Paulick Report | Horse Racing Free Tips

Santa Anita’s Sunshine Bonus Incentive Helps Convince Vaccarezza To Test West Coast Waters

Carlo Vaccarezza is a new name among trainers in Southern California but he's not a racing novice. He is far from it.

The 68-year-old native of Italy who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s sent out longshot King Theo to a ninth-place finish in Friday's seventh race at one mile on turf, a course over which Vaccarezza has had success in the past, although not as a trainer.

He was the breeder and his wife, Priscilla, the owner of Florida-bred gelding Little Mike who posted a 17-1 upset in the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita in 2012, when trained by Dale Romans.

Vaccarezza currently has six head at Santa Anita and another six due in this Wednesday from Keeneland, two of them related to Little Mike, a 4-year-old filly (Little Jewel) and a 3-year-old colt (Militarist), both sired by Liam's Map. Vaccarezza, who will have a string of horses at Santa Anita for the first time, has been training since 2014 but he is not a one-trick pony.

“I've been in the restaurant business all my life,” he said. “I own restaurants in New York City and I'm building one in Lexington, Kentucky. I have a couple in South Florida, and I'm involved in an olive oil company in La Mirada, California, but my passion was always horse racing.”

All his restaurants are named Frank and Dino's, after Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

“They are high-end Italian restaurants and we play the Rat Pack music and rock and roll,” Carlos said. “I used to cook for Frank.”

How high-end are they? Spaghetti primavera is 26 bucks and a dish called Fagottini Sinatra goes for $30.50, but it's worth visiting Frank and Dino's website to ogle the mouth-watering fare on the expansive menu.

But back to racing.

“In 2007 I got lucky and bred a mare (Hay Jude) that actually was a giveaway, to Spanish Steps and the rest is history,” Carlo said. “The foal was Little Mike (named for Carlo's 18-year-old son; Carlo's 21-year-old son Nicholas, who earned his spurs as a foreman and assistant to Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, now assists with his Dad's business).”

Both sons miraculously survived the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history on Feb. 14, 2018, when a gunman killed 17 people and injured 17 others at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, 15 miles from Vaccarezza's Frank and Dino's restaurant in Boca, where on Feb. 25, Carlo raised $182,254 in a fundraiser to benefit the school.

Little Mike, who had a 14-2-1 record from 30 starts with earnings of $3,543,392, was Hay Jude's second foal. Spanish Steps was an unraced son of Unbridled who had a modest stud fee of $5,000.

California always held a special place in Vaccarezza's heart.

“(Del Mar Racing Secretary) David Jerkens had invited me to race there and I just couldn't make it, but when Chris (Merz) took over (as Director of Racing and Racing Secretary) at Santa Anita, things sort of fell into place.

“I was a board member of the HPBA (Horsemen's Protective and Benevolent Association) in South Florida, so I know The Stronach Group really well. Craig Fravel (CEO of The Stronach Group) called me and got me involved with Chris and I couldn't wait to try Santa Anita.”

A key factor is Santa Anita's Sunshine Bonus Incentive Program, which offers a guaranteed $3,000 bonus for any eligible starter in its initial Santa Anita race (stakes excluded) whose previous start was made outside California.

Also, there is an additional 35 percent bonus applied to a horse's purse earnings (first through fifth) in its initial Santa Anita race (stakes excluded) whose previous start was made outside California.

“It's an extra incentive,” Carlo said of the program, “a beautiful gift.”

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New COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines Released By Kentucky Department of Agriculture

As Central Kentucky Thoroughbred farms prepare to open their breeding sheds, the positivity rate for COVID-19 in the state is approaching 12 percent. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture released new health and safety guidelines for the Kentucky equine industry this week to help limit the spread of the virus.

Among the department's recommendations are the opening of barns to improve ventilation, limit the transfer of printed paperwork, and allow veterinary assistants to hold horses whenever possible to avoid unnecessary mingling with mobile veterinary workers and farm staffs at multiple properties.

