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Voters Approve Racetrack Casinos in Nebraska

The Nebraska horse racing industry, which has struggled for years to offer competitive purses, got a major boost Tuesday when voters overwhelmingly approved three constitutional amendments that legalize casinos at the state’s racetracks.

In other gambling related matters on the ballot across the country Tuesday, Marylanders voted in favor of legalizing sports betting in the state and voters in South Dakota approved sports betting, which would be restricted to the town of Deadwood, which already has a casino. In Louisiana, 55 of 64 parishes approved sports betting, including the four parishes that are home to the state’s racetracks, Fair Grounds, Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs and Louisiana Downs.

In order for casinos to pass in Nebraska, voters had to approve three initiatives. All three passed with nearly two out of every three voters voting in favor of the gambling expansion. Proponents of the initiatives argued that Nebraska was losing out because residents were traveling across state lines to gamble at casinos in Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Missouri. Supporters of the initiatives have said that the state will take in $65 million annually from taxes on the casino revenue. Money from the casinos will be used to reduce property taxes.

There are several racetracks in the state, a list that includes Lincoln Race Course, Horsemen’s Park, Fonner Park, Columbus, Atokad and Fair Play Park. Some of the tracks have been reduced to running one race a year, which is required to maintain a license. At Lincoln, the entire 2020 meet consisted of racing last Sunday and Monday, with each program consisting of one one-furlong race for Nebraska breds.

“We’re overwhelmingly thrilled and I couldn’t be happier,” said Lynne McNally, the executive vice president of the Nebraska HBPA. “This was a long time in the works. And what makes me even happier is that there was a clear mandate that people wanted casinos here and wanted the money to stay in the state to lower their property taxes. There are still a lot of moving parts, but once this is fully operational we will be seeing a very healthy increase in purses.”

McNally said that under current rules the Nebraska tracks are required to offer a combined 53 days of racing. She speculated that that number could double once the casino money begins to come in.

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Mid-Atlantic States Move To Restrict Clenbuterol Use

Continuing a decades-long regional effort to enact uniform medication, safety and welfare reforms, protocols and rules, a coalition of 31 regulatory and stakeholder organizations representing all seven states in the Mid-Atlantic region have unanimously agreed to work together to implement a new rule that will significantly restrict the improper use of the bronchodilator clenbuterol.

Under the current regional rule, clenbuterol may not be administered to a horse within 14 days of a race, and the concentration of the drug in a post-race blood sample may not exceed 140 picograms/ml. The new rule will eliminate the existing testing threshold, require regulatory approval in advance for a horse in racing or training that is prescribed the medication, mandate that the horse be placed on the Veterinarian's List, and bar the horse from racing until it tests negative in both blood and urine and completes a satisfactory workout observed by a regulatory veterinarian.

The move to restrict the use of clenbuterol in racing was made during a Mid-Atlantic Zoom meeting held Oct. 15, 2020. The meeting was attended by more than 60 stakeholder leaders from the seven states and regulatory jurisdictions that have committed to the Mid-Atlantic Strategic Plan to Reduce Equine Fatalities. During this meeting, N.Y.S. Gaming Commission Equine Medical Director Dr. Scott Palmer presented data collected from a recent out-of-competition sampling program. Dr. Palmer indicated that the Commission required all horses trained by federally indicted individuals to submit to hair testing for prohibited and impermissible substances prior to those horses being allowed to return to racing.

“The Commission's hair testing review found that clenbuterol was administered to a substantial number of these horses without evidence of a medical prescription,” Dr. Palmer said. “In addition to being a useful therapeutic medication to treat respiratory disease, clenbuterol has re-partitioning effects that can enhance muscle development. Clenbuterol should not be administered to racehorses without a legitimate treatment plan and a proper diagnosis. This new rule will eliminate the improper use of clenbuterol.”

Maryland began their rulemaking process on Oct. 22 and will apply the new restricted rule to both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses. New York plans to propose a rule amendment in November. The other jurisdictions will follow suit, navigating the regulatory process necessary for enactment in each state for racing in 2021.

“The Mid-Atlantic's collective work has spearheaded significant industry medication reforms over the years, including the bans on steroids in 2008 and, most recently, the use of bisphosphonates in 2019 and thyroid supplementation earlier this year,” said Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Chairman Alan Foreman, who has facilitated the Mid-Atlantic meetings since their inception. “The region's Uniform Medication and Drug Testing Program in 2014 ultimately became the National Uniform Medication Program. Everyone in the region, including regulators, racetrack operators, horsemen, breeders and veterinarians, is committed to the implementation of the Strategic Plan to Reduce Equine Fatalities. Working together, we have made, and continue to make, real change.”

