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Santa Anita Cancels Friday Program Due To Heavy Rain Forecast

With strong rains predicted to hit Southern California over the next several days, Santa Anita Park has made the decision to proactively cancel its Friday program, effective Tuesday morning. Friday's entries were originally scheduled to close this past Sunday, but track management opted to wait until Tuesday in order to better evaluate the weather forecast.

In addition to Friday's cancellation, given the amount of rain predicted over the next few days, two turf stakes, the Grade 2 San Marcos on Saturday and the $75,000 Baffle on Sunday, will now be shifted to next week. The 6 ½ furlong Baffle will be run on Friday, Feb. 5, and the mile and one quarter San Marcos is now set for Saturday, Feb. 6.

“The models are showing us three straight days of rain, with the heaviest hitting around noon on Friday,” said Nate Newby, Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager. “We've discussed it with our stakeholders and cancelling Friday in advance provides horsemen, fans and employees the best scenario to plan accordingly.”

Santa Anita will schedule extra races throughout the next racing week to make up for those that were originally scheduled for this Friday.

With entries scheduled to be taken Wednesday, Jan. 27, racing will resume at Santa Anita this Saturday, Jan. 30. A pair of important main track stakes, the Grade 3, $100,000 Robert B. Lewis, a key prep to the Santa Anita Derby and the Grade 2, $200,000 San Pasqual, an iconic precursor to the Santa Anita Handicap, will highlight Saturday's racing.

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Sharp Issued 30-Day Suspension, Fined For 2019 Levamisole Overages In Kentucky

Trainer Joe Sharp has been suspended 30 days for five levamisole positives from post-race test results in Kentucky in late 2019. Stewards' rulings published this week indicate Sharp waived his right to test the split sample in each case and was issued a $500 fine for each positive. He was also issued a 30-day suspension for each ruling, which will be served concurrently Feb. 12 through March 13 for all five violations.

The rulings covered the races of Zero Gravity in the ninth race at Churchill on Nov. 14, Chitto in the tenth race at Churchill on Nov. 22, Street Dazzle in the fourth race at Churchill Nov. 23, Blackberry Wine in the fifth race at Churchill Nov. 30, and Art Collector in the sixth race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 30, 2019. All horses have been disqualified from their placings in those races and purse money has been forfeited.

The stewards indicated mitigating circumstances in the case since Sharp was not notified of the first levamisole overage before the subsequent overages occurred. It is fairly common for racing officials to take the timing of overages into account if they occurred so close together that lab results would not be confirmed between the first and subsequent overages.

According to the Association of Racing Commissioners International, levamisole is a Class 2 drug and carries a B penalty, which means the minimum sanction is a 15-day suspension and $500 fine for the first violation.

Sharp had difficulty with levamisole elsewhere in late 2019. Eight of his runners were disqualified from races at Fair Grounds in New Orleans between Dec. 1 and Dec. 28, 2019 due to levamisole positives and he was fined $1,000 by stewards for each violation, though he was not suspended. Sharp told the media at the time he had been giving his horses a commercial dewormer product available at Tractor Supply for cattle but removed the product from all his barns on Dec. 12 after learning of the first positive test in Louisiana. According to the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, levamisole has off-label uses in horses as a treatment for equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM).

Sharp had a series of serious health setbacks in the months after the Kentucky findings, including two brain surgeries.

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Fort Erie: Again Pushed Back By COVID, Prince Of Wales Stakes Set For Sept. 14

The 86th running of the Prince of Wales Stakes is set to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 14, first race post time 1:00 p.m. The $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes is Fort Erie Race Track's signature event, for Canada's finest 3-year-old thoroughbreds running 1 mile and 3/16 on Fort Erie's dirt track.

The race is the second jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown, between the Queen's Plate (scheduled for Aug. 22), and the Breeders' Stakes, both held at Woodbine Racetrack.

For the second year in a row COVID-19 has pushed the race from its traditional date at the end of July to September. It is too early to predict if fans will be permitted to attend, or if COVID-19 will continue to impact attendance.

“This event is our most prestigious race at Fort Erie Race Track, and we are committed to running this historic race for the 86th year,” said Drew Cady, general manager of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium. “Although we were able to safely host a racing season last year, it wasn't the same without fans. We hope that in the upcoming season we will once again be able to open our grandstand to our loyal fans, especially for our signature day.”

In 2020, the one-eyed Mighty Heart was the Prince of Wales Stakes victor with jockey Daisuke Fukumoto. Trained by Josie Carroll for Lawrence Cordes, Mighty Heart captured the first two jewels of the crown but was defeated on the turf in the Breeders' Stakes. The last horse to win all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown was Wando in 2003.

