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$17.1 Million Wagered On Santa Anita’s Cal Cup Day Highest Since 2007 Renewal

With all-sources pari-mutuel handle topping $17.2 million, Saturday's California Cup Day at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., was a rousing success both in terms of money bet and an outstanding 10-race card of state-bred racing.

“We were very pleased with field size and the tremendous response from our fans, nationwide,” said Nate Newby, Santa Anita senior vice president and general manager. “We averaged 8.1 horses per race and it was great to see so many familiar faces, older horses, geldings and fillies and mares.

“I think that underscores the tremendous horsemanship we continue to see here in California and our fans love it, because they get familiar with these horses and they truly look forward to watching them run and betting on them. On the business side, our overall handle of $17.2 million was the best Cal Cup Day we've had since 2007, so that's very encouraging. We want to sincerely thank all of our owners and trainers for helping to make this happen and hopefully, it provides encouragement as well to our breeders, statewide.”

In terms of performance, several horses stand out, including Brickyard Ride's gate to wire victory in the $150,000 Don Valpredo Cal Cup Sprint. The defending champion in the race, the 5-year-old so of Clubhouse Ride, who was ridden by Juan is Hernandez, trained by Craig Lewis and owned by his breeder, Albert Pais, stopped the clock for six furlongs in 1:09.54 and earned a lofty 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Trainer Phil D'Amato's comebacking Leggs Galore, idle since Aug. 15, successfully defended her title in the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint Presented by John Deere, as she motored along with Ricky Gonzalez to win gate to wire by 2 ¼ lengths, getting about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf in 1:12.00. A 5-year-old daughter of 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Bayern, Leggs Galore, who earned a 95 Beyer, was bred and is owned by William Sims.

Trainer Mark Glatt's lightly raced Aligato was another impressive Cal Cup Day winner, as he rallied powerfully to take the $200,000 Unusual Heat Classic Presented by City National Bank by 1 ¾ lengths, getting a mile and one eighth on turf in 1:48.29. Owned by Double L Racing and ridden by Flavien Prat, who tripled on the day, Aligato, a 5-year-old gelding by Kitten's Joy, got his first stakes win in his fifth career start and earned an 87 Beyer.

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Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Vacates Levamisole Sanctions Against Joe Sharp

Nearly one year after trainer Joe Sharp appealed a 30-day suspension for a series of positive tests for levamisole, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission issued a one-sentence ruling on Jan. 14 vacating all sanctions against him.

The ruling read: “Due to the de-classification in August 2015 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, all penalties previously assessed to Owner/Trainer Joe Sharp in Stewards' Rulings #21-0006, #21-0008, #21-0010, #21-0011 and #21-0012 are hereby vacated. By Order of the Stewards.”

The decision was first reported by Bloodhorse.com.

Sharp was cited for five positive tests for levamisole in horses that raced at Churchill Downs in November 2019. The Jan. 21, 2021, rulings stated levamisole is a Class B drug, even though the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission had voted in 2015 to declassify levamisole.

The Kentucky sanctions came after Sharp was fined $1,000 each but not suspended for eight positives in Louisiana for levamisole. Sharp said the positives resulted from use of an FDA-approved deworming product designed for cattle, sheep and goats that he used on his horses.

Clark Brewster, Sharp's attorney, told Paulick Report's Natalie Voss at the time the appeal was filed: “I found it to be extraordinarily unfair and damaging to Joe. It's just the intransigence of the stewards not having the courage to recognize the truth and say, 'OK, we're sorry about that. Let's get it right.”

Voss wrote at the time of the appeal: An important difference to Brewster is the history of changes of levamisole's classification. At one point, the drug was considered a Class A drug (the most serious category) and was later made a Class B. Then, in 2015, commissioners for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission unanimously agreed to remove levamisole from the drug classification scheme altogether after they detangled the association between levamisole and another drug called aminorex. Aminorex is a stimulant which has the potential for performance enhancement and was the primary substance of concern, they concluded. Initially it had been unclear whether one was a sign that the other had been administered, but Brewster said it's now generally accepted that levamisole can metabolize into aminorex, but not the other way around.

(Read more about the challenges of regulating levamisole and aminorex in this 2018 feature.

“This is truly beyond the pale of regulation,” Brewster told Voss when filing the appeal. “[The positives were] all over the news. Joe couldn't get stalls at Fair Grounds for a while. People pulled their horses, including one that ran in the Kentucky Derby (Art Collector). He was completely pilloried in the press, all on the basis that the stewards just didn't read the list.”

The five horses who tested positive for levamisole were disqualified and purse monies redistributed, according to 2020 rulings. They are: Zero Gravity (Nov. 14, 2019); Chitto (Nov. 19, 2019); Street Dazzle (Nov. 23, 2019); Blackberry Wine (Nov. 30, 2019); Art Collector (Nov. 30, 2019). The reversal of sanctions against Sharp does not affect those disqualifications.

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2021 Eclipse Awards Finalists Announced

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) today announced the finalists for the 2021 Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing. Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced on TVG, and other outlets, during the 51st annual Eclipse Awards, on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2021 Horse of the Year.

Of the 245 eligible voters represented by the NTRA, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, the NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, 235 (95.9%) 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 2021 Eclipse Awards Finalists, with the exception of Horse of the Year, listed (in alphabetical order) are:

Two-Year-Old Male: Corniche, Jack Christopher, Modern Games (IRE)

Two-Year-Old Filly: Echo Zulu, Juju's Map, Pizza Bianca

Three-Year-Old Male: Essential Quality, Life Is Good, Medina Spirit

Three-Year-Old Filly: Clairiere, Malathaat, Santa Barbara (IRE)

Older Dirt Male: Knicks Go, Maxfield, Mystic Guide

Older Dirt Female: Letruska, Marche Lorraine (JPN), Shedaresthedevil

Male Sprinter: Aloha West, Flightline, Jackie's Warrior

Female Sprinter: Bella Sofia, Ce Ce, Gamine

Male Turf Horse: Domestic Spending (GB), Space Blues (IRE), Yibir (GB)

Female Turf Horse: Loves Only You (JPN), Santa Barbara (IRE), War Like Goddess

Steeplechase Horse: Baltimore Bucko (GB), Snap Decision, The Mean Queen (IRE)

Owner: Godolphin LLC, Juddmonte Farms Inc., Klaravich Stables Inc.

Breeder: Calumet Farm, Godolphin LLC, Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC

Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Chad Brown, Brad Cox

Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr., Flavien Prat, Joel Rosario

Apprentice Jockey: John Hiraldo, Charlie Marquez, Jessica Pyfer

In addition to honoring the 17 winners in the horse and human categories, Justin Mustari will receive the Eclipse Award as the 2021 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.

Eclipse Awards ticket information is available at the NTRA website https://www.ntra.com/eclipse-awards/.

The Eclipse Awards are sponsored by Roberts Communications, Four Roses Bourbon, Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup, FanDuel Group, The Stronach Group, Santa Anita Park, TVG, Dean Dorton, Stonestreet Farm, Keeneland, Racetrack Television Network, Jackson Family Wines, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Hallway Feeds and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders 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.

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Saratoga: Reconstruction Of Historic Wilson Chute To Bring Back One-Mile Dirt Races

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that it plans to reconstruct the historic “Wilson Chute” at Saratoga Race Course, which will be in use during the 2022 summer meet and allow for one-mile races to be contested on the main track.

Long a distinctive part of Saratoga Race Course, the Wilson Chute was dismantled after the 1972 season to accommodate additional parking. It was brought back briefly in 1992 when 25 races started in the chute, including an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Daryl's Joy, later renamed the Fourstardave Handicap and now one of the most popular Grade 1 races of the annual summer meet.

“The Wilson Chute will only add to the quality and consistency of dirt racing at Saratoga,” said Glen Kozak, NYRA's Senior Vice President of Operations and Capital Projects. “It's a thrill to be able to reconstruct a historic element of Saratoga in a way that will undoubtedly prove beneficial to the summer meet.”

The Wilson Chute was named to honor the contributions of the late Richard T. Wilson, a banker and President of the Saratoga Racing Association for most of the first quarter of the 20th century. The reconstructed Wilson Chute will carefully follow the route of the original chute along the Clubhouse Turn, just to the east of the 1863 Club.

The project to reconstruct the Wilson Chute has the support of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation and will be accompanied by upgrades to the Tailgate at the Turn picnic area located at the Clubhouse Turn.

Wilson was among a group of investors led by William C. Whitney who purchased Saratoga Race Course in 1900. Mr. Wilson oversaw major capital improvements to the track's facilities, which resulted in the overall beautification of the historic property.

“The Foundation is pleased that the chute that was part of the 1902 Master Plan. designed by landscape architect Charles Leavitt, Jr., is being restored,” said Samantha Bosshart, Executive Director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. “The 1902 Master Plan included enlarging the track, moving it westward, and rotating it 25 degrees as well as inserting a steeplechase course into the infield. The Foundation looks forward to reviewing the plans as they develop. This restoration will certainly add to the excitement of racing.”

Mr. Wilson also served as president of the Westchester Racing Association, which once owned Belmont Park, and as a steward of The Jockey Club. As head of Wilson Stable, he owned three winners of the Travers Stakes: Gallavant (1906), Hannibal (1919) and Wilderness (1923). Wilson also won the Preakness with The Parader in 1901; the Preakness and Belmont Stakes with Pillory in 1922; and bred and owned Campfire, the Champion 2-year-old of 1916 and the winner that year of the Sanford, Saratoga Special and Hopeful, all at Saratoga.

For more information, visit NYRA.com.

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