Tag: People

After becoming the fastest jockey in Oaklawn history to reach $1 million in purse earnings at a meet, Cristian Torres is now the fastest to reach $3 million.

Torres surpassed $3 million in purse earnings when he finished third aboard Pearcy Road in the 12th and final race Feb. 25, Day 33 of the scheduled 68-day meeting. Ricardo Santana Jr. had previously been the fastest jockey to reach $3 million in purse earnings at an Oaklawn meet, reaching the mark on Day 35 in 2021.

Torres entered Friday atop the 2022-2023 Oaklawn standings in victories (49), stakes victories (five) and purse earnings ($3,112,278). Torres rode a career-high five winners Feb. 20. That came two days after recording his first career graded stakes victory, and most lucrative to date, in the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses aboard millionaire Last Samurai for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Last Samurai, who wasn't on the jockey's radar earlier this year, represented Torres' first career victory for Lukas.

“It's a dream come true, and especially to win it for Mr. Wayne Lukas,” Torres said. “I grew up watching all the big races that he has won. Just to win a race like this for him, it's like everybody's dream.”

Torres, 25, made his Oaklawn debut in 2021 and his career took off last summer when he began riding first call for Robertino Diodoro and Karl Broberg, two of the winningest trainers in North American history. Torres captured his first career riding title in December at Remington Park and has continued to build momentum at Oaklawn. Diodoro entered Friday with a meet-high 36 victories this season at Oaklawn, with 29 ridden by Torres. They teamed for two victories Thursday (Biogenic Babe and Yacht Rock).

“Any young rider that comes to Oaklawn or Santa Anita or New York is not going to have a lot of success unless they have a major stable behind them. He does,” Lukas said. “He came in here and he had Robertino, who runs those horses where they belong. They're ready to run. He puts them in the right races, so now he (Torres) goes over there and he's riding in multiple races where he's the favorite. Most young riders aren't riding the 5-2 shots. They're riding the 52-1 shots. Then, he catches my attention because he's riding well, and I reach in and give him a chance and he makes the most of it and wins the race.”

Last Samurai represented Torres' fifth career mount for Lukas. The trainer said Torres would have the return call on Last Samurai for his next scheduled start, the $500,000 Essex Handicap (G3) March 18 Oaklawn.

“We'll put him right back on in the Essex and now he's got that one,” Lukas said.

The Essex would be Last Samurai's third start at the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting after he was beaten a neck by Bal Harbour in the $200,000 Tinsel Stakes Dec. 17. Torres rode Bal Harbour for Diodoro in the Tinsel and the gelding was pointing to the Razorback before being sidelined with a leg injury in January. That unexpected development led Torres to Last Samurai.

“He was going to be going this way, but unfortunately he had a little setback,” Torres said, referring to Bal Harbour. “He opened the door for another trainer, a great trainer like Wayne Lukas, and it worked out perfectly.”

Torres, whose agent is retired trainer Cody Autrey, surpassed $1 million in purse earnings Jan. 7, Day 11 of the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting. Florent Geroux had previously been the fastest jockey to reach $1 million in purse earnings at Oaklawn, hitting seven figures on Day 12 of the 2021-2022 meeting.

Santana has led all jockeys in purse earnings at every Oaklawn meeting since 2013, highlighted by a single-season record $5,643,023 in 2021. Santana is an eight-time Oaklawn riding champion.

Torres entered Friday with 90 career Oaklawn victories. He won 22 races in 2021 and 19 in an injury-shortened 2021-2022 season. A native of Puerto Rico, Torres rode his first career winner in 2019.

The post ‘It’s Like Everybody’s Dream’: Cristian Torres Making The Most Of Oaklawn Opportunities appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The 2022 Roll With Joe for open pacers attracted harness racing's biggest star, Bulldog Hanover, who was his usual dazzling self in a dominant 1:46 victory.

