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Mychel Sanchez Hoping To Make His Presence Felt At Monmouth Park This Summer

Though jockey Mychel Sanchez has been a proven commodity at Parx, where he has won the past two riding titles, the 25-year-old is trying to make his presence felt at Monmouth Park this summer as well.

“I was always at Parx, and I think I am built for more than just one track,” said Sanchez. “I think I am more of a jockey than just Parx, and I think I can do better by going to New York, here at Monmouth, and other places on the East Coast.”

During his career Sanchez has raced primarily at Parx, where he has posted 52 wins and is winning at a 14 percent clip in 2021. This summer he has had the opportunity to ride in stakes races at Monmouth Park, Pimlico, Delaware Park (where he is 11-for-34 overall this year) and Belmont Park.

The native of Venezuela is on pace to ride the most he ever has in his career, which started in 2013, with 439 mounts this year alone. The most mounts he has in a single season was 859 in 2019.

He is just beginning to get a foothold at the Monmouth meet too, with a 3-2-4 line from 29 mounts. Overall he has 67 wins entering the day.

“I think it is time for me to go out there, get to know more people and get bigger opportunities,” said Sanchez. “I want to be a jockey who travels around and competes in big races.”

Sanchez has one career graded stakes victory, which came in 2018 when he rode Dixie Serenade to a victory at Belmont Park in the Grade 3 Victory Rides Stakes. The winning ticket had a payout of $97.50. He has been clamoring for more opportunities to ride in bigger races ever since.

“I think I can do better in stake races. I think I am built for it,” he said. “I believe I can ride against anybody if I have the right horse.”

Sanchez' first stakes win of the Monmouth Park meet happened June 27, when he rode Groovy Surprise to victory the Smart N' Classy Handicap. The jockey has had mounts in two grade 3 stakes races at Monmouth Park so far this summer — the Salvator Mile and the Eatontown Stakes — but a second graded stakes career victory has eluded him so far.

“Most of the time it's all about the horse, but you still have to go out there and do the job, and do the right thing as a jockey,” said Sanchez. “I think I can do anything, and if I have the right horse, I will win.”

Besides winning graded stakes races, he has aspirations of being the top rider at Monmouth Park and reaching the 1,000-win mark. He currently has 843 career wins.

“I am hoping to accomplish a lot of things in my career, like (winning) graded stakes, and hopefully winning more riding titles at tracks other than Parx — like Monmouth,” said Sanchez. “Getting 1,000 wins would be great. I work hard and I try hard, and I could do anything that a trainer needs me to do. I just need the opportunity.”

With Scott Silver as his agent, and given an opportunity with top trainers, Sanchez feels his name can spread throughout the Eastern seaboard.

“Just give me the chance. Like I told my agent, just put my name out there and I will open the doors,” he said. “More people are starting to notice.”

Coming from a family where his father, uncle and brother were all riders, Sanchez hopes to carry on his family's name, and leave a legacy that aspiring riders will hope to replicate.

“I want my career to end with my name in the history books,” he said.

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Dr. Camille McArdle Appointed Chair Of Minnesota Racing Commission

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz recently appointed longtime commissioner Camille McArdle, DVM, as the new chair of the Minnesota Racing Commission (“MRC”). Dr. McArdle replaces James S. Lane, III, who announced his retirement from the MRC at the conclusion of his term.

“Having been involved with pari-mutuel racing in Minnesota since 1985 I feel a certain degree of protectiveness toward this industry. I and my fellow Commissioners will always strive to ensure that horse racing in this state continues to be a quality and ethical experience for all participants,” said McArdle, who brings a rich history of involvement in the racing industry in Minnesota, both as a practicing veterinarian and as a racing regulator.

After earning a doctorate in veterinary medicine from The Ohio State University in 1982, Dr. McArdle worked as a regulatory veterinarian in Florida before relocating to Minnesota, serving as the first Chief Commission Veterinarian for the MRC. Dr. McArdle was appointed to the MRC in 1993 and has served as a valuable member of the commission since then.

Dr. McArdle replaces James S. Lane, III, who served on the commission since 2009 and as chair for the past two years.

