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Countdown Is On for Inaugural Horse Racing Women’s Summit

The inaugural edition of the Horse Racing Women's Summit (HRWS) is just three weeks away and the planning committee behind the buzzed-about event is so enthusiastic about spreading the word that they say down with the TDN to share how the multi-day summit is gaining national attention and discuss why it is important that the event will be bringing in women from all facets of the industry.

“The Horse Racing Women's Summit is designed to empower, connect and remove barriers in leadership in racing,” said Jodie Vella-Gregory, a member of the planning committee and the Director of the Office of Innovation at 1/ST Racing. “It's really for anyone who is interested in pushing the industry forward and is ready to discuss not only how to overcome challenges, but also how we can identify growth opportunities. We see it as a place for leaders, future leaders and any industry participants and we see it as a catalyst to start a conversation and bring people together.”

The summit will be held September 28-30 at Santa Anita Park. Susan Packard, the first woman to join the Churchill Downs Inc. Board of Directors and a key player in the launch and development of CNBC, HGTV and HBO, will be the keynote speaker. Thursday's session will include three panels called Thriving Through Challenges, Looking Ahead–Opportunities for the Industry and Industry Integrity–A Brighter Future. Each panel will feature notable industry participants from various aspects of the sport and will end with a Q and A session.

The event will conclude on Friday, which is also opening day of Santa Anita's fall meet, with a handicapping seminar from TVG's Christina Blacker. HRWS attendees will have access to reserved box seats throughout the weekend of racing at Santa Anita, which will be highlighted by two Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' races.

Committee Chair Stephanie Hronis of Hronis Racing was the visionary behind the event. She explained how the idea formed last summer after a Thoroughbred Owners of California women's luncheon at Del Mar was a smashing success.

“Seeing women come together with the opportunity to network there was such a good energy,” Hronis said.

From there, Hronis formed a team and started putting out feelers on how a national summit would be received by the industry.

“It was kind of like tapping into a sleeping giant,” Hronis explained. “The wave of interest was huge. What started out as a vision for bringing women together has really grown into this movement of a summit and bringing people both from within the industry and outside of the industry, which you will see with our panelists and our keynote speaker Susan Packard.”

HRWS committee member Jordyn Egan, who is also the Executive Director for the Thoroughbred Owners of California, said that they received immediate interest from a vast array of women in the industry.

“The feedback was very diverse,” she said. “It was everything from, 'I want to become an owner but I'm intimidated' to 'I've been working in this industry for 20 years and I don't know what to do next.' We had to really think about what we are going to do with this event that will help address, connect and empower all women in racing so that regardless of where you are, this is a great professional and personal development opportunity.”

The HRWS planning team laid out the five core pillars that they hope will be accomplished through the event: to remove barriers, to empower, to build inclusivity and leadership, to mentor, and to develop and grow the sport.

Committee member Kellie Hill, who is involved in the industry as the CEO of Stay Classy Horse Racing and who also works outside of the sport as the Sr. Vice President of MedWest Realty, talked about how the concept of removing barriers will benefit horse racing as a whole.

“What they have found with so many different studies, from Harvard Business Review to the London Business School, is that the more you have gender equality, the profits go up, the innovation goes up and the efficiency goes up,” Hill explained. “So when we're saying that we want to remove barriers, it's so that we can get equal representation across the board in order to propel the whole industry up.”

1/ST Racing and FanDuel TV will be the presenting sponsors for the event with over a dozen other organizations also backing the summit. Hill said the support they have received from the industry through sponsorship has been overwhelming.

“I can't tell you how shocked I have been by the level of sponsorship that has come in and embraced this event,” she explained. “Most of our sponsors pretty much immediately said, 'Yes, no problem' and they have made a bigger leap than we anticipated. I think that put the wind in our sails when we first started this so that we knew that we were headed in the right direction and that this is absolutely needed.”

Shona Rotondo, the Head of Marketing at MyRacehorse, serves as the unofficial East Coast representative of the HRWS committee. She said their team does not shy from the fact that they must receive support from organizations outside of California in order to properly represent women in racing from all across the country.

