NTRA | Horse Racing Free Tips

Truth To Power Series Continues March 17 With Renee Hess, Ron Mack, Leon Nichols

The Racing Biz, LLC, a media company focused on Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the mid-Atlantic region, will host the second in a series of digital panel discussions designed to tackle issues of diversity and inclusion within the Thoroughbred industry on March 17 at 5 p.m. ET.

The series, titled “Truth to Power,” was created by The Racing Biz founder Frank Vespe in partnership with freelance journalist Teresa Genaro and NTRA Director of Communications Alicia Hughes for the purpose of bringing together participants from the racing realm and other sports to share their perspectives on racial, gender, and social inequality within their respective industries and the importance of and efforts to promote greater inclusion.

The upcoming panel is set to feature Renee Hess, founder and executive director of Black Girl Hockey Club (BGHC), a non-profit and advocacy group focused on making hockey more inclusive for the Black community; Ron Mack, founder of Legacy Equine Academy, which promotes the equine and agriculture industry to racially diverse middle and high school students; and Leon Nichols, CEO and founder of the Louisville-based Project to Preserve African American Turf History.

“We are so pleased our first panel attracted an active viewership who contributed questions and comments, and we are very much appreciative of the media coverage that followed,” Vespe, Genaro, and Hughes said jointly. “We look forward to more impactful conversations as the series moves forward.”

The first “Truth to Power” panel took place on February 24 and featured noted bloodstock agent Greg Harbut, his business partner, Lexington-based entrepreneur Ray Daniels, and Rose Grissell, head of Diversity and Inclusion for the British Horseracing Authority. An archive of that panel can be found here.

The March 17 panel will be streamed on both The Racing Biz website and social media platforms @TheRacingBiz as well as on the NTRA's Twitter account @NTRA.

Tentative dates for future panels include April 7 at 5 p.m. ET.

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Life Is Good Moves Up To Second In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

Life Is Good was as good as advertised this past weekend when the son of Into Mischief rolled to an eight-length victory in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park. As a result of that emphatic triumph, the bay colt was able to close the gap on champion Essential Quality in this week's National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.

Making just his third career start, Life Is Good earned his second graded stakes win when he captured the San Felipe. Off the strength of that outing, the Bob Baffert-trainee earned 17 first-place votes and 360 points to move up to second on the poll just behind Essential Quality, who continues to hold down the No. 1 slot with 20 first-place votes and 369 points.

Life Is Good broke his maiden at Del Mar last November and opened his sophomore campaign with a win in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Jan. 2.

“He's still green,” Baffert told the Santa Anita Park notes team about Life Is Good. “The main thing is he came out of it really well. We saw a lot of raw talent (In the San Felipe).”

Greatest Honour, winner of the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, drops one spot to third this week with 1 first-place vote and 293 points. Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes winner Mandaloun (1 first-place vote, 240 points) remains in fourth followed by Medina Spirit (174 points), Caddo River (158), Concert Tour (123), and Keepmeinmind (87).

The Mark Casse-trained Helium, upset winner of the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby, enters the rankings in ninth place with 72 points while Risk Taking (65 points) competes the top 10.

There was no change in the top three of the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll as Grade 1 winner Charlatan continues to lead the way with 24 first-place votes and 370 points followed by two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (14 first-place votes, 343 points) and multiple Grade 1 winner Knicks Go (291 points).

Joining the top 10 fray this week is the Richard Baltas-trained Idol, who earned 175 points to rank fourth following his victory in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. Mystic Guide (1 first-place vote, 150 points) moves up one spot to fifth followed by champion filly Swiss Skydiver (148 points) and Grade 1 winner Maxfield (147).

Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes winner Colonel Liam (137 points) is eighth followed by champion female sprinter Gamine (78) and Jesus' Team (51).

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 Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll concludes following the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through November 6.

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Essential Quality’s ‘Big Performance’ Confirms His Lead In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

The transition from age 2 to 3 proved no issue for Godolphin's homebred champion Essential Quality as the son of Tapit captured his seasonal bow this past weekend in handy fashion. In the wake of the colt's 4 ¼-length victory in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 27, Essential Quality has strengthened his position as the divisional leader, earning 37 first-place votes and 405 points to remain out front in this week's National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.

In his first since capturing the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November, Essential Quality ran his record to four wins in as many starts when he dismissed his six challengers in the Southwest Stakes. The reigning 2-year-old male champion will likely target either the $800,000, Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes April 3 at Keeneland or the $1 million, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby April 10 at Oaklawn for his final Kentucky Derby prep race.

“Big performance off the layoff,” Essential Quality's trainer Brad Cox told the Oaklawn Park notes team. “Hopefully, we can take another jump or two forward, I think, in order to win the Derby. Hopefully, he has it in him. It was a very nice race (in the Southwest).”

The Shug McGaughey-trained Greatest Honour (1 first-place vote, 336 points) moves up to second on the poll in the wake of his victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park this past weekend. The Courtland Farms homebred has now reeled off three straight wins including his triumph in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes on Jan. 30.

Life Is Good, winner of the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Jan. 2, drops one spot to third with 2 first-place votes and 302 points followed by Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes winner Mandaloun in fourth with 1 first-place vote and 258 points.

Medina Spirit (206 points) holds in fifth followed by Caddo River (174), Concert Tour (121), and Keepmeinmind (91). Grade 3 Withers Stakes winner Risk Taking (74 points) is ninth with Proxy (39) completing the top 10.

Grade 1 winner Charlatan, who finished second in the $20 million Saudi Cup, continues to lead the way in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 22 first-place votes and 382 points. Moving up in the ranks, however, is two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl, who advanced to second this week with 14 first-place votes and 349 points in the wake of her triumph in the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes.

Knicks Go, winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, is third with 300 points followed by Godolphin's unbeaten Maxfield (4 first-place votes, 289 points) and champion filly Swiss Skydiver (159 points).

It was a strong weekend for the Godolphin team as their colt Mystic Guide won the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap in his seasonal bow and debuted in the top 10 of the Thoroughbred Poll, earning 1 first-place vote and 158 points to land in the sixth position.

Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes winner Colonel Liam (152 points) is seventh followed by champion female sprinter Gamine (92), Jesus' Team (77), and champion turf male Channel Maker (70).

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President Lifts Several Immigrant, Non Immigrant Travel Restrictions; H-2B Visa Cap Reached

President Joe Biden issued a Proclamation on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2020, to revoke Proclamation 10014 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak) and sections of related Proclamations that added nonimmigrants to the travel suspension. Click here to view President Biden's Proclamation.

Originally issued on April 20, 2020, by then-President Trump and extended by him in June and December through sections of Proclamations 10052 and 10131, respectively, Proclamation 10014 prevented certain immigrants and nonimmigrants from traveling to the United States. Included in this group were individuals who either were selected to receive the opportunity to apply for visas – including H-2B visas – through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery or who had already received such visas, causing labor challenges for many industries, including the horse racing industry. President Biden's Proclamation revokes these restrictions.

In other foreign worker developments, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had received enough H-2B worker petitions by February 12 to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B visa cap of 33,000 visas for the 2nd half of fiscal year 2021.

In December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 became law and included a provision that provides the DHS with the discretionary authority to release an additional 64,716 H-2B visas when sufficient need is demonstrated. The NTRA, through its involvement with the H-2B Workforce Coalition, supports efforts to make these additional visas immediately available to seasonal businesses struggling with labor issues.

The H-2B visa guest worker program is a nonimmigrant visa program used by many industries that need temporary non-agricultural help when domestic workers are unavailable. For the horse racing industry, racehorse trainers rely heavily on the H-2B program to fill various backside positions. Demand for H-2B visas often exceeds their availability and the cap level is quickly reached, leaving employers in need.

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