For breeding shed runs, the department suggests having shed personnel take mares from van drivers or farm employees at the trailer and return them after cover to avoid extra people in the stallion farm or shed.

See the complete set of guidelines:

The guidelines suggest precautionary measures such as no physical contact between workers, electronic paper work only, frequent disinfecting of equipment/surfaces, allowing maximum airflow in barns by keeping doors and windows open, etc.

And for Kentucky Stallion/Breeding Operations: pic.twitter.com/3GOptk5FbF

— Ky Equine Ed Project (@horseswork) January 7, 2021

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Blood-Horse To Change Frequency Of Print Magazine And Tablet Edition From Weekly To Monthly

BloodHorse announced today that, beginning April 1, 2021, the publication is changing the frequency of its print magazine and tablet edition from weekly to monthly and adding a premium online service.

“Readers' habits are evolving,” said Carl Hamilton, chairman of BloodHorse. “Social media and the internet are the go-to sources for real-time news, and the COVID pandemic has accelerated change in our readers' habits and the media industry at large. Providing a content-rich magazine once a month in addition to our regular and now premium online content will give our readers robust, interactive tools they can use as owners, breeders, and fans to stay abreast of the Thoroughbred industry.”

The new premium portion of the website, called BloodHorse+, will provide exclusive content to subscribers, including multi-media videos, a FOX Sports / BloodHorse show produced by the New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) previewing upcoming events each week, and other content based on the sport's calendar of events. Users will also have access to a detailed stakes winners section supplemented with comprehensive statistics as well as a monthly credit on equineline.com.

“NYRA is pleased to partner with BloodHorse and FOX Sports to provide racing fans with engaging weekly coverage highlighting the very best that the sport has to offer both on the racetrack and off,” said Tony Allevato, NYRA chief revenue officer and president of NYRA Bets. “This new platform is an exciting addition to the racing media landscape and we are excited to be a part of its growth.”

The monthly BloodHorse magazine will have a 100-page minimum and provide additional feature stories that are longer and more in-depth. The content currently provided byBloodHorse.com and BloodHorse Daily will remain available to all users.

“Transitioning the magazine to a monthly schedule will enable BloodHorse staff to analyze and focus on noteworthy people in the industry, racing, breeding, sales, the health and welfare of horses, and other topics that are important to industry participants,” said Evan Hammonds, editorial director of BloodHorse. “The timely, insightful information our users expect from our website and the Daily won't change.”

More details on the monthly magazine and BloodHorse+ can be found at BloodHorse.com/FAQ.

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Gagliano: HISA Cost Shouldn’t Come From Horseplayers

As American racing prepares for a new era under the recently-passed Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), many in the sport are wondering how the new group will be paid for. The text of the bill did not make clear what the funding mechanism would be, except that the new authority would oversee drug testing and track safety nationwide with the aid of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Jockey Club president Jim Gagliano recently joined the Thoroughbred Daily News's Writers Room podcast to answer his and other questions about the industry's future.

“I don't think it should come out of the horseplayers' pockets,” Gagliano said of the HISA cost. “Every state funds its regulation differently. The problem that we faced when we were considering that matter, is there's really no one-size-fits-all that we could push down to the states. The most important thing we want to do is make sure we capture first the current expenses, and then that those were brought forward. After that, the Authority will work with each state and through its racing commission to determine what the number is. I suggest the simplest way is to share [the costs] between the tracks and the horsemen. But honestly, there's a lot of details to be considered.”

HISA has been a big focal point for The Jockey Club through out 2020. Now that HISA has been passed, Gagliano was asked what organization's focus will be.

“There's plenty,” Gagliano said. “How we market the sport. The opportunity of television, which thank goodness, during this pandemic, to see the amount of live televised hours of horse racing has been a godsend. We've talked about scheduling. We need to put the product in a place where it can have the best showcase. Other areas: HISA is going to put USADA into a role and there are now rules that will be in place that will change the sport, we believe. Investigations, that's something that racing has not done very well over the last bunch of years. I anticipate The Jockey Club will continue to invest in those kinds of resources to make sure that things we don't want to happen in our sport, don't happen.”