“This is not just a West Coast Thing,” she said. “We understand that the travel and investment in getting people from the East Coast to the West Coast is a little tricky, but it's also an opportunity to challenge your company to invest in women.”

“I would not take the location as an excuse not to go out there or not to push your company to give the opportunity,” Rotondo continued. “I have said to a lot of businesses, including my own, to invest in your women, send leaders in your organization who are smart and capable and passionate, and let's all get together and come up with some really actionable ideas.”

To learn more about the Horse Racing Women's Summit and to purchase tickets, visit womeninracingsummit.com.

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Ryan Moore: “I Think We’ll See A Better Version Of Luxembourg On Saturday”

Ryan Moore has admitted that G1 French Derby and G1 Coral-Eclipse winner Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) sets the standard in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S. at Leopardstown on Saturday but warned that Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) should not be underestimated in the feature race of Longines Irish Champions Weekend.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Luxembourg got his season off to a promising start when third in the G1 2000 Guineas, but suffered a setback in the build-up to the Derby. He won in workmanlike fashion on his return from a 105-day absence in a Curragh Group 3 last month, but Moore is predicting a world of improvement from that effort on Saturday at Leopardstown.

Speaking on a Zoom call organised by Horse Racing Ireland on Tuesday morning, Moore said, “It obviously hasn't been a straightforward year for him. He had a lovely 2-year-old career and ran a big race in the 2000 Guineas. Unfortunately, he wasn't right after that race.”

Moore has won the G1 Irish Champion S. three times–St Mark's Basilica (Fr) last year, Magical (Ire) in 2019 and The Grey Gatsby (Ire) in 2014–while Aidan O'Brien is the most successful trainer in the history of the race with 10 wins. The number one rider at Ballydoyle believes Luxembourg has what it takes to bolster that record on Saturday.

He said, “Luxembourg needed his run at the Curragh last month and he got the job done. We are hopeful that he'll come forward from that and a-mile-and-a-quarter around Leopardstown with a bit of rain around, I don't think that will be a problem.

“He obviously needs to improve on what he has done this year but I think we'll see a better version of Luxembourg on Saturday.

“It was his first run for a while and he still felt a bit raw [at the Curragh]. He picked up very well, he was a bit idle in front but, when the second horse came to me, he found plenty. It was a good starting point.”

Vadeni heads the market for Saturday's showpiece at odds of 6-4. Trained by Jean Claude-Rouget, who snared the Irish Champion S. with Almanzor (Fr) in 2016, Vadeni has gone from strength to strength this season, building on his French Derby win with a victory against the older horses in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown back in July. Moore admits that form is just about the best on show and respects the French raider.

He said, “He's obviously improved a lot since he stepped into the French Derby and then beat the older horses in the Eclipse. He's probably entitled to be favourite but maybe Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) was a bit unfortunate at Sandown. But Vadeni is still open to improvement and obviously Jean-Claude Rouget targets this race.”

Moore and O'Brien also have leading claims of landing the G1 Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron S. at Leopardstown on Saturday with Tenebrism (Caravaggio). A Group 1 winner at two and three, Tenebrism is set to take on G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and multiple Group 1 winner Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}).

The rider said, “Tenebrism is still a 3-year-old filly, still getting better so I'm sure she'll run a good race. A mile around a bend might suit her better, that's what we'd be hoping. She was still a little bit green when she went to Ascot but the last day (when second to Saffron Beach at Deauville) didn't quite go as smoothly as I would have liked.”

Sunday revolves around G1 Gold Cup winner Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Irish St Leger while Moore can also look forward to Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. and the unbeaten Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S.

He said, “Aesop's Fables is one I've always liked. He started off early at Navan, he won comfortably but unfortunately he had a minor setback and we couldn't get a run into him before the Futurity.

“I think the whole weekend is great racing, it's in a really nice place in the calendar. I'm lucky to be a part of it, hopefully it will get stronger.”

Moore added, “I'm very lucky to ride for Aidan. Aidan says it himself, it's the whole team at Coolmore and Ballydoyle that make the whole thing possible. It's the hard work of everyone involved in the operation that makes the success possible.

