Tag: The Biz

Eastern Kentucky's new Quarter Horse racetrack, equestrian center and gaming facility will be led by longtime racing and gaming industry executives, each bringing decades of experience in high-quality racing and guest experiences.

Revolutionary Racing Kentucky announced the appointment of key members of the team that will lead the $55 million investment in Boyd County:

·         John Marshall, President

·         Conor Lucas, Vice President, Government Relations and Development

·         Shelby Morrison, Executive Assistant

·         Terry Oliver, Racing and Equestrian Manager

·         Mike Anifantis, Racing Secretary

“We promised to build a world-class facility, led by a world-class team,” said Larry Lucas, Chairman of Revolutionary Racing Kentucky. “With these appointments, we are certainly well on our way to delivering on that promise. This is an impressive leadership team for what will be an equally impressive development.”

Marshall brings a rare hybrid of racing, gaming, entertainment, and hospitality expertise to lead the team. He previously led the re-opening of Virginia's Colonial Downs and pioneered the successful network of historic horse racing facilities, branded as Rosie's Gaming Emporium. He helped introduce alternative gaming to several new markets within other racetrack facilities, including Meadows Racetrack and Casino, Calder Casino and Racetrack and Miami Valley Gaming, creating thousands of new jobs while reviving horse racing in those areas. He has also held key roles in supporting the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Breeders' Cup.

“John has a strong record of building teams that work very well with regulators, horsemen and colleagues to deliver what's promised,” Lucas said. “He also has decades of experience in other forms of family entertainment, like concerts and festivals, that we are excited to also bring to Boyd County as part of this.”

Over the last two years, Conor Lucas has worked closely with Kentucky legislators and regulators, as well as Boyd County officials and the Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association. He will continue that work throughout the development process. He previously led legislative efforts to change Arizona gaming laws and helped pass horse racing and gaming legislation in Louisiana.

Morrison, an Ashland native, oversees day-to-day administrative operations. She brings many years of local experience in relationship management and customer service and played a key role in the team's successful groundbreaking event in October.

Marshall said he is honored to lead the team and pointed to the respected industry reputations that both Anifantis and Oliver bring to the Eastern Kentucky development.

“Terry and Mike are accomplished figures in both Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing,” he said. “We've worked together in the past and I know firsthand that they bring genuine passion, drive and records of success that will help us to thrive.”

Oliver is also highly regarded in both the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing communities, having served as Director of Racing at Florida's Oxford Downs and as Director of the Central Florida Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. He is an experienced trainer who grew up in the Quarter Horse industry and is active with the American Quarter Horse Association. His daughter is a state barrel-racing champion.

Anifantis has more than 40 years of racing experience, most recently serving as Racing Secretary at Prairie Meadows in Iowa. He helped open Remington Park in 1988 and has held leadership roles at Hialeah Park, Calder Race Course and many others. He also worked in the racing offices at both Keeneland and Churchill Downs.

In July, Revolutionary Racing Kentucky was awarded the Commonwealth's ninth and final horse racing license. Plans call to invest $55 million to build a Quarter Horse racetrack, equestrian center and gaming facility, creating more than 200 good-paying jobs and more than $1 million in new local tax revenues.

The post Marshall To Lead Management Team At Revolutionary Racing Kentucky appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Former harness trainer and Thoroughbred owner Nick Surick could face as much as six years in federal prison for his role uncovered in the federal government's probe into doping of racehorses that resulted in more than two dozen indictments in March 2020. Prosecutors have asked for a reduced sentence of less than the 72 months recommended in a presentence investigation report despite the government and defense attorneys acknowledging Surick provided inaccurate information to the prosecution.

Surick is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. ET after entering a guilty plea to three charges – one count of conspiracy to violate drug adulterating and misbranding laws in aid of former trainer Jorge Navarro, one count of the same in his own string, and one count of obstruction of justice. The U.S. government submitted its pre-sentencing report to U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil this week, while Surick's attorneys filed theirs in December.

According to both reports, Surick was one of the first in the group of more than two dozen defendants to pursue a cooperation agreement with prosecutors in October 2020. He agreed to provide information to investigators on fellow defendants and it seems the government had hoped they could call him as a witness at trial. His name was absent from a superseding indictment filed in the case in November 2020.

Prosecutors say Surick met with investigators six times in the months between June and November 2020 in what are called “proffer sessions,” submitting to voluntary questioning about the role of himself and others. Surick's attorneys say he “provided extensive information about numerous indicted and unindicted co-conspirators” while prosecutors point out that the information “did not lead to the introduction of charges against any additional defendants, or any additional charges against existing defendants, nor did his testimony yield any additional investigative avenues.”

Surick is accused of supplying Navarro with “red acid,” the common name for an injectable painkiller, as well as a shockwave machine. (Read more about shockwave here.) Prosecutors say he also doped the horses under his own care.

