Medina To Open Public Stable in Kentucky

Trainer Robert “Robbie” Medina has opened a public stable based out of Lexington, KY and is now accepting new clients.

Since April 2020, Medina has served as the general manager and trainer for Blackwood Stables, the state-of-the-art training center near Lexington. At Blackwood, he focused on breaking, training, and rehabilitation for many of the sport's leading owners and trainers. He also ran horses under his own name at Kentucky tracks for a few select clients, including August Dawn Stable's Gun Runner S. winner Play Action Pass (Cairo Prince), who was selected as a yearling by Medina.

Medina will operate his stable out of the Thoroughbred Training Center on Paris Pike in Lexington, while also continuing to develop 2-year-olds at Blackwood before they are ready to graduate to the Thoroughbred Training Center.

“The last three years at Blackwood have been wonderful, but I am excited to be opening a full public stable in Kentucky,” Medina said. “I am a lifelong race tracker and have been fortunate enough to work for some tremendous horsemen and play a crucial role in the development of some the sport's best horses. The timing is right for me to devote myself full time to a public stable. I have a great staff and setup in place and am ready to grow our operation.”

Prior to taking the job at Blackwood in 2020, Medina worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey from 1995 to 2020, starting as a groom for McGaughey before eventually working his way up to assistant trainer. He was instrumental in the development and training of such McGaughey stars as GI Kentucky Derby winner Orb (Malibu Moon), GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold), and multiple Grade I winners Point of Entry (Dynaformer) and Honor Code (A.P. Indy).

Medina may be contacted at (518) 441-0502 or at Robertmedinaracing@gmail.com.

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A Throwback, Beverly Park Wins Again

Beverly Park (Munnings) is far from the best horse in the sport. But he's certainly the hardest working. His win Thursday night at Charles Town in a starter allowance came in his 14th start on the year. No other horse has run more than 11 times in 2022. It was also his second start in five days and his fourth in 28 days.

That may seem like more than a horse can handle, but it's working. One of the most prolific winners in the sport, Beverly Park has won six races this year, had an eight-race winning streak last year, and has won 13 of 22 starts since being claimed by owner-trainer Norman (Lynn) Cash last August. He's made $110,754 on the year.

“Whether a horse is running or whether the horse is not, most horses are still doing a timed work about every seven to nine days,” Cash said. “I just decided that instead of working him, let's go up and down the road and put him in these nickel starters. It's not officially a paid workout, but in a sense that's exactly what it is.”

It's not just Beverly Park. Cash, who started his first horse as a trainer on April 23, 2021, doesn't buy in to the philosophy that horses thrive when given plenty of rest between races. If you're a member of the Cash stable and are sound and healthy, don't expect to get a lot of time off. Cash has started Sir Alfred James (Munnings) nine times this year, including in the May 7 GI Churchill Downs S., where he was fourth. Outlier (Not This Time) has made eight starts on the year. Cash said he typically likes to give his horses no more than 12 to 14 days off between starts.

When Beverly Park showed up in a $12,500 claimer last year at Belterra Park, Cash was eager to get him into his stable. The then 4-year-old was coming off a 15-length win in a $5,000 claimer, which made him eligible for the lower-level starter allowance races, which have become more and more popular with racing secretaries. Beverly Park won the $12,500 claimer, the second win in the streak that would grow to eight straight before he was beaten in an allowance race in November at Churchill Downs.

Beverly Park made 10 starts in 2021, more than the average horse. But he was just getting warmed up. He made his first start this year on Jan. 2 at Oaklawn. Since, the longest time he has had between races is 20 days and he's run back in five days three times and in four days once. He's run at six different tracks.

“You leave him in the stall for 10, 12 days and he's ready to get out of the stall. He thrives on it,” Cash said.

Cash is shopping for another starter allowance to run him in within the next week or so and then will give Beverly Park what is, for him, a lengthy layoff. Cash is pointing for a June 15 allowance at Churchill, which means Beverly Park will have three weeks or more off between races.

In this day and age, it's an atypical way to campaign horses, but Cash is not your typical trainer. His family owns a roofing business, Built Wright Homes & Roofing, and Cash and his wife Lola owned a handful of horses over the years before he decided to try his hand at training.

“I love horses and bought a couple of racehorses back in 2012,” he said. “I fell in love with it. We had three to five horses every year. A little more than a year ago, I felt like I had gotten somewhat of an education and told my wife that I'm either going to shut up or put up. I was going to jump in and do this.”

His stable, split between Laurel and the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington, now includes more than 40 horses. There are no outside clients. Every horse in the barn is owned solely by Cash's Built Wright Stables. He doesn't treat this as a hobby but as a business. Cash is in it to make money and believes that means that he needs to get the most out of every horse when they are sound and in good health.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” he said. “My wife and I own all our horses. The bills come due. They cost money to keep, cost money to feed, cost money to exercise. We are trying to remain profitable. This a business. When there are outside owners involved, a lot of times the horse will stay in the barn five, six weeks, but, for the trainer, there's still a check that comes in every month. If we don't run, we don't get paid. I am trying to make this profitable for the owner and that's because I am the owner.”

Cash has won 21 races on the year with earnings of $836,862. He says his stable has shown a profit in every month but one since it was established last year.

“If I don't make money at this, I'll have to go back to selling roofs and I don't want to do that,” he said. “That's not as fun as this. To me, training horses isn't work. It's fun.”
If he keeps up the pace that he has been on, Beverly Park could make as many as 40 starts this year, a staggering amount. But there's no sign that he can't handle the load.

“How does he do it?” Cash said. “He's just an amazing horse.”

