monmouth park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Haskell The Primary Summer Target For Kentucky Derby Runner-Up Mandaloun

The Paulick Report stopped by reigning champion trainer Brad Cox's barn just minutes after Bob Baffert's press conference announcing the positive test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, wondering if Cox would reconsider his stance on starting Derby runner-up Mandaloun in the Preakness Stakes. Cox laughed, and said he'd have to double check with owner Juddmonte Farm, but would most likely stick to his plans to target big summer races with the talented, quirky son of Into Mischief.

On Thursday, Cox told the Daily Racing Form that he plans to point Mandaloun to the G1 Haskell Invitational on July 17 at Monmouth Park, skipping the rest of the Triple Crown series altogether.

Mandaloun worked for the first time since his half-length defeat in the Kentucky Derby on May 15 at Churchill Downs, covering a half-mile in 48 2/5 seconds. It's possible the colt could run before the Haskell, Cox said, but he'll wait to develop a plan until Mandaloun shows he's ready for the next step.

Should Medina Spirit be disqualified from first in the Kentucky Derby, it would mark Cox's first victory in the Run for the Roses, as well as the first Derby win for a Louisville-born trainer.

“Everybody is asking me, 'What's it feel like?' ” Cox told DRF. “Well, I don't know. It's a feeling I've never had before. It'd be cool . . . I guess? It'd be something you'd mark off your bucket list, but something you'd want to do again, maybe in a different way. It's certainly not the way you'd expect to win a race, especially as something as special as the Kentucky Derby.”

Battula Banned 2 1/2 Years, Fined $7,500 for Monmouth Drug Confiscation

Aparna Battula, the jockey-turned-trainer who has not started a horse since New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) investigators confiscated 83 injectable medication vials and 36 needles from her Monmouth Park tack room July 29, 2019, had her training license suspended 2 1/2 years and was fined $7,500 in a post-appeal commission ruling on those violations during the board's May 19 meeting.

Commissioners voted 4-0 to impose a penalty that was slightly stiffer than the two-year ban and $6,500 fine recommended by a New Jersey administrative law judge (ALJ) after Battula had appealed her original suspension.

But the new penalty pales in comparison to the nine-year suspension and $18,500 fine the Monmouth stewards originally voted to impose in a June 2020 ruling against Battula.

During Wednesday's NJRC meeting, executive director Judith Nason said the commission had withdrawn one charge at the appeal stage “because a confirmatory test for a substance came back negative.” The Asbury Park Press subsequently reported that the purported drug had been initially believed to be erythropoietin (EPO), which carried a five-year suspension and $5,000 fine. Nason also said the ALJ merged several other counts into one for the purposes of determining penalties.

Nason read into the record that testing confirmed the other confiscated vials contained flunixin, dexamethasone and methocarbamol. Nason said that Battula had admitted in interviews with investigators that the illicit pharmaceuticals were hers, and Nason said the trainer had admitted to injecting one horse, Banker's Island (Shackleford), with banamine and ACTH at Monmouth prior to the raid on her stable.

When caught with the contraband, Battula had been about to start a 15-day ban resulting from a separate dexamethasone positive incurred May 19, 2019, at Monmouth.

“Although the final decision accepts most of the ALJ's findings and conclusions, it rejects the ALJ's use of the criminal merger doctrine and her recommended penalties,” said NJRC chair Pamela Clyne, reading the proposed motion prior to the vote. “The final decision finds that the appropriate penalties for possession of the vials, needles and drugs are a one-year and six-month suspension and a $5,000 fine.”

Clyne continued: “The final decision also adopts the ALJ's imposition of a one-year suspension and a $2,500 fine for injecting the horse at Monmouth Park in July 2019. Considering the trainer's penalty history, which includes two other drug positives, the final decision concludes that the appropriate penalties in this matter are suspensions totaling two years and six months and fines totaling $7,500. Finally, the final decision also clarifies that the rule prohibits possession of the injectable bottles as well as possession of the prohibited drugs that may be in them.”

Battula's attorney had argued that the drugs were planted by a disgruntled former employee.

Battula, who was 31 at the time of the violations, had only been training since 2015, with a 7-13-14 record from 75 starters and earnings of $250,541. Prior to that she was a jockey between 2011 and 2013.

According to a 2013 Horse Illustrated profile, Battula, a North American Racing Academy attendee, had been the first female from India to earn a jockey's license in America after having attained a bachelor's degree in biotechnology in India.

The post Battula Banned 2 1/2 Years, Fined $7,500 for Monmouth Drug Confiscation appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Despite Boycott Threat, Monmouth Doesn’t Expect Jockey Shortage Over New Whip Rules

The strictest whip rules in the country will see their first use on May 28, opening day at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ. Instituted by the state's racing commission, the rules allow jockeys to use the whip when needed for safety reasons.