“They have great owners who put a lot of time, money and effort into it and it's a privilege to ride for them for quite a few years now. I'm very thankful for the opportunity they've given me.”

A cloud hangs over the Irish racing community following the death of Jack de Bromhead, the 13-year-old son of Henry and Heather de Bromhead, who was killed in a freak fall at Glenbeigh horse and pony races on Saturday.

Moore acknowledged that the de Bromhead family will be in everyone's thoughts on Irish Champions Weekend and offered his condolences to all concerned.

He said, “It's the most terrible news. I am struggling to get my head around it to be honest. There are no good words to describe what Henry, Heather and Jack's siblings must be going through. I can only just send them my best. It doesn't get any worse than what they must be going through.”

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Was Flightline’s Pacific Classic the Best Performance Since Secretariat’s Belmont?

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley

Some more thoughts on Flightline (Tapit) while trying to come up with the right superlative to describe his win in the GI TVG Pacific Classic. Words like spectacular, stunning, sensational just don't seem good enough.

(*) It's tempting to try to compare him to Secretariat. The thing is, that's simply impossible. One has run just five times, the other ran 21 times, won the Triple Crown, was a two-time Horse of the Year and had his picture on the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. They're not going to make a movie about Flightline. They are different horses from different eras, equine apples and oranges. Is Flightline as good as Secretariat, or the best horse since Secretariat? There's no answer to that question.

But there is a way to look at the two under the same microscope by comparing what were the two best performances of their respective careers. Secretariat's 31-length win in the 1973 GI Belmont S. was not just the greatest performance of his career, it was the best race ever run by any horse at any time in the history of horse racing. No one will ever top what he did that afternoon 49 years ago at Belmont Park.

But you can easily make the argument that Flightline's Pacific Classic was the best performance anyone in the U.S. has seen since. This was no easy assignment. Country Grammer (Tonalist), Royal Ship (Brz) (Midshipman), Express Train (Union Rags) are solid older horses, all Grade I-level horses. And Flightline thrashed them, winning by 19 1/4 lengths despite being eased up in the final sixteenth by jockey Flavien Prat. He ran a 126 Beyer, second best ever given out by the Beyer team and two points behind the 128 given to Ghostzapper (Awesome Again) when he won the GIII Philip H. Iselin H. in 2004.

As announcer Trevor Denman said in his call, “Take a good look at this because this is something you're not going to see too often. Maybe never again.”

It's worth noting that the two races unfolded is nearly identical fashion. Secretariat's rivals were still within striking distance midway down the backstretch as Sham stayed close. Then he spurted away from Sham and, from there, kept widening his margin over his competitors. Flightline did much the same thing. With a half-mile to go in the race, Extra Hope (Shanghai Bobby) was just a length behind Flightline while the main rivals were all within five or six lengths. Then Flightline hit another gear, took off and left some good horses looking like they belonged in the seventh at Finger Lakes.

Then there was the look back. Prat looked over his right shoulder in the stretch as if he couldn't believe he was so far in front. Ron Turcotte did the same, only looking over his left shoulder.

“These races were very similar,” said Dave Johnson, who called the 1973 Belmont for NYRA. “His Pacific Classic was breathtaking and that explosion of speed coming into the far turn was very similar to what Secretariat did. Almost 50 years later, I've never been so impressed by a horse or saw something that sent me back to the Secretariat days.”

(*) There's one thing we have yet to see from Flightline, which is what would he do if ever asked. Prat has never allowed this horse to fire on all cylinders in the stretch. There has been no need to do so. Why not save something for another day?
But could Flightline have won the Pacific Classic by even more than 19 1/4 lengths if Prat hadn't wrapped up on him? It stands to reason that he could have, maybe even by five or six more lengths.

Since the GI Breeders' Cup Classic will likely be his last start this year and maybe in his career, why not just let him roll? Wouldn't it be great to see what Flightline could do if his jockey called on everything he had. Maybe he wins by 31 lengths. What do they have to lose?

