Tag: The Biz

The spring meet stakes schedule at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., will once again be highlighted by the Summit of Speed, featuring the $250,000 Princess Rooney Invitational (G2), the $100,000 Smile Sprint (G3) and the $100,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint on July 2.

The Princess Rooney, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In'” Challenge Series evernt over seven furlongs for fillies and mares, was won last year by Michael McCarthy-trained Ce Ce, who went on to capture the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) and the Eclipse Award as North America's champion female sprinter.

The Smile, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up, the Umphrey, a five-furlong turf dash for 3-year-olds and up, and the Princess Rooney wrap up a stakes schedule of 16 races during the Sprint Meet that will get underway Thursday, April 7.

The $75,000 Honey Ryder, a mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies, and the $75,000 English Channel, a mile turf race for 3-year-olds, will kick off the Spring Meet stakes action Kentucky Derby Day, May 5.

Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $600,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $600,000 Thursday at Gulfstream Park after going unsolved Sunday for the 10th racing day in a row since the jackpot was hit or a $342,836.75 payoff.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is 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.

Who's Hot: Tyler Gaffalione rode four winners on Sunday's card. He began his day on a winning note by sweeping the first daily double aboard Dirt Road Dollars ($11.80) in Race 1 and Ankara ($3) in Race 2 before scoring aboard Eamonn ($7.20) in Race 6 and Tango Tango Tango ($5.60) in Race 8.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott had back-to-back winners, scoring with Wonka ($3.40) in Race 4 and Sand and Sea ($6.40) in Race 5.

The post Princess Rooney, Smile Sprint Highlight Gulfstream Park Spring Meet Stakes Schedule appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Wayne Potts is among six individuals the New York Racing Association has denied stalls to at the upcoming Aqueduct and Belmont Park race meets, according to the Daily Racing Form. The others are: Juan Vazquez, Marvin Richards, John McAllen, Luis Miranda, and Michael Simmonds.

The above-named trainers must have their horses off NYRA properties or transferred to other trainers by Wednesday, March 30.

NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna denied to name a specific reason for the decision, stating that NYRA “retains the exclusive right and discretion to grant, deny, revoke, or reduce stall space for licensed trainers at its properties.”

The denial of stalls will not preclude these individuals from shipping horses in to race at either NYRA facility.

None of the above-named trainers have been issued a statement of charges, the preliminary step NYRA took toward banning trainers Bob Baffert and Marcus Vitali from racing at its tracks.

“No matter the point of origin, all horses shipping in to race at NYRA tracks are subject to the same level of health and safety scrutiny as horses stabled on NYRA property,” McKenna told DRF. “These protocols are effective in mitigating risk, enhancing equine safety, and protecting the integrity of the sport in New York.”

Potts was suspended 20 days by the New York State Gaming Commission for a claiming violation at Saratoga last summer, which he served from Sept. 30 through Oct. 19.

In August of 2020, The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) told Potts to vacate his barn at Laurel Park, where he kept 30 horses, after track officials discovered Potts was program training for embattled colleague Marcus Vitali. Further, according to MJC president and general manager Sal Sinatra, Potts's name is on a list at Charles Town, Parx, and Delaware Park and he is not permitted to run horses at those facilities, either.

Potts had denied those allegations, and is also currently appealing a 15-day suspension for a medication violation in New Jersey as well as a 30-day suspension for not allowing a horse to be vanned off at Monmouth Park in August of 2021.

In 2019, Potts was suspended in Delaware for non-payment of invoices from a veterinary firm. Three years before that, Potts was fined in Maryland for operating his racing stable without workers' compensation insurance for nearly seven months. It was only after an exercise rider was injured that it was discovered that the workers' comp policy had been cancelled.

“Medication violations, I don't have a laundry list,” Potts told DRF after learning he would not be allowed stalls at Belmont Park. “I may have done some other stupid things. All of my [owners] are staying with me. I still plan to run here.”

Potts currently has 47 horses stabled at Belmont, and told DRF he plans to move them to a training facility in Westhampton, N.J.

Vazquez, the fifth-leading trainer at the Aqueduct winter meet, is appealing suspensions handed down by the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission for medication positives last fall.

