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‘More Than A Client’: Imperial Hint Owner Raymond Mamone Passes At Age 88

Trainer Luis Carvajal, Jr. announced via Twitter on Tuesday that his longtime owner and friend Raymond Mamone had passed away at the age of 88. According to bloodhorse.com, Mamone died after complications of COVID-19 on May 3, in his hometown of Somerville, N.J.

Mamone and Carvajal teamed up to win multiple Grade 1 races with their “Little Rocket,” Imperial Hint. The small-of-stature horse had an enormous heart and incredible speed, setting a track record for six furlongs at Saratoga when he won the G1 Vanderbilt in 2019 in a final time of 1:07.92.

Imperial Hint would have been a fourth generation homebred for Mamone, but that he gave the colt's dam, Royal Hint, to the facility that houses his breeding stock, Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, when she failed to produce much in her first several years. He later saw Imperial Hint as a 2-year-old at the farm, and paid $17,500 for the eye-catching youngster.

Imperial Hint would go on to compete on the international stage and in two editions of the Breeders' Cup, retiring with a record of 14 wins from 25 starts and earnings of $2.2 million. Mamone sold him privately to stand at stud in Louisiana.

“My heart is breaking,” Carvajal told bloodhorse.com. “To me, he was much more than a client. He was a friend, an uncle, and a dad. Mr. Mamone was a very special man. He gave me opportunities I'd never had before, and he gave me the horse of a lifetime.”

Buff Bradley To Step Away From Training At End Of Churchill Downs’ Meet

The conditioner of racing luminaries Brass Hat and Groupie Doll, Buff Bradley told the Daily Racing Form on Wednesday that he will retire from training Thoroughbreds at the end of Churchill Downs' Spring Meet. The 57-year-old plans to remain in the industry as a small-scale breeder, while seeking a way to help horsemen on the front side of the racetrack.

“Things have changed in the business,” Bradley told DRF, “but beyond that, when my father died almost five years ago, that really changed things for me personally. I love the horses, and I love training, but too many things are different now in my own particular situation. We've settled my dad's estate, my three kids are older now, the financial aspect of the game can be very difficult, and it's almost impossible to get good help on the track anymore … it was just time to make this move.”

Brass Hat, a gelding bred and owned by his father, drew the admiration of racing fans with a track record-setting victory in the G1 Donn Handicap in 2006. Later that summer he fractured a sesamoid, but was able to return to the races. He competed through his 9-year-old season, winning the G3 Sycamore at Keeneland in 2009 in his penultimate start. Overall, Brass Hat won 10 of his 40 starts for earnings of over $2.1 million.

Groupie Doll is a filly Bradley and his father bred together. She won back-to-back editions of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in 2012 and 2013, earning Eclipse Awards for each of those seasons. Overall, Groupie Doll won 12 of her 23 starts to earn $2.6 million.

Divisidero was another Bradley star, winning a graded stakes race for three straight years on the Kentucky Derby undercard: the G2 American Turf in 2015, and the G1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (now Old Forester) in 2016 and 2017.

Bradley also went above and beyond to save the life of another homebred graded stakes winner, The Player. Winner of the G2 Fayette and G3 Mineshaft, The Player suffered severe injuries in a race in early 2018, and required months of hospitalization including several surgeries. He recovered from the ordeal and is retired to Bradley's farm in Frankfort, Ky.

Overall, Bradley has saddled the winners of 575 races for earnings of over $19 million.

Oaks-Derby Double Nets John Velazquez Jockey Of The Week Title

Winning three Grade 1s, including the world's most recognized race, lead to Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez unanimously being named Jockey of the Week for April 26 through May 2. The award, 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 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

On a spectacular weekend of racing, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez became just the eighth jockey in history to win both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby in the same year. But the Grade 1 wins didn't stop there as he also won the G1 Derby City Distaff.

