Tag: post time

Raise Cain Perfectly Timed at Wire in Keeneland’s Perryville

Snapping a six-race slide and returning to the winner's enclosure for the first-time since his GII Gotham S. win in the spring, Raise Cain (c, 3, Violence–Lemon Belle, by Lemon Drop Kid) nipped Dr. Venkman (Ghostzapper) in the shadow of the wire to score in the Perryville S.

The aforementioned GI Kentucky Derby prep race has been his only victory in 2023, and in pairing with a nose runner-up effort in the GIII Indiana Derby July 8 to familiar foe GSW & MGISP Verifying (Justify), has been the only time the son of Violence has been on the board this year. The 6-1 distant third choice here for the cut back in distance behind that returning rival and the eventual runner-up, Raise Cain was content to stalk from fourth as a leading trio battled it out on the front. Riding the rail into the turn but moved to the outside at the five sixteenths pole, he was rolling in the six path with a full head of steam entering the lane. Locking horns with Dr. Venkman after catching him late in the stretch, he nailed that rival in the shadow of the wire by a head as Post Time (Frosted) rallied from last to round out the trifecta.

 

“I think it's probably what he wants to do. His only wins were around one turn. He got us to the (GI Kentucky) Derby and he's been such an over-achieving horse, he really deserved it,” said Ben Colebrook. “I think (jockey) Luis Saez made the difference. He rode him great. I mean, all the riders have ridden him well, but Luis gives you that just extra little bit. That's probably what we needed today.”

The first black-type runner for his dam, Raise Cain joins a trio of siblings to get their picture taken on the mare's tally. Lemon Belle, out of MGSW Queenie Belle (Bertrando)–making her a half-sister to GISW & MGISP Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), dam of two-time champion MGISW Unique Bella (Tapit)–has a 2-year-old Frostelle (Frosted) as well as a 2023 Constitution colt and visited red-hot Justify for 2024. This is the female family of Canadian staple MGISP Sir Sahib (Fort Larned). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

PERRYVILLE S., $235,188, Keeneland, 10-21, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.58, ft.
1–RAISE CAIN, 118, c, 3, by Violence
         1st Dam: Lemon Belle, by Lemon Drop Kid
         2nd Dam: Queenie Belle, by Bertrando
         3rd Dam: Lady Argyle, by Don B.
($180,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $65,000 RNA 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Andrew N. and Rania Warren; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Ben Colebrook; J-Luis Saez. $153,063. Lifetime Record: GSW, 13-3-2-1, $577,066.
2–Dr. Venkman, 118, g, 3, Ghostzapper–Theory of Change, by Archarcharch. ($105,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Dan J. Agnew, Clint Bunch, Mark Cohen, and James Hailey; B-Ghostzapper Syndicate & Hidden Brook Farm (KY); T-Mark Glatt. $39,500.
3–Post Time, 118, c, 3, Frosted–Vielsalm, by Fairbanks. ($85,000 Ylg '21 EASOCT). O-Hillwood Stable LLC; B-Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Brooke Bowman & Milton P Higgins III (MD); T-Brittany T. Russell. $19,750.
Margins: HD, 1 1/4, 5HF. Odds: 6.44, 1.26, 7.42.
Also Ran: Loyal Company, Verifying, Confidence Game.

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With His Exercise Rider Aboard, Promising Post Time Wins Again

The Week In Review, By Bill Finley

When Eric Camacho retired from riding in 2016, he thought he knew what his future would be. He'd work as an exercise rider in the mornings and step aside in the afternoons and let someone else get all the glory and the big paychecks. Never did he imagine he'd win another race, let alone get the mount on an undefeated 2-year-old who might just be good enough to be pointed toward the GI Kentucky Derby. But after Post Time (Frosted) won Saturday's Maryland Juvenile at Laurel with Camacho aboard, it's beginning to look like anything is possible.

“It's been amazing,” Camacho, 39, said. “Words can't express it.”

