Kenny McPeek | Horse Racing Free Tips

Bealmear Wins First Career Race at Oaklawn

Apprentice jockey Joseph Bealmear earned the first win of his career when guiding We Miss Arlington to victory in the second race at Oaklawn Park Saturday.

We Miss Arlington was the 11th career mount for Bealmear, according to Equibase, and came almost 44 years after his father, retired jockey Ben Bealmear, recorded his first career victory at Oaklawn.

The 19-year-old, who rode his first race Nov. 30 at Turfway Park, celebrated his first victory by pumping his right arm twice after crossing the finish line.

“I just couldn't contain it,” Bealmear said Sunday morning. “I just let it out. A lot of people asked me if I was nervous. But honestly, from the post parade, to the gate, to the finish line, that's the most confident I've ever been in a race. I think the horse felt that. I felt it and it all just worked out great.”

Bealmear grew up near Lexington and said he's been around horses his entire life. Bealmear's father won 66 races as a jockey in 1979-1982 and his mother, Laura, saddled 50 winners as a trainer during her career (2007-2020), according to Equibase.

Before becoming a jockey, Joseph Bealmear said he regularly galloped horses for trainer Wesley Ward. Bealmear began laying the groundwork for his riding career approximately 18 months ago when he met retired jockey Robby Albarado, Oaklawn's leading rider in 1996 and 1997. Albarado, who won more than 5,000 career races, is an exercise rider at Oaklawn for trainer Kenny McPeek and is also Bealmear's agent.

“Hopefully, everything goes well here and kind of piggyback on to Kentucky,” Albarado said. “That's the hope. I think he's going to be that kind of rider.”

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Is The Derby Purse Fair? Opinion From The Industry

In the Sept. 30 edition of the Thoroughbred Daily News, we ran an interview with John Sikura in which he raised questions about the funding mechanism and purse of the Kentucky Derby.

In the article, Sikura says:

“(The Kentucky Derby is) “The single event that drives the commerce of the industry. The point of entry to virtually everybody that owns a horse: 'I want to win the Kentucky Derby.' If you're fortunate enough to do so, there should be a financial reward that recognizes that–not just pride in achievement. A purse of $3 million, with $1 million dollars in fees and nominations, is an embarrassment to the sport. A huge windfall is given to a corporate entity, which they're entitled to. Corporately, they've been brilliant stewards of their brand and stock value. But they have to recognize that they're in a sport that has many participants–and that those should be rewarded.”

We asked several leading industry figures how they felt about what Sikura said, and also asked Churchill Downs, who had not responded by the time of publication of this article.

(To submit a reply of your own for consideration for publication, email suefinley@thetdn.com.)

Mike Repole, owner

“I disagree with John Sikura that it's embarrassing that the Kentucky Derby purse is $3 million. It's not embarrassing-it's beyond embarrassing. But not only do we put up a third of the purse with fees, but the way the owners get treated is an embarrassment. We buy our own tickets, and if you want more than 10-15 people, you have to buy your own seats. I have to run second in the Kentucky Derby just to break even. I'm 0-for-8 without a first or second, so every time I'm in it, I end up losing money. I doubt when a team makes the Super Bowl they have to worry so much about accommodations for their friends and family. So it's beyond embarrassing between the purse, and what owners pay to try to share the experience with friends and family. What happens when a syndicate makes it into the race with 30 owners? I think if it's going to be as prestigious as it is, the purse should be $10 million. The Saudi Cup is $20 million, the Dubai World Cup is $10 million, and the Breeders' Cup Classic is $6 million. I also disagree that they should allow 20 horses in the race. It should be 14. We're all concerned about horse safety. Is 20 horses in one gate safe? I don't think it is. This year, I have been blessed by having so much success, and it should be the most fun I've had in racing, but the frustration is starting to overcome the enjoyment. And the more I reflect, the more I'm starting to really realize that the blame of this lies with the owners and the trainers. As long as we keep letting tracks make the rules, and HISA with no real horse racing experience make the rules, and be ruled by the ineffective associations that represent owners, trainers, and jockeys in the sport without really having done them justice, the more we have to look ourselves in the mirror. If they lowered the purse to $500,000, they'd still get 20 horses, and that's on us. There's so much great that can happen in this game, but we're at a crossroads. This is self-inflicted. And we have let this go on for too long.”

