That news was one of the rulings posted this week among Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.

Pimental's case was resolved without a final hearing after he accepted the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) sanctions.

Pimental's case was the subject of this in-depth TDN investigation last October. It details the then 68-year-old trainer's financial and professional struggles fighting a potential three-year ban and $25,000 fine. Pimental also has an outstanding case against him for a methamphetamine positive. Methamphetamine is a ubiquitous drug of human abuse that is the subject of nine other individual cases since HISA's drug control program went into effect.

In nearly a half-century of training, the TDN reported, the only Association of Racing Commissioners International violation on Pimental's record was a $100 fine for once not having a foal certificate on file.

In the case resolution report, HIWU lists several mitigating details in Pimental's case, including how he produced a valid prescription record for the Thyro-L, as well as a letter from his veterinarian, supporting its use in the pony, a “non-Covered Horse”; that “there is no evidence that Mr. Pimental possessed the Thyro-L for use in a Covered Horse after the ADMC Program went into effect”; that the pony for whom the Thyro-L was prescribed was “still alive and in the Pimentals' possession and care at the time the Thyro-L was found”; and that the Pimentals “openly admitted their mistake.”

At the same time, “Mr. Pimental did not educate himself on the impending ADMC Program rules, he took no precautions to ensure he was not in Possession of Thyro-L once the ADMC Program took effect, and he failed to supervise the disposal of the Thyro-L in his Possession,” the report states, in justification of the sanctions.

Trainer Manuel Badilla has also been suspended seven days and fined $1,000 after his trainee, Shana Madel, who finished second at Golden Gate on Dec. 26, subsequently tested positive for the anti-inflammatory, dexamethasone.

Dexamethasone is a Class C controlled medication, a first offense for which comes with a possible $500 fine and loss of purse. The “case resolution” report states that this was Badilla's second Class C controlled medication violation within two years, however, leading to the increased suspension period and fine.

Other rulings issued were:

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

Resolved ADMC Violations

Date: 12/24/2023
Licensee: David Geofroy (listed as the horse's owner on Equibase)
Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by HIWU.
Explainer: For the presence of 5-Hydroxy Dantrolene-Controlled Medication (Class C)-in a sample taken from Gran Runner. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 12/26/2023
Licensee: Manuel Badilla, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility, beginning on February 1, 2024; 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 $1,000; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.

Explainer: For the presence of Dexamethasone-Controlled Medication (Class C)-in a sample taken from Shana Madel, who finished second at Golden Gate on 12/26/23. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 01/03/2024
Licensee: Anthony Dutrow, 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, Past Tense. This was also a possible violation of Rule 4222-Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.

Date: 01/11/2024
Licensee: Ignacio Correas, 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, Didia. This was also a possible violation of Rule 4222-Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.

Date: 07/28/2023
Licensee: John Pimental, trainer
Penalty: 15-month period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on July 28, 2023; a fine of $10,000.
Explainer: For the possible possession of Levothyroxine (Thyro-L). This was a possible violation of Rule 3214(a)-Possession of Banned Substances
Read more on Pimental's story here.

Pending ADMC Violations

Date: 12/09/2023
Licensee: Michael Gorham, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Out of competition medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Acepromazine-Controlled Medication (Class B)-in a sample taken from Tom Char. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 11/09/2023
Licensee: Steve Klesaris, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Gabapentin-Controlled Medication (Class B)-in a sample taken from She's Awesome, who won at Aqueduct on 11/9/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 11/20/2023
Licensee: Kari Craddock, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Methocarbamol-Controlled Medication (Class C)-in a sample taken from Ekati's Hit, who finished second at Remington Park on 11/20/23. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 01/07/2024
Licensee: Jose Delgado, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Dexamethasone-Controlled Medication (Class C)-in a sample taken from Buff Hello, who finished third at Gulfstream Park on 1/7/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 12/29/2023
Licensee: Hutch Holsapple, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Oxymorphone-a banned substance-in a sample taken from Krickle, who finished second at Turfway Park on 12/29/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3212-Presence of a Banned Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers.

