tom morley | Horse Racing Free Tips

Empire Racing Club Launches Third Season

Kicking off its third season, the Empire Racing Club (ERC) will offer a reduced price of $400 through the official re-launch date of May 15. In a departure from the first two seasons, 2021 membership is open to both licensed and unlicensed racing enthusiasts looking to enjoy the social and educational benefits of the Club. The 2021 ERC season will be limited to 200 members. The ERC will once again be managed by famed race-caller Tom Durkin. Training the current team of runners for the 2021 season are Hall of Famer Mark Casse; Hall of Fame nominee Christophe Clement, the leading trainer at Aqueduct's 2020 Fall meet; and Grade 1-winning trainer Tom Morley, based year-round in the Empire State and husband of NYRA TV personality Maggie Wolfendale.

Team runners currently include stakes winner stakes winner Proven Strategies (Sky Mesa), maiden turf filly Community Adjusted (Summer Front), and the team newcomer, unraced 2-year-old filly Boom Roasted (Practical Joke). Winner of Woodbine's Toronto Cup last season, Proven Strategies, campaigned by the Empire Racing Club and Leonard and Jonathan Green, is a 10-1 shot on the morning line for the $100,000 Elusive Quality S. at Belmont Park Saturday. Also running during Belmont's opening week, Community Adjusted finished fourth for Hall of Fame nominee Christophe Clement, who trains for the Empire Racing Club and Rob Masiello. Boom Roasted, also competing for the ERC and Masiello, is expected to join Tom Morley in New York in the coming week.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the members in person again–at the workouts, the races, and at our social gatherings where we can renew old acquaintances and share the experiences of up close involvement in racing,” said Durkin.

Spearheaded by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) in 2019, the ERC is a non-profit organization designed to introduce new fans to racehorse ownership.

One benefit of ERC membership is the ERC Educational Series, regular Zoom meetings for members which have featured leading professionals from all aspects of the industry, including Todd Pletcher, Christophe Clement, Spendthrift's GM Ned Toffey, jockey Tyler Gaffalione, Linda Rice, Starlight and StarLadies' Jack and Laurie Wolf, TVG's Caton Bredar, DRF's Mike Welsch and David Grening, etc. Topics covered during the first two seasons of the ERC included breeding, sales, racing partnerships and syndicates, the claiming game, equine health and veterinary care, Thoroughbred retirement, and handicapping.

“I'm really excited to kick off the new year with our members,” said ERC Board member Rob Masiello. “We were able to adapt to the challenges that last year presented and create a series of virtual meetings with our members that included several leading owners, trainers, and bloodstock agents.”

ERC members receive regular updates about their horses via conference call, email and social media. Once fans are welcomed back to the track, the Club will offer the opportunity to visit the backstretch for morning training and the paddock when the ERC horses run, and will host dedicated ERC events.

For more information, visit www.empireracingclub.wildapricot.org.

The post Empire Racing Club Launches Third Season appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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‘Out Of My Wheelhouse’: Maggie Wolfendale Learned To Broadcast From Home In 2020

Just one live day – the New Year's Eve card at Aqueduct Racetrack – remains in 2020 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. The NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of New York-based racing personalities to get their reflections on the memorable year.

As a third-generation horsewoman, Maggie Wolfendale's life has been immersed in horse racing since birth. The daughter of Maryland-based conditioner Howard Wolfendale worked on-air at Pimlico Race Course and Colonial Downs before joining NYRA's on-air talent as paddock analyst, a role that she has maintained since October 2010. In addition to her television duties, Wolfendale works alongside her husband, trainer Tom Morley, and gallops horses during morning training. Wolfendale also is involved with Thoroughbred aftercare.

In a year of unprecedented tests and challenges, what would you say has been the highlight of 2020?

Wolfendale: Getting back to racing on June 3. It was a sense of relief; a sense of anticipation in getting back to the races. I think through it all, we proved, amidst a global pandemic, that we can be sustainable, and we can be successful as a business and thrive. At the end of the day, these horses need to run. It was a welcoming day to get back to work.

What has been your best betting/handicapping day of the year?

Wolfendale: It wasn't at NYRA, but we were broadcasting from our homes and we were covering Churchill in mid-May. It was good for me because it's out of my wheelhouse and I'm used to looking at horses in person and not through a TV screen. But I had five winners that day, including Cat's Pajamas who paid around $50 [$57] for Graham Motion.

What was NYRA's biggest accomplishment this year?

