Ellen Parker, a longtime pedigree analyst and turf writer and a 17-year resident of Paris, Kentucky, passed peacefully on the evening of Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at Baptist Health Lexington. Having predeceased her beloved husband, Ron Parker, by a year, Ellen succumbed from a broken heart.
Born in Saint Marys, Ohio, to loving parents Bill and Carol Koenig, Ellen developed her early love for horses into a lifelong obsession after seeing Round Table race at Arlington Park in Chicago in 1956. Ellen's career started at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California as an assistant publicist, and she went on to become a turf writer and racing editor.
Ellen is well-known for her pedigree analyst work on Thoroughbred bloodlines, and with her husband she began the monthly newsletter Pedlines, which she considered one of her greatest achievements. Ellen also wrote a non-fiction book on the famed Round Table as well as consulted on a documentary regarding Thoroughbred racing.
A longtime member of the National Turf Writers & Broadcasters, Ellen wrote for or served as an editor for many publications, including American Turf Monthly, California Thoroughbred, The Northern California Thoroughbred, and Washington Thoroughbred.
Although Ellen's regard for all horses was in mostly equal measure, her love affairs with Round Table, Brown Bess, and most recently California Chrome set the standard for what she considered the best of the best. Ellen covered Brown Bess' entire racing career extensively when she was the Northern California correspondent for California Thoroughbred, and she visited Round Table regularly at Claiborne Farm in Paris until he died in 1987.
Ellen and Ron attended several editions of the Breeders' Cup Championships all over the U.S. They enjoyed traveling, especially to Bermuda.
Besides horses, Ellen loved Ron, cats, the British royal family, and crime and sci fi novels and movies, not necessarily in that order! Known for her sharp intelligence, fine sense of humor, and discerning taste, Ellen will be greatly missed not only by the members of the racing world, but also by her many friends near and far.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Old Friends (www.oldfriendsequine.org) or PAWS (Paris Animal Welfare Society) www.pawspets.org
Junior Alvarado, who has made the decision to ride year-round at Gulfstream Park, got off to a quick start for the Spring/Summer Royal Palm Meet while scoring an upset victory aboard Discreet Tune in Thursday's Race 6 featured optional claiming allowance.
“When you make a new start, you want to show people what you're capable of. When you start something new, you want to show them you're still on your game and that it doesn't matter if it's a $6,000 claimer or the best race of the day,” Alvarado said. “I came here to win races.”
The 35-year-old jockey, a mainstay in New York in recent years, notched his 1911th career success aboard Carlos David-trained Discreet Tune ($9) in the five-furlong turf dash.
Jonathan Thomas-trained High Front, who was coming off a dazzling 6 ½-length debut victory Jan. 28 at Gulfstream, was sent to post as the 2-5 favorite. Facing older rivals for the first time, the 3-year-old son of Summer Front was fractious while loading into the starting gate and was shuffled back to last shortly after being crowded at the start. High Front made steady progress under Luis Saez to reach contention on the far turn. However, he was unable to sustain his drive as Discreet Tune, who stalked early-pacesetter Phase Out, kicked clear in the stretch to win by 2 ¼ lengths.
Discreet Tune, a hard-knocking veteran of 20 starts (five wins) ran five-furlongs on a firm turf om 55.69 seconds. Ruse closed late to finish a nose ahead of a tiring High Front.
“When we broke out of there [High Front] didn't break very good and the horse inside him came out and bumped him a little. I sent my horse. I expected to take the lead but another horse got it, and I just decided to sit there and wait,” Alvarado said. “I saw the big favorite moving by the 5/16ths pole, but after making that move and breaking slow like he did, I knew, for a younger horse, he was going to pay the price. I bided my time a little bit. When I turned for home, I turned my horse lose and he ran on really well.”
Alvarado ranked sixth with 49 wins during the Championship Meet that ended Sunday.
Paco Lopez rode three winners on Thursday's program, scoring aboard Shanghai Warrior ($8.20) in Race 1, Smart Spending ($6) in Race 3 and Uno Tiger ($4.20) in Race 7.
Jockey David Lopez has ventured from Golden Gate Fields looking for a fresh start during Gulfstream Park's Spring/Summer Royal Palm Meet.
