Kentucky HBPA’s Marty Maline To Retire After 47 Years

After 47 years serving as executive director of the Kentucky HBPA, Marty Maline will retire effective Dec. 31. Joe Clabes, who has overseen the Kentucky HBPA's government affairs and advocacy, has been named interim executive director and will work alongside Maline through December during the transition.

“I think more than anything, maybe it's time to turn it over to a younger person with a lot of enthusiasm and they can all improve the organization,” said Maline. “We're in good shape. We've got this great office here. There's a whole different set of issues, obviously HISA being one. (But) we've got good people. I'm really excited about those young guys.”

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Jennie Rees, Joe Clabes Launch ‘KY Racing Spotlight’ Radio Show On ESPN 680/105.7

Lucky 7 Stable's Mike Mackin, horse owner/celebrity bettor Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer are among the guests as Kentucky Racing Spotlight presented by the Kentucky HBPA debuts Friday. The weekly radio program will air 6-7 p.m. ET Fridays through March 4 on Louisville's ESPN 680/105.7, the region's sports-talk leader.

Hosted by horse-racing communications veterans Jennie Rees and Joe Clabes, Kentucky Racing Spotlight assumes the time slot filled much of the year by Inside Churchill Downs. The program will showcase Kentucky racing and horsemen, with one focus being Turfway Park's winter meet, while also featuring the week's major stakes nationally as well as the breeding industry and horse auctions. This week's featured handicapper is Horse Racing Nation's Ed DeRosa.

In addition to being on ESPN 680-AM/105.7 FM in Louisville, Kentucky Racing Spotlight will be streamed at espnlouisville.com, on the ESPN 680 app and the TuneIn and iHeart apps. The replay will be available on espnlouisville.com under the podcasts tab.

Regular segments will include interviews with Kentucky racing's policy-makers, the Louisville Thoroughbred Society's corporate member of the week and behind-the-scenes looks at aspects of the racing or breeding industry.

“When Jennie and Joe came to us with their vision for the show, our board knew it was a concept we wanted to embrace,” said Marty Maline, executive director of the Kentucky HBPA. “The show will help bring attention to what should be a strong meet at Turfway Park as well as keeping tabs on Kentucky horsemen who head south for the winter. One of the Kentucky HBPA's missions is to promote our horses and horsemen, and this show will do just that.”

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Jason Barkley, Norm Casse, Bentley Combs Elected To Kentucky HBPA Board

A trio of thirty-something trainers has been elected as newcomers to the Kentucky HBPA board with the addition of Jason Barkley, Norm Casse and Bentley Combs.

Rick Hiles was re-elected as Kentucky HBPA president, with Frank Jones re-elected as the owner vice president and Dale Romans as the trainer vice president. Also re-elected to the board were owners Mark Bacon, Buff Bradley (who switches over from the trainer side), Mike Bruder and Travis Foley and trainer John Hancock. Trainer R.C. Sturgeon and owner James Williams will serve as alternates.

Hiles, who has been president for 21 years with another 16 spent serving on the board, said he welcomes getting the millennials involved. Barkley (32), Casse (37) and Combs (33) join 37-year-old Foley, who was elected to a third term.

“Everything we've got we fought for,” Hiles said. “Every purse, every benefit, every program back here, the HBPA has fought for. I'm glad to see some young guys getting involved. I'm getting old, and so is Marty (executive director Marty Maline). They need to learn, because they're going to have to take this over. It's good to see some new young people coming to get involved. I'm tickled. It will be good for the organization.”

Barkley and Combs are graduates of the University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program in the College of Business. Casse is a graduate of Bellarmine University in Louisville. All three understand well the headwinds encountered when trying to build a stable.

Barkley and Combs said they both learned a lot participating in their first meeting when the board was seated and officers elected on Nov. 23.

“I was just trying to get my bearings, see how everybody goes about their business,” said Barkley, a fourth-generation horseman from the Evansville-Henderson area who began training full-time in 2017. “A lot of those guys have been there for a while. You try to take your cues from them. I want to be an advocate for the horsemen. Sometimes I feel like the big things get handled and maybe the smaller things can fall through the cracks — things we talk about on the rail, (I can) take those to the meetings.

