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One other gelding who was on the cusp of winning 10 times, Uncaptured Storm (Uncaptured), had been the morning-line favorite for the first race at Laurel Dec. 31, but he failed to draw in off the also-eligible list.

Divine Fashion, a 4-year-old who won all her other races in 2023 at Charles Town, and Uncaptured Storm, a 3-year-old who won at Laurel, Timonium and Charles Town, are stablemates, both owned by Richard Burnsworth and trained by Anthony Farrior.

The 7-year-old Fayette Warrior is owned and trained by Troy Bethke, whose son, Scott Bethke, rode the gelding to wins at Energy Downs (three times), Fonner Park, Sweetwater County Fair, and Wyoming Downs (twice each), plus Columbus.

Troy Bethke told TDN last week that Fayette Warrior is a “spunky, cocky little guy” who likes to train and race, and the gelding is currently being freshened at Bethke's home in Minnesota in preparation for a 2024 campaign.

Divine Fashion and Uncaptured Storm are also expected to remain in training for Farrior.

“They're just sound horses and you can keep them running,” Farrior said in a Dec. 29 interview.

Between 2012 and 2022, the North American year-end leaderboard was topped by horses who won between eight (in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign) and 14 times.

For perspective, only 48 Thoroughbreds in 2023 (one-tenth of one percent of all horses who started at least once) managed seven wins or more.

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Although both FanDuel executives and state regulators were largely mum on the subject of the multi-million-dollar pool spikes as of Thursday afternoon, Ed DeRosa of Horse Racing Nation (HRN) was able to provide insight into the possibility that a profound technological shortcoming might have been the root cause of the massive spike in betting.

DeRosa got the scoop on the potential fraud by publishing screen shots from the account of a now-suspended FanDuel customer who shared betting information from Wednesday under the condition of anonymity.

“The user was able to wheel the entire field for only the cost of the base wager,” DeRosa reported in HRN Nov. 16. “In other words, even though an all-all-all-all dime superfecta in a seven-horse field should cost $84, the bet cost only 10 cents via FanDuel Racing.”

DeRosa further reported that the alleged glitch was made apparent “when five super-exotic wagering pools at four different racetracks handled a historic amount of money, but FanDuel Racing account users exploited the situation in other pools and at other tracks as well.”

Among the Thoroughbred tracks whose pools were inordinately large on Nov. 15 were Churchill Downs, Finger Lakes and Mahoning Valley. The Standardbred tracks Monticello Raceway and The Meadows also reported outsized handles.

Many of the bloated pools were first reported anecdotally on social media by horseplayers on Wednesday afternoon. Although they could only guess as to the possible causes, most folks agreed that the betting handles were far out of line with established norms.

By way of comparison, DeRosa reported in HRN, “Churchill Downs handled $751,000 on the [Nov. 15] race 4 Super High 5, a huge number given that the track handled $967,598 on the bet type for this year's [GI] Kentucky Derby and $118,698 on the [GI] Kentucky Oaks.”

Superfecta and trifecta pools also appeared to have been targeted.

“The two things all the wagers had in common is that they came through FanDuel Racing and involved liberal use of the 'all' button in each position of the wagers,” DeRosa reported.

Prior to HRN revealing the purported glitch, speculation as to the cause of the conspicuously gaudy bets included allegations of money laundering, possible mistakes by computer-robotic wagering players, and misplaced decimal points in the bet-processing code.

On Wednesday, FanDuel Racing put out a statement on that said the company had “identified technical issues and potential fraud related to wagering pools and took the appropriate steps to stop wagering via its platform. This issue is no longer ongoing, and wagering has resumed. The company is undertaking a full review of this matter and will be cooperating with regulatory authorities.”

On Thursday, TDN contacted a FanDuel spokesperson for a follow-up and also emailed commission-level regulators in New York and Kentucky to ask if they were investigating the issue. None of the queries yielded replies prior to deadline for this story.

Curtis Linnell, who is the executive vice president of the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB), which monitors integrity and security in the sport, told TDN in a brief phone interview Thursday that he could not discuss specifics beyond explaining that the TRPB is “actively looking at the occurrences on behalf of regulator and racetrack clients who are involved.”

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Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where.

The TDN also posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These include decisions from around the country.

NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS
The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit's “pending” and “resolved” cases portals.

Resolved ADMC Violations
Date: 10/12/2023
Licensee: Chad Summers, trainer
Penalty: Treated as 1 violation with Rayya Valentine under 9/8/23 HISA Guidance.
Explainer: A possible violation of Rule 3314—Use or Attempted Use of a Controlled Medication Substance or a Controlled Medication Method—on the horse, Thank you Jon. This is also a possible violation of Rule 4222—Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.