The new clenbuterol rule is as follows:

Clenbuterol use is prohibited in racing and training unless the following conditions are met:
a. The prescription for clenbuterol is made for a specific horse based upon a specific diagnosis. The prescription and volume dispensed cannot exceed a treatment period of 30 days.
b. The veterinarian must provide a copy of the prescription and diagnosis to the Equine Medical Director for review and approval. The horse may not receive clenbuterol before this approval is issued.
c. Trainers must make daily notification to the official veterinarian of horse(s) in their custody having been administered clenbuterol. Notification shall be made on a form and by a deadline designated by the Commission.
d. A horse administered clenbuterol shall be placed on the official veterinarian's list. The horse must meet all conditions for removal from the list including a timed workout and blood and urine sampling. Both samples must have no detectable clenbuterol.
e. A horse may not enter to race until it has completed all the requirements in subdivision (d).
If a clenbuterol is detected in a horse's post-race or out of competition sample and appropriate notification as outlined in subdivision 1(a) or (b) was not completed, the horse shall immediately be placed on the Official Veterinarian's List pending the outcome of an investigation. The horse shall be required to meet all conditions for removal from the veterinarian's list outlined in subdivision 1(d), above.

The Mid-Atlantic stakeholders and regulators who have committed to the Strategic Plan include Delaware Park, DTHA, Delaware Racing Commission, Maryland Jockey Club, Maryland State Fair (Timonium), MTHA, Maryland Racing Commission, Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Monmouth Park, NJTHA, New Jersey Racing Commission, New Jersey Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Finger Lakes Racetrack, Finger Lakes HBPA, NYTHA, New York State Gaming Commission, New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., Penn National Gaming, Parx Racing, Presque Isle Downs, PTHA, Pennsylvania HBPA, Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Colonial Downs, Virginia Racing Commission, Charles Town, Mountaineer Park, Charles Town HBPA, Mountaineer HBPA, West Virginia Racing Commission, and the National Steeplechase Association.

Click here for a copy of the Strategic Plan.

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Grand Slams for Great Notion, Sheldon Russell on MD Million Day

Great Notion, Maryland’s annual leading sire by earnings since 2018, showcased the prowess of his progeny on the 35th Jim McKay Maryland Million program at Laurel Park Saturday by accounting for four of the eight winners of stakes carded for the offspring of stallions standing in Maryland. The grand slam marks the 11th consecutive year that Great Notion has sired at least one winner on Maryland Million day.

Not to be outdone, jockey Sheldon Russell blasted home a quartet of winners as well, three of them in stakes. He captured top honors in the afternoon’s feature with a nervy, forwardly placed 3 1/4-length victory aboard the 6-1 Monday Morning Qb (Imagining) in the $150,000 Classic S.

Laurel’s second-leading rider in both wins and earnings at the current meet also rallied from last to nail the $100,000 Turf S. by a length with 15-1 Pretty Good Year (Great Notion). And Russell seemed like he was just along for the front-running ride about the day’s most impressive winner, the $100,000 Distaff H.’s 1-2 favorite, Hello Beautiful (Golden Lad), an 11 1/4-length victress trained by the jockey’s wife, Brittany Russell.

Owner/breeders came out on top in three Million divisions Oct. 24. But none championed the cause for smaller outfits better than Great Notion’s final winner of the day, Karan’s Notion, who wired the $100,000 Sprint H. field by a length at 16-1 for owner/breeder/trainer Nancy Heil and jockey Yomar Ortiz.

“I don’t believe it’s real yet. I’ve been training 50-some years, but I’ve never had a [Maryland Million] eligible horse,” said Heil, who entered the day with two wins from just 15 starters in 2020. “When he was a baby, he had these long legs, like spider legs, and we said, ‘I think he’s going to be the one.’

“Never give up,” Heil added emphatically.

Monday Morning Qb apparently took Heil’s advice to heart in the nine-furlong Classic. Earlier this season, the Cash is King and LC Racing color bearer held his own in open-company races behind deeper-end-of-the-pool sophomores like Happy Saver (Super Saver), Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic) and Max Player (Honor Code), all of whom went on to either win or hit the board in Grade I stakes.

After an 11th-place turf try in a stakes on the GI Preakness S. undercard, trainer Butch Reid Jr. refocused on the Maryland Million’s calling-card race for Monday Morning Qb, and the large-framed colt ended up being the only 3-year-old in the Classic.

“We’ll digest this one a little bit. I’m hoping we can find one more 3-year-old race before the end of the year, but they’re going to be difficult to find,” Reid said. “I’ve taken some stalls at Palm Meadows this winter so he’ll probably end up down there with us.”