“I cannot thank Chair Lane enough for his service and leadership of the Minnesota Racing Commission over the past 12 years. He has guided the MRC and the horse racing industry in Minnesota through many challenges with integrity and honor, and he has left the commission in a strong position going forward,” said Executive Director, Steve May.

Governor Walz also announced the reappointment of Commissioners Barbara Colombo and Raymond Dehn to new six-year positions. Commissioner Colombo is a graduate of the William Mitchell School of Law, and she currently serves as a professor and director of the Healthcare Compliance Certification Program at the Mitchell Hamline University School of Law. Commissioner Dehn served Minnesota as a State Legislator for eight years and his community, serving as co-facilitator of the Northside Transportation Network among other honorable community efforts. Commissioner Dehn has also served as president of the American Institute of Architecture Students and has twice served on the National Board of the American Institute of Architects.

About the Minnesota Racing Commission
The Minnesota Racing Commission operates in the public interest to ensure the integrity of horse racing and card playing, to oversee the proper distribution of funds back into the industry, and to provide for the safety and welfare of the human and equine participants. The Commission works to promote the horse racing and breeding industry in Minnesota in order to provide economic stimulus, offer residents and visitors an exciting entertainment option, and support agriculture and rural agribusiness. Visit www.mrc.state.mn.us for more information.

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Harvey Pack, 94, NYRA TV Host And Irreverent Voice Of The $2 Bettor, Passes

Harvey Pack, who became an unlikely broadcasting pioneer by delivering a blend of insightful, irreverent and heartfelt commentary on horse racing as host of the country's first nightly racing replay show, died Tuesday in New York City. He was 94.

For more than three decades starting in the mid-1970s, Pack was one of the best-known personalities in New York racing, celebrated as the voice of the common fan, the $2 bettor. At NYRA, Pack created and hosted racing replay shows like “Thoroughbred Action” and “Inside Racing,” sprinkling the replays of races with his analysis, predictions and lively tales about the Runyonesque characters who frequented Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course.

As NYRA's Director of Promotions and Special Events, Pack created and hosted “The Paddock Club” at Belmont and Saratoga in which fans gathered to discuss racing and handicapping, often joined by special guests.

In the early 1970s, Pack was a 40-something Manhattan-based syndicated writer whose job allowed him to spend afternoons at the track. Off-track betting had just launched in New York, and many radio stations were reporting race results – none with much vigor, Pack noted.

That inspired an idea: Why not call a race with the excitement of a track announcer and squeeze in some stories, Pack reasoned, all of it condensed into a 30-second spot, the average length of a highlight reel. He even had the perfect name for his reports: “Pack at the Track.”

The idea, common today, was revolutionary for its time. He sold the idea to WNBC, and “Pack at the Track” proved so popular that NYRA hired him in 1974, where he spent the next quarter-century.

“Harvey Pack was an authentic voice and an innovator who turned a lifelong passion into a career and became one of our sport's greatest advocates and ambassadors, all in his unique, 'only in New York' way,” said Dave O'Rourke, NYRA President & CEO. “He was a visionary who meant a great deal to thoroughbred racing and we look forward to honoring his legacy in the near future.”

At a time when broadcasting was transitioning to cable, Pack hosted the nationally syndicated race-recap show on SportsChannel, which became the way that many owners and breeders around the country in those days were able to see their horses run. Starting in 1984 and for the next 10 years, Pack was also part of the NBC broadcast team for the Breeders' Cup World Championships, including those held in 1985 at Aqueduct; and in 1990, 1995 and 2001 at Belmont.

At the root of Pack's popularity – his NYRA business card described him as “Doctor of Equine Prophecy” – was an ability to convey his love of horse racing and handicapping to fans and doing so with humor and humility.

“Harvey knew horse racing and made it a lot of fun to watch,” said NYRA senior racing analyst Andy Serling, Pack's broadcast partner for a time and a friend for more than 40 years. “Whether he was on the air or just talking with fans, he connected with everyone and never took himself too seriously. A lot of what we do on the air today goes right back to Harvey. He was the forerunner and a trailblazer in how we cover horse racing today.”

