People | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gaffalione, Maker, Three Diamonds Farm Claim Meet Titles At Kentucky Downs

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione and owner Three Diamonds Farm earned their first meet titles at Kentucky Downs, with Mike Maker — who trains for Three Diamonds and frequently uses Gaffalione — winning a record fifth crown at America's most unique race meet in Franklin, Ky.

Wagering on the final day of the six-date meet totaled $9,487,705 on the 10-race card. That brought totaling wagering over the meet's 62 races (with another race ruled a no-contest) to $59,828,444, smashing last year's record $41,239,699 over 50 races and five days.

The RUNHAPPY Meet at Kentucky Downs paid out $12,337,000 in purses to horse owners.

Gaffalione earned his first Kentucky Downs riding title with 11 victories at the six-date meet that concluded Wednesday. That was five wins more than two-time defending titlist Jose Ortiz and his brother, reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz.

Gaffalione ended the meet with a bang, his three wins Wednesday capped by Guildsman's victory in the Grade 3 Franklin-Simpson Stakes in his final mount of the meet.

“This was incredible. This is such a fun place to ride,” said Gaffalione, the 2015 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey. “I always enjoy coming here every year. All the credit goes to my agent (Matt Muzikar). He's really done a great job getting ready for this meet. He told me we were really loaded. I just had to show up and get the job done. A lot of credit goes to all the horsemen who got the horses ready. It was a lot of fun. Hopefully we can do it again next year.”

Maker, already the track's all-time win leader, earned a record fifth meet training crown with eight victories out of a meet-high 56 starters, including four wins last Saturday. That nipped Wesley Ward's seven wins out of 31 starts, denying Ward his own fifth title.

Owner Kirk Wycoff's Three Diamonds Farm earned its first Kentucky Downs owners title with four wins, all trained by Maker.

“It was a good meet, deep and competitive,” Maker said. “Like everything else, wish we'd won a few more but that's racing. Always fun to come here and to do well. We have so many turf horses. It's nice that when we can get an abundance of them in on any given day and know we're coming over here live.”

Maker acknowledged his biggest disappointment was favored Zulu Alpha finishing a rallying third in defense of last year's triumph in the $1 million Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup, which was won by Zulu Alpha's nemesis and 2018 winner Arklow. Both horses now are being pointed to the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

Maker now has won 63 races in his career at Kentucky Downs. His four-year streak of meet titles ended last year when his three wins were one shy of sharing the crown with Ward, Joe Sharp and Ian Wilkes. But even last year, when he had a track-record 15 seconds, he won the money title at $1.4 million.

Noting that the seconds and thirds can be lucrative at Kentucky Downs, Maker said, “For sure. Pays a lot of bills.”

This year Maker finished fourth in money ($823,321), with that title won by four-time reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown at $980,375. Until this meet, Brown had run only one horse at Kentucky Downs.

Gaffalione, who turned 26 on Sept. 12, also earned the jockey money title at $1,619,461, including capturing the $500,000, Grade 3 Real Solution Ladies Sprint on Got Stormy and the $500,000 The Mint Juvenile Fillies on Plum Ali. He won at least one race on five of the meet's six days.

“We always want to be leading rider, but the main thing is they give away so much money so you try to get the money title here more than anything,” Gaffalione said. “But it's always great to get as many wins as possible. Great venue, great racing here. Lot of class horses showed up. Plum Ali really stands out. Got Stormy ran huge. The other day Miss J McKay (second in Tuesday's Music City at 11-1) ran a bang-up race in finishing second. It's been a great meet.”

Kentucky Downs' top six betting days
$17,437,731 — Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020
$11,321,492 — Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019
$10,039,008 — Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018
$9,487,705 — Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020
$8,983,981 — Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020
$8,950,973 — Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020

The post Gaffalione, Maker, Three Diamonds Farm Claim Meet Titles At Kentucky Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘I Really Needed Somebody To Push Me’: Davis Credits New Agent For Recent Success

After going a month between starters, jockey Katie Davis is making up for lost time.

The 28-year-old fiancée of fellow rider Trevor McCarthy has registered seven wins with her last 15 mounts including a hat trick Sept. 12, the last live racing day at Laurel Park. She is named in three of 10 races when action resumes Thursday at Laurel, and two of nine races Friday.

A Maryland regular since late 2016, Davis rode three programs at Colonial Downs in neighboring Virginia before the meet was closed down Aug. 14 with a number of positive coronavirus results. One of them was McCarthy, and though she tested negative she joined her fiance in quarantine for two weeks.

