National Thoroughbred Racing Association | Horse Racing Free Tips

Racetrack Managers Program Offers Training To First Group Of Track Professionals, Announces a Second Course

With its online courses continuing to attract national and international participation and the first edition of its in-person Grader School program set to be held in mid-September at Keeneland, the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Racetrack Managers Certification Program (RMCP), and National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) today announced that it will be launching a second in-person Grader School course in the future.

The Racecourse Manager Certification program curriculum is designed for those already engaged in careers with turf surface maintenance. The online classes are free. Individuals who complete the video courses and pass a test that requires a $50 fee will receive a certificate of completion from the University of Kentucky. Participating Thoroughbred racetracks that enroll their personnel will receive credit toward future accreditation by the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance.

The online course offered by the RMCP, “Turf as an Equine Sports Surface,” provides training for professionals by experts from within and outside of horse racing. The second course, dubbed “Grader School,” will debut September 13-15 at Keeneland and offers hands-on training in the use of motor graders for maintaining a safe and consistent depth of dirt and synthetic surfaces.

The first session of Grader School will include a select group of five racetrack maintenance professionals seeking to acquire advanced skills and experience to improve their career progression. The class will be taught by veteran racetrack superintendents Dennis Moore and Alfredo Laureano. Moore is a Southern California-based track superintendent with nearly 50 years of racing experience while Laureano is the track superintendent at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Both Moore and Laureano have extensive experience with both dirt and synthetic surfaces. Their experiences include maintenance through a range of use and climate conditions and experience with both older graders and state-of-the-art equipment.

The inaugural enrollees for Grader School include:
Brian Brown, Track Maintenance Skilled Laborer, Fair Grounds Race Course (Louisiana)
Derek Pettinger, Assistant Superintendent, Remington Park (Oklahoma)
Keith Stockman, Superintendent, Delaware Park Race Track
Richard Sweeney, Assistant Track Superintendent, Maryland Jockey Club
Stirling “Harrison” Young, Assistant Superintendent, Turf, Colonial Downs (Virginia)

Two scholarships that cover class tuition and include support for lodging expenses have been awarded. The Equinox Racing Award will go to Harrison Young of Colonial Downs. The Horsemen's Track and Equipment scholarship will be awarded to Derek Pettinger of Remington Park. These award recipients were chosen based on their potential for future leadership in racetrack maintenance.

“Maintaining a safe, fair, and consistent racetrack is truly an art form. Experienced and proficient grading of the surface is one of the most vital keys to this entire process for the safety of our world-class equine and human athletes,” said David Richardson, Executive Director of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. “Richard (Sweeney) and the rest of the first class for this program are young and dedicated and the future of our industry.”

Based on the large number of applications and inquiries, a second session of the Grader School will be scheduled in the future. Opportunities for hands-on experience will be extended to both new and experienced operators.

Sign up to receive information about RMCP offerings here. Learn more about the Racecourse Managers Certificate Program here. Enroll in the “Turfgrass as an Equine Surface” course here.

[Story Continues Below]

About the University of Kentucky Ag Equine Programs
UK Ag Equine Programs serves as the front door to equine work being done at the University of Kentucky, representing the breadth and depth of all things equine in the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. It exemplifies the college's long-term commitment to serving the equine industry and horse enthusiasts regionally, nationally, and internationally.

About the Equine Sports Turfgrass Alliance
The Equine Sports Turfgrass Alliance, (ESTA) is a recently formed group of university and industry turfgrass experts in partnership with Dr. Mick Peterson. ESTA as an organization is dedicated to conducting research and providing education about turfgrass surfaces for racetrack, eventing, polo, and other-use equine surfaces. This education event is their first offering. However, future research and educational opportunities for horse owners, trainers, and equine facility managers are currently being developed. It is the goal of ESTA to bring science-backed maintenance practices to the forefront of equine turfgrass systems.

About the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance
The NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance is a standing organization formed in 2008 with the goal of establishing national uniform standards in the areas of safety and integrity. Alliance accreditation standards cover six broad areas: (1) injury reporting and prevention; (2) creating a safer racing environment; (3) aftercare and transition of retired racehorses; (4) uniform medication, testing and penalties; (5) safety research; and (6) wagering security. The standards are revised annually to adopt new and progressively more stringent requirements.

About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the Eclipse Awards; the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC); NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC®, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com and social media.

The post Racetrack Managers Program Offers Training To First Group Of Track Professionals, Announces a Second Course appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Knicks Go Solidly Atop NTRA Poll; Max Player Jumps Into Top 10

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go kept his No. 1 rating in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for the fifth straight week, while the 4-year-old colt Max Player catapulted from sixteenth into the top 10 off an impressive score in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga over the Labor Day weekend.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, received 19 first-place votes and 323 points. A winner three times in five starts this year, Knicks Go captured the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap in July, and scored a dominant, front-running victory in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga on Aug. 7.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska is in second place with six first-place votes and 306 points. Letruska has won five races this year for trainer Fausto Gutierrez, including the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga and the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, who won the Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 28, remained in third place with 10 first-place votes and 294 points. Also trained by Cox, Essential Quality, last year's Eclipse Award winner as Champion Two-Year-Old Male, captured the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5.

Michael Lund Petersen's 4-year-old filly Gamine, winner of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 28, remained in fourth place for the second consecutive week with 159 points.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield, winner of the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs and second in the Whitney, is in fifth. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has 137 points. Max Player, who earlier this year captured the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park, moved into sixth place with 135 points off his strong performance in the Gold Cup. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Max Player is owned by George Hall.

Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, the only turf horse in the top 10, is in seventh place with 110 points. Domestic Spending is trained by Chad Brown.

The speedy Jackie's Warrior, also trained by Asmussen and owned by Kirk and Judy Robison, most recently captured the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 28 and is in eighth place with 107 points.

Shadwell Stable's Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat, trained by Todd Pletcher and a winner of three races in four starts this year, is in ninth place with 91 points. Rounding out the top 10 is Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State, winner of four races in 2021 including the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Silver State has 50 points.

The post Knicks Go Solidly Atop NTRA Poll; Max Player Jumps Into Top 10 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gamine Jumps Up To Fourth In NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll

For the fourth consecutive week, Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go is the No. 1 ranked horse in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, while the 4-year-old filly Gamine, winner of Saratoga's Grade 1 Kettle One Ballerina Stakes, moved into fourth place.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, received 19 first-place votes and 325 points. This year, he has won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap, and the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga in his most recent start on Aug. 7.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska remained in second place with six first-place votes and 307 points. Letruska won her fifth race of 2021 on Saturday, taking the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga by a half-length. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska also has won two other Grade 1 stakes in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park and the Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality retained third place in the poll following his half-length win over Midnight Bourbon in Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Also trained by Cox, Essential Quality, who won the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes in June and took Saratoga's Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes earlier this month, has 10 first-place votes and 294 points.

Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine rose from seventh to fourth place with 183 points. Trained by Bob Baffert, Gamine remained unbeaten in four starts this year when she scored a 1 ¾-length triumph in the Ballerina. Last year's champion female sprinter also has 2021 wins in the Grade 3 Las Flores at Santa Anita Park, the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs, and the Grade 2 Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield, winner of the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs and second in the Whitney, drops one spot to fifth place. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has 166 points.

Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending is in sixth place with 119 points. Trained by Chad Brown, this year Domestic Spending finished in a dead heat for first in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, won the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park, and finished second in the Grade 1 Mr. D. Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 14.

Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior defeated the previously unbeaten Life Is Good by a neck in Saturday's Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds at Saratoga, and rose from 11th to seventh place in the poll with 115 points. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Jackie's Warrior won the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 1 and the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs on May 1.

Shadwell Stable's 3-year-old filly Malathaat stayed in eighth place with 90 points. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Malathaat won the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 21 to go along with her two other Grade 1 scores in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland and the Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State dropped three places to ninth with 69 points. Also trained by Asmussen, Silver State has four wins this year, including the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park.

Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's Hot Rod Charlie dropped one spot to 10th place with 43 points. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie, was third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and finished second in the Belmont Stakes. He crossed the wire first in the Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 17 but was disqualified for interference and was placed seventh.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through Nov. 6.

The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Polls can be found on the NTRA website at: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-august-30-2021/

Full accounting of top 10 votes by voter can be found at: https://mk0ntrauj6jy9vera.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Polls-week28-by_voter-2021.pdf

The post Gamine Jumps Up To Fourth In NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Malathaat Becomes Fourth Female To Be Ranked In NTRA’s Top Thoroughbred Poll

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go kept his No. 1 rating in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll for the third straight week, while the 3-year-old filly Malathaat, winner of the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes, moved into eighth place. Malathaat joined Letruska, Gamine and Shedaresthedevil as the fourth female star in the top 10.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, received 30 first-place votes and 359 points. A winner three times in five starts this year, Knicks Go captured the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap, and scored a dominant, front-running victory in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga on Aug. 7.

Places two through seven in the poll remained unchanged. St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska is in second place with five first-place votes and 320 points. Letruska has won four races this year for trainer Fausto Gutierrez, including the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park and the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, who won the July 31 Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, remained in third place with one first-place vote and 271 points. Also trained by Cox, Essential Quality, who captured the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5, is expected to start in this Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield, winner of the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs and second in the Whitney, is in fourth place. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has 237 points.

Klaravich Stables' 4-year-old gelding Domestic Spending, the only turf horse in the top 10, is in fifth place with one first-place vote and 156 points. Second in the Grade 1 Mr. D. Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 14, Domestic Spending, trained by Chad Brown, finished in a dead heat for first in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, and won the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State, winner of four races in 2021 including the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park, remained in sixth place with 135 points.

Michael Lund Petersen's 4-year-old Gamine, the 2020 champion female sprinter, is in seventh place with 90 points. Unbeaten in three starts this year for trainer Bob Baffert, Gamine is slated to run in this Saturday's Grade 1 Ketel One Ballerina at Saratoga.

Shadwell Stable's Malathaat, a determined 1 ½-length winner in the Alabama, jumped from 20th to eighth place this week with 85 points. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Malathaat has won three races in four starts this year, highlighted by two other the Grade 1 victories in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland and the Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Her lone defeat was a second-place finish by a head in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks to Maracuja at Saratoga on July 24. A daughter of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, Malathaat finished fifth in the final NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll in June.

Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's Hot Rod Charlie dropped one spot to ninth place with 65 points. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, crossed the wire first in the Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 17 but was disqualified and placed seventh due to interference.

Flurry Racing Stables, Qatar Racing and Big Aut Farms' 4-year-old filly Shedaresthedevil is in 10th place. Also trained by Cox, Shedaresthedevil has won three of four starts this year, including the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 1.

The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Polls can be found on the NTRA website at: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-august-16-2021/

The post Malathaat Becomes Fourth Female To Be Ranked In NTRA’s Top Thoroughbred Poll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post