Stakes Winner Anna’s Bandit Retired

No Guts No Glory Farm's 7-year-old mare Anna's Bandit, whose resume includes 11 stakes wins at three different tracks in two states as well as purse earnings of $806,655 over six seasons, has been retired from racing and will become a broodmare.

Bred and owned and trained by Maryland-based John 'Jerry' Robb and his wife, Gina, and ridden in 33 of her 39 lifetime starts by Xavier Perez, Anna's Bandit retires with a career record of 17 wins, five seconds, and eight thirds.

The Maryland Jockey Club will honor Anna's Bandit with a retirement ceremony between races during the 37th Jim McKay Maryland Million Day program Oct. 23 at Laurel Park.

“We're very excited. It's always hard, especially with a horse like Anna that's done so much, that you have to make this decision,” Gina Robb said. We couldn't be prouder of her. Now she's coming home and I'm so grateful, I really am.

“She means the world to us. She's like one of our children, basically. I think anybody who breeds horses can kind of relate to that, especially when it's a mom and pop kind of thing like we are,” she added. “We're a little operation. They're all there with us on the farm, and bringing her home to the farm that we built means so much to us. I'm really happy for her that she had such an incredible career, and now she's able to start over in a new chapter.”

In her most recent race, the daughter of Great Notion out of the No Armistice mare Onearmedbandit ran fifth in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance July 26 at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., behind fellow multiple stakes winner Never Enough Time.

“We were pretty much decided that this was going to be her last year regardless, it didn't matter if she was good, bad, or indifferent,” Gina Robb said. “She came out of that Colonial race a little tired, and we were kind of shaking our heads because we thought it was one of her easier spots.

“When she came back from Colonial, we just kind of didn't like the way she was going,” she added. “She doesn't have anything major where we had to stop her, but I think in all of our minds and our hearts and how much she means to us, we really didn't want to take any more chances.”

Perez, who reached 1,000th career wins in June at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., rode Anna's Bandit to 14 wins, four seconds, and seven thirds, and all but $114,540 of her purse earnings. Other jockeys to ride Anna's Bandit were Eric Camacho and Katie Davis in 2016 and 2017 and Gerald Almodovar in the May 29, 2020 Original Gold at Charles Town in Charles Town, W.Va., her last win.

“She deserves it,” Perez said of retirement. “She doesn't owe anything to anybody. She did her job and she made us proud. She's safe and where she belongs. I'm happy for her.”

In 2019, Anna's Bandit won nine of 11 starts and more than $400,000 in purses, tying for the most wins of any horse in North America. Her career stakes wins included the 2018 and 2019 Conniver, 2019 Maryland Million Distaff and 2019 Politely at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., and 2019 Timonium Distaff.

In West Virginia, where she was bred, Anna's Bandit won the Down Town Allen and Sadie Hawkins in 2018; Original Gold, Sadie Hawkins, and West Virgina Cavada Breeders' Classic in 2019; and Original Gold in 2020.

Her Maryland Million win came just a week after Anna's Bandit won the Cavada, a feat Gina Robb felt was at the top of a laundry list of accomplishments.

“That one year that when she won all those stakes, it was kind of like a blur,” she said. “After she won the West Virginia-bred race and came back in seven days … I have the goosebumps thinking of it. That had to be the most incredible of all the races.”

[Story Continues Below]

Anna's Bandit also placed in 10 other stakes, including a third behind Majestic Reason and Victim of Love in the 2020 Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie, her lone graded-stakes attempt. Majestic Reason was a three-time stakes winner that was retired following the race, while Victim of Love went on to win back-to-back editions of the Grade 3 Vagrancy in 2020 and 2021 and run third in the 2020 Grade 1 Ballerina.

“She's amazing. She's always going to be one of the best horses I ever rode, or anybody rode,” Perez said. “They don't come around too often. You have to be lucky and be in the right place at the right time. It worked out for me.”

Anna's Bandit's success has been nothing short of remarkable. She showed she was special early on, debuting with a 6 ¾-length maiden special weight triumph May 6, 2016 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., and jumping straight into stakes company. She finished third in the Astoria at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and second in the Debutante at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., the latter in July, before going to the sidelines.

She went 14 ½ months between races, the result of multiple operations to repair leg injuries that went undiagnosed during her formative years.

Anna's Bandit was limited to four starts in 2020, due to both the coronavirus pandemic that paused live racing in Maryland for 2 ½ months from mid-March to late May, and a minor foot issue in late summer that prompted Robb to give her the rest of the year off. She began this year running fifth in the June 13 Shine Again at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and second in the July 10 Dashing Beauty at Delaware Park.

Plans call for Anna's Bandit to be bred in 2022, though the details have yet to be worked out.

