Tag: The Biz

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is projecting its most lucrative racing season ever in 2022 with purse levels for its 31-day meet above $25 million, resulting in an unprecedented average purse payout of more than $800,000 per day. Additionally, 21 of its major stakes will be increased sharply and its overnight purses raised by a blended rate of 15 percent.

Further still, the track's highly-successful “Ship & Win” program will provide its greatest rewards yet joining an upwards flow with other across-the-board program strengthening for its horsemen and women during the eight weeks of the seaside track's 83rd summer stand.

Sixteen major Del Mar stakes will see jumps ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 in their values, while all five of its overnight stakes will rise from $80,000 to $100,000. Notably, two of its Grade 1 presentations – the Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs and the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares – both will climb in value from $300,000 to $400,000.

The track's popular “Ship & Win” program – which annually draws hundreds of out-of-state runners to the shore oval – will give owners and trainers their richest offerings in its 12-year history with a $5,000 starter bonus and a 50 percent purse supplement to dirt runners, as well as a $4,000 bonus and a 40 percent supplement to grass starters.

Further still, Del Mar's maiden bonus plan (formerly the juvenile bonus) will be expanded to provide horses of any age in maiden special weight, maiden special weight Cal-Bred and maiden claiming $62,500 and above on dirt a 25 percent purse bonus for qualifying stables. Of note in this regard, the track has hiked its maiden special weight races this season from $70,000 to $80,000.

“We've been on a roll of late and based on the feedback we're receiving from local and out-of-state stables, I'm very optimistic our positive trend will continue,” said Del Mar's executive vice president for racing Tom Robbins. “Last year we averaged a record $18.4 million a day in handle and our field size was 8.5 per race. Those are powerful numbers, not only in the west, but all across the country. We're going to try to increase them this year and I believe we've got a good chance to do so.”

There's a potential best-case-scenario script where a horse shipping in to run in a maiden special weight dirt race could compete for a purse of not $80,000, but $140,000 when the “S &W” monies (50 percent, or $40,000) and the maiden bonus plan (25%, or $20,000) are included. On top of that, the horse's connections would be awarded a $5,000 starter fee besides.

The increase in overnight purses means there will be noteworthy augmentations for all levels. For example, at the lowest level, a maiden-claiming race for $20,000 stock will have its purse climb from $25,000 to $30,000. The top-level allowance horses see their rewards elevated from $76,000 to $86,000. And a $32,000 claiming race now will go for $51,000 instead of $45,000.

Track officials plan to release their full stakes schedule next week and it will show a marked rise in their gross purses from $7,450,000 to $8,275,000. Del Mar's premier offering, the $1,000,000, G1 TVG Pacific Classic, will be conducted at a mile and one quarter on Saturday, Sept. 3.

“Del Mar is America's premier race meet,” said Thoroughbred Owners of California chairman Gary Fenton. “Owners look forward to competing there and soaking in the incredible experience offered by our friends at DMTC and the county of San Diego. We are grateful for the hard work that goes into planning our magical summers at Del Mar.”

The place “where the turf meets the surf” will open its season with a three-day weekend (Friday, July 22, 23 and 24), then have five four-day weeks (Thursday through Sunday), a five-day week (including Labor Day Monday, Sept. 5), then finish with a Friday-through-Sunday weekend (Sept. 9, 10, 11).

The post Del Mar: Record Purses For 2022 Meet Will Be Highest In History Of California Racing appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bennie L. “Chip” Woolley Jr. has received a stay of a 180-day suspension and $2,500 fine handed him last month by stewards at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz., for what the official ruling said was “possession of an illegal needle and syringe upon the premises of the track enclosure.”

The order to stay the suspension, signed Feb. 18 by Rudy Casillas, director of the racing division of the Arizona Department of Gaming, came after Woolley appealed the suspension on the grounds that there were “errors of law and misconduct by the stewards…that deprived (Woolley) of due process”; “the penalty imposed was excessive”; and that the “findings of fact or decision by the stewards is not justified by the evidence or is contrary to law.”

Ivy L. Kushner, attorney for Woolley, wrote in the appeal that Woolley has had no medication violations for at least five years and that the “event that transpired on Feb. 8, 2022, was an isolated instance of poor judgment, for which there is no possibility of repetition or a risk to the safety, welfare, economy, health, peace and people of the state of Arizona if a stay were to be granted.”

