Steeplechase | Horse Racing Free Tips

National Museum Of Racing Updates Hall Of Fame Historic Review Committee Process

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's Executive Committee has approved changes regarding the institution's Historic Review committee process based on feedback received from the chair and members, the institution said in a Friday release.

Beginning this year, the Historic Review Committee will start an annual rotation to examine a specific era of American racing history. Only candidates from within the designated era will be considered for Hall of Fame induction during that year's review process.

Previously, the Historic Review Committee met three out of every four years and considered all candidates from throughout history dating back to the colonial days as a collective exercise (as long as they have been out of competition more than 25 years).

In 2024, the Historic Review Committee will consider only pre-1900 horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 2025, the Committee will review candidates from the era of 1900 through 1959. In 2026, it will examine the years of 1960 through 2000. The process will cycle back to pre-1900 candidates in 2027. All qualified candidates active within the past 25 years are eligible to be considered through the separate annual contemporary nomination and election process.

The Historic Review Committee can select a maximum of three Hall of Fame inductees per year–any combination of horses, jockeys, and trainers–and requires each of those choices to receive 75 percent approval from the committee for election.

“I believe these changes will make for a more effective evaluation process for historic candidates being considered for the Hall of Fame,” said Brien Bouyea, the Museum's Hall of Fame and Communications Director. “Evaluating the achievements of a horse or human from before 1900 alongside one from perhaps a century later is an apples vs. oranges exercise that we wanted to improve upon.”

Chaired by author and racing historian Michael Veitch, the Pre-1900 Historic Review Committee will also include Edward L. Bowen, Ken Grayson, Jennifer Kelly, Dorothy Ours, Josh Pons, Mary Simon and Gary West.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class, which will also include the contemporary electees and selections made by the Pillars of the Turf Committee, will be announced in late April.

The post National Museum Of Racing Updates Hall Of Fame Historic Review Committee Process appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Longtime Maryland Trainer Ronald Cartwright Dies At 93

Ronald “Ronnie” C. Cartwright, a Maryland-based trainer who conditioned multiple graded-stakes winners throughout his career, passed away Nov. 11 at the age of 93.

A steeplechase jockey who then trained from the late 1960's through 2005, Cartwright won almost 700 races and his horses earned more than $13 million. His graded-stakes winners included Mz. Zill Bear (Salutely), Castelets (King's Bishop), Miss Slewpy (Slewpy), Palliser Bay (Frosty the Snowman) and Mymet (Mehmet).

“I've been in this for 60 years and will miss it,” Cartwright said soon after he retired in 2005. “It has been a great run. I've had a really good life and enjoyed this very much. I had a lot of nice horses and had a good time.”

“Ronnie was a horsemen's horseman–very old school,” said Maryland-based breeder/owner Jay Williamson. “He did it the right way, and he had the right owners. When horses need time off, they got time off. That's tough to do in today's environment. He was an all-around good person. Everybody liked Ronnie.”

A Celebration of Life for Cartwright will be held at Laurel Park on the first floor of the clubhouse Dec. 19 at 11:30 a.m.

The post Longtime Maryland Trainer Ronald Cartwright Dies At 93 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation Elects Officers

Edited Press Release

Katherine Neilson, a trainer of stakes winners over both hurdles and timber and a prominent member of the steeplechase community, has been elected president of the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation (TGSF). Based in Kennett Square, Pa., she was an accomplished jockey before switching roles. Neilson trained her 200th winner in 2021. Neilson was elected president of the Steeplechase Owners and Trainers Association in 2010 and again in 2020. She has been co-director of the Cheshire Hunt Races from 2019 to the present.

The Foundation's Executive Committee also elected W. B. Dixon Stroud, a well-known steeplechase horseman who founded the Willowdale Steeplechase in 1993 and continues as its chairman, as vice president. Ann Jackson, a steeplechase owner and Thoroughbred breeder based in Monkton, Md., was elected treasurer, while George Cary of Hockessin, Del., a third-generation horseman whose family has a long history in racing, polo, hunting, and showing, was elected secretary.

A TGSF priority in 2023 will be to provide continued support for the Maryland and Pennsylvania point to points, as a partner with the Central Entry Office. In addition, the Foundation looks forward to continuing its support of apprentice riders, safety, and the general promotion of the sport.

The post Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation Elects Officers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Retired Trainer Peter Howe Dies at 83

Retired trainer Peter Howe, one of just four people to train an American champion over jumps and on the flat, and the father of Colonial Downs Vice President of Racing Jill Byrne, died Thursday night in Charlottesville, Va. He was 83.

Howe was born in Hartford, Conn., and became an accomplished rider of show horses–competing at Madison Square Garden, the Washington International Horse Show and other top venues–before transitioning to racehorses.

Training mainly for Marion du Pont Scott's Montpelier Stable, Howe conditioned a small but quality stable of flat and steeplechase horses.

The Howe-trained Soothsayer won an Eclipse Award as champion steeplechaser in 1972, and in 1976, Howe conditioned Montpelier's Proud Delta to the older filly/mare divisional championship.

Soothsayer and Proud Delta put Howe in rare company–with Jonathan Sheppard, Sidney Watters Jr. and Jim Ryan–as the only trainers to prepare American champions on the flat and over jumps.

Howe, whose father Walter was an American diplomat and the U.S. Ambassador to Chile under President Dwight Eisenhower, lived at Red Horse Farm near the Montpelier property in Barboursville, Va. Survivors include Byrne, son Jeffrey Howe and his wife Christy, daughter Debby Howe and grandchildren Devon Byrne, William Vanderlinde and Emma and Owen Howe.

The post Retired Trainer Peter Howe Dies at 83 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post