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Spectators Permitted As Delaware Park Opens With Obeah Stakes On Wednesday

The 83rd season of live racing at Delaware Park is set to open this Wednesday with spectators and enhanced safety protocols, including enforced social distancing. More information on the safety protocols will be released at www.delawarepark.com on Monday.

The $100,000 Obeah Stakes highlights the ten race card.

Mark P. Grier's Gotham Gala will be seeking a repeat victory in the race when she faces 11 rivals in the local prep for the filly and mare summer classic – the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap slated for Saturday, July 11.

Gotham Gala will be making her 2020 debut in the race named in honor of the two-time Delaware Handicap winner in 1969 and 1970 and the dam of the Hall of Fame filly Go for Wand who was locally owned by Jane and Harry duPont's Christiana Stable.

“She is doing really well,” said trainer Arnaud Delacour. “Last year, she needed a race to really get going, but she really looks good and I think she is ready, so I am expecting a big effort from her.”

Last year, Gotham Gala posted a 3 ¼-length victory in the Obeah Stakes before finishing fourth in the Delaware Handicap. The 5-year-old daughter of Smart Strike followed with a one mile allowance victory at Keeneland before closing her 2019 campaign with a fourth in the G3 Turnback the Alarm Stakes at Aqueduct on November 2. The Kentucky-bred has a career record of four wins, a second and two thirds from 12 starts with earnings of $262,290.

Delacour has also entered Denlea Park and Mark Spellman's Fashion Faux Pas. In her only outing this year, the 4-year-old daughter of Flatter was unplaced in a mile allowance at Churchill Downs over a sloppy course on May 16. Last year, the Kentucky-bred won the Light Hearted Stakes by 14 ½-lengths at Delaware Park and then followed with a second in the G3 Delaware Oaks. She closed her 2019 campaign with a pair of unplaced efforts in stakes. Her career record is three wins, two seconds and a third from 11 starts with earnings of $177,817.

“She is doing great,” said Delacour. “I am very happy with her. She had a really good breeze on Friday. She is ready and she likes the course at Delaware Park. I know her recent form has been so-so, but I think she is ready to redeem herself. I am expecting strong efforts from both of my girls on Wednesday.”

The filly to beat is Phoenix Thoroughbred and KatieRich Stables' Lady Apple. In her most recent, the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin finished eighth in the G1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park on April 18. Previously, the Kentucky-bred trained by Steve Asmussen finished fifth in the G2 Azeri at Oaklawn on March 14. In her only other outing this year, she won the G3 Houston Lady Classic at Sam Houston on January 26. Last year, she won three G3 stakes – the Remington Oaks, the Iowa Oaks, and the Fantasy Stakes – and finished third in the G1 Kentucky Oaks. She has a career record of six wins, two seconds, and a third from 14 starts with earnings of $1,001,984.

Since the Obeah Stakes was inaugurated in 1996, only the 2006 older female champion Fleet Indian and I'm a Chatterbox, who won the race in 2016, have won the race and followed with a victory in the Delaware Handicap. Two fillies have finished second in the Obeah and won the Delaware Handicap. They were Unbridled Belle in 2007 and Power Play in 1997. Three winners of the Obeah Stakes have followed by running second in the Delaware Handicap. They were 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace, Your Out in 2002 and Under the Rug in 2001.

Live racing will be conducted through October 17th. Racing is scheduled three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Thursdays will be added July 16th and continue through October 1st. First race daily post time is set for 1:15 p.m.