Wolfendale: Being able to get back to racing, by far. The fact that in the whole state of New York and this portion of the country, the COVID cases skyrocketed in March and April. The fact that we got everything under control and back to a safe environment. By the end of April, things were where they should be in terms of the protocols put in place. The fact that the TV department put on about 700 hours of live coverage and the amount of handle we increased by broadcasting to people's living rooms, considering they couldn't be here on track.

Broadcasting from your home is interesting. Especially when you have a young baby and child on the other side of the door, that can be a bit distracting. Fortunately, I have a good husband and mother that are able to help out. It was different, but it was a lot of fun in retrospect. I missed physically being around the horses more than anything else. That was the most painful thing to go through during the pandemic. Once I got back out to the barn, I felt so much better being around horses. Everyone in the TV department really rallied.

When watching the races on the NYRA circuit this year, did you notice any track biases for handicappers to consider?

Wolfendale: On the turf course at Aqueduct it paid to save ground, but that's fairly typical in all turf races. That's something you typically see at Saratoga as well over their inner turf course. There would be days, especially at Belmont Park, when it seems like if it rains and it was on the drying out spectrum, you wanted to be on the inside and have early speed.

Who would you say has been the most improved jockey?

Wolfendale: It was really fun to watch the progression of apprentice jockey Luis Cardenas. He obviously showed some talent earlier on in the year and, like everyone else, had the layoff in the springtime, but he's just come back and just rode extremely well. It's also been really enjoyable watching Kendrick Carmouche and all that he's done, winning his first Grade 1 and getting the riding title during the fall meet at Aqueduct.

As far as trainers are concerned, who has stood out the most to you this season?

Wolfendale: I think each year, with new trainers that come in, you gather more information and learn more about what each trainer's horses look like. It adds a tool and a nuance to looking at horses in what to expect when it comes to looking at horses from different barns. Each year, you learn a little bit more about each trainer. For example, Horacio DePaz is a fairly new face consistently on the Maryland and NYRA circuit and I'm learning more about his horses and what to expect, and he does a fantastic job. That's helped me a bit in looking at horses in the paddock.

I think what Christophe Clement accomplished throughout the year has been phenomenal, especially considering that he doesn't have the numbers that Chad Brown or Todd Pletcher do. A lot of the success comes when you have the right horses for the right spots, but once they run through those conditions, you hit that lull. Christophe brought over first time starter after first time starter to the winner's circle, but he does a good job of capitalizing on his stock. Timeless Journey for example, won a maiden 40 at Saratoga and then wins a starter allowance, kind of surprisingly, and got things her own way, but then he brings her to the dirt and runs her through her allowance conditions on the dirt. That's just what he's done with his entire stable to win at the percentage that he has. I like the fact that it's a family-style operation. Christophe has his son [Miguel Clement] working for him and he has longtime assistant Christophe Lorieul working for him for over 20 years, so it's a very family type of establishment and operation. That's been really fun to watch.

The 2020-21 winter meet at Aqueduct returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 31, and continues through Sunday, March 28.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

For additional information, and the complete winter meet stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule.

The post ‘Out Of My Wheelhouse’: Maggie Wolfendale Learned To Broadcast From Home In 2020 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Shang Takes On Underpressure In Saturday’s Louisiana Champions Day Classic

Corrine & William L. Heiligbrodt's Shang, a winner of four of five lifetime starts locally, has been installed as Mike Diliberto's 8-5 morning line favorite for the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic (1 1/8 miles), one of ten restricted stakes offered on Saturday's 13-race card at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans, La. First post will be at noon CT, one hour earlier than usual. The Classic is carded as race 12. Traditional 50-cent Pick Five wagers will be offered in races one and nine.

A 4-year-old son of Shanghai Bobby, the Steve Asmussen-trained Shang is seven for 14 lifetime, with four of those wins coming in Lousiana-bred stakes. In his most recent start on July 4 at Evangeline Downs, Shang rallied from mid-pack to take the Louisiana Legends Turf. Ricardo Santana, Jr. has the call from post seven of eight.

Drawn just to Shang's outside is the 5-2 second choice, Mallory Richard's Underpressure. A career earner of nearly $744,582, the 6-year-old gelded son of Birdstone is a 13-time winner from 37 lifetime opportunities. The winner of seven restricted stakes, this will be the Chris Richard trainee's fourth try in the Louisiana Classic. The winner of the 2018 edition over a sloppy track, he was third in 2017 and again last year. Fair Grounds' current leading rider James Graham has the call from post eight.

