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Weekly Rulings: Mar. 8-14

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.
Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where.

CALIFORNIA

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 03/11/2022
Licensee: Donald Palmer, owner
Penalty: Suspended license
Violation: Failure to appear at hearing
Explainer: Owner Donald Palmer (DBA: Live Your Dream Racing), having failed to respond to written notice to appear before the Board of Stewards at Santa Anita Park on March 10, 2022, is suspended for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1547 (Failure to Appear) pending an appearance at a hearing before the Board of Stewards to answer to charges alleging violation of CHRB rule #1876 (Financial Responsibility- $2,000.93 to DVM John Araujo). Suspension to commence on March 18, 2022. During the term of this suspension, all licenses and license privileges of Donald Palmer are suspended and pursuit to California Horse Racing Board rule #1528 (Jurisdiction of Stewards), subject is denied access to all premises in this jurisdiction.

Track: Santa Anita
Date: 03/12/2022
Licensee: Kyle Frey, jockey
Penalty: Four-day suspension
Explainer: Jockey Kyle Frey who rode MAGNIFICENT RIDE in the second race at Santa Anita Park on March 11, 2022, is suspended for FOUR (4) racing days (March 19, 20, 25 and 26, 2022) for failure to maintain a straight course in the backstretch and causing interference, which resulted in the disqualification of his mount from second to fifth place. This constitutes a violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1699 (Riding Rules-Careless Riding). Pursuant to California Horse Racing Board rule #1766 (Designated Races), the term of suspension shall not prohibit participation in designated races.

KENTUCKY

Track: Turfway Park (for a medication violation that occurred at Churchill Downs)
Date: 03/12/2022
Licensee: Grant Forster, trainer
Penalty: 30-day suspension (15-days stayed) and $500 fine
Violation: Medication violation
Explainer: Upon receipt of notification from Industrial Laboratories, the official testing laboratory for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and confirmed at Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory, sample number E491165 taken from Epicurean, who finished sixth in the seventh race at Churchill Downs on November 26, 2021 contained Gabapentin in blood (Class 8). After waiving his right to a formal hearing before the Board of Stewards, Grant T. Forster is hereby suspended 30 days and fined $500. Due to mitigating circumstances (number of violations in relation to overall record), 15 days are to be served from March 28, 2022 through April 11, 2022 (inclusive). The remaining 15 days are stayed on the condition that no Class A or class 8 medication violation occurs in any racing jurisdiction within 365 days from the date of this ruling. EPICUREAN is disqualified and all purse money forfeited. Pari-mutuel wagering is not affected by this ruling. During his suspension, Mr. Forster is denied the privileges of all facilities under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Entry of all horses owned or trained by Mr. Forster is denied pending transfer to persons acceptable to the stewards. Upon receipt of this ruling, it is required within thirty (30) days to pay any and all fines imposed to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Failure to do so will subject the licensee to summary suspension of license pursuant to 810 KAR 3:020 Section 15 (cc).

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Joe Bravo Wins George Woolf Award

Veteran rider Joe Bravo, who moved his tack last year from New Jersey to California, has been named the recipient of Santa Anita's 2022 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. The Woolf Award recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character compliment the sport of Thoroughbred racing. It can only be won once and is voted on by jockeys nationwide. Bravo will be honored in a Runhappy winner's circle ceremony at Santa Anita Sunday, Mar. 27.

“It really is an honor to now be part of this circle of riders, joining all of these guys that I grew up with or grew up underneath, I'll put it like that,” said Bravo. “I was lucky enough to win the East Coast version of the Woolf Award, the Mike Venezia Award in 2018, and now to be honored here on the West Coast, wow, you don't know what an honor this is. My Dad will be coming out and this makes all the hard days, the mornings that we work, it makes it all worthwhile. There's probably only one award above this that I'd like to have, and that's the Hall of Fame.”

A native of New Jersey, Bravo–whose nickname has long been “Jersey Joe”–has been a dominant force in the Mid-Atlantic, particularly at Monmouth Park, dating back to the early 1990s. He announced his move to California last year, stating it was due to a change in riding rules instituted by the New Jersey Racing Commission. Bravo, who has won 13 riding titles at Monmouth and nine at the Meadowlands, has won nearly 5,600 races.

