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‘Kind Heart In An Unkind Time’: Attorney Tim’s Victory Honors Late Owner

Longtime owner Tim Sweeney didn't make regular appearances to Churchill Downs but when he did they were memorable. Sweeney passed away in early December at age 72 but his legacy around the racetrack and trainer Greg Foley's Barn 11 remains strong.

Sweeney's namesake, Attorney Tim, was able to record an emotional victory Thursday night at Churchill Downs for the Lloyd Madison Farms syndicate along with Foley. The 5-year-old gelding drove past Cibolian in the late stages of the featured $97,989 first-level allowance at 1 1/8 miles on turf to pay $9 to win.

Sweeney would typically come to Churchill Downs once or twice a year and don an infamous Foley Racing hat, which he embroidered “Assistant Trainer” on the side as a running joke with the barn.

“We can't speak enough about how good a man Tim was,” Foley said. “I remember the first horse we bought for that ownership group named Double Mint. He was an Ohio-bred that really started their operation.”

Double Mint was purchased by Foley in 1996 and recorded seven victories through 50 starts. Since Double Mint, Lloyd Madison Farms campaigned several star horses including multiple graded stakes winner Champali, Eight Belles (G2) winner Sconsin and Kentucky Derby 146 entrant Major Fed. Sweeney was at Churchill Downs for Major Fed's 10th-place finish in the 2020 Kentucky Derby and was able to enjoy the famous walkover with his fellow owners and Foley.

Along with Lloyd Madison Farms' stars on the racetrack, they established a strong broodmare band over the last decade.

“This is an amazing sport filled with amazing people,” Sweeney said in a 2018 interview with Churchill Downs. “We've got a good group of horses and great potential horses as part of our broodmare band.”

Attorney Tim is a graduate of Lloyd Madison Farms' homebred program. He's out of the mare Bobby's Babe who produced several top horses including Clairenation, Major Fed and Zapperini.

Sweeney grew up in Madison, Wisc. where he was a three-sport athlete in baseball, basketball and football. He was a walk-on quarterback at the University of Notre Dame in the late 1960s. Following his football career, Sweeney graduated Notre Dame with an economics degree and later got his law degree at the University of South Dakota School of Law.

Sweeney practiced law for more than 45 years and was recently recognized by US News & Reports as one of the Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law.

Not only was Sweeney passionate about horse racing, he adored teaching and giving back to his community. When Foley's son Alex was studying law at the University of Louisville, Sweeney was at the ready to help mentor and answer any questions.

“Loss is never easy but when Tim died it was a gut punch,” Alex Foley said. “Tim was always there for me during my schooling and always had encouraging words for me when I needed them the most. He was a kind heart in an unkind time. I will miss his kind words of encouragement followed by a quick witted joke, usually at my expense.”

While Attorney Tim hasn't won a major stakes race, the Foley barn celebrated Thursday night's allowance win like he was at the top of the sport.

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Wesley Ward Celebrates ‘Humbling’ Milestone Of 2,000 Career Wins

Trainer Wesley Ward, 53, recorded his 2,000th-career win Thursday night at Churchill Downs when Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Gold for Kitten rallied for a rail-skimming victory in Race 6 under jockey Chris Landeros.

“I was actually moving a bunch of mares and foals from one place to another at my farm in Lexington when it happened,” Ward told the Daily Racing Form. “It's a great accomplishment, very humbling.”

Ward was born into a racing family, according to the Keeneland media guide. His father, Dennis, is a former jockey who is now a trainer and occasionally saddles horses for his son. His grandfather, Jim Dailey, was a steeplechase rider and later a popular outrider in New York for 29 years.

Ward began riding at age 12, competing at fairs in Washington, Alberta, British Columbia and Montana. On the day he turned 16, the junior in high school began riding at Aqueduct with Lenny Goodman as his agent. Goodman, a friend of Jim Dailey's, previously handled the books of Steve Cauthen and Declan Murphy. Though he didn't win any races that day, Ward won five in the next three days.

Recipient of the 1984 Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice, Ward later rode in Italy, Singapore and Malaysia. He retired in 1989, tired of battling weight. He began training in 1991.

Ward became the first American trainer to saddle a winner at Royal Ascot in 2009 when Strike the Tiger won the Windsor Castle at odds of 33-1. The next day, he sent out Jealous Again to win the Queen Mary (G2).

In total, Ward has sent out 11 winners at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting: 2013 Norfolk (G2) with No Nay Never; 2014 Windsor Castle with Hootenanny; 2015 Diamond Jubilee (G1) with Undrafted and Queen Mary (G2) with Acapulco; 2016 Queen Mary (G2) with Lady Aurelia; 2017 King's Stand (G1) with Lady Aurelia and Sandringham (L) with Con Te Partiro; 2018 Norfolk (G2) with Shang Shang Shang; and 2020 Queen Mary with Campanelle.