Completing the Louisiana Champions Day Classic field from the rail out: Whitney Zeringue, Jr.'s (owner and trainer) Freedomfi, the winner of 2 of 18 starts (post 1 at 20-1 with Mitchell Murrill); Kirk Rovinsky's Social Afleet, most recently sixth off the $20,000 claim in the B-Connected Stakes at Delta Downs on November 24 for trainer Sarah Delany (post 2 at 20-1 with Marcelino Pedroza); Gerrard Perron's (owner and trainer) Grand Luwegee, who is winless since posting an upset victory in thee Premier Night Championship at Delta in February of 2019 (post 3 at 10-1 with Colby Hernandez); Baronne Farm's Sydster, who won the Crescent City Derby for trainer Eddie Johnston on March 21 at Fair Grounds (post 4 at 5-1 with Florent Geroux – cross entered in the Turf); Pine Knoll Farm LLC's Jus Lively, who just missed in the B-Connected Stakes on November 24 at Delta Downs last out for trainer Steve Asmussen (8-1 with Adam Beschizza); and Double Dan Farm LLC's and trainer Delmar Caldwell's Mageez, who has won ten races and banked $578,755 in a 50-race career.

Thomas Morley and Paul Braveman's Ninety One Assault, who stormed home to an impressive victory in last year's edition, is slated to take on ten rivals as the 9-5 morning line favorite in Saturday's $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf. Contested over 1 1/16 miles on the Stall-Wilson Turf Course, it will be run as race 11 of 13 on the card.

Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan, who has won five of his six tries aboard the seven-year-old gelding, will partner with him once again, and the dynamic duo will leave from post nine for trainer Tom Morley. Campaigned on the East Coast when Fair Grounds is dark for live racing, Ninety One Assault was last seen finishing sixth in the Artie Schiller, a race named for his sire, on November 14 at Aqueduct.

Claimed for just $12,500 in August of 2019, Budro Talking would finish third in last year's Louisiana Turf Classic just four months later for trainer Karl Broberg. Claimed again for $17,500 by owner Jack Randall and trainer Keith Austin, the five-year-old gelded son of Tale of Ekati has rattled off consecutive wins for his current connections, including the Louisiana Cup Turf Classic at Louisiana Downs in his most recent start on September 19. He will break from post two on Saturday with Florent Geroux in tow.

Completing the Louisiana Champions Day Turf field from the rail out: Snake Racing LLC's Treys Midnight Moon, a former $5,000 claimer who has gone on to win ten races and bank $233,665 (post 1 with James Graham at 10-1 for trainer Coralle “Bunky” Rickards); E and M Scherer Racing and trainer Eric Scherer's Musical Man, who is two for 16 lifetime (post 3 with Adam Beschizza at 30-1); Brittlyn Stable Inc.'s Guitar Tribute, who has hit the board in four consecutive starts for trainer Jose Camejo (post 4 with Ricardo Santana, Jr. at 20-1); Lane Cortez and trainer Ron Faucheux's Afleet Ascent, who has banked over $200,000 but enters on a 16-race losing streak (post 5 with Gabriel Saez at 10-1); Columbine Stable LLC's Unrestricted, who has won four of ten lifetime starts and three of his last four for trainer Al Stall, Jr. (post 6 with Colby Hernandez at 12-1); Jeanne Marie Dolan's (owner and trainer) Changi, who returns to Louisiana-bred company after competing against graded stakes company in three of his last five starts (post 7 with Mitchell Murrill at 8-1); Carl R. Moore Management LLC's Carlea's Dream, who will face fellow Louisiana-breds for the first time in 11 career starts off a recent runner-up performance in a second-level turf allowance on the Remington Park turf (post 8 with Brian Hernandez, Jr. at 8-1); Baronne Farm's Sydster, who won the Crescent City Derby for trainer Eddie Johnston on March 21 at Fair Grounds (post 10 at 5-1 with Florent Geroux – cross entered in the Classic); Gerard Perron's (owner and trainer) Kingdom Way, who won a restricted first-level allowance race on the Louisiana Downs turf in September in his most recent start (post 11 with Angel Suarez at 30-1); and the lone also eligible, Alston Thoroughbreds LLC, Earl J Hernandez and J. Duvieilh's Jax Man, who has won two Louisiana-bred allowance races this year (post 12 with Marcelino Pedroza at 12-1).

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