The Woolf Award was named for the late Hall of Fame rider who is probably best known for his win aboard Seabiscuit over War Admiral in the 1938 Pimlico match race. An estimated radio audience of 40 million tuned in. Nicknamed “The Iceman,” Woolf died in 1946 from complications arising from a racing accident at Santa Anita the day prior. The Woolf Award has been presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950. The trophy is a replica of the life-sized statue of Woolf that adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area.

Deshawn Parker won the Woolf Award last year. Finalists this year included Glenn Corbett, Julien Leparoux, Rodney Prescott, and Tim Thornton.

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Eda Returns a Winner in Santa Ysabel

Baoma Corporation's Eda (Munnings), making her first start since winning the GI Starlet S. last December, went wire-to-wire to win the GIII Santa Ysabel S. by a half-length over her late-closing stablemate Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) at Santa Anita Sunday. Sent off at 3-1, Eda stepped right out to the early lead as even-money favorite Under the Stars sat just off her flank while racing three wide down the backstretch with Ain't Easy (Into Mischief) to her inside. Jockey Juan Hernandez asked Eda for more approaching the quarter-pole as Under the Stars and Ain't Easy started their rallies on either side of the pacesetter. She began inching away and had a two-length advantage with a furlong to run, but Under the Stars was closing late only to run out of real estate on the wire. With trainer Bob Baffert still banned from starting horses at Churchill Downs, neither the winner nor the runner-up were early nominations to the GI Kentucky Oaks and neither were able to earn the Santa Ysabel's qualifying Oaks points.

Eda, second in the GII Sorrento S. while still a maiden, was fifth after attending a hot pace in the Sept. 5 GI Del Mar Debutante, but came back to graduate with a front-running tally in the Oct. 24 Anoakia S. She added a win in the Nov. 13 Desi Arnaz S. before stretching out to 1 1/16 miles to win the Starlet in her juvenile finale.

Pedigree Notes:

Breeder Nate McCauley purchased Show Me, a half-sister to graded winner Aegean (Northern Afleet), for $24,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton February sale and sent her to Coolmore's Munnings. The mare's first foal is Eda and she also has a yearling filly by Karakontie (Jpn). She sold to Camas Park Stud while in foal to Munnings for $535,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Eddie Woods's Quarter Pole Enterprises purchased Eda for $240,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale and resold her to the $550,000 bid of bloodstock agent Donato Lanni at the 2021 OBS March sale.

Sunday, Santa Anita
SANTA YSABEL S.-GIII, $101,500, Santa Anita, 3-6, 3yo, f,
1 1/16m, 1:44.31, ft.
1–EDA, 124, f, 3, by Munnings
                1st Dam: Show Me, by Lemon Drop Kid
                2nd Dam: Apt to Star, by Aptitude
                3rd Dam: Sweeping, by End Sweep
($240,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $550,000 2yo '21 OBSMAR).
O-Baoma Corporation; B-Nathan McCauley (KY); T-Bob Baffert;
J-Juan J. Hernandez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-5-1-0,
$430,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Under the Stars, 120, f, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Untouched
Talent, by Storm Cat. O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor,
and Derrick Smith; B-Eaton (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $20,000.
3–Ain't Easy, 124, f, 3, Into Mischief–Ameristralia (Aus), by
Fastnet Rock (Aus). ($400,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Old Bones
Racing Stable, LLC, Michael V. Lombardi, and Joey Platts;
B-Spendthrift Farm, LLC (KY); T-Philip D'Amato. $12,000.
Margins: HF, 3 3/4, 1. Odds: 3.30, 1.00, 3.30.
Also Ran: Desert Dawn, Fortunata Tensio, Miss Everything, Cairo Memories, Classical Romance. Scratched: Micro Share.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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The Week in Review: Shift to New York a Curious Move on Prat’s Part

Flavien Prat is in the right place at the right time in Southern California. Young and gifted, he dominates the circuit in a way no jockey has in years. He picked up his 60th win of the meet Saturday, 25 more than runner-up Juan Hernandez. He won three stakes on the card, giving him 15 for the meet. And he rides for just about all the top barns on the circuit, most notably Bob Baffert.