Kushner wrote that Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia testified in support of Woolley at the Feb. 15 stewards hearing and “alluded to mitigating factors which included the lack of sufficient veterinarians on the backside” and “urged the stewards to exercise restraint in the disposition of the matter.” Kushner added that Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association executive director Leroy Gessman echoed Francia's comments, “voicing the critical challenges that the  lack of adequate veterinarian care has caused trainers at Turf Paradise.”

On the morning of Feb. 8, according to the appeal, while performing pre-race inspections, veterinarian Dr. Susan Gale observed Woolley and groom Alberto Castillo Perez in the stall with the 5-year-old mare Kissable U. The groom was seen holding a syringe containing a clear liquid with a capped needle attached, the appeal states. Gale confiscated the syringe and asked Woolley its contents, which he said was magnesium. A subsequent barn search by an investigator did not produce any contraband.

Gale notified stewards, who subsequently scratched Kissable U and three other horses Woolley had entered to run that day. According to the appeal, Gale then had her assistant take Kissable U and other horses entered to race that day to the test barn to have samples taken. The appeal states that Woolley or a representative should have been present when the samples were taken and also should have witnessed the packaging of the confiscated syringe, which apparently was also sent off for testing.

Kushner wrote in the appeal that Woolley “did not administer a substance at all to the horse, did not possess a foreign substance and did not run a horse in a race that tested positive.” Magnesium is not a prohibited substance, Kushner had said.

In addition, Kushner wrote, the stewards ruling did not list the specific rule prohibiting possession of a syringe but did list a rule related to human drug testing, which the attorney said was “totally irrelevant to the pending proceeding.”

A date, time and place of the hearing appealing for the sanctions to be rejected or modified have not been set.

Woolley, best known as trainer of Mine That Bird, the 50-1 longshot who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby, has run six horses since the stay was granted, registering one win and one second-place finish.

The post ‘Isolated Instance Of Poor Judgment’: Kentucky Derby-Winning Trainer Woolley Appeals, Given Stay Of 180-Day Suspension appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate determined at a hearing on March 2 that he would not yet rule on whether to side with trainer Bob Baffert or the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in their dispute about the trainer's suspension.

Baffert had been given a 90-day suspension by KHRC stewards last week for the betamethasone overage of Medina Spirit in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. He is appealing that ruling, and like most trainers do, he requested the suspension be stayed until he can complete his appeals process. KHRC staff denied his request for a stay last week, requiring him to begin his suspension as scheduled on March 8.

As was widely reported on Feb. 28, Baffert's attorneys filed in Franklin Circuit Court requesting the judge overturn the KHRC's denial of the stay, but they also appealed the denial to the KHRC itself. After Wednesday's hearing, Baffert attorney W. Craig Robertson explained to media that the usual process for appealing a stay denial is for the licensee to request a review by the chairperson of the KHRC first, in hopes the chair may go against the determination of commission staff. If the chair does not overturn the stay denial, at that point the question would go to Franklin Circuit Court.

Robertson indicated that a meeting with KHRC chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz is set for March 4, with the belief he may not make a decision on the stay immediately. If Rabinowitz decided to overturn the staff's decision to deny, any ruling by Wingate this week would have become moot.

Wingate decided that he would set up a tentative hearing date to hear arguments about the stay, in the event Rabinowitz upholds the staff's decision to deny. That hearing will take place March 17, with a decision by Wingate expected on March 21.

Attorneys for both parties agreed that until March 21, Baffert's suspension will be “held in abeyance” and he won't be required to begin it as scheduled.

The debate about the denial of the stay of suspension is a separate legal matter from Baffert's appeal of the stewards' ruling, which also fined him and disqualified Medina Spirit from his victory in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The next step for a trainer appealing a stewards' ruling would be an appeals hearing which could take place before the full commission, or before a commission-appointed hearing officer. Robertson said Wednesday he has learned the KHRC has appointed a hearing officer, and that the parties would be making plans later that day regarding scheduling timeframes for the hearing officer to hear the case. He did not expect dates would be set to hear the appeal before next week.

