Today we caught up with Williams S. Sparks of Monroe, Louisiana. Originally from Arkansas where he grew up attending Oaklawn races with his grandfather, Sparks has assembled a band which reflects his philosophy of breeding to race.

“I'm really deeply committed to breeding a sound racehorse who is going to do what they do best–run,” said Sparks. “Regional breeding and racing are the backbone of this business and I love it. I wish I didn't so much, but I do.”

The Monroe dealership owner boards with Sara Patterson of Cedar Run Farm in Arkansas and with Wayne and Cathy Sweezey in Kentucky, and utilizes Ron Moquett as his conditioner.

BESS (8, Mineshaft–Brenda Leigh, by Forest Wildcat) will be bred to Petrov
This is a hard-knocking mare who made almost $300,000 over 38 starts. I bought Bess as a yearling and raced her until she was claimed away. Ron Moquett and I bought her back. She is in foal to Beau Liam and is in the Arkansas breeding program. Like a lot of other folks, I am impressed with the look of these Petrov foals.

Gunite | Sara Gordon

DANCE FOR DADDY (8, Scat Daddy–Dance to the Sea, by Gone West) will be bred to Gunite
I have bred speed into this mare and her last couple of offspring speak to that, including 3-year-old colt Ceepeegee (Army Mule). This colt broke his maiden in September, and my partner Keith Johnston and I are excited about his prospects. I had actually entered him at last April's OBS and once my wife and I saw him there she asked, “why exactly are you selling this horse?”

Dance For Daddy is currently in foal to Volatile. The next move is to send her to Gunite with hopes for a precocious foal. This mare has shown she can get an early runner. Gunite is a grand-looking horse who proved himself a fighter at the races. I hope he passes that on.

FINE FAMILY (5, Upstart–Great Family, by Harlan's Holiday) will be bred back to Girvin
I was fortunate enough to partner with Bret Jones of Airdrie Stud in racing Fine Family. She is in foal to Girvin for this year and I think the plan is to go back to him. Bret obviously knows what he is doing, so I am just following his lead. Girvin is certainly proving to be a successful sire.

MARTZ (12, Scat Daddy–Opulent, by Meadowlake) will be bred to either Complexity, Nashville or Yaupon
Ron Moquett picked out Martz as a 2-year-old at OBS. We raced her and kept her to breed. She is a big, strong mare who throws lovely foals. I have an affinity for Scat Daddy mares. Martz's best foal so far is MSP Sarah Harper (Vancouver {Aus}) who's mating recommendation was the product of John Prather. Martz has big, nice yearling colt by Astern (Aus), and we are going to breed her to speed. I am certainly liking what I am seeing from both Complexity and Yaupon.

MAXINE'S TAP ROOM (8, Bourbon Courage–Sunday In Malibu, by Malibu Moon) will be bred to The Big Beast
This is a stakes-placed mare who was quick, but who unfortunately had an abbreviated racing career. She's in the Arkansas breeding program and alternates between Arkansas and Kentucky stallions. The Big Beast is going to be a super addition to Arkansas and I'm a fan of the good-looking son of Yes It's True.

Fine Family | Coady Photography

SARAH HARPER (6, Vancouver (Aus)–Martz, by Scat Daddy) will be bred to Nyquist or Street Sense
Our plan with Sarah Harper is to have her compete at Oaklawn this spring and then she will head to the breeding shed. She's just been spectacular and nicks well with a lot of stallions. Wayne [Sweezey] and I are talking it over, but Nyquist or Street Sense are our options in that order.

TIPAZAR (9, Tapizar–Tipsy At Midnight, by Midnight Lute) will be bred to The Big Beast
I raced this mare in partnership with my friend Jim Brown. We are breeding Tipazar in the Arkansas program, and the plan is to continue to alternate every other year with that state entity and then with a Kentucky stallion.

TRIP MOM (16, El Corredor–Fifty Mil Short, by Johannesburg) will be bred to either Highly Motivated or Runhappy
Trip Mom, who I have bred and raced in the Arkansas program, was recommended to me by the late pedigree consultant, Les Brinsfield. Upon entering the business, I had the good fortune to meet Les, and also John Prather through friends George Waggoner and Monty Hinton. They provided me with valuable guidance and endless hours of pedigree discussion.

Interested in sharing your own mating plans? Email garyking@thetdn.com.

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Girvin, a leading 3-year-old of his crop, won the 2017 Haskell Invitational S. (G1) and registered back-to-back Graded stakes wins in annexing the Risen Star S. (G2) and the Louisiana Derby (G2). An earner of $1,624,392 on the racetrack and a winner from six to nine furlongs, Girvin is represented by well-received first yearlings this year, which included a $200,000 colt who was the co-highest-priced yearling for a freshman sire at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

Seeking the Soul, a Charles Fipke homebred, had an illustrious racing career, winning the 2017 Clark H. (G1), the 2018 Ack Ack S. (G3), and the 2019 Stephen Foster S. (G2). All told, he won or placed in eight Graded stakes, including runner-up finishes in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. (G1), earning more than $3.4 million. His first foals arrive in 2022.

