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Unbridled Victory, Cash Logistics Victorious On Indiana Champions Day

The state's best Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses were in the spotlight Saturday, Oct. 30 during Indiana Champions Day at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Ind., featuring purses in excess of $1.3 million. Included on the card were four Thoroughbred Stakes, kicking off the day with the 24th running of the Indiana Stallion Stakes – Filly Division.

Unbridled Victory and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. made their presence known early and went straight to the lead in the six-furlong sprint over a very muddy track. The duo held tough throughout to win by one length at the wire over Everything's Rosy and Eddie Perez. No Trust and Sammy Bermudez closed late for third.

Unbridled Victory is trained by Bernie Flint and owned by Miles Childers, Ed Wright Cattle Company, and L.T.B. Inc. It was the second career win in the third start for the Unbridled Express freshman filly, who just broke her maiden in the start before in early October.

Joining Unbridled Victory as a two-year-old winner on the card was Mr Chaos in the 23rd running of the Crown Ambassador Stakes. Ridden by Rodney Prescott, the Turbo Compressor gelding was making only his second career start in the event, but was an impressive winner in his racing debut to be tagged as the favorite. Prescott got away in mid-pack before moving up into third to track the leaders a little closer as the field turned for home.

In the stretch, Mr Chaos got the lead and was a comfortable winner by one and three-quarter lengths, giving Prescott his 3,997th career win. Too Bad Justice and Joe Ramos held gamely for second while Me and Chili and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. finished third.

“He stepped back a little at the break, but he finished strong and ran a real nice race,” said Prescott. “Rob (Dobbs) has done a really nice job with this horse.”

Mr Chaos is trained by Robert Dobbs Jr. and is owned by Judy Dorris and Ken Sentel. The freshman is now two for two in his brief career with earnings in excess of $80,000.

Older horses were featured in the second running of the $150,000 Unreachable Star Stakes. Cash Logistics and Alex Achard got away near the lead and sat along the outside of Barefootbootlegger and Eddie Perez early before moving on and opening up on the field in the stretch. The four-year-old son of Unbridled Express was a winner by five and three-quarter lengths at the wire over Uphold and Tommy Pompell. Max Express and Sammy Bermudez finished third.

Cash Logistics is trained by Genevieve Londono for owners James and Charlie Hancock. It was his fourth win of the year in eight starts with seven career wins now tallied. He moved his career earnings over $358,000.

The connections of Unreachable Star were trackside to provide a $500 donation to Friends of Ferdinand in honor of the former Indiana champion who was the 2009 Horse of the Year and earned more than $775,000 during his career. David and Loren Osborne have been big supporters of racehorse aftercare programs and wanted to do something to give back to Indiana racing during Indiana Champions Day. Friends of Ferdinand is the only accredited Thoroughbred aftercare program and works directly with many trainers at Indiana Grand to retrain and rehome Thoroughbreds once their racing days have been completed.

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The final Thoroughbred stakes race of the day also honored a former champion with the $150,000 Lady Fog Horn Stakes. The race, named in honor of Indiana's all-time leading mare, Lady Fog Horn, who has in excess of $824,000 in earnings, brought out the state's best older females. Fireball Baby was the race favorite and she proved why she deserved so much support with an impressive win by four lengths, well under wraps by Marcelino Pedroza Jr. The Noble's Promise was behind horses for most of the one and one-sixteenth mile event, but found the room she needed along the inside, scooting through and exploding to the lead. Diamond Solitaire and John McKee were widest in the stretch to close for second over Expect Indy and Emmanuel Esquivel for third.

Fireball Baby is a homebred by Richard and Tammy Rigney's Rigney Racing. It was her seventh career win and a repeat in the Lady Fog Horn. The win also catapulted her into the state's top five all-time earners with a tally of nearly $550,000 in career earnings. Philip Bauer has handled the training duties for the flashy chestnut mare, who is now five.

“I had a lot of confidence in this mare today,” said Pedroza Jr., who scored three wins on the card. “I worked her earlier in the week and she worked amazing, so that gave me a lot of confidence coming into today. I told Philip (Bauer) she has a lot of heart, and she showed it today.”

The Thoroughbred portion of the afternoon was presented by the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association with numerous giveaways and a reception in the first floor Derby Suite. The day brought a successful Indiana stakes season to a close, which offered more than $4 million in purses on the year throughout the 123-day racing season.

The 19th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Thursday, Nov. 11. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 11. First post all other Thursdays leading up to the end of the meet begin at 3:25 p.m. A special Indiana Champions Day highlighting the state's top Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses will be held Saturday, Oct. 30, beginning at noon. More information about the 2021 racing season is available at www.caesars.com/indiana-grand.

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Unbridled Class Named Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program’s 2019 Horse Of The Year

Indiana-sired and -bred filly Unbridled Class was named the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program's Horse of the Year for 2019, capping a stellar year that saw the then 4-year-old filly earning $255,695 in 2019 alone.

The award is the pinnacle of the Indiana program for breeders and owners Bernard Flint and Ron Hillerich. Unbridled Class's 2019 earnings also earned her sire, Unbridled Express, the 2019 Stallion of the Year; and Flint the 2019 Stallion Owner of the Year awards.

“We are thrilled. We're humbled,” says Hillerich, a lawyer based in Kentucky. “We're just so happy to be part of the Indiana racing scene. It's quality people, which we enjoy, it's a quality track, and it's a quality experience.”