Wingate, who has presided over a number of racing-related cases through the years, did not delve too far into the merits of the argument over the stay of suspension but did make a few comments indicating his initial reaction to the situation.

He did mention that he couldn't recall seeing a situation where the commission had denied a stay in the past but that “of course, this is a highly unusual circumstance.”

“But most other trainers, I don't think they have the legal team Mr. Baffert does to drag it out until he decides to retire to Jamaica or something,” he added.

The KHRC filed its response on March 1 to Baffert's motion to stay the suspension, noting that the trainer had four medication violations in 365 days, including his overage from the 2021 Kentucky Derby. He also picked up a betamethasone positive in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks with Gamine, and the KHRC pointed out that the two lidocaine positives in Arkansas resulted in fines, even though the suspension and disqualifications in those cases were vacated on appeal.

As a matter of policy, the KHRC and its counsel have been unable to comment on the case in the months since Baffert announced the drug overage the week after the Run for the Roses. The public had grown restless for some update in the case prior to the stewards' ruling last week; in the response filed March 1, the KHRC attributed a two-month lag between the completion of Baffert's additional testing of biological samples and the stewards' hearing to “testing delays and scheduling issues on the part of the plaintiffs' attorneys” and said the stewards “reviewed hundreds of pages of documentation and considered witnesses' testimony.”

Also taking a shot at Baffert's argument that the route of administration of the betamethasone mitigates a need for penalties, the KHRC wrote that there is a section of regulation that lists drugs which may be present in a horse below certain thresholds, and the section does not include betamethasone.

“No one currently knows the therapeutic level of betamethasone,” the response read, appearing to confront Baffert's argument that the amount of betamethasone detected could not have reasonably had an impact on Medina Spirit's body. “Where, as here, the pharmacological effects of a medication are not fully understood, the Commission has a 'rational reason' for imposing a limit of detection threshold on that medication.”

Kentucky moved to limit of detection regulations for betamethasone and other corticosteroids before Gamine's violation in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks.

“Mr. Baffert has never cast aspersions on the chain of custody leading up to the tests,” the document read. “Nor has he denied the results themselves. Mr. Baffert admits that, with his authorization and approval, his team administered a substance containing betamethasone to Medina Spirit 'once a day, for several days … and [on] the day before the Derby.' Mr. Baffert further admits that this ointment administration was the source of his medication positive.”

The document further states that the commissions' regulations to not distinguish between routes of administration for regulated drugs like betamethasone.

The post No Decision Yet On Baffert Suspension As Judge Points To Jurisdictional Issues appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Six racehorses, four trainers, and one jockey account for the 11 finalists that will comprise the National Museum of Racing's 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the Museum's Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. The finalists are racehorses Beholder (first year of eligibility), Blind Luck, Havre de Grace, Kona Gold, Rags to Riches, and Tepin (first year of eligibility); trainers Christophe Clement, Graham Motion, Doug O'Neill, and John Shirreffs; and jockey Corey Nakatani.

Hall of Fame voters may select as many or as few candidates as they believe are worthy of induction to the Hall of Fame. All candidates that receive 50 percent plus one vote (majority approval) from the voting panel will be elected to the Hall of Fame. All of the finalists were required to receive support from two-thirds of the 15-member Nominating Committee to qualify for the ballot.

Ballots will be mailed to the Hall of Fame voting panel this week. The results of the voting on the contemporary candidates will be announced on Wednesday, May 11. That announcement will also include this year's selections by the Museum's Historic Review and Pillars of the Turf committees. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Aug. 5, at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at 10:30 a.m. ET. The ceremony is open to the public and free to attend.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, trainers must be licensed for 25 years, while jockeys must be licensed for 20 years. Thoroughbreds are required to be retired for five calendar years. All candidates must have been active within the past 25 years. The 20- and 25-year requirements for jockeys and trainers, respectively, may be waived at the discretion of the Museum's Executive Committee. Candidates not active within the past 25 years are eligible through the Historic Review process.

