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Rideforthecause Upsets Dogtag In Possibly Perfect At Santa Anita

Trainer Michael McCarthy's longshot Rideforthecause had three lengths to make up with a furlong to run, but she kept to her task and was able to nip heavily favored Dogtag by a head in Sunday's $75,000 Possibly Perfect Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Rideforthecause got a mile and one quarter on turf in 2:02.45.

With defending champ Dogtag and Peruvian-bred Kuora sparring on the front end early, Dogtag, ridden by Umberto Rispoli, took charge around the far turn and just missed in a big effort.

Most recently second, beaten a nose by today's third-place finisher, Neige Blanche, in the Grade 3 Santa Barbara Stakes May 8, Rideforthecause was off at 7-1 in a field of eight fillies and mares three and up and paid $16.00, $4.60 and $3.20.

“I think I got to know her a little bit better, but even though last time, if you watch the replay, it was just the luck of the (head-bob),” said Gutierrez, who was aboard for the third consecutive time today. “I knew it was going to be tough to catch (Dogtag) but my filly, every time I would ask her and would push her, she was giving me all she can…I looked for the wire and it was a little far, so I wasn't 100 percent confident. But I knew she was charging all the way until the end.”

Owned by Alpha Delta Stables, LLC, Rideforthecause, a 5-year-old Ontario Canadian-bred mare by Candy Ride out of the Giant's Causeway mare Danceforthecause. A G2 winner at Woodbine this past September, she was making her fourth start for McCarthy today and she now has two stakes wins and an overall mark of 15-5-1-1. With the winner's share of $48,840, she increased her earnings to $361,066.

The 1-2 favorite, Dogtag paid $2.40 and $2.10 while finishing three quarters of a length in front of Neige Blanche.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, French-bred Neige Blanche was off at 6-1 and paid $3.60 to show.

Fractions on the race were 25.42, 51.22, 1:15.33 and 1:38.70.

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Brickyard Ride Cruises To Thor’s Echo Score At Santa Anita

Absent a suicidal pace duel, the Craig Lewis-trained Brickyard Ride settled into a rhythmic stride out of the gate and coasted gate to wire in Saturday's $100,000 Thor's Echo Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., winning by 4 ¾ lengths. Ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, Brickyard Ride got six furlongs in 1:09.34.

Winless in two starts since taking the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs on March 6, Brickyard Ride was pressed through opening quarter miles of 21.40 and 21 flat in his last two starts—resulting in a fourth-place finish in a six-furlong classified allowance May 7 and a second-place finish in the G3 Kona Gold Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs on April 18.

With an opening quarter mile of 22.62, Brickyard Ride was in complete control of the Thor's Echo, and although Colt Fiction appeared full of run while two lengths back turning for home, Brickyard Ride was never challenged through the lane.

“Craig told me a clean break with him was the key today,” said Hernandez. “I never bothered him, he felt comfortable the whole way. It felt like he ran faster when I worked him the other day (a bullet five furlongs in 58 flat on June 4) than he ran today. I looked at three or four replays of his races and it looked like today, he relaxed better.”

Owned and bred in California by Alfred Pais, Brickyard Ride was off as the 8-5 favorite and returned $5.20, $3.60 and $2.60.

“I don't like to make excuses for my horses but, he was pretty much eliminated last time,” said Lewis. “He hit the gate and then he ducked in real bad, he just lost his best attribute, which is speed. I just felt like he trained well and we know he's a brilliant horse when he's right…Juan knew he had a lot of horse under him.

“We're probably going to point for the Bing Crosby (G1, six furlongs at Del Mar July 31), possibly. We could stretch him out in a Cal-bred stake. He's a lovely moving horse, big horse with a wonderful stride, very athletic and has plenty of speed…We don't know if he can could do it (be effective routing) but we know this, he will be in front.”

A striking looking 4-year-old chestnut colt by Clubhouse Ride out of the Southern Image mare Brickyard Helen, Brickyard Ride notched his third stakes victory and he now has six wins from nine Santa Anita starts. With an overall mark of 16-8-1-2, the winner's share of $60,000 increased his earnings to $464,477.

Ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli, the Bill Spawr-conditioned Colt Fiction saved every inch of ground from his rail post and although he accelerated when called upon was no match for the winner, finishing 1 ¼ lengths in front of Fashionably Fast.

The second choice at 5-2, Colt Fiction paid $3.20 and $2.20.

Fashionably Fast, who was off at 7-2 with Tiago Periera, paid $2.60 to show while finishing 2 ¾ lengths in front of Loud Mouth.

Fractions on the race were 22.62, 45.16 and 56.99.

Sponsored by the CTBA, the Thor's Echo is part of the lucrative Golden State Series for eligible California-bred or sired horses.

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HISA: Details Are Scant, But You Can Bet More OOCT Is Coming

Charles Scheeler, newly-elected chairperson of the board of directors for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, said that there's a lot which is still TBD for the new governing authority for horse racing. Scheeler appeared on a media call June 2 to discuss the authority's progress so far after being elected at the authority's inaugural meeting on May 27.

The authority, which is set to take over horse racing regulation in summer 2022, is still finding its feet. Scheeler was unable to specifically site any one state or organization's rules or model rules that would be picked up by the new group to govern medication use or safety policy. The rule-making for medication use and safety practices is left up to separate committees, which were just formed in early May.

It also remains unclear where the money will come for drug testing under the new authority — or how much that will cost. Scheeler anticipated that as work continues on the new group, committee members will come up with a budget for drug testing and other costs, and then determine how to charge the portions of the industry covered by Horseracing Safety and Integrity Act. He said he hoped that a larger scale drug testing contract and improved test selection procedures could reduce the per-test bill from what jurisdictions currently pay.

