People | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘A Man Of Honor’: Charles Town HBPA Pillar Randy Funkhouser Dies At 70

Raymond Joseph “Randy” Funkhouser II, 70, died peacefully on Feb. 4, 2022. Randy is survived by his beloved wife of 46 years, Clissy, sons John and Joe Funkhouser, daughter Kate Brown, son-in-law Mike Brown, grandson Clyde Brown, sister Ann Strite-Kurz and a vast network of adoring family and friends and his loyal dog Finnegan. He is preceded in death by his mother Ruth Funkhouser, father and step-mother Justin and Carolyn Funkhouser, sisters Carol Funkhouser and Pam Day and long-time mentor, Frank Gall. His brother Robert Funkhouser passed away on Feb. 7.

Randy was born and raised in Charles Town, West Virginia. He attended Powhatan School in Boyce, Virginia and The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in creative writing before returning to Jefferson County to partner with his mother Ruth and mentor Frank Gall in running O'Sullivan Farms. He was actively involved in the West Virginia Thoroughbred industry and farmland preservation, working tirelessly for decades with legislators and community leaders to protect and enhance the Thoroughbred industry.

Randy served as a member of the Charles Town Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association (HBPA) for 25 years, including stints as president for 16 of those years. He served on the boards of the National HBPA, West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders Association, West Virginia Breeders Classics, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley and was a founding member and organizer of the Charles Town Racetrack Chaplaincy.

Randy followed in the footsteps of his grandfather RJ Funkhouser in his passion for Jefferson County's rich culture, history and agriculture. Sons John and Joe carry on their father's legacy in the operation of the family farm and advocacy for horsemen in West Virginia.

An avid photographer in earlier years, Randy went on to pursue his love of creative writing and recently published a book of poetry, Shenandoah Valley Sketches.

Randy had a voracious appetite for life, learning and travel. He had an unbridled hope that each year's foal crop would be the best yet. He was a visionary, a scholar and above all a man of honor. He had a big heart and laughed and wept equally with abandon. His beaming smile always lit up the room.

Randy possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of family lore, fine wine, thoroughbred pedigrees and every book he ever read. He was kind-hearted, generous and endlessly appreciative of God's creation. He loved the Lord, his family, his farm, his friends and a good story. And boy, could he tell a tale.

He will be dearly missed.

A funeral service will be held on Sunday, February 20, at 2:00 pm at Covenant Church, 7485 Shepherdstown Pike, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The service will be live streamed, and the link can be found on the website randyfunkhouser.com

The family invites you to share your memories of Randy on the website, randyfunkhouser.com. Select “Memorial” from the menu and use the links to share memories via email or to upload pictures.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Charles Town Racetrack Chaplaincy, PO Box 1377, Charles Town, WV 25414. Or Friends of Happy Retreat, PO Box 1427 Charles Town, WV 25414 (https://www.happyretreat.org/donate/). Or The Bridge Community Church 114 S. Fairfax Blvd., Ranson WV 25438 (https://thebridgewv.church/give).

Source of original post

Ward’s Royal Ascot Trophies Stolen In Home Burglary During Training Hours

Trainer Wesley Ward was the victim of a home burglary during training hours on the morning of Feb. 8, in which a thief got away with 12 trophies, including several he won at Royal Ascot.

Ward said a home security camera caught a few images of a stranger in his Versailles, Ky., home around 10 a.m. Tuesday, but did not show the person's face.

It appeared the thief had some idea of what they were looking for. According to Ward, the Royal Ascot trophies were mostly in the form of watches inside silver and gold inscribed boxes, which he stored in their original jewelry boxes inside a bag in a closet.

“They were in a bag in the closet so they wouldn't get stolen,” he said. “They were not on display.”

After speaking with police on Wednesday morning, Ward said he is hopeful there's a chance the trophies — one of which was a Breeders' Cup trophy — could be recovered.

“It's just strange. Nobody comes in that house,” he said. “They were really of no value other than to me and to replace. Like, who's going to buy them?”

The thief, who bypassed a laptop and a desktop computer, also made off with one of Ward's Nest cameras. The security company has agreed to work with local police to get them any imagery that camera may have captured before it was pulled out of the wall.

Speaking with LEX 18 on Tuesday, Ward estimated the trophies would have a replacement value of some $100,000, but it's their sentimental value he feels more heavily. One of the trophies was presented to him by Queen Elizabeth II — a rare honor for any trainer, and one experienced by few American horsemen.

Still, Ward says he's taking the incident in stride.

“It's a shame, but what are you going to do?” he said. “Move on and win some more.

“You can't dwell on it, that's for sure. I gave myself one night, that was it.”