$100,000 Obeah Stakes

For fillies and mares at a mile and sixteenth

PP	HORSE	OWNER	TRAINER	JOCKEY	Wg	OD
1	Bronx Beauty	2WStables	Anthony Margotta Jr	Isacc Castillo	120	15-1
2	Wicked Awesome	Warwick Stable	A Ferris Allen	Frankie Pennington	120	12-1
3	Trolley Ride	James Eshleman	T. Bernard Houghton	Inoel Beato	120	15-1
4	Lady Apple	Phoenix Thoroughbred	Steven Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr	124	7/2
5	Gotham Gala	Mark P Grier	Arnaud Delacour	Trevor McCarthy	120	5-1
6	Ujjayi	TL Wise	Erin McClellan	Tyler Conner	120	15-1
7	Vault	Kueber Racing	Brad Cox	Florent Geroux	120	6-1
8	Fashion Faux Pas	Denlea Park	Arnaud Delacour	Daniel Centeno	120	8-1
9	Afleet Destiny	Trin-Brook Stables	Uriah St Lewis	Anthony Salgado	120	20-1
10	Lucky Move	Ten Strike Stable	Juan Carlos Guerrero	Roberto Rosado	120	8-1
11	Motion Emotion	Abbondanza Racing	Richard Bilas	Carol Cedeno	120	5-1
12	Trace of Grace	WMT Stable	T. Bernard Houghton	TBD	120	20-1

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CHRB Reallocates Northern California Fair Dates To Pleasanton, Golden Gate

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Thursday, June 11. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Dr. Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

The Board approved a regulatory amendment that further restricts the use of the riding crop in both racing and training. The rule prohibits using the crop more than six times in the race, excluding simply showing the crop to the horse or tapping the horse on the shoulder, and within that limit prohibits using the crop more than two times in succession without giving the horse time to respond. The rule cites the proper way for using the crop in an underhanded position without it ever rising above the shoulders of the rider. The rule also prohibits using the crop during training except when necessary for the safety of the horse and rider. Under the required regulatory review process involving other state offices, this rule will not go into effect for several months at the earliest.
The Board approved for 45-day public notice new specifications for construction of riding crops. The regulatory amendment will require all riding crops to be topped by shock-absorbing, smooth foam cylinders, which are demonstrated to be safer for horses
The COVID-19 heath crisis has disrupted racing and fair operations in Northern California, forcing the Board to reallocate dates and approve modifications to racing license applications only for the year 2020. In a compromise supported by racing and fair executives that is designed to meet health protocols, while providing adequate and convenient stabling for horses on the Northern California circuit, the Board approved a revised racing and simulcasting calendar as follows:

At this time envisioned without spectators, the current meet at Golden Gate Fields will conclude (both racing and simulcasting) on June 16. From there racing and simulcasting will move to Pleasanton for the Alameda County Fair meet (June 17 through July 14), continue at Pleasanton for the relocated State Fair meet in Pleasanton (July 15 through July 28), move back to Golden Gate, initially for the relocated Sonoma County Fair meet at Golden Gate (July 29 through August 11), continue at Golden Gate with its own meet (August 12 through October 6), proceed to Fresno for the Big Fresno Fair meet (October 7 through October 20), then finally conclude at Golden Gate (October 21 through December 22). The precise racing dates for each meet (within those allocations) will be determined by the individual license applications. All meets will operate with protocols approved by their county heath officials. Golden Gate will continue to provide stabling during the Alameda County and Fresno fairs.

Reflecting the approved date allocations, the Board approved the license application for the Alameda County Fair to run a fair meet in Pleasanton with racing set to begin June 19 and continue through July 12, conditioned on submission of specified required documents to the CHRB. At this time Alameda County health officials have not given approval for public participation.
The Board approved the license application for the California Exposition and State Fair to run a fair meet in Pleasanton with racing set to begin July 17 and continue through July 26, conditioned on submission of specified required documents to the CHRB. At this time Alameda County health officials have not given approval for public participation.
The Board approved the license application for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to run a race meet in Del Mar with racing set to begin July 10 and continue through September 7. At this time San Diego County health officials have not given approval for public participation.
The Board approved separate agreements between the California Authority of Racing Fairs and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club with the Thoroughbred Owners of California authorizing the racing secretary for the State Fair meet at Pleasanton and the racing secretary for the Del Mar meet to establish conditions for races. The agreements prohibit anti-bleeding medication (Lasix) in 2-year-olds, limit Lasix to 250 mg, prohibit any intra-articular medication within 14 days of a race, and extend that prohibition to 30 days for fetlock injections, both metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints.
The Board suspended Rule 1845(h) during the Del Mar meet, which required that syringes used to administer furosemide on race day be retained.
The Board approved a regulatory amendment requiring individuals to hold an Assistant Trainer license in good standing for one year as a prerequisite for a Trainer license.
The Board adopted a rule strictly limiting the use of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on racehorses. The new rule prohibits any horse from racing or participating in timed workouts in the mornings within 30 days of such treatment. As is currently CHRB policy, ESWT can only be administered in clearly designated areas, and each treatment must be carefully documented. Furthermore, no horse that received ESWT elsewhere within the previous 30 days can be brought onto a CHRB-regulated facility without prior approval of the Official Veterinarian. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is otherwise permitted within the restrictions of the regulation. Violations of the regulation will carry a Category A penalty, which is a minimum one-year suspension and $10,000 fine.
The Board permanently adopted the existing emergency regulation allowing the Board to suspend a race meet license when necessary to protect horses and riders.
Extensive public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website. The written transcript for the meeting will be posted when available.

