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Churchill Downs To Host Claiming Crown During November Meet

A total of 26 stakes races cumulatively worth $8.31 million will be offered at Churchill Downs during its upcoming September and Fall meets.

The 14-date September Meet (Sept. 15-Oct. 2) will showcase 11 stakes races that total $3.36 million, and the 19-date Fall Meet (Oct. 30-Nov. 27) will have 15 stakes events cumulatively worth $4.95 million.

The 10^th annual September Meet, which runs for three weeks, will offer horsemen plenty of opportunities to prep for the Nov. 4-5 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland, led by the $400,000 Lukas Classic (Grade 2) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles and the $300,000 Ack Ack (G3) for 3-year-olds and up at one mile – a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” race for the Dirt Mile – on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Additionally, the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks series will kick-off Saturday, Sept. 17 with the $300,000 Iroquois (G3) and $300,000 Pocahontas (G3), respectively. Both races also will award points on the Breeders' Cup “Dirt Dozen” series for their respective divisions.

Churchill Downs 133^rd Fall Meet, which follows Keeneland's four-week Oct. 7-29 stand in Lexington, is anchored by the $750,000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare (G1). The 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds and up on “Black Friday,” Nov. 25 annually lures some of the top horses in North America and is the centerpiece of nine stakes races scheduled over Thanksgiving weekend.

Two-year-olds with aspirations of making next year's Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and Longines Kentucky Oaks will be prominently featured twice during the Fall Meet as part of the 18^th annual “Stars of Tomorrow” program. The $200,000 Street Sense (G3) and $200,000 Rags to Riches for fillies highlight opening day on Sunday, Oct. 30. The $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) and $400,000 Golden Rod (G2) for fillies are part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks series on Saturday, Nov. 26.

An added feature to this year's four-week Fall Meet will be the 24^th renewal of the Claiming Crown Championship Series, which will be staged at Churchill Downs for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 12 – one week after the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. Open to claiming horses, the Claiming Crown features eight races with starter allowance conditions and a total of $1.05 million in prize money for some of the most competitive, blue-collar horses in the country.

Racing at Churchill Downs during the September Meet will be run exclusively on dirt to allow the new Bermuda-hybrid turf course to continue to mature to its ultimate potential. Turf racing is projected to return for the Fall Meet.

The condition book of scheduled races for the September Meet was released online Monday and features 135 races and a record $13,791,000 in prize money for a daily average of $985,071. Maiden special weight races have a $120,000 purse while allowance races range from $127,000 to $141,000.

All purses, including claiming races, include prize money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

2022 CHURCHILL DOWNS SEPTEMBER MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

Date	Running	Grade	Purse	Race	Conditions	Distance	Surface
Saturday, Sept. 17	38^th	III	$400,000	Locust Grove	3&up, f&m	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 17	41^st	III	$300,000	Iroquois	2yo	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 17	54^th	III	$300,000	Pocahontas	2yo f	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 17	13^th	Listed	$300,000	Open Mind	3&up, f&m	6 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 17	2^nd		$275,000	Louisville Thoroughbred Society	3&up	6 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 24	47^th	III	$275,000	Dogwood	3yo f	7 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 24	2^nd		$275,000	Bourbon Trail	3yo	1 3/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 24	2^nd		$275,000	Harrods Creek	3yo	7 F	Dirt
Saturday, Sept. 24	2^nd		$160,000	Seneca Overnight Stakes	3yo f	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Oct. 1	9^th	II	$500,000	Lukas Classic	3&up	1 1/8 M	Dirt
Saturday, Oct. 1	30^th	III	$300,000	Ack Ack	3&up	1 M	Dirt

2022 CHURCHILL DOWNS FALL MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

Date	Running	Grade	Purse	Race	Conditions	Distance	Surface
Sunday, Oct. 30	10^th	III	$200,000	Street Sense	2yo	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Sunday, Oct. 30	10^th		$200,000	Rags to Riches	2yo f	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Sunday, Nov. 13	43^rd	III	$300,000	River City	3&up	1 1/8 M	Turf
Sunday, Nov. 13	14^th	Listed	$160,000	Bet On Sunshine	3&up	6 F	Dirt
Sunday, Nov. 13	17^th	Listed	$160,000	Dream Supreme	3&up, f&m	6 F	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 19	37^th	III	$300,000	Chilukki	3&up, f&m	1 M	Dirt
Thursday, Nov. 24	107^th	III	$500,000	Falls City	3&up, f&m	1 1/8 M	Dirt
Thursday, Nov. 24	47^th	III	$300,000	Cardinal	3&up, f&m	1 1/8 M	Turf
Friday, Nov. 25	148^th	I	$750,000	Clark presented by Norton Healthcare	3&up	1 1/8 M	Dirt
Friday, Nov. 25	31^st	II	$300,000	Mrs. Revere	3yo f	1 1/16 M	Turf
Saturday, Nov. 26	96^th	II	$400,000	Kentucky Jockey Club	2yo	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 26	79^th	II	$400,000	Golden Rod	2yo f	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 26	2^nd		$200,000	Ed Brown	2yo	6 ½ F	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 26	2^nd		$200,000	Fern Creek	2yo f	6 ½ F	Dirt
Sunday, Nov. 27	17^th	III	$300,000	Commonwealth Turf	3yo	1 1/16 M	Turf