One of the incidents Surick was questioned about was the case of his Standardbred trainee, Northern Virgin. Intercepted communications between Surick and other co-defendants reveal that he panicked after New Jersey investigators showed up at his barn to take an out-of-competition sample from Northern Virgin, who had been given EPO that Surick got from Navarro. Surick successfully hid Northern Virgin from state investigators, first claiming the horse wasn't on track property while concealing him in another barn, and eventually moving the horse to a training center in Ohio.

Surick told the government that it was fellow co-defendant and veterinarian Dr. Rebecca Linke who gave Northern Virgin the EPO, but it was later discovered that this was incorrect. Linke apparently produced records proving she could not have been present at Surick's barn on the day northern Virgin received the EPO.

In last week's filing, prosecutors said they could not be sure whether Surick's inaccuracy on this point was a matter of mistaken memory (as his attorney claims) or willful lying.

“Because it is possible that the defendant did not knowingly lie to the Government regarding this event, and because of the unique circumstances of this case, the government has not concluded that the defendant deliberately falsified the details of this event,” read the prosecutors' report.

Surick's inaccuracy about Linke's involvement made him unusable as a witness according to prosecutors, since the inconsistency in his story of a pivotal doping event would doubtlessly be an opportunity for opposing counsel to discredit him. For his part, Surick's attorney said his client mostly remembered his panic and anxiety over the fear that he was about to incur a positive out-of-competition test, while the details of who was present for the drug administration escaped him.

The pre-sentence investigation report (PSR), filed by the U.S. Probation office, recommended 72 months in prison for Surick, but prosecutors asked Vyskocil to consider a lesser sentence.

“The government respectfully submits that a serious sentence to some term of imprisonment, albeit one below that recommended by Probation in the PSR, is sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to serve the legitimate purposes of sentencing,” U.S. attorney Damian Williams wrote.

Prosecutors acknowledged they could have used a federal code allowing them to request a longer sentence since Surick's proffers turned out to have an accuracy issue, but have chosen not to. Federal codes could have allowed them to request as much as 30 years in jail for all three charges.

Surick's attorneys requested he be given 12 months' supervised release.

Neither pre-sentencing report explained a much-quoted statement made from Surick to co-defendant Thoroughbred trainer Michael Tannuzzo in intercepted conversation regarding Navarro:

“You know how many f—ing horses he (Navarro) f—ing killed and broke down that I made disappear,” Surick told Tannuzzo. “You know how much trouble he could get in … if they found out … the six horses we killed?”

Sentencing will take place at U.S. District Court's Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, N.Y.

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The 2022 Longines World Racing Awards ceremony, which is organized by the Swiss watch brand Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. The event will honor the Longines World's Best Racehorse and the Longines World's Best Horse Race of the 2022 season, and the winners will be announced beginning at approximately 14:15 GMT/9:15 EST.

The in-person event will take place at Banqueting House in London. This year marked the 400th anniversary of the building, which is one of the Historic Royal Palaces and is the only surviving portion of the lost Palace of Whitehall. The live stream of the ceremony will be released on multiple digital platforms including the social media accounts of Longines and the IFHA, as well as World Horse Racing. Additionally, multiple other racing industry players from around the globe will show the awards.

The highest-rated horses in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings and the 2022 Longines World's Best Horse Race will be revealed and celebrated. The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings are established by international handicappers according to the performance of the horses in top races. The highest rated race is determined by averaging the rankings of the first four placed horses.

This is the 10^th ceremony honoring the Longines World's Best Racehorse and the eighth time the Longines World's Best Horse Race will be named. The connections of the winning horse will be presented with an elegant Longines watch and a replica of the vase of the Longines World's Best Racehorse. The connections of the Longines World's Best Horse Race will also be presented with a watch and a replica of a trophy representing a proud horse head.

Additionally, the IFHA's annual list of the Top 100 Group/Grade 1 races will be released, as well as the rankings for all horses around the world rated 115 or higher. The full list and further information on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings will be available on the IFHA website ifhaonline.org.

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Applications for The Jockey Club's summer internship program for college students and recent college graduates will open Tuesday, Jan. 17. The program will accommodate up to three interns.

“The first two years of our internship program were very successful,” said Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club. “The interns have been intelligent and motivated, and they have all done a tremendous job working within The Jockey Club companies. They will be an asset to any organization within our industry, which is the goal of the program.”

Interns will gain exposure to all companies and departments within the organization, and they will have the opportunity to spend additional time in areas that they find to be of particular interest. The program will last eight weeks.

The internships will take place in The Jockey Club's offices located in Lexington, Ky., and New York, N.Y. For more information and to view the application, interested candidates should visit jockeyclub.com/Default.asp?section=Initiatives&area=3. Applications are being accepted through Feb. 17, 2023. Selected interns will be notified in early April 2023.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It founded America's Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing, and in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, operates OwnerView (ownerview.com), the ownership resource. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

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