People | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hall Of Famer Delahoussaye Views Friday’s ‘Eddie D’ From Afar

A certified all-time great and longtime member of Racing's Hall of Fame, Eddie Delahoussaye, for whom Friday's main event at Santa Anita, the Grade 2, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes, is named, will not be on-hand to present the winner's trophy along with his wife Juanita.

“With all the Covid stuff going on, we just weren't able to make it out this year,” said the popular Cajun native from his home in Lafayette, La. “At my age (69), you never know what you're gonna get! Hopefully things will get back to normal and we can make the trip again next year.”

Retired due to injury in 2003, Delahoussaye, 69, who has worked part time as a blood stock agent and has dabbled in racehorse ownership himself, is in the process of taking on a new role—that of racing commissioner with the state of Louisiana. Although he won't be officially sworn in until the Louisiana state legislature reconvenes in June, he's serving in the role of apprentice commissioner in the interim.

“I've always felt that horsemen should have a say on these commissions,” said Delahoussaye. “I was asked a few years ago in California to come on the board (CHRB), but I didn't feel it was the right time. There's been a lot of people here saying that we need a change and they asked me if I could help to see if we could help racing and make it better. The biggest issue right now is the devastation in Lake Charles which was caused by the hurricane (Laura).

“The HBPA is trying to figure out if Delta Downs is going to run or if they should run. They were supposed to open Oct. 5, now they're saying they might open Nov. 27…So, we've got trainers maybe sitting out two or three months, owners are gonna leave the business…It looks like Louisiana Downs is the only place maybe we can go because Boyd Gaming won't open up Evangeline Downs.”

When asked what he thought the biggest current issue or issues facing racing, nationally, are, Delahoussaye didn't hesitate.

“To me, it's education. Communicating with the public and educating people properly. I think we've gone about it in the wrong way…We have people that are not in this game, trying to change this game and I think that's what going to hurt this game. It's not a game, it's multi-billion dollar business. Instead of perception, we need to deal in facts. We have people in this industry that are new and they think differently.

“There's a lot of things that are right about our industry and not everything needs to be changed. I just don't get it…The people in this game love the animals and I think we need to educate people and we have not done that. We should have done this a long time ago, that's just my opinion.”

America's leading rider by wins with 384 in 1978, Delahoussaye, who won seven Breeders' Cup races, including the inaugural Distaff with Princess Rooney at Hollywood Park in 1984 and the Classic with A.P. Indy at Gulfstream in 1992, retired with 6,384 career wins.

He cemented his status as one of the nation's elite riders by winning the Kentucky Derby in successive years, in 1982 with Gato Del Sol and in 1983 with Sunny's Halo.

“I think Santa Anita has done a great job getting racing going with everything that's gone on this year,” he said. “Hopefully, things will continue to get better. I love this sport and I really hope we can get it back to where it was before.”

A winner of the 1981 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, Delahoussaye was always known as a plain spoken advocate for horse and rider safety and is one of the most highly respected riders of any era.

The post Hall Of Famer Delahoussaye Views Friday’s ‘Eddie D’ From Afar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Long-Time Delaware Steward Fritz Burkhardt Passes Away At 85

Long-time Delaware Park steward Fritz Burkhardt passed away in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, Sept. 22. He was 85.

With exception of a brief stint serving as a racing official for the Emirates Racing Authority in Abu Dhabi in the mid-1990s, the native of Baltimore, Maryland had served has a steward at Delaware Park for the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission from 1987 until 2019.

Burkhardt also worked in varied and numerous positions within in the industry including managing Abacus Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado for Broadway producer Mary K. Frank, he was an assistant to trainer Roger Cornell, steward at Rillito Downs, a trainer, an agent and as a young man worked as a houndsman at the Howard County Hunt Club.

“He really was an amazing man and he lived a fascinating life,” said John Mooney, the Executive Director of Racing at Delaware Park. “He was very devoted to animals, particularly horses. He had a very thorough understanding of the race horse and appreciated all the individuals who worked with race horses. He was a great friend, companion and mentor to so many people in the sport. The Delaware Park family and the racing industry has lost one of our champions. He will be missed.”

The post Long-Time Delaware Steward Fritz Burkhardt Passes Away At 85 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Apprentice Charlie Marquez Teams With ‘Legend’ Angel Cordero For New York Debut

The New York Racing Association's jockey colony is one of the most talented in the world, with a room that claims Hall of Famers, Eclipse Award champions, and American Classic winners. But 17-year-old Charlie Marquez said he won't be intimidated when he makes his New York debut on Friday, where the apprentice rider will look to build on a successful start to 2020 that has seen him become a regular at Laurel Park in Maryland.

“I'm extremely excited,” Marquez said. “It's been a dream of mine to ride in New York and ride at Belmont. I've had a great mentor in my agent Angel Cordero, who is a legend, especially in New York. Hopefully, we go places and everything goes as planned.

