Tag: The Biz

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced it will incentivize its Turf Triple series for fillies by again offering a pair of lucrative bonus opportunities at the upcoming Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course meets.

The “New York Stakes Turf Bonus” and “Flower Bowl Bonus,” first offered in 2021, will again be offered by NYRA as further incentive for owners to participate in the prestigious filly Turf Triple series.

“We are pleased to again offer this bonus opportunity to our past filly Turf Triple series winners as they return in a highly competitive older filly and mare division,” said Frank G. Gabriel, Jr., NYRA's Senior Vice President, Racing Operations. “NYRA is committed to attracting the best turf fillies and mares in the division and providing our fans with the most exciting live racing on the continent.”

The Turf Triple series for fillies kicks off July 9 at Belmont with the 10-furlong Grade 1, $700,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational. The series continues with the G3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational at Saratoga and is completed by the G3 Jockey Club Oaks at the Belmont fall meet.

The “New York Stakes Turf Bonus” will provide $315,000 to the owner and $35,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of the Belmont Oaks, Saratoga Oaks or Jockey Club Oaks who captures the 2022 edition of the Grade 1, $750,000 New York, a 10-furlong turf test for older fillies and mares to be held June 10 at Belmont.

The “Flower Bowl Bonus” will provide $300,000 to the owner and $30,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of the Belmont Oaks, Saratoga Oaks or Jockey Club Oaks, who captures the G2 Flower Bowl, an 11-furlong test for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up in September at Saratoga. The Flower Bowl is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event offering a berth in the G1 Filly and Mare Turf in November at Keeneland.

The Turf Triple series, launched by NYRA in 2019, showcases the best 3-year-old turf runners in the country. Last year, a competitive renewal of the Turf Triple series for fillies saw three separate winners with Santa Barbara capturing the Belmont Oaks en route to defeating older fillies and mares in the G1 Beverly D.; Con Lima, who was named Texas Horse of the Year, taking the Saratoga Oaks; and Shantisara, who exited her Jockey Club Oaks score to capture the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.

For more information, visit NYRA.com.

The post New York Stakes Turf, Flower Bowl Bonus Return To NYRA In 2022 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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On Feb. 21, 2022, some 296 days after the 2021 Kentucky Derby, Medina Spirit has been disqualified from his win by Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards.

The ruling was published roughly a week after attorneys for Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert said they appeared at a stewards' hearing to discuss the horse's positive test for betamethasone after that race.

“After a formal hearing before the board of stewards, Robert A. Baffert is hereby suspended 90 days, March 8, 2022 through June 5, 2022 (inclusive) and fined seven thousand five hundred dollars,” the ruling read. “Medina Spirit is disqualified and all purse money forfeited. Pari-mutuel wagering is not affected by this ruling.”

The ruling indicated that the overage was Baffert's fourth medication violation in 365 days in any racing jurisdiction, which could have influenced the stewards' choice of penalties dealt to him.

Suspensions are typically delayed, or “stayed” if a licensee is in the appeals process.

Medina Spirit's betamethasone overage has been a constant source of discussion and speculation since Baffert announced the week after the race that he had been notified the horse had tested positive for the corticosteroid. That test result would later be confirmed via a split sample test. In the weeks and months that followed, attorneys for Baffert fenced with the KHRC regarding their right to conduct further testing on the remainder of the biological samples leftover from the primary and split sample testing process in an effort to find the source of the substance. In December, Baffert's legal team announced that additional testing conducted by Dr. George Maylin, head of New York's Equine Drug Testing Program, suggested the betamethasone did not come from the injectable version of the drug but from a topical application of the skin ointment Otomax.

Otomax is a topical drug formulated to assist with ear infections in dogs. Baffert asserts his team was using the ointment to combat a skin infection on the horse's hindquarters in the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby.

Medina Spirit, owned by Zedan Racing, finished third in the Preakness, then went on to win the Shared Belief Stakes and the G1 Awesome Again. He was second in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic. In early December, Medina Spirit collapsed and died after completing a workout at Santa Anita Park. A necropsy report released on Feb. 11 indicated a conclusive cause of death could not be determined, though veterinary experts said it was possible the horse died due to a cardiac event.

This is a breaking news story and more information will be added as it becomes available.

The post Medina Spirit Disqualified From 2021 Kentucky Derby Win, Baffert Given 90-Day Suspension appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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According to a recent investigation conducted by the Times Union, the New York government has granted the state's horse racing industry over $2.9 billion since 2008, both in taxpayer dollars and government-directed benefits.

One year ago, a study commissioned by the state indicated that eight tracks in the state would likely be forced to close without those subsidies. The only remaining tracks would be those operated by the New York Racing Association, though the racing would be “diminished” and breeding would be “devastated.”

NYRA statements examined by forensic accountant Radha Radhakrishna indicate that via GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) the non-profit organization posted an operating deficit of $55 million in 2020 prior to considering the government support funds and benefits.

Between 2016 and 2019, those statements indicated that NYRA produced operating losses between $76 and $81 million each year.

NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna said the non-profit uses non-GAAP standards in its accounting, which showed an operating loss of $3.1 million in 2020 and an income of $4.3 million and $3.6 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

“NYRA's racing operations have been profitable every year since 2014 apart from 2020, when NYRA faced an unprecedented business interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” McKenna said. “It should be noted that (the prominent accounting firm) KPMG has issued 'clean' and unqualified audit opinions in each of those years.”

However, New York comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's audits in 2016 and 2018 show that NYRA actually produced multimillion-dollar deficits each year, adding that the non-GAAP accounting methods should not be used to report profits or losses to the public.

“Reporting such numbers to the general public and to the NYRA board in this way is not a fair presentation of the profitability of NYRA's racing operations, and can leave decision-makers with the false impression that no actions are required,” wrote Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Read more at the Times Union.

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A pair of scratches were necessitated in Sunday's finale at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. when jockeys Flavien Prat, Drayden Van Dyke, and Ryan Curatolo declined to ride in the six-furlong turf contest for maiden 3-year-old fillies. According to the Daily Racing Form, the jockeys made that decision based on the condition of the turf course.

“To me, it's slippery,” Prat told DRF. “I didn't feel safe riding. I don't know why it is like this. To me, you can't ride properly.”

Prat was originally scheduled to ride morning-line favorite Countess Rosina, who had to be scratched when no replacement rider could be found. Everystepoftheway, scheduled to be ridden by Curatolo, was also withdrawn. Daisuke Fukumoto picked up the mount on Angel Nadeshiko in lieu of Van Dyke. The scratches were not announced until the field was in the paddock.

Jeff Mullins, the trainer of Countess Rosina, told DRF that two of his runners on the turf course this weekend had slipped. One of those incidents saw Van Dyke lose his irons on the backstretch.

The Stronach Group's Aidan Butler told DRF he believes the track is safe.

“If I thought there was anything wrong, there would not be horses out there,” Butler said. “The track was deemed safe.”

The mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow pick six was adversely affected by the late scratches. When Countess Rosina was scratched, she was the 5-2 favorite. Multi-race tickets defaulted to the post-time favorite, Ruby Ray, who finished fourth.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

The post ‘I Didn’t Feel Safe’: Prat, Two Other Jockeys Refuse To Ride On Santa Anita Turf In Sunday’s Finale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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