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Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented By Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: Li’lbito’charm Earned A Lot Without A Stakes Start

The conventional road to a big check in Pennsylvania's lucrative incentive program involves entering and winning state-bred stakes races, but there are plenty of horses that have brought in serious money without ever entering the gate in a stakes contest.

There is no better example of this than Li'lbito'charm, who earned her connections $144,546 in 2021 through the end of October racing exclusively below the stakes level. That placed her 11th among Pennsylvania incentive earners through October, and all ten of the horses in front of her reached their spots in part with stakes earnings.

The daughter of Smarty Jones had a career season in 2021, winning six of 15 starts and finishing in the money in five additional starts, all coming at Parx Racing.

That steady campaign of wins and placings meant Li'lbito'charm generated incentive earnings in nearly all of her starts last year.

That included $67,041 for breeder Nick Polydoros. As a Pennsylvania-bred and -sired horse, Li'lbito'charm was eligible for a 40 percent purse bonus for races run in her home state.

Li'lbito'charm is out of the Polydoros-bred stakes-placed Dixieland Heat mare Li'lbito'sunshine, whose seven foals to race are all winners. She is a half-sister to stakes winner Sunshine Included and stakes-placed Sunshine's Son Bob.

Li'lbito'charm changed hands through the claim box three times in 2021, landing most recently with owner Ylliehus 5 Star and trainer Ralph Riviezzo.

The mare's multiple owners divided an owner bonus of $30,744 through the end of October, which was the third-biggest payout in that column at that point of the year. For races at Parx, Pennsylvania-breds are eligible for a 40 percent purse bonus, meaning the mare's frequent wins and top-three finishes saw a significant boost because of where she was born.

Finally, Li'lbito'charm raised $16,760 in stallion awards for Patricia Chapman, the owner of sire Smarty Jones. Registered Pennsylvania-breds by Pennsylvania sires generate a 10 percent bonus on purse earnings for top-three finishes run within the Keystone State.

Smarty Jones, the fan-favorite dual classic winner, will stand the 2022 season at Equistar Training and Breeding in Annville, Pa. He generated $43,774 in stallion awards last year through the end of October, ranking him seventh in that category.

The post Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented By Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: Li’lbito’charm Earned A Lot Without A Stakes Start appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association Offers Educational Foal Watch Program

Through the end of April, the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association (PHRA) is giving adults and kids across the Commonwealth an educational opportunity to watch what could be the next generation of champion racehorses being born through its free, live foal cams.

The foal cams are streamed live from Pine Grove-based Blackstone Farm, where 60 expectant mares are expected to give birth from now through the spring.

This year, PHRA is inviting elementary school teachers and students to take a virtual educational field trip to Blackstone Farm for a fun day where they can “bring a horse to class” via a video call. Students will have the opportunity to gain a closer look at the expectant mares, the new foals, and learn about the variety of jobs needed on the farm during foal season. Online educational activities will accompany the virtual field trip. Elementary school teachers who are interested in bringing this virtual educational activity into their classroom can register for more information at https://pennhorseracing.com/foalcams-education.

“We are excited to once again be able to provide horse racing enthusiasts, new fans, and students the opportunity to witness the beauty of a foal being born through our foal cams,” said Pete Peterson, president of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association. “The addition of our virtual field trips provides elementary school classrooms the opportunity to learn more about the foaling season, and provide students a fun, educational activity that highlights the breeding basics and the various jobs needed on the farm when a foal is born and raised.”

Visitors tuning in to the PHRA's foal cams can watch the live camera feeds and will see the expectant mares in their stalls as they anticipate the arrivals of their foals, day-to-day interactions between the mares and their caregivers, and — when the timing is right — the opportunity to witness the births of the next generation of racehorses. In addition to the foal cams, the PHRA website includes breeding basics, videos, interactive polls and gender reveals.

Follow PHRA's Facebook and Instagram for live foaling season updates.

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Lentenor, Full-Brother To Barbaro, Sold To Stand In Pennsylvania

Lentenor, a stakes-winning full-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, has been purchased by Ryan Campbell's RisenStorm Company from Calumet Farm and will stand the 2022 season at Cabin Creek Farm in Bernville, Pa. for a fee of $1,000 (stands and nurses).

