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Week In Review: Racing On Christmas A Thing of the Past, But Legend Lives On

The annual Dec. 26 start of the Santa Anita season has a natural, anticipatory, turn-the-page vibe to it. But this mark-your-calendar Opening Day mainstay hasn't always been a post-holiday tradition. Although Santa Anita has kicked off its winter/spring meet on the day after Christmas every year since 1977, the track originally opened in 1934 on Christmas Day itself, and did so for the first four years of its existence.

“Filmdom entirely forgot its world of make-believe to migrate to the Santa Anita track yesterday for the renewal of horse racing in Los Angeles,” the Los Angeles Times gushed when reporting on the huge turnout of Hollywood movie stars and celebrities when Santa Anita held its first-ever races on Dec. 25, 1934.

“They rubbed elbows with Angelinos and society folk, and jostled through the crowd of 30,000 spectators to get a hot dog or place a bet, and joined in the cheer that swept over the giant racing plant as the horses left the barrier for the first race,” the front-page spread stated.

History tells us that way back when, Santa Anita wasn't alone in racing on Christmas Day.

Thumb through chart books and old newspaper clippings, and you'll get a flavor of when Christmas in North America was more of a social holiday than a commercial one; when going to the races on Dec. 25 was a festive outing centered on celebrating with friends and strangers alike.

As far back as the 1880s and early into the 20th Century, Christmas Day racing was routine at major warm-weather North American venues such as Oakland, California; Havana, Cuba; Juarez and Tijuana in Mexico, plus at other, long-gone Thoroughbred outposts like Jefferson in Louisiana and Savannah, Georgia.

There is even evidence that “outlaw” Thoroughbred tracks in bone-chilling climes like New Jersey, Illinois, and Missouri raced on Christmas through roughly 1900, purely because people would turn out to bet on the low-level unsanctioned racing those venues offered. Action, after all, was action.

By 1938 though, Santa Anita opted to switch off of Christmas Day racing in favor of opening on New Year's Eve. That experiment didn't last, and for the better part of the next 15 seasons or so, the SoCal track's start date fluctuated within the last week of December depending on how the calendar fell.

The first Dec. 26 Santa Anita opener was not until 1949, according to a retrospective the Los Angeles Times ran in 2012: “Since 1952, the day after Christmas has been Santa Anita's opening day in all but five seasons, and all seasons since 1977. Now to open any other day would seem sacrilegious.”

The Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Tropical Park in Florida were the two main tracks on the continent that continued to card Christmas Day racing through the middle of the 20th Century.

Eventually, Florida's tracks became the only torch-carriers for Christmas Day racing in America. Calder Race Course embraced the tradition after Tropical closed in 1972, and Hialeah Park even briefly gave it a go when it reopened from closure in 1991.

Yes, Virginia, There Is…

The now-defunct Calder also often raced on Christmas Eve, too. The finale on Dec. 24, 1992, was a $7,500 claimer in which an aptly named mare called Silent Knight got pounded in the betting to 7-5 favoritism. She won, of course. The margin was a nose (presumably red).

You'd think Silent Knight's victory might go down in history as the all-time holiday hunch play.

It isn't.

That distinction belongs to a 9-year-old Canadian-bred named Santa Claus, who romped home first in a Christmas Eve claimer at the Fair Grounds in 1976, delivering a $7.20 win mutuel to his merry backers.

After arriving in the paddock with his tail tied in red and white ribbons and a festive stocking cap perched atop his head, Santa Claus trailed until the final turn in a 1 1/16 miles route race, then rushed up the rail with a flourish turning for home.

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus…” the track announcer began crooning, with the crowd laughing and joining in to sing the carol, according to the Associated Press account of the race.

The Grinch Known as Simulcasting…

You can bet that Hall-of-Fame jockey Mike Smith remembers the Christmas Day he spent at Calder in 1993.

Smith, 28 at the time and just emerging as a top New York-based rider, flew to Florida because he had a chance to tie Pat Day's then-record of 60 stakes wins in a calendar year. Smith caught a big break when the holiday feature, the Tropical Park Oaks, got split into two divisions at entry time. He landed on the two favorites-and in the winner's circle-with both mounts.

“Someone up there must be looking out for me, and these horses must know,” Smith said after the wins.