Even after leaving NYRA, Pack remained a familiar presence at all three NYRA tracks. At Saratoga, Pack and Serling hosted Daily Racing Form seminars across the street from the track at Siro's restaurant, where he presided over a panel of rotating handicappers, offering his wit and wisdom to fans who showed up in droves.

Pack's 2007 book, May The Horse Be With You: Pack at the Track, written with Peter Thomas Fornatale, is a window into how the racing game hooked him as a kid and never let go.

Pack, born and bred on Manhattan's Upper West Side, grew up during racing's golden era when huge crowds packed the New York tracks on weekends and horses like Omaha, War Admiral and Stymie were front-page celebrities. As a boy, Pack would be given $10 by his father to take the first train from Penn Station to Belmont and hold a couple of seats. Arriving before post time, Pack perused the Daily Racing Form and became a handicapper.

Later, while serving in the U.S. Army and based at Fort Dix, New Jersey, a Colonel discovered his interest in horses and made Pack his personal handicapper on frequent trips to nearby Atlantic City Race Course.

Pack once said that he told “the same three jokes for 20 years.” But his stories about the colorful characters he came to know at New York tracks were seemingly endless. At the top of his list was a disheveled handicapper named Mr. Dirt, a Columbia graduate, who, as Pack put it in his book, “had an Ivy League mind, but not the wardrobe.”

Asked why his television work on NBC with the late Peter Axthelm was so popular, Pack had a one-sentence answer: “We were successful because nobody ever televised racing (before) with a sense of humor,” he said. Told that he may have been the most famous person in the history of New York racing, Pack corrected his admirer. “I'm 'horseplayer' famous,” he said.

Pack is survived by his wife Joy, two children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Andy Serling sat down with Pack in April of 2017 for the debut episode of NYRA's Across the Board podcast. That wide ranging interview can be found at https://soundcloud.com/acrosstheboardwithandyserling/episode-1-featuring-harvey-pack.

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Woodbine’s Jim Lawson To Be Inducted Into Burlington Sports Hall Of Fame

Woodbine Entertainment proudly congratulates Jim Lawson on his induction into the Burlington Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

Lawson is being inducted as an athlete and builder due to his immense contributions to hockey, football and horse racing, alongside Sean Foley (builder, golf), Carol Angela Orchard (builder, gymnastics), Dr. John Kendall (athlete/ builder, running), and Don Lovegrove (builder, media).

In addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer for Woodbine Entertainment, Lawson has been heavily involved in sports his entire life as both an athlete and executive.

As a hockey player who grew up in Burlington, Ontario and graduated Aldershot High School, Lawson played 'AAA' midget hockey and was drafted by the Ottawa 67's before receiving a scholarship offer to play at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Lawson was then drafted by the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens and played for the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League.

Following his playing career, Lawson began practicing law and quickly started his calling as a builder in Canadian sports. This eventually led to his appointment in 2013 as the first independent Chair of the Canadian Football League's Board of Governors, where he held the position for seven years and served as Interim Commissioner twice. In 2019, Lawson was awarded the CFL's prestigious Commissioner's Award which is presented to an individual who has demonstrated dedication and made a significant contribution to Canadian Football.

“Jim is a great example of someone who has become a better person and a great leader through the lessons he learned as a talented athlete,” said Bob Young, the long-time owner and caretaker of the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “In turn he has been able to make remarkable contributions through Canadian Football, the Horse racing industry, and a myriad of other projects that have made Burlington, Ontario, and Canada a better place. Thank you Jim.”

In 2012, Lawson was appointed as Chair of Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors, before being named CEO in 2015, a position he still holds today.

“If there is anybody who deserves this recognition, it's Jim. He's always been so gracious with his time, and an amazing contributor to both Canadian sport and the communities in which its played,” said John Fielding, who sat on Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors for 17 years. “The contributions he's made to the horse racing industry are unparalleled, he's just done an amazing job leading Woodbine and the sport of horse racing in Ontario.”

The Burlington Sports Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will be celebrated with a reception on Tuesday, October 26th at the Burlington Golf & Country Club. Tickets are $60 per person. For more information, please contact Wayne Heslop at wayne.heslop@cogeco.ca.

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