Camacho rode regularly from 2004 through 2016 and won 787 races and captured Laurel Park's 2005 winter meet riding title. But he won just 16 races in 2016 and was having a hard time lining up decent mounts.

“I needed to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life,” he said.

So he quit riding and took a job galloping horses for trainer Keith Nations. It was his first stop of many before he signed on to work for trainer Brittany Russell in May. That was just about the time that Russell was starting to prepare Post Time for the races. In the son of Frosted, she knew she had a talented prospect but one who was a handful and was immature and quirky. Someone needed to teach him the right way to go about things and she assigned the job to Camacho. The two hit it off.

“He liked to rear up, he liked to play around,” Camacho said. “This horse liked to do things way he liked to do things. I have a lot of experience with younger horses trying to get along with them. We had a bond. Don't get me wrong, we had our bouts. But he came to respect me. He's a very smart horse.”

Post Time's debut was delayed due to a quarter crack, but Russell, whose husband, Sheldon, is a jockey, had him ready to go by early fall. It was around then that Camacho came to her and said whoever would be riding Post Time in the afternoon needed to get on him in the mornings beforehand.

“I told her that if she put somebody on this horse they first need to come by and get on him in the morning,” Camacho said. “I don't want them to afraid of him in the afternoon.”

Russell considered his advice and started to think that maybe the best option was to let Camacho ride Post Time.

“I asked him if maybe he should ride the horse,” she said. “At first, I was kind of just joking around.  But then I thought, you know what, he has a good relationship with the horse's owner, Ellen Charles, and I know he'll get this horse to the starting gate. Whatever tricks this horse might have up his sleeve on race day I know Eric will remain confident in him and will let him run anyway.”

The Maryland-bred debuted Oct. 7, facing off against open company in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race at Laurel. Camacho, who had one mount in 2017 and another in 2021, had not won a race for nearly six years, since Oct. 20, 2016. Post Time won by two lengths, but it was far from smooth sailing. After making a sweeping move on the turn and gaining the lead in upper stretch, he swerved in and out down the lane.

He returned for an allowance race on Oct. 27 and it was a case of more of the same, a bold move on the turn followed by his ducking in and out down the stretch. He won by 6 3/4 lengths.

The Maryland Juvenile was next. Facing fellow Maryland-breds, this time Post Time closed from last, made an eye-catching move on the turn and drew off to win by 3 3/4 lengths. Though the competition may not have been that strong, it was a very impressive effort. And it was delivered without any antics in the stretch, giving Camacho his third win on the year from just three mounts. He has not ridden anybody else this year.

“This horse really turned a comer in the last two weeks or so,” Camacho said.

With the worst behavior perhaps a thing of the past, maybe now is the time for Russell to go to a different jockey, maybe even her husband, who is one of the top riders on the Maryland circuit.  Russell said she has no plans to do so.

“I don't know where we'll go with him next, but it's kind of hard to pull somebody off a horse that knows him so well and has done nothing wrong on him,” Russell said. “I think this has meant a lot to Eric. And it should. He's done a lot of work with this horse, who has had his good days and his bad days. Yes, he has a lot of talent, but I'm sure there are a lot of days when Eric wakes up and thinks, 'Oh, gosh, I've got to get this sucker to the racetrack this morning.' We gave Eric an opportunity, but he has done a great job.”

It's clear that Post Time is ready for a tougher assignment, but it's hard to tell how good he is. He has been winning easily, but that doesn't mean that he can step up from Maryland-bred competition and be competitive in a prep for the Derby. Then again, Russell isn't ruling it out.

“That's why you're in this business,” she said. “Everybody wants a horse like this in the barn and everybody wants to dream. The Derby or Derby preps? I can't say no, but he has a lot to prove before you can start talking about something like that. He won the Maryland Juvenile against a horse that had just won a restricted race. He's going to have to step up. Ellen is Maryland through and through, so she might like to see him run through the series here in races like the Tesio. But it's not a far ship to New York, so something there might be in the cards.”

