Tag: People

Woodbine Entertainment Adds Three New Members To Board Of Directors

Woodbine Entertainment announced Wednesday that it has appointed long-time leading Standardbred owner and breeder Brad Grant, and Canadian sports business executive Scott Mitchell to its Board of Directors. ​

It was also announced Wednesday that Mark Saunders has been re-elected to Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors after taking a short leave of absence to run in the recent By-Election for Mayor of the City of Toronto.

“We are very pleased to welcome Brad and Scott, and welcome back Mark, to our Board,” said Hugh Mitchell, Chair of Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors. “Their diverse wealth of business acumen, knowledge, leadership and experience bodes well to contribute to our complex and growing business. Our Board very much looks forward to working with each of these exceptional individuals.”

Grant has been the leading Woodbine Standardbred owner for six of the last seven seasons and currently sits atop the standings for 2023. The Milton Sports Hall of Fame inductee (builder), was also named 2022 Owner of the Year by the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) and has owned several prominent horses in recent years, including part ownership of Bulldog Hanover and Atlanta.

A successful business leader and entrepreneur, Grant was honoured with a Hockey Canada Order of Merit in 2017 for his involvement in grassroots sports which included being Finance Chairman of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) for 10 years, Chairman of the OHA for four years, and a past owner of the Milton Merchants, a Tier II Junior A hockey team. He is also a past Chair, and current Vice Chair, for the Milton District Hospital Foundation and sits on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA).

Mitchell is currently the Managing Partner and CEO of the Hamilton Sports Group (HSG), the ownership group that operates the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL and Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League (CPL). He is also the co-founder and Chairman of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) and co-founder and Chairman of Canadian Soccer Business (CSB). The Canadian Premier League played its inaugural season in 2019 and is sanctioned as Canada's top professional domestic soccer league.

A native of Calgary, and resident of Toronto, Mitchell sits on several boards and advisory groups, including the Canadian Athletic Foundation, the CFL Board of Governors, CFL Ventures, CPL, and CSB amongst others. He and his extended family also have a deep passion for horse racing, both as dedicated fans and successful owners in both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing. Mitchell's father-in-law, the late Robert Harvey, was a prominent Thoroughbred owner and breeder who won two Sovereign Awards with Woodbine Mile winner Numerous Times and Coronation Futurity winner Hollinger. His father, the late Doug Mitchell, campaigned several Western Canadian Champion Standardbreds in Alberta including Nat Christie Memorial Pace winner Conditional.

Saunders is a retired police officer and most recently, the Chief of Police for the Toronto Police Service. As Chief of Police, Saunders successfully led the largest municipal Police Service in Canada and fourth largest in North America, helping to keep Toronto safe. As Deputy Chief, Saunders created and operationalized the “C3” Unit, a unit whose mandate is to investigate cybercrime and provide technology based investigative support throughout the Service.

“We welcome back Mark and look forward to benefiting from his experiences and leadership, as we do with Brad and Scott,” added Lawson. “All three individuals will add a breadth of knowledge and experience that will complement and support our existing directors as we continue to build our business and industry for future growth.”

Woodbine Entertainment also announced that former CEO and long-time Director Nick Eaves is retiring from the Board.

“I would like to thank Nick for his countless contributions to our organization and industry over the past several decades,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “His leadership and steady hand during challenging times served Woodbine well and our organization and industry continue to benefit from his leadership through the years.”

Grant, Mitchell and Saunders' appointments to Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors are subject to regulatory approval.

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Hector Berrios’ Graded Stakes Double Leads To Jockey Of The Week Title

Hector I. Berrios's move in 2022 from Florida to Southern California has proven to be satisfying and rewarding as he has become one of the top jockeys on the circuit. At Del Mar on Saturday, Berrios won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby aboard The Chosen Vron, and on Sunday he won the G2 Eddie Read with Gold Phoenix.

The panel of racing experts voted Berrios Jockey of the Week for July 24 through July 30. The award recognizes jockeys for riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1,050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

The team of trainer Eric Kruljac, Berrios, and the Cal-bred The Chosen Vron brought a seven-race win streak into the G1 Bing Crosby on Saturday. The Chosen Vron's previous seven wins with Berrios aboard had come exclusively in state-bred stakes.

Off as the 4-1 third choice in a deep and talented field of 12 including two previous Crosby winners, Berrios settled his mount three-wide in sixth. On the far turn, Berrios avoided trouble by angling out The Chosen Vron to avoid clipping heels. Part of a six-horse charge at the top of the lane, The Chosen Vron became one of three with less than a furlong to go. The Chosen Vron inched away determinedly for a game head victory in 1:09.24 for the six furlong sprint. The victory capped a three-win day for Berrios.

“Yes, we had trouble (approaching the far turn),” said Berrios. “I had to pull back and go outside. I got bumped. But this horse is special; he just runs and I love to ride him.”