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Breeders’ Cup Donates $50,000 To Nourish Lexington, Nourish The Backstretch At Keeneland

The Breeders' Cup announced Wednesday a $50,000 charitable donation to Nourish Lexington, a community support fund co-founded by Keeneland that prepares and distributes fresh and nutritious meals to those needing immediate access to food. Since April, Nourish has provided over 165,000 meals to individuals suffering from food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. This donation will also support Nourish the Backstretch, a program which provides meals to the backstretch community at Keeneland and the Thoroughbred Training Center on Paris Pike.

“The importance of community has never been more apparent than it has during this difficult year,” said Breeders' Cup President and CEO Drew Fleming. “Both Nourish Lexington and Nourish the Backstretch are providing essential help to many in the Lexington community, including backstretch workers, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud to support their work and are forever grateful to our home town of Lexington for its support and to the dedicated backstretch workers at the heart of our industry.”

Founded in April 2020 in immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic, FoodChain, VisitLEX, Keeneland and the Murry Foundation created Nourish Lexington. The Nourish model utilizes the talents of displaced hospitality employees, along with local restaurants and catering partners to provide scratch-made meals for the food insecure. Since its inception, Nourish has provided over $70,000 in wages and stipends to hospitality workers and $435,500 to local food growers, suppliers, restaurants and caterers impacted by the pandemic.

Born out of Nourish Lexington, Nourish the Backstretch is an initiative that specifically targets the backstretch community, providing meals to these vital members of the Thoroughbred industry. Over the course of Breeders' Cup week and throughout the month of November, Nourish the Backstretch will use the Breeders' Cup donation to provide meals to backstretch workers at both Keeneland and the Thoroughbred Training Center on Paris Pike including a grab-and-go Thanksgiving Dinner from Keeneland's Track Kitchen on November 23. Nourish will engage local restaurants and catering partners to provide support for the backstretch effort. Locations and timing for Nourish the Backstretch will be communicated through Keeneland's Chaplaincy program and the Comó App.

“It's impossible to overstate the impact of this donation,” said Becca Self, Executive Director of FoodChain. “As we've been working to get meals out to vulnerable kids, adults and seniors since mid-March, we've only seen the need rise as more people find themselves without jobs or childcare. Many of the families we see report that the meals they receive through Nourish Lexington are the highest quality they've had in years, with kids even trying and enjoying new flavors and local ingredients. We know these dishes are providing more than just dietary necessities in these troubled times, and by capitalizing on our local food expertise in preparing them, we truly are able to nourish our community members.”

These latest donations, made in honor of the upcoming 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships, mirror efforts Breeders' Cup has made throughout the pandemic to support the communities hit the hardest. Previous donations include those made to the following organizations:

  • Race Track Chaplaincy of America – an organization whose purpose is to minister to the spiritual, emotional, physical, social, & educational needs of the workers within the horse racing industry.
  • USBG National Charity Foundation's COVID-19 Relief Campaign, which bolsters the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program to support qualified bartenders, bar backs, and bar servers who need financial assistance as a result of a catastrophic event or an emergency hardship.
  • Restaurant Workers Relief Program – a joint project from Maker's Mark and the Lee Initiative, a charitable organization formed by Chef Edward Lee in Louisville. It's a multicity effort to support hourly employees (and out-of-work owners) struggling to make ends meet. Participating cities: Louisville, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, Cincinnati, Brooklyn, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Lexington, Boston, San Francisco, and New Orleans.
  • For more information about Breeders' Cup's ongoing efforts to support the horse racing community and the local Lexington community in these trying times, please visit BreedersCup.com/donate.

The 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships will take place November 6-7 and air live on NBC and NBC Sports Network. As spectators will not be on site due to the pandemic, fans are encouraged to join in the conversation using the hashtag #MyBreedersCup.

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‘Really Impressive’ Juvenile Winner County Final Switches From Turf To Dirt For Bashford Manor

John Ennis, Hayden Noriega and 47 Roses' eye-catching debut winner County Final will switch surfaces from turf to dirt in search of graded stakes glory in Saturday's $100,000 Bashford Manor presented by TwinSpires.com (Grade III), a six furlong-event for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs.

“This horse should absolutely love the slight stretch out in distance,” said jockey James Graham, who was aboard for the colt's four-length maiden victory June 5. “We opened up by three-to-four lengths mid-stretch on everyone but what was really impressive was how he extended his stride past the wire. He's a bigger colt with a really long stride. He's got a great mind, too, which is always nice for a younger horse.”

The six-furlong Bashford Manor will go as Race 8 of 11 with a post time of 4:43 p.m. (all times Eastern). The race shares the spotlight on Saturday with the $500,000 Stephen Foster presented by Coca-Cola (GII), $200,000 Fleur de Lis presented by Coca-Cola (GII) and $100,000 Regret presented by TwinSpires.com (GIII). First post is 1 p.m.

County Final, trained by Ennis, has been based at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington. The $9,500 Keeneland September Yearling buy by Oxbow drew the outside post No. 7 in the Bashford Manor.

“I really like that we'll be the last horse to load in the gate,” Graham said. “If he breaks well, we'll be able to see what the other horses to our inside are doing in the early stages. He has speed and he trains well on the dirt. So, the switch from the turf to the dirt should be no problem either.”

The Bashford Manor field, which features all first-out maiden winners, from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Crown and Coke (Miguel Mena, James Lawrence II, 30-1); Hulen (Corey Lanerie, Steve Asmussen, 5-1); Gatsby (Tyler Gaffalione, Juan Alvarado, 4-1); Hyperfocus (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 4-1); Herd Immunity (Brian Hernandez Jr., Peter Miller, 9-2); Cazadero (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen, 8-5); and County Final (Graham, Ennis, 6-1).

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