Fittingly, beginning with this year's edition, the stakes event held at The Meadowlands will be renamed “The Dave Brower Memorial”, in honor of another standout from the world of harness racing.

Brower, the track's longtime lead TV personality, morning-line odds maker and program analyst, passed away at the age of 53 while on assignment in Kentucky, during a week when he was the TV point man covering the races at Lexington's Red Mile.

“Almost five months have passed since we lost Dave Brower,” said Big M Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Jason Settlemoir. “But the wounds are still fresh. Dave was so good at his job, I think we took for granted the high level of excellence he brought to the things he did here at The Meadowlands.

“He was such a popular personality. He loved bringing people on our set and letting them take pictures holding microphones. And he knew and loved everybody, and everybody loved him back. We still feel the loss, but now that some time has passed, we felt it was the right time to rename one of our big races for Dave. That way, people will never forget him.”

The 2023 edition of The Dave Brower Memorial, which has an estimated purse of $175,000, takes place on Saturday, July 1, and is one of four stakes events on the card. Also on the schedule that night are the $150,000 (est.) Perfect Sting for open mare pacers, $175,000 (est.) Crawford Farms for open trotters and $150,000 (est.) Six Pack for open mare trotters.

“My mother, Rose, and I are grateful for all of the support we have received from Dave's friends at The Meadowlands,” said Laura Brower, Dave's sister. “We haven't been to the track since the Celebration of Life for Dave (on Nov. 12 of last year), but we wouldn't miss July 1 for anything.”

The post Meadowlands Renames Stakes Race In Honor Of Late Harness Personality Dave Brower appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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It's been four years since one of Turfway Park's top riders Luan Machado moved from his home country of Brazil to Florence, Ky., but he quickly established a new home.

“I first came to the United States in 2015 to Miami but it was just temporary and not anything permanent,” Machado said. “That visit really helped me get started to know several people in the United States. After my Visa expired, I went back home and began riding full time in Brazil. In 2018, I won the country's biggest race (the Group 1 Premio Brasil). Soon after that race, (trainer) Wesley (Ward) called me and I decided to come to Kentucky.”

Machado, who comes from a storied horse racing family in Brazil, arrived in the U.S. for the 2018 Turfway Park Holiday Meet at the urging of Ward and former agent Jimmy McNerney. Machado's pedigree certainly led him to becoming a jockey. His father, Ronaldo, was a jockey for seven years and helped him get his start riding racehorses in Brazil.

“I was around 11 or 12-years-old when I first started riding racehorses,” Machado recalled. “My father brought me to a farm back at home and I started working with horses and riding them in match races and non-sanctioned events. I was pretty young at the time. I remember one time my brother (Muriel) came to visit me and within a week they had him working horses. Then, when I was 16, I attended jockey school (at Hipodromo da Gavea in Rio de Janeiro) to become a professional rider. It was a really good start because my brother and I ended up starting at the school together.

“Once I got to the racetrack, everyone knew my brother and me because of our dad. Everyone always told us that even though my dad wasn't a jockey for very long that we had big shoes to fill.”

During Machado's first meet at Turfway Park, he tallied 21 wins and tied veteran Rodney Prescott for leading rider at the Holiday Meet. At the 2018 Winter/Spring Meet, Machado's 36 winners topped the standings and he was off and running in Florence.

“I've learned to adapt myself to many situations throughout my life so it wasn't really a difficult transition coming to Kentucky,” Machado said. “I had a lot of support that helped me get started.”

Now represented by Cory Prewitt, Machado has his sights set on becoming more established on the year-round Kentucky circuit.

“My agent and I are working hard to get business that will help us all year in Kentucky. I really feel at home here,” Machado said.

Machado, who is known around the racetrack as the “Ax Man” because his last name translates to “ax” in Portuguese, will attempt to win his fourth stakes event this meet at Turfway when he rides Scoobie Quando in Saturday's $150,000 John Battaglia Memorial – the finale of the Prep Season on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

“He was very impressive when he won first out (in the Turfway Prevue),” Machado said. “He's been working at Keeneland on the training track which is smaller than most tracks so his workouts have all been around two turns. I think in his last race, when he went one-mile for the first time, he needed that race. I worked him last week and you can tell he's learned a lot since that race and has continued to mature. I'm really looking forward to him in the John Battaglia.”

