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New Home Will Fulfill Long-Running Dream for NY Race Track Chaplaincy

Feature courtesy of the New York Racing Association

From the desk of his cramped office at the New York division of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America (NYRTCA) on Belmont Park's backstretch, Chaplain Humberto Chavez can gaze out the window at what he calls, “something we've been planning for and dreaming of for years.”

Directly north of the NYRTCA's current office, a team of New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) carpenters, electricians and plumbers are at work constructing the Chaplaincy's new 3,500-square-foot building, which will double the Chaplaincy's current space and become its hub. The new building will house a chapel, a multi-purpose room, a classroom to be named after Hall of Famer and longtime NYRTCA supporter Cot Campbell, and staff offices.

“People ask about the best racing in the country, and we have that in New York,” said Chaplain Chavez. “Great people on the backstretch? We have them as well. What this new building gives us is another big positive for New York racing: a place that will welcome everybody. People will come in and they'll be home. This is something we've dreamed of for a long time. To see it happening is exciting.”

The New York Racetrack Chaplaincy Center, designed by Frost Hurff Architects of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., will ease space issues at its current headquarters, now comprised of two double-wide trailers. The Chaplaincy will continue to utilize the trailers for its weekly food pantry and clothing drive, which are currently held outdoors. A core component of the NYRTCA, the non-denominational services now held at the track's recreation hall, will move into a dedicated chapel within the new building.

A consortium of longtime NYRTCA supporters have contributed major funding to the construction of the new building including the late Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, former NYRA President & CEO Chris Kay as well as Kenny and Lisa Troutt of WinStar Farm.
Thoroughbred owner and NYRA board member Michael Dubb supplied the bulk of all materials for the new Chaplaincy Center. Mr. Dubb is also the founder and chairman of the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) at Belmont Park; and he and his wife, Lee, founded Faith's House, the BCCA childcare center for the backstretch community at Saratoga Race Course, which opened last summer.

The work kicked off Feb. 7 and is proceeding on schedule. A groundbreaking ceremony for the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy Center is scheduled for Mar. 28, with a full move-in as early as the fall.

“The Racetrack Chaplaincy provides indispensable services to the backstretch community, and NYRA is proud to be able to make this new building a reality” said Dave O'Rourke, NYRA President & CEO. “We congratulate Chaplain Chavez and his team, and look forward to opening the doors of the New York Racetrack Chaplaincy Center in short order.”

The NYRTCA dates to 1986 and ministers to the spiritual needs of the backstretch community at all three NYRA racetracks – Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. In addition to non-denominational prayer services, the NYRTCA provides wide variety of social and educational services to the backstretch community.

Though the Chaplaincy's work with NYRA dates back several decades, the relationship rose to a new level in March 2020 when NYRA was forced to suspend live racing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's when the essential work of caring for the needs of a small city at Belmont Park–anywhere from 450 to 600 backstretch workers living in approximately 500 rooms among 69 cottages, along with hundreds of others living in the local community with their families–took on a new urgency.

Chavez joined NYRA's Preparedness and Response Plan Committee, comprised of key NYRA staff members, along with representatives of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA), the Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.),the BCCA and Premise Health. For the next year-and-a-half, the Committee used an effective team approach in dealing with the effects of COVID-19 on the men and women living and working at Belmont Park.

Committee members used the same team approach in providing the most updated information on COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, followed by crucial information on COVID-19 vaccinations. Chavez played a key role in a wide variety of areas and worked as a translator for local health officials and EMTs.

“We're proud of all of the ways in which our team have stepped in as needed during the pandemic while keeping up with regular services like the food pantry, which became a real lifeline at a tough time,” said NYRTCA Board Chairman Terry Finley, who is also the President and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds. “What this new building will do is help us take the next step in continuing to meet the needs of backstretch workers.”

Chaplain Chavez agreed.

“We're so grateful to the people and organizations that have helped make the new building a reality,” he said. “This marks the start of a new era for our community, and we can't wait.”

To learn more about the New York Race Track Chaplaincy, visit https://www.rtcany.org/

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The Week in Review: Shift to New York a Curious Move on Prat’s Part

Flavien Prat is in the right place at the right time in Southern California. Young and gifted, he dominates the circuit in a way no jockey has in years. He picked up his 60th win of the meet Saturday, 25 more than runner-up Juan Hernandez. He won three stakes on the card, giving him 15 for the meet. And he rides for just about all the top barns on the circuit, most notably Bob Baffert.