On Sunday, Del Mar's leading trainer Phil D'Amato gave a leg up to Berrios in the G2 Eddie Read on Gold Phoenix. Off as co-second choice at 9-2, Berrios and Gold Phoenix raced in fifth in the field of nine into the second turn. Berrios tipped Gold Phoenix out for the stretch run and reached the wire first by three-quarters of a length in 1:48.62 for the 1 1/8-mile turf test. The win capped another three-win day for Berrios and his first in the Eddie Read.

“I took my time; I knew I had a lot of horse,” said Berrios. “As it turned out, I got the perfect trip. I waited and waited and then I asked. And when I did – boom! He was a runner.”

The 36- year-old Berrios is a native of Chile where he won eight Triple Crown races and four Derbys, compiling over 2,500 wins in his home country. He first came to the United States in 2011, but after riding a few winners on the West Coast he returned to Chile for the next seven years. When he returned to the U.S. in 2018, Berrios rode at Gulfstream Park until 2022 when the opportunity to again try southern California presented itself. Berrios is currently tied with Juan Hernandez at the top of Del Mar jockey standings with 11 wins.

Berrios outpolled fellow riders Axel Concepcion who rode 13 winners to lead all jockeys for the week, Manny Franco who won the G2 Bowling Green at Saratoga, Feargal Lynch who won two stakes at Monmouth including the G2 Monmouth Oaks, and Irad Ortiz, Jr. who won two graded stakes at Saratoga including the G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt.

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Jockey Richard Mullen Remains Hospitalized With Multiple Injuries After Saratoga Spill; Rebel’s Romance To Arlington Million

Jockey Richard Mullen was unseated from Breeders' Cup Turf winner Rebel's Romance on the far turn of Sunday's Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse, after which the English rider was transported to Albany Medical Center for evaluation.

According to The Mirror, Mullen remains hospitalized with multiple injuries, though none will require surgical repair.

“I am very sore with a broken collarbone, three broken vertebrae, a couple of broken ribs, a broken thumb and little bleeding on my lungs,” Mullen told The Mirror. “But apart from that I'm okay!”

The 47-year-old rider insisted that the incident was not caused by any other rider, and said he just needed time and patience to recover.

Rebel's Romance, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, was unhurt in the incident. The trainer plans to reroute the 5-year-old son of Dubawi to the G1 Arlington Million at Colonial Downs on Aug. 12, according to a Tweet from Godolphin.

Read more at The Mirror.

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Three Female Finalists Named For Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award

Three finalists for the 17th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award have been decided by a panel of racing and literary judges. They included an extraordinary time-hopping, historical novel; a compelling biography of potential greatness and a life cut short; and a powerful, category-bending work of fiction told as the oral history of a hard-luck horsewoman. All three were authored by women.

“The 2022 nominees included a refreshing group of voices new to this Book Award, including the three finalists,” lead judge Kay Coyte noted. “The works from these women were outstanding.”

The award was founded in 2006 by the late global philanthropist and entrepreneur Dr. Ryan to honor the best in long-form writing related to horse racing. Its $10,000 prize remains among the largest in the literary world, regardless of category. Following Dr. Ryan's 2007 passing, this celebration of racing's finest literature has been carried on by his son, Shane, current president of the family's Castleton Lyons farm near Lexington.

In addition to the $10,000 winner's check, two runners-up will each receive $1,000. In addition, all three finalists will take home Tipperary Irish crystal trophies in the form of Castleton Lyons' iconic fieldstone tower.

After two years of Zoom winners' announcements due to pandemic precautions, the Book Award returned live in 2022 to its traditional space in the loft above the farm's historic stallion barn. The invitation-only, drinks and hors d'oeuvres reception to announce the current winner is scheduled for the evening of November 9. 

For additional information, contact Kerrie Cahill at: (859) 455-9222, or at kcahill@castletonlyons.com

Following are the finalists, listed alphabetical by author.

Horse

Author:  Geraldine Brooks

By Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, Horse tells a fictionalized tale of pre-Civil War champion Lexington and his enslaved groom Jarrett, as they travel the South and cross paths with a young painter of racehorses. The narrative goes back and forth in time, to a 1954 New York art gallery where a mysterious painting captures the imagination of a noted art dealer, to 2019 Washington D. C., where a long-forgotten equine skeleton is rediscovered at the Smithsonian. Fact and fiction weave together magically at the hands of a gifted writer.

Landaluce: The Story of Seattle Slew's First Champion

Author:  Mary Perdue

This bittersweet biography is one of heartbreak and dreams unfulfilled, of a filly cut down at the very threshold of greatness. Landaluce was from Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew's first crop and was a sign of good things to come for the young stallion. She won all five of her starts as a two-year-old in 1982 by an average of nearly ten lengths before dying suddenly of a viral infection in her stall at Santa Anita. She was a champion but could have been an immortal. 

Kick the Latch

Author: Kathryn Scanlan

Author Scanlan has described her slim novel as a work of fiction based on interviews with an Iowa-based trainer named Sonia. The story is poetically told in vignettes, as an oral history that can make the reader wonder at times what is real … and what is not. She writes of the itinerate backstretch world at a low-level racetrack, telling a story of survival where horses are patched up for one more start and jockeys brag about “flipping” to make weight, with violence as a simmering backdrop. Scanlan's writing is minimalist but powerful.

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