Scoobie Quando was tabbed at odds of 6-1 in the John Battaglia Memorial, which will go as Race 8 on Saturday's Turfway Park card at 9:25 p.m. ET.

Off the track, Machado has a lot to look forward to in the upcoming weeks, including a visit from his family.

“Now, my younger brother (Dylan) has really done well to start his career in Brazil,” Machado said. “He's already won 100 races as an apprentice and is just getting started. I think he's probably too young to come here to ride right now but in the future I think he'll do very well.”

Last Saturday, Machado won his 350th North American race aboard Grand Ave Girl in the $125,000 Wintergreen Stakes. Overall, he began the week tied with Chris Landeros for No. 4 in the Turfway riding standings with 19 wins. He trailed Walter Rodriguez (33 wins), Gerardo Corrales (29) and Fernando De La Cruz (29).

The post Brazilian Jockey Luan Machado Feels ‘At Home’ On Kentucky Circuit appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Safe to say Bill Spawr, 83, who announced earlier this week that he had disbanded his Santa Anita stable, perhaps did more with less over a remarkable 46-year career as a public trainer than most all of his contemporaries.

A star running back at Downey High School who got hooked on racing while working as a part-time clerk in a local liquor store that served up Daily Racing Form, Bill Spawr, who was born on Dec. 13, 1939, in Bell, Calif., gravitated to the racetrack full-time at age 23 and gained invaluable experience as a veterinarian assistant for 14 years, prior to forming a public stable in 1977.

Although he was never positioned to receive a steady influx of well-bred talent, Spawr's successes came largely through the claim box and via a time-tested formula for doing well — hard work.  With 1,709 career wins, Spawr amassed two winter/spring training titles at Santa Anita, in 1991 and 1996, two titles at the track's Oak Tree Racing Association meeting, in 2000 and 2001, as well as a pair of summer titles at Del Mar, in 1990 and 1994.

Early to rise and tight-lipped, Spawr was typically the first trainer on the beat at any racetrack, often arriving between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m.

“I treated them as individuals,” said Spawr.  “Charlie Whittingham taught me, there's not two the same.  They're all different and he was so right.”

Following morning training, Spawr was an indefatigable presence at the track during afternoon racing, diligently marking legs of prospective claiming prospects and documenting observations regarding fluidity of movement, riding tactics employed, attitude and more.

“I always wanted to check their legs, to see if they may've changed since the last time they ran,” he said.  “And the body, the hair, which can tell you a lot.  I even marked the kind of bridle they were running in.  The type of blinkers, if they had a tongue tie.  If they ran with a nose band.  All this stuff told me the temperament of the horse.

“For instance, if the horse is running with a ring bit, he's tough.  If he's got a D-bit or snaffle, he's easier.  If a horse has an outside prong with an outside extension, then you go, 'Wow, this horse is getting out pretty good…'

“And another very important aspect of what we did was that Daryl (Radar, longtime assistant) and I watched them train.  If they're in a steady pattern galloping every day and working every week, fine.  But if all of a sudden, all they do is jog or go with the pony and they drop in class, a warning light goes on.”

For Spawr, horse racing was more, however, than just equine X's and O's—he frequently had a cadre of like-minded handicappers, often comprised in-part of local baseball, football and basketball coaches, that liked the camaraderie of hanging out at the track, having a few beers and, on occasion, cashing a few bets.

“We had like a following,” said Spawr.  “Especially on the weekends and especially when I rode Laffit (Pincay, Jr.).  I had fans that would come to me and they'd say, 'I got off work because Laffit's riding your horse!'  That happened a lot.  We won a lot of races together, Laffit and my stable.”