“We are just trying to get over the fact that she's retired. We do have time to discuss where we're going on February 15th, because we plan on trying to get her in foal early,” Gina Robb said. “We would like to ship her and bring her home and not have her stay anywhere else. I don't know that I'm ready to let her go. I'm just getting her back.

“I think the first year we might keep her local, to a Maryland sire or on the East Coast, somewhere close so we can ship and go and keep her home where I don't have to worry about anything else. I'm very excited to be a part of her broodmare career, and to have her first foal on this farm is going to be one remarkable day.”

The post Stakes Winner Anna’s Bandit Retired appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Married NY Jockeys on Way to Mutuel Uncoupling

Two months after costing New York an estimated $4.2 million in lost handle revenue during the first quarter of 2021, a bill to eliminate an antiquated state requirement that same-race mounts of married jockeys be coupled in pari-mutuel wagering has passed both the Assembly and Senate.

The New York Senate unanimously passed Bill No. A7024 June 1 by a 63-0 margin. The Assembly had passed it 147-0 on May 5.

The measure, if signed into law by the governor, would take effect immediately. It now charges racetrack operators with the responsibility for “adequately” informing the public about jockey and trainer family relations that could be perceived as conflicts of interest.

The decades-old rule was a focal point of intense scrutiny earlier this year because it affected recently married jockeys Trevor McCarthy and Katie Davis. Together, they had moved their tack from Maryland to New York after being married in December.

But when they began competing in common races at Aqueduct, it triggered the application of little-used state rule 4025.10 (f), which states, “All horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, issue or member of a jockey's household shall be coupled in the betting with any horse ridden by such jockey.”     That meant on 41 occasions between Jan. 1 and Mar. 21, McCarthy and Davis's mounts in common races at Aqueduct necessitated a 1 and 1A coupling.

Although it's impossible to project the precise amount of handle that evaporates when a track loses a betting interest by forcing two independently owned and trained horses into a single mutuel coupling, a rough estimate of lost betting handle can be derived by multiplying Aqueduct's winter/spring per-entrant rounded handle of $103,000 by 41 to get the $4.2 million estimate.

The rule was widely criticized as being outdated and sexist, and during the first three months of 2021 it caused confusion among bettors, plus reams of bad press for Aqueduct (whose officials stated there was nothing they could do to change the law) and the New York State Gaming Commission (which did not address the controversy during any open, public meetings).

By February, Davis was claiming that Aqueduct racing office workers were pressuring trainers into not naming her on mounts, an allegation that a track spokesperson denied. She switched to accepting mounts in Maryland Apr. 8 while McCarthy continued to ride in New York.

On May 9, Davis announced on Twitter that she and McCarthy are expecting a child and she has not ridden in a race since that date. Shortly thereafter, the couple relocated to California, and McCarthy began riding at Santa Anita as of May 28.

The bill amends the state's racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law by adding a new section that reads:

“Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, all horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, issue or member of a jockey's household shall not be coupled in the betting with any horse ridden by such jockey. The racetrack operator shall take such actions as are necessary to inform the public adequately with regard to the relationship between any such jockey or trainer.”

The post Married NY Jockeys on Way to Mutuel Uncoupling appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Trevor McCarthy Shifting Tack To Southern California

There will soon be a new face in the Southern California jockey colony, belonging to Trevor McCarthy.

The native of Wilmington, Delaware, who celebrates his 27th birthday on May 16, was born into racing, following his father Michael McCarthy as a jockey, and made his bones in Maryland, leading several campaigns at Laurel and Pimlico.

Married to jockey Katie Davis, daughter of former top rider Robbie Davis, Trevor was fourth in the standings at Belmont Park through last Sunday, and after due diligence by both he and his new agent, an accord was reached.

If all works out well, McCarthy could follow in the footsteps of other jockeys who began their careers in Maryland before heading for greener pastures, among them Chris McCarron, Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado and Ramon Dominguez.

“I needed a rider and was not going to take one away from another agent here,” said Derek Lawson, who will represent McCarthy. “I recruited him. I started looking at riders who might fit out here, called him up, he made calls to trainers to learn about me and here we are.

“This is something he definitely wants to do,” continued Lawson, who got the pink slip from Flavien Prat in mid-February after playing a significant role in developing the 28-year-old Frenchman into a world-class presence.

“Trevor had a great winter at Aqueduct but he wanted to try something completely different, that being California, and he wanted to work with me,” Lawson said. “He will start riding here Memorial Day weekend (May 28 through 31).”

Lawson wasn't resting on his laurels or smelling the roses during his sudden and enforced absence from the game he loves.

“I wanted to bring in someone new and Trevor filled the bill. I like developing good, young talent.

“I recruited him the best way possible, tried to show him the advantages here, and even though it's heavy with competition at the top, otherwise he fits right in with everybody else.”

