Tag: People

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters (NTWAB) announced today that Britney Eurton, Scott Hazelton, and Maggie Wolfendale will co-host the 52nd Annual Eclipse Awards, which will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023 at The Breakers Palm Beach.

The Eclipse Awards will honor the 2022 human and equine Champions of Thoroughbred racing. Named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, the awards will be presented in 17 categories and will be announced live on FanDuel TV, Racetrack Television Network (RTN), and streamed on multiple outlets.

VIP pre-sale tickets for the black-tie event will begin on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, and general ticket sales will begin on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. To stay up to date on the 52nd Annual Eclipse Awards and for more information, visit https://www.ntra.com/eclipse-awards/.

Britney Eurton serves as a host and reporter for Thoroughbred racing's largest events through her work with FanDuel TV and NBC Sports, including the Triple Crown, Royal Ascot, and the Breeders' Cup World Championships. She returns to the Eclipse Awards in 2023 having co-hosted the past three years. Eurton began her broadcasting career in 2014 and made her NBC Sports debut in 2017 on the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. She covered her first Triple Crown for NBC Sports in 2018 and has co-hosted the network's coverage of Royal Ascot in both 2019 and 2022. Eurton, a graduate of the University of Southern California, is the daughter of Peter Eurton, a former jockey and accomplished Thoroughbred trainer.

Scott Hazelton began his broadcast career first at HRTV before moving to TVG (now FanDuel TV), where he has covered the Triple Crown, Dubai World Cup and Royal Ascot, among other premier events. He also serves as the Keeneland Paddock Show host and works with Keeneland as a sales announcer during its many sales. Hazelton is a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His father, the late Richard Hazelton, won more than 4,700 races during a training career that spanned over 60 years.

Maggie Wolfendale-Morley is a third-generation horsewoman who for the past 12 years has served as a host and paddock analyst for the New York Racing Association. She is a mainstay on the NYRA-produced shows “America's Day at the Races” and “Saratoga Live” which air on FOX Sports. Upon graduating from Towson University with a degree in public relations and broadcasting, Wolfendale worked as an on-air analyst for the Maryland Jockey Club and Colonial Downs before joining NYRA. Wolfendale also stays very hands on with the horses serving as an exercise rider for her husband, NYRA-based trainer Tom Morley, and she has retired and retrained several of her father's and husband's former runners.

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Jockey Ramon Vazquez won his second riding title in as many meets at Los Alamitos and the 38-year-old native of Puerto Rico did so with a flourish.

Vazquez became the first rider to win five races in a single afternoon since daytime Thoroughbred racing returned to Los Alamitos in July, 2014. The previous best was four wins, accomplished by six riders – including Abel Cedillo twice.

The Sunday quintuple for Vazquez was completed when he directed 5-2 second choice Hard to Figure to an easy victory in the $75,000 Capote Stakes.

A 2-year-old son of Hard Spun owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Hard to Figure collected his first win in the restricted event, prevailing by three lengths over stablemate and 1-2 favorite Massimo.

Out of the Mr. Greeley mare Ani La, Hard to Figure tracked 11-1 shot Flame Rider early, then took over while in the clear entering the stretch. He completed the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:15:91 and returned $7 and $2.80. Massimo, who finished 1 ¼ lengths in front of 5-1 third choice Man Child, paid $2.10 to place. There was no show wagering.

Racing without blinkers for the first time, Hard to Figure, who was purchased for $200,000 at the OBS sale in March, increased his earnings after three starts to $61,200.

“Taking the blinkers off might have made a difference,'' said Baffert assistant trainer Mike Marlow. “He's kind of a strong headed horse, so we just wanted to try and stay away from everything and just leave him plan and let him be. I thought he had a good trip and ran a pretty strong race.''

Vazquez, who topped the Los Angeles County Fair meet standings earlier in the year with a dozen wins, finished the September season with 13, more than double closest pursuer Edwin Maldonado, who had six.

“It's great,'' said Vazquez. “I didn't know nobody had ever won five in a day here before. It feels good and gives me some (momentum) heading into Santa Anita (which begins its Autumn meet Sept. 30).