“Lentenor has meant so much to my family for many years,” Campbell said. “It is hard to explain the excitement that my daughters and I are experiencing knowing that the horse we have loved for the entirety of his life will permanently be joining our family. I would like to thank Calumet for this opportunity and for the many years of his life while we had him in Indiana.

“We have chosen to send him to Cabin Creek Farm in Pennsylvania,” Campbell continued. “We have a longstanding friendship with Maria Vorhauer at Cabin Creek and know that Lentenor is in excellent hands to continue his stallion career with the greatest care possible. We will be announcing a breeding bonus program in the near future to give breeders added incentive to breed and race in Pennsylvania.”

Lentenor, the full brother to Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, has sired stakes winner Uphold ($276,281), as well as, April's No Fool ($150,020), and Cacahuete ($115,394) from a very limited crop of 31 foals.

A 15-year-old son of Dynaformer, Lentenor raced as a homebred for Roy and Gretchen Jackson's Lael Stables. Lentenor broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park in his third start and finished fourth in the 2010 Grade 1 Florida Derby, in his initial outing on dirt.

He set a course record of 1:40.95 for 1 1/16 miles at Tampa Bay Downs in December 2011. In 2012, He won the Kitten's Joy Stakes on grass at Colonial Downs and finished fourth in the G3 Cliff Hanger Stakes at Monmouth Park. Lentenor made 17 career starts, winning four times and finishing in the money 10 times, for total earnings of $184,406.

Lentenor is out of the Grade 2-placed Carson City mare La Ville Rouge. In addition to being a full brother to Barbaro, Lentenor is a full brother to stakes-placed Nicanor, stakes winner Margano, and he's a half brother to stakes winner Holy Ground.

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Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented By Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: A New Generation Of Sires In The Keystone State

The top of the Pennsylvania sire standings hasn't changed much over the past few years.

Once the mighty Jump Start took over the top of the podium six years ago, he has yet to relinquish it, and his rival Weigelia has never been far behind. However, Jump Start's death in 2019 means his position at the head of the class will eventually open up and be claimed by one of Pennsylvania's younger sires.

The class of stallions poised to take over in the long-term, those with five crops of racing age or less, each have their own unique sets of circumstances, but in the meantime, they have been making their owners five-figure sums in Pennsylvania stallion awards.

When a registered Pennsylvania-bred and -sired runner finishes in the top three at Parx Racing, Penn National, or Presque Isle Downs, the owner of their sire receives a 10 percent bonus of the purse share, which can add up quickly for a stallion with an army of runners in the state.

The clear leader in the class with five crops of racing age or less is El Padrino, whose long-term potential was snuffed out in 2017 when he died following colic surgery.

El Padrino left behind four crops, all now at racing age, and those runners have earned the stallion's owner, Northview Stallion Station, $70,284 in bonus money so far in 2021.

The biggest contributor to that pot has been Prince of Rain, a 4-year-old gelding who has generated $11,459 in stallion awards this season, with top-three finishes in eight of his 10 starts.

After winning his debut start at Penn National on Feb. 24, Prince of Rain finished second in a trio of allowance races at Penn National and Parx, before getting back on the winning track in a Penn National allowance on May 28. He added another win two starts later in a July 28 allowance at Parx Racing.

Prince of Rain has since graduated to state-bred stakes company, highlighted by a third-place effort in the Banjo Picker Sprint Stakes at Parx on Aug. 23.

The gelding races as a homebred for the Z & Z Stables of trainer Michael Zalalas and breeder Angelo Zalalas.

With second-place Uncle Lino having moved to Maryland, the stallion with the greatest inside track to long-term success in the Pennsylvania standings among the younger stallions is arguably Godstone Farm's Well Spelled.

Well Spelled, a 12-year-old son of Spellbinder, has four crops of racing age that has made Godstone Farm $30,863 in stallion award earnings this season.

The leader among Well Spelled's stallion award earners is No More Martinis, a 4-year-old gelding who has brought in $5,155 in awards for that category. No More Martinis has won three of four starts this year, all at Penn National.

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