(*) The only negative to the Flightline story is that he has only run five times. Part of the reason why is that he had some bad luck (like crashing into a fence and suffering a nasty gash while he was being broken as a yearling) and other minor setbacks along the way. But his light schedule is more about the way top horses are campaigned in the modern era and how what really matters is not what they do on the racetrack but how much they are worth as stallions. You can't blame trainer John Sadler, who mapped out the schedule. His job was to create a very valuable stallion and in that regard he did everything right.

We also don't know how much of a challenge it may be to get Flightline prepared for races. He could be one of those too-fast-for-his-own-good horses, ones that need a lot of time off between races.

But, as racing fans, we should all feel cheated that we have seen so little of this horse. The good news is maybe this story isn't over. Yes, he is worth more as a stallion than as a racehorse, but after the Pacific Classic, Sadler told reporters that the connections have an open mind when it comes to racing him next year as a 5-year-old.

Go for it. Sometimes there's more to the story than the bottom line and owners should feel they have at least some obligation to do what's best for the sport.

(*) Will the Pacific Classic affect the Breeders' Cup plans among some of the other top horses in the older male dirt division? The question is: no matter how good your horse might be, do you really want to take on Flightline in the Classic in what may be an exercise in futility, especially when there is the option of the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile? If I were the connections of Life Is Good (Into Mischief), I'd already have the pre-entry slip filled out for the Dirt Mile.

(*) Remember when there was some concern that Flightline might not get a mile and a quarter? In hindsight, he's obviously better at 10 furlongs than he is in shorter races. No surprise since he is by Tapit.

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South Gate Farm Making Noise from Saratoga to Keeneland

After a youth spent around horses, Amy Moore took a three-decade long sabbatical from the sport to focus on a career in law, but she is making up for lost time with the launch of her South Gate Farm in Millwood, Virginia. The fledgling operation has a star-in-the-making in 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), who goes postward in Monday's GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga, and will follow up the following Monday when that colt's half-brother by Uncle Mo (hip 11) goes through the sales ring during the first session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

“I rode as a child and teenager and showed hunters that belonged to other people,” Moore said of her first introduction to horses while growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The people I was with got into racehorses and I helped them at a few sales. Then I galloped horses one summer at the track for Del Carroll, Sr.”

Eventually, Moore had to take a step back from her interest in racing.

“I had to earn a living, so for 30 years I worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “But when I retired, I bought a farm and bought a couple of horses.”

Moore bought South Gate Farm in 2015 and moved to the 126-acre property in January of 2016.

A year before purchasing the farm, she made her first equine purchases at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Her very first purchase was Queen Caroline (Blame), who she acquired for $170,000. Trained by Michael Matz, the dark bay went on to win four stakes races in Moore's colors in 2016 and 2017 and earned over $400,000 before helping to kick start the South Gate broodmare band.

Forte, Queen Caroline's first foal, sold for $80,000 as a weanling at the 2020 Keeneland November sale and was purchased by Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola for $110,000 at Keeneland September the following year.

“I thought he was a gorgeous foal,” Moore recalled. “I was really happy with him. I had had weanlings by Violence that I had pinhooked–I bought weanlings and sold yearlings–and I liked them, but they didn't really resemble the sire at all. So I was pleased to get a foal in Forte that looks a lot like Violence. He's a good blend of his sire and his dam.”

The prohibitive 1-5 favorite, Forte romped to a 7 3/4-length debut victory (video) May 27 at Belmont Park.

“When he won big in his first race, of course, that was a joy to see,” Moore said. “That was what I was trying to achieve when I bred the mare to Violence. I hoped to get a foal that had a little more speed and was a little more precocious than she was, but had her athleticism and racing temperament. It worked out just as I had hoped. Another case, I am sure, where it won't always work out like that. But Queen Caroline has been very good to me, both as a racehorse and as a broodmare. If they were all like her, it would be easy.”

Forte comes into the Hopeful off a fourth-place effort in the six-furlong GIII Sanford S. July 16 and will get an extra furlong to work with Monday at Saratoga.