Date: 12/13/2023
Licensee: Darien Rodriguez, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Dexamethasone-Controlled Medication (Class C)-in a sample taken from Charlotte the Brit, who finished second at Tampa Bay on 12/13/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 12/01/2023
Licensee: Daniel Franko, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Caffeine-Controlled Medication (Class B)-in a sample taken from Misty's Cat, who won at Golden Gate on 12/1/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 10/28/2023
Licensee: Ron Moquett, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Mepivacaine-Controlled Medication (Class B)-in a sample taken from Speed Bias, who finished third in the G2 Hagyard Fayette S. at Keeneland on 10/28/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312-Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

OTHER KEY RULINGS

The TDN also publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.

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

NEW YORK

Track: Aqueduct
Date: 02/03/2024
Licensee: Marshall Gramm, owner
Penalty: $2,000 fine
Violation: Breach of transfer rule for claimed horses
Explainer: Owner Marshall K Gramm is hereby fined the sum of $2,000 for violating rule #4038.4 Sale, transfer restricted. This for the transfering of claimed horse “Truculent” prior to the thirty days from the date of the claim.

The post John Pimental Gets 15-Month Suspension, $10,000 Fine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Outside of the COVID year of 2020, this was the steepest decline based on percentage of handle since 2011. A total of $11,658,624,859 was wagered in 2023.

“I think we got quite a blip coming out of the pandemic when we were the only game in town,” said Marshall Gramm, an economics professor, horseplayer and the managing partner of Ten Strike Stable. “Now, I think we are feeling the real competition from sports betting. It's proliferated everywhere and at such a cheaper price point. Then we have small field sizes and the quality of the product is deteriorating. A lot of things have come together. The game is getting ever tougher for the real hardcore weekend warriors who would handle a couple hundred thousand to a million a year. They're finding this market to be a lot tougher. It's shark eats shark out there.”

In a surprising development, U.S. purses fell from $1,309,888,791 to $1,305,772,102, for a decline of .31 percent. With so much money being funneled into purses accounts from alternative forms of gambling, purses rose by 35.8% in 2021, the year after COVID. They were up 10.9 percent in 2022. With the casino market pretty saturated in this country, massive year-over-year increases in purses may be a thing of the past.

There was a reduction of 5.48% in the category of U.S. Race Days and a dip of 3.34 percent in U.S. starts.

In a somewhat encouraging development, the average field size actually showed a slight increase from 7.3 to 7.43.

The post Handle Drops by 3.7% in 2023 as Purses Also Take a Slight Dip appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A win in the one-mile Gotham could earn Eyeing Clover a trip back to Oaklawn for the Apr. 1 GI Arkansas Derby, according to Ten Strike co-managing partner Marshall Gramm.

“The core of our partners are Arkansans and we wanted to use this step towards the Arkansas Derby,” Gramm said. “That's a race we'd really love to win and participate in. For us, the dream race is the Arkansas Derby and the Gotham seems like a good stepping stone for it. We didn't want to quite jump up from an allowance to first time routing in the [GII] Rebel [at Oaklawn Park] next week from a timing standpoint and that race looks really tough. But the Gotham looks like it could be a really competitive race as well.”

Eyeing Clover, who was purchased by bloodstock agent Liz Crow on behalf of Ten Strike for $55,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale, is a half-brother to speedy graded stakes winner Heavenhasmynikki (Majestic Warrior).

“We've been huge Lookin at Lucky fans and we think this one is going to get better as the distances get longer, though his female family is fairly sprint-based,” Gramm said. “We're excited about coming to New York for the Gotham and excited about the horse's future. They bred a speedy female family to Lookin at Lucky and it's given us an early developer. We have every reason to believe, based on the sire, that he should improve going longer and we hope the Gotham is that first step towards the Arkansas Derby.”

Gramm continued, “We've been working with Liz and she buys all of our yearlings and 2-year-olds. This was one that really jumped out at her. It was a fast-looking Lookin at Lucky and she knew our affinity for the stallion and loved the female family as well. Hopefully, putting those two together can put us on the trail.”

Eyeing Clover worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 (4/48) at Fair Grounds Saturday.

Cox could also be represented in the Gotham by Slip Mahoney (Arrogate), who broke his maiden going one mile at Aqueduct Jan. 21. Owned by Gold Square LLC, the gray colt worked five furlongs in 1:01.00 (3/18) over Belmont's training track Saturday.

The Gotham is the penultimate New York prep on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and awards the top-five finishers points based off a 50-20-15-10-5 scale. The nine-furlong Arkansas Derby is a 100-40-30-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifier.

