john lies | Horse Racing Free Tips

Live Racing Returns to Will Rogers Mar. 22

Live Thoroughbred racing is scheduled to return at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs Mar. 22 and will continue through May 26. The meet will include eight stakes races with six exclusively for accredited Oklahoma-Breds. Post time is 1:00 p.m. daily.

Stakes races begin Apr. 12 with the $50,000 guaranteed Wilma Mankiller S., followed by the $50,000 guaranteed Highland Ice S. Apr. 13. A purse of $55,000 is also guaranteed for the Miranda Diane S. May 3, the TRAO Classic Sprint May 4, the Cinema S. May 24, and the May 25 Will Rogers S. Rounding out the spring meet May 26 are the More Than Even S. and the Cherokee Nation Classic Cup. Both races carry a purse of $55,000 guaranteed.

“We worked with the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma to adjust purses and to create the most competitive racing program possible,” Lies said. “Our hope is that the heightened class levels help us retain the stronger collection of shippers we enjoyed last year, while also providing richer opportunities for the local stock.”

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Live Racing Returns To Will Rogers Downs On March 22

Join in the excitement of live horse racing this spring at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs.

For the 12th consecutive year, top Thoroughbred contenders will compete in more than 270 races from March 22 to May 26 at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla. Races begin at 1:00 p.m.

“As one of only a few tracks running last spring, we are now very rehearsed in conducting a safe race meet under pandemic restrictions and CDC guidelines,” said John Lies, racing secretary, announcer and oddsmaker at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs. “We broke new ground with the extended audience we reached last spring and look forward to keeping their attention with another exciting meet.”

Stakes races begin April 12 with the $50,000 guaranteed Wilma Mankiller Stakes, followed by the $50,000 guaranteed Highland Ice Stakes on April 13. A purse of $55,000 is also guaranteed for the Miranda Diane Stakes on May 3, the TRAO Classic Sprint on May 4, the Cinema Stakes on May 24, and the Will Rogers Stakes on May 25.

Closing out the spring meet stakes races on May 26 are the More Than Even Stakes and the Cherokee Nation Classic Cup. Both races carry a purse of $55,000 guaranteed.

The post Live Racing Returns To Will Rogers Downs On March 22 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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John Lies To Pinch Hit For Larry Collmus In Final Four Days Of Del Mar Season

John Lies, a seasoned race caller who has worked at Del Mar since 2007 in different capacities, will take over the mic for the final four days of the current summer season as Larry Collmus, who has been pinch-hitting since opening day for regular announcer Trevor Denman, heads off to Kentucky to prepare for his annual role with NBC as the race caller for the Kentucky Derby.

Lies (pronounced “Lees”) has called races at locations around the U.S., including 10-year stints at both Lone Star Park in Texas and Kentucky Downs, as well as at his current jobs at Will Rogers Downs and Fair Meadows Tulsa in Oklahoma.

Collmus, a nationally-known announcer who has worked at racing venues around the country and has been the voice of the Triple Crown since 2011, stepped up and in at Del Mar when Denman, Del Mar's caller since 1984, told the track he was going to stay home in Minnesota this summer in light of the COVID-19 situation. In his role as a “pinch hitter,” Collmus' professionalism and enthusiasm have shone through at the seaside oval since he took up the mic on July 10.

Collumus will call his final Del Mar card on Monday, August 31 and then head off for his assignment at the delayed Kentucky Derby scheduled for Saturday, September 5. Lies will call the four remaining programs of Del Mar's 81st summer season – September 4, 5, 6 and the Labor Day finale on September 7.

Lies, 43, was born in Long Beach, CA, but grew up mostly in the San Diego area. His father was a trainer and young John's racing interests found him imitating the calls of his hero, Denman, accent and all. When he met the South African caller at the age of 9 at Del Mar, a friendship was formed and his role as hero/mentor all but ensured that young Lies had found his calling.

Besides his full-time announcing jobs, Lies estimates he has guest announced at a dozen tracks nationally, including twice at Del Mar. Additionally, the savvy racetrack veteran has filled many different roles at various venues around the country. At Del Mar he's been its simulcast signal announcer since 2007, has worked in its racing office since 2013 and this year took over the job of morning line maker. At both Will Rogers Downs and Fair Meadows Tulsa he is the announcer, the racing secretary and the morning line maker.

Denman has told Del Mar officials that he plans on returning to his regular role at the track with the start of its fall season on October 31.

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United Tabbed As Morning Line Favorite For Sunday’s Eddie Read Stakes

LNJ Foxwoods' United, trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, was named the 8-5 favorite on John Lies' morning line for Sunday's $200,000, Grade II Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar.

A 5-year-old son of Giant's Causeway, United will break from the outside post in a field of seven for the 1 1/8-mile run over the Jimmy Durante Turf Course which often determines the top grass horse of the meeting.

United was last seen at Del Mar running second as the even-money favorite, beaten a neck by Oscar Dominguez, in the Hollywood Turf Cup on December 1 of last year. United is 2-for-2 in Grade II stakes starts in 2020 – the San Marcos and Charlie Whittingham at Santa Anita – to boost his career earnings to $1,133,549.

The field from the rail: Bowie's Hero (Tiago Pereira. 4-1); Originaire (Umberto Rispoli, 9-2); Sharp Samurai (Juan Hernandez, 5-1); Combatant (Jorge Velez, 12-1); Cleopatra's Strike (Abel Cedillo, 8-1); Neptune's Storm (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1), and United (Flavien Prat).

Sunday's other stakes offering, the $125,000 California Dreamin' at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, drew a field of 11 California bred or sired older males. Paradise Road Ranch's Camino Del Paraiso, trained by O.J. Jauregui, drew the rail and was tabbed the 5-2 morning line choice.

Defending summer meeting training champion Doug O'Neill will have a pair of representatives in Whooping Jay and Irish Heatwave. “They're both in good form and even though they both drew way outside the rail is at zero so that helps,” O'Neill said this morning. “It's a bigger field than I expected but regardless they're both doing well and we're optimistic they'll run well.”

The field from the rail: Camino Del Paraiso (Drayden Van Dyke); Galilean (Flavien Prat, 3-1); Brandothebartender (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1); Desmond Doss (Tiago Pereira, 15-1); Grinning Tiger (Heriberto Figueroa, 12-1); Loud Mouth (Juan Hernandez, 20-1); Ultimate Bango (Ruben Fuentes, 8-1); Three Ay Em (Mike Smith, 12-1); Whooping Jay (Mario Gutierrez, 15-1); Take the One O One (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 10-1), and Irish Heatwave (Abel Cedillo, 6-1).

The post United Tabbed As Morning Line Favorite For Sunday’s Eddie Read Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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