Win Win Win captured the Forego S. (G1) at Saratoga in 2020, defeating four Grade 1 winners. He set a new track record at three, winning the seven-furlong Pasco S. at Tampa Bay Downs in an eye-catching 1:20.89, running a 2 on the Ragozin Sheets. He hails from a deep Live Oak family and is a descendant of the influential Halo sire line. Standing as a partnership between Live Oak Stud, Airdrie Stud, and Ocala Stud, Win Win Win will see his first foals arrive in 2022.

Stud fees for Adios Charlie, Awesome Slew, Jess's Dream, Noble Bird, and The Big Beast remain unchanged at $4,000 S&N for 2022. Greenpointcrusader will stand for $3,500 S&N once again; Ami's Flatter and Dak Attack will both stand for $2,500 S&N; and Battalion Runner rounds out the roster, standing for $1,500 S&N. For more information, contact David or Joe O'Farrell at (352) 237-2171 or visit OcalaStud.com.

Ocala Stud's 2022 roster and fees are as follows:

The post Girvin Leads 2022 Roster At Ocala Stud appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The winner, a 3-year-old daughter of The Big Beast trained by John Sadler, ran the mile on the main track in 1:36.53 under Juan Hernandez and picked up a winner's check for $62,250, pushing her bankroll to $209,970 after she reported home a length and a half the best. It was the fourth victory in seven career starts for the Florida-bred who was claimed for $50,000 by her current connections out of her first start at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas last April.

Finishing second was the 1/2 race favorite Moonlight d'Oro, owned by MyRacehorse or Spendthrift Farm, while Michael Rosemayer's Clockstrikestwelve ran third.

The opening card was the first of 13 that will be held over the course of the Del Mar session that goes forward to Sunday, November 28. Adding special spice to this edition of the “Crosby” is the 38th running of the Breeders' Cup Championships, which will be conducted here this Friday and Saturday with $31 million of purses and awards on the line.

Racing continues Thursday with another eight-race card with first post at 12:30 p.m.

JUAN HERNANDEZ (Livingmybestlife, winner) – “Yes, that was the plan – go to the front and see how far we could go. She likes to run that way. We had a Plan B in case someone did something crazy, but our first plan worked out fine. We weren't going that fast and she was comfortable. When we turned for home, she changed leads on her own and from there I was on a winner.”

JUAN LEYVA, assistant to John Sadler (Livingmybestlife, winner) “She got to break out front and do what she likes to do, which is cruise on the lead. She was comfortable the whole time and ran a great race. She's been nothing but good since we claimed her. At the three-eighths when I saw the favorite (Moonlight d'Oro) wasn't really pressing her and she was pulling away, I felt really good.”

FRACTIONS: :23.16 :46.38 1:10.78 1:23.63 1:36.53

The stakes win was the first of the meet and the first in the initial running of the Seashell. Jockey Hernandez now has 12 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet and the first in the initial running of the Seashell. Trainer Sadler now has 81 stakes wins at Del Mar, second most of all time.

The winning owners are Kosta and Pete Hronis of Delano, CA.

The post Livingmybestlife Leads All The Way In Opening Day Seashell At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Understandable.

Lieblong, among other things in 2020, broke his foot, contracted coronavirus and as chairman of the Arkansas Racing Commission was in the middle of a bitter legal fight to award a casino permit in Pope County.

“I just said, 'I'm going to hide down there,' ” Lieblong said.

Lieblong is back and so are the horses he and wife JoAnn own and now campaign at their home track, Oaklawn, with Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

The Lieblongs recorded their first career Oaklawn triple Jan. 24, when Asmussen saddled favorites Earner ($3.80), Willful Woman ($4.20) and unbeaten Abrogate ($3.60) to win races 2, 3 and 8, respectively.

“I felt good and they were training well,” said Alex Lieblong, 70, who watched the races from home. “It was a good day to do it.”

The Lieblongs were Oaklawn's third-leading owners last year with 11 victories and the triple pushed their career total in Hot Springs to 117. They entered the game in the early 1990s and won their first race at Oaklawn in 1999, although JoAnn Lieblong, in partnership, recorded several victories earlier in the decade with noted Little Rock, Ark., owner Patricia Blass.

Now established owners and breeders, the Lieblongs normally keep roughly 20 horses in training – the bulk are now at Oaklawn with Asmussen – and have approximately 14 broodmares at Ocala Stud in Florida, where they stand their Grade 1 winner, The Big Beast.