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California Workers’ Compensation: Owners Per Start Fee Going Up

The unfortunate combination of seven weeks of no live racing coupled with statewide increases in workers' compensation costs in have created a funding shortfall for the California horse industry's workers' compensation program covering jockeys and backstretch workers that is operated by Post Time Self Insurance. As a result, Post Time has found it necessary to increase the amounts to he paid by both owners and trainers, which fund the majority of program costs via per-stall charges from trainers and race per-start fees from owners.

The owners' per-start fee will be raised from $120 to $149 effective July 1, 2020. The per-start fee will continue to be automatically deducted from the owner's paymaster account every time they start a horse.

To offset increased workers' compensation per-start increases and provide additional financial support to California owners, TOC authorized an increase in the Guaranteed Participation Purses earlier this year from $351 to $500 per start in Southern California and from $300 to $450 at Golden Gate Fields.

Guaranteed participation purses are paid to owners of horses competing in all races in which their horses do not finish first through fifth. They are designed to help owners cover core costs involved in getting their horses to the races – such as the mandatory vet exam fee required by the CHRB. Horses finishing sixth and beyond (and to fifth place finishers when their share of purse money is less than the corresponding Guaranteed Participation Purse) are paid $500 to start in Southern California and $450 to start Northern California.

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Ellis Park Will Ask Commission To Push Opening Day Back To July 2

If approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, live horse racing will return to the Tri-State area on Thursday July 2 at Ellis Park. Originally scheduled for Sunday June 28, Ellis made the request to move the date four days to ensure all health and safety protocols are met following the COVID-19 pandemic. The summer meet will be highlighted by a pair of stakes-laden programs on Aug. 2 and 9.

Ellis Park will start off racing without spectators in the grandstand and grassy area near the paddock, but track management is hopeful that the Commonwealth will allow fans in the stands at some point during the summer. The Clubhouse is open for Historical Horse Racing on the first floor and parimutuel betting on the second floor.

“We were going to be open one day and then be dark for three days, before picking back up on July 2,” said Jeff Inman, Ellis Park's general manager. “Just waiting until July 2 gives us additional valuable time to institute all the safety protocols involved with staging horse racing in the COVID-19 era. We are looking forward to the new opening date being a kickoff to a big four-day July 4th weekend.

“At this point we are unable to commit to having spectators in the grandstand and in the grassy picnic areas near the racetrack apron and paddock. We're awaiting word from Gov. Beshear's office as to when we can open areas outside of the Clubhouse. We cannot wait to get our fans back and we will be ready to go as soon as Gov. Beshear and his staff feel that it is safe.”

Ellis Park will not have live racing the week following the Independence Day holiday weekend in a previously-announced agreement that allows Keeneland Race Course to race July 8-12 to make up for the Lexington track's COVID-canceled April meet. Racing at Ellis will resume Friday, July 17 and run Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Aug. 30.

After four years of sustained growth, the Ellis purse account for the 2020 meet was battered by the nearly three-month shutdown to simulcasting and Historical Horse Racing due to the national health emergency. The track reopened this past Monday under reduced capacity and with strict safety measures in place.

