The first week of August hosts three important races that are part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series. At Saratoga, the 96th running of the Whitney Stakes will go on Saturday, Aug. 5, and is a qualifier for the Nov.
Tag: Racing
Ben’s Cat, Mountain Dew Selected For Maryland-Bred Thoroughbred Hall Of Fame
Ben's Cat and Mountain Dew, two remarkable geldings who put on a show year after year to the delight of their legions of fans, are the Maryland-bred Thoroughbred Hall of Fame 2023 inductees after a vote by a committee of Maryland racing industry members coordinated by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and Maryland Racing Media Association.
During his eight years of competition, Ben's Cat became a local legend and a national treasure. King T. Leatherbury's nearly-black gelding, a son of Parker's Storm Cat and Leatherbury's homebred mare Twofox, didn't make his first start until age 4 after suffering a broken pelvis at 2, for which he was stall-bound for six months. That only added to the lore.
By the time he retired in 2017, Ben's Cat was the all-time leader among Maryland-breds by number of state-bred championship titles, 17 in all, including four consecutive for Horse of the Year. He recorded a state-bred record 26 stakes wins and had earnings of $2,643,782. He started eight times in the Mister Diz Stakes, winning six, won the Jim McKay Turf Sprint on Preakness weekend five times, and was a multiple graded stakes winner while terrorizing turf sprinters on the East Coast. In 2017, he was awarded the Secretariat Vox Populi Award, chosen by voters from around the world.
“We are so proud that, with this year's inductees, we are able to celebrate not only two of our most important Maryland-bred horses, but Maryland's remarkable horsemen and the diversity of our sport that they represent,” said Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. “King T. Leatherbury and the Fisher family are great examples of the persistence and longevity that Maryland is known for.”
Janon Fisher Jr.'s Mountain Dew was a star foxhunter before switching to timber racing in the early 1960s. At age 6, the son of *Hunters Moon IV and Fisher's homebred War Admiral mare Laelia launched a Maryland Hunt Cup career unequaled in longevity. In eight runnings, he recorded three Hunt Cup wins (1962, 1965 and 1967) with rider Janon Fisher III and was second to National Museum of Racing Hall of Famer Jay Trump in the 1963, 1964 and 1966 runnings. In his Hunt Cup debut in 1961 he finished third. When attempting a record fourth Hunt Cup win in 1968, he was injured at the 19th of 22 fences while leading (and continued on to jump the 20th fence while being pulled up).
Mountain Dew started 24 times in sanctioned timber races and never fell. In his only flat start (at 3) he exited with an injury. Mountain Dew holds the record of winning six Maryland Grand Nationals in eight starts and placing in the other two. After he recovered from his 1968 injury, he went back to life as a foxhunter.
“Our two newest inductees demonstrate both the depth and quality of Maryland breeding over the decades and its remarkable resilience to today,” said Maryland Racing Media Association president Frank Vespe. “It underlines what Ben's Cat was able to accomplish, especially given his modest beginnings, that he is the first horse to conclude his career since the Hall of Fame's creation to be inducted in his first year of eligibility.”
This year's inductees will be celebrated during a ceremony between races at Timonium Race Course on Saturday, Sept. 2.
Under the collaboration of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and Maryland Racing Media Association, the Hall of Fame was initiated in 2013 as a means of celebrating the excellence of state-bred Thoroughbred horses and debuted with an inaugural class of 12. There are now 33 members. Ben's Cat and Mountain Dew join MTHOF members Awad, Broad Brush, Caesar's Wish, Challedon, Cigar, Concern, Conniver, Dave's Friend, Deputed Testamony, Devil's Bag, El Gran Senor, Find, Gallorette, Heavenly Cause, Jameela, J. O. Tobin, Kauai King, Little Bold John, Politely, Safely Kept, Smoke Glacken, Social Outcast, Star de Naskra, Twixt, Vertex, What a Summer and Youth and steeplechasers Elkridge, Good Night Shirt, Jay Trump and Tuscalee.
The newest honorees, with biographies, photos, videos and complete race records, will be showcased online at www.mdthoroughbredhalloffame.com.
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Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare Faces Unsure Future, Seeks Community Help
The future of Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare is up in the air as the non-profit organization faces an unprecedented increase in both rehab cases and operating expenses.
“Responsible aftercare is an imperative duty of the racing industry–one that cannot be overlooked or ignored,” said CTA Adoption Coordinator Chrissy Laughlin. “As they profit from breeding and bringing these magnificent horses to Puerto Rico, it is incumbent upon the industry to step up and provide the essential funding for their lifelong well-being and care. Embracing this responsibility with unwavering dedication will ensure a brighter future for these incredible athletes who have given their all on the racetrack.”