The trio of Jan. 24 winners were all purchased at auction – Earner for $425,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Willful Woman for $400,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale and Abrogate for $270,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Abrogate, who cleared her first allowance condition in the sprint for 3-year-old fillies, is from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Outwork. She is 2 for 2 in her career (both sprints).

“I watched the gallop-out two or three times and it didn't seem like she was just collapsing after the line, I'll put it that way,” Lieblong said, referring to a potential future route attempt. “She's got a good mind and she's not a run off. She was so gorgeous at the sale. To pay that for an Outwork – that was at the outer limits for an Outwork filly, although I think Outwork is going to prove himself to be a pretty nice sire.”

Willful Woman, another 3-year-old filly, is from the first crop of champion Nyquist. She is a half-sister to the Asmussen-trained Ever So Clever, winner of the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies in 2017 at Oaklawn.

Willful Woman was making her third career start after running third twice last fall in Kentucky. She broke her maiden at a mile.

“We knew (Abrogate) was a good filly,” Lieblong said. “The other one needed to show a little something and she did. She's had a growth spurt. I can tell that. She's gotten big, that Willful Woman. I was worried that the mile might be a tick too short for her, but she looked pretty impressive herself.”

The Lieblongs have two other horses at Oaklawn with trainer Steve Hobby of Hot Springs and another with trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs. The Lieblongs also have had a long business relationship with trainer David Fawkes, who is based in south Florida. Skip Intro, a 3-year-old half-brother to 2020 male sprint champion Whitmore, is with Moquett. The trainer also conditions Whitmore, a seven-time Oaklawn stakes winner.

The Jan. 24 triple vaulted the Lieblongs into the top spot in the Oaklawn owner's standings after the first three days of the scheduled 57-day meeting. They have at least one victory at every Oaklawn meet since 2001, including a career-best 12 in 2019. The Lieblongs were Oaklawn's third-leading owners in 2019.

“I always remember David Fawkes telling me one time that everything can be going so good and then all of sudden somebody just kind of rolls a hand grenade down the center of your barn,” Lieblong said on the eve of 2021 Oaklawn meeting. “I thought, 'That's about like it is.' About the time you think you have things lined up, here comes the hand grenade. We're just tickled to be able to race. You've got to hand it to Oaklawn to get it done. They've jumped through a lot of hoops to get it done.”

Oaklawn raced, uninterrupted, through the COVID-19 crisis last year, though without spectators for the final 29 dates of the 57-day meeting. Oaklawn's 2021 meeting began Jan. 22 with limited spectators, owing to Arkansas Department of Health guidelines.

In addition to The Big Beast, the Lieblongs have campaigned Grade 1 winners Wicked Whisper, Embellish the Lace and Telling, Grade 2 winners I Spent It and High Dollar Woman and multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Spring Included. They still race Bye Bye J, another multiple local stakes winner who is scheduled to make her 2021 debut Feb. 4 at Oaklawn. Bye Bye J is among the top Arkansas-bred female money winners in history. The Lieblongs also raced millionaire Duke of Mischief, winner of the $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) in 2010, in partnership with Fawkes and the horse's breeder, Marilyn McMaster.

Alex Lieblong heads Lieblong & Associates, Inc., a financial advisory firm in Little Rock, Ark.

The post ‘Just Tickled To Be Able To Race’: Lieblongs Enjoying Early-Season Success At Oaklawn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Ocala Stud will welcome three new stallions in Grade 1-winning millionaires Win Win Win and Seeking the Soul who will both stand for $5,000 S&N, and also new is Dak Attack, a stakes-winning son of Ghostzapper, whose fee will be $2,500 S&N.

Girvin, a leading 3-year-old of his crop, captured the 2017 Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Stakes and registered back-to-back graded stakes in taking the G2 Risen Star Stakes and the G2 Louisiana Derby. An earner of $1,624,392 on the racetrack and a winner from six to nine furlongs, Girvin saw his first foals arrive in 2020. He has covered 273 mares in his first two books, and he was Florida's most popular stallion of 2019, breeding 149 mares that season. He was bred to 124 mares in 2020.

Win Win Win won this year's G1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga in impressive fashion, defeating four Grade 1 winners, including Complexity in a final time of 1:21.71 for seven furlongs. Last season at three, Win Win Win set a new track and stakes record winning the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, rolling to a 7 1/4-length victory in 1:20.89, running a 2 on the Ragozin Sheets. He hails from a deep Live Oak family and is a descendant of the influential Halo sire line. He will stand as a partnership between Live Oak Stud, Airdrie Stud, and Ocala Stud.

