The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) on Saturday announced the finalists for the 2022 Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing.
Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced on FanDuel TV, and other outlets, during the 52nd annual Eclipse Awards, presented by John Deere, Keeneland, and The Jockey Club, on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2022 Horse of the Year.
Flightline, the presumptive Horse of the Year, is among the three finalists for champion in the older dirt male division. The Tapit colt scored a trio of Grade 1 wins from as many 2022 starts – the Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap, TVG Pacific Classic, and Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. The other finalists in the category are Life Is Good, a son of Into Mischief who also is a three-time Grade 1 winner, and five-time graded stakes winner Olympiad, a son of Speightstown who was runner-up in the Classic.
Of the 258 eligible voters represented by the NTRA, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, the NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, 246 (95.3%) took part in the voting. Finalists were determined in each category by voters' top three selections, using a 10-5-1 point basis. Eclipse Award winners are determined solely by first-place votes.
The 2022 Eclipse Awards Finalists, with the exception of Horse of the Year, (in alphabetical order) are:
Two-Year-Old Male: Cave Rock, Forte, Victoria Road (IRE)
Two-Year-Old Filly: Leave No Trace, Meditate (IRE), Wonder Wheel
Three-Year-Old Male: Epicenter, Modern Games (IRE), Taiba
Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr., Flavien Prat, Joel Rosario
Apprentice Jockey: Jeiron Barbosa, Vicente Del-Cid, Jose Antonio Gomez
In addition to honoring the 17 winners in the horse and people categories, David Harrison will receive the Eclipse Award as the 2022 Horseplayer of the Year. Members of the media will be honored for outstanding coverage in six categories.
Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), and Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards ceremony is produced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire, Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Friday that its 2022 race meets conducted at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course generated all-sources handle of $2,321,863,828.
The year was highlighted by the summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course, where all-sources wagering surged to a record $878,211,963 in 2022, eclipsing the previous high-water mark by nearly eight percent. In addition, the 2022 summer meet generated average daily handle of $21,955,299, which is the highest such figure in the history of Saratoga.
On-track handle in 2022, which includes New York residents wagering through NYRA Bets, totaled $291,438,542, or 9.2 percent higher than the 2021 total of $266,978,634.
Inclement weather forced the cancellation of six race days in 2022. As a result, NYRA conducted 196 live race days with average daily handle of $11,846,244.
Average field size for the 1,855 races contested in 2022 was 7.48, a 2.6 percent decrease from 2021 when average field size was 7.68.
Outside of the customary winter and spring/summer meets, the 2022 Belmont Park fall meet was held at Aqueduct Racetrack due to the construction of vehicular and pedestrian tunnels designed to unlock the 45-acre infield at Belmont. In addition to eventually providing access to fans and the surrounding community, these tunnels will allow NYRA to reconstruct the Belmont main track and two turf courses.
Substantial work on the existing racetracks will commence following the completion of the 2023 Belmont Park spring/summer meet.
In 2021, NYRA generated all-sources handle of $2,373,772,916 with average daily handle of $11,809,816 over 201 race days.
The 2023 winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack continues through March 26 with live racing held four days a week in January and February before moving to three days a week in March.
Saturday's 10-race card features the $150,000 Jerome, a prep race on New York's Road to the Kentucky Derby awarding 10-4-3-2-1 qualifying points to the top-five finishers. In addition to the Jerome, the program co-features the re-scheduled $150,000 Queens County. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern.
America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct winter meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.
NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
Many Maryland-based horsemen were surprised when former trainer Ramon Preciado started showing up by the rail at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., toward the end of 2022.
Fair Hill has a reputation as the home of largely rule-abiding trainers who opt for the verdant facility to give horses turnout time or mental breaks galloping through the facility's many rolling grassy fields and forgiving track surfaces.
Preciado had his training license revoked by stewards in Pennsylvania in December 2016 after one of his runners tested positive for clenbuterol. The test was the latest in a string of positives for Preciado, who was fighting eight other medication violations earlier in the year and who was banned by Parx in April 2016.