Elliott Walden, President & CEO, WinStar Farm

“I think the Kentucky Derby purse should be $10,000,000 and the Oaks should be $5,000,000. The Derby has been raised twice in the last 20 years (300%). The Churchill Downs stock price is up over 1900% in the same time frame. I think our real problem is we are too busy fighting amongst ourselves with two horsemen's groups (the HPBA and the KTA), and not negotiating effectively with Churchill Downs as horsemen. It is the way the system has been set up. If I were CEO of Churchill, I would like it that way. Churchill Downs reported they had increased revenues of over $20.0M on last year's Kentucky Derby weekend alone. I am sure their argument would be that we can split up the purses any way we see fit. I think this is more about having an equitable split on all revenues for the weekend and not just handle.”

Eric Gustavson, Owner, Spendthrift Farm

I read John's article. Of course he's right. I remember many years ago when I found out how much it cost to nominate your horse to the Kentucky Derby, should you be among the few to make to the starting gate of that illustrious race. You might think that the nomination would be covered for the lucky 20. But no. I was shocked as I did the math and realized the disproportionate percentage the nominations made up for the purse of arguably the world's most famous horse race, let alone our country's. A Derby purse increase is decades overdue.

Anyone who has ever tried to take a group to Churchill on Derby Day knows the king's ransom it takes just to get seats. Add on the seat licenses, the handle and just that one day alone is quite a haul for Churchill. And good on them! They deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and the blessings that come with owning the premier day in our sport. But, as John stated, they could bump the Derby purse to $5 million tomorrow without batting an eye. That would put it on par with the Breeders' Cup Classic, which should be a minimum. But if you're Churchill, don't you want to be the class of the sport that offers American racing's most stout purse?

The powers that be at Churchill Downs should step up and reward the Derby runners commensurately with their achievement.

Kenny McPeek, trainer

There's no question that a race of that caliber, the purse should be larger. Worldwide, it don't think it ranks in the top 25 purses in the world. It's not in the top 25. For me, it's always been a bit of a head scratcher.

Tom Ryan, SF Bloodstock

The business behind the Kentucky Derby:

$3 million purse
15 million viewers
150,000 attendees
93% hotel occupancy
$189 million in wagers in 2023
$400 million economic impact

The glaring issue here is the winning owner of the 2023 KY Derby takes home $1.5m after jockey and trainer take 10%.

Based on the current $3m purse, CDI doesn't care to preserve the sanctity of The Kentucky Derby by bringing it into line with the rest of the world. We should have a $10m purse structure with plans to increase incrementally as we evolve.

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Gaffalione, Cox Lock Up Churchill Fall Meet Titles

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione and trainer Brad Cox entered the final day of racing Sunday at Churchill Downs having already locked up their respective titles for the 14-day September Meet.

Both successfully defended their titles from a year ago and set new September Meet records for wins: Gaffalione with 25 victories through 13 days and Cox with 15.

Gaffalione more than doubled second-place Cristian Torres's 12 wins prior to Sunday's 10-race card. This will be Gaffalione's 10th riding title at Churchill Downs since 2018 and fourth-straight September Meet title.

Cox's dominant meet led him to his seventh Churchill Downs training title. He entered the final day of racing with a 15-6 win lead over second-place Kenny McPeek.

Owners Rigney Racing and Gary and Mary West tied for the leading owner title with four wins apiece.

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Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Back At Woodbine, Derby-Oaks Roads Begin At Churchill

Racing roads converge this Saturday. With a little over a month left before horses and their connections officially point to Santa Anita, the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series returns to Woodbine Racetrack. Featured are three 'Win and You're In' chances, including the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile.

Meanwhile, at Churchill Downs, the prep seasons officially open for 2-year-old colts and fillies, who are seeking to bank points for next May's 150th editions of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks.

There is much to get to with Belmont at the Big A, Pimlico and Hastings, all carding graded races as well.

Appleby Looks to Repeat in Woodbine Mile

Last year, trainer Charlie Appleby sent MGISW Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) to Toronto for the Woodbine Mile and the now-retired globetrotter with William Buick aboard brought home the prize en route to another win in the Breeders' Cup.

