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Vertical Threat Invades From California To Win Steel Valley Sprint At Mahoning Valley

Breaking a step slowly from the rail post under Heriberto Figueroa, MyRaceHorse.com and Slam Dunk Racing's Vertical Threat quickly assumed command and was never seriously threatened en route to a 7 1/2-length victory in Monday's $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Youngstown, Ohio.

Sent off as the even-money favorite, the Richard Baltas-trained colt by Tapiture covered six furlongs on a muddy track in 1:10.07 in the race restricted to 3-year-olds. Williston Way edged Flatter Me Please for second after the two raced as a team down the stretch, with Night Time finishing 6 1/2 lengths further back in fourth in the field of 12. Shashashakemeup and Golden Candy were scratched.

Vertical Threat paid $4.20 to win as the even-money favorite. He earned $112,800 for the victory.

While he was coming off a sixth-place finish after setting quick fractions for the opening six furlongs in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs last time out on the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby day card, Vertical Threat prepared for the Steel Valley Sprint in Southern California at the San Luis Rey training center. His first three races were in California, including a victory in the restricted Smiling Tiger Stakes at Del Mar in late July.

Southern California-based Figueroa – now a perfect three-for-three on the colt – guided Vertical Threat off the rail shortly after assuming command and remained well off the fence through fractions of :22.89, :45.59 and :57.63.

The victory was the third in five starts for Vertical Threat, produced from the Omega Code mare Viola Blew By and bred in Kentucky by Albert Davis and Teresa Davis. MyRaceHorse.com paid $100,000 for Vertical Threat at the 2019 OBS April Sale of 2-year-olds in training.

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Tough Competition Projected At Tampa Bay For Upcoming Meet; Races Return Wednesday

The smell of freshly cut grass drifted across the grandstand apron shortly after 9 a.m. today, as track maintenance workers groomed Tampa Bay Downs' renowned turf in preparation for Wednesday's Opening Day program.

Although no one was around to savor the sweet fragrance, that scenario will change in two days when spectators are allowed to view the races in person for the first time since March 15. A nine-race card that includes four races on the pristine grass course begins at 12:25 p.m. The gates open at 11 a.m.

Wednesday's feature race is the Happy Thanksgiving Purse, an allowance/optional claiming event carded as the eighth race. A field of nine colts and geldings will sprint 6 ½ furlongs on the main dirt track. The 3-1 morning-line favorite is 3-year-old colt Hauntedbythemusic, trained by Baltazar Galvan, with Samy Camacho named to ride.

Officially, Wednesday is the second day of the 2020-21 Thoroughbred meeting, which began on July 1, the second day of the track's two-day Summer Festival of Racing. Tampa Bay Downs will race on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule before adding Sundays to the mix on Dec. 20 (the track will race Thursday, Dec. 24 and be closed Christmas, Dec. 25).

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, fans will be required to wear masks both inside and outside the facility, unless they are eating or drinking. Social distancing is encouraged and will be enforced, as necessary.

Gerald Bennett, who has won five consecutive Tampa Bay Downs training titles and six overall, has entered seven horses for Wednesday. He described the vibe on the grounds as upbeat as horsemen, jockeys and backstretch personnel get ready to launch the track's 95^th anniversary season.

“Everyone wants to get running. We have quite a few new outfits here and quite a few new riders, very competitive riders,” Bennett said. “We're eager to get started and see how everything unfolds, but I think we're going to have pretty competitive racing from the first day.

“You have the great weather and you have a dirt track that is the same consistency from day to day, so you don't have to over-train your horses. The turf track is probably as good as any turf track in the country, so you get (trainers such as) Chad Brown, Shug McGaughey, (Todd) Pletcher and (Christophe) Clement shipping horses in to run.”

That doesn't make it any easier to win races, but it draws attention – and wagering dollars – from bettors far and wide.

Camacho, who won the Oldsmar jockeys title in 2018-2019 and captured last season's Grade 2 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on 49-1 shot King Guillermo, expects to be tested by his rivals from the beginning. He can't wait.

“I had a good season at Gulfstream (in south Florida), but I love Tampa and I'm glad to be back with my family and my friends and the fans. I'm excited, and I want to start winning races and having fun,” Camacho said.

While Camacho is fired up to hear the shouts from the crowd as he rides a horse to victory, Bennett says having fans along for the ride gives everyone a boost.

“A lot of fans always talk to me and ask me if my horse has a shot, and I'll talk about the race and tell them which horse I think we have to beat,” Bennett said. “It's good having them back, and Tampa is a great area to race and live. It's a relaxed atmosphere and everybody knows each other in the barn area, so it gets to be like a family.”

A family with its share of intense rivalries.

While Bennett expects to have as many as 50 horses in his stable (including some trained by his wife, Mary Ann Bennett), he expects strong challenges for the top spot from last season's runner-up, Kathleen O'Connell, and third-place finisher Michael Stidham.