Five days later, back at Aqueduct, Smith would win his 61st stakes of the year, giving him sole possession of the record (which has since been Scrooged by several other riders). The feat helped him earn his first Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding jockey.

The following year, the 1994 Christmas Day program at Calder would turn out to be its last.

While the holiday cards were considered decent on-track days in terms of attendance and handle (6,473 people turned out to bet $925,632 on-track in 1994), by 1995 Calder management decided that it would rather forego racing on the holiday to be open the day after, when more off-track betting parlors and simulcast tracks nationwide would be open to import the signal.

Today, Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico is the only North American track with regular racing on Christmas Day.

At all the stateside venues, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.

Yet it turned out that a sizable chunk of customers cried “Humbug!” when Calder pulled the plug on Christmas Day racing.

As Calder president Ken Dunn told the Miami Herald in 1995, for many people, the racetrack was a refuge (fast-forward to 2022: it still is). Particularly for the elderly who might not have family, going racing was a way to fill the hours.

Plus, Dunn added, “There are a lot of people who don't celebrate Christmas.”

Dunn's predecessor, the late Kenny Noe, who oversaw Calder during its decades-long run of holiday racing, told the Herald in that same article he had a different theory about why Christmas was so popular with racegoers.

“A lot of men would show up at the track and tell me their wives had told them to get the hell out of the house but be home by 4 o'clock for dinner,” said Noe, an old-school track exec who was never one to mince words.

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Faucheux, Graham, Brittlyn Lock Up Fair Grounds Titles

Ron Faucheux, James Graham and Evelyn Benoit's Brittlyn Stable locked up titles for leading trainer, jockey and owner, respectively, at the Fair Grounds, where the 2021-2022 meeting concluded Sunday, Mar. 27.

A native of Louisiana, Faucheux won his second consecutive training championship at the New Orleans oval, sending out 43 winners, a total 10 greater than Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox. Faucheux won three stakes at the meet.

James Graham won 72 races during the meeting to reign as champion jockey for the third straight season and fourth overall. Among the highlights of the season were the 27-1 upset of Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) in the GIII Lecomte S. in January. Mitchell Murrill, who rode his 1,000th career winner in February, brought up a total of 62 winners to fill second spot.

Benoit's Brittlyn Stables was represented by no fewer than 22 winners at the meet at a win rate of 33%, all–remarkably–sired by Star Guitar. It was the first leading owner title for Brittlyn. Chester Thomas's Allied Racing Stable was second with 14 victories.

The destruction caused by Hurricane Ida (late August/early September) offered plenty of challenges for racing officials, but , as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, business was solid due to the tremendous support from both horseman and bettors alike.

“The damage to the barn area, parts of the facility and the loss of the infield tote board due to Hurricane Ida leading into our meet caused some challenges, but we are New Orleans, and we are resilient,” Fair Grounds Senior Director of Racing Jason Boulet said.

“We are extremely proud of everyone who came together to put out a great product on a day-in, day-out basis and as always, we are extremely grateful to the horseman for their continued support throughout the meet. The return of the fans after a difficult, prolonged stretch with the COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed energy to the racetrack, and we look forward to what should be a very special 2022-23 season.”

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Expanded ‘Road To The Kentucky Derby’ Series Highlights Fair Grounds’ 150th Season

In what will be a historic, 150^th anniversary racing season, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has announced that 59 stakes worth a combined $7.795 million, up more than $600,000 from last season, will be offered during the 80-day, 2021-22 Thoroughbred meet, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 25.

“Fair Grounds Race Track is embedded in the history of New Orleans,” said Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots president Doug Shipley. “We have always been very proud to be part of such a great city and this year marks the 150^th anniversary of our inaugural season. We are very excited to continue our growth and support of the Thoroughbred racing industry with our purse allocation and this year's diverse and dynamic stakes schedule. Having not only the best fans, but also the best horsemen and jockeys from all around the world provides an unforgettable experience of high caliber racing at The Fair Grounds.”