The post Trevor McCarthy Shifting Tack To Southern California appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘A Stupid, Stupid Rule’: New York Restrictions On Married Jockeys Stifling Davis’ Business

“The dumbest rule in racing.”

That's how attorney Bill Gotimer said TVG analysts have described New York's Commission Rule 4040.2 which reads: “No jockey, nor such jockeys' spouse, parent, issue nor member of such jockey's household, shall be the owner of any race horse. All horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, issue or member of a jockey's household shall be coupled in the betting with any horse ridden by such jockey.”

The rule has become a topic of discussion in recent weeks as Gotimer said it has recently begun hindering the business of his client, jockey Katie Davis, since her marriage to fellow rider Trevor McCarthy.

Davis married McCarthy in December 2020 and the couple shifted their tack from Maryland to New York. They were later informed that since their marriage, Rule 4040.2 would require the racing office to couple their mounts whenever they rode in the same race, whether or not their horses had the same trainer or owner.

McCarthy has gotten off to a swimming beginning in New York, riding 19 winners from 154 starters this year for mount earnings over $1 million, putting him well on his way to surpassing last year's total earnings. Davis, by contrast, has had just one win from 53 mounts so far, despite coming into the season off two strong years in Maryland. Just before their departure, McCarthy was a leading rider at Laurel Park, while Davis was seventh in the standings there.

Mike Monroe, current agent for Davis, and Gary Contessa, who had her book briefly after her move to New York, both agree that the rule has negatively impacted Davis's ability to get mounts. Both heard from trainers who had named Davis on their horses, only to take her off after they learned about the coupling rule. Media reports have indicated the racing office at Aqueduct has discouraged trainers from using Davis in races where McCarthy is already named, since it would not cause a coupling of what would otherwise be two betting interests in the race. The New York Racing Association has categorically denied that racing office personnel have exerted pressure on trainers not to use Davis.

“It's a stupid, stupid rule,” said Contessa. “It's absolutely ridiculous. When I was booking her, I had a trainer – I'll not say who – who's a bettor. Most trainers are lousy bettors, but they like to bet on their horses and this guy liked to bet. This guy gave me four calls for Katie and two or three days later he told me 'Gary I can't do it because I can't have these horses coupled. I want to get 10-1, I don't want to get 3-1.'

“On the racing office side, they're losing a betting interest and if you really evaluate betting races, losing one betting interest or gaining one betting interest earns or decrease that race by about $100,000 in wagers.”

Monroe said the rule does apply equally to Davis and McCarthy – if McCarthy is named on a mount after Davis, the trainer of McCarthy's horse will be informed that they will be coupled with Davis's mount – but McCarthy is booking mounts so quickly that he's usually named first. Monroe admits the mounts Davis has gotten have not done as well as they would have hoped, but is confident the coupling issue is the primary reason her career has stalled in New York.

“All we're really asking for is a fair shake, a level playing field. It's not a level playing field right now,” said Monroe. “We all know the racing office is having a difficult time with a shortage of entries, but that should not impact Katie Davis' status of being named on a horse. That's what we're trying to bring out here.”

Where did this rule come from?

Although Rule 4040.2 has become a target of complaint for Davis and her supporters recently, the New York State Gaming Commission told Gotimer it has been on the books since at least September 1974.

Though the rule is negatively impacting a female rider in 2021, a letter from New York State Gaming Commission executive director Robert Williams points out the rule is not written to only apply to female riders. It's true however, that the rule (logically) seems to have come about after women became licensed by New York state, which happened in 1969. And Monroe and Gotimer point out that the rule is going to naturally be unevenly impactful towards which ever spouse has less career momentum.

“There's going to be a day when you face this question with same-sex spouses,” said Gotimer.

Part of the reason the rule about married jockeys may have seemed dormant for the past 47 years is that there have been relatively few instances where married jockeys have tried to ride against each other in New York. The closest comparable case in recent memory may be Jose Ortiz and Taylor Rice Ortiz, but Taylor said they never had the opportunity to find out how the rule may have impacted their careers.

Taylor and Jose were engaged for some months before their wedding in December 2016. Taylor said she didn't know about Rule 4040.2 and was planning to continue with her career as a jockey, but found out she was pregnant with the couple's first child shortly before the wedding, prompting her to retire. Taylor, who has many immediate and extended family members in the sport, said she knew that marriage could complicate things.

The Ortiz family as of 2017

“I had heard of my dad's generation had been married and they had conflicts, and I knew that if you're a jockey and you're married to a trainer, you have to ride for your significant other,” said Ortiz. “What Trevor and Katie are going through, I had no idea the extent of it.”