Baffert and Peter Miller shared the top spot in the trainer standings. Both finished with five wins.

It was the sixth time Miller and the 13^th time Baffert have either led or shared the training title since daytime thoroughbred racing returned to Los Alamitos.

Two races before the Capote, apprentice jockey Armando Aguilar, scored with his first career mount, guiding Sippin N Kissin to a three-quarter length win over pacesetter Mourvedre.

Aguilar, 22, who has been exercising horses for Walther Solis, the trainer of Sippin N Kissin, was greeted by a large contingent of friends and family in the winner's circle, then was doused by several buckers of water by some of his fellow riders on his way back to the jockey's room.

The final daytime Thoroughbred meet of the year at Los Alamitos will begin Friday, Dec. 9. The Winter season will be highlighted by a pair of graded events for 2-year-olds. The $300,000-guaranteed Starlet (G1) for 2-year-old fillies will be run Saturday, Dec. 10, and the $200,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) is set for Saturday, Dec. 17.  Both races are at 1 1/16 miles.

The post Hard To Figure Takes Capote Stakes To Give Top Jock Vazquez Five-Win Day As Los Al Meet Concludes; Baffert, Miller Tie Atop Trainer Standings appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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R B's Star ($7) surged past a stubborn Bandits Warrior in deep stretch for a popular half-length victory in Race 8 Sunday at Pimlico Race Course, giving 18-year-old apprentice Jeiron Barbosa his second riding title this year.

Barbosa, a native of Puerto Rico, ended Sunday's 11-race closing day program with a four-win edge, 12-8, over Horacio Karamanos and Angel Cruz during the boutique nine-day stand after taking Race 10 with Rustys Gfivefifty ($14.40). Karamanos was held without a win while Cruz moved into a second-place tie with a victory aboard Bomboloni ($10.80) in Race 3.

Riding with a five-pound weight allowance, Barbosa previously won Laurel Park's 2022 spring meet. Represented by agent Tom Stift, he rode his first professional race Jan. 1 in Puerto Rico where he posted three wins before coming to the U.S. March 23. Two days later Barbosa made his mainland debut at Laurel and won with each of his first two mounts, Heliacal Rising and Ludicrous Mode.

Barbosa was a seven-pound bug when he edged Jevian Toledo, 20-19, this spring to become just the third apprentice in the past decade to lead Laurel's jockey standings following Yomar Ortiz (2013 winter) and Julio Correa (2019 summer). Charlie Marquez, 19, began last year's extended Preakness Meet at Pimlico as an apprentice before becoming a journeyman in late May and finishing as leading rider.

Barbosa won twice on opening day, Sept. 9, and registered wins with three consecutive mounts Sept. 16. He notched another hat trick Sept. 24 including a stakes-quality allowance triumph aboard English Tavern over Grade 1 winner Decorated Invader and fellow graded-stakes winners Wootton Asset and Fancy Liquor. On the same card he ran second with Whispurring Kitten in the $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash.

Dale Capuano, Jamie Ness, Jerry Robb, and Mario Serey Jr. finished in a four-way tie for leading trainer with four wins apiece. All four sent out winners Sunday, including back-to-back scores for Capuano with Bomboloni in Race 3 and Jackie A ($7.60) in Race 4.

Serey won Race 2 with Silent Service ($35.80), his lone starter of the day. Ness followed with Angelofcanterbury ($12.40) in Race 5 and Robb won Race 7 with Bernie's On Fire ($4). Ness had a chance to claim the title outright with his final starter, but favored Seiche ran second to Rustys Gfivefifty in Race 10.

Capuano won or shared 18 meet titles at Pimlico between 1988 and 2010, the last time he was leading trainer. The winner of 3,636 career races also owns 13 titles at Laurel Park, the most recent coming in spring 2007.