The “Louisiana Derby Day” card on March 26 will feature eight stakes worth a total of $2.525 million, including the 109^th running of the Grade 2 $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby for 3-year-olds. Run at 1 3/16ths miles for the second time last year, the Louisiana Derby, which is worth 100-40-20-10 points to the top four finishers, is the fourth and final local prep on the Road to the Grade 1 $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve to be run at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 7. Last year's race winner Hot Rod Charlie, runner-up Midnight Bourbon, and Mandaloun, who finished sixth as the favorite, have all factored prominently in subsequent stakes events. Mandaloun finished second in the Kentucky Derby and later won the Grade 1 Haskell (via DQ). Hot Rod Charlie finished third in the Kentucky Derby, second in the Grade 1 Belmont and he recently won the Grace 1 Pennsylvania Derby over Midnight Bourbon, who was also the runner-up in the Grade 1 Preakness and the Grade 1 Travers.

Run at 1 1/16 miles, the 54^th running of the Grade 2 $400,000 Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks for 3-year-old fillies offers 100-40-20-10 en route to the Grade 1 $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks to be run at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 6. Last year's winner Travel Column finished fifth in the Kentucky Oaks. Runner-up Clairiere, who recently won the Grade 1 Cotillion, was fourth in the Kentucky Oaks prior to consecutive placings in the Grade 2 Mother Goose (3^rd), Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks (3^rd) and Grade 1 Alabama (2^nd). Third place finisher Souper Sensational has since won the Grade 3 Victory Ride and finished second in the Grade 1 Test and the Grade 2 Prioress. Obligatory followed up her fourth place run in the Fair Grounds Oaks with a win in the Grade 2 Eight Belles and a second in the Grade 1 Acorn and sixth place finisher Zaajel would later upset the Grade 2 Mother Goose.

A pair of nine furlong, high-impact stakes for older horses are also scheduled on the Louisiana Derby Day program — the Grade 2 $500,000 New Orleans Classic (purse raised by $100,000) and the Grade 2 $300,000 Muniz Memorial Stakes, to be run over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course. In addition, four undercard stakes are slated for the lucrative card, including the $100,000 Tom Benson Memorial for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on grass and a trio of Louisiana-bred events – the $75,000 Costa Rising Stakes, a 5½-furlong turf sprint, the $75,000 Crescent City Derby for 3-year-old males at 1 1/16 miles and the $75,000 Crescent City Oaks for females at 1 mile and 70 yards.

A pair of brand new 2-year-old stakes with Kentucky Derby and Oaks point implications (10-4-2-1) have been added to the Fair Grounds stakes schedule for the December 26 “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day” card. The $100,000 Gun Runner will be contested at 1 1/16ths miles and the $100,000 Untapable for fillies will be run over 1 mile 70 yards. Four supporting stakes, all for older horses, will also be offered – the $100,000 Tenacious Stakes ($25,000 purse increase) at 1 1/16ths miles, the $75,000 Buddy Diliberto Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf, the $75,000 Blushing K.D. for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf and the $75,000 Richie Scherer Memorial at 5 ½ furlongs on turf.

“Fair Grounds has proven to be one of the premier winter racing destinations,” said Fair Grounds' racing secretary Scott Jones. “Once again last year, the quality of horses who stabled or came through New Orleans have made a huge impact in premier stakes races all over the country. Adding the Gun Runner and the Untapable to our progressive schedule of 3-year-old races for both the boys and girls gives horsemen even more opportunity to develop their horses and compete for excellent purses.”

On Jan. 22, the “Road to the Derby Day presented by Hotel Monteleone” features a pair of key 3-year-old events — the Grade 3 $200,000 Lecomte Stakes, which was extended from a mile to 1 1/16 miles last season, and the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for fillies at 1 mile and 70 yards. The top four finishers in each race receive 10-4-2-1 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks respectively.

Four stakes for older horses will also be presented on the Jan. 22 program, including the $150,000 Louisiana Stakes, which was elevated to Grade 3 status last year and received another $25,000 purse increase for this year's renewal, at 1 1/16 miles, the $100,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes at 1 1/16 miles over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course, the $100,000 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf and the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on grass.

On Feb. 19, “Louisiana Derby Preview Day presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln” features a pair of key 3-year-old stakes — the Grade 2 $400,000 Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln, which was extended from 1 1/16 to 1 1/8 miles two years ago, and the Grade 2 $300,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes presented by Fasig-Tipton, for fillies to be contested over 1 1/16 miles. The top four finishers receive 50-20-10-5 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks respectively. The Rachel Alexandra has produced the last two of the last four Kentucky Oaks winners in Monomoy Girl and Serengeti Empress and 2014 victress Untapable also took down the Run for the Lilies.