With a trip to the FanDuel GI Breeders' Cup Mile on the line, this time around the Godolphin conditioner ships in multiple-group winner Master of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was well-beaten last March on the World Cup undercard in the G1 Dubai Turf, but won the G2 Fred Cowley MBE Memorial Summer Mile S. by four lengths at Ascot July 15.

“He has natural pace and travels well,” said Charlie Appleby. “The E.P. Taylor is a nice conventional track which suits him. It is a fair track with a nice straight that gives you a chance.”

The 5-year-old morning-line favorite will face five others, including MGSW War Bomber (Ire) (War Front), whose stalking trip led to a key victory in the Aug. 19 running of the GII King Edward S. That race saw 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Maker's Mark Mile hero Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) run fourth, which was the 6-year-old's first attempt since finishing fourth in the G1 Dubai Turf.

Also scheduled, trainer Mark Casse has almost half of the field looking for a trip to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in the GI bet365 Summer S. Out of his entries, My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince) was certainly eye-catching when he won against restricted company by 14 lengths in the Simcoe S. over the Tapeta at Woodbine Aug. 27. The gray upstart will do battle with Catch a Glimpse S. victor Airosa (Uncle Mo), who is looking to take on the boys.

The fillies will get their chance for a trip to Santa Anita and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Saturday in the GI Johnnie Walker Natalma S. Airosa could run in this spot, but it is an incredibly open race with Appleby's import Dazzling Star (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}) present and the Christophe Clement-trained Ozara (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who broke her maiden by a neck Aug. 6 at Saratoga.

“We liked this horse from day one,” said Miguel Clement, son and assistant to the trainer. “She'd been working well on the grass, and we were actually quite confident in her. She's a gutsy little filly, with tactical speed and a turn of foot that makes her very dangerous.”

Switching to the Tapeta, Woodbine rounds out their graded races with the GIII Vigil S. Seven sprinters will try to derail the early speed of Patches O'Houlihan (Reload), who stepped up to win the GIII Bold Venture S. in Toronto Aug. 20.

The Roads Begins Where It Ends at Churchill

Less than nine months from now, the 150th GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks will be crowned. The roads start at Churchill Downs on Saturday as points of 10-5-3-2-1 will be distributed to the top five finishers.

For the colts, the GIII Iroquois S. includes Winchell Thoroughbred's Risk It (Gun Runner), who sprinted home a winner at first asking Aug. 19 at Saratoga for trainer Steve Asmussen. The morning-line favorite will try to outrun WinStar and Siena Farm's Gettysburg Address (Constitution), who won in his first career race for trainer Brad Cox at Ellis Park Aug. 6.

As for the fillies, their race is no-less competitive as nine will be sent on their way in the GIII Pocahontas S. V V's Dream (Mitole) makes her return to the races after garnering 'TDN Rising Star' honors when she debuted for Kenny McPeek back in mid-May at Churchill Downs. The gray filly was second in her last effort to the undefeated GISW Brightwork (Outwork) at Ellis July 2 in the Debutante S. Facing her will be a number of contenders on the make, including SW Hot Beach (Omaha Beach), Empire Island (Classic Empire) and Peignoir (Mendelssohn).

Rounding out the first Saturday of racing at Churchill's September meet is the GIII Locust Grove S. Out of these older females, the two-turn test welcomes back GISW and MGSW Pauline's Pearl (Tapit). The Stonestreet homebred will once again do battle with the likes of MGSW Search Results (Flatter) and GISW A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo).

Grade III Tests at BAQ, Pimlico and Hastings

Swinging up to Aqueduct for the BAQ meet that just opened, we find the final leg of the Turf Triple Series for the fillies in the GIII Jockey Club Oaks Invitational.

Charlie Appleby will look to make his presence felt here too when he sends out Eternal Hope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). Last seen running third Aug. 20 at Deauville in the G2 Prix Alec Head S, she will match wits with Graham Motion trainee Speirling Beag (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who was second by a nose at Laurel Park Aug. 13 in the Searching S.

Speaking of racing in Maryland, Pimlico's short September meet continues and featured on Saturday is the GIII Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup S., which includes MSP Smokin' T (War Front), GSP Wolfie's Dynaghost (Ghostzapper) and SW King Vega (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

Wrapping up the graded day of racing, Hastings Racecourse will put on the GIII British Columbia Derby. Morning-line favorite SW Sunbird (Orb) will look to rebound after the bay gelding ran fifth in the GIII Canadian Derby.

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