Ness, second in overall wins this year in Maryland to five-time defending champion Claudio Gonzalez, led Pimlico for the fourth time and first since spring 2019. Robb previously Pimlico's 2018 spring meet title and also owns three Laurel championships. The title was his first in Maryland for Serey, who won the $75,000 Shine Again Sept. 10 with Swayin to and Fro.

Gonzalez and Michael Trombetta tied for second with three wins each. Gonzalez was blanked with three starters Sunday while Trombetta had one win from six starters, Foxtrot Seville ($15.20) in the opener.

The post Apprentice Barbosa Leads Fall Meet Riders At Pimlico, Four Tie For Leading Trainer appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Mike Maker, annually among the country's leading trainers in starts, wins, and purses earned, is planning to have a presence in Maryland this fall.

The 53-year-old Maker, based primarily in the Midwest but with seasonal strings in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, New York,and Texas, will have 15 stalls at Laurel Park's calendar year-ending fall meet, which begins Friday, Sept. 30.

“I'm looking forward to it,” Maker said. “It'll be a small string, but with limited grass opportunities here in Kentucky I think it's a good fit.”

Maker is coming off a meet at all-turf Kentucky Downs, where he is the track's all-time leading trainer and set single-season records this year in starters (65), wins (12), and purse earnings ($2.34 million). Among Maker's wins were the Mint Million (G3) with Somelikeithotbrown and Kentucky Turf Cup (G2) with Red Knight.

“For us, it's a chance to run on the grass and have a presence there,” Maker said of Laurel. “Then we can swap the horses out as we need.”

Maker is a native of Michigan who walked hots for his father, George, at Hazel Park and defunct Detroit Race Course. At 13, he bought his first horse with money earned from delivering the Detroit Free Press, and won in his first start. He worked his way up to an assistant for his father and apprenticed under Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas for 10 years before going out on his own in 2003.

Palatial Times provided Maker with his 3,000^th career victory Aug. 7 at Ellis Park. Known for his success turning claiming horses into stakes winners, Maker has trained a dozen millionaires, including 2011 champion 2-year-old male Hansen and fellow Grade 1 winners Zulu Alpha, Bigger Picture, and Henley's Joy.

Maker has had success shipping to Maryland for stakes, this year winning the What a Summer with Time Limit Jan. 29 at Laurel and Miss Preakness (G3) with Lady Scarlet May 20 at Pimlico Race Course, where he also finished with the third-most points in the Preakness weekend trainer bonus standings.

Last year Maker finished second in the bonus standings after winning the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) with Army Wife, Pimlico Special (G3) with Last Judgment, and Maryland Sprint (G3) with Special Reserve on the dirt, as well as the Dinner Party (G2) on turf with Somelikeithotbrown. At Laurel, he won the Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3) with Field Pass and Japan Turf  Cup with Tide of the Sea.

Maker earned the top Preakness weekend trainer bonus in 2020, its stakes pushed back to October amid the coronavirus pandemic, following wins in the Hilltop with Evil Lyn and Laurel Futurity with Catman.

Statistics compiled by Equibase show Maker with a record of 17-7-10 and purse earnings of $1,737,423 from 79 lifetime starts at Laurel and Pimlico. He is 7-5-6 with $493,513 in purses at Laurel, including 24-6-2-3, $364,893 in grass races.

In 58 lifetime stakes races in Maryland, Maker has 11 wins, five seconds, seven thirds and $1,513,331 in purses earned. His first Maryland stakes win came in the 2017 Pearl Necklace at Laurel with I'm Betty G.

“We've had good luck in Maryland,” Maker said. “It's just been a matter of the horses fitting and finding the right races and having them show up on the day.”

Maker ran seventh with a pair of horses on Saturday's stakes-filled program – Miss Preakness (G3) winner Lady Scarlet in the Weather Vane on dirt and 2020 American Turf (G2) winner Fancy Liquor in a fourth-level optional claiming allowance on turf.

Stall applications for Laurel's fall meet, which runs through Dec. 31, are due Saturday, Oct. 1.

The post ‘With Limited Grass Opportunities Here In Kentucky I Think It’s A Good Fit’: Maker To Have String At Laurel Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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