The post Eyeing Clover Targets Gotham appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“I've never had a course before where I could reach out to knowledgeable experts to aid in helping my students more understand racing,” Gramm said.

Sponsorship money collected from Mill Ridge Farm will be split between In the Money Media and their founding partners, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

“It's great working with our friends at Mill Ridge who are committed to fostering the connection between the breeding side of business and horseplayers,” said In the Money Media co-founder, Peter Thomas Fornatale. “It's also a pleasure to be partnered with Marshall, who in addition to his skills as a bettor and owner, is also a great interviewer. Though I do worry he'll put me out of a job.”

Gramm's wide-ranging expertise of the racing industry has translated into him being the winner of the 2020 Breeders Cup Betting Challenge, co-founding the ownership group Ten Strike Racing, and being a board member of many industry organizations.

“There is not a more qualified instructor than a BCBC champion,” Price Bell of Mill Ridge Farm said. “We have long admired the perspective Professor Marshall Gramm brings to our industry. We are excited to partner with him, In the Money Media, and TRF to share this exciting content.”

The post Wagering Markets Course Interviews to Benefit TRF appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Less than a year after opening her stable, Schultz, 34, is making a name for herself at Monmouth Park, where she has six winners from 22 starters for a winning rate of 22%. Overall in her brief career, she is 11 for 61, good for 18%.

“This is definitely beyond my expectations,” she said. “I have exceeded my goals.”

Schultz rode hunter-jumpers while growing up in Connecticut and enrolled in the racing program at the University of Louisville. It was not, however, until she entered the Godolphin program that she decided she wanted to be a trainer.

“I knew I wanted to be in the industry, but didn't know exactly what,” she said. “When I went into the Flying Start program I got to see every aspect of the industry and decided I wanted to focus on the racing part. Once I started working for Tom Proctor as his assistant, I thought maybe I could do this myself and do a good job.”

Along the way, she caught the attention of Marshall Gramm, who runs the Ten Strike Racing Partnership. Schultz and bloodstock advisor Liz Crow are close friends and Crow has had a long and fruitful business relationship with Ten Strike. Gramm has helped a number of young trainers kick off their careers and, in Schultz, he saw someone he was happy to take a chance on.

“I was talking to her around this time last year and it was clear she was at a stage where she was about to go out on her own,” Gramm said. “We had discussions about it last summer and I told her that if she was going to do it she should come to Oaklawn Park and that I could use her there. I told her that it would be a good place to start and I thought I could really help here there. It's a track I want to win at.”

“That I had the backing of Ten Strike and Marshall was huge,” Schultz said. “It's a good feeling to have someone who is so intelligent put his faith in me and helped me get started. It really meant a lot. The opportunity that he gave me was the biggest reason why I thought it was a good time to try this.”

Gramm didn't exactly hand her the keys to a 50-horse stable filled with stakes horses. Schultz told him she thought she could get by if Ten Strike gave her six to seven horses and she was fine with taking on claimers. Her first winner came with a $10,000 claimer at Oaklawn, Capture the Glory (Scat Daddy). Another winner at Oaklawn came with Tiger Moon (Upstart). Schultz talked Gramm into claiming him for $10,000 out of a maiden claiming race. She bumped him up to a $40,000 maiden claimer for his next start and he won at 29-1. (Gramm, an astute and enthusiastic horseplayer said he did not have a bet that day on Tiger Moon).

What Gramm did give her was the chance to prove that she could make the most of an opportunity.

It was Gramm who suggested that Schultz head to Monmouth after the Oaklawn meet ended.

“She has really blossomed at Monmouth,” Gramm said. “The competition is little bit easier there. We realized we could take some horses who were average horses at Oaklawn who would be be successful at Monmouth. She's really hit her stride there and it's exciting to watch. She works really hard and knows her stuff. I've been very pleased and impressed and I am excited to be part of her burgeoning career.”

Schultz has 14 horses at Monmouth, seven of them for Ten Strike. The stable includes five 2-year-olds, none of whom have started yet this year.

While happy to have accomplished so much so early in her career, Schultz makes no secrets of her aspirations to take things to the next level.

“I'd like to get up to maybe 40 horses to be able to have two strings,” she said. “It would be nice to be able to utilize two different circuits. I'd like to keep improving the quality. Obviously, to get to there you need the horses and you need the owners. All I'm trying to do is to do a good job, go to the sales and go to big race meets, meet people, talk to people. I am not a big self-promoter, but I hope if I keep doing a good job and keep looking for new opportunities they will come my way.”