The CTA, which has seen a decline in on-island adoptions, has struggled to place horses in suitable homes. So much so that they are unable to accept any additional horses as of Aug. 1 due to “depleted funds for quarantine and transportation.”
Those interested in assisting the CTA can find more information here.
The post Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare Faces Unsure Future, Seeks Community Help appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
De Francis Winner Lightening Larry ‘Doing Fine’ After Delgado Trainee Was Vanned Off For ‘Precautionary’ Reasons
Lea Farms' Lightening Larry, who ran his stakes win streak to three with a half-length victory over fellow Grade 3 winner Wondrwherecraigis in the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Saturday at Laurel Park, returned to Monmouth Park where trainer Jorge Delgado reported Sunday he is 'doing fine.'
Lightening Larry came from off the pace on a main track where speed had been holding to run down pacesetting Wondrwherecraigis and prevail in the prestigious six-furlong sprint, adding his name to the likes of Hall of Famer Housebuster and champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull as De Francis winners.
“I'll tell you what, I won a Grade 2 [July 28] in Saratoga, but I think it is way tougher to beat Brittany Russell in Maryland,” Delgado said of Wondrwherecraigis' Laurel-based trainer, the state's overall leader in wins (72) and purse earnings ($3.143 million) this year that earned a fourth career individual title during the Preakness Meet in May at historic Pimlico Race Course.
“[Lightening Larry] always shows heart,” he added. “He's a very straightforward, honest horse. He's been magnificent in his career. He doesn't care where he runs or who he runs against, he just tries every time. He's had a beautiful career. He's got a strong win percentage. He's been doing really good for us, thankfully.”
Lightening Larry had galloped out and was jogging back to the winner's circle following the De Francis when jockey Daniel Centeno stopped and dismounted in upper stretch. The 4-year-old Florida-bred Uncaptured colt stood patiently while being hosed off and walked calmly on to a waiting horse van to be taken off the track.
“He came back in good shape,” Delgado said. “I was a little concerned because they vanned him off and when I spoke to the state vets there they were just doing the precautionary things they have to do. He came back last night. I saw him walking this morning and we checked him with the vet and he's doing fine. He'll be all right, so that was a big relief.
“As far as his mood and desire, he's a straightforward horse and he's always playing and biting and stuff like that. Nothing has changed,” he added. “He ate all his feed last night and he was just enjoying the morning. It was a beautiful morning in New Jersey, and he was out enjoying the weather and everything.”
Centeno settled Lightening Larry in third behind Wondrwherecraigis, who posted fractions of 21.84, 44.65 and 56.75 seconds in his third straight De Francis after being second each of the prior two years. Lightening Larry was able to collar the leader in the final furlong and prevail in 1:09.29.
“He loves to win, and yesterday he showed it. I don't think it was an ideal race for him. There wasn't too much pace in the race, and he was closing from a little outside even if it was a five-horse field,” Delgado said. “I thought [Wondrwherecraigis] had a little advantage over him because he was the only sort of speed and he was on the inside. In the stretch and by the eighth pole, he targeted that horse and said, 'I'm going to win,' and he passed the horse. He's a pretty cool horse. He knows where the wire is, and he enjoys what he does.”
Lightening Larry has eight wins, six in stakes, and $607,080 in purse earnings from 18 starts. Delgado took over his training last March and together they have been third or better in nine of 11 races including prior stakes wins in the 2022 Chick Lang (G3) and this year's Sunshine Millions Sprint at Gulfstream Park, Mr. Prospector at Monmouth and Delaware Park's Alapocas Run.
The Chick Lang at Pimlico marked the first graded triumph for both horse and trainer, who since added the 2022 Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream Park with Willy Boi, also owned by Lea Farms, and Saratoga's Amsterdam (G2) with AMO Racing USA's New York Thunder.
“He's the kind of horse that always makes you look good. It doesn't matter what track it is, or what day or what stake. Nothing matters to him,” Delgado said. “He just goes to the race and he's a true warrior. He has a heart that a majority of horses don't have. I have a really good chemistry with him. He likes to run and for the barn he's a very special horse.”
Delgado, based primarily in South Florida with a summer string at Monmouth, has not plotted out a next start for Lightening Larry.
“Thankfully there are plenty of options,” he said. “I will try to look for something in five to seven weeks. He runs basically every four weeks, maybe less days this time, and he responds. I think between this race and the next race I would like to give him an extra couple of weeks and bring him back in 100 percent shape.”
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