The gray filly is the product of generations of breeding. Flint and Hillerich bred the dam of Unbridled Express. So it shouldn't be a surprise that because of the banner year for the filly that her dam, Miss Carmelite, would be named the 2019 Broodmare of the Year.

Bred in partnership by Flint's LTB Inc. and Hillerich's Hillerich Racing, LLC, Unbridled Class ranked 63rd by wins in the Top 100 Thoroughbreds racing in North America. Wins included allowance races, stakes placings and black type stakes wins at not only her home base Indiana Grand Racing and Casino, but also at Fair Grounds Race Course, located in New Orleans, La.

Unbridled Class kick-started the year on New Year's Day, winning a $40,000 allowance at Fair Grounds on a sloppy, sealed track. “That race raised my eyebrows,” says Hillerich.

It also was the start of a four-race win streak and she finished no worse than second from February through the end of the year, acquiring a race record of 10 starts, six wins, three seconds and one third in 2019.

The filly's first stakes win came after a stumble at the start in the 2019 Merrillville Stakes at Indiana Grand in September under the expert tutelage of veteran jockey Rodney Prescott, finishing the six furlongs at 1:11.10.

“She (Unbridled Class) is just a really nice, classy mare,” Prescott told media after winning an allowance race earlier this year. “She's done it all, from turf to dirt to different distances. She's won races outside of Indiana, even a stakes race.”

“If you look at her record, she can run on the grass, run on the dirt or slop, she can run short and she can run long,” points out Hillerich.

Off the track, Unbridled Class is all class. Her favorite treats include apples, peppermints and watermelon. According to Hillerich, she has a dream temperament in her stall and on the lead. But, when she steps into the paddock and onto the track, she's all business while staying cool and calm.

“We've been blessed,” he says. “She's beautiful, talented and her disposition is one of those for a lifetime.”

There are no concrete plans for the filly in 2020 and beyond because Flint and Hillerich like to let her do the talking. “The horse tells you what we're going to do,” says Hillerich. “We're just taking it day by day and making sure she stays healthy and sound. I'm looking at the long range for her—when her racing career is over, and I don't know when that'll be, can you imagine what a classic broodmare she will make?”

To date, Unbridled Class has earned almost $400,000, moving her to the top five for Indiana-sired money earners. “She's been so good to us,” says Hillerich in terms of her lifetime earnings. “She's won almost $400,000, and that is before getting the additional 30 percent that Bernie and I get from the Indiana breed development program—10 percent for owning the stallion and 20 percent for breeding the filly.”

The Indiana bred Horse of the Year is determined by the total earnings while racing at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino in Shelbyville. Horses are eligible for the Indiana-bred program if breeders follow registration and residency guidelines for broodmares and their foals. More information can be found on the Indiana Horse Racing Commission website: https://www.in.gov/hrc/tb/

The 2019 Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development and Indiana Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association award winners will be recognized during the first ever Indiana Breeders Day held at Indiana Grand on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The day is meant to celebrate Indiana's Thoroughbred breeders and stallion owners, and will feature a race card hosting four Indiana sired stakes, including the first running of the Unreachable Star and Lady Fog Horn Stakes, contested at 1 1/16 miles for horses three years and older. The two year olds will battle it out in the Crown Ambassador and Indian Stallion Fillies Stakes over six furlongs.

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Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse Jockey Rodney Prescott Records 4,000th Career Winner

Having the skills to ride in both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse races has paid off for Jockey Rodney Prescott. The Portland, Ind. native reached a milestone not many jockeys obtain as he scored his 4,000th career win for combined Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse races Wednesday, June 17 at Indiana Grand.

Prescott, Indiana's all-time leading jockey, was a winner in the afternoon's opening race, guiding Serena's Hope to victory in a near gate to wire performance in the five-furlong sprint. Once the five-year-old daughter by Strong Hope was on the lead, she continued to open up on the field, winning by more than seven lengths to give Prescott another milestone in his already stellar riding career.

“This mare (Serena's Hope) had the winter off, and I actually rode her mom (Serena's Reward) for the same owners,” said Prescott. “I've been breezing her in the mornings and she's been breezing well. She broke well today, and she likes to be out front. That is the perfect scenario for her. She really finished well today too, and winning in that time (:59.16), that's pretty quick for this track.”

Owned by Chris Walsh, Serena's Hope paid $44.40 to win as a surprise to bettors. The Indiana sired mare was making her first start of 2020. She now has four career wins and in excess of $54,000 in career earnings. Kim Hammond trains Serena's Hope.

“It's nice to get a milestone like this on a horse trained by Kim (Hammond),” said Prescott. “She is the winningest female trainer in history. The past few years, we have done well together, so this was a nice horse to get this win on.”

Later in the card, Prescott connected for another win aboard Flat Meadow in a five-furlong turf allowance optional claimer, giving him a riding double for the day.

Prescott now has 3,869 Thoroughbred wins and 132 Quarter Horse wins. Of those total wins, 1,143 of them have been recorded at Indiana Grand. Prescott has competed in all 26 years of pari-mutuel racing held in the state of Indiana, dating back to the inaugural season at Hoosier Park in 1995. Prescott is a three-time leading jockey at Indiana Grand, winning the title in 2004, 2005 and 2018. He also shares the title for most wins recorded in one program, winning six races in 2013. Prescott has also won 28 Thoroughbred stakes races at Indiana Grand.

Prescott is also ranked fourth on the list of all-time leading Quarter Horse jockeys. He has 12 career Quarter Horse stakes victories at the track, bringing his combined Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse stakes win total to 40 at Indiana Grand.

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