It's far, far from broke, but Prat is intent on fixing it. On Saturday, he told Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form that he plans to ride the Keeneland meeting in April and then will move to Belmont Park. Belmont opens Apr. 28.

Prat told Privman that he thought riding in New York would give him as better shot of a winning an Eclipse Award. He was an Eclipse finalist in 2021, but lost out to Joel Rosario.

“It feels like if you want to give yourself a chance to get an Eclipse Award that you need to go to New York,” he said. “That's just the way it is. I never thought I'd leave here, to be honest.”

It's not that Prat isn't good enough to ride in New York. Far from it. The problem for him will be that he will have to find a way to stand out in what is the most crowded jockey colony in the country. There's Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz Jr., Luis Saez and Rosario. John Velazquez, who has been riding in California, will be back. Umberto Rispoli has also announced that he, too, will be making the shift from California to New York.

The competition Prat will face in New York will be fierce, hardly the case in California, where the jockey colony has never been weaker. That's a big part of the reason Prat has been so successful in California…he's just a lot better than everyone else. The question is, how much has that played into his dominance there?

Prat will no doubt enjoy some success in New York. The key will be breaking into the top barns. He's won 13 races and 10 stakes for Chad Brown. He's had four winners over the years for Todd Pletcher. He won the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby via disqualification on Country House (Lookin at Lucky) for Bill Mott. That suggests that those trainers may give him a chance, but there's no way he can move into any of the top stables, push aside the regular New York riders and take over.

He will be in the top five in the standings in New York and maybe better. But there is no chance that he will dominate that circuit like he does in California. So is it better to be the fourth leading rider in New York or the No. 1 rider in California? One would think that the answer is the latter. Prat obviously disagrees.

Richard Mandella is Derby Bound

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella has not started a horse in the Kentucky Derby since 2004. He's had five runners in the Derby over all and none have finished better than fifth. Neither of which is that surprising. Mandella is one of only a few top trainers that does not put a big emphasis on winning the Derby or other 3-year-old stakes. He likes to bring horses along slowly and many of his best runners have been four or older.

But that may be about to change.

Having never raced beyond seven furlongs, Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) had some questions to answer in Saturday's 1 1/16-miles GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita. He answered them all and did so with authority, winning by 5 3/4 lengths. He may not be as talented as Life Is Good (Into Mischief), but he wins his races the same way. Forbidden Kingdom rockets out of the gate, runs away from the competition and has more than enough stamina to complete the job.

That may not be so easy to do at 1 1/4 miles, but Mandella is the perfect trainer to get the horse to relax and stretch his speed out another furlong and a half.

A win in the GI Santa Anita Derby and/or the Kentucky Derby would be huge for the sire, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). While he's gotten off to a good start as a sire, he still hasn't had that Grade I star dirt horse to put on his resume. With Forbidden Kingdom, that may about to change.

It's Ladies Day at the Hall of Fame

The nominations for the next class of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame came out last week and five of the six horses nominated were fillies. The sixth was a gelding.

That's something we might all have to get used to. Unless they are a gelding, you can't expect to get more than eight or nine career starts anymore out of a male horse who has the talent to be a Hall of Famer. They'll likely end their careers after their 3-year-old year and go stand at stud, not enough time to put together a career that includes enough starts and wins to be considered Hall of Fame worthy.

But most top fillies race, at least, until they are four. The two no-brainers on the Hall of Fame ballot are Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Tepin (Bernstein). Beholder ran 26 times and raced at six. Tepin raced 23 times and raced at five.

Since Curlin was inducted in 2014, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is the only modern era, non-gelding male to get into the Hall of Fame. Whether or not a horse with a short campaign can make it into the Hall of Fame will be put to the test when Justify (Scat Daddy) becomes eligible. He raced only six times, but is, of course, a Triple Crown winner. All other Triple Crown winners are in the Hall of Fame. Justify will be eligible in 2024.

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We Are NY Horse Racing Ad Hits Airwaves

We Are NY Horse Racing recently unveiled its first television advertisement, which is now airing on cable television and digital platforms. The ad highlights the importance of horse racing to the New York State economy.

We Are NY Horse Racing is a diverse group of small businesses, labor unions, non-profits, trade organizations, and community groups working to advocate on behalf of the 19,000 women and men who are working in and around the sport. Since its initial launch in September, We Are NY Horse Racing has rapidly grown to now include nearly 50 member organizations.

