Trainer Mike Neatherlin passed away last September due to complications from COVID-19, leaving his daughter Jaylan Clary to take over his Texas-based stable, including 2019 Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) Horse of the Year, Mr Money Bags.
Clary is still understandably emotional about the passing of her father.
“I was the only kid in the family who loved horses,” she explained. “Learning from my father was a blessing and I am pleased to take over his stable.”
Clary will have ten Thoroughbreds stabled at Sam Houston Race Park for the upcoming season, most notably Mr Money Bags. The 5-year-old son of Silver City won the GCFA Texas Bred Stakes in his final start for Neatherlin on Aug. 28, and has since run three times under Clary's name, adding two seconds and a win in the Zia Park Sprint Stakes to his resume.
“It was both an amazing and very sad year,” added Clary. “I am so grateful that (owner) Mrs. (Erma) Cobb stuck it out and we look forward to more success with Mr Money Bags. He and jockey Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez are part of our family.”
Mr Money Bags will make his 2022 stakes debut in the $75,000 H-Town Stakes on Feb. 19, but Clary hopes to get a prep for him prior to that seven furlong test.
Overall, Mr Money Bags' record stands at 11 wins, five seconds, and four thirds from 23 starts, with earnings of $574,376.
The Texas Thoroughbred Association has released an online video honoring the 2020 Texas Champions and human award winners. Traditionally the TTA would have an in-person awards ceremony, but one will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While we are disappointed in not having an awards ceremony this year, we are proud of the accomplishments of Texas-breds and Texas horsemen last year, and we are pleased to honor them with this video,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “Congratulations go out to all the award winners.”
The 2020 Texas Champion horses were previously announced, and those horses are highlighted in the video along with four human award winners that were not previously announced.
The video can be viewed here:
The T.I. “Pops” Harkins Award for lifetime achievement was awarded to Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and Joe Straus Jr.
McIngvale has found great success in both the business world and on the racetrack. His Houston-based Gallery Furniture has sponsored numerous stakes races over the years and frequently features racing-related promotions, including one involving the 2021 Kentucky Derby that helped raise the profile of the sport to non-racing fans. He won the Breeders' Cup Sprint with Runhappy and now stands the stallion and often sponsors racing events to promote him. He is also a noted philanthropist and has supported numerous charitable efforts within and beyond the world of racing.
Straus is one of the founding fathers of modern Texas horse racing. He was instrumental in the passage of pari-mutuel wagering laws in the state and is a co-founder of Retama Park near San Antonio. Straus also serves as chairman of the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame, of which he is also an inductee. Also a successful breeder and owner, Straus has worked hard to ensure a level playing field for horsemen and served on the Texas A&M Target 2000 committee and spearheaded efforts for the Texas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to serve as the lead agency to test competition racehorses.
The Allen Bogan Memorial Award for TTA member of the year was awarded to Bill Tracy and Martha Claussen.
Tracy is a longtime TTA member and Texas horseman who worked at JEH Stallion Station in New Mexico and Oak Tree Ranch in Bandera, Texas, and presently is farm manager at Mike Grossman's Eureka Thoroughbred Farm in Fredericksburg, Texas. He has served on the TTA board for a combined total of nearly 20 years, and he has also served on the board of the TTA's Paddock Foundation and as president of the Texas Thoroughbred Educational Fund. In his work to support TTA and Texas racing, he has testified before the Texas Racing Commission and spent numerous hours working with legislators to highlight the importance of horse racing to our state.
Claussen has worked to promote Texas horse racing for nearly 25 years after being hired as publicity director at Sam Houston Race Park in 1997. Since then, she has distributed countless news releases and photos to better inform the media and general public about the special people and horses in our sport. While many news releases just list out basic information, Claussen always goes the extra mile to include quotes from the winning connections and other details to recognize the effort it takes to win a stakes race. She is among the most active and recognized voices on social media when it comes to Texas horse racing, and she is a familiar face nationwide from her frequent winner's circle interviews.