2022 CLAIMING CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS

Date	Purse	Race	Conditions	Claiming Level	Distance	Surface
Saturday, Nov. 12	$175,000	Claiming Crown Jewel	3&up	$35,000	1 1/8 M	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 12	$150,000	Claiming Crown Emerald	3&up	$25,000	1 1/16 M	Turf
Saturday, Nov. 12	$150,000	Claiming Crown Tiara	3&up, f&m	$25,000	1 1/16 M	Turf
Saturday, Nov. 12	$150,000	Claiming Crown Tom Metzen Memorial Canterbury	3&up	$25,000	5 ½ F	Turf
Saturday, Nov. 12	$125,000	Claiming Crown Rapid Transit	3&up	$16,000	7 F	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 12	$100,000	Claiming Crown Glass Slipper	3&up, f&m	$12,500	1 M	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 12	$100,000	Claiming Crown Kent Sterling Memorial Iron Horse	3&up	$8,000	1 1/16 M	Dirt
Saturday, Nov. 12	$100,000	Claiming Crown Ready's Rocket Express	3&up	$8,000	6 F	Dirt

The post Churchill Downs To Host Claiming Crown During November Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Linda Rice’s Appeal Ongoing: Opening Briefs For Appellate Court Due Nov. 17

More than 15 months after the New York State Gaming Commission issued trainer Linda Rice a three-year ban, the case is still waiting to be heard by the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division (Third Department). Rice's opening brief on appeal is due on Nov. 17, 2022.

The NYSGC issued Rice a $50,000 fine and three-year license revocation on May 17, 2021, following a three-year investigation on the claim that she traded money for information from the racing office.

The investigation uncovered evidence that between 2011 and 2015, Rice received faxes and emails from former entry clerks Jose Morales and Matt Salvato, giving her the names and past performance records of horses prior to draw time. Senior racing office management has said the names of trainers and horses in a given race are not to be released until after a race is drawn (with stakes races being the exception).

An eight-day hearing was conducted at the end of 2020, and the hearing officer submitted a final report to the NYSGC on April 13, 2021. The report concluded that Rice's misconduct – which involved receiving and requesting confidential entry information in overnight races – was intentional, serious and extensive. It also concludes that her actions constituted improper and corrupt conduct in relation to racing in violation of NYCRR 4042.1 and were inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interests of horse racing.

On May 19, 2021, two days after the NYSGC handed down Rice's penalty, the County of Schenectady Supreme Court granted her a temporary injunction that allowed her to continue training while the appeals process plays out.

In May of 2022, New York Supreme Court Judge Mark L. Powers ruled that the temporary injunction granted to Rice last summer will remain in place until an appeals court hears her case. Powers denied Rice's declaratory judgement claim, and declined to rule on the other issues Rice's attorneys presented: that the commission did not present adequate evidence against her, that the penalty was inappropriately lengthy, and that one of the regulations used by the commission to issue the suspension is “unconstitutionally void for vagueness.”

Rice's appeal of the declaratory judgement decision and the transferred Article 78 challenge (used to appeal the decision of a New York State or local agency to the New York courts) are pending in the Appellate Division, Third Department. An order remains in place that restrains the NYSGC from enforcing it's decision while Rice's appeal is pending.

The post Linda Rice’s Appeal Ongoing: Opening Briefs For Appellate Court Due Nov. 17 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Lawson’s Vision For Woodbine: A Long-Term Project To Bring More Fans To Racing

Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment, spent part of a recent afternoon in a new section of the grandstand at the iconic racetrack enjoying sunny skies and good racing. The Stella Artois Terrace Patio is a reimagining of track seating designed to bring in a younger demographic to racing. The open-air area includes cushy seats, chef-designed meals, fresh greenery, and glass partitions opening up to great views. Pop music plays in the background, fading out ahead of each race call.

Woodbine is also nearing completion on the construction of a hotel which overlooks the final turn of the E.P. Taylor turf course, and which will complement both the casino and racetrack portions of the property.

Many tracks may have congratulated themselves for improving their hospitality and left it at that. But for Lawson, every new project is just a piece in a much, much bigger puzzle.

“There's a vision, but I'll caution by saying it's a 20- or 25-year vision,” said Lawson. “I think that one has to at least have a plan so you can adapt. There's a vision and a plan so that we don't do anything wrong.”

All of it will be designed with racing as a central feature.

“The idea is to bring as many people to the site and expose them to horse racing as we can,” he said. “One of the advantages we have is that we're effectively a not-for-profit so we're not anxious to get a shovel in the ground at any cost and work with a developer. This is why we have a long-term vision and plan.

Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment

“We're very much cognizant that we want to incorporate horse racing into the development. At one extreme is, you're sitting on $2 billion worth of property here, why don't you just sell it all and run like Kentucky Downs and run digitally and you'd be way better off? But that doesn't do a lot for building this sport and attracting people in this sort of atmosphere. I think that's part of our duty, given the demographic of this sport, is to grow that future fan and future owner. We feel strongly, or at least I do, that we do that for future generations.”