Date: 10/11/2023
Licensee: Chad Summers, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $3,000; imposition of 3 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: A possible violation of Rule 3314—Use or Attempted Use of a Controlled Medication Substance or a Controlled Medication Method—on the horse, Rayya Valentine. This is also a possible violation of Rule 4222—Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.

Date: 09/28/2023
Licensee: Ruben Gomez, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility, beginning on November 2, 2023; a fine of $1,000; imposition of 2 Penalty Points.Admission.
Explainer: For the presence of Acepromazine—Controlled Medications (Class B)—in a sample taken from Blue Cloud. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 08/29/2023
Licensee: Kevin Fletcher, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility, beginning on November 4, 2023; a fine of $1,000; imposition of 2 Penalty Points.Admission.
Explainer: For the presence of Caffeine—Controlled Medications (Class B)—in a sample taken from Ruby Layne. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 08/28/2023
Licensee: Shane Meyers, trainer
Penalty: None. EAD Notice Withdrawn
Explainer: For the presence of Altrenogest—a banned substance—in a sample taken from Mugsy Malone. This is a possible violation of Rule 3212—Presence of a Banned Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers.

Date: 08/22/2023
Licensee: Thomas Kagele, trainer
Penalty: Public disclosure.
Explainer: Rule 3510 Disciplinary Proceedings/Refusal or Failure to Cooperate with HISA/HIWU.

Date: 08/11/2023
Licensee: Cathal Lynch, trainer
Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: For the presence of Flunixin—Controlled Medications (Class C)—in a sample taken from Saloon, who finished second at Laurel Park on 8/11/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 07/03/2023
Licensee: William Martin, trainer
Penalty: 30-day period of Ineligibility, beginning on November 7, 2023; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $2,500; imposition of 3 Penalty Points. Final decision of IAP.
Explainer: For the potential breach of Rule 4221—Alkalinization or Use of an Alkalinizing Agent (TCO2)—on Wild Irish, who won at Presque Isle Downs on 7/3/2023. This is also a possible violation of Rule 3313—Use of a Controlled Method During the Race Period.

Pending ADMC Violations
Date: 10/08/2023
Licensee: Francisco Soria, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Dantrolene—Controlled Medications (Class C)—in a sample taken from Profit Hunter. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 10/07/2023
Licensee: Nancy Summers, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Furosemide—Controlled Medications (Class C)—in a sample taken from Sweet Money, who finished second at Albuquerque Downs on 10/7/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 10/06/2023
Licensee: Jeffrey Dale Hudson, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Flunixin—Controlled Medications (Class C)—in a sample taken from Yumiko's Candy. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 10/02/2023
Licensee: Reid France, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Phenylbutazone—Controlled Medications (Class C)—in a sample taken from One Little Indian, who finished fourth at Golden Gate Fields on 10/2/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 09/22/2023
Licensee: Tanner Tracy, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Cannabidiol—Controlled Medications (Class B)—in a sample taken from Carry On, who finished second at Prairie Meadows on 9/22/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 09/20/2023
Licensee: Adolfo Macias, trainer
Penalty: Provisionally suspended
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the possible possession of Levothyroxine (Thyro-L). This is a possible violation of Rule 3214(a)—Possession of Banned Substances

The following cases have been returned to the “pending violation” list having previously been resolved.
Date: 06/20/2023
Licensee: Joseph Taylor, trainer
Penalty: Provisionally suspended
Alleged Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Methylphenidate and Clenbuterol—both banned substances—in a sample taken from Classy American, who finished second at Parx Racing on 6/20/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3212—Presence of a Banned Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers.

Date: 06/18/2023
Licensee: Joseph Taylor, trainer
Penalty: Provisionally suspended
Alleged Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Methylphenidate and Clenbuterol—both banned substances—in a sample taken from Cajun Cousin, who finished second at Parx Racing on 6/18/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3212—Presence of a Banned Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers.

Violations of Crop Rule
One important note: HISA's whip use limit is restricted to six strikes during a race.

Delaware Park
Andres Chavez – violation date Nov 1; $250 fine

Horseshoe Indianapolis
Samuel Bermudez – violation date Nov 1; $250 fine, one-day suspension
Rogelio Miranda – violation date Nov 1; $100 fine

Mahoning Valley Race Course
Hector Berrios – violation date Oct 31; $750 fine, $7,800 purse forfeited, ten-day suspension, on appeal and stay denied

Santa Anita
Ryan Moore – violation date Nov 4; $20,800 fine, one-day suspension, on appeal and stay granted
More on the story here.

OTHER KEY RULINGS
Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.
California
Track: Santa Anita
Date: 11/05/2023
Licensee: Irad Ortiz, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: Jockey Irad Ortiz, who rode Goodnight Olive in the fifth race at Santa Anita Park on November 4, 2023, is suspended for 3 racing days (November 12, 17 and 18, 2023) for failure to maintain a straight course in the stretch and causing interference; violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1699 (Riding Rules – careless riding).
More on the story here.

