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‘More Than A Client’: Imperial Hint Owner Raymond Mamone Passes At Age 88

Trainer Luis Carvajal, Jr. announced via Twitter on Tuesday that his longtime owner and friend Raymond Mamone had passed away at the age of 88. According to bloodhorse.com, Mamone died after complications of COVID-19 on May 3, in his hometown of Somerville, N.J.

Mamone and Carvajal teamed up to win multiple Grade 1 races with their “Little Rocket,” Imperial Hint. The small-of-stature horse had an enormous heart and incredible speed, setting a track record for six furlongs at Saratoga when he won the G1 Vanderbilt in 2019 in a final time of 1:07.92.

Imperial Hint would have been a fourth generation homebred for Mamone, but that he gave the colt's dam, Royal Hint, to the facility that houses his breeding stock, Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, when she failed to produce much in her first several years. He later saw Imperial Hint as a 2-year-old at the farm, and paid $17,500 for the eye-catching youngster.

Imperial Hint would go on to compete on the international stage and in two editions of the Breeders' Cup, retiring with a record of 14 wins from 25 starts and earnings of $2.2 million. Mamone sold him privately to stand at stud in Louisiana.

“My heart is breaking,” Carvajal told bloodhorse.com. “To me, he was much more than a client. He was a friend, an uncle, and a dad. Mr. Mamone was a very special man. He gave me opportunities I'd never had before, and he gave me the horse of a lifetime.”

Buff Bradley To Step Away From Training At End Of Churchill Downs’ Meet

The conditioner of racing luminaries Brass Hat and Groupie Doll, Buff Bradley told the Daily Racing Form on Wednesday that he will retire from training Thoroughbreds at the end of Churchill Downs' Spring Meet. The 57-year-old plans to remain in the industry as a small-scale breeder, while seeking a way to help horsemen on the front side of the racetrack.

“Things have changed in the business,” Bradley told DRF, “but beyond that, when my father died almost five years ago, that really changed things for me personally. I love the horses, and I love training, but too many things are different now in my own particular situation. We've settled my dad's estate, my three kids are older now, the financial aspect of the game can be very difficult, and it's almost impossible to get good help on the track anymore … it was just time to make this move.”

Brass Hat, a gelding bred and owned by his father, drew the admiration of racing fans with a track record-setting victory in the G1 Donn Handicap in 2006. Later that summer he fractured a sesamoid, but was able to return to the races. He competed through his 9-year-old season, winning the G3 Sycamore at Keeneland in 2009 in his penultimate start. Overall, Brass Hat won 10 of his 40 starts for earnings of over $2.1 million.

Groupie Doll is a filly Bradley and his father bred together. She won back-to-back editions of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in 2012 and 2013, earning Eclipse Awards for each of those seasons. Overall, Groupie Doll won 12 of her 23 starts to earn $2.6 million.

Divisidero was another Bradley star, winning a graded stakes race for three straight years on the Kentucky Derby undercard: the G2 American Turf in 2015, and the G1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (now Old Forester) in 2016 and 2017.

Bradley also went above and beyond to save the life of another homebred graded stakes winner, The Player. Winner of the G2 Fayette and G3 Mineshaft, The Player suffered severe injuries in a race in early 2018, and required months of hospitalization including several surgeries. He recovered from the ordeal and is retired to Bradley's farm in Frankfort, Ky.

Overall, Bradley has saddled the winners of 575 races for earnings of over $19 million.

Monmouth Moves To 12:15 Post Time On Saturdays And Sundays

Monmouth Park will switch to a 12:15 p.m. post time during live racing on Saturdays and Sundays while continuing to offer free parking and admission when the track's 76th season gets underway on Friday, May 28.

Post time on Fridays throughout the 53-day meet will be 5 p.m.

The lone exception to the new 12:15 post time, as well as to the free parking and admission policy, will be July 17, when the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes will be contested for the 54th time.

Monmouth Park's live racing schedule runs through Sept. 26.

“With the overwhelming response from horsemen for stall space and fans able to return in greater numbers there's a renewed sense of optimism and excitement for this meet, especially after the challenges we faced a year ago due to COVID-19,” said Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, operators of Monmouth Park. “I think everyone is looking forward to what should be a very special year of racing at Monmouth Park. All of the indicators are that it will be.”

Opening weekend will feature four straight days of live racing from Friday through Monday over the Memorial Day weekend that starts on May 28. Starting in June, and running through the end of August, live racing will operate on a Friday through Sunday schedule.

In a continuation of the policy from a year ago, no outside food or drink will be permitted.

Monmouth Park will offer 46 stakes races worth $6.15 million this year, including 10 graded stakes. There are 10 stakes races restricted to New Jersey-bred horses, with the highlight for state-breds being the 19th annual New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival on Aug. 29.

Haskell Day will again feature six stakes races, including the Grade 1 United Nations, which will see a purse boost from $300,000 to $500,000. Horse of the Year Authentic won the Haskell last summer, eventually going on to win the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic.

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NBC’s Kentucky Derby Coverage Draws More Viewers Than All Awards Shows

NBC Sports' presentation of the 147th Kentucky Derby averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 14.5 million viewers as the “Run for the Roses” returned to its traditional first Saturday in May date – marking a 54 percent increase from last year's event (9.4 million on Sept. 5), according to official national data provided by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

Viewership peaked at 15.7 million viewers from 6:45-7 p.m. ET on NBC as Medina Spirit mounted a wire-to-wire victory and trainer Bob Baffert won the event for a record seventh time.

The TV-only average audience of 14.4 million viewers topped all entertainment awards shows for the first time ever and marked NBC's most watched broadcast since the NFL Divisional Playoffs in January.

NBC Sports Digital's presentation of the Kentucky Derby delivered a record Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 139,300 viewers for the event via the NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com.

The NBC-TV household rating for the broadcast (6:31-7:18 p.m. ET) was a 7.1/22.

146TH PREAKNESS STAKES ON NBC SPORTS, MAY 15: In two weeks, Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit attempts the next step in his Triple Crown quest. NBC Sports' coverage of The 146th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Md., begins Friday, May 14 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. NBC presents The Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 15 at 5 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

PREAKNESS STAKES COVERAGE
Date Time Event Network
Fri., May 14 5 p.m. Black-Eyed Susan Stakes NBCSN
Sat., May 15 2 p.m. Preakness Saturday NBCSN
Sat., May 15 5 p.m. Preakness Stakes NBC

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR 2021 KENTUCKY DERBY (Race Portion)

1. Louisville 28.7/59
2. Ft. Myers 18.2/36
3. Knoxville 16.2/30
4. West Palm Beach 15.5/35
5. Cincinnati 15.1/36
6. Cleveland 14.9/35
7. Detroit 14.0/32
8. Providence 13.3/31
T9. Indianapolis 13.1/32
T9. Buffalo 13.1/29

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