This year the Turf was elongated from a mile to nine furlongs, and Pretty Good Year, who was third in the 2019 edition, showed he appreciated the added real estate by uncorking a wide-and-driving tailgate move under Russell to earn the win for Lead Off Stable, whose principal, Bobby Goodyear, is the racing manager for the 4-year-old gelding’s breeder, The Elkstone Group.

Beyond the play-on-words naming that ties together owner and horse, Pretty Good Year also happens to be Goodyear’s only campaigner.

“Distance has always been his thing,” trainer Kelly Rubley said. “We keep hitting these one-turn miles here and he hits the board and he picks up checks, but the longer the better for him. At the three-eighths pole, I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, we have a lot of horse.'”

A return to her home court after a last-place stakes foray to Ellis Park and a Grade II stakes sixth at Saratoga Race Course was the turnaround spark that ignited Hello Beautiful’s dazzling romp in the Distaff H. over seven furlongs.

Owned in partnership by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables and Magic City Stables, all of the 3-year-old filly’s five wins have now come over the Laurel main track–by a gaudy aggregate of 40 1/2 lengths.

Brittany Russell said that last year’s champion Maryland-bred juvenile filly is not only special in her own right, but that Hello Beautiful’s sparkling career arc has enabled her training business to grow in Maryland by attracting the attention of new owners who have entrusted Russell with fresh stock.

“It’s huge. It’s very emotional. She’s been a big part of my career. I have clients and horses in the barn because of her,” Brittany Russell said.

In the Maryland Million’s pair of six-furlong juvenile stakes, the male division produced the flashier winner from a visual perspective. But the filly division produced the faster clocking.

In the $100,000 Maryland Million Nursery, trainer Dale Capuano saddled the one-two finishers.

Owned in partnership by with Louis Ulman and Neil Glasser, Kenny Had a Notion (Great Notion) ran his lifetime record to 3-for-4 with an inside stalking bid during which he first had to be ridden with restraint by jockey Jorge Ruiz to avoid running up into a tight pocket at the rail. But when given his head and clear passage, “Kenny” slipped deftly through at the fence, spurted clear, and left a number of legit chasers sputtering in his five-length wake.

Stablemate Alwaysinahurry rounded out the Great Notion-sired and Capuano-trained exacta.

“They’re both nice,” Capuano said. “Kenny is getting better and so is Alwaysinahurry. [Kenny] showed more speed than I thought he would. He was on the bit very early and the rider had to just get a seam and lucky the rail opened up and he got through.”

In the $100,000 Maryland Million Lassie, Miss Nondescript (Mossler) stalked from fourth in a strung-out field, advanced at will on far turn, then responded to deep-stretch urging from Trevor McCarthy in a long outside drive to prevail by a hard-fought neck.

Now 2-for-2 for owner/breeder Barak Farm, Miss Nondescript followed up her pace-pressing Monmouth Park maiden victory by showing a new dimension in rating from farther back.

Her victory represented the first stakes winner for freshman sire Mosler, who was a GSP turf sprint and middle-distance specialist. Although primarily based in New York for trainer Bill Mott, one of Mosler’s two stakes wins occurred over the Laurel grass course at six furlongs in the 2016 Laurel Dash.

The final clocking in the Lassie (1:10.13) bested the same-distance time produced three races later in the Nursery (1:10.55).

This year marked the return of the $100,000 Turf Sprint H. to the Maryland Million program following a seven-year absence. It had been won in each of its final three years by the late Maryland fan favorite Ben’s Cat.

Fiya (Friesan Fire), who began his career last November as a $25,000 maiden-claimer but was purchased for $400,000 at the Wanamaker’s July online sale after a 98-Beyer win that was .25 seconds off the Laurel turf course record for 5 1/2 furlongs, got pounded to 1-10 odds for the grass dash over the same distance on Saturday. He delivered with a 2 1/4-length tally that lifted his 2020 record to 4-for-4. Tom Albertrani trains for owner Robert Masiello. It was one of three wins on the day for jockey Trevor McCarthy.

Vivian Rall’s homebred Epic Idea (Great Notion), a two-time winner sprinting on the turf, successfully stretched out to 1 1/8 miles to win by three-quarters of a length, garnering her first career stakes win in the $100,000 Maryland Million Ladies S. The 5-1 wire-to-wire victress was ridden by McCarthy and trained by Ann Merryman.

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Distance, Ground Should Benefit Mr. D’Angelo In Repeat Bid For Maryland Million Turf Victory

More than 12 months after springing a 17-1 upset in the only other stakes attempt on his resume, Kevin P. Morgan's homebred Mr. d'Angelo is one of the main contenders as he returns to defend his title in Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Million Turf at Laurel Park.