Preciado had resurfaced at Parx after the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission granted him a stable employee's license in December 2020. (He had applied for, and been denied, a stable employee license in 2018.) After his application was approved, he went to work as a groom for trainer Penny Pearce. Pearce subsequently saw her win percentage jump from 8 percent in 2020 to 23 percent in 2021 and 25 percent in 2022, by far her most lucrative years yet. On Aug. 29 of last year, Pearce was handed a multi-year suspension for six clenbuterol positives detected in out-of-competition samples. A stay of her suspension was granted in early September, but she has not saddled a runner since Oct. 7.
On Oct. 4, JKX Racing purchased stalls in a barn at Fair Hill. Prior to her most recent start on Oct. 7, Pearce was one of several trainers working for JKX. JKX is the nom de course for Joseph Klausa, who has raced under his own name and also as Joey P Stables.
Last year, JKX Racing's win percentage was 28 percent with earnings of over $2 million. Other trainers working for JKX have included Jamie Ness (who was recently handed a six-month suspension for bufotenine) and Juan Carlos Guerrero (who was implicated alongside Silvio Martin and Marcos Zulueta in an alleged hidden ownership and program training scheme in 2017).
Several of Pearce's last starters made their way from her barn at Parx to Fair Hill, where they later posted breezes for trainer Michael E. Jones, Jr.
Although he is primarily based at Charles Town with a string of 28 horses for several clients, Jones said he travels to Fair Hill twice a week to check in on nearly 30 horses there, most of which are owned by JKX.
When reached by the Paulick Report on Jan. 4, Jones said Preciado is operating as his assistant trainer at Fair Hill even though Preciado is not licensed in any capacity in the state of Maryland.
“I set the training chart and go over it every day,” said Jones of his relationship with Preciado. “I tell him what I want done and we go from there.”
Jones said his relationships with Preciado and with JKX Racing go back several years.
Multiple sources at the training center claimed to have seen Preciado regularly accompanying sets to the track but indicated that they had not witnessed Jones at the barn.
Trainer Ramon Preciado reached 1,000 career victories at Parx Racing in 2015
The training center at Fair Hill is owned by a condo association and, as such, is subject to housing anti-discrimination rules even though the facility is not a traditional housing development. The principals at the ownership group were advised by legal counsel that they could not refuse to sell stalls or barns to someone.
“We have caught some flak for allowing this to happen but unfortunately there is not a whole lot we can do,” said trainer and Fair Hill barn owner Graham Motion. “It is more up to the racetracks to not allow this to happen in my opinion if he has horses competing, which I assume he does.”
Mike Rogers, executive vice president of 1/ST Racing and acting president of Maryland Jockey Club, said on Jan. 4 that the racing organization had received complaints that Jones was not the trainer of the Fair Hill-based horses he was entering at Laurel Park.
“We've been provided information that [Jones] is not managing the stable at Fair Hill,” said Rogers, who indicated that entries from Jones' Fair Hill string are not currently being accepted at 1/ST tracks. “We do know he has a string at Charles Town, so if he enters something from the string at Charles Town, those entries are being taken, because we know he's there and is managing them.
“The information we're getting is multiple sources, not just one.”
Rogers said Jones has been informed of the policy.
When reached on Jan. 4, Jones said he was “not aware of” of any limitation on his entries at Laurel. He last started a horse at Laurel on Dec. 30.
The problem of paper training
Paper training or program training has been around for decades as trainers have sought to keep operating despite a commission's lengthy suspension or ban. The question of whether a trainer is “papering” for another is often the subject of racetrack rumor, but there is rarely an enforcement action.
In recent years it has been racetracks that have denied stalls and/or entries to a trainer based on evidence of paper training, but it is somewhat more unusual for a commission to do so.
There is a model rule in the language of the Association of Racing Commissioners International giving states guidance on how to make paper training illegal. Many states already have language that could allow them to take action against someone who is operating as a paper trainer for an unlicensed person or someone on suspension.
Section 9.19.01.57 of Code of Maryland Regulations appears to address this, setting up the requirement that anyone training horses must meet the licensing requirements of a trainer. Regulation D in that section states “a trainer may not practice his profession except under his own name” while Regulation S states “A trainer or owner who harbors anyone not provided with a license issued by the Commission shall be immediately reported to the stewards, so they may make investigation and take appropriate action as they deem necessary, if any, as provided under Regulation .45V of this chapter.”
