Tag: The Biz

The Turfway Park Holiday Meet continues to unfold in a flurry of festive fervor but as the calendar turns, the Winter/Spring Meet will maintain high purses with a lucrative stakes schedule led by the March 23, $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (Grade 3), a stop on the Road to Kentucky Derby 150.

During the 52-day stand, the Winter/Spring Meet will showcase a total of 19 stakes races. The highlight is annually Jeff Ruby Steaks Day, featuring six stakes contests, including the 53rd running of the 1 1/8-mile Jeff Ruby Steaks. Supporting stakes events on the card will be the $300,000 TwinSpires Ky Cup Classic (Listed), the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks – a Road to the Kentucky Oaks Championship Series Race, the $250,000 Animal Kingdom Stakes, the $250,000 Latonia Stakes and the $250,000 Rushaway Stakes.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby's first stop at the Florence oval will be three weeks earlier on Saturday, March 2 for the $150,000 John Battaglia Memorial (Listed). One day prior, fillies on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks will be in action for the $150,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes.

Another spotlight race will be the 26th running of the Jan. 13, $125,000 Likely Exchange Stakes, which will mark the final opportunity in the “Make Your Mare” series, in partnership with Claiborne Farm. The top 3 finishers of the race will receive $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 in credits towards a future stallion mating at the farm. The other two races in the series are the $125,000 Holiday Inaugural and the $125,000 My Charmer Stakes.

Similar to the Holiday Meet, racing will continue on a Wednesday-Saturday schedule with daily first posts of 5:55 p.m. (all times Eastern), except Jeff Ruby Steaks Day, which will start at 12:45 p.m.

Reservations and more information about live racing and gaming from Turfway Park can be found on www.Turfway.com.

Below is the full stakes schedule (purse totals all include funds from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund):

The post Turfway Park’s Winter/Spring Stakes Schedule Led By $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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December is often a quiet time in the racing season, a time for recovery for many racehorses and preparation for breeding and foaling season for those on the farm.

The situation was no different in December 1920, when the Daily Racing Form ran a short update on Man o' War, who was getting some time off after a hugely successful 3-year-old campaign. That year, “Big Red” had run in 11 races, set seven track records, and become the first American Thoroughbred to amass more than $200,000 in career earnings. His 1920 season saw him win the Preakness and Belmont, and was also the year he entered the Lawrence Realization Stakes. All but one competitor scratched, and Man o' War is famously said to have won by 100 lengths.

Man o' War wrapped up his 1920 season with a match race against Sir Barton, and it was this race that was cited in the Form's update.

The match race against Sir Barton, who would later be recognized as the first Triple Crown winner, was accompanied by a buzz among racing fans that was similar to the Seabiscuit/War Admiral match that would come years later. Similarly to that match race, fans had been clamoring for the two to meet, and it was A.P. Orpen, the chairman of Canada's Kenilworth Jockey Club, who successfully negotiated with the connections of both horses and convinced them to go to Kenilworth in Windsor, Ontario, for a 10-furlong, $75,000 contest.

Originally, Orpen had also hoped Exterminator would join the field, but his connections preferred longer races and declined.

Sir Barton had finished his triumphant 3-year-old season in 1919 the leading money earner and was widely thought of as the best horse in training, despite his underdog status when he ran in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. A juvenile Man o' War made his career debut five days before Sir Barton's Belmont victory, and his legend grew with every subsequent race.

By the time the two met up in late 1920, 3-year-old Man o' War was already considered a behemoth and 4-year-old Sir Barton, who was constantly riddled with foot problems and having to overcome a fetlock injury in the spring, was starting to demonstrate the wear and tear of a demanding career.

The Kenilworth Cup was the first horse race to ever be filmed in its entirety, and drew 25,000 fans to the track on the day. Man o' War went to the lead easily and never looked back, finishing by open lengths over Sir Barton. It was the only time Man o' War ran against an older horse.

Apparently there had been some chatter about whether that effort had taken more out of him than his others.

“After his victory over Sir Barton at Windsor the great colt's off foreleg puffed up, and for a time it was believed he had seriously injured himself,” the note read. “Under [Louis] Feustel's care and Dr. McCully's prescription the swelling was quickly reduced and now there is not a blemish on him.”