His training resume also includes four Breeders' Cup victories: 2014 Juveneile Turf with Hootenanny; 2014 Filly & Mare Turf with Judy the Beauty; 2019 Juvenile Turf Sprint with Four Wheel Drive; and 2020 Juvenile Turf Sprint with Golden Pal.

In 2021, Ward saddled his first Kentucky Derby starter with Like the King, who finished 12th.

Ward's 2,000 North American wins include 50 graded stakes victories and purse earnings of more than $71.8 million.

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Churchill Downs Inc. Names Katherine Armstrong VP Of Culture

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced on Thursday that Katherine Armstrong has been hired as the company's vice president of culture (diversity, equity and inclusion) . The new role will report directly to Bill Carstanjen, chief executive officer of CDI.

As the vice president of culture, Armstrong will be part of the senior leadership team of CDI and will lead the company's efforts to expand its strategic vision as part of the core mission and values to systemically advance a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Armstrong will develop and drive diversity initiatives and create opportunities to share best practices across the business segments.

“Katherine brings a deep understanding of advancing company culture and diversity, equity and inclusion to this role,” said Carstanjen. “She is an experienced, proactive and strategic advocate, partner and leader, who has developed constructive relationships and supported strong cultural initiatives in her previous roles.”

Prior to this role, Armstrong was the founder and president of Success Track LLC, a strategic advisory and training group with an emphasis on culture transformation, DE&I strategy, HR analytics and leadership coaching. She also served in several significant roles with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corporation, PNC Financial and Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, Miss.

“I am honored and excited to lead the advancement of the culture at CDI,” said Armstrong. “This is a pivotal time in the company's growth and I am humbled to be part of the senior leadership team that will work together to shape the diversity, equity and inclusion of this great organization in the future.”

Armstrong holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Jackson State University.

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Elevating Horse Racing: How Indiana Grand’s Eric Halstrom Is Changing The Viewing Experience

Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino, is on a quest. He wants to create the kind of innovation that will make Indiana Grand not just the gold standard in horse tracks, but a point of reference in the larger entertainment world.

I had the pleasure of working with Eric when he led innovation at Harrah's Louisiana Downs, using new ideas to help drive a staggering 70% increase in its wagering handle.

In a time when our industry is at crossroads, Eric and his team are charging ahead with innovations like a new drone program, a new audio and visual system for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission stewards, and a robust social media presence.

Driving innovation in horse racing

Anyone working in horse racing knows our industry isn't quick to change. For years, production and distribution have been stuck in a standard definition and closed-distribution rabbit hole. This has hindered the industry from finding new destinations and audiences, as well as new opportunities to enter the wider sports betting market.

Remote production and high definition content distribution changes what's possible for the industry, and Eric and his team have jumped on the opportunity to delight fans and find a wider audience.

Being a horse racing enthusiast and sports bettor himself, Eric understood what customers want: a compelling viewing experience. That's true whether they're watching TV or at the track. And when it comes to wagering, the right camera angle can speak a thousand words. That's why Eric is so excited about Indiana Grand's deployment of a camera drone which will capture shots and angles that weren't possible before.

The Matrice 200 Drone features the latest capabilities in aerial production, including zoom options with adjustable speed. The device is a little less than three feet in width and stands 16 inches high. The drone project hasn't necessarily been easy to execute. Although drones have been deployed in a limited capacity at the Breeders' Cup, this is the first time one will be fully integrated into horse racing TV production.

Luckily, Eric's 15- strong team shares his ambition for innovating and Eric knew the camera drone idea had legs.

“You know your idea is good when it sparks excitement across the team,” he said. “Everyone immediately felt that deploying a camera drone would shake up the horse racing viewing experience.”

In addition to upfront investment in drone technology, Eric's team had to recruit three drone operators willing to go through 80 hours of training with the Federal Aviation Administration to be licensed a Remote Pilot Certificate.

Orlando Mojica in the Indiana Grand winner's circle with track executive Eric Halstrom

Geared to win

2020 has been a challenging year, with the industry relying on creative and passionate people like Eric to keep going while looking for new opportunities. Is innovation as easy as it sounds? Definitely not. Eric and his team are ready to up their game.

“We want to explore what shots are particularly interesting to our clients and deliver them consistently,” he said. “We appreciate that innovation is a trial and error process.

“As we continue to optimize the equipment, we'll discover opportunities with the drone that we aren't even aware of at this time.”

Rich Rosa is the Vice President of Business Development for Wagering and Simulcasting at LTN Global Communications. As LTN's horse racing industry lead, Rich partners with tracks across the country to help them create high-quality productions and find new distribution outlets to raise their profile — and ultimately their wagering handle. LTN offers centralized production and IP-based transport services to help tracks produce and/or distribute high-quality HD and 4K content.

About LTN Global

LTN® Global is a worldwide leader in video technology solutions for producers and distributors of broadcast-quality content. Built on the world's fastest and most reliable IP multicast network, LTN's universal media ecosystem unites modular services and integrates with other leading technologies to bring full-video-chain workflows, driving scale from creation and acquisition to monetization and delivery.

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