Can it happen? Gramm believes that it can.

“Lindsay is going to need to find some other owners willing to take a chance on her and she's going to need to get some good 2-year-olds in her barn,” Gramm said. “Claiming is a way to get noticed and get your first set of owners, but, ultimately, you need to show you can develop some nice horses and win some stakes races. That's what gets you more and more noticed. Each year is a baby step. She's gone from five horses to 14 and has some 2-year-olds in her barn. That's a great place to be after a year. Hopefully, she can keep the momentum going and pick up some more owners. She has such a great background and I'm excited for her considering where she's at at such an early stage in her career.”

The post Flying Start Grad Lindsay Schultz off to a Flying Start appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Capture the Glory was the 10th starter for Schultz, including two starts in 2017 for Ten Strike.

Schultz, 33, grew up in Connecticut and rode hunter/jumpers, then attended the University of Louisville's Equine Business School, graduating in 2010. Among her classmates at Louisville were future trainers Jason Barkley, Will VanMeter and Bentley Combs and bloodstock agent Liz Crow.

Following college, Schultz was accepted in Darley's two-year Flying Start program and learned many facets of the horse industry while traveling the world. Since completing that porgram, Schultz worked as assistant trainer for Tom Proctor and Shug McGaughey. She also managed Glen Hill Farm in Florida.

With the encouragement of Ten Strike Racing's Marshall Gramm, Schultz began putting a stable together last fall and had six starts in November and December and one runner prior in 2022 prior to Saturday's breakthrough win.

Awesome to be a part of @LSchultz626's first career win with Capture the Glory and even better to have it come @OaklawnRacing!

Congratulations on the first of many wins, Lindsay! https://t.co/Tx2aGZfUXA

— Ten Strike Racing (@Tenstrikeracing) January 8, 2022

The post Trainer Lindsay Schultz Captures Glory At Oaklawn With First Career Winner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Warrior's Charge, who is trained by Brad Cox, has recorded two workouts this season at Oaklawn, including a five-furlong drill in 1:00 over a fast track Saturday morning. The Tinsel, for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles, is among four stakes created to accommodate Oaklawn opening in December for the first time in its 117-year history.

“That's the initial goal of the season, just to get him started down there,” Crow said.

Warrior's Charge has made eight starts at Oaklawn, recording powerful maiden special weights and first-level allowance scores as a 3-year-old in 2019 before finishing fourth in the Preakness. He won Oaklawn's $500,000 G3 Razorback Handicap for older horses in 2020.

A son of Munnings, Warrior's Charge has bankrolled $1,045,690 off a 5-4-4 record from 19 lifetime starts. Although winless in seven starts this year, Warrior's Charge ran fifth in the $1 million G2 Oaklawn Handicap last April at Oaklawn, second in the $600,000 G2 Stephen Foster Stakes June 26 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and third in the $200,000 Parx Dirt Mile Stakes Sept. 25 at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Penn. Warrior's Charge ran second in an Oct. 24 allowance race at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., in his last start.

“We've thought about it (retirement), but I think we're going to run him through 2022, probably, unless we're able to put something together,” Crow said. “But this is a racing partnership that loves Oaklawn, and they aim for Oaklawn every year and so I don't think they want to retire him with some of these lucrative purses that they can aim for this season. Obviously, if the right deal came along, we'd probably consider it.”

Ten Strike (Marshall Gramm and Arkansas native Clay Sanders) won 10 races, solely or in partnership, during the 2021 Oaklawn meeting that ended last May. Ten Strike campaigns Warrior's Charge with Madaket Stables (Sol Kumin).

Ten Strike, which offers fractional ownership to partners, has 20-25 horses at Oaklawn with five trainers, Crow said. In addition to Cox, Ten Strike also has horses with Jason Barkley, Bentley Combs, Randy Matthews, and Lindsay Schultz. A former assistant under Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, Schultz recently went out on her own and had her first two career Oaklawn starters (Pepper Pike and Capture the Glory) Saturday. Both were for Ten Strike.

“Oaklawn's always a main priority for Ten Strike,” Crow said. “We call ourselves like an Oaklawn-based racing partnership, so certainly always the goal is to win at Oaklawn and run at Oaklawn. I think Marshall and Clay like supporting these young trainers and we pushed Lindsay to Oaklawn to start her career, just because we thought that we be another great outlet to have horses there.”