Scheeler pointed out that the authority could allow for more intelligence-based post-race testing, rather than requiring tests be conducted on finishers in certain positions (although that is already an option for stewards in some places). He also emphasized that boots on the ground will be a big part of the new anti-doping controls, acknowledging, as many experts have before him, that the most sophisticated cheaters tend to stay a step ahead of testing technology.

“Another piece that we want to add in a very powerful way is an investigative component to serve as a deterrent,” he said. “You will see in other sports that the greatest deterrents have often come out of non-test cases, like BALCO, like Biogenesis, like the recent work of 5Stones … some folks look at it, not as 'Should I play fair or not?' but as a very cold cost/benefit analysis. We have to make them see the costs or the risks are greater than the rewards.”

Scheeler also believes that there will be an increased focus on out-of-competition testing (OOCT) under the new authority to complement that investigative component.

“There is definitely going to be more emphasis on out-of-competition testing, but I would not necessarily assume it comes at the expense of after-competition testing because that will remain in a fully robust form,” he said.

Scheeler also anticipates that the authority will adopt some kind of system like the current multiple medication violation penalty scheme, which increases the minimum fines and suspensions handed to a trainer or owner for repeated drug offenses in the same category.

Scheeler declined to speculate too much on how the Medina Spirit case may have been handled differently under the new authority, but did point out that the case has revealed some differences in betamethasone regulation between states. Under the new authority, rules and testing will be uniform. He also hopes the new authority can serve as a central communication center to the general public to help them understand how the sport is regulated and why — something the current state commission system can't allow for.

Scheeler is a retired partner from DLA Piper and served as head counsel to former Sen. George Mitchell during his investigation of doping in Major League Baseball. Scheeler has also been involved in investigations of the Pennsylvania State University's compliance with national athletic organizations and the health and safety practices at the University of Maryland's football program.

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Elevating Horse Racing: Carr Shows How Technology Is Democratizing Innovation In Television Production

Nothing is impossible for those with the drive to innovate — even producing two high-profile events halfway across the country at the same time. When tasked with producing Olympic track and field events — one in Oregon and one in Iowa — Jim Carr wasn't sure how he could spread his team across both events. He decided new muxing technology from LTN Global could allow him to try something new: a workflow with remote video feeds from Iowa sent back to his production truck in Oregon, enabling his team to remotely produce both events simultaneously.

With 30 years of experience producing sports events and five Emmys under his belt, Carr knows how to solve production challenges — and he's bringing his passion for innovative production to racing. His team at Carr-Hughes Productions produces the Breeders' Cup Championship and Breeders' Cup Challenge series for NBC, adding elements like virtual fan engagement to make the events even more compelling.

Broadcast production in a changing market

Carr has been an advocate for remote production long before it became a trend. He witnessed the media organizations' reluctance to try new production models and workflows until the COVID-19 pandemic forced their hand. Even the most hesitant media organizations pivoted to new technologies and production workflows to keep shows on air — with surprising success.

“When it comes to video production, I see myself as an innovation incubator. I like to try new technologies and workflows to see how they work in the real world,” Carr said.

This mindset is invaluable for the horse racing industry, which struggles to produce broadcast-quality video content and achieve other production enhancements. I've gotten to know the Carr-Hughes team through our collaboration on special events like Breeders Cup, Pegasus World Cup and many Kentucky Derby prep races. He's worked closely with my team at LTN Global to get reliable, ultra-fast IP network connectivity at race tracks to produce races and events — enabling new ideas like live fan engagement elements. At Breeders' Cup, Carr used our IP network to bring in live video feeds from a horse barn in the UK where people were watching the show. This added an immersive feel to the production, bringing it closer to the fans regardless of their geography.

“It all comes down to having the right technology partner,” he said.

Jim Carr on location

Carr believes IP network connectivity will revolutionize production workflows, driving efficiency and new possibilities. If producers can set up networks and have a VPN on the other end, they'll be able to send camera signals to a studio or a production truck over the network. This will change the way production works.

Thinking big, acting small

In the past, the big broadcast networks were the main drivers deploying new technologies.

“The lower cost and higher volume of innovation have now democratized it,” Carr points out.

As a result, video production companies and horse racing production teams can deploy new technologies that deliver broadcast quality. For instance, Carr-Hughes works with a Philadelphia-based graphics professional over an NDI network, allowing them to securely transfer the video signals for the graphics to the rest of the production team over the internet.

“We're always looking for better and more efficient ways to produce events and deliver to the networks,” he explains. “Now there's a lot of great technology out there that allows smaller companies like ours to deliver network-quality to the networks to make things happen for our customers.”

For Breeders' Cup television production, this is where the magic happens

Pushing the boundaries of what's possible

Innovation requires experimentation that's often easier to happen on a smaller scale as it isn't always about the next big breakthrough. It can be a case of making the right changes and having the right tools and tech partners to deliver great results efficiently. It's about pushing boundaries and bringing fresh perspectives. With visionary producers like Jim and his team, horse racing can be ready for the exciting times ahead.

Rich Rosa is the Vice President of Business Development for Wagering and Simulcasting at LTN Global Communications. As LTN's horse racing industry lead, Rich partners with tracks across the country to help them create high-quality productions and find new distribution outlets to raise their profile — and ultimately their wagering handle. LTN offers centralized production and IP-based transport services to help tracks produce and/or distribute high-quality HD and 4K content.

About LTN Global

LTN® Global is a worldwide leader in video technology solutions for producers and distributors of broadcast-quality content. Built on the world's fastest and most reliable IP multicast network, LTN's universal media ecosystem unites modular services and integrates with other leading technologies to bring full-video-chain workflows, driving scale from creation and acquisition to monetization and delivery.

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