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Preakness-Winning Duo McPeek, Albarado Join Breeders’ Cup’s Cocktails & Conversation Thursday

The Breeders' Cup, one of Thoroughbred horse racing's most prestigious international events, today announces Kenny McPeek and Robby Albarado, this year's Preakness Stakes-winning trainer and jockey respectively, as the special guests for this week's installment of Cocktails & Conversation. The multi-platform broadcast is a recurring virtual happy hour series designed to rally the horse racing industry's most prominent figures to raise funds for communities that have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19.

The Cocktails & Conversation broadcast, airing Thursday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. ET via Breeders' Cup's Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, will mark the 23^rd installment of the series. The episode will be hosted by Nick Luck and Britney Eurton of NBC Sports and 21 Club mixologist and creator of Breeders' Cup's official cocktails Mark Tubridy.

A native of Lexington, Ky., McPeek began his horse racing career working for future Hall of Fame trainer Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey III before opening his own stable in 1985. Widely known for his talent in discovering star horses, McPeek has trained Grade 1 winners Sarava, who captured the Belmont Stakes, Harlan's Holiday, winner of the Florida Derby and Golden Ticket, winner of the Travers Stakes, among others.

After turning professional at age of 16, Albarado has been a regular force in the horse racing circuit. Albarado won his first Triple Crown race in 2007, when he steered Curlin to victory in the 132^nd Preakness Stakes, and later that year won the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) with the same horse. His other victories in the Breeders' Cup World Championships include the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with Tapitsfly in 2009 and the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) in 2011 with Court Vision.

Last Saturday, McPeek and Albarado made history as the duo won the Preakness Stakes with filly Swiss Skydiver. Defeating the 3-2 favorite Authentic by a neck, Swiss Skydiver became the first filly since 2009 to win the Preakness. The filly also gave Albarado his first Grade 1 stakes victory since 2017.

Thursday's live stream will commence with Tubridy leading a virtual mixology class for viewers, creating two refreshing cocktails to enjoy at home during the broadcast. Mark will first create “Tito's Hurricane,” which boasts bright, fruity flavors with ingredients including Tito's Handmade Vodka, dark rum, fresh orange juice, grenadine and more. The second featured cocktail is “Smoke Signals,” a smooth and nuanced cocktail featuring Maker's Mark Bourbon, Islay Scotch, sweet vermouth and smoked cinnamon.

Following the cocktail-mixing segment, the broadcast will feature a conversational interview with McPeek and Albarado, who will speak about the recent historic Preakness win, Swiss Skydiver's prospects in this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships and more. Fans will be able to submit questions via social media for the hosts and guest to answer during the broadcast for a truly interactive experience. Throughout the cocktail hour, viewers will be encouraged to donate to industry workers and communities in need through the official Breeders' Cup website.

Tapping all-star talents such as world-renowned jockeys Victor Espinoza, Umberto Rispoli, Javier Castellano, Frankie Dettori, Angel Cordero Jr. and Mike Smith; leading trainers Peter Eurton, Simon Callaghan, Tom Amoss, Bob Baffert, Chad Brown, Mark Casse, Graham Motion, Doug O'Neill, Todd Pletcher, Dale Romans and Wesley Ward; the Stronach Group's Aidan Butler, NHL All-Star and Thoroughbred owner Erik Johnson; film and television actress and equestrian rider Bo Derek; owners Jeff Bloom, Sol Kumin and Jack and Laurie Wolf; television personality and fashion designer Carson Kressley; the NBC Sports' horse racing broadcasting team; and Breeders' Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming, Breeders' Cup has raised thousands of dollars through previous Cocktails & Conversation broadcasts.

All proceeds generated from Cocktails & Conversation are wholly donated to the following organizations benefitting the horse racing and hospitality industries:

Race Track Chaplaincy of America, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the horse racing community through social services, food and clothing banks and educational workshops.
USBG National Charity Foundation, which supports bartenders, barbacks and bar servers throughout the nation who have been financially impacted by restaurant and bar shutdowns as a result of the health crisis.
Restaurant Workers Relief Program, a project jointly formed by Maker's Mark and the Lee Initiative that has transformed restaurants in major cities into relief centers that offer food and supplies to affected hospitality workers.

To learn more about the virtual happy hour series and to support those in need, please visit BreedersCup.com/convos.