The post We Are NY Horse Racing Ad Hits Airwaves appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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NY Passes Suspension Restrictions, Takes Aim at Mutuel Uncoupling of Married Jockeys

Without any public discussion among commissioners and in quick succession by unanimous voice vote, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Monday enacted a new rule designed to keep jockeys from stalling via filing appeals to get out of serving riding suspensions during the lucrative Saratoga Race Course meet.

In similarly brisk fashion, the NYSGC also set into motion Feb. 28 the advancement of a proposed regulation to lift controversial pari-mutuel restrictions related to married jockeys competing in the same race. This measure must come back for a final vote after publication in the state register and a presumably final round of public commentary.

It's now been 14 months since newlywed spouses Katie Davis and Trevor McCarthy made unwanted headlines when an antiquated NYSGC rule requiring the mounts of married jockeys to be treated as a single betting interest forced confusing pari-mutuel couplings in 41 races in which they competed against one another.

Between Jan. 1 and Mar. 21, 2021, McCarthy and Davis's mounts in common races at Aqueduct cost an estimated $4.2 million in handle loss.

The regulation in question, rule 4025.10 (f), states, “All horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, issue or member of a jockey's household shall be coupled in the betting with any horse ridden by such jockey.”

The application of that little-used rule was widely bemoaned by the betting public and termed as sexist by some critics. But the NYSGC did not address the controversy during any open, public meetings in 2021 while a piece of legislation to update the regulation sailed unanimously through both the Assembly and Senate.

But on Oct. 25, that bill was surprisingly vetoed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who explained that she would instead be directing the NYSGC to review the “continued need for mandatory coupling and the circumstances under which such a requirement might be relaxed.”

That directive resulted in a Jan. 11, 2022, commentary-seeking pow-wow of Thoroughbred industry stakeholders, regulators, and track officials, during which not a single person advocated in favor of keeping the antiquated rule as written.

Monday, the matter was finally up before the NYSGC to put in motion the process of changing the old regulation by simply deleting the word “shall” from rule 4025.10 (f) and replacing it with the phrase “are not required” to be coupled.

'Saratoga' rule changed

The so-called “Saratoga rule” dates to an initiative from June 2021 in which the NYSGC sought to end the resource-draining practice of jockeys appealing riding infractions during big-money race meets like at Saratoga, then withdrawing those protests once the meet was over for the sole purpose of delaying a suspension until it was more convenient for the penalized rider to serve the days.

The resulting re-write gives the commission discretion to instead make the jockey sit out a suspension at a subsequent meeting at the same track, meaning a rider's Saratoga penalty might not be able to get pushed back to, say, Aqueduct in the winter, if the stewards opted to make the days instead carry over to the start of the next year's meet at the Spa.

The measure voted in on Monday reads: “If a jockey commits a riding infraction and the penalty of a suspension or revocation is not served during the same race meeting, then the commission in its discretion may order that the penalty be served, in whole or in part, at a subsequent race meeting at the same track.”

According to a brief written by NYSGC general counsel Edmund Burns, only one entity, the Jockeys' Guild, filed a public comment on the proposed rule change. Burns summed up the opposition as such:

“The Jockeys' Guild opposes codifying this policy as a regulation. Instead, the Jockeys' Guild suggests that hearing requests brought in bad faith should subject a jockey to sanctions if the appeal is found to have been brought frivolously.

“The Jockeys' Guild also suggests that the regulation allow for jockeys who are suspended for minor riding violations for 10 days or less be permitted to ride in “designated races” during the suspension, serving a day of suspension at a later time to make up for the designated race day. The Jockey's Guild suggests that such a policy may decrease the number of jockey challenges.

“In the alternative, the Jockeys' Guild states that if the rule is adopted, the rule should retain the provision allowing for discretion in whether a penalty should be served at the same track.”

The NYSGC staff responded in writing to the Guild's suggestions. But the response was redacted in its entirety from Burns's brief, so it can't be published here.

Other proposed rules

Also advancing to publication in the state register and the required public commentary period on Monday were:

a.) An amendment to the regulation governing licensing for a jockey agent that removes the requirement for an applicant to have been previously licensed as an exercise person, apprentice jockey, jockey, assistant trainer or trainer for at least one year. The proposed change would instead allow the stewards to determine whether an applicant is qualified. TDN first reported on this seemingly restrictive practice back in 2020.

b.) Amendments to the jockey equipment weighing rules that would eliminate the need for jockeys to be weighed with muzzles, martingales and breastplates, like in Florida, Kentucky, California, and other states.

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