Seeking the Soul, a Charles Fipke homebred, enjoyed an illustrious racing career, winning the 2017 G1 Clark Handicap, the 2018 G3 Ack Ack Stakes and the 2019 G2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs. All told, he won or placed in eight graded stakes, which included runner-up finishes in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and the $9 million G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes. On the board in 20 of 32 starts, Seeking the Soul bankrolled more than $3.4 million.

Like Girvin, Awesome Slew welcomed first foals in 2020. The versatile son of Awesome Again won graded stakes from seven furlongs to 1 1/16 miles during his racing career and earned $1,223,310 while winning or placing in 12 graded stakes. He will stand for $4,000 S&N.

Adios Charlie, a perennial leading sire in Florida, will stand for $4,000 S&N. The Sunshine State's No. 1 sire in 2019, Adios Charlie is a top five sire again in 2020. Also standing for $4,000 S&N are Jess's Dream who has first-crop 2-year-olds in 2020, Grade 1 winner Noble Bird who will be represented by first 2-year-olds in the coming year, and The Big Beast, Florida's second-ranked first-crop sire of 2019 who is represented this year by stakes winner Hear My Prayer, as well as stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Up in Smoke.

Ocala Stud's 2021 roster and fees are as follows:

The post Girvin Leads Ocala Stud’s 2021 Stallion Roster appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Girvin saw his first foals arrive in 2020. He has covered 273 mares in his first two books–he was Florida’s most popular stallion of 2019, breeding 149 mares that season and he was bred to 124 mares in 2020.

Like Girvin, Awesome Slew (Awesome Again) welcomed first foals in 2020. He will stand for $4,000 S&N.

Adios Charlie (Indian Charlie), a perennial leading sire in Florida, will stand for $4,000 S&N. The Sunshine State’s No. 1 sire in 2019, Adios Charlie is a top five sire again in 2020.

Also standing for $4,000 S&N are Jess’s Dream (Curlin), who has first-crop 2-year-olds in 2020; GISW Noble Bird (Birdstone), who will be represented by first 2-year-olds in the coming year; and The Big Beast (Yes It’s True), Florida’s second-ranked first-crop sire of 2019.

Ocala Stud’s roster also includes: Ami’s Flatter ($2,500); Awesome of Course ($2,000); Battalion Runner ($1,500); Brooks n Down ($1,500); Fort Loudon ($1,500); Greenpointcrusader ($3,500); and In Summation ($2,500).

The post Roster and Stud Fees Set for Ocala Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the sixth consecutive racing day Wednesday, when multiple tickets with five of six winners were each worth $3,049.80.

The carryover jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover of $3,398.92 heading into Friday's program.

Gulfstream has scheduled a special live-racing program on Tuesday, when mandatory payouts of the Rainbow 6, Late Pick 5 and the Super Hi-5 will be offered on the final day of Florida's fiscal year.

Zayas Hitting His Stride with a Big Boost from Pletcher
Edgard Zayas teamed with trainer Todd Pletcher for a victory with a promising Florida Sire Stakes-eligible juvenile for the second racing day in a row at Gulfstream Park Wednesday.

After guiding Tamiami to a late-rallying triumph in a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies on Sunday, Zayas returned to the Gulfstream winner's circle after riding Son of a Beast to a gutsy front-running score against seven Florida-bred 2-year-olds Wednesday.

The victory aboard the son of The Big Beast was Zayas' 58^th of the Spring Meet at Gulfstream to place him at the top of the jockey standings. The defending Spring Meet riding champion has received considerable support from Pletcher, the leading trainer who left a talent-deep string at Gulfstream after wrapping up his 16^th Championship Meet training title March 29.

“I appreciate the opportunity he's always given me. He's always given me an opportunity on his horses,” Zayas said. “We just got to keep working as hard as we can for him and hopefully stay lucky.”

Son of a Beast, who is owned by breeders Jettany Thoroughbred Corp. and JAG Racing, was rushed to the lead shortly after the start of Wednesday's five-furlong Race 2, encountered heavy pressure from Tiger on the turn and through the stretch and battled his way to victory by three-quarters of a length.

“He's a big horse for that distance. I think he's definitely going to go longer. He broke good and I had to rush him a little bit, but once he got into stride he had a beautiful stride,” Zayas said. “Once he got pressure from that other horse, it helped him. It encouraged him to finish up strong.”

Son of a Beast, who ran five furlongs in 59.06 seconds as the 3-2 favorite, established himself as a prominent prospect for the 2020 Florida Sire Stakes series that is scheduled to get under way Aug. 1.

As for Zayas, who will celebrate his 27^th birthday Saturday, he's looking forward to building on his Spring Meet momentum.

“I'm hitting my stride again with all the opportunities from the owners and trainers,” he said. “Hopefully, this is the time to hit my stride and keep it going for a long time.”

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