The post Preakness-Winning Duo McPeek, Albarado Join Breeders’ Cup’s Cocktails & Conversation Thursday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Kenny McPeek Lets Loose On TDN Writers’ Room

It takes a certain kind of personality to enter a filly against the boys in a leg of the Triple Crown, and Kenny McPeek showed all of that personality on Wednesday’s TDN Writers’ Room podcast presented by Keeneland. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, McPeek talked about his successful, outside-the-box campaign of Peter Callahan’s GI Preakness S. winner Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), why he subbed in Robby Albarado to ride the chestnut, his approach to training 2-year-olds and much more.

Swiss Skydiver has run nine times this year, starting her campaign Jan. 18 at Tampa. Winning five of those starts, she beat 22 of 23 males combined in her two attempts against them and raced at nine different tracks. Already a top contender for champion 3-year-old filly, Saturday’s scintillating and game Preakness victory over GI Kentucky Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief) has vaulted Swiss Skydiver into a wide-open Horse of the Year discussion, and McPeek was asked what he thinks she has to do to earn that trophy.

“She needs to run well in the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. “We haven’t decided where we’re going to run yet [Classic or Distaff]. We’ve still got some analyzing to do of who’s going to be out there and possible starters, but she’s run all year. If they call it Horse of the Year, she ran all year, so what else can you do? I think it’d be fitting, but she’s just really solid and that’s more credit to her than it is me. She kept telling us she wanted to go and the schedule really lined up well for us over the course of the year. And the fact that she ran East Coast, West Coast, North, South, Midwest, she’s entertained the racing world all year, all over the country.”

In addition to bouncing around to different venues, Swiss Skydiver has been ridden by six different jockeys through this campaign, with Albarado taking the reins for the first time in the Preakness. McPeek aired his frustrations as to why Tyler Gaffalione didn’t take the call.

“I announced that we’re going to run in the Preakness and Tyler was on board,” he said. “By maybe 6:00 that night, his agent tells us that he can’t ride. And I’m like, ‘Look, you’ve given us a two-race commitment [GI Kentucky Oaks and Preakness].’ He said, ‘Oh well, sorry, I’ve got to ride for Chad Brown at Keeneland.’ I said, ‘You can’t do this. It’s dishonorable.’ I’ve been doing this for 35 years and I’ve never had something like that happen. I still find it dishonorable. Shame on Tyler Gaffalione and his agent. So all the riders in New York were taken, most of the Keeneland riders were taken, and Robby Albarado had been breezing horses for me on a regular basis. I called him and said, ‘Robby, here’s the deal, I’m going to tell Peter Callahan you’re going down to Baltimore, Rob is filling in for the Preakness.’ He says, ‘All right, I’m ready.’ It gives me goosebumps thinking that we pulled it off. Sometimes you’ve got to take a negative and turn it into a positive. Robby needed the break and he was hungry. He knows what to do, and he deserves to ride more horses than he’s been riding. And I think he pretty well proved it. Put him on a big stage and he can handle it.”

Also touched on in the wide-ranging interview were McPeek’s GI Darley Alcibiades romper Simply Ravishing (Laoban), why he stepped away from training in the mid-2000s and why making video and data more accessible is the improvement he sees as most necessary to change racing’s fortunes.

Elsewhere on the show, the writers recapped and analyzed the rest of the action from a monster weekend of stakes across the globe and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, discussed how the demise of Calder is the latest in a troubling trend of Churchill-owned tracks shutting down. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

The post Kenny McPeek Lets Loose On TDN Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Dirt Mile, Classic Under Consideration For Preakness Third Jesus’ Team

Grupo 7C Racing Stable's Jesus' Team, who finished third in Saturday's 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico, has taken up temporary residence at trainer Kenny McPeek's Magdalena Farm in Lexington, KY before moving to Keeneland Friday to begin preparation for a start on the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup program.

“He will run in the Breeders' Cup, 100-percent,” said trainer Jose D'Angelo, who was scheduled to saddle two starters on Wednesday's program at Gulfstream Park West. “We just don't know what race – maybe the [Dirt] Mile or maybe the Classic. I will wait for the decision from the owners.”

McPeek, who saddled Swiss Skydiver for a thrilling victory over Bob Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic in the Preakness, welcomed Jesus' Team to his farm after being contacted by D'Angelo.

“Always after his races, for Jesus, I give him four or five days in a roll pen or a little paddock. At Keeneland, they don't have that. So I called Kenny McPeek and he said, 'Hey, come on, bring your horse,'” said D'Angelo, whose first Preakness starter was stabled next to Swiss Skydiver in the Preakness Stakes Barn. “He's relaxing and enjoying his days off at Magdalena Farm.