Ten Strike also races several horses with prominent Arkansas businessman Frank Fletcher, including G3 winner Lady Rocket and unbeaten 2-year-old Rocket Dawg, who is by 2017 Arkansas Derby winner and champion Classic Empire. Lady Rocket was the first starter and first winner for the partnership, breaking her maiden in her August 2020 debut at Saratoga.

Cox also trains Lady Rocket and Rocket Dawg, a $375,000 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Sale purchase and sharp Nov. 19 debut winner at Churchill Downs.

“Hopefully, he'll make some starts at Oaklawn,” Crow said. “Really hope he can run in some of those races like the Smarty Jones and stuff, so we'll see. I think that we have some exciting horses that are pointing toward Oaklawn this year.”

Lady Rocket, who ran in two allowances races at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting, was a nine-length winner of the $250,000 G3 Go for Wand Handicap Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. Rocket Dawg, who broke his maiden by 5 ½ lengths at seven furlongs, returned to the work tab Saturday at Churchill Downs, breezing a half-mile in :49.60.

Lady Rocket is the first stakes winner and graded stakes winner for the Ten Strike/Fletcher union.

“It's gone well so far,” Crow said. “It's kind of a limited number of horses so far. They have only had like six horses together, but it looks like we have two good ones. Fingers crossed about Rocket Dawg. I don't want to jinx him. I want him to stay sound, but we're pretty excited about him. He ran some big numbers. He ran like an 11 Rag and a 3 ½ Thoro-Graph. He looks like he could be a really nice horse.”

The post Warrior’s Charge Will Target Tinsel Stakes At Oaklawn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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What she didn't expect was just how hard it would be to keep a horse, any horse, in her barn.

“The first starter I sent out in March got claimed immediately,” said Giangilulio. “He was the only horse I had, so it was hard to keep things going. I know it's part of the game, but I didn't know that they would take him out of a one-person stable. But the thing is, you have to have had one starter before you can claim. So, after that, I really started working on claiming. I was just so unlucky.”

Claiming would prove to be another hurdle. Despite her hustle, the fledgling trainer lost shake after shake. Her second horse, sent to her by horseman Marshall Gramm—who had also sent her first starter—was claimed on his first outing. A couple more horses would eventually trickle in, but in the days leading up to her summer move to Saratoga Race Course, Giangiulio's prospects for increasing her stable were still looking slim.

“It was funny how it set up because I was dropping every day on horses, and I was losing every shake every day. I could not get one single horse,” said Giangiulio. “I think I lost 12 shakes in a row before finally, I won two back-to-back.”

One of those horses was Sea Foam, a 6-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro. With him, Giangiulio's claiming woes would be forgotten. Only the sixth starter of Giangiulio's career, Sea Foam delivered the trainer her first victory in the Aug. 11 Evan Shipman Handicap at Saratoga.
Since then, Giangiulio's phone hasn't stopped ringing.

“It's been surreal,” said Giangiulio. “There have been so many podcasts and reporters and I was in the newspaper. It's been such a fun experience.

“To think about it now, it really set up perfectly because if I had won a few other shakes, I probably wouldn't have been able to get Sea Foam. I'm a small stable and I don't have any employees. It's only me. If I'd got up to five or six horses, I couldn't really get anything else, so I think it was meant to be.”

Giangiulio's path to becoming a newly minted stakes-winning trainer has been a winding one. Growing up on a farm in New Jersey where her father and grandfather bred Thoroughbreds, she always knew she wanted to work with horses, but I what capacity, she wasn't sure.

“I really didn't get involved in horse racing until I was out of my teenage years and into my early twenties,” said Giangiulio. “I was in the show world for a very long time really. I got a job on a farm when I was about 13 years old, and I started showing professionally at that age. The issue was that I really didn't get anywhere and showing is very expensive and political. I knew I wanted to be a horse trainer; I just didn't know exactly what discipline I wanted to do.”

Seeking advice, Giangiulio turned to her uncle, trainer Carlo Guerrero, based at Parx Racing less than an hour from her home. Under his tutelage, Giangiulio said she learned everything it took to train a Thoroughbred and acquired the skills, the confidence, and the contacts she needed to move up in the industry.