According to the Asbury Park Press, some jockeys have threatened to boycott the 2021 meet at Monmouth, with several regular NJ riders indicating plans to head elsewhere on social media.

“I wouldn't say it's a boycott. It's a decision,” Terry Mayocks, president and CEO of the Jockeys' Guild, told APP earlier this month. “We had a meeting when the stay was denied and just explained it to everyone and the process we've gone through the last year-and-a-half, and everyone basically said we don't feel comfortable. And if they can stay in Florida or go to other racetracks, that's an individual decision they will have to make.”

Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth Park, isn't concerned, saying: “We expect to have enough riders to put on the show and I think we will be successful.”

The purse structure at Monmouth will draw jockeys from other states if positions are open, Drazin continued.

In addition, Drazin has spoken with Meyocks about repercussions for jockeys accepting mounts at Monmouth and then not showing up to ride, forcing cancellation of racing.

“The Racing Commission would have the power to bring them in and give them a hearing and suspend them for conduct detrimental to racing and then they can't ride anywhere in the country, because there's reciprocity between racing commissions,” Drazin explained.

With Whip Ban in Place, Showdown Looms at Monmouth

With 10 days to go before opening day at Monmouth Park, preparations are being made to kick off the 53-day meet that begins May 28. Track officials are ready to go and so are the trainers and about 1,100 horses already stabled at the seaside track.

But who will ride the horses?

That question remained up in the air Tuesday. The New Jersey Racing Commission has passed regulations that will go into effect on opening day that will prevent jockeys from using their whips, except for cases when there are safety concerns. Several jockeys, including 13-time leading rider Joe Bravo, have said that because of the whip ban they will not be riding this meet at Monmouth. They are concerned that the new rule will create potentially dangerous situations during the running of races.

“I can't believe it has come this far,” Bravo said. “They're trying to put us in a situation where we will not be safe. I won't be riding.”

Bravo said he was also concerned about the penalties in place for whip infractions. For the first offense, there will be a fine of $500 plus a five-day suspension and the penalties will increase with each subsequent offense.

“That can get very expensive very quickly,” he said.

Paco Lopez, last year's leading rider, had made earlier plans to ride in Florida at Gulfstream Park opening weekend. His agent Cory Moran said Lopez has not decided what do after the first few days of racing, but added that he “plans to stick with his fellow riders.”

Though some jockeys have yet to make their intentions known, it appears fairly certain that a number of regular riders will be missing come opening day. Under existing labor laws, the jockeys are not permitted to stage an organized boycott. However, any jockey can simply decide to spend their summer riding at another track.

Through the Jockeys' Guild, efforts have been made to have the commission reconsider the rule change, but the issue is not scheduled to come up until a commission meeting this summer, after Monmouth has opened. There doesn't appear to be any avenue to have the rules changed before the opening weekend.

Management is convinced there will be no problem finding enough riders to fill out a card.

“We will have plenty of riders,” said a racing official, who estimated at least 15 jockeys will be available on opening day. The list includes Ferrin Peterson, last year's second leading rider. According to the Asbury Park Press, Tomas Mejia is also planning to ride at the meet.

In 1988, jockeys went on strike at Aqueduct over riding fees, but there was no disruption of racing. Some of the lesser riders on the circuit crossed the picket line to ride and so did a number of riders from out of town. Monmouth has, outside of Belmont Park, the best purses in the Northeast, which may prove irresistible to some jockeys struggling to earn a living.

Meanwhile, Monmouth management is caught in the middle.

“I support the jockeys,” said Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth Park. “I'm most concerned about their safety and welfare and I think we need to do everything possible to make sure that they are safe and to prevent injuries.”

Yet, Drazin understands that the track cannot afford to lose any racing dates and he warned the jockeys that if they stage an organized boycott or accept mounts and then refuse to ride they will face a suspension by the racing commission.

“The safety of the jockeys at our racetrack should always come first, but I have no power to change this,” Drazin said. “I can't pick up the phone and make this go away. It is our regulator that adopted this rule.”

Drazin said his biggest concern is that bettors will shy away from Monmouth because the races might prove to be less predicable because jockeys will no longer be allowed to use their whips as a tool to encourage their mounts.

“The whales I have talked to said, 'look, this is going to hurt your handle.'” Drazin said. “They say they support Monmouth, but they're wondering how do you bet a closer in race where the jockeys can't hit them? It concerns me to some extent that the bettors feel this way.”

At least one big bettor who is a regular Monmouth player said the whip rule will have no impact on his total wagering.

“It doesn't bother me because it's fifty-fifty,” said Anthony Altamonte. “Do some horses need it more than others? Probably. But it will even out in the end. The whip also hinders some horses. Sometimes it's noticeable that when you hit a horse they will run out. Some horses don't like it. To me, this won't make any difference. It won't affect my gambling.”

The post With Whip Ban in Place, Showdown Looms at Monmouth appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post