Spawr's successes via the claim box are legendary, beginning with a Florida-bred gelding named Restage, who he claimed on Aug. 11, 1984, for $16,000 and with whom he won 13 races, a pair of minor stakes and more than $200,000.

From there, Spawr's hit parade included California-bred My Sonny Boy, who he haltered for $62,500 and with whom he won the 1990 California Cup Sprint, with Jorge Velasquez literally being hailed out of the parking lot as a last-minute replacement for Patrick Valenzuela.

Yet another Cal-bred touchdown for Spawr came with Sensational Star, a chestnut gelding by Inherent Star that he claimed for $32,000 on Aug. 7, 1988.  Ridden primarily by Rafael Meza, Sensational Star would go on to win three stakes and bank more than $440,000.

One of his all-time best purchases was Exchange, a 4-year-old Ontario, Canadian-bred filly by Explodent, that he claimed out of her second start on May 2, 1991, for $50,000.  With Pincay at the controls, Exchange would go on to win Santa Anita's Grade 1 Santa Ana and Santa Barbara Handicaps in 1993 as well as Hollywood Park's Grade 1 Matriarch in 1994 and earned more than $1.2 million.

Owned and bred by longtime clients Fred Carillo and Daniel Casella, Bordonaro, a California-bred gelding by Memo, broke his maiden for a $32,000 tag and would go on to win Santa Anita's Grade 1 Ancient Title Handicap on Oct. 7, 2006, as well as five other stakes while banking nearly $940,000.

The highlight of Bill Spawr's career came with yet another California-bred, a Northern Afleet gelding foaled in 2006 named Amazombie, with whom Spawr and co-owner Tom Sanford would win the 2011 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs and an Eclipse Award as champion sprinter.  Although he didn't come to Spawr's stable via the claim box, Amazombie was nonetheless the epitome of a bargain basement purchase.

“We were at a farm owned by Judd Morse out in Hemet and it was a cold morning,” recalled Spawr.  “And this group of 2-year-olds was walking by and Judd said, 'Hey, look at these two horses, they've both been to the track and they're for sale.'  I said, 'I haven't got no money.'  Then he told me, 'The man died and his family doesn't want any horses, so you can probably get 'em cheap.'

“I told him again that I didn't have any money, but he insisted I look at them.  So now I figure, I'm gonna make him stop, so I said, 'Okay, which one of these two is the best one?'  So he pointed one of 'em out and he told me they both had some pedigree.  So I told him, 'Tell the people I'll give $5,000.'

“So Judd calls me a couple days later and says, 'They'll take it.'  So I called my bookkeeper and he found me the $5,000.  So a few days go by and Judd calls and says, 'Hey Bill, they're going to be in tomorrow.'  I said, 'There's no THEY, I bought ONE.'  So Judd told me I said 'THEM.'

“What I said was 'I'll take HIM,' but anyway, the other horse was Amazombie, so I got him for FREE.”  And the rest as they say, is racing history, as Amazombie would win eight stakes, three of them Grade I's and bank $1,920,378 from an overall race record of 29-12-5-6.

When asked what it's now like to transition into the role of equine consultant, Spawr said, “I feel very comfortable, especially with what's going on in racing. … To me, I can't do the things I used to do. … Some people. … They don't understand horsemanship.

“Right now, I'm going to take a deep breath.  I'm gonna be very active.  I own small pieces of a couple of horses. … I'll be out there in the morning.  I need something to do, I've had a couple of my owners ask me to keep an out for horses to claim, so I'll keep my leg markings going. … I don't want any money for it, I just want something to do.”

Spawr, who had 11 horses remaining, said that they were disbursed between four trainers, Phil D'Amato, Jeff Bonde, Dean Pederson and Brad Cox.

And following roughly 60 years in the racetrack trenches, 46 of them as a public trainer, how would Bill Spawr like to be remembered?

“As a good horseman.  As a guy that really cared about the horses, first.”

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