A bay filly bred in Kentucky by Clarkland Farm, Beholder (Henny Hughes—Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek) won four Eclipse Awards during her career and is one of only two horses to win three Breeders' Cup races (along with Hall of Famer Goldikova). Campaigned by Spendthrift Farm and trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, Beholder won Eclipse Awards for Champion Filly as a 2-year-old in 2012 and at age 3 the following year. She was named Champion Older Dirt Female in both 2015 and 2016. Beholder won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) in 2012 and the Distaff (G1) in both 2013 and 2016. She won a total of 13 graded stakes, including 11 Grade 1s. In 2015, she defeated males in the Pacific Classic (G1) to become the first filly or mare to win that race. Beholder defeated champion Songbird by a nose in a thrilling edition of the Distaff (G1) in 2016 to conclude her career with a record of 18-6-0 from 26 starts and earnings of $6,156,000. She won Grade 1 races each year from ages 2 through 6.

A chestnut filly bred in Kentucky by Fairlawn Farm, Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision—Lucky One, by Best of Luck) won the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2010. A multiple Grade 1 winner at ages 2 and 3, Blind Luck was also a Grade 1 winner at 4. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by Hollendorfer in partnership with Mark DeDomenico LLC, John Carver, and Peter Abruzzo, Blind Luck posted a career record of 12-7-2 from 22 starts and earnings of $3,279,520 from 2009 through 2011. She won a total of 10 graded stakes in her career, including six Grade 1s: the Kentucky Oaks, Oak Leaf Stakes, Hollywood Starlet Stakes, Las Virgenes Stakes, Alabama Stakes, and Vanity Handicap. Throughout her career, Blind Luck defeated the likes of Havre de Grace (three times), Life At Ten, Unrivaled Belle, Evening Jewel, Devil May Care, and Switch.

A bay filly bred in Kentucky by Nancy S. Dillman, Havre de Grace (Saint Liam—Easter Brunette, by Carson City) won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and Champion Older Female in 2011. Trained by Anthony Dutrow at ages 2 and 3 and by Larry Jones thereafter, Havre de Grace was campaigned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms throughout her career. After finishing second to champion Blind Luck in thrilling editions of the Delaware Oaks (G2) and Alabama (G1) in 2010, Havre de Grace earned her first graded stakes victory later that year in the Cotillion (G2). In her 2011 Horse of the Year campaign, she beat Blind Luck in the Azeri (G3) and went on to win Grade 1s in the Apple Blossom, Woodward (defeating males, including Flat Out), and Beldame (defeating Hall of Famer Royal Delta). Havre de Grace made one start as a 5-year-old in 2012, winning the listed New Orleans Ladies' Stakes before being retired with a career record of 9-4-2 from 16 starts and earnings of $2,586,175.

A bay gelding bred in Kentucky by Carlos Perez, Kona Gold (Java Gold—Double Sunrise, by Slew o' Gold) won the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter in 2000, when he set a six-furlong track record at Churchill Downs in his Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) victory. Campaigned by Bruce Headley (who also served as his trainer), Irwin and Andrew Molasky, Michael Singh, et al, Kona Gold raced from 1998 through 2003 with a record of 14-7-2 from 30 starts and earnings of $2,293,384. He set a track record for 5½ furlongs at Santa Anita and won a total of 10 graded stakes, including the Grade 1 San Carlos Handicap, all while ridden by Hall of Famer Alex Solis. Kona Gold won multiple editions of the Bing Crosby Handicap (G2), Potrero Grande Breeders' Cup Handicap (G2), and El Conejo Handicap (once as a G3). He registered Beyer Speed Figures of 110 or higher 17 times. On 10 occasions, his Beyer Figure was 115 or higher, including a career-best of 123. Kona Gold made five consecutive appearances in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

A chestnut filly bred in Kentucky by Skara Glen Stables, Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy—Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister) won the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2007, a campaign highlighted by an historic victory in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and Michael McCarthy for owners Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, Rags to Riches broke her maiden in her second career start on Jan. 7, 2007, at Santa Anita. That six-length victory was the beginning of a five-race win streak. The next four wins were all Grade 1s: the Las Virgenes Stakes and Santa Anita Oaks (by 5½ lengths) in California, the Kentucky Oaks (by 4¼ lengths), and the Belmont in New York. In the Belmont, Rags to Riches defeated two-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Curlin by a head to become the first filly in 102 years to win the third jewel of the Triple Crown. Rags to Riches remains one of only three fillies to win the Belmont. She finished second in her next race, the Grade 1 Gazelle, and a right front leg injury was discovered after the race. A 4-year-old campaign was being planned for Rags to Riches, but she re-injured her right front pastern and was retired with a record of 5-1-0 from seven starts and earnings of $1,342,528.