With agent John DiNatale handling her book, Davis returned to action Sept. 3 and rode at least one winner each day that weekend including a two-win day Sept. 4. She has also finished third twice during her recent stretch.

“When I came back from the quarantine I was kind of lost and confused on what I wanted to do, because all the agents were pretty much taken. I really needed somebody to push me,” Davis said. “You can only do so much with yourself. I got very lucky. Trevor kind of put the word out for me a little more.

“Frank Saumell, the clerk of scales, said he had a longtime friend that had been in the business for 30-some years, 40 years. He used to be a trainer but he really wanted to get back in the game and become an agent,” she added. “That was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.”

DiNatale won 145 races and more than $1.5 million in purses in a training career with stops and starts between 1976 and 2009. One of his best horses was Stonewall Sue, who ran fifth in the 1994 Maryland Million Distaff and 1995 Shamrock Stakes at Laurel.

“A lot of people do know him, people that have been in the game a lot longer. Just picking him up really gave me that confidence that I needed,” Davis said. “Not that Trevor didn't give me confidence in that way, but the confidence in my own business to succeed and ride smart and keep going. That's what really lifted me up off my feet.

“Even the first week John and I were together he was like, 'Keep doing what you're doing, don't change a thing. You're riding smart and giving your horses every opportunity to win.' That alone shows that I can do this. I can perform well with the horses.”

Davis has 229 wins from 1,882 career starters and purse earnings of more than $6.1 million. She is one of six children that grew up around the sport while their father, Robbie, was winning 3,382 races between 1981 and 2002 primarily on the New York circuit. Older sister Jackie and younger brother Dylan are also professional jockeys, respectively based in Pennsylvania and New York.

In addition to her agent, Davis continues to lean on her father for his input. His mother, Davis' grandmother, passed away Sept. 1.

“Recently we've been talking a lot more. I really sat him down and said, 'C'mon, it's time to look at my races now. You've been looking at Dylan's for far too long,'” Davis laughed. “I sent him all my races, even if I finish last or got in a bad spot and ask him what he thinks I can do differently. He told me I was doing good and riding smart and my left hand was amazing. It's important to use both hands.”

The post ‘I Really Needed Somebody To Push Me’: Davis Credits New Agent For Recent Success appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Trio Of Finalists Announced For 14th Annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award

Three wonderful but very different books have been selected by a panel of industry judges as finalists for the 14th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, honoring titles published in 2019. These include a unique collaboration of stories told by members of the racing community; an insider's look at the career of America's most recent Triple Crown winner; and the roller-coaster life story of a legendary European trainer.

The finalists are: “Better Lucky Than Good: Tall Tales and Straight Talk from the Backside of the Track,” by various authors, from Louisville Story Program, edited by Joe Manning; “Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory,” by Lenny Shulman, and “The Triumph of Henry Cecil: The Authorised Biography,” by Tony Rushmer.

These three exceptional books were selected from 15 high quality submissions and were evaluated based on “clarity and elegance” of writing, ability to entertain, and as always, with regard to what the late Dr. Ryan himself might have liked.

In a normal year, the Book Award process would have culminated this past April with a ceremony in the historic stallion barn at the Ryan family's Castleton Lyons, near Lexington, Ky. But this is not a normal year. From necessity, the Award timeline was altered and ultimately delayed in hopes that the global Covid-19 pandemic would ease, thus making an in-person winner's reception possible later in the year. That scenario looks increasingly doubtful. As of mid-August, plans for how to reveal and celebrate the winner remain in limbo. But whether done in person, in a Zoom-type setting, or by other means, announcement of the winner will likely be made sometime in November.

The Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award was established by the noted businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist in 2006 to honor the best books published in a given year on the subject of horse racing. Dr. Ryan attached to it a $10,000 winner's prize, making it one of the world's most lucrative literary awards. Winners have since included beautifully penned fictional novels and short story collections; well-researched biographies, both human and equine; in-depth sporting histories; and even a National Book Award recipient.
Stay tuned for further announcements. For additional information, contact Betsy Hager at bhager@castletonlyons.com.

Below are brief synopses of the three 2020 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award finalists, presented in alphabetical order by title.

Better Lucky Than Good: Tall Tales and Straight Talk from the Backside of the Track, by Louisville Story Program

A collaboration between the Louisville Story Program and members of the racing community, Better Lucky Than Good focuses on the citizens of Churchill Downs. LSP, founded in 2013 to tell previously unheard stories and oral histories, pulled together 32 self-told tales from often unseen and/or overlooked backstretch personnel—the all-important supporting cast that brings any racetrack to life. This unique soft-cover collection includes stories from a clocker, a security guard, a silks maker, a gap attendant, and a hotwalker, among many others, providing a seldom seen inside perspective of our sport.

