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Remington Executive Matt Vance Earns Industry Service Award

The Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma has paid tribute to Remington Park executive vice president Matt Vance for his perseverance in keeping horse racing alive and strong here throughout this two-year pandemic.

“The TRAO takes great pride in giving out the Industry Service Award,” said Danielle Barber, executive director of the TRAO. “In the nine years we have been hosting the Champion Awards banquet, the TRAO has only given out this award three times.”

Vance introduced precautions at Remington Park that helped curtail outbreaks at the Oklahoma City track. He introduced protocols, on behalf of track owner Global Gaming Solutions, that included daily temperature-taking for all employees, mask mandates and social distancing. Remington Park continued racing throughout the past two years with the only missed dates due to severe weather, not health issues.

“Everyone knows what a tough 2020 we all went through with COVID-19, and the challenges racing faced,” said Barber. “Yet, the exceptional guidance Matt Vance demonstrated during the most difficult hardship was undeniable. Remington Park and Thoroughbred horsemen couldn't have asked for better leadership during this time.”

Vance is the executive vice president of both Remington Park and Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. He oversees all live racing, pari-mutuel, simulcasting, operations and track maintenance for both venues.

“Matt's leadership and commitment to horse racing helped us navigate a very trying time during the pandemic at both tracks,” said Skip Seeley, Global Gaming's chief executive officer.

Remington Park's Thoroughbred Season continues Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-2, with the first race nightly at 7:07pm-Central.

Tracked by more than 167,000 fans on Facebook and 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $272 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park is home for the $1,000,000 Oklahoma Classics Night, an evening of stakes racing to celebrate Oklahoma-breds, on Friday, Oct. 15. Simulcast horse racing featured daily, the casino is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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Brian Hernandez Jr. 12th Jockey To Ride 700 Churchill Downs Winners

Brian Hernandez Jr. became only the 12th jockey in Churchill Downs history to ride 700 winners at the Louisville, Ky., home of the Kentucky Derby when the 35-year-old won Thursday's third race aboard Dream On It for trainer Dallas Stewart.

Hernandez Jr., who began riding professionally in 2003, won his first race at Churchill Downs aboard Machine to Tower on May 27, 2004. Overall, the native of Lafayette, La., has won 2,233 races and his mounts have amassed more than $95.7 million from 16,164 starts during an 18-year riding career.

He won the Eclipse Award in 2004 as the nation's champion apprentice jockey. In 2012, Hernandez Jr. won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita aboard Fort Larned for his biggest career win.

The top 12 jockeys in races won at Churchill Downs: 1. Pat Day (2,482), 2. Calvin Borel (1,232), 3. Robby Albarado (1,192), 4. Corey Lanerie (1,151), 5. Julien Leparoux (982), 6. Don Brumfield (925), 7. Larry Melancon (914), 8. Jim McKnight (883), 9. Charlie Woods Jr. (757), 10. Shane Sellers (738), 11. Shaun Bridgmohan (728) and 12. Brian Hernandez Jr. (700).

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Jordan Fishman Scheduled For Change Of Plea Hearing On Oct. 6

Jordan Fishman, a defendant in the federal horse doping case who was indicted on charges related to drug adulteration and misbranding last March, will enter a change of plea before Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, on Oct. 6, according to the Thoroughbred Daily News.

“From at least in or about 2002 through at least in or about March 2020, Seth Fishman, Lisa Giannelli, Jordan Fishman, and Rick Dane, Jr., the defendants, and others known and unknown, engaged in a corrupt scheme to create, manufacture, and distribute adulterated and misbranded PEDs to racehorse trainers and others in a systematic effort to improve race performance of racehorses, and obtain prize money as a result,” reads the indictment. “The defendants, created, marketed, and distributed a variety of PEDs, which were manufactured in an unregistered facility, mislabeled, and/or administered with no valid prescription.”

Several other defendants in the case have entered changes of plea from “not guilty” to “guilty” in recent months, including Jorge Navarro, Kristian Rhein, and Michael Kegley, Jr.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Centurian John Shear To Be Honored On Opening Day At Santa Anita Park

John Shear, Santa Anita's 100-year-old Paddock Captain, who has retired from The Great Race Place following more than 60 years of great memories and dedicated service, will be honored at the track on opening day Friday.

Shear, who gained national attention nine years ago when he heroically threw himself between an on-rushing loose horse and a five-year-old girl who was standing beside her father just outside the track's Seabiscuit Walking Ring, will be feted with a special Paddock dedication.

A commemorative plaque honoring Shear's decades-long commitment to customer service and safety will be unveiled in Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area at 12:05 p.m. and Shear will be lauded in a Winner's Circle ceremony as well.

“For 60 years, I worked all the Southern California racetracks, met many incredible people and saw the best horses,” the diminutive and immensely popular Shear said upon announcing his retirement recently. “It has been a career I look back (upon) with great pride and wonderful memories. I'm in great health and will visit Santa Anita as a fan.”

Sidelined due to COVID-related restrictions at the track earlier in the year, Shear was reluctant to call it a career, but decided ultimately to contact his union local and at last enjoy the benefits of retirement.

“John really wanted to go back to work this year, but with COVID basically shutting things down, it just wasn't possible,” said his wife Diane by phone from their home in nearby Sierra Madre. “He misses the horses and the people so much.

“The fans, the jockeys, the trainers, everybody, it's just been his life forever. We're thrilled to learn that Santa Anita is going to honor him in this way and we can't wait to come out on Oct. 1. It should be a great day.”

Orphaned as a young boy in his native England, Shear, at four feet, 11 inches, originally aspired to be a jockey and following service in World War II, he emigrated to Vancouver, B.C., from where he came to Santa Anita for the first time as an exercise boy in 1954.

“I was exercising horses for a guy in Vancouver and he asked me if I'd like to go with him to Santa Anita that fall,” said Shear when interviewed prior to his 100th birthday this past January. “I said, 'Sure,' and as soon as I stepped off that van in the Stable Area here, is said 'Lord, this is where I want to be.' The place was so incredibly beautiful and I've never gotten tired of it.”

A big believer in daily exercise, Shear, who remains a svelte 104 pounds, had this simple advice for a long life prior to his 99th birthday:

“Find something you love, stay positive and exercise!”

Sound advice for from one of Santa Anita's most deserving and treasured icons.

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