“I hope there are things that I learned at U of L that I can bring over; hopefully give a fresh look to some of the things that the guys have been fighting for.”

Combs, participating remotely from Oaklawn Park, said he was amazed how much he learned from just that session, including possible repercussions with the scheduled implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA).

“I learned a ton of stuff I didn't even know existed, frankly,” said Combs, who grew up in Lexington and also has an MBA from Ole Miss. “… Being on the HBPA board, you get to see the overall business side of it, as far as the money taken in, where it's going, the good causes. The health and welfare stuff they were talking about, I had no idea.”

Having stuck his toe in the water, Combs, who began training in 2017, said he's even more glad he ran for the board, adding, “I want to be a part of the conversation.”

Casse is a third-generation horseman from Louisville who began training in 2018 after 12 years as an assistant trainer for his father, Mark. Casse said his goal is to be “a great representative for the horsemen” and being on the board is one way he can give back to the industry.

“I feel like I've got a finger on the pulse, so to speak, of what we need,” he said. “I owe horse racing everything. It's the right thing for me to do, to start giving my time and helping other people as well.

“It's not like I have any preconceived notions. I'm very green when it comes to this type of the thing. But I want to look out for the horsemen and the best interest of the trainer. I feel it's part of my obligation to give the time to do that.”

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Keeneland, Kentucky Downs Team To Offer Racing Opportunities To Horses Sold At September Sale

Horses offered at auction during the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale will be eligible to run in a pair of $250,000 allowance races at the 2022 FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs.

Keeneland and Kentucky Downs today announced an arrangement where Kentucky Downs will stage one $250,000 allowance race for 2-year-old fillies and one for 2-year-old colts and geldings restricted to horses that go through the sales ring at Keeneland's world-famous yearling auction Sept. 13-24 in Lexington, Ky. Yearlings that are sold as well as those not reaching their reserve bid will be eligible for the lucrative allowance events the following September at Kentucky Downs.

“This innovative venture between Keeneland and Kentucky Downs is a win/win, rewarding those horsemen who buy yearlings at the September Sale with lucrative racing opportunities while enhancing Kentucky's racing circuit,” Keeneland vice president of racing Gatewood Bell said. “It is an investment very much in keeping with Keeneland's mission to strengthen the sport of racing, and an example of how collaboration among racing entities benefits our industry.”

“Every meet, owners tell us after winning a race that now they have more money for the Keeneland September Yearling sale,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' vice president for racing. “This is just another incentive to keep those sales horses in Kentucky or to bring them back to the state to race. This should also help breeders and consignors of yearlings with turf pedigrees, giving potential owners extra reason to buy a grass horse.”

Kentucky Downs already offers the largest purses in America. To put the $250,000 purse in perspective, an entry-level allowance race for 2-year-olds at the 2021 meet carries a purse of $145,800, of which $75,600 comes from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF).

The Keeneland sale-restricted allowance purses will not include any KTDF money, which is available only to registered Kentucky-bred horses. That means horses born anywhere will run for the entire $250,000, which is more than the purses of most stakes races.

Funding will come out of the Kentucky Downs' horsemen's purse account under an agreement with the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents owners and trainers at the commonwealth's five Thoroughbred racetracks.

“This is just another example of horsemen and racetracks working together to strengthen the entire circuit,” said Marty Maline, executive director of the Kentucky HBPA. “This also gives owners buying horses in the middle and end of Keeneland's September Sale the opportunity to compete for big bucks with a horse that might not cost a lot of money.”

Kentucky Downs' 2021 meet opened Sunday, Sept. 5 and continues on Sept. 11 and 12. The six-date session was scheduled to pay out more than $15 million in purses, including KTDF supplements.

Keeneland's September Yearling Sale is the world's most important Thoroughbred auction, offering quality yearlings at all levels of the market. Attracting buyers from across the world, Keeneland September is racing's No. 1 source of future champions and Grade 1 winners. The 2021 auction spans 11 daily sessions, beginning Monday, Sept. 13.

A total of 2,481 yearlings were sold for a collective $248,978,700 at last year's September Sale. While the sales topper fetched $2 million, the average price was $100,354 with the median being $37,000.

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