Four stakes for older horses will also be presented on the Feb. 19 program — the Grade 3 $250,000 Mineshaft Stakes at 1 1/16 miles ($50,000 purse increase), the Grade 3 $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes at nine furlongs on turf, the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes at 5½ furlongs on turf and the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Louisiana Champions Day presented by Acadian Ambulance will be held on Dec. 11. With the races run over various divisions and distances on both dirt and turf, the program features ten stakes restricted to Louisiana-breds. Each Louisiana Champions Day stakes is worth $100,000 with the exception of the Louisiana Champions Day Classic, which carries a $150,000 purse.

In addition to the Gun Runner and the Untapable, Fair Grounds has added four other new stakes to the schedule: the Joseph R. Peluso Memorial Stakes, named for the longtime racing official who passed away in January, for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf on November 25; the Bob Wright Memorial Stakes, named for the longtime chairman of the Louisiana Racing Commission, who passed away in March, for older horses at 1 1/16ths miles on turf on November 27; the Fred P. Aime Memorial Stakes, named for the New Orleans native and longtime jockey agent who passed away in December, for older fillies and mares at 5 ½ furlongs on turf on January 29; and the Page Cortez Stakes, named for the Louisiana senator, for older Louisiana-bred fillies and mares at 5 ½ furlongs on turf.

For the second consecutive year, the purse for the opening day Thanksgiving Classic for older male sprinters has been increased $25,000 to $150,000.

The 80-day, 2021-2022 Fair Grounds racing season runs through Sunday, March 27. Regular post time will be 1:05 p.m. CT, but there will be an earlier noon CT first post on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25), Louisiana Champions Day (Dec. 11), Road to the Derby Kickoff Day (Dec. 26), Road to the Derby Day (Jan. 22) Louisiana Derby Preview Day (Feb. 19) and Louisiana Derby Day (March 26).

Condition Book #1 * Index

Stakes Schedule

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Masqueparade Adds NOLA Flavor to Travers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–There's more than a casual connection between New Orleans, Masqueparade (Upstart) and Saratoga Race Course, where the colt will run Saturday in the $1.25-million GI Runhappy Travers.

Trained by New Orleans native Al Stall for a group of New Orleans businessmen and pals headed by Wilbur “Bill” Babin called FTGGG Racing and whose name references the masks worn during the city's signature Mardi Gras festivities, Masqueparade was purchased with Saratoga in mind.

Babin made his first visit to Saratoga in 2003; has come for the entire meet since 2013; and had told the veteran trainer his goal was to race at Saratoga.

Masqueparade, the second of two yearlings that FTGGG purchased on consecutive days at 2019 Keeneland September, delivered for Babin and his friends July 31 with a third-place finish in the GII Jim Dandy S., the local prep for the Travers.

“He wanted to run a horse,” Stall said. “He'd have been happy running in the maiden auction race. And now he's in the Jim Dandy and Travers. It's really an unbelievable story. Someone from New Orleans and it's not like 'let's get something for home, for Fair Grounds.' He wanted something for Saratoga and, look, he's in the mother lode with a chance to run well.”

For Babin, in particular, Masqueparade has provided him with a summer of pinch-me moments at America's oldest racetrack.

“My goal was only to saddle a horse in the paddock at Saratoga. I never in my wildest dreams dreamed that it would be in the Jim Dandy and now the Travers,” Babin said. “I told Al, jokingly, of course, when we bought the horse that I wasn't worried about slow development or anything. I wasn't worried about being in the Triple Crown. The whole goal was the Travers, was Saratoga. Literally, I was just joking and now it's come true.”

Stall has handled plenty of top graded stakes horses during his career, including champion Blame (Arch), who handed future Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) her only career loss in the 2010 GI Breeders' Cup Classic. He said he never considered skipping the Travers to avoid facing Essential Quality (Tapit), the winner of seven of eight lifetime starts.

“No. Been around too long,” he said. “You weren't afraid to run against Zenyatta. I have all the respect in the world for him, but it's horse racing.”

Masqueparade, the most accomplished member of Upstart's first crop, broke his maiden by a disqualification at Fair Grounds Mar. 20 in his fourth start. He showed himself to have stakes potential with a smashing allowance victory on the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby card and beat three stakes winners in the GIII Ohio Derby June 26.