Wherever Post Time goes next, it will be with Camacho, his exercise rider aboard.

“People say this horse has so much ability, why do you let the exercise rider ride him in the afternoon?” Russell said. “You have to realize that Eric had to work really hard with the horse to get him to show his talent in the afternoon. I don't know where we'd be without him.”

 

In Appreciation of Mind Control

There have been better horses to run over the last few years than Mind Control (Stay Thirsty), the winner of Saturday's GI Cigar Mile H., but perhaps none tougher or more game. You don't want to get into a dogfight in the stretch with this horse because you will lose. That was the case Saturday when he was passed in the stretch by Get Her Number (Dialed In) only to fight back and win by a head. It was his 11th career stakes win and his third victory in a Grade I event.

In the last four races in which he has crossed the wire first, he has won by a head every time. The chart comments have included the following: “battled back gamely,” “bid stretch, came again,” and “dueled.” Outside of his maiden win, which he won by three lengths, he has never won by more than 1 1/2 lengths and he won both the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. and the GIII Toboggan S. by a nose.

He's also been remarkably durable, winning the GI Hopeful S. as a 2-year-old and the Cigar as a 6-year-old in his last career start.

“If you like horse racing, you've got to love this horse,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher after the Cigar.

Well said.

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California Workers’ Comp Program Launching Mandatory Exercise Rider Certification Exam

Exercise riders in California will need to pass a certification test by March 31 in order to remain eligible for the industry's Post Time workers' compensation program, reports Dan Ross in the Thoroughbred Daily News. Trainers with Post Time insurance will only be able to employ certified exercise riders after that date.

The exam is based on the British National Racing College's jockey fitness test, and consists of seven exercises encompassing upper body, lower body, and cardiovascular exercises, according to TDN. Post Time will give exercise riders a 30-day membership to a 24-Hour Fitness gym to train for the exam, if they so choose.

“Our goal is not to reduce exercise riders, it's to do with reducing the injuries that are a part of their occupation,” Michael Lyon, Post Time's program administrator, told the TDN. “It's our first blush at it, so, there's going to be hiccups and bumps in the road, but we'll handle those as they come. We just want to make the work exercise riders do safer for them.”

Post Time has three funding sources: a stall-per-day fee of $5.10, a per-start fee of $162, and 0.5 percent of money placed on exotic wagers.

The group has seen a 30 percent reduction in claims since May of 2020, due to the implementation of a “Director of Safety” position, which is responsible for establishing and regulating uniform safety standards across California facilities. However, Lyon said that exercise riders account for 40 percent of claims and yet 70 percent of costs, with one policy-limit claim in each of the last three years.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post California Workers’ Comp Program Launching Mandatory Exercise Rider Certification Exam appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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California to Implement Exercise Rider Certification Program

In what is believed a first such program in the country, California's exercise riders will soon be required to pass an “Exercise Rider Certification” course to remain eligible for coverage under the state racing industry's Post Time self-insured workers' compensation program.

The course consists of seven upper body, lower body and cardiovascular exercises, prefaced upon the British National Racing College's jockey fitness test. Exercise riders have until Mar. 31 to pass the exam.

After that date, “Post Time members will only be able to employ Post Time certified Exercise Riders without putting their Post Time membership and their workers' compensation insurance in jeopardy for not following policy,” stated a letter by Post Time to California trainers last week.

The certification program is an attempt to reduce further the California racing industry's workers' compensation costs, explained Michael Lyon, Post Time's program administrator.

Exercise riders “account for 40% of our claims but 70% of our costs,” said Lyon

Further explaining the rationale, Lyon said that there has been one “catastrophic” rider injury every year for the past three years that have resulted in “policy limit claims”–two exercise riders and one jockey (the latter of whom is covered by a companion state insurance program called Finish Line).

Policy limit claims are those higher than $1 million, with Post Time covering the first million, while an excess coverage provider funds the remaining costs.

The seven certification exam components include exercises like the wobble cushion squats, whereby the rider must balance for a period of time in the “pushing” position on a couple of wobble cushions. A more detailed picture of the seven requirements can be viewed here.

Though each component has a time constraint, California exercise riders aren't required to meet the full standards set forth in the British jockey exam to attain a “passing” grade.

Rather, for the “plank” component, they will be required to hold that position for, at minimum, 50% of the British jockey goal–what works out to two minutes. Across the other six components, they will be required to reach an average of 75% of the British jockey standard for a pass.

According to the letter distributed earlier this month, California exercise riders will be given a 30-day membership to train at a 24-Hour Fitness gym, courtesy of Post Time.

“Training for the test is not a requirement but is recommended to increase the rider's odds of passing the test. If a rider fails the test on the first attempt, they will have until March 31, 2022, to pass a re-test and become certified,” the letter states.

“This was going to be implemented pre-pandemic, but then the pandemic hit and all the gyms closed,” Lyon told the TDN, explaining that Post Time had “vetted” the test with exercise riders. “They said, 'no problem.'”

This new requirement, however, arrives at a time when trainers nationally are struggling to find and hold on to qualified exercise riders.

The TDN recently dug down into the underpinnings of the problem, finding that a dearth of qualified riding talent is due to a combination of issues like hard-line immigration policies, a shrinking pool of farms and training centers where young riders can be nurtured, as well as shifting societal trends, where the average American is now three generations removed from an agrarian lifestyle.

“Two of my best riders are old,” said G1 Dubai World Cup-winning trainer Mike Stidham at the time of that earlier investigation. “They're not going to be doing this forever, and when they go, I'm going to have to find two more to replace them. That's going to be hard.”

Several Southern California-based trainers and exercise riders spoke to TDN on background about their concerns over the new certification program, which they fear might cull a certain portion of California's exercise rider community.

Older exercise riders appear the cornerstone of these concerns–riders whose deficit in overall fitness, they argue, is compensated through experience in the saddle and learned horsemanship.

There exists, too, differing fitness levels within the exercise rider colony. Work riders, for example, typically attain a level of fitness more comparable to jockeys than those exercise riders charged with slower conditioning work, like jogging and cantering.

Lyon acknowledged these factors, saying that, “our goal is not to reduce exercise riders, it's to do with reducing the injuries that are a part of their occupation.”

Describing the initial implementation of the certification program as a “first-go-round,” Lyon said that, in the event the standards prove too onerous, the criteria could be altered once the results have been analyzed.

“There's always the ability for the board to take into consideration the results of the testing,” said Lyon, before reiterating that, “once again, it's not our intent to get rid of exercise riders. It's our intent to have them work in a safer environment.”

This latest development taps into the issue of the Post Time self-insurance group's financial stability, which relies on three funding mechanisms: a stall-per-day fee of $5.10, per-start fee of $162, and a slice of wagering revenue, which works out to 0.5% of money placed on exotic wagers.

In May of 2020, for example, the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) announced that the California Thoroughbred Business League (CTBL) board had “unanimously approved” a $2-million subsidy from its reserves to be paid to Post Time.

Earlier that year, Post Time proposed a controversial plan to invoice trainers $1,233 per horse retroactively for the first quarter of 2020, to help fill financial shortfalls. That proposal was subsequently dropped after stakeholders agreed to the creation of a new “Director of Safety” position, to help establish and regulate uniform safety standards and implement them across all California training and racing facilities.

The new workers' compensation safety standards have already had a “significant difference in the frequency of claims,” said Lyon. “When comparing the just ended 24-month period to the previous 24 months, there was a reduction in claims of 30%,” he said.

Several important details of the exercise rider certification program have still to be thrashed out. It's unclear who will conduct the tests, for example. It's also currently unclear whether exercise riders will need to re-take the test after a period of time, and if so, how frequently.

“It's our first blush at it,” said Lyon, “so, there's going to be hiccups and bumps in the road, but we'll handle those as they come. We just want to make the work exercise riders do safer for them.”

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