(In the media world, we tend to view this kind of note as “damage control.”)

Since the match race had been the first to be committed to video recording, and was photographed extensively, those images flooded out to the public in the weeks and months after Man o' War's victory – what would prove to be his last. Reportedly, owner Samuel Riddle took issue with the notion the colt would be assigned even more weight in handicaps as a 4-year-old.

The video of the race was released as a film titled “The Race of the Age.”

Jennifer Kelly, author of 'Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown,' said Sir Barton's legacy was doubtlessly impacted by poor timing and popular press items touting his rival.

“In the weeks and months after the match race, two things happened: the film 'The Race of the Age,' which captured the preparations for and the running of the match race, and rotogravures sharing photos from the race spread through theaters and newspapers across the country,” said Kelly. “What people saw was Sir Barton trailing Man o' War in literal perpetuity. That shift in perception from the best horse of 1919 to the horse perpetually behind Man o' War had begun.

“Man o' War's accomplishments of 20 wins in 21 starts held sway over the sport, who saw that the only thing that could beat the colt were a bad start and a shortage of ground in the 1919 Sanford. The combination of Man o' War's fame and the images of Sir Barton in futile chase compromised the era's perception of Sir Barton. Though obituaries for the horse in 1937 said that he 'was outmatched at his peak by only the great Man o' War,' that assessment seems to have faded over time.

“When I started writing Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown in 2014, my goal was to tell his story and restore the first Triple Crown winner to his rightful place as one of his era's greats rather than the perpetual loser to the 20^th century's greatest racehorse.”

The post This Week In History: Man o’ War’s Legacy Overshadows Sir Barton appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The following edited press release was distributed by attorneys Carlo Fisco and Darrell Vienna.

Ruis Racing LLC on Friday announced a significant legal victory against the California Horse Racing Board. Represented by attorneys, Carlo Fisco and Darrell Vienna, Ruis Racing LLC obtained an order from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff directing the California Horse Racing Board stewards to set aside their Dec. 9, 2020, decision and issue a new ruling disqualifying Justify from the 2018 Santa Anita Derby (G1).

Ruis Racing owns Bolt d'Oro, the original second-place finisher behind Justify.

Justify tested positive for scopolamine after the Santa Anita Derby but the CHRB, meeting in executive session, opted not to pursue a complaint against trainer Bob Baffert or disqualify Justify from the win. The issue didn't come to light until September, more than five months after the Santa Anita Derby, when the New York Times published an article saying Justify's failed drug test was disposed of by the CHRB on the grounds that it was a suspected case of contamination.

Following the CHRB's action, stewards had ruled that they lacked jurisdiction to conduct a disqualification hearing in this matter. The Court disagreed and stated in its decision that there is “no reason for remand” as there is “no doubt” the stewards would have disqualified Justify if they understood that they had the authority to do so.

Today's decision supports the longstanding California Horse Racing Board rule that any horse racing with a prohibited substance in its system must be disqualified and the purse redistributed.

The CHRB, which has an opportunity to appeal the ruling, declined comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

With the decision, Ruis will be entitled to the first-place purse of $600,000 (he originally earned $200,000 for second) and the winning trophy.  Bolt d'Oro will be credited with the win, his third in a Grade 1. Justify, who went on to win the Triple Crown, will be stripped of the Santa Anita Derby win and all purse money.

The post Judge Orders Stewards To Disqualify Justify From 2018 Santa Anita Derby Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Following the Federal Trade Commission's approval to add iron dextran to the Banned Substances list under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program rules, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced Tuesday that it will use the next 30 days as an educational period to give Covered Persons time to adapt to the new rule.

Enforcement of the iron dextran rule will begin on Dec. 27, 2023.

As a reminder, the use/attempted use, administration/attempted administration, possession, or trafficking of a Banned Substance constitutes an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under the ADMC Program. HIWU urges Covered Persons to remove iron dextran from their barns, offices, trucks, and other areas connected to their business with Covered Horses.

HISA recommended the designation of iron dextran and products containing iron dextran as Banned Substances due to the substance's potential to compromise equine welfare. Questions related to iron dextran and the respective rule update should be directed to sciencesupport@hiwu.org.

The post HIWU: Rule Modification Regarding Iron Dextran To Be Enforced Beginning Dec. 27 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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