Even with the challenges, Ellis Park will stage a pair of signature cards that promise to be in the national spotlight, with five $100,000 turf stakes on Kentucky Downs Preview Day on Aug. 2 and another stakes quintet on Aug. 9 headed by the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby, with four other $100,000 races.

The Ellis Park Derby, whose distance has been expanded from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, is part of Churchill Downs' Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying series. With 50 points to the winner, the horse is virtually assured a spot in the 20-horse field for America's greatest race, which was delayed to Sept. 5 because of the pandemic.

The Aug. 9 undercard features the seven-furlong Audubon Oaks, a one-time Ellis Park fixture that was revived this year to serve as a local prep for the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks. Additionally, that day will include the Groupie Doll for fillies and mares, the Ellis Park Juvenile for 2-year-olds, and the Ellis Park Debutante for 2-year-old fillies.

In its first two years, Kentucky Downs Preview Day quickly stamped itself as one of the most important days of summer racing in the Midwest. The five $100,000 all-turf stakes are designed as launching pads to corresponding stakes at Kentucky Downs' meet four weeks later in Franklin. The Ellis stakes are largely funded by money generated at Kentucky Downs and transferred to the Ellis Park purse account in an agreement with the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association, which represents horse owners and trainers at both tracks. Winners of the Kentucky Downs Preview stakes receive an automatic fees-paid spot in their associated Kentucky Downs stakes.

Last year Totally Boss swept Ellis' Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint and Kentucky Downs' Grade 3 RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint to earn a “Win and You're In” spot in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Factor This, winner of the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup, finished fourth in Kentucky Downs' Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup before sweeping the two biggest turf stakes in New Orleans, the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Stakes and Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic.

Arklow captured the inaugural Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup and Kentucky Downs' Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup in 2018 before finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs.

“The trend in racing has been packaging stakes into big event days,” Inman said. “We have a pair of showcase cards, strategically placed on Sundays to put Ellis Park in the limelight for the national simulcast audience on that day. Racing secretary Dan Bork also positioned both days so that they work well with turf stakes at Churchill Downs' spring meet and Keeneland's boutique session and also as preludes to Kentucky Downs and Churchill Downs' new Derby Week and September meet stakes.”

The Aug. 2 and 9 stakes all include $25,000 in Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund purse supplements.

Ellis Park will have two other $50,000 stakes: The Ellis Park Turf for fillies and mares on July 5 and the Good Lord Stakes for sprinters on July 26.

“While we're certainly going to have our challenges, we believe the momentum of the Kentucky circuit the past few years and the loyal support of our horsemen and fans will serve us well,” Inman said. “As Americans and businesses everywhere confront this rocky stretch created by a once-in-a-century health emergency, we will get through this together. We are just delighted that we are able to bring live racing to western Kentucky this summer, even more so given the uncertainty surrounding whether there will be racing in Chicago at Arlington Park this summer. The Kentucky Downs Preview Day and Ellis Park Derby day should be a real treat for horseplayers and racing enthusiasts everywhere.”

Ellis Park 2020 stakes

July 5 — $50,000 Ellis Park Turf Stakes, fillies & mares 3 years old & up, 1 1/16 miles (turf).
July 26 — $50,000 Good Lord Stakes, 3-year-olds & up, 6 1/2 furlongs.
Aug. 2 (all on turf) — $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Sprint, fillies & mares 3 years old & up, 5 1/2 furlongs; $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup, 3-year-olds & up, 1 1/4 miles; $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf, fillies & mares 3 years old &up, mile); $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint, 3-year-olds & up, 5 1/2 furlongs; $100,000* Kentucky Downs Preview Tourist Mile, 3-year-olds & up, mile.
Aug. 9 — $200,000* Ellis Park Derby, 3-year-olds; 1 1/8 miles; $100,000* Audubon Oaks, 3-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs; $100,000* Ellis Park Juvenile, 2-year-olds, 7 furlongs; $100,000* Ellis Park Debutante, 7 furlongs.
*-includes $25,000 from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund

Ellis Park condition book

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