“I would be ecstatic if that happened,” Moore said of a possible Hopeful win. “But I think, win or lose the Hopeful, he looks like he's going to be a good racehorse. So I am looking down the road, as I am sure his connections are, and hoping for good things for him. I think he will do better as the races get longer. So I think the extra furlong in the Hopeful will help and I hope he goes on from there.”

Queen Caroline next visited Uncle Mo and produced a colt by the Coolmore stallion last spring.

“It is a cross that I really liked, both physically and in the pedigree,” Moore said. “The mare is a nice, big athletic mare and Uncle Mo is obviously a nice, big athletic stallion with a similar build. But it also has some intriguing pedigree aspects to it. Nyquist (Uncle Mo) is out of a Forestry mare and Queen Caroline is out of a Forestry mare. And the good filly by Uncle Mo, Bast, is out of an Arch mare and Queen Caroline is by Blame who is by Arch. So you have a lot of good pedigree connections to some very successful runners, as well as having a good physical match.”

The yearling will be Moore's first homebred Book 1 offering at Keeneland September when he goes through the ring as part of the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services consignment next Monday.

“He is a lovely colt,” she said of the yearling. “I am prejudiced, of course, but he is a really, really nice colt. He has his dam's mind, which is good, he has a good racing temperament. He is tall and big-bodied and strong and athletic. I think he is what everyone wants–he's what I want.”

Well. The colt wasn't exactly what Moore wanted.

“I was, to be honest, hoping to get a filly,” she said with a laugh. “I would have kept and raced her and hoped to retire her to the broodmare band one day. But I got a very nice colt.”

The colt conundrum is nothing new to Moore, who currently has four broodmares housed at her Virginia farm.

“I have bought nothing but fillies,” she said. “I sell the colts that I breed. I would keep fillies, if I ever had a filly. I am 0-for-7, seven colts and no fillies.”

Moore takes stock of market conditions when determining when to sell her foals.

“I just sort of fly by the seat of pants,” Moore explained. “If the stallion is doing very well, as Violence was when I sold Forte–I think Violence had three Grade I winners that year–I might sell the foal as a weanling. But if it's a nice physical that I think would be one to send to the Saratoga select sale or one of the first two books at Keeneland, then I would keep it and sell it as a yearling. It just depends on how the stallion is doing and how the foal develops. And what the finances are like.”

As for Queen Caroline, after not producing a foal in 2022, she is now in foal to Not This Time.

“She was in foal to Authentic, and lost that one, which was very disappointing, but I am really excited that she is in foal to Not This Time,” Moore said. “I think that's going to be a great match and who knows, I might get a filly this time. She is an easy mare to mate because she is doesn't have any faults you want to breed away from. She is a very nice well-conformed mare that had a lot of success on the track. So you are trying to add a little speed and a little precociousness to the offspring, but you don't really have faults that you want to breed away from. Which is helpful.”

Queen Caroline's first two foals are both Kentucky-breds, but future foals are expected to be born at South Gate Farm.

“In the case of Forte and his brother, those I sent the mare back to Kentucky to foal,” Moore said. “I am now starting to foal in Virginia, so that I will have Virginia-bred foals.”

In addition to her four-horse broodmare band, Moore also has borders at South Gate taking advantage of the Virginia-certified program which allows horses conceived and foaled outside of the state to become eligible for incentives at Mid-Atlantic racetracks if they maintain residency in Virginia for at least a six-month consecutive period prior to Dec. 31 of their 2-year-old year.

“I have lot of yearlings, a lot of boarders, that are here for the Virginia-certified program,” Moore said. “And I do some sales preparation for the boarders.”

Reflecting on her seven years as a farm owner, Moore said, “I enjoy living on a farm. It's very nice to have a reason to have a farm–you can't have 126 acres and not have any animals. So that's been a lot of fun. The racing has been highs and lows, as it is for everybody. When it's good, it's spectacular. When it's bad, it's pretty depressing. But you get through the bad and hope for more of the good. And on balance, I have enjoyed it quite a bit.”

The Keeneland September sale opens with two Book 1 sessions next Monday and Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11 a.m. and, following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 24 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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