Newcomers likely to be heard from include Michael Maker, Jon Arnett and David Van Winkle.

The jockeys race should also be highly charged from the outset, with Camacho joined in the battle by defending champion Antonio Gallardo, a five-time title-holder; six-time winner Daniel Centeno; Pablo Morales; Jose Ferrer; Jesus Castanon; Ronnie Allen, Jr.; and newcomer Roberto Alvarado, Jr.

The 2020-21 stakes schedule kicks off on Dec. 5, Cotillion Festival Day, which features a card of mostly 2-year-old races. Stakes offerings that day include the $100,000 Inaugural Stakes for 2-year-olds and the $100,000 Sandpiper Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. Both races are at a distance of 6 furlongs on the main track. The Inaugural closed Saturday with 25 nominations, while the Sandpiper attracted 24 nominations.

The 41^st annual G2 $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, a showcase for Triple Crown prospects, will be held March 6 as part of a Festival Day program including four graded stakes and total stakes purse money of $1 million.

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Santa Anita Announces Sunshine Bonus To Draw Out-Of-State Horses To Winter Meet

With its traditional Winter/Spring Meeting set to begin Saturday, Dec. 26, Santa Anita Park has announced a lucrative Sunshine Bonus, which is intended to attract out-of-state horses throughout the meet, which concludes on June 20.

“Along with the 10 percent raise in our average daily purse distribution which now totals $533,000, we're hopeful this new Sunshine Bonus program will help to attract horses that have not run in California over the past 12 months,” said Chris Merz, Santa Anita's Director of Racing. “With a guaranteed bonus of $3,000 to be paid to the owners of any eligible horse making their first start here, excluding stakes races and first-time starters, this is a very significant enticement to train and race at what we believe is a magnificent year-round facility.”

In addition to the initial $3,000 starter's bonus, Merz pointed out that sizable bonuses will be paid to those same horses predicated upon where they finish in their Santa Anita debuts.

“Excluding stakes and first-time starters, the Sunshine Bonus will also offer a 35 percent bonus to the owners of those horses finishing first through fifth in their first starts here. So for instance, if a horse ships in and wins a $61,000 maiden special weight race, the owner will not only receive the standard winner's share of $36,600, he'll get the first time Santa Anita starter bonus of $3,000 as well as the 35 percent bonus of $12,810.

“This adds up to total money-won of $52,410 in a $61,000 race. The numbers speak for themselves and we're hoping horsemen nationwide will take this into account when they consider sending horses here this winter and spring.”

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Churchill To Undertake $10 Million Turf Course Replacement; No Stabling At The Track Next Summer

Churchill Downs Racetrack will invest $10 million to install a new turf course that will widen the running surface and increase the durability to allow increased turf racing throughout the year at the historic home of the Kentucky Derby.

The capital project will begin immediately after the completion of the 2021 Spring Meet and be ready for turf racing to resume at the start of the 2022 Spring Meet. If growing conditions are favorable enough, the new grass course could be ready for use by the November 2021 Fall Meet.

The current Matt Winn Turf Course, a 7/8-mile oval situated inside the one-mile dirt track, is the original surface when grass racing debuted 35 years ago at Churchill Downs in 1985. It is comprised of four-inch high Kentucky 31 Fescue (90%) and Bluegrass (10%) grown in a three-inch topsoil layer over a 13-inch course masonry sand base.

The new and more robust turf course will be a similar blend of fescue and bluegrass and will have a redesigned subsurface. The growing medium will contain a six-inch upper root zone layer created with a blended mix of topsoil and grit sand which will sit on a six-inch lower sand layer constructed with masonry sand. Churchill Downs planted several test plots in the spring of 2019 and selected the best for use in the new turf course.

The current track, which is 80 feet wide, was designed with a crown that runs down the center of the track to facilitate drainage, limiting the number of running lanes.

The new turf course includes a new state-of-the-art irrigation and drainage system, will be widened to 85 feet and be designed to use the full width and banking in the turns. The new course will provide multiple rail movement options with the capacity to accommodate four racing lanes that range from 0 to 36 feet out and as many as 14 participants per race.

Churchill Downs retained the United Kingdom-based STRI Group to design a new racing surface for the historic track. STRI has designed, constructed, maintained and provided consulting and monitoring services for world-class turf surfaces supporting equine athletics at the highest level, including Ascot Racecourse and Riyad Equestrian Club. Additionally, STRI has provided grass consulting to signature international sporting events, including soccer's FIFA World Cup, tennis' Wimbledon and golf's Open Championship.

As a result of the turf project, there will be no stabling at Churchill Downs for eight weeks during the months of July and August. Also, there will be no turf racing during the 2021 September Meet to allow the roots to grow down and the turf to take hold.

Churchill Downs stages approximately 700 races each year during its three race meets with about 25% of those races scheduled for the turf. In 2019, there were 169 scheduled grass races but 43 of those events were transferred to the dirt because of inclement weather or suboptimal course conditions.

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