The 32-year-old journeyman is the son of C. C. [Chuck] Lopez and grandson of Carlos Lopez.
“I did well at every course in California, I just wanted to be on the East Coast – that's where my family is,” Lopez said. “My dad, my grandfather did well here.”
Lopez, who won his first race at Monmouth Park in 2011, enjoyed his best year at Golden Gate Fields in 2015 with 107 victories and made headway into Southern California in 2016. Unfortunately, he would be out of action for 2 ½ years with injuries sustained in a morning training accident.
“I broke my L1 to L3 vertebrae and herniated a disc. That was a long recovery, longer than I expected,” said Lopez, who returned to action in May 2019 and has been riding at Golden Gate Fields with moderate success the past couple years.
On his second mount at Gulfstream, Lopez guided Khopilot to a second-place finish in Thursday's Race 4.
“He broke a little green,” Lopez said. “He took a few steps out. I corrected him and had about four horses come over on me. I decided to just sit and wait and after turning for home, I tipped out and asked him and he finished well. He couldn't get the winner.”
Rachael Blackmore's mother has recorded an emotional video paying tribute to her superstar jockey daughter on the eve of this year's Randox Grand National.
The 32 year old made history last year by becoming the first female rider to win the world's greatest steeplechase when she partnered Minella Times to victory.
Twelve months later – and after rewriting the history books again last month by winning the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup – she and Minella Times are bidding to repeat the feat.
To celebrate her incredible achievements, Blackmore's mum Eimir has penned “A letter to my daughter” and recorded it as a voiceover for a video put together by The Jockey Club, which owns Aintree Racecourse and stages the Randox Grand National.
In it she pays tribute to Blackmore's resilience, determination and humility and reveals her own phone “nearly melted” after her daughter's groundbreaking success at the Cheltenham Festival in 2021.
Eimir, an English teacher, still lives in Killenaule in County Tipperary – where Blackmore grew up – with her husband and the jockey's father Charles.
In the film she says: “From the moment Rachael was born we knew it was going to be an adventure. She couldn't wait to get going. Growing up on a farm fostered a love of animals and horses were always a big part of Rachael's life.
“Before she was one she'd been to a point to point meeting and it wasn't long until she was out riding her first pony was called 'Bubbles'. She was fantastic, but she had no brakes. This never worried her.
“As the years passed her love for riding grew. Although it took a while to find success on the track she never gave up. She was competitive and would say “in whose world is second any good?”
“Eventually the winners started to come – 2021 was an unforgettable year with six winners at Cheltenham! My phone nearly melted that week. I was proud that she gave us something to cheer during the pandemic. Everyone needed a lift.
“Next it was Aintree and the Grand National. All the stars aligned, and it was 'dream time'.
“The first time I met her after Aintree, I arrived home to find the Grand National trophy on the kitchen table and Rachael in the yard with Charles holding a mare who was having her feet trimmed.
“The fairytale continued at Cheltenham in 2022. Next up, the biggest prize of all, the Gold Cup – I had to pinch myself after that one.
“Despite the successes, Rachael remains true to herself. It's no good having success if you aren't a decent human being.
“All she ever wanted was to ride horses and if she inspires others, that's a major bonus. It can be a tough job at times, but Rachael must be made of strong stuff.
“In her words, 'You can win one minute and be on the ground in the next' but win or lose we're delighted and grateful for all she has achieved so far and excited for all that's yet to come.”
As the general manager of content management solutions for NYRA (New York Racing Association), Joe Longo understands a thing or two about what it takes behind the scenes to keep racing running.
“What I do is business development for NYRA, and I represent 16 different racetracks in buying and selling content on their behalf, including NYRA,” said Longo. “That's the negotiation of host fees, wagering initiatives, post-time coordination — which is of course everyone's favorite subject — and I'm also on the board of the TRA (Thoroughbred Racing Associations) and the TRPB (Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau). The great thing about NYRA is there is a small team so there is a lot of collaboration, but there is a lot going on.”
As busy as he is today, it would be hard to imagine that Longo once struggled to find a job, any job, in racing.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Longo's first exposure to racing came from his uncles, who he recalls as having questionable childcare tactics.