Ward is the most decorated American trainer at the Royal Ascot meet, having become the first to win there during the 2009 meet with Strike The Tiger in the Windsor Castle and Jealous Again in the Group 2 Queen Mary. His other Royal Ascot wins include the 2013 G2 Norfolk with No Nay Never, the 2014 Windsor Castle with Hootenanny, the 2015 G1 Diamond Jubilee with Undrafted, the 2015 G2 Queen Mary with Acapulco, the 2016 G2 Queen Mary with Lady Aurelia, the 2017 G1 King's Stand with Lady Aurelia, the 2017 Sandringham with Con Te Partiro, the 2018 G2 Norfolk with Shang Shang Shang, the 2020 Queen Mary with Campanelle, and the 2021 G1 Commonwealth Cup with Campanelle.

Source of original post

Luis Saez Voted Jockey Of The Week With Three Stakes Wins At Gulfstream

Leading Gulfstream Park rider, Luis Saez won three of the five graded stakes for 3-year-olds Saturday on Holy Bull Day to earn Jockey of the Week for Jan. 31 through Feb. 6. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1,050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

The seven-furlong, Grade 3 Swale was the first graded stakes of the day with Saez in the irons for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher on My Prankster. Off as the even-money favorite in the field of six and breaking from the rail, My Prankster raced near the back of the field. On the backside, Saez angled My Prankster to the outside and challenged the leaders at the top stretch. My Prankster gained command from Dean Delivers down the lane and posted a one-half length win in 1:23.13.

“He got a good break today,” said Saez. “We knew they had a lot of speed in the race so the plan was to get him in the clear and go from there…he always tries, he tried pretty hard today and he got the job done so it was a good race for him.”

Riding for trainer Brad Cox, Saez was aboard Louisiana invader Girl With a Dream in the filly counterpart to the Swale, the G3 Forward Gal. Breaking from post position six in the field of seven, Saez and Girl With a Dream lead throughout the seven furlongs while holding off the favorite Radio Days to post a one-length victory in 1:23.42.

“She broke from there pretty sharp,” said Saez. “She went and she was pretty comfortable all the way. We came to the top of the stretch and I felt like I had a lot of horse. She kept battling, and she beat them. I felt like every step, when the other filly (Radio Days) came close, she responded more.”

Trainer Roderick Rodriguez gave a leg up to Saez on Opelina in the G3 Sweetest Chant at one mile and one-sixteenth on the turf. Off as the co-second choice in the field of nine, Saez and Opelina settled in fourth. Leaving the backstretch, Saez gave Opelina her cue swinging three wide to quickly pass the leaders and holding on to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:41.56.

“When she took the lead in the stretch, she kind of waited for the other ones, but when she got on the left (lead) she gave me another gear,” said Saez.

Saez's weekly statistics were 43-7-9-7 with total purse earnings of $396,620.

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Jose L. Ortiz with two graded stakes wins at Aqueduct, Flavien Prat with a stakes win at Santa Anita, Jaime Rodriguez who tied for number of wins for the week with nine and Tim Thornton who also posted nine wins for the week.

Source of original post

Mary-Courtney Gaddini Named TOBA’s Membership Manager

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced Tuesday that Mary-Courtney Gaddini has joined the association as its Membership Manager.

Mary-Courtney was most recently the Marketing Coordinator at the United States Pony Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, Mary-Courtney has been an equestrian since she was six years old. She is a graduate of Asbury University and previously worked in the foaling division at several Thoroughbred farms in Central Kentucky

Mary-Courtney will manage all aspects of TOBA's membership program and Owners Concierge and will assist with the association's seminars, clinics and special events.

“I am thrilled to enter the Thoroughbred racing industry with TOBA and look forward to meeting and interacting with all of our current and prospective members,” said Mary-Courtney.

“Mary-Courtney's experience and commitment to client services will add tremendous value to the entire TOBA membership and we're excited to welcome her to our team,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA.

TOBA, based in Lexington, Ky., was formed in 1961 and is a national trade organization of leading Thoroughbred owners and breeders. TOBA's mission is to improve the economics, integrity and pleasure of the sport on behalf of Thoroughbred owners and breeders. Projects managed by TOBA include the American Graded Stakes Committee, Claiming Crown, Ownership Seminars, Breeding, Conformation & Pedigree Clinics, US-Bred, TOBA Owners Concierge, OwnerView and the Sales Integrity Program. TOBA provides international representation for U.S. owners and breeders on the International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee, International Cataloguing Standards Committee and International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation. Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) is the charitable arm of TOBA. TOBA Media Properties, a subsidiary of TOBA, is the co-owner the BloodHorse LLC. TOBA is represented on the board of directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium as founding members.

Source of original post