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“Ron's many years of experience in the racing industry make him an excellent candidate to fill the role of steward at Finger Lakes,” said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of The Jockey Club.

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Luis Batista was the leading jockey at the meet after booting home 60 winners, and the horse of the meet was Loaded Once More (Reload), who is trained by Bernardini and owned by Siesta Thoroughbreds, Gregg Rossi, and Greg Torporcer.

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The first black-type winner for his freshman sire (by Bodemeister), Grand Isle is out of a half-sister to MGSW Raylene (Tabasco Cat) and from the family of MG1SW Ad Valorem (Danzig). His dam produced a yearling  filly by National Flag and a weanling filly by Yosida (Jpn) but was not reported bred for next season. Click for the Equibase.com chart.

BEST OF OHIO JUVENILE S., $100,000, Mahoning Valley, 10-29, (S), 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:49.14, ft.
1–GRAND ISLE, 122, c, 2, by Always Dreaming
                1st Dam: Grand Mere (SP, $114,479), by Bob and John
                2nd Dam: Petite Princess, by Dayjur
                3rd Dam: Classy Women, by Relaunch
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-WinBlaze, LLC (OH); T-Timothy E.
Hamm; J-Jeffrey Sanchez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-1,
$118,980.
2–Sammy and Shorty, 122, g, 2, Mobil–Surviving New York, by
Survivalist. O-Italian Stallions; B-Phantom Farms LLC (OH);
T-Jeffrey A. Radosevich. $20,000.
3–Need to Know Basis, 122, g, 2, Overanalyze–Startin
Something, by Musical Dreamer. 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-Blazing
Meadows Farm LLC & WinStar Farm, LLC (OH); T-Timothy E.
Hamm. $10,000.

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“The mission statement behind the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund is one of importance to us and the racing community here at Mahoning Valley Race Course,” said Rob Swedinovich, Vice President and General Manager.

In the events two previous additions, the jockey colony, horsemen, Mahoning Valley's team members, and local community came together to help raise over $5,000 for the cause.

Tickets to the dinner portion of the event remain available for $50 by reservation here. For those interested in only karaoke, doors will reopen at 7 p.m. at the cost of a $20 donation to the PDJF at the door. Fundraising events will continue Saturday at 12 p.m. in conjunction with a special 10-race Best of Ohio stakes card which will see $500,000 in purse money up for grabs for Ohio-bred horses.

Racegoers will have the opportunity to participate in a raffle for a $500 Harley Davidson gift card, a silent auction including several horse racing and sports memorabilia items, and signing and photo opportunities with PDJF recipient Roger Blanco, Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Mike Manganello and Mahoning's local jockey colony.

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There are a record-setting 120 entries with a variety of prospects among the 23 weanlings and 74 yearlings as well as 2-year-olds and broodmares. The 2022 edition of the sale includes a 36-entry dispersal from Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm, which has been atop Ohio's accredited program as breeder and owner for many years. The state offers year-round racing at three venues-Jack Thistledown Racino, Belterra Park Gaming, and Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Racetrack. There are 43 stakes held annually for Ohio-breds with purses totaling over $3.5 million distributed.

The complete catalog can be found at the OTBO website. Any further questions, please call Mike Annechino, Executive Director of the OTBO, at (330) 356 8350.

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“It all started with my granddaughter, she's a horse person,” Smith explained. “She started riding when she was five. She wants to do barrel racing and is working towards that as we speak. She is obsessed with all things Heartland and all things Secretariat and Seabiscuit. We were sitting there one day and we had just watched a race on T.V. and she had watched those two movies about 400 times. She said, 'I think we should have a racehorse.' I was originally kind of shocked. I said to my son, 'What do you think we have to do?'”

Smith's son Jeremy threw himself into the new endeavor.

“My son is a research person, so he started researching,” Smith said. “Last spring we got our first horse. And now we have 11.”

Before venturing into racing, the family had already come together to care for Smith's ailing 97-year-old mother at their Ohio home.

“We bonded because we all have shifts,” she said. “We all live together now because of my mom. We insist on keeping her home and I work full time, besides having race horses. So my son and his family, they have their shifts. My grandson is 21 and he has his shift. We bonded over my mom.”

Focusing on racing became something else for the family to bond over. And they aren't just weekend warriors. The Willow's Green horses, trained by longtime family friend Dave Wilson, Jr., are stabled on a farm where they receive individualized attention.

“Some people say we have a petting zoo,” Smith said. “They are all so different, they are all trained by Dave according to their personality. They don't all train exactly the same. It's the same basics, but the approach is different. We don't do anything with them for a few weeks. We let them evolve and try to figure out what their heads are like. Some of them are a little more difficult than others. And some of them are like big dogs.”