“Basically, my uncles are horrible babysitters,” joked Longo. “They would drag me to the Meadowlands with them despite my parents saying, 'This might not be the best idea.' And then, when summer rolled around, we'd go to Monmouth Park, and I just absolutely fell in love with it.”
But as enamored as Longo was of the sport, he didn't exactly feel the love in return. With no family or connections with direct ties to the industry, there seemed little chance that he would be admitted to the club. While he remained an avid fan, Longo moved into different professional circles, leaving racing on the back burner.
“I always wanted to be involved with racing, but I grew up in in inner city New Jersey in Elizabeth, and it was a pipe dream,” said Longo. “I went to state schools, first Rutgers then Rider. I graduated with a background, my undergrad is accounting, and I worked in auditing and did my MBA in finance.
“After I'd been in public accounting for about 12 or 13 years, I kept thinking about racing and I finally told myself, 'I'm going to do this.' At some point you need to bet on yourself. I had spoken to several tracks out here and offered to work for free, but I didn't get the opportunity. So, my thought was, 'I will show you why I'm worth the full-time head count.' That's when I found the RTIP (Race Track Industry Program).”
Accepted into the RTIP's two-year master's program at the University of Arizona, Longo packed up everything he knew and made the long cross-country drive to The Grand Canyon State in pursuit of what he felt would be the best opportunity to get his foot in racing's door.
“It was like another world because I'd never been to Arizona before,” said Longo. “It couldn't have been more different, and I drove across the country to get there.”
As soon as he quashed his culture shock, Longo discovered that the RTIP was the perfect location to build his skills in business to apply them to the racing industry model.
“I knew that the business side was where I wanted to be,” said Longo. “Being an auditor, you audit a lot of companies across many industries, and you realize how a business shouldn't be run. When I came into racing, I viewed everything differently. I found that the best path forward for me was still in business while having the goal of one day being the CEO or something equivalent of a racetrack.
“We learned so much. Doug Reed was there my first year as the racing secretary from Arlington and he brought so much experience. We also had Liz Bracken, who was great, and it was just one big family. People were so willing to give me an opportunity and I know that that is all I ever wanted. I just wanted a shot.
Along the way, Longo built up his network of colleagues and contacts and to his surprise, found that the doors to Thoroughbred racing weren't actually closed, they just required the necessary password.
Joe Longo at Rillito
“In those two years in the program I worked in the racing office at NYRA with Martin Panza, so I lived on the backstretch at Belmont Park, I worked in the office in the morning, and I also went out to Saratoga,” he said. “I became close with another RTIP graduate named Sean Perl, who was our assistant racing secretary at that time. When I was trying to line something up for after the program, he just made one call over to Monmouth Park and they offered me a job in the racing office sight unseen. It was during my time with them that a spot then opened with NYRA, so I negotiated with them and then moved back over to New York.”
Longo's status as a relative outsider who doggedly paved his way from the periphery of the industry to its heart remains one of his greatest strengths. On top of that, his experiences as an avid and active fan have allowed him to apply new methods of action to a business that can sometimes be unwilling to let go of its traditions.
“It's great to have people out of the RTIP who aren't born into the industry per se, because sometimes I think when you are, it's easy to fall into a group think mentality,” said Longo. “When you come from a different background, a new set of eyes always help. In racing there are a lot of people that know racing and there are a lot of people that know business, but they can't always marry the two. I'm also a horseplayer, so I understand the gripes and the outcries customers have because I am one of them. My work has been great in that regard because I get it.”
In his work at NYRA, Longo has found a fulfilling career that he continues to approach each day with the same childish enthusiasm he first found with his uncles on their trips to the racetracks of New Jersey. He continues to credit the RTIP as the key to his success in the industry, without which he might have never found his way in.
“The RTIP is instant credibility. It's the rubber stamp of the industry approval,” said Longo. “It didn't just open doors, it blew them apart. You go from knocking on the front door of the industry and within two years you're at the dinner table asking for seconds.
“But when it really comes down to it, my favorite part of the work I do now is the people. My coworkers aren't just coworkers. They're my friends. I love racing, I love the organization, and I'm passionate about the work I do and the people I work with. I don't know what it is but horse people, racetrack people are a unique breed. To be able to come to the track and deal with fans who are like the types of people I grew up with and to work with other people who share my passion for this sport—it is phenomenal.”