Marc Guilfoil, former executive director at the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and now director of state racing commission relations at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, said many states choose not to enforce regulations that would appear to address paper training.
“It takes a little footwork,” said Guilfoil, who recalled staking out a barn to investigate one complaint of paper training. “If you follow the money on a lot of things – stewards have the right to subpoena for lack of a better word bills, who's paying what, who's paying the feed bill. If someone really wants to cover their tracks, they'll cover that, but you can find out.”
Guilfoil admits that it's more difficult, though still not impossible, to verify claims of activity going on at a non-sanctioned facility – which Fair Hill is.
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“If you can hide behind a training center and ship horses in, it is difficult,” he said. “But most of the time as a steward if you'll listen, other horsemen will tell you. They tell on each other. And you just start tracing it down, have your security talk to people. Go observe. If you've been around a while, you develop friendships and people will tell you. They usually tell you where to watch and what to watch. It just takes a little bit of ground work.”
Cases where the person who is seeking assistance of a paper trainer is not suspended but rather totally unlicensed are somewhat more challenging.
“Really you can't do anything more to them because they're not licensed anyway,” said Guilfoil. “The person who's aiding and abetting them, if they have a license you can always withhold that. If one person isn't licensed, they have grooms, they have other people who are helping them who are licensed and you can get to them that way.”
Hopkins said he had received no complaints about paper training with relation to Preciado.
When asked about the commission's enforcement ability at Fair Hill, Hopkins said simply, “We do not have any jurisdiction over a training center.”
Jones has horses from his Fair Hill string entered at Parx in the upcoming days, and has an entry in Saturday's Queens County Stakes at Aqueduct with Naval Aviator, a JKX Racing trainee who has spent November and December at Fair Hill.
Keeneland will award a season record $8.05 million for 19 stakes to be run during its 2023 Spring Meet, which will cover 15 days from April 7-28. Leading the schedule are the 99th running of the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass (G1) and 86th running of the $600,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1), both major targets of the nation's top 3-year-olds.
Keeneland has increased the purses of two Grade 1 stakes for older females – the Madison (G1) and the Jenny Wiley (G1) – by $100,000 apiece to $600,000, and has raised the purses of three listed stakes – the FanDuel Limestone, the Giant's Causeway and the Palisades – by $50,000 each to $250,000. Fifteen stakes are graded, with the Beaumont (G2) Presented by Keeneland Select featuring an upgrade for 2023.
Contributing to the Spring Meet stakes purses is a total of $1.5 million available from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF), pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
“Keeneland enjoyed arguably its most successful racing year ever in 2022, thanks to a stellar lineup of equine stars and racing stables competing for record purses and the historic wagering that followed at the Spring and Fall Meets and the popularity of hosting our third Breeders' Cup World Championships,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “We are grateful for the interest in Keeneland racing from our horsemen, horseplayers and fans, and their enthusiasm creates momentum for the future. We are excited to further strengthen this year's Spring Meet stakes schedule so purses of all Grade 1 races are at least $600,000, while all Grade 2 races are a minimum of $350,000 and all Grade 3 events are a minimum of $300,000.”
Post time for the first race each day during the Spring Meet is 1 p.m. ET. Keeneland will be closed for racing on Easter Sunday, April 9.
In addition to being important springtime races for talented sophomores, the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) and Central Bank Ashland (G1) both are worth 200 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road to the Kentucky Oaks, respectively. The winners of both stakes will earn 100 qualifying points to the respective classic.
The early nomination deadline for the two races is Feb. 18. Late nominations are due March 22.
The Central Bank Ashland, at 1 1/16 miles for fillies, anchors the card for the April 7 opening day of the Spring Meet for the second consecutive year and is the richest of three stakes for sophomores that day. The other stakes, which are worth $400,000 each, are the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3), a 1 1/16-mile turf race, and the Lafayette, a 7-furlong dirt race.