It's far, far from broke, but Prat is intent on fixing it. On Saturday, he told Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form that he plans to ride the Keeneland meeting in April and then will move to Belmont Park. Belmont opens Apr. 28.

Prat told Privman that he thought riding in New York would give him as better shot of a winning an Eclipse Award. He was an Eclipse finalist in 2021, but lost out to Joel Rosario.

“It feels like if you want to give yourself a chance to get an Eclipse Award that you need to go to New York,” he said. “That's just the way it is. I never thought I'd leave here, to be honest.”

It's not that Prat isn't good enough to ride in New York. Far from it. The problem for him will be that he will have to find a way to stand out in what is the most crowded jockey colony in the country. There's Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz Jr., Luis Saez and Rosario. John Velazquez, who has been riding in California, will be back. Umberto Rispoli has also announced that he, too, will be making the shift from California to New York.

The competition Prat will face in New York will be fierce, hardly the case in California, where the jockey colony has never been weaker. That's a big part of the reason Prat has been so successful in California…he's just a lot better than everyone else. The question is, how much has that played into his dominance there?

Prat will no doubt enjoy some success in New York. The key will be breaking into the top barns. He's won 13 races and 10 stakes for Chad Brown. He's had four winners over the years for Todd Pletcher. He won the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby via disqualification on Country House (Lookin at Lucky) for Bill Mott. That suggests that those trainers may give him a chance, but there's no way he can move into any of the top stables, push aside the regular New York riders and take over.

He will be in the top five in the standings in New York and maybe better. But there is no chance that he will dominate that circuit like he does in California. So is it better to be the fourth leading rider in New York or the No. 1 rider in California? One would think that the answer is the latter. Prat obviously disagrees.

Richard Mandella is Derby Bound

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella has not started a horse in the Kentucky Derby since 2004. He's had five runners in the Derby over all and none have finished better than fifth. Neither of which is that surprising. Mandella is one of only a few top trainers that does not put a big emphasis on winning the Derby or other 3-year-old stakes. He likes to bring horses along slowly and many of his best runners have been four or older.

But that may be about to change.

Having never raced beyond seven furlongs, Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) had some questions to answer in Saturday's 1 1/16-miles GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita. He answered them all and did so with authority, winning by 5 3/4 lengths. He may not be as talented as Life Is Good (Into Mischief), but he wins his races the same way. Forbidden Kingdom rockets out of the gate, runs away from the competition and has more than enough stamina to complete the job.

That may not be so easy to do at 1 1/4 miles, but Mandella is the perfect trainer to get the horse to relax and stretch his speed out another furlong and a half.

A win in the GI Santa Anita Derby and/or the Kentucky Derby would be huge for the sire, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). While he's gotten off to a good start as a sire, he still hasn't had that Grade I star dirt horse to put on his resume. With Forbidden Kingdom, that may about to change.

It's Ladies Day at the Hall of Fame

The nominations for the next class of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame came out last week and five of the six horses nominated were fillies. The sixth was a gelding.

That's something we might all have to get used to. Unless they are a gelding, you can't expect to get more than eight or nine career starts anymore out of a male horse who has the talent to be a Hall of Famer. They'll likely end their careers after their 3-year-old year and go stand at stud, not enough time to put together a career that includes enough starts and wins to be considered Hall of Fame worthy.

But most top fillies race, at least, until they are four. The two no-brainers on the Hall of Fame ballot are Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Tepin (Bernstein). Beholder ran 26 times and raced at six. Tepin raced 23 times and raced at five.

Since Curlin was inducted in 2014, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is the only modern era, non-gelding male to get into the Hall of Fame. Whether or not a horse with a short campaign can make it into the Hall of Fame will be put to the test when Justify (Scat Daddy) becomes eligible. He raced only six times, but is, of course, a Triple Crown winner. All other Triple Crown winners are in the Hall of Fame. Justify will be eligible in 2024.

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