 

That doesn't mean that she can see the logic in New York's rule. After all, she points out, she rode for her aunt, trainer Linda Rice, on many occasions but also rode for other trainers in races where Rice was saddling an entry and was never coupled in those races. She lived with Ortiz for several months before their marriage – an arrangement that was common knowledge on the backstretch – and that did not result in the racing office coupling their entries.

During the summer, when many riders, trainers, and others descend upon Saratoga Springs from out of town, Taylor Ortiz said it's also common for family members and close friends to share rental houses, as Jose and Irad Ortiz have done in the past, and cohabitation hasn't resulted in entries being coupled.

“What's crazy to me is that the horse racing industry is so intertwined between family and marriage,” said Ortiz. “So we could have stayed engaged forever, but as soon as we sign documents saying we're married it's a problem for one of your rules? It doesn't make sense to me.”

In initial research, Gotimer said he could find no other rule currently on the books in other major American racing jurisdictions that places the same kind of restrictions on riders as the New York State Gaming Commission. Instead, he found that cases where states or tracks had restrictions on married jockeys and had subsequently removed them.

In 1998, married riders Harry Vega and Amy Duross were told by Suffolk Downs stewards they couldn't ride in the same race, but that policy was later overturned by the Massachusetts Racing Commission. When jockeys Angel Serpa and Carol Cedeno were married, they competed against one another on uncoupled horses in Florida.

“[The restriction is] based in two concepts, neither one of which are really acceptable,” said Gotimer. “One is that licensed parties in New York state, and in particular jockeys, can't be trusted. I think that's a wild insult to world-class athletes.

“I think the second point is that it's based on an anachronistic idea that one spouse controls another. I don't see that in racing, and I don't see that in New York.”

Gotimer said he has not been retained for the purpose of bringing any legal action against the commission, but is hopeful the two sides can reach some kind of agreement about improved rule language.

“The Commission has commenced an examination of the rule origin, the harm it sought to prevent, its present applicability, and in what manner the harm – if any – can be addressed by alternative means,” said commission spokesman Brad Maione. “Additionally, we are seeking to place the rule in context, considering how similar situations are governed in other regional racing jurisdictions, in larger U.S. racing states and in major international jurisdictions.

“The rule appears by its plain language to be integrity-based with neutral applicability, but we intend on undertaking a de novo review.”

The rule has impacts on jockey/trainer combinations, too

Though Rule 4040.2 has mostly been discussed in the context of its impacts to two married jockeys, it has also come up for married trainer/jockey duos in New York.

Rachel Sells, who has had her trainer's license since 2017, is married to jockey Jose Soñe and is based at Finger Lakes. When she takes a horse to a race at a New York Racing Association track, Soñe must either sit the race out or ride her horse – he cannot ride for a competing trainer. At Finger Lakes, she said they were initially told that Soñe could ride other trainers' horses running against hers, but his mount would be coupled with her horse if he did so. Sells pushed back.

“We had issues with the racing office a few times,” she said. “I'm not one to sit back and let things happen. I'm a very vocal person. One day I called the racing office after I was informed my husband got taken off a horse because I had a horse in the race and I let them know they were denying him the right to a living and that's illegal. You can't tell somebody not to ride him because it's going to make the body of the race smaller.”

Eventually, Finger Lakes changed its house rules on the issue.

It's not a problem for Soñe to give first preference to Sells' horses, but for a rider with a wide client base, it might be. Taylor Ortiz pointed to the case of Rosie Napravnik, who had long been one of the go-to riders for Mike Maker when her husband, former Maker assistant Joe Sharp, opened his own training barn. Napravnik retired in 2014 upon learning that she was pregnant, not long after Sharp put out his shingle, so they didn't have much chance to find out how much her business may have been limited by the requirement that she give preference to Sharp's horses.

When saddling at her home base of Finger Lakes, Sells is still not permitted to own horses herself because she lives with Soñe, which she said has forced her to pass up great business opportunities. When she travels to a NYRA facility or anywhere out of state however, she encounters no problems running horses as both owner and trainer.

“For me, I could see if I do own a horse and I have a horse in the race, he has to ride that horse; I understand that,” she said. “But it's not even just for me. I have a groom who works for me and she's dating a jockey and wanted to buy a horse last year. I called the stewards and asked them about it and they said no, because she cohabitates with a jockey. It's not even just for trainers.”

Soñe doesn't ride as many races these days, though Sells said that's not because he has to give her first call as a trainer. Soñe has been a licensed rider since 2001 and while Sells said he will decide for himself when to hang his tack up, he isn't taking as many mounts as he once did.

“He's a lot more cautious on who he chooses to ride for,” she said. “At some point I do want him to be able to retire from riding and just come be with me and not have to worry about it.”

After all, being a jockey is a tough gig.

The post ‘A Stupid, Stupid Rule’: New York Restrictions On Married Jockeys Stifling Davis’ Business appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights