Racing Fans Get Inside Look At Indiana Grand Backstretch Thanks To Indiana Thoroughbred Alliance

Forty horse racing enthusiasts gathered to tour the backside of Indiana Grand Racing & Casino over the weekend. While enjoying free refreshments, guests were treated to an inside look of a horse racing barn and meet two jockeys-turned-actors, thanks to trainer Brandi Steele and the Indiana Thoroughbred Alliance (ITA).

The barn tour was the first of its type at Indiana Grand since 2019, due to biosecurity and security precautions at the Shelbyville track. Visitors were treated to meeting retired jockey Francisco Torres, winner of more than $68.8 million in lifetime earnings, including 12 graded stakes races. Torres played jockey Braulio Baeza in the ESPN movie “Ruffian” in 2007. Now a jockey's agent at Indiana Grand, Torres shared highlights of his career on and off the track and was open to answering questions.

Fellow retired jockey and movie star, Otto Thorwarth was also on hand for visitors to meet. Thorwarth played jockey Ron Turcotte in the 2010 Disney movie “Secretariat” and returned to Indiana Grand to later become chaplain.

Other speakers included Michael Mann, DVM, track veterinarian at Indiana Grand, Steele and Nate Brannin, managing partner of B&B Stables, a fractional ownership group based out of Indiana.

“I just wanted to give others the opportunity to be on the backside to see what all goes into taking care of these horses,” says Brannin, one of the organizers of the event.

“After a year of restrictions and shutdowns, it was so nice to be amongst the horses and sharing the passion of Hoosier horsemen and women with the fans,” says Christine Cagle, board member of the ITA. “We are very thankful to Indiana Grand and the Indiana Horse Racing Commission for allowing us to host this event.”

Participants were able to feed sweet potatoes to the horses in Steele's barn, take photos with the horses and ask questions varying from the daily routine of racehorses and the track vet's role to how they can become more involved in the industry.

“I believe there are a lot of potential racehorse owners out there, but they just don't know how to get involved,” says Brannin. “I hope this helps spark more interest.”

“Before I became a trainer, I never even thought about being in the horse racing industry,” says Steele, who stepped out on her own as a trainer in 2018 and has earned nearly $925,000 so far. “But after attending a backside barn tour like this and seeing what it was like, I fell in love. And here I still am.”

One lucky attendee had their name drawn for a free VIP experience at Cedar Creek Winery, a staunch supporter of Indiana horse racing, where employees are co-owners with Indiana-bred mare Drinkatthecreek with Michael Lauer Racing. The ITA hopes to offer more opportunities like this in the future, as well as continue their education series this fall and winter by offering more webinars and seminars on a variety of horse husbandry topics.

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Appropriately-Named Sentimentaljourney Wins Indiana Opener In Honor Of Late Jon Schuster

The winner of the season opener could not have been more appropriately named. Sentimentaljourney, ridden by Albin Jimenez, scored the win in the first race of the season named in honor of Jonathan B. Schuster, former vice president and general manager at Indiana Grand who passed away over the winter.

A recent claim by Owner Maggi Moss, Sentimentaljourney was making her first start for the Tom Amoss Stable in the $37,000 allowance. The three-year-old daughter of Unbridled Express was claimed out of her last start a Fair Grounds in February with hopes of spending the summer at Indiana Grand.

“This was a Maggi Moss idea,” said Amoss, who has numerous track records to his credit in Indiana, including six training titles. “Because she (Sentimentaljourney) was Indiana sired and bred, we decided to take the plunge and what a beautiful payoff with the win today. We sure do miss the fans here, though. This is one of our favorite tracks to race at.”

Sentimentaljourney began her debut for the Amoss-Moss connection from post four. Jimenez sat patiently in mid pack of the eight-horse field as Betcha and Rocco Bowen surged to the front from the outside to lead the way in the five-furlong sprint. In the stretch, Sentimentaljourney found an inside path and surged through, scoring the win by one and three-quarter lengths over Forbidden Fruit and Malcolm Franklin. Real Deputee and Fernando De La Cruz finished third. The time of the sprint was 1:00.51.

“We were sitting along the rail and were just waiting,” said Jimenez, the track's 2015 leading jockey. “When the inside opened up, she went right through. It feels great to be back and I'm happy to be riding here this summer. Hopefully, we will see spectators soon. I miss having them here.”

The favorite of the field, Sentimentaljourney paid $5.20, $4.00 and $3.00 across the board. It was her second win in nine career starts and the first of 2020. She now has in excess of $55,000 on her card.

The 18th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing started with a tribute to Schuster by Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing. Chaplain Otto Thorwarth held a moment of silence followed by a prayer to lead into the first race named in Schuster's honor.

“Jon was not only a great GM, he was a great friend,” added Amoss. “Anything you called upon him for, he was there for the horsemen. He was truly a horsemen's GM and will be missed.”

Live racing continues through Wednesday, Nov. 18 with action held Monday through Thursday beginning at 2:20 p.m. Four Saturday programs are slated for all-Quarter Horse days with a preliminary first post set at 2:20 p.m. July 4, Aug. 8, Oct. 23 and Oct. 24. Continuing in line with Governor Holcomb's plan to return to full operations for businesses in the state of Indiana, spectators are expected to return beginning July 4.

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