Extended another furlong to 1 1/8 miles from 2019, the Turf for 3-year-olds and up is among eight stakes and four starter stakes on the 35th Jim McKay Maryland Million program, 'Maryland's Day at the Races' celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state.

A total of five races are scheduled for Laurel's world-class turf course, set to be contested over the Bowl Game and Exceller layouts. First race post time is 11:25 a.m.

Like many horses this year, Mr. d'Angelo got a belated start to his 2020 campaign in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. He has gone winless in just three starts, but has shown a steady improvement in each one at distances from 1 1/8 to 1 1/16 to one mile.

“We've been kind of pointing this way pretty much all year. He appears to be doing very well at the moment,” trainer Tim Woolley said. “He was a little bit unlucky in his last race. He probably should have won his last race but he's back together and the added distance of a mile an eighth this year is going to help, as well. We're kind of excited and he seems to be coming into the race in really good shape.”

A gelded 4-year-old son of late stallion and Australian Group 1 winner Seville, Mr. d'Angelo exits an open one-mile allowance at Laurel Sept. 17 where he found himself in his customary trailing position for a half-mile before launching a determined bid that saw him fall a neck shy of King's Honor.

“He's just one of those horses that when you have to come from way off the pace, which seems like his style, there's always going to be complications in running. That's just the way his style is. He just likes to come from way out of it and we don't try to change things up, we just hope that everything falls into place,” Woolley said. “That last race he probably should have won, he was just a little bit unlucky again. The horse that beat him kind of drifted out into his path a little bit and we kind of just lost that edge. Also, the last race was only a mile and I think he'll really like the mile and an eighth distance this time around.”

Mr. d'Angelo employed a similar strategy to win last year's Turf by 1 ¾ lengths, then went unraced until returning in a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance July 18 at Laurel, running third by 2 ¼ lengths. Next out he was fourth, beaten less than a length, in an open 1 1/16-mile allowance, his first of two straight races over a turf course rated good.

Also returning for this year's Turf are Somekindofmagician and Pretty Good Year, respectively second and third at 32-1 and 21-1 in 2019; Cannon's Roar, Taxable Goods and No Bull Addiction.

“There's a few of the horses that he raced against last year in the race again, and they are probably a bit more accomplished in some of the regular races but he's certainly going to be one of the main challengers again this year,” Woolley said. “I think the mile and an eighth suits him and the turf having a little bit of softness in it is going to take the starch out of some of these horses where I think he really just likes that. He'll like the distance and he'll handle any turf course we give him.”

Jevian Toledo, up for the last four starts including last year's Turf, rides back from Post 4 in a field of 12 plus also-eligibles Dundalk and Maryland-bred Hanalei's Houdini.

Bell Gable Stable's Somekindofmagician has yet to win a race in 2020, but has three seconds and two thirds from seven starts for trainer Jamie Ness. A six-length winner running for a $25,000 claiming tag Aug. 19 at Parx, the 6-year-old Street Magician gelding has run third in a pair of optional claiming allowances since, one rained off the turf.

Lead Off Stable's Pretty Good Year has had a similar hard-luck season in seven starts with one win, one second and two thirds. He was beaten a half-length when runner-up to Confessor Sept. 7 then ran third behind Super John Sept. 26, both optional claiming allowance events at Delaware Park.

Taking Risks Stable's Cannon's Roar comes into the Turf in top form with three consecutive wins including a dead-heat triumph with Nick Papagiorgio last out, a second-level optional claiming allowance going 1 1/8 miles over the Pimlico Race Course turf Sept. 25. Prior to that, he won back-to-back allowance at Laurel going one and 1 1/16 miles.

Cannon's Roar, a gelded 6-year-old son of Orientate, got his usual winter break before coming back but was unable to get started until June 6 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jorge Ruiz has the return call from outside Post 12.

“He's come back and had a good year so far. We always turn him out during the winter because he's much better on the grass. He's just come back and done well,” trainer Dale Capuano said. Capuano is the leading trainer in Maryland Million history with 11 wins among his 3,504 career victories.

“He's been pretty versatile. He can go to the front or lay off the pace, it doesn't really matter. It depends on the pace of the race, obviously, but he's pretty versatile that way,” Capuano said. “He's just been doing well so hopefully he has good luck in the race. Last year he clipped heels and almost went down, so hopefully we get good racing luck this year. He didn't get beat by much last year despite that so, hopefully, with some luck he should be OK.”

Rounding out the field are Benny Havens, Nick Papgiorgio, Rising Perry, Seville Barber, Seville Row and Tommy Shelby.

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