Stall said that Babin told him several times that he wanted to get involved in owning Thoroughbreds. Two years ago, the bankruptcy attorney was ready. He had put together a group of seven partners, which named its stable FTGGG–For the Greater Glory of God, the motto of the Jesuit order–and had the resources to buy some horses. Guided by Stall and the husband-wife team of Frank and Daphne Wooten of Camden, S.C., they purchased two colts, Thirtyminutemass (Honor Code) for $25,000 and Masqueparade for $180,000.

Babin said that the markings on Masqueparade's face reminded the owners of the mask worn by the star of “Phantom of the Opera,” which includes the song Masquerade. The colt's name came from tweaking Masquerade, to connect it with New Orleans and Mardi Gras.

Thirtyminutemass made it to the races first in October, broke his maiden in February at Fair Grounds and was claimed for $30,000 in his next start. FTGGG was a one-horse stable, whose runner had been beaten 14 3/4 lengths in his three starts. In a span of about six weeks, though, he was moved to first by the DQ and crushed the field at Churchill Downs by 11 3/4 lengths. He completed the 1 1/8 miles in a sharp 1:48.35.

Stall said he could not explain why the bay colt ran so well a few hours before the Derby. The time was faster than the 1:48.99 turned in by Malathaat (Curlin) winning the GI Kentucky Oaks the previous day. According to Stall, he had the second-best rating number of any horse on the Derby program, trailing only the beaten Derby favorite Essential Quality, who had a wide trip.

“No earthly idea. Just Mother Nature,” Stall said. “Looks the same. Well, he might've grown a little bit, but nothing really changed. I just think a steady diet of races is what that horse needed to get him to where he is now. We didn't expect to be here in mid-February. After the March race, maybe in a little bit, but we just weren't sure where we were. He was always making mistakes in his races. He halfway put it together in the DQ race. And he put it all together at Churchill and Ohio. He's getting all furnished out for us.”

Jockey Miguel Mena, who has been up for all of Masqueparade's races, will be in town to ride Stall's first Travers starter. A field of seven, led by Essential Quality, is expected to be entered. Stall said the Travers makes sense for his colt.

“Well, it just seems like a one-horse-to-beat type of race,” he said. “We came up here with the Travers in mind. Took a nice little break between the Ohio Derby. Between shipping from Ohio and back and shipping up to Saratoga, I decided to skip a work with him. He only had two works between the five weeks and the track was deep-ish earlier in the meet. We think he needed the race a little bit, the Jim Dandy.”

Masqueparade drew post two in the Jim Dandy between two of the fastest runners in the five-horse field, Dr. Jack (Pioneerof the Nile) and Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile), which forced Stall to ask Mena to be a bit more aggressive early.

“We weren't going to take back from them and get the shuffle,” Stall said. “We would have been last out in the backside. So, we went on with it and he ran as far as he could as hard as he could and got beat 2 3/4 lengths. He acts like that race did something for him in a positive way.”

Masqueparade breezed four furlongs in :48.11 Saturday, the 16th fastest of the 41 that worked that morning on Saratoga's main track. Stall said that at a mile and a quarter he hopes that Mena can break well and get the colt into a good rhythm, galloping near the pace with a target ahead to keep his attention.

“He's that kind of horse,” Stall said. “Maybe he's changed a little bit because he drew off well at Churchill. He might have idled a little bit at Cleveland. He made the lead kind of comfortable and they were just kind of getting to him, but you didn't get the feeling that we're going to go past him.

The trainer continued, “He's still a work in progress. I do think he should benefit, hopefully, mentally, but certainly cardio-wise from it, from the Jim Dandy. His two works have been beautiful. [Saturday's] work was, no doubt, the best work of his career. He's not a big work horse, but he was [Saturday] for whatever reason.”

The FTGGG crew is ready, excited, Babin said, to have a horse good enough to accomplish its goal of running on Saturdays, especially at Saratoga. Stall said Masqueparade is a developing 3-year-old who deserves a chance to run in the Travers.

“I don't push horses to make it to certain races. They take us there,” he said. “So, yeah, I'm fine with it. There's been no extra pressure on my horse. No altered schedules. No nothing. Knock on wood. That's usually when horses run decent races.”

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