The following day, the Toyota Blue Grass, for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles, leads five stakes. Also on the card are the $600,000 Madison (G1), for fillies and mares at 7 furlongs; the $400,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association, for 3-year-old fillies at 1 mile on the grass; the $350,000 Shakertown (G2), for 3-year-olds and up at 5½ furlongs on the turf; and the $300,000 Commonwealth (G3), for older horses at 7 furlongs.
With no racing Easter Sunday, the Spring Meet will resume Wednesday, April 12. Stakes action returns two days later with two turf stakes, the $600,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1), for 4-year-olds and up at 1 mile, and the $250,000 FanDuel Limestone, for 3-year-old fillies going 5½ furlongs.
The three stakes on Saturday, April 15 are the $600,000 Jenny Wiley (G1), a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares; the $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington (G3), for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles; and the $250,000 Giant's Causeway, a 5½-furlong turf race for fillies and mares.
The Stonestreet Lexington, which is the final prep on this year's Road to the Kentucky Derby, will award 40 Derby qualifying points. The winner will receive 20 points.
Because of Easter Sunday, Keeneland moved two stakes for 3-year-olds from that day to the meet's second Sunday, April 16. They are the $400,000 Beaumont (G2) Presented by Keeneland Select, at 7 furlongs, 184 feet, on dirt for fillies; and the $250,000 Palisades, at 5½ furlongs on the grass. The Beaumont is worth 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, with the winner collecting 10 points.
On the later days of the Spring Meet, Keeneland will run four graded stakes for older horses:
Friday, April 21: $300,000 Baird Doubledogdare (G3), for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles:
Saturday, April 22: $350,000 Elkhorn (G2), at 1½ miles on the turf, and the $300,000 Ben Ali (G3), contested at an extended distance of 1 3/16 miles on the dirt; and
Closing day, Friday, April 28: $300,000 Bewitch (G3), for fillies and mares at 1½ miles on the turf.
Keeneland 2023 Spring Meet Stakes Schedule
Date
Stakes
KTDF* Contribution to Purse
Division
Distance
April 7
$600,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1)
$100,000
3YO Fillies
1 1/16 Miles
April 7
$400,000 Kentucky Utilities
Transylvania (G3)
$100,000
3YOs
1 1/16 Miles (T)
April 7
$400,000 Lafayette
$100,000
3YOs
7 Furlongs
April 8
$1 Million Toyota Blue Grass (G1)
$150,000
3YOs
1 1/8 Miles
April 8
$600,000 Madison (G1)
$100,000
4YOs & Up, F&M
7 Furlongs
April 8
$400,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association
$100,000
3YO Fillies
1 Mile (T)
April 8
$350,000 Shakertown (G2)
$50,000
3YOs & Up
5½ Furlongs (T)
April 8
$300,000 Commonwealth (G3)
$50,000
4YO & Up
7 Furlongs
April 14
$600,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1)
$100,000
4YOs & Up
1 Mile (T)
April 14
$250,000 FanDuel Limestone (L)
$50,000
3YO Fillies
5½ Furlongs (T)
April 15
$600,000 Jenny Wiley (G1)
$100,000
4YOs & Up, F&M
1 1/16 Miles (T)
April 15
$400,000 Stonestreet Lexington (G3)
$100,000
3YOs
1 1/16 Miles
April 15
$250,000 Giant's Causeway (L)
$50,000
3YOs & Up, F&M
5½ Furlongs (T)
April 16
$400,000 Beaumont (G2)
Presented by Keeneland Select
$100,000
3YO Fillies
7 Furlongs, 184'
April 16
$250,000 Palisades (L)
$50,000
3YO
5½ Furlongs (T)
April 21
$300,000 Baird Doubledogdare (G3)
$50,000
4YOs & Up, F&M
1 1/16 Miles
April 22
$350,000 Elkhorn (G2)
$50,000
4YOs & Up
1½ Miles (T)
April 22
$300,000 Ben Ali (G3)
$50,000
4YOs & Up
1 3/16 Miles
April 28
$300,000 Bewitch (G3)
$50,000
4YOs & Up, F&M
1½ Miles (T)
*Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. All KTDF purse allotments are subject to approval of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