“On Friday, we'll move him to Keeneland again and start jogging and galloping him slow for a week. He'll have two or three works for the Breeders' Cup. The horse came back from the Preakness very good.”

D'Angelo saddled his first horse in the U.S. at Gulfstream Park 16 months ago after winning the trainer's title in his native Venezuela, joining his father, Francisco, a multiple training titlist in the South American country before venturing to the U.S. in 2015.

“It was an amazing experience, spending one week with the stars of training, like Bob Baffert and Kenny McPeek,” said D'Angelo, whose stable is based at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. “I'm very, very proud of my work and my team for the third in the Preakness. I had confidence in Jesus before the race. I knew he was in good condition.”

D'Angelo will split his time between Keeneland and Gulfstream Park West leading up to the Breeders' Cup.

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Mike Maker Captures $100,000 Preakness Weekend Trainer Bonus

Mike Maker edged defending champion Brad Cox and two-time winner Steve Asmussen to claim the top prize in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 Sentient Jet Trainer Bonus offered to horsemen for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend, Oct. 1-3, at Pimlico Race Course.

Maker led the way with 43 points, three more than Cox and Asmussen, to earn a $50,000 bonus. Maker registered wins with 2-year-old colt Catman in the $150,000 Laurel Futurity and 3-year-old filly Evil Lyn in the $100,000 Hilltop on Saturday's Oct. 3 undercard of the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1).

Also on Saturday, Maker ran second and third with Somelikeithotbrown and Hembree in the $250,000 Dinner Party (G2), fifth with Admiral Lynch in the $200,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3), Storm the Hill in the $150,000 Gallorette (G3) and Golden Voice in the $150,000 Selima, and fifth and ninth with Jolting Joe and Chocolate Bar in the $100,000 James W. Murphy.

Maker also finished third in the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) with Relentless Dancer and sixth in the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint with Tiger Blood Oct. 1.

Cox and Asmussen tied for second with 40 points apiece, each taking home $18,500. On Preakness Day, Cox beat Maker in the Dinner Party with Factor This and Gallorette with Juliet Foxtrot, finished second with Bonny South in the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2), fourth with Mundaye Call in the $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3), sixth with Landeskog in the De Francis and Nautilus in the Laurel Futurity and 7th with Andesite in the Murphy.

On Oct. 1, Cox ran second in the historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) with Owendale, who ran third in last year's Preakness in the trainer's Triple Crown debut.

Asmussen, the top bonus winner in 2017 and 2018, was first and fourth with Yaupon and Little Current in the Chick Lang Oct. 1. He finished fourth with defending champion Tenfold in the Pimlico Special Oct. 2, and won the Miss Preakness with Wicked Whisper, was third with Nitrous in the De Francis and Bye Bye J in the $100,000 Skipat, and fifth with Hidden Enemy in the Laurel Futurity on the Preakness undercard.

In the Preakness, where he became the first trainer since fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas in 2013 to saddle three horses in the race, Asmussen ran fifth with Max Player, sixth with Excession and 10th with Pneumatic behind historic filly winner Swiss Skydiver.

Fair Hill (Md.)-based trainer Graham Motion came in fourth with 37 points and earned a $7,000 bonus, largely thanks to runner-up finishes in the Selima (Invincible Gal), Laurel Futurity (Wootton Asset), Gallorette (Varenka) and Murphy (Bye Bye Melvin). With his other starters, Motion ran fourth with Pivotal Mission in the Laurel Futurity, fourth and eighth with Lucky Jingle and Shimmering in the Hilltop, and fifth and seventh with True Valour and Irish Strait in the Dinner Party.

Rounding out the top five was Claudio Gonzalez with 29 points, good for a $4,000 bonus. Stabled at Laurel Park, Maryland's three-time defending overall training champion won the Pimlico Special with Harpers First Ride, was second with Completed Pass in the McKay and Eastern Bay in the De Francis, seventh and ninth with Pitching Ari and Lebda in the Chick Lang, and respectively fifth, sixth and seventh with Princess Cadey, Fly On Angel and Ankle Monitor in the Miss Preakness.

To be eligible, trainers had to run a minimum of five horses in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes races during Preakness weekend, not including the $100,000 UAE President Cup (G1) for Arabians. Points were accumulated for finishing first (10), second (seven), third (five) and fourth (three) and by having a starter (one).

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