A bay filly bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Tepin (Bernstein—Life Happened, by Stravinsky) won the Eclipse Award for Champion Female Turf Horse in both 2015 and 2016. She won the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) to cap off her 2015 season. That year, Tepin began an eight-race win streak (all in graded or group races) that included three wins vs. males in three different countries (United States, Canada, and England) that stretched into 2016. During the streak, Tepin became the first horse based outside of Europe to win the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot and set a stakes record in the Jenny Wiley (G1) at Keeneland. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse for owner Robert Masterson, Tepin won a total of 11 graded/group stakes, including six Grade/Group 1s. Overall, she posted a record of 13-5-1 from 23 starts and earned $4,437,918.

Clement, 56, has won 2,212 races to date with purse earnings of more than $149 million (11^th all time) in a career that began in 1991. Clement trained three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, winner of four straight Grade 1s on the turf in 2009, as well as 2014 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tonalist, who also won consecutive runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) in 2014 and 2015. Clement has won 256 graded stakes, including multiple editions Grade 1 races such as the Beverly D., Del Mar Oaks, Diana, Manhattan, Man o' War, Shadwell Turf Mile, and Sword Dancer, among others.

A native of Paris, France, Clement began his career in the United States by winning with the first horse he saddled, Spectaculaire, on Oct. 20, 1991, at Belmont. He has since trained 19 horses that have earned $1 million or more. Other Grade 1 winners trained by Clement include Discreet Marq, Forbidden Apple, Mauralanka, Relaxed Gesture, Rutherienne, Voodoo Dancer, and Winchester, among others. Clement won his first Breeders' Cup race in 2021 when Pizza Bianca captured the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).

Motion, 57, who is making his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot, has won 2,568 races to date with purse earnings of more than $136 million (15^th all time) in a career that began in 1993. He won the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Dubai World Cup (G1) with champion Animal Kingdom, trained two-time Eclipse Award winner Main Sequence, and has won four Breeders' Cup races. His first Breeders' Cup victory took place in the 2004 Turf (G1) with 10-time stakes winner Better Talk Now at odds of 28-1. Motion won the 2010 Filly and Mare Turf (G1) at odds of 46-1 with Shared Account, was victorious in the Turf (G1) for a second time four years later with Main Sequence, and won his fourth Breeders' Cup race with Sharing in the 2019 Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) at 14-1 odds.

A native of Cambridge, England, Motion has won 181 graded stakes, including multiple editions at the Grade 1 level of the Manhattan Handicap, Matriarch Stakes, Sword Dancer, and United Nations. His Grade 1 wins also include the Alcibiades, Del Mar Oaks, Frank E. Kilroe Mile, Hollywood Turf Cup, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Man o' War, Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, Rodeo Drive, Spinster, Whitney, and Wood Memorial, among others. Since 2000, Motion has ranked in the top 15 among North American trainers in earnings 10 times. He has trained 11 horses that have earned $1 million or more, including Miss Temple City, who defeated males in both the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) and Maker's 46 Mile (G1). Motion has won training titles at Keeneland and Pimlico and ranks fourth all time with 34 stakes wins at Keeneland.

O'Neill, 53, has won 2,648 races to date with purse earnings of more than $146 million (13^th all time) in a career that began in 1988. He won the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) in 2012 with I'll Have Another and a second Derby in 2016 with Nyquist. O'Neill has trained five Eclipse Award winners — I'll Have Another, Maryfield, Nyquist, Stevie Wonderboy, and Thor's Echo — and has won five Breeders' Cup races.

A native of Dearborn, Mich., O'Neill won nine graded stakes with Hall of Fame member Lava Man, including three editions of the Hollywood Gold Cup, two runnings of the Santa Anita Handicap, and one each in the Pacific Classic and Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap, all Grade 1 events. O'Neill has won five training titles at Del Mar, where in 2015 he became the first trainer to win five races on a card there. He has also won four training titles at Santa Anita, including a record 56-win meet in the winter of 2006-2007, and ranks third all time there with 971 wins. O'Neill is also fifth all time with 417 wins at Del Mar. He has trained 12 horses that have earned $1 million or more. O'Neill has multiple victories in Grade 1 races such as the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Alcibiades, FrontRunner (now the American Pharoah), Santa Anita Derby, and Triple Bend, among others. Other Grade 1 or Group 1 wins include the Breeders' Futurity, Del Mar Futurity, Del Mar Oaks, Donn Handicap, Florida Derby, Godolphin Mile, Hopeful, Japan Cup Dirt, Pennsylvania Derby, Secretariat, Stephen Foster, and Vosburgh. Overall, O'Neill has won 134 graded stakes.

Shirreffs, 76, has won 550 races, including 102 graded events, with purse earnings of $51.9 million. Although he had a few starters as early as 1978, Shirreffs did not start training full time until 1994. Best known as the conditioner of Hall of Famer Zenyatta, Shirreffs conditioned the four-time Eclipse Award winner to 19 consecutive victories, including 13 Grade 1s, from 2007 through 2010. Named Horse of the Year in 2010 and Champion Older Female each year from 2008 through 2010, Zenyatta's Grade 1 wins included the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (now known as the Distaff) in 2008 and the Classic the following year. In 2009, Shirreffs also won the Ladies' Classic with Life Is Sweet, becoming the first trainer to win both Classics in the same year. Shirreffs won the 2005 Kentucky Derby (G1) with Giacomo at odds of 50-1.

A native of Leavenworth, Kan., Shirreffs, at the Grade 1 level, has won five editions of both the Santa Margarita and Vanity handicaps; three runnings of both the Lady's Secret and Santa Anita Derby; and two renewals of the American Oaks, Apple Blossom, Clement L. Hirsch, and Santa Maria. Shirreffs has trained seven horses that have earned more than $1 million: Zenyatta, Giacomo, Tiago, Life Is Sweet, Manistique, Hollywood Story, and Gormley.

Nakatani, 51, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 million in a career that spanned from 1988 to 2018. He ranks 13^th all time in career earnings and won 341 graded stakes. Nakatani won 10 Breeders' Cup races (one of only 10 riders to do so), including four editions of the Sprint (G1). He won three riding titles at Del Mar, two at Santa Anita, and one at Hollywood Park, as well as four Oak Tree meetings. His major victories at the Grade 1 level included multiple editions of the Beverly D., Del Mar Oaks, Eddie Read, Hollywood Derby, Hollywood Gold Cup, Hollywood Starlet, Kentucky Oaks, Santa Anita Oaks, Santa Anita Handicap, and Santa Margarita, among others. He also won the Group 1 Golden Shaheen in Dubai.

A native of Covina, Calif., Nakatani won five Grade 1 races with Hall of Famer Lava Man. He also won multiple stakes with Hall of Famer Serena's Song, as well as Eclipse Award winners Itsallgreektome, Jewel's Princess, Lit de Justice, My Miss Aurelia, Reraise, Shared Belief, Sweet Catomine, and Thor's Echo. Nakatani won a record 19 stakes during the 2006-2007 Santa Anita meet, breaking the track's previous single-meet record held by Hall of Famer Laffit Pincay, Jr. Nakatani ranks eighth all time in stakes wins at Santa Anita (behind seven Hall of Famers) with 134 and ninth in overall wins at there with 1,075. He also stands second all time at Del Mar with 108 stakes wins (behind only Hall of Famer Chris McCarron; the next eight on the list are all in the Hall of Fame) and sixth in overall wins with 705. At Hollywood Park, Nakatani is eighth all time with 1,169 wins and seventh with 143 stakes wins.

Chaired by Edward L. Bowen, the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee is comprised of Bowen, Caton Bredar, Steven Crist, Tom Durkin, Bob Ehalt, Tracy Gantz, Teresa Genaro, Jane Goldstein, Steve Haskin, Jay Hovdey, Alicia Hughes, Tom Law, Jay Privman, Michael Veitch, and Charlotte Weber.

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