Velazquez's Grade 1 haul started Friday when trainer Todd Pletcher reunited Velazquez with Malathaat in the Kentucky Oaks. Off as the favorite in the field of 13, Malathaat settled in fifth position. In upper stretch, Malathaat and Search Results drew clear of their rivals and battled to the wire, with Malathaat prevailing by a neck.

“She got away from there just a bit slow, said Pletcher, “but Johnny (Velazquez) moved her up and got her in a much better position. He had to lose some ground and go wide to do it, but it was the right thing to do.”

Final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.99.

Under picture perfect skies on Saturday, trainer Bob Baffert gave Velazquez a leg up on Champion Female Sprinter, Gamine in the G1 Derby City Distaff. Velazquez took Gamine to the front and held off a late bid from Sconsin to win by 1-1/2 lengths.

“She didn't get to the break I hoped for but she bounced back really quickly and ran really easy in the early going. She showed what a champion she was and I am really proud of my filly,” said Velazquez.

Final time for the seven furlongs on a fast track was 1:21.50.

For the second year in a row, Hall of Famers Bob Baffert and John Velazquez teamed up in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby with the same result: a win in the Run for the Roses. This year, Velazquez rode the unheralded Medina Spirit, Baffert's only entry in the race. Velazquez took Medina Spirit to the lead at the start, set all the fractions and dug deep to fend off challengers, Mandaloun, Hot Rod Charlie and Essential Quality to win by a half-length in 2:01.2.

“You couldn't ask more of a horse. When you ride a horse like this who is competitive you can't ask for anything else,” said Velazquez who won the race for the fourth time.

Weekly stats for Velazquez were 17-4-2-4 for a 23.4 percent win rate and total purse earnings of $3,141,211 to lead all jockeys.

Velazquez out-polled fellow jockeys Manny Franco and Paco Lopez who tied for number of wins, and Florent Geroux and Flavien Prat who each won three stakes races.

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Delaware Jockeys’ Health And Welfare Fund Providing Free Physicals, Concussion Baseline Test On May 24

In anticipation of the opening of the 2021 racing season at Delaware Park, The Delaware Jockeys' Health and Welfare Fund is holding a jockey health day on Monday, May 24, in the jockeys' room immediately after morning training closes. Physicals and baseline concussion tests will be provided free of charge. All jockeys are strongly encouraged to attend. The Commission requires a current-year physical for licensing, with consideration of mandating a baseline concussion test. Premier Physical Therapy and Sports Performance (Premier PT) is hosting the event.

Ed Stegemeier, Chairman of The Delaware Jockeys Health and Welfare Fund, stated: “The Delaware Jockeys Health and Benefit Board is delighted to work with Delaware Park and Premier Physical Therapy in providing services that will add another layer of protective health care for all Delaware jockeys.”

Delaware Park has a licensed athletic trainer during live racing with a treatment room located in the jockeys' room.

Sam Cutrone, the licensed athletic trainer for Premier PT who has been the onsite athletic trainer since the inception Premier PT program, added: “Premier Physical Therapy and Sports Performance is thrilled to be working towards a standard of care for all jockeys and enjoys providing them with the preventative and diagnostic tools that have been long overlooked in the horse racing industry. We hope to improve the quality of life for jockeys both during and beyond their horse racing careers.”

Premier PT, in partnership with Laurel Racecourse track physician Dr. Kelly Ryan of Medstar, has been utilizing HeadCheck, a web-based end-to-end solution to execute concussion protocols, mitigate risk and support recovery. HeadCheck gives participating racetracks the ability to instantly remove and return jockeys to riding by sharing possible injury alerts, baseline tests, physicals, medical clearances, jockey emergency contact information and other pertinent information. HeadCheck uses strict HIPAA compliance with multi-level access where private health information is only provided to medical personnel.

The 77-day Delaware Park meet opens on Wednesday, May 26th and concludes on Saturday, October 16th. Live racing will be conducted Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. Thursdays will be added June 24th through September 30th. First-race daily post time is set for 1:15pm.

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