She continued, “We just have a different approach from what we've seen. We don't let them out in the pasture and do crazy stuff like that, but they are happy when they are at the farm. We

can be more hands on. We do have people to do stalls, but we do them, too. Dave is involved. Tim Maxey, our farrier, is like a family member, too. And we are all just kind of rocking and rolling with the horses and the races, and discussing which race is the best one.”

London Smith may just be the family's secret weapon.

“London came along and she's different,” Smith said with a chuckle. “They call her the horse whisperer. It doesn't matter if we just bought a horse that day, she wants to go in the stall and get them to lie down and lay down with them and talk to them. She says, 'I need to talk to them.'”

Last October, Willow's Green Stables made what would turn out to be its biggest acquisition to date, claiming then 3-year-old Timeless Bounty for $15,000 at Thistledown. Just two starts later, the colt became the stable's first stakes starter when he went postward as a 59-1 outsider in the $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint S. In an ending worthy of Hollywood, Timeless Bounty produced a powerful late rally to defeat a field which included established stakes performers Jaxon Warrior (Munnings) and Baby Yoda (Prospective) and earned over 11 times his claiming price.

“We got him in October and we didn't really know him that well when he shocked the hell out of everybody,” Smith said. “That day is a day I will never ever forget in my life. I would have been ecstatic with fourth or fifth because there were some nice horses in that race.”

Asked what it was like to watch her colors carried to victory in a stakes race, Smith said, “It was such a shock. My son just literally collapsed. We were speechless. I kept saying, 'Oh my God. Oh my God.' I'm crying, my son is crying. And London was saying, 'Daddy he just won.' Like why are you idiots crying? No matter what happens in the future, no day will be like this one.”

In recalling the day, Jeremy Smith used the word surreal more than once.

“We shed a lot of tears,” he said. “Our family has been going through quite a bit here lately with my grandmother not doing well. We've had some ups and downs as a family. The hugs, the tears and the embracing, was something that I don't think any of us will ever forget for the rest of our lives. It had nothing to do with the money–I don't think any of us could have told you what we'd won. That's what I think was neat about it. He was a representation about what our family has been through. He was off the pace, a 59-1 longshot, kind of an underdog. You get knocked down, some people give up on you, but you don't give up on yourself and you find a way to dig down deep and keep going. That's what he did in there. He wasn't expected to win. No one gave him a shot and I think he was just a representation of who and what we are as a family. If that makes sense.”

The victory earned Timeless Bounty and the Smith family a trip out West to test the deep waters in the Dec. 26 GI Malibu S. where he would finish fifth behind superstar Flightline (Tapit).

“He deserved the opportunity to be in that race,” Gaylene Smith said. “He had earned the right to be there. And so we flew him out there. I flew out there with some of my family and some of my family were already out there with him. There were lots of people–it's not like races out here– and we got the royal treatment, the meal, the whole nine yards. It was quite an experience. It was so different.”

Jeremy Smith described his first trip to Santa Anita like visiting the historic home of baseball's Chicago Cubs for the first time.

“It was an honor to be at Santa Anita–just going there and seeing the backdrop of the place. It was kind of like going to Wrigley Field for the first time,” he said. “You just felt the history of the place. It was beautiful.”

Of competing against a horse like Flightline, Jeremy Smith added, “Flightline is a special horse and it was an honor to be in that horse's presence and watch him run. He ran so effortlessly. It was an honor to be in a race with him.”

Timeless Bounty will get another try against graded company when he faces six foes in the seven-furlong General George Saturday at Laurel.

“We are excited,” Gaylene Smith said of the upcoming race. “I hope he does very well and makes himself proud.”

Smith is also looking forward to retiring from a 30-plus career in the food services industry to spend more time with her growing racing stable.

“I would love that. I would absolutely love that,” she said.

Looking at the winding road that has led to the 11-horse stable, Jeremy Smith said, “We have just been blessed and are enjoying the journey. That's what it comes down to. We didn't get into this business thinking it was going to be something that would take over our lives. But ever since we got into it, it's pretty much consumed all of us. There are no days off, it's around the clock. But honestly, I don't know if any one of us would change anything. Win, lose or draw, I think these animals have touched our lives in a different way. If none of them ever ran a race again, I think we would have a very tough time getting rid of any of them. They have become part of the family. They have welcomed us into their herd and we are blessed to have them in our life.”

Gaylene Smith is looking forward to the stable settling into its second year of existence.

“Last year, we had to start up, we didn't have anything,” she said. “We didn't have tack. We had to get everything. So hopefully this year, it will be a little bit more relaxed. As a family effort, it has been absolutely marvelous.”

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