“It was a great experience at Parx, but it didn't feel like it was where I wanted to be,” said Giangiulio. “I moved to New York and got a job with Chad Brown through a friend and that was a really cool experience to be able to work with really, really nice horses. I then worked for quite a few trainers. I've been here six or seven years now and I've I worked for Joe Sharp, Tom Morley, Horacio DePaz, Kelly Breen … quite a few.”

At the end of 2020 and with the support of client Marshall Gramm, whom she had worked for under Guerrero at Parx, Giangiulio decided it was time to strike out on her own. From there, Giangiulio would play the numbers game until at last, Sea Foam found his way into her hands.

Claimed for the partnership of Ten Strike Racing and Four Corners Racing Stable, Sea Foam was picked up off a July 30 allowance optional claiming race win at Saratoga from the barn of Christophe Clement. A New York-bred who had already banked just over $500,00 in purses, Sea Foam's previous stakes-wining history and forward training style gave Giangiulio the confidence he could win the 1 1/8-mile Evan Shipman.

“It came up as a five-horse field and I had heard that Steve Asmussen wasn't going in with his three nominees,” said Giangiulio. “Sea Foam came out of the race where I claimed him so well and he was doing so good that when I saw this race came up light, I wanted to take a shot. The only horse I was worried about was Mr. Buff because he's a speed horse and Sea Foam only likes to run on the lead. But Mr. Buff didn't show up that day, so we got the lead and when Sea Foam gets the lead, he is tough to beat. He can run all day. That's what he wants, to be on the lead by himself.

“Watching him run I just thought, 'Is this really happening right now? This is amazing!' It's still hard to believe that it really happened. To win your first career win in a stake, off the claim, off a very well-known trainer … the story can't get any better than that.

“One thing that is funny is that the week before Sea Foam ran, I had a horse (Joey Loose Lips) run in an allowance race. He was bumping up in class and we just got beat at the wire. I thought for sure he would be my first winner but the following week, Sea Foam just jumped up and won the stake, so I know I wasn't supposed to win that allowance. I saved my first win for the stake. It was just really, really special.”

Now stabled at Belmont Park year-round, Giangiulio has six horses in her stable. Sea Foam will likely target a next start in the Sept. 25 Greenwood Cup (G3) at Parx, where he will try his luck at a mile and a half.

While the size of her stable has increased, Giangiulio remains a one-woman show. But with new clients and a renewed goal to claim new runners this winter, it's a status that Giangiulio hopes to change in the coming months.

“I'm grooming, galloping, and hot walking right now. It's been really hard to find help this year so I knew I would have to do it this way,” said Giangiulio. “I also don't have a lot of money to have a full payroll. It's expensive to do this with supplies and tack and everything else. I'm really looking now to start hiring. I have a lot of owners that want to claim, and I have new owners who want to send me horses so once I get back to Belmont and I'm settled in, I'm going to start building up.”

Despite her spotty luck in claiming at the start of her career, Sea Foam's success has proved to Giangiulio that claiming will remain a central part of her operation. The opportunity to provide hands on attention to young and previously trained horses remains central to Giangiulio's philosophy as a trainer.

“I'm always looking for a nice claimer that I can improve,” said Giangiulio. They're good horses and I got started in the claiming game, so I know that I'm good at it. In the spring, Marshall Gramm usually has a lot of nice 2-year-olds and he said that he would send some to me. He usually sends them to Brad Cox, but Brad is growing so big now, so I should be getting some nice 2-year-olds. But for now, it'll be the claiming game for me.

“There are a lot of challenges in being a trainer, but in less than a year I feel like I've come really far. I only have a few horses, but they're all good horses. I'm just so happy with how things have been going and I feel fortunate. I don't want to grow too big. All the trainers I've worked for over the years have told me to take my time and not grow too fast because the expenses are ridiculous when you start having a payroll and other bills. It's already a bit overwhelming now, so I'm happy where I'm at. I have everything organized so that when I do build, I'll know what to do. I also feel like I have an advantage because no one knows these horses better than I do. There is nothing more rewarding that seeing a horse win that you've been doing all the work on. Knowing nobody else has touched that horse but you—it's pretty special.”

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But Gramm has an admitted East Coast bias who thinks his home track, Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, has the perfect blend of dirt and turf races (100% dirt).