Justify: 111 Days to Triple Crown Glory, by Lenny Shulman

Penned by a respected turf writer with a behind-the-scenes view, Justify chronicles in detail the meteoric rise of American racing's 13th and most recent Triple Crown hero, while also telling the stories of those who made him who he was—breeders John and Tanya Gunther, trainer Bob Baffert, and jockey Mike Smith. The Blood-Horse's Lenny Schulman had extensive inside access as he followed the story of the big red colt from early days to glory, and the result is masterful.

The Triumph of Henry Cecil, The Authorised Biography by Tony Rushmer

Sports journalist Tony Rushmer has penned a splendid biography of his friend, legendary British trainer Henry Cecil. Rushmer, who had years of personal access, focuses largely on the latter part of Cecil's storied life including good times and bad. The ten-time champion English trainer saddled 25 British classic winners and won important races all over the globe, but when diagnosed with cancer in 2006 he was written off by many as finished. Instead, in 2010-2011 Cecil unveiled the crowning achievement of his career in brilliant, unbeatable Frankel. This is the story of a life … of tragedy and scandals, honors and triumphs, and of a remarkable comeback by one of racing's rare talents.

The post Trio Of Finalists Announced For 14th Annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jockeys Arienne Cox, Kris Fox Recovering From Serious Injuries Sustained In Presque Isle Downs Accident

Jockeys Arienne Cox and Kris Fox are recovering from serious injuries sustained in a Sept. 8 racing accident at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa.

Both riders were taken to UPMC Hamot Hospital in Erie following the eighth race incident in which witnesses said Fox's mount, Boardwalk Bob, clipped heels and fell midway around the first turn of the one-mile, 70-yard claiming race on the Tapeta main track surface. As Boardwalk Bob scrambled to his feet, Cox's mount, Growl, who was trailing the field, collided with Boardwalk Bob. Video of the race is not available

Other riders were alerted to pull their horses up before the finish and the race was declared “no contest.”

Cox sustained multiple fractures at the base of her skull, fractured three vertebrae in her neck, and has been on a ventilator in the intensive care unit since being hospitalized.

Fox fractured a collarbone and ribs, suffered a collapsed lung and sustained transverse process fractures in his back.

Fox's wife, Michelle, said on Tuesday via text message: “Kris is in very good spirits despite discomfort and pain” and was expected to be discharged from the hospital Tuesday evening. “Kris says, 'Live to ride, ride to live. Cowboy up,'” she added.

Cox has a longer road to recovery, according to owner-trainer Wayne Rice, who described Cox as “my life partner and my best friend, and I can tell you, this is the first time in 25 years I've gone seven days and I haven't had a chance to talk to her.”

Rice gave Cox a leg up on Growl, a horse he owns and trains, before the Sept. 8 race. Rice said Growl and Boardwalk Bob walked off and suffered no apparent injuries.

“We've had a successful day or two,” Rice said Tuesday afternoon. “The fractured vertebrae in her neck have been fused, and it did not bother the spinal cord.

“They haven't been able to re-Xray her because she is still on a ventilator,” he said. “But she's working toward breathing on her own, and maybe will be off the ventilator tomorrow, which would be fabulous.

“We had what appeared to be a paralyzed right arm and leg the first five days,” Rice said. “As the medication has been lightened up, we can tell she has cognitive function in the brain. We also found she has complete sensation to touch all over her body, including both the right arm and right leg. And there's now movement in the two limbs. She can blink her eyes when I rub those areas and ask if she can feel it. So we've had pretty good signs the last couple of days.”

In the meantime, Rice said, he's had a “fire sale” of the horses in his barn at Presque Isle Downs as he looks forward to taking Cox back to their home in Florida to recuperate.

“I've sold 10 head already and have some 2-year-olds on the market that I really like that haven't started yet,” Rice said.

He added the outpouring of support from friends around the country has been gratifying.

“We live a good life, and I just want her back to where she can walk around,” Rice said. “I can fix her, I know. Salt water and sunshine is what puts a smile on her face.”

Fox began riding in 2008 and has 194 career wins from 2,735 mounts. Cox, a veteran exercise rider in Ocala who acquired her jockeys' license in Florida in 2006 after a brief stint as a trainer, has 176 wins from 2,216 mounts.

Jockey Kris Fox at Jack Thistledown in Ohio during a jockey autograph session

The post Jockeys Arienne Cox, Kris Fox Recovering From Serious Injuries Sustained In Presque Isle Downs Accident appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post