Following is the complete list of the previously announced 2020 champion horses:
2-Year-Old Filly: Con Lima (by Commissioner) • Owner: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Graffeo, Joseph F., Del Toro, Eric Nikolaus and Johnson, Troy • Breeder: Lisa Kuhlmann
2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Hulen (by Tapiture) • Owner: L. William and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Madaket Stables LLC and Spendthrift Farm LLC • Breeder: Keith Asmussen
3-Year-Old Filly: Boerne (by Fed Biz) • Owner: De Luca and Sons Stable • Breeder: Randi and Eric Moreau-Sipiere
3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Gold Pilot (by My Golden Song) • Owner: Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch • Breeder: Ronald and Margaret Ellerbee
Older Filly/Mare: Ima Discreet Lady (by Discreet Cat) • Owner: Duane Coker and Raymond Todd White • Breeder: Larry S. Huntsinger
Co-Champion Older Horse: Sunlit Song (by My Golden Song) • Owner: Carolyn Barnett and Becky Harding • Breeder: Carolyn Barnett
Texas Champion Claimer: Meme Jo (by Too Much Bling) • Owner: John L. Pierce II • Breeder: Jeanne Bruce
Champion Broodmare: My Silver Song (by My Golden Song)
Horse of the Year and Co-Champion Older Horse: Redatory (by Oratory) • Owner/Breeder: James Wessel
Monday's Texas Summer Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie recorded sizable increases in gross sales, average and median with a Texas-bred colt by Too Much Bling topping the auction.
A total of 228 yearlings went through the ring with 176 selling for $3,219,600, a 138.9 percent increase from last year when 106 of 137 sold for $1,347,700. The yearling average this year came in at $18,293, a jump of 43.9 percent from last year's $12,714. The median soared to $10,000 this year, up 96.1 percent from $5,100. The buy-back rate was 22.8 percent this year compared to 22.6 percent last year.
There were also three horses of racing age in the sale this year, which sold for a total of $17,500. Last year's auction had 15 older horses sell for a total of $162,500.
“The numbers are almost overwhelming compared to last year, and this sale exceeded even our very high expectations,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “The recent gains in purses and breeding incentives in Texas, along with the strong programs in place in Louisiana and Oklahoma, have helped make this a very powerful regional marketplace. This is truly one of the best sales we've ever had in Texas.”
“We recently announced increased purses of $300,000 for sale horses to run at in the two divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity, and we added a total of $200,000 for a Derby and Oaks race, so that has attracted some extra interest,” added Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association.
Proving the point about the resurgence of interest in Texas racing, the sale-topper was Hip 101, an accredited Texas-bred colt by Too Much Bling, who stands at Valor Farm and is a perennial leading sire in the state. Consigned by Benchmark Training Center, agent, and purchased by Finisterre Racing, the April 3 foal sold for $175,000. The colt is out of Swifterthantaylor, a multiple winning daughter of another top Texas stallion at Valor Farm, My Golden Song. Swifterthantaylor's first starter is a stakes-placed winner.
Two other horses sold for six figures, both Louisiana-bred colts. A son of Not This Time named Star Redemption sold for $120,000 from Clear Creek Stud, agent, to Al and Bill Ulwelling, and a son of Violence sold for $100,000 from 4M Ranch, agent, to Set-Hut LLC.
The Texas Thoroughbred Association is pleased to introduce a revamped Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity and the new Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby and Oaks, with purses totaling more than $500,000.
The races are restricted to horses that go through the ring at the upcoming Texas Summer Yearling Sale on Aug. 30 or the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale this coming spring. Horses need not be Texas-breds to be eligible, and the new format eliminates the previous payment schedule.
“In the last two years, Texas Thoroughbred racing has shown a resurgence due to the increased purse money at Lone Star Park and Sam Houston Race Park,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “To continue to build on that progress, the TTA has revamped the Futurity and created a Derby and Oaks with significantly increased purses for all those races. We look forward to our yearling sale on Aug. 30. Our goal is to create greater value for breeders, consignors and buyers.”
The revamped Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity will feature divisions for 2-year-old fillies and colts/geldings with $150,000 guaranteed for each division. Both divisions will be run at 5 1/2 furlongs on closing weekend of the 2022 Lone Star Park Thoroughbred meet. The races previously offered purses of approximately $100,000 apiece.
The new Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby and Oaks will be held at Sam Houston Race Park in 2023. The Derby and Oaks will be run on the dirt at a distance of one mile or more. Both races will carry purses of $100,000-added.
