Tag: People

Each year, Horseshoe Indianapolis welcomes new trainers and one of those individuals made her mark during the 123-day racing season was Alexis Claire, who hails from Chicago. Claire, who is in her second year as a Thoroughbred trainer, completed the meet with 13 wins in 42 starts to rank in the top 25.

Claire moved over from the show horse industry where she was a riding instructor with off-the-track Thoroughbreds trained into Hunter/Jumper prospects. She has always had a strong interest in being involved in the Thoroughbred industry. After working as an assistant for Edward Rodriguez and barn foreman for Brendon Walsh, she started her own stable in 2021 and spent her first year at Horseshoe Indianapolis in 2022.

“I'm really grateful to Indiana,” said Claire. “Everyone was really accommodating, and it was a great place to run. They write and use races that suit a lot of horses. I enjoyed claiming some Indiana breds and had the leading horse for the majority of the meet. I really look forward to continuing to support this meet.”

Claire is referring to Bootdaddy Justice, who she claimed for $10,000 in early June and eventually reeled off four wins in six starts before the horse was claimed in late September. The majority of his $50,000-plus bankroll this season came while stabled in the Claire barn.

“A highlight of the meet was having a leading horse in Bootdaddy Justice and winning four races in a row with him after he had an incident and clipped heels in his first start for me,” added Claire. “I also enjoyed success winning three allowance races with Lt. Junior Grade before taking him to Keeneland and getting my first career win there as well.”

Owned by Claire and one of her main owners Hoffman Farms Racing LLC, Lt. Junior Grade was claimed for $40,000 from his race at Keeneland, double the price she claimed him for from Hawthorne last fall. Four of his seven career wins came under the direction of Claire, who had a strong “first off the claim” percentage and concluded the season with a 43 percent win average in the claiming ranks. Her overall average was 31 percent in the win column and 62 percent in the top three.

“I self-started my business last year by selling my car and buying two racehorses for myself so I could build my business,” said Claire. “I now have 10 horses and to have an over 30 percent meet in the win column was huge for me. I'm used to being the underdog. I like exceeding expectations and surprising people.”

The Claire Stable is spending the winter at Fair Grounds, also a first for the 29-year-old. She hopes to return to the Midwest to the Kentucky circuit in the spring and also race at Horseshoe Indianapolis. She has 32 career wins and more than a half-million in purses to get started at Fair Grounds.

The 21^st season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is expected to resume Tuesday, April 18 for a 123-day meet. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission is set to review the proposal for 2023 at its next meeting Thursday, Dec. 1 at Harrah's Hoosier Park.

The post ‘Used To Being The Underdog,’ New Trainer Alexis Claire Breaks Top 25 At Horseshoe Indianapolis appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jockey Vincente Del-Cid suffered a pair of facial fractures when unseated from his mount at Delta Downs on Saturday, reports the Daily Racing Form. The 21-year-old from Guatemala was scheduled to meet with doctors Tuesday to discuss surgical options for repair, but is expected to be out four to six weeks.

Del-Cid was aboard the wagering favorite Luck of the Stars in Delta's ninth and final race of the card, a $5,000 maiden claiming contest. The 3-year-old dueled for the early lead, but fell in the far turn and was vanned off the course.

Currently the leading rider at Delta Downs, Del-Cid won four other races before the incident in the ninth. Del-Cid is also the second-winningest rider in North America for 2022, having entered the winner's circle 266 times. That total is only bested by the 302 victories of Irad Oritz, Jr.

Del-Cid carried apprentice status through Nov. 13, and is in the running for the leading apprentice title of 2022.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

The post In Running For Champion Apprentice, Jockey Vincete Del-Cid Sidelined By Facial Fractures appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Dates for the seventh Jockeys and Jeans “Great American Stallions Season Sale” to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund have been set for Jan. 10-12, 2023. This is the only stallion seasons auction that brings together Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Stallions in one sale, and one in which all proceeds go to help former jockeys who suffered catastrophic, career ending injuries.

