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Banke, Hancock, Lyster, Walden Elected to Breeders’ Cup Board of Directors

Barbara Banke (Stonestreet Farms), Walker Hancock (Claiborne Farm), Gray Lyster (Ashview Farm), and Elliott Walden (WinStar Farm) were each elected by the Breeders' Cup Members to serve a four-year term on Breeders' Cup's Board of Directors, Breeders' Cup announced Thursday. Banke, Hancock, and Walden were re-elected as Directors.

Lyster, who was elected a Breeders' Cup Member in 2020, has been involved in the equine industry for his entire life. His family operates Ashview Farm. Lyster is a breeder, owner, farm operator, and consignor. He co-bred Breeders' Cup Champion Runhappy, and more recently co-bred GI Belmont S. first and second-place finishers, Mo Donegal and Nest. Lyster is a member of Keeneland's Advisory Board of Directors and has served as the President of both the Thoroughbred Club of America and the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association.

“Gray's extraordinary background and expertise in many facets of the Thoroughbred industry will be a terrific asset to the Board,” said Banke, Breeders' Cup Chairman. “We look forward to his advice and recommendations in supporting and enhancing the World Championships and the safety and integrity of our sport.”

Previous Director Gavin Murphy's four-year term ends in 2022.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to Gavin Murphy for his outstanding dedication and service to our Board and to the Breeders' Cup during his term,” said Banke. “Known for his creativity and innovative style, Gavin's insight and expertise were particularly impactful with respect to long-term strategy, the formation and passage of HISA, and especially as the Breeders' Cup encountered unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. We genuinely appreciate the value he has added to the Breeders' Cup and the industry as a whole.

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Brown to Decide On Haskell or Jim Dandy for Early Voting After Saturday Work

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – With the $1.25 million GI Travers S. on Aug. 27 as his summer goal, trainer Chad Brown said Thursday morning that he is close to declaring what path his GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) will take to Saratoga's biggest race.

Brown has two options: send the colt to Monmouth Park to face unbeaten stablemate Jack Christopher (Munnings) in the GI Haskell Invitational S. on July 23 or wait a week and race him against another stablemate, GI Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Zandon (Upstart) in the GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga.

“I'm going to work the horse on Saturday and I will decide after the work,” Brown said. “If he's going to run in the Jim Dandy then he's going to ship up here the next day. If he's going to run in the Haskell then he will stay at Belmont because it's closer to Monmouth. That's why I've left him there. I've got Jack Christopher down there, who is also going to work.”

While Brown committed Jack Christopher and Zandon to their pre-Travers races long ago, he has not been in a hurry to place Early Voting.

Brown said he wants to look at everything: “Who is running where? Make sure everyone is healthy and doing well. These fields might come together a little bit more, be a little more focused. Weather.”

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Sonny Leon Moving Tack to Gulfstream Park

Sonny Leon, the winning rider aboard Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in this year's GI Kentucky Derby, is about to relocate to Gulfstream Park. He is listed to ride six horses on the Saturday card, including Easy Come Easy Go (Midnight Storm) in the $75,000 Azalea S.

Leon has been riding at Belterra Park, where he was fourth in the standings with 33 wins entering Thursday's card.

“He's going to move his tack there for now and give it a shot,” said Jeff Perrin, his agent at Belterra. Perrin will not be working with Leon at Gulfstream. “His last day in Ohio will be Friday and then he'll head to Florida. He was friends with Emisael Jaramillo, who was second in the standings, and that jockey got hurt. He will be working with his agent, who has a good book of business. You can't blame Sonny. It's a great opportunity. We won the Kentucky Derby. We shocked the world.”

Leon has flourished at lesser tracks like Belterra and Mahoning Valley, but, aside from the Kentucky Derby, has had few mounts at major tracks. The Derby is his only graded stakes win. Trying to break in against a solid riding colony at Gulftstream will be a big test of his abilities.

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Juarez: Lopez Has `No Regard’ For His Fellow Riders

Though admitting that he deserved