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Stanley Cup Champion Erik Johnson Joins Writers’ Room

As far back as he can remember, and that includes 15 long years and over 900 career games in the NHL, defenseman Erik Johnson of the Colorado Avalanche has been chasing the ultimate dream of winning the Stanley Cup. A week and a half ago, Johnson, who also owns ERJ Racing over in our corner of the world, realized that dream, as his Avalanche took out the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the Stanley Cup Final. Still glowing from that triumph, Johnson joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week to describe the whirlwind he and his teammates have been on since last Sunday night, his plans to take the Stanley Cup to Del Mar for Pacific Classic day, his thoughts on the vastly improved safety of California racing and more.

Asked to compare his Cup victory to potentially reaching the mountaintop in racing, winning a race like the Kentucky Derby with ERJ, Johnson didn't mince words, saying, “I've never won the Derby, but I imagine this feels 1,000 times better. Because when you're an owner in the Derby, you're a spectator and you have no impact on what happens. When you're part of a team that wins the Stanley Cup, and you're actually out there doing it with your teammates, and it's something that you've put your whole life into since you were a kid, you can't top this feeling. It's just amazing, and I'm lucky because not a lot of people get to experience this. I've played with a lot of great players who never won.”

Southern California racing, mired in so many negative headlines during the rash of breakdowns at Santa Anita in 2019, has made–unfortunately–smaller headlines for a drastically improved safety record in the two years since. Johnson, who primarily races in California, was asked about the work California racing has done to correct such a dire problem.

“I think they've done a great job,” he said. “No matter what, you're not going to escape the negativity. There's always going to be someone that's upset. But seeing the statistics that have come out recently, there probably was a need for some reform and the leadership has done a really good job throughout the state. I think what's really helped is those pre-race checks. Every horse gets checked out, and I'm sure it makes some owners upset because some of their horses won't run after you've paid 30, 60 days worth of bills getting your horse ready to run, then they pull it out. But for the betterment and longevity of the game, those are things that needed to happen and steps that needed to be taken. So overall I think [California officials] should be commended. They've done awesome, and the game is now in a much better place than it was just a couple of years ago.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reacted to a weekend full of huge performances on the racetrack and Terence Collier's letter to the editor criticizing Bill Finley's argument for fewer stakes races. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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HKJC Executive, New TOC President Bill Nader Joins Writers’ Room

As a well-respected industry veteran of several decades coming off an immensely successful run as an executive with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Bill Nader could likely write his own ticket for most jobs in the industry. It was recently announced that after 15 years in Hong Kong, Nader would be coming home to America and become the new president and CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Tuesday, Nader joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about why he left Hong Kong for the TOC, his analysis of the current state of California racing, what lessons can be taken for America from the growth of Hong Kong racing and more.

“I was coming back anyway and had made the decision to leave at some point this year,” Nader said of returning home. “We've been pretty much locked down [in Hong Kong] for the last three years, so I haven't been back [to America] for three years. My family used to come visit from time to time, but they haven't been able to do that. So I was ready to wrap it up and head home. Then this opportunity presented itself and through the process of getting to know the board at the TOC, I became very comfortable with their commitment and dedication. I'm certainly not a California guy, but I'm very familiar with the rich history of racing in California. Even now with a horse like Flightline who may be the world number one when the rankings come out next month, and you think of horses like Arrogate, Zenyatta, California Chrome, Best Pal, going all the way back to Seabiscuit, it's a rich, rich, rich history. You have some of the world's most beautiful racetracks, great weather, so there's so much to build on there. I'm excited for the opportunity.”

Nader was later asked what has made Hong Kong racing so successful under his tenure, during which annual handle more than doubled from HK$60 billion to HK$133 billion, and whether the formula behind that success can be translated to American racing.

“I think it comes down to quality control, number one,” he said. “The two segments you really want to make sure you take care of are horse owners and horseplayers. If you get those two things right, then the foundation is solid. We've made tremendous investments in increasing purse money and handle. When you look at what makes racing attractive to the horseplayer, it's good field sizes, quality racing, great liquidity, and integrity. On integrity, have our own racing lab, one of the world's best racing labs, at Sha Tin. Our racing stewards are very good and vigilant in protecting not only the integrity of the sport but the integrity of the wager. There's also vertical integration here within the Hong Kong Jockey Club framework, where everything is under our roof. So we're not only the operator, we're the regulator, we do our own food and beverage, we do own our show, we do our own broadcasting. The people who work here in the key positions are among the best in the world. So everything structurally is in a great spot.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers discussed what to do about a redundant national stakes schedule, analyzed NYRA's suspension of Bob Baffert and previewed a busy holiday weekend of racing. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Report: Baltas Hearing Postponed Until At Least July 31

With a potential fine or suspension looming, California trainer Richard Baltas will not face a scheduled hearing with stewards at Los Alamitos Friday after Darrell Vienna, the trainer's lawyer, successfully asked for a postponement. The story was first reported by Daily Racing Form.