Richards is appealing a medication positive at Monmouth Park that could see him facing a suspension of up to one year. The penalty stems from Richards' trainee Awesomenewyear, winner of the sixth race at Monmouth Park on Sept. 3, 2021. The post-race sample was positive for oxazepam (a sedative designed to treat anxiety, anxiety with depression, and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal) and ibuprofen (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory).

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

The post Wayne Potts Among Six Trainers Denied Stalls At Upcoming NYRA Meets appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Stewards in Louisiana have suspended Quarter Horse trainer Kenneth “Trey” Ellis through March 2024 after he picked up four zilpaterol positives at Louisiana Downs in February.

The rulings come just weeks after stewards in Louisiana handed out multiple rounds of suspensions to top trainers Lanny Don Keith, Manuel H Macias, Manuel Pizana, and Rosendo Valdez Jr., all of whom had multiple zilpaterol positives in races at Louisiana Downs earlier this year. Those rulings were made in early March and published online earlier this week.

As with the other trainers, Ellis has waived his right to a split-sample test and a hearing before stewards. According to the rulings, his cases will also be referred to the Louisiana State Racing Commission for further action, as were those of his colleagues.

The positive tests came from The Cartel Queen, who was second in the fifth race (a maiden) at Louisiana Downs on Feb. 22; The Geauxt, who won the sixth race (an allowance) that day; Mr Desert Streak, who won the second race (a claimer) at Louisiana Downs on Feb. 8, and Rock Solid Love, who won the fourth race (an allowance) at Louisiana Downs on Feb. 16. All horses have been disqualified and declared unplaced, with purses redistributed.

Mr Desert Streak won the Races and Aces Stakes for Ellis in 2018.

Ellis is a multiple graded stakes winner, having picked up a Grade 1 victory in Hot Dam Bam a Lam in the Refrigerator Stakes. He was ranked eighth in the country by Quarter Horse wins in 2021, and fourth in 2020.

He was given six months' suspension for each of the four positives, which combined will see him suspended until March 31, 2024.

Zilpaterol is a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in cattle heading to slaughter in order to increase body fat and muscle. The substance has been found in some horse feed products which are created in mills that also make feed for livestock.

Read more about zilpaterol in our archives.

The post Quarter Horse Trainer Trey Ellis Suspended For Four Zilpaterol Positives appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The California Horse Racing Board has been in contact with personnel and executives at Los Alamitos Race Course concerning the four recent catastrophic injuries of horses at that facility:

• The 6-year-old mare Ballet Royalty finished fifth (last) in the first race at Los Alamitos on March 12. She galloped back and was unsaddled, but then she collapsed while walking off. This is termed a “sudden death.” As always, a postmortem examination will be performed to provide more insight.
• The 3-year-old filly Fastidious pulled up before the wire in the seventh race March 19 at Los Alamitos. The injury required euthanasia.
• The 5-year-old horse Stolen Lives pulled up while galloping out after the ninth race at Los Alamitos on March 20. The jockey dismounted, then the horse was vanned off. The injury required euthanasia.
• The unraced 3-year-old colt See You At Front sustained an injury while galloping during training on the morning of March 23, requiring euthanasia.

In recent days Los Alamitos has taken four steps to help improve safety:

(1) Eliminated the breaking bar in quarter-horse races;

(2) Eliminated high toe grabs on hind shoes;

(3) Consulted a racing surface expert regarding the track; and

(4) Contacted the University of California, Davis, to fund a study of lumbar fractures in quarter horses.

These safety measures are particularly applicable to a lumbar (back) fracture, which led to the death of Fastidious. However, it is believed that breaking bars and toe grabs could be a contributing factor to lower leg injuries, which resulted in the deaths of Stolen Lives and See You At Front. Sudden deaths (Ballet Royalty) are a phenomenon among horses (and humans) throughout the world and are the subject of numerous ongoing studies.

The CHRB will continue to closely monitor and scrutinize activities at Los Alamitos and will take appropriate action as needed.

The post CHRB Addresses Four Recent Catastrophic Injuries At Los Alamitos; Track Implements New Safety Measures appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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