He'll have to work around those biases as the special guest in this week's final installment of the Beat Ray Beach Boss competition at Del Mar, where Gramm, host/handicapper Michelle Yu and Paulick Report publisher Ray Paulick handicap two turf races on Saturday's blockbuster card: the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap and Grade 1 Hollywood Derby. (Believe it or not, Gramm and Paulick land on the same longshot pick in the Seabiscuit. which is probably not a good omen for Gramm, considering Paulick's recent picks!)

Beat Ray Everyday is an online contest offered every racing day of the Del Mar meet. It's free to play and you can sign up here. Bet a mythical $100 each day on the selected contest race in win, place or show bets on any horse or horses.  At the end of the meet, the player with the highest bankroll from those wagers becomes the “Beach Boss” and wins two VIP tickets to the 2021 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. Other prizes are available to top finishers in the competition.

Watch this week's Beach Boss below.

The post Beat Ray At Del Mar: Can BCBC Champion Become The New Beach Boss? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The 12th annual Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, Thoroughbred racing's biggest live-money tournament, held Nov. 6-7, featured 430 top horseplayers wagering on the two-day card of the 37th Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington.

Gramm, 47, finished with a total score of 170,250 points. Combined with his first-place prize of $322,500, Gramm had total winnings of $492,750. That put him ahead of second-place finisher Jonathon Kinchen, NYRA/Fox Sports television handicapper and analyst. Kinchen compiled 161,025.20 points, and combined with his second-place prize of $215,000, he had total winnings of $376,025.20. Dylan Donnelly, from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., finished third with 136,200 points and $118,250 in prize money, for total winnings of $254,450.

In this year's BCBC, each player was required to fund a $2,500 buy-in and a $7,500 betting bankroll ($10,000 total).  All buy-in monies were applied to the prize pool, making the total prize pool $1,075,000. Players made real wagers (win, place, show, exacta, trifecta and daily double) with their $7,500 bankroll on 22 races over the two days and kept all monies earned from their wagering.

A big sports fan who grew up in Washington, D.C., Gramm loved “numbers and statistics,” and learned the handicapping game by reading books from noted racing journalist and author Andrew Beyer.

Gramm has played in the BCBC five of the last six years, registering his best finish in 2018, taking fifth place. He has been teaching economics at Rhodes College since 2000 and currently chairs the department. Gramm has taught a course at Rhodes called Economics of Racetrack Wagering Markets, which he describes as a class on “decision making, price discovery and probability.” Along with Clay Sanders, he is also co-managing partner of Ten Strike Racing, a stable that has won 338 races, including stakes winners Dot Matrix, Long On Value and Warrior's Charge.

Gramm experienced a range of emotions when he learned that he had won the tournament. “When I hit (the exacta), I was thrilled, my biggest score ever. You know you've had a great day, but it was nerve-racking, and a relief, and I will always be able to say that I am a BCBC Champion.” 

In this year's BCBC, Gramm was in contention throughout. On Friday, he cashed a $600 daily-double wager on Vequist in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), followed by Aunt Pearl (IRE) capturing the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Those bets earned him $17,350 and he closed out the first day of competition in seventh place.

On Saturday, Gramm went “all in” on Monomoy Girl winning the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), wagering his $18,165 bankroll and more than doubling his money. After hitting on a minimum show bet in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1), Gramm went into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic in 11th place with $36,930. In the climactic race of the World Championships, he made six individual exacta wagers using Authentic, Improbable and Tom's d'Etat. Gramm wagered $7,500 on the Authentic-Improbable combination and won the  tournament.

Runner-up Kinchen had nothing but praise for Gramm. “Marshall is a dear friend and I am  very happy for him. The BCBC is the Masters of handicapping contests. It's not all about the money, it's about the title. I wanted to win, but there are about three people in the world I am ok running second to, and Marshall is one of them.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions at Keeneland, most of the BCBC tournament play was conducted online at TVG.com, the official Breeders' Cup wagering partner, Xpressbet.com and NYRA Bets. The BCBC was also conducted at designated satellite locations at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif., and at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.

A list of the top 15 BCBC finishers appears below.  Complete tournament results are available here.

Online qualifying for the 2021 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge begins this Sunday, Nov. 15 on Horseplayers.com.  A guaranteed 2021 BCBC berth will be awarded to the winner of the contest, which has a $500 entry fee and a low 1 per 23 ratio. Players can sign up for Sunday's contest here.

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