The auction of non-guaranteed seasons on Starquine.com previews Monday, Jan. 9. The bidding starts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Jan. 10, and ends on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 9:00 p.m. The sale features stallions from Kentucky, Florida, New York, California, Texas, and other states. Since the all-volunteer Jockeys and Jeans was founded by a group of former jockeys in late 2014, it has has raised $2.6 million for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, including over a half million dollars through the sales of donated stallion seasons.

This is the third year in which Quarter Horse seasons are being sold, solely through the efforts of the retired Quarter Horse jockey, G.R. Carter. Proceeds from Thoroughbred season sales slightly topped Quarter Horse seasons the first year but last year Quarter Horse seasons took a slight lead.

“Sadly, career ending injuries happen to jockeys in both industries and this is a great example of the two coming together in a meaningful way to provide funding for those whose lives changed forever while participating in horse racing, a sport we all know and love.” said Jockeys and Jeans president Barry Pearl.

The PDJF pays a monthly stipend of $1,000 to 60 riders from both industries who suffered catastrophic career-ending injuries. Two thirds of them are now quadra or paraplegics. “They gave a big part of their lives to a sport that made me and many others very successful,” said Carter. “And all of us owe it to them to give something back.”

Pearl noted inflation has hit hard to those on fixed income, which includes nearly all PDJF beneficiaries. “It is no exaggeration to say that for many disabled former jockeys, that $1,000 each month helps keep a roof over their heads and puts food on their tables. But we are thankful so many generous people in both segments of horse racing have stepped up to prove this is a single community, and one that genuinely cares.”

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The Japan Racing Association is currently hosting five international jockeys for short-term licences: Christian Demuro, Ryan Moore, Damian Lane, Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle.

Having both finished the British Flat Racing season with 91 wins each, Marquand and Doyle kicked off their riding stints on the JRA circuit in the week of the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn in October. The 24-year-old Marquand collected two wins on his first weekend aboard the Deep Impact-sired Catulus Felis and a 2-year-old Dawn Approach colt named Noisy Approach.

“Having a first win on the first day is incredible and I am very lucky. We are very honored to be here as individuals, and to be here together is more fantastic. We are grateful for this opportunity,” said Marquand after the race. He also finished 10th in the Tenno Sho Autumn aboard Ablaze, and then ran fourth in the G1 Japan Cup atop Daring Tact on Sunday, Nov. 27.

Marquand and Doyle are staying in Tokyo and drive to Miho Training Centre, the JRA training facility, on the gallop days – Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“We usually finish our tasks around noon and have lunch on the way back to Tokyo, and we do some training together in the afternoon. On Fridays, before going to the jockeys' room at the racecourse, we condition ourselves and do some research on the horses for the weekend,” Doyle said.

“Mondays and Tuesdays, we wake up a bit late and walk around and enjoy the food in Tokyo. I feel lots of differences in racing here, especially the pace is quite different. In Japan, the pace is sometimes picked up from early stages. And the other thing I need more time to get used to is the dirt surface.”

Marquand has acquired nine wins from 77 rides so far (as of Nov. 27) in Japan this year, meanwhile Doyle who has been hugely successful, winning four Group 1 races across three countries, has achieved another milestone, marking her first winner at ride number 42 in Japan on Nov. 20.

Competing alongside her husband, Doyle guided the 3-year-old filly Reveur to victory over 1600m dirt.

“It's been character building in these three weeks, but getting my first win in Japan is very special and big relief,” Doyle said.

Both of them also said, “We are very impressed that the Japanese jockeys are very talented and skillful, and the quality of the races here is very high. All schedules, and regulations regarding the horse racing in Japan have been quite established. Of course the quality of the horses is outstanding, so we are surprised with a lot of things here.”

Among the international jockeys who have the short-term stint in Japan at the moment, Marquand, Doyle and Moore have been confirmed for the LONGINES Hong Kong International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley next month (Wednesday, Dec. 7).

“We have joined the IJC for three consecutive years and we shared second place last year. I would really like to win this year,” Doyle said.

Marquand said: “I have not won the title yet, so hopefully I can get it this year.”

The post ‘The Pace Is Quite Different’: Tom Marquand, Hollie Doyle Enjoying Successful Start To Japanese Stints appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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