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Penn National’s Leading Rider Edwin Gonzalez Shifts Tack To Gulfstream

Edwin Gonzalez, the leading rider at Penn National the last two years with more than 400 victories and a 2020 winning percentage of 33 percent, is moving his tack to Gulfstream Park.

Gonzalez, who rode five winners Wednesday evening at Penn National and six winners there Feb. 17, will ride in Pennsylvania through March 19 before heading to Florida. He is expected to ride in Tampa on Florida Cup Day March 28 before riding at Gulfstream.

Gonzalez, who finished second in wins during the 2017 Tampa Bay Downs meet and won six races there on March 10 of that year, has won more than 1,430 races since coming to the U.S. from his native Puerto Rico in 2013. He was ranked 14th in wins in North America last year and 11th in wins in 2019.

Kevin Meyocks, agent for Luca Panici, will represent Gonzalez.

“We've been north here the last two years and it's been good, but we only race two days a week and I'd like to ride at a better track with some better horses,” said Gonzalez, who is moving along with his wife and three children. “There's nice weather down here. We can take the kids out to the park. I talked to Kevin, he's a good agent, and when opportunity comes, you have to take advantage of it.”

Gonzalez, a multiple graded-stakes winner in Puerto Rico, guided Ghost Hunter for his first graded-stakes success in the 2017 Arlington Handicap (G3).

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First Lieutenant: Fashion Model And Family Man

After three starts at Penn National, a handsome bay gelding suffered a slab fracture, thus ending his career on the track. First Lieutenant made his way to TAA-accredited After The Races with a record of 0-0-0 and earnings of $3,900.

In 2015, Alison Shaw contacted the Maryland-based aftercare organization in search of a dressage prospect and all around family horse.

“(First Lieutenant) was shown to me by Bonnie, the founder of After the Races, and suggested as a good fit for my goals,” Shaw said. “He had a slab fracture as a 2-year-old and it didn't fully heal so he was only cleared for flat work. He was such a clown when I went to meet him, pulling blankets off the stall doors and playing with his lead rope. I knew I had to have him.”

The son of Officer was just four years old at the time of his adoption, so Shaw wanted to take things slow and focus on the basics.

“His restart was slow and steady, lots of ground work, and maybe six months later we got on him for the first time,” Shaw recalled. “He was so quiet and unfazed by the whole situation. There really have been no lows with him.”

As Shaw's family grew, her dressage aspirations were put on hold. Even so, First Lieutenant, now known as “Bodhi,” was always made to feel like part of the family. Shaw's eldest son is especially taken with the Pennsylvania-bred一it won't be long before Alison's ousted altogether.

“Bodhi has had it pretty easy as we've had two kids since adopting him, but he is half leased to a woman who simply adores him,” Shaw said. “All my kids can lead, groom, and ride him on the lead line. My oldest son who is nine regularly tells Bodhi he will be his one day and I should get my own horse.”

Bodhi truly hit the jackpot with his adopted family and vice versa. No matter what they ask of him, Bodhi takes it all in stride.

“He is down for whatever we ask一whether it be wrapping him in wrapping paper and lights for our annual Christmas card or having him do our gender reveal with blue balloons and a chalkboard around his neck,” Shaw said. “He is a gentle, loving clown and comes running every time he's called.

“He is our heart horse, even though I don't really ride much anymore being a busy mom of four, plus running a pet care business,” she said. “We joke he's our favorite child. I hope to get back in the saddle soon.

Not only is Bodhi a wonderful family horse, he's quite the model as well.

“He did a photo shoot for Ralph Lauren back in October of 2020 for the men's spring line,” Shaw said. “I was told to keep an eye out on all social media platforms for the pictures. He was such a professional and relaxed being around a crew of 30 or 40 people and at the Inn he was trailered to.

“Some of the models had never handled a horse but soon felt so comfortable that they were snuggling him on breaks and he wormed his way into every shot,” she said. “He was having a blast stealing one of the model's hats. They adored him and even said they may reach out again in the future.”

But, Shaw's family isn't done growing yet. Up next she anticipates another OTTB in their future.

“He is the best addition to our family and I'll likely plan on adopting another horse from After the Races in the future, as my kids have stolen my horse.”

Read more at Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

This story has been reprinted with permission from the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Learn more about the TAA and its work at thoroughbredaftercare.org.

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Search Me? Penn National Assistant Starter’s License Revoked

Stewards at Penn National in Grantville, Pa., have revoked the license of an assistant starter who refused to allow himself or his car to be searched after the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission said it “executed a search of all Penn National starting gate crew members after receiving intelligence that an assistant starter was providing electrical devices to jockeys.”

The assistant starter, Douglas A. Dietrich, was summarily suspended on Jan. 21, one day after he refused to allow a search, according to the ruling. On Jan. 22, following an emergency hearing and “after considering all testimony and evidence,” the occupational license of Dietrich was revoked.

Stewards found that Dietrich violated 7 PA. Code Section 181.18, 185.1 (c), 185.2, 185.12, 305.32, 305.33, 179.22 and 179.23.

— SECTION 181.18. Search within track premises.

— SECTION 185.1 ( c). General Provisions (c) By acceptance of a license, a licensee consents to search and inspection by the Commission or its agents of the licensee's person, personal property and areas under the licensee's possession, care or control. The licensee explicitly consents to the seizure of any prohibited medication, drugs, paraphernalia or other illegal devices or contraband in accordance with State and Federal law and with the applicable provisions of the act.

— SECTION 185.12. Grounds for refusal, denial, suspension or revocation of license.

— SECTION 185.2. Conduct of licensee. A licensee shall not, alone or in concert with another person, engage in inappropriate, illegal or unethical conduct which violates the Commission's rules and regulations of racing, is inconsistent with the best interests and integrity of racing or otherwise undermines the general public's faith, public perception and confidence in the racing industry.

— SECTION 305.32. Power of the Stewards.

— SECTION 305.33. Disciplinary action.

— SECTION 179.22. General Power of the Judges and Stewards.

— SECTION 179.23. Jurisdiction of Judges and Stewards.

The ruling stated that Dietrich is denied access to all grounds under the jurisdiction of the commission. He has 10 days to appeal the license revocation.

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Pennsylvania Casinos Reopen Monday

Pennsylvania casinos have been greenlighted to reopen as of Monday, Jan. 4, rekindling revenue streams that fund Thoroughbred purses in the state.

Governor Tom Wolf announced Dec. 30 that because COVID-19 mitigation efforts have been working to tamp down the spread of the pandemic, he will allow more stringent safety restrictions that went into effect Dec. 12 to expire as planned.

But that doesn’t mean a full-blown opening for the 13 casinos in the state: Mitigation efforts will roll back to what they were on Dec. 11, which still caps casinos at 50% of occupancy. Similar restrictions were also eased for other social activities, like indoor dining, gyms, theaters and high school sports.

Parx and Penn National are the only two Thoroughbred tracks operating in Pennsylvania at this time of year.

“I think that’s really good news. We can go back to getting monies from the casinos, and that’s very important to us,” said Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Sal DeBunda in a video message posted to the organization’s website Dec.31.

DeBunda noted owners will still not be able to enter the winner’s circle to pose with their horses, “so it’s not a total open situation, but it’s back to the old rules before the mitigation rules were put in.”

Earlier this week, Penn National had announced a contingency plan to stay open through the month of January based on maintaining a nightly handle benchmark of $1.4 million in the event that Wolf had decided to extend the casino shutdown.

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