“I don't fear any jockey,” he added. “Of course, they're better than me, but I'm just focusing on myself and learning as much as I can. I'm just practicing and working hard to do what I can to become the best.”

Marquez has registered 63 wins in 394 mounts in 2020. Officially starting his career with seven mounts in 2019, Marquez won his first career race on January 9 at Laurel aboard Sierra Leona, who gave him his second win 10 days later over the same track. This year, he has compiled a 63-57-44 record with earnings of more than $1.5 million and has also earned winner's circle trips at Delaware Park and Penn National.

On Friday, Marquez will make his debut at historic Belmont Park, where he is scheduled for six mounts on the 10-race card. By moving his tack north, he will be competing against the likes of Hall of Famers John Velazquez and Javier Castellano, Eclipse Award-winners Jose and Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Belmont Stakes-winner jockey Manny Franco, who shares the same agent as Marquez in Cordero, Jr.

A three-time Kentucky Derby-winner, Cordero, Jr, who captured 7,057 races, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988.

Marquez is one of three apprentice riders in New York during the 27-day fall meet, joining Luis Cardenas and Heman Harkie.

Marquez was third in jockey standings for the Laurel's winter/spring meet and was also third in the summer meet, serving as springboard to a bigger stage.

“Laurel helped me so much and the fellow jockeys and all the people taught me so much about riding,” Marquez said. “Having the opportunity to come up to New York, it's exciting and I think I'm ready.”

Marquez comes from a family of jockeys. Both his father and grandfather had mounts in the Kentucky Derby, with his grandfather, Carlos Marquez, Sr., running third with Hold Your Peace in 1972 and Law Talk running 19th in 1983. His father, Carlos Marquez, Jr., was ninth aboard Concerto in 1997.

Marquez, Jr. has amassed more than 3,000 career wins. In 1997, he piloted Salt It to a victory in the Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico Race Course, a race which his father won in 1970 aboard Office Queen. This makes the Marquez pair the only father-son duo to have won the Black-Eyed Susan.

The younger Marquez will look to continue his family's success and do it with his own style.

“I like to try and come off the pace; I think it's more fun and gives you more of a rush than sitting a horse on the front end,” Marquez said. “But I think I have patience for being a 17-year-old apprentice. A lot of riders go quick and make their move quick. I like to sit and just wait and see how the horse is traveling and see where they take me.”

The post Apprentice Charlie Marquez Teams With ‘Legend’ Angel Cordero For New York Debut appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Sarah Coleman Named Executive Director Of Kentucky Horse Council

The Kentucky Horse Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Sarah Coleman as the new Executive Director of the Lexington-based organization; Coleman will begin her role Sept. 29.

An avid equestrian, Coleman grew up in northeastern Ohio and graduated from the Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in Athens, OH. Coleman moved to the Bluegrass in 2004 to work with multiple equine and agriculture- related publications based in the area. She shifted to equine-oriented roles at Lexington Catholic High School and Georgetown College before transitioning to her most recent role as Community and Public Relations Director for New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program. In that role, Coleman oversaw the construction of New Vocations at Mereworth Farm and established the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park among other endeavors.

In addition, Coleman holds roles on multiple equine boards and committees, including being secretary and treasurer of the Kentucky Hunter Jumper Association, a member of the University of Kentucky's Saddle Up Safely program and a member of the Kentucky Horse Breeders Incentive Fund Non-Race Committee, among others.

“I am excited to step into this role with the Kentucky Horse Council,” Coleman says “Katy [Ross] did an incredible job; I look forward to capitalizing on the momentum she has built to grow the membership, develop relationships and resources, and awareness of the organization and its mission and programs within the Kentucky I have invested my life into the education of equine enthusiasts and equine welfare, and I am looking forward to seeing what can be accomplished in this new role.”

“We are delighted to have Sarah join the Kentucky Horse Council as Executive Director,” said Ryan Watson, President of the Kentucky Horse Council, “with Sarah's experience as well as expertise in the non-profit sector, I feel very confident that she can continue moving the KHC forward.”

ABOUT THE KENTUCKY HORSE COUNCIL – The Kentucky Horse Council is a non-profit organization dedicated, through education and leadership, to the protection and development of the Kentucky equine community. The Kentucky Horse Council provides educational programs and information, outreach and communication to Kentucky horse owners and enthusiasts, equine professional networking opportunities through the Kentucky Equine Networking Association (KENA), trail riding advocacy, health and welfare programs,personal liability insurance and other membership benefits. The specialty Kentucky Horse Council license plate, featuring a foal lying in the grass, provides the primary source of revenue for KHC programs.

The post Sarah Coleman Named Executive Director Of Kentucky Horse Council appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post