Vienna told DRF Monday that he has received a 30-day continuance in the case from Los Alamitos stewards. A new hearing has not been scheduled, with the earliest it can come being July 31 at Del Mar.

“I didn't receive the full complaint until seven days before the hearing,” Vienna said. “In order to prepare an adequate defense, I need time.”

It was reported last week that 23 horses trained by Baltas, who was banned from Santa Anita and other 1/ST Racing tracks with scant initial explanation in early May, were allegedly administered substances on race day in violation of California Horse Racing Board rules. Baltas was ordered to appear before the Los Alamitos stewards by the CHRB, which opened an investigation into the trainer May 8.

The postponement of Friday's hearing leaves up in the air whether or not Baltas will be allowed to stable and start horses at the Del Mar summer meet, which starts July 22.

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Trainer Thomas Bell, Jr. Passes Away at 93

A colorful pioneering family of bloodstock agents, horse traders, bronc riders and trainers has lost a mainstay in Thomas R. Bell, Jr. who passed away Friday night at age 93.

“Three generations [of Bells] were responsible for two Kentucky Derby winners,” said his son, trainer Thomas R. Bell II, known as Ray.

Bell and his father, the World Champion rodeo cowboy Thomas R. Bell, purchased Tomy Lee, who won the 1959 Kentucky Derby for trainer Frank Childs.

Ray Bell selected Charismatic as a weanling for Bob and Beverly Lewis. The horse later won the Derby for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Bell came within a length of winning the Kentucky Derby in his own right as a trainer, when conditioning Rumbo to finish second to Genuine Risk in the 1980 running of the race.

After a tardy start, Rumbo took up the rear-guard in the 13-horse field. “The fractions were, get this, :24, :48, 1:12, and he's dead last,” said Ray Bell, who assisted his father in Rumbo's preparations.

The horse came with a wet sail down the Churchill Downs straight to get within a length of the winning filly.

“Someone from the press came up to me afterwards and said, 'Did you know your horse ran the last quarter of a mile faster than any horse in Derby history,'” recounted Ray Bell. “I said, 'Well, that and fifty cents will get you a cup of coffee I guess.'”

Bell was born in Brooklyn and learned his trade working in New York for a Georgian prince, Dimitri Djordjadze, who kept a stable of steeplechasers.

Bell remained on the East Coast when he took out his own license. But after a spell in the armed services during the Korean War in an agricultural unit, Bell resumed his career on the West Coast, training any number of notable runners, including the tough handicapper Silver Saber, Silver Eagle (twice the conqueror of John Henry), Quick Turnover and Nain Bleu.

Another glitzy Bell runner was The Pie King, owned by Bell's father, who was the top-rated juvenile in England in 1953, after winning that year's Coventry, Richmond and Gimcrack S. for trainer Paddy Prendergast.

Bell took over the training of The Pie King when he was relocated Stateside. “He won several races but never won a stakes,” recalled Ray Bell, of The Pie King's U.S. racing career. “But he retired to stud here in California where he produced quite a few nice horses, including a really nice horse who won the Hollywood Derby.”

One of Bell's most prolific picks as a bloodstock agent was the talented Chilean racemare, Marimbula, who won the 1983 GI Santa Margarita H. for trainer Michael Whittingham.

Bell and his brother co-owned Barberstown, who finished third in the 1983 Belmont S.

After the race, the Bells sold 3/4th of Barberstown to McDermott Ranch, a leading Texan Thoroughbred breeding operation. The horse resumed his career under the tutelage of John Gosden, winning the following year's Del Mar Invitational H.

“My uncle was clever enough to write into the contract when these guys bought him, if he should ever win a Grade I race, there would be a million-dollar bonus,” said Ray Bell.

After winning the Del Mar H., Gosden aimed Barberstown towards the GI Carleton F. Burke H. at Santa Anita.

“Everyone starts reading the contract. 'Oh my god, if we win this race, we have to give the Bells a million dollars,'” Ray Bell recalled. “They tried to renegotiate the deal. My uncle says, 'No, that's the deal we got.'”

“In the end, he got beat, so it was a moot point. But up until then, they were panicking, reaching for their guns,” Ray Bell recalled.

Bell leaves behind wife Nancy and daughter Patsy. Said Ray Bell of his father's passing, “Father time is undefeated.”

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