. When it was time to order feed, he'd order it and go get it. I went to make the order the other day and didn't know what I was doing because he'd done it for some many years. He walked horses in the barn. You name it, he did it. Like this morning, we needed to get a load of hay. I told Dana, 'Get Pops and Sammy,' and I caught myself. Wherever I went, you'd see him right beside me. He loved going to the sales. He loved running horses at Beulah Park in the winter. He just loved the people. When Beulah Park closed, that really bothered him.

“I bought an old horse one time called Smoking Kay. Pops, one of my owners and I split her up three ways. We won five in a row before they claimed her. Pops really liked that old mare. At the time Beulah Park was giving away their horse of the meet award. She got the award. They called and wanted to know if I could come up. I said no, and Pops said, 'Do you mind if I go get it?' They gave him a leather halter, a blanket and a bag of carrots. He still has that blanket and that halter. It never went on another horse.

“You won't ever find another one like him.”

Schmitt is survived by his sons, Jimmy Schmitt (Sandy) and Duwayne Schmitt (Lisa); sisters, June Folz (Al) and Clara Lilly (Dave); grandchildren, Charish Draper (Joshua), Cody Schmitt, Jason Schmitt, Brian Schmitt, Jamie Schulte (Chris), Taylor Madison (Donavon), Austin Schmitt, Lindsay Brodasky (Tom), and Kyndel Dollison; 10 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; loving wife of 50 years, Nancy Gay (Kneir) Schmitt; and son Jeffrey Schmitt, who passed away in 2020.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12:00 p.m. Central, Tuesday, Aug. 25 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 618 East Virginia Street, Evansville. Burial will be in Park Lawn Cemetery where the American Legion Kapperman Post 44 will render full military rites.

Friends may visit from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 25 at Boone Funeral Home East Chapel, 5330 Washington Ave., Evansville.

Memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association at 3700 Bellemeade Avenue, Evansville, IN 47714 or Arthritis Foundation at 615 North Alabama Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

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