Woodbine sits on 700 acres, which Lawson said is larger than the heart of downtown Toronto, and a lot of it is undeveloped. He imagines a mixed-use campus that will flow around the existing racetrack operations. Residential has always been part of the vision, and at one point, retail was a central part of the equation. Now, post-pandemic, Lawson said it doesn't make as much sense to invest too much space in retail, and instead he imagines biotech companies or educational institutions could look to build their new bases in the area. He has had considerable interest from companies looking for industrial or distribution space, but he hesitates to let too much of that into a space that will include residential areas.

Lawson's next big challenge is a train station, which he hopes will be constructed at the southeast corner of the property in four to five years, roughly where the training track now sits. (The training track will move, possibly to the southwest corner, along with some barns.) There is already a subway track running by the back edge of Woodbine's campus, but Lawson wants a MetroLinx station. In a city that includes an enormous system of highways which are often clogged, he believes a community with ready access to train travel could serve as a live and work location for people.

Coming soon will also be a 5,000-seat music center that can make Woodbine a destination for entertainment events.

And all those people, for Lawson, are potential racing fans. People who live in this imagined community could sip their coffee while looking out over the track during morning training.

Of course, that many extra eyeballs come with some risk for a racetrack. What if people look out their windows and see something they don't like?

Lawson thinks the opposite is more likely.

“The people who work here, they'd do anything for these horses,” said Lawson. “If people can understand how much people love and care, and that this isn't really the sport of kings but is about hard-working people who love horses, I think if more people understood that, we'd benefit from it.

“I think the more people that get exposed to racing, the more they'll understand that this is what these horses want to do. They're born to run, they're bred to run, and that's what they want to do. The people who raise them and look after them and race them care about them.”

It helps that Woodbine has a strong safety record, with fatality statistics that have consistently been significantly below national averages for U.S. racetracks. Lawson attributes that, in part, to the seasonality of racing at Woodbine, where most horses get a break over the winter, as well as the maintenance's team care of the turf and synthetic surfaces.

He's also hoping that exemplary safety record will someday put Woodbine in the running to host another Breeders' Cup. Fans have asked for years why the races have defaulted to jumping between Kentucky and California. While Lawson understands that there's not a lot of interest in another synthetic Breeders' Cup now, he's betting on his view that the better safety record of artificial surfaces will eventually force the industry to change its stance.

“I think we should be considered. I think what's changed a little bit is the focus on horse welfare and the number of surfaces that are becoming synthetic – you're seeing it in New York, you've already seen it in Florida – there's going to be more and more acceptance of that,” he said. “I think there's a better chance now than there was five years ago of Breeders' Cup looking back here. And I know we'd do a great job.

“A big part of Breeders' Cup, of course, is grass racing, and we've even got the inner turf that could be used for the sprints. It's a unique turf course; it's undulating, it's a little bit uphill and the Euros love it. You've not going to see the best Euros come over if they have to run on a seven-furlong inner turf course. It keeps certain horses away. We don't have that here.

“I hope they'll consider it. With this facility and all Toronto has to offer, I think it would be a popular thing. Whether the traditionalists are ready to move off the dirt yet, they might.”

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Baffert Appeals, Asks KHRC To Remove Already-Served Suspension From His Record

Horse Racing Nation reports that Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who served a 90-day suspension from April 4 through July 2, 2022, will appeal to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to have that suspension removed from his record.

Baffert and attorneys Clark Brewster and Craig Robertson are scheduled to meet with the KHRC this week in Frankfort, Ky., for a hearing that could last the entire week. They seek to reverse Medina Spirit's disqualification, along with the removal of the suspension from Baffert's record.

The KHRC disqualified Medina Spirit from his win in the 2021 Kentucky Derby due to a post-race finding of betamethasone. The decision included the 90-day suspension for Baffert, which was reciprocated across all racing states, and a $7,500 fine. Medina Spirit died after a workout at Santa Anita Park on Dec. 6, 2021; a necropsy was inconclusive.

In March, the KHRC unanimously denied Baffert's request to set aside the suspension before it would hear the case, and Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate issued a ruling on March 21 siding with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and denying Baffert's bid to overturn the commission's refusal to issue a stay of his suspension. That lead Baffert to his filing for an emergency stay with the state's Court of Appeals, which was denied by Acting Chief Judge Allison Jones.

Baffert resumed training at Santa Anita Park on July 3, 2022.

The KHRC suspension differs from Baffert's two-year ban from all Churchill Downs, Inc. properties, which is being contested in court. A one-year ban was also instituted by the New York Racing Association, which lasts through Jan. 25, 2023.

According to HRN, the winner's share of the 2021 Kentucky Derby purse has not yet been awarded to Juddmonte Farm, owner of Mandaloun, who crossed the wire second behind Medina Spirit but was awarded the victory upon the colt's disqualification. The KHRC does not plan to pay out that prize money until the entire legal process is concluded.