People | Horse Racing Free Tips

Craig Braddick Named Race Caller At Turf Paradise

Turf Paradise announced Wednesday that veteran and international race caller Craig Braddick has been hired for the 2021 Winter meeting, starting on Jan. 4, 2021. Braddick, who has called Arizona his adopted home for the past five years, is excited to call races at his “hometown” track and calling races at Turf Paradise fulfills a career goal of race calling in his own community.

“It's an exciting challenge to call five days per week, but I've always enjoyed that,” Braddick said. “I want to do all I can to positively promote Turf Paradise and grow a fan base for horse racing in my adopted home state of Arizona! We have some great horsemen and I expect the racing to be extremely competitive! I also want to be able to interact with horseplayers online, during racing, and get their opinions.”

Braddick, a native of Cambridge, England, grew up watching horses gallop on the world-famous Newmarket training grounds where he watched some of the greatest Thoroughbreds of the 1980's and 1990's. He also had the good fortune to learn race calling from some of England's best race callers, including Jim McGrath, Simon Holt and the late, Robin Gray. Finding his passion early allowed him to begin learning his chosen profession at a young age, eventually leading him to his first race call in 1991 at Cottenham Point to Point racecourse at the age of only 15.

Since then, Braddick has called all types of horse racing, including Thoroughbred, Quarter-Horse, Arabian, Standardbred, and Jumps racing both in the U.S. and overseas. Most recently, Craig has been the race caller at historic Rillito Park, in Tucson, Arizona since 2018 as well as calling several races at National Steeplechase Association sanctioned events, including races at historic Fair Hill, MD and Camden, SC.

Braddick's extensive social media and web design experience have garnered him note for his tireless and effective promotion of Arizona Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing, particularly over the past two years. Recognizing Braddick's skills in these areas, Turf Paradise has also hired him to maintain the track's social media presence for the 2021 Winter meeting. Braddick will maintain the track's Facebook and Twitter (@turf_paradise).

The post Craig Braddick Named Race Caller At Turf Paradise appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘He Loves The Horses’: 76-Year-Old Gerald Bennett Named Tampa’s Trainer Of The Month

Gerald Bennett skipped the winner's-circle photograph after Wednesday's second race at Tampa Bay Downs. It wasn't that winning races has become old hat; while his 4-year-old homebred filly Princess Livia received the plaudits, Bennett attended to his other entrant in the race, 5-year-old mare Rattlesnakerose, who finished last of six.

“(Jockey) Danny (Centeno) said the ground broke out from under her on the back end – probably trying to get away so quick,” Bennett said after hosing down Rattlesnakerose and assuring himself she was no worse for the experience.

Meanwhile, Princess Livia was led away, having been claimed from the race for $10,000 by owner-trainer Victor Carrasco, Jr. The $10,000 price tag was the lowest Princess Livia has ever run for. Both runners were owned going into the race by Bennett's Winning Stables enterprise, Rattlesnakerose in partnership.

The horses may be Bennett's babies, but sentiment isn't going to take him where he wants to go.

“A lot of owners get afraid to lose their horses (through the claims box), but the name of the game is to win races,” said Bennett, who won today's first race with still another Winning Stables horse, 2-year-old Florida-bred gelding Foreman.

Bennett knows the name of the game. With 15 victories this meeting, he sits atop the trainer standings and is the inaugural 2020-2021 Salt Rock Tavern Trainer of the Month Award winner.

Bennett has a rapport with horses few trainers achieve. As he walks through his barn at Tampa Bay Downs in the pre-dawn hours, some nicker in recognition, while others get close enough for a nudge they hope will be rewarded with a peppermint candy. All are alert, tuned in and eager to heed the man's teachings.

“He loves the horses. He loves the business,” said his wife, trainer Mary Bennett. “He got in the trailer (on a recent off-day) to take horses to Ocala to be laid up, and when he's there he'll watch horses train to see if he can get another good one. He loves everything about it. Racing is his adrenaline rush,” she said.

His numerous followers often get a rush at the betting windows. Turning beaten horses around is a Bennett trademark, and those caught unawares are often kicking themselves in the parking lot – as on Nov. 28, when a couple of Bennett-trained long shots combined for a $2 late daily double payoff of $181.40.

Bennett, a 76-year-old product of Springhill, Nova Scotia, is off to a typically strong start in his bid for a sixth consecutive Oldsmar training title and seventh title overall. Only Jamie Ness has won more (nine in a row, from 2006-2007 through 2014-2015). With 15 victories, Bennett has earned the inaugural Salt Rock Tavern Trainer of the Month Award of the 2020-2021 meeting.

“We kind of plan for this meeting all year, keep our horses fresh and hopefully everything goes well,” said Bennett, who has a string of 45 runners here. “When you keep your horses happy, they'll run for you. Happy horses enjoy the competition.”

There are going to be setbacks – horses get sick, incur injuries or are claimed by another trainer unexpectedly. Photo-finish losses and disqualifications are a downer, but Bennett always bounces back stronger.

“When that other stuff happens, you have to keep going, keep working hard,” Bennett said. “You try to keep things on an even keel and do the job the right way.”

Bennett races many of his horses as an owner under his Winning Stables, Inc., banner, and last season he captured his first Tampa Bay Downs owners title with 24 victories.

Bennett may call Tampa home, but he has enjoyed many big days and excellent horses elsewhere. His top horses includes Grade 1 winner and millionaire Beau Genius, Secret Romeo, Banker's Jet, Fast Flying Rumor and R Angel Katelyn.

Bennett has 3,935 career winners, 14th on the all-time North American list. He trails only the late Frank H. Merrill, Jr. (3,974 victories) among Canadian-born trainers. Then, hopefully, the 4,000-victory milestone and another reminder that somewhere on the Tampa Bay Downs backstretch exists Bennett's private Fountain of Youth.

The post ‘He Loves The Horses’: 76-Year-Old Gerald Bennett Named Tampa’s Trainer Of The Month appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

James Bond: ‘We Got Through It As A Family And As A Team’

Just one live race day – the New Year's Eve card on Thursday at Aqueduct Racetrack – remains in 2020 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. The NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of New York-based racing personalities to get their reflections on the memorable year.

H. James Bond is a multiple Grade 1-winning trainer and a fixture on the NYRA circuit. Born in Rochester, New York, Bond began galloping horses at age 11 before taking out his trainer's license at 16. The veteran conditioner heads the family-run Bond Racing Stable with his wife, Tina, and their sons Kevin and Ryan. In addition to the racing stable, Jim and Tina own a 100-acre farm named Song Hill Thoroughbreds in Stillwater, New York.

Bond's numerous G1 winners include Behrens, Val's Prince, Tizway, L'Carriere and 1996 Travers winner Will's Way. Bond has been named New York Trainer of the Year five times and is on the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) board of directors.

What was your favorite winning moment of 2020?

Bond: Winning the West Point with Rinaldi was huge. He was a household horse for us and the partners. I was just proud of all the horses. They all showed up and ran well. I was happy for our clients, they didn't bat an eye during COVID. We got through it as a family and as a team and I didn't lay anyone off. I was proud that we kept the whole team together. We have a pretty big payroll between the farm and the track.

Our Saratoga meet in general was just awesome. The horses ran great. It was sad a lot of owners couldn't attend being out of state. More than anything, it was hard not seeing the fans who love to come to Saratoga. But we were very fortunate as a stable.

Was there a horse that you thought exceeded expectations this year?

Bond: Prioritize is a horse that I've always liked. We picked him out at the sale ourselves and didn't pay a lot. He was always a solid, training horse who always did what you wanted. I had him on the turf at first and he was getting close-but-no-cigar in those stake races. He always worked well on the dirt in the morning so finally we took a shot on the dirt and the rest is history. After the Woodward [where Prioritize finished third], we decided to give him one shot in the Gold Cup [fourth] and give him a rest. I'm excited for him for next year; he's in top physical condition.

What was the best ride on a horse of yours this year?

Bond: Every horse Luis Saez rode for us at Saratoga was memorable for me. He had it tough. He had a positive COVID test and he had to serve days [at first]. His Saratoga meet was probably one of the best Saratoga meets for a rider when you go back and look at it. He wasn't riding Chad [Brown's] 2-1 shots, he was riding [Jimmy] Bond's 10-1 shots.

He was playing catch up in a sense and [agent] Kiaran [McLaughlin] did a great job stepping in and taking his book after Richard DePass retired. I think it's a great story. He gives you a confident smile when he gets on a horse saying, 'We're good boss, we're good'. He's such a nice person and that smile of his is contagious. I think New York racing is lucky to have a rider of his talent.

How much do you enjoy racing on the New York circuit?

Bond: I'm on the NYTB board and my wife is on the NYTHA board, so we believe in New York. I have a $4 million barn and a private racing barn at Saratoga, so I'm all in. I came from humble beginnings and was lucky to have a lot of nice owners who gave me a chance. I want everyone in New York to have that same dream. You have to have a couple people who believe in you along the way. When you come into Belmont Park or Saratoga, you better bring a racehorse. A few weekends back, the New York-breds won a lot of the big races across the country and New York-breds are really showing what they can do on a major scale. We had the [Grade 1] Starlet winner [Varda] here at the farm for six months and we still have her mother, She'll Be Right, here at the farm too. She's in foal to Maclean's Music.

New York-breds are serious horses, like Tiz the Law and so many others. It's remarkable how great we really are. The purse structure is what brings horses. I was so happy NYRA realized that when you increase purses, people come. It's hard to do, because you're sort of speculating on whether or not they do come. We have a lot of history here with some of the greatest races of all time and they're exciting to win. Whether it's the Bold Ruler or the Ruffian, when you walk into Belmont Park and look at all of those pictures on the walls you get goosebumps. I want the next generation to get that chance.

I'm very optimistic. We're getting phone calls from all over North America of people who want to invest 10 or 20 thousand dollars because they think it's fun. That's our job, to make it fun. I think sometimes the racing industry forgets that it's an entertainment business and we have to try hard and take pride in what we do.

As both an owner and a trainer, what was the most challenging part of this year given the COVID-19 pandemic. How did you overcome it?

Bond: We were pretty nervous during COVID in terms of how things would rebound. We were very lucky. Most of the owners stayed with us, supported us and made it through. I'm just proud that the horses and help really jumped in. It was really a team effort. The guys held the barn together. I didn't go back to New York City a lot, but I have a great team of people, including Kevin and Ryan who both do a great job. My wife comes from a financial background and she was very keen. We sat down and planned it out. We had 11 yearlings we were going to sell, but the Fasig-Tipton New York sale was cancelled, and we didn't want to just take them to Kentucky and have them possibly not race in New York, where we could get breeders awards.

We watched what NYRA was doing on FOX Sports and we decided to be bullish. It's what NYRA did in November; they got bullish. They raised the purses and the horses stayed as a result. The advertising for our ownership group on the television show helped immensely. We've already signed up for next year. We were lucky to have had the inventory. We had a lot of 2-year-olds ready to go. We breed a wholesome horse and we buy some, too.

Many of your better horses this year are ones that also are owned by you. Talk about Bond Racing Stables and what the ownership group is about.

Bond: It's a lot of fun. We have people from all over the country that were sitting home and tired of watching replays of golf and football during the pandemic. They tuned into America's Day at the Races. We keep 50 percent of everything and we sell each share for 10 percent. There are no maintenance fees. It's just like owning 10 percent of a sports team. They share in the rewards and the headaches. A lot of them are homebreds.

It's so satisfying. Of course there's a risk factor for ourselves, but 50 percent is not so bad and it gets a lot of new people in the game to see if they like it, but it's a team mentality that I really like. It teaches people about our game without getting hurt. We make sure that the horses get placed, my wife Tina is very strong on aftercare and retirement making sure they get to the next safe spot and we have so many great stories about some of our old horses. [Multiple stakes winner] Our Way found a home in Massachusetts and he was a very good racehorse. It's nice to see horses like him go to the next level.

What NYRA race would you most like to win?

Bond: I haven't won the Jockey Club Gold Cup yet. I love distance horses, so that race is something that I can hopefully put on my resume someday.

The 2020-21 winter meet at Aqueduct returns to action on Thursday, December 31 and continues through Sunday, March 28.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

For additional information, and the complete winter meet stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule.

The post James Bond: ‘We Got Through It As A Family And As A Team’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Ricardo Gonzalez Wins First Grade 1, Voted Jockey Of The Week

Ricardo “Ricky” Gonzalez's decision to move his tack from Northern California to Southern California was a decision that brought him his first career Grade 1 win and Jockey of the Week honors for the week of Dec. 21 through Dec. 27. 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.

Trainer Eoin Harty gave Gonzalez a leg up on Fair Maiden in the G1 La Brea for 3-year-old fillies on Santa Anita's opening day. Off at odds of 20-1 and seventh of 10 in the early portion of the seven-furlong race, she gained ground on the far turn, kicking clear to win by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:22.69.

“I've been watching Ricky since he came down here and I think he's the next superstar,” said Harty.

On his first career G1 win Gonzalez remarked, “I was just so happy and excited, just to ride these kinds of horses, it feels great. I am very thankful to Eoin and all the trainers for all the opportunities.”

In the final stakes of opening day, Gonzalez was aboard Nasty for trainer Richard Baltas in the one mile Lady of Shamrock Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Nasty took a commanding lead in the first half of the turf contest and held off a furious rally from East Coast invader Counterparty Risk for the win.

A native of Sinaloa, Mexico, Gonzalez came to the United States in 2013 first to Turf Paradise. He soon moved his tack to Golden Gate Fields where he rode regularly until this summer beginning with the Del Mar meet where he rode 16 winners.

Gonzalez's weekly stats were 10-2-1-3 with purse earnings of $257,160.

Gonzalez out-polled fellow riders Flavien Prat who won two stakes at Santa Anita, Mike Smith who also won two stakes races at Santa Anita, Jevian Toledo with three stakes wins at Laurel and Edgard Zayas who led all jockeys in wins with nine.

The post Ricardo Gonzalez Wins First Grade 1, Voted Jockey Of The Week appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post