Fort Erie Race Track's 2021 season is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, June 1 at a 4:00 p.m. post time, and will run primarily Mondays and Tuesdays through to October 19.

For more information about the upcoming season visit www.FortErieRacing.com.

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‘It Did Not Disappoint’: Belinda Stronach On ‘Different Circumstances’ of 2021 Pegasus World Cup

On Saturday, the fifth running of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series was held at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. Gulfstream Park was transformed by 1/ST into a socially distant entertainment experience welcoming 1,500 fans (15% of typical Pegasus World Cup capacity) to the race track for the first time since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Belinda Stronach, Chairman and President, 1/ST, hosted celebrity guests including, Amar'e Stoudemire (Six-time NBA All-Star Player and NBA's Brooklyn Nets Assistant Coach), Tyga (Rapper, Singer & TV Personality), Jasmine Sanders (Sports Illustrated Cover Model), Denis Savard (NHL Hall of Famer), Brian Poli-Dixon (Artist & Former NFL Player), David Grutman (Groot Hospitality Founder) and Isabela Rangel Grutman (Model).

Colonel Liam owned by Robert and Lawana Low, ridden by the Award-winning Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. and trained by Todd Pletcher, won the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1). Odds favorite, Knicks Go owned by Korea Racing Authority, ridden by Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario and trained by Brad Cox, won the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and an automatic entry into the 2021 $20 million Saudi Cup. Belinda Stronach presented the winning owners of the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and Pegasus World Cup Invitational with crystal Pegasus trophies provided by the official trophy partner, Baccarat. The winning trainers and jockeys from the Pegasus World Cup Championship Series races were presented with Championship Rings designed by local Miami jeweler, BooDaddy Diamonds.

Despite the limited crowd in attendance, total handle for the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series topped $40.7 million dollars, the third highest handle in the race's history, due in part to the success of the 1/ST Bet app. Part of the 1/ST Technology suite of handicapping and betting products, 1/ST Bet uses AI-technology to deliver a user-friendly mobile wagering experience that suits everyone from the experienced horseplayer to the first-time bettor.

“The 2021 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series was held under much different circumstances then all those that have come before it, but it did not disappoint,” said Belinda Stronach. “Today, thanks to the cooperation of the horsemen, our many partners, guests in attendance and the 1/ST team, the Pegasus World Cup successfully blended a day of safe, world-class Thoroughbred horse racing with a socially distant entertainment experience setting a new standard for events in our sport during the COVID-19 era.”

This year, 1/ST again teamed up with Groot Hospitality to create a socially distant Pegasus Swan Garden pop-up offering guests an exclusive VIP experience in a “Tulum meets Swan” setting. 1/ST also teamed up with Red Rooster Overtown to curate a menu of Southern classics and elevated sips for the racing connections in Gulfstream Park's Flamingo Room. Notorious Pink Rosé, Evian Natural Spring Water and Ferraelle Naturally Sparkling Water kept guests cool under the race day sunshine.

Musical performances took place both at the track and off-site. At Gulfstream Park, Yoli Mayor, the Miami-born semi-finalist on Season 12 of America's Got Talent on NBC, performed the national anthem, and Jakissa Taylor Semple, aka DJ Kiss, provided the beats in the trackside Pegasus Swan Garden. As part of NBC's Pegasus World Cup in-broadcast performance Aloe Blacc, the singer-songwriter of hits including “I Need a Dollar,” “The Man,” and “Wake Me Up,” performed live from Red Rooster Overtown as a tribute to Miami's diverse and vibrant culture.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, 1/ST has developed and implemented industry-leading COVID-19 safety measures at its tracks and facilities across the United States. The 2021 Pegasus World Cup implemented strict social distancing protocols and new health and safety guidelines for riders and spectators. On premise attendance for this year's event was reduced to 15% to allow all guests to socially distance accordingly. Thermal sensing cameras at all entrances checked guest temperatures, and masks were required. Cleaning protocols provided regular sanitizing of public spaces, and cashless wagering via 1/ST Bet eliminated the handling of currency.

The medication-free format, for both the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, is consistent with the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA) standards and reflects the commitment that 1/ST made in April 2019 to eliminate Lasix in all graded stakes races in 2021.

As part of 1/ST's mission to prioritize the care and safety of Thoroughbred racehorses before, during and after their careers, the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series recognized the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance as a charitable partner of choice with a $50,000 donation.

Keep up with the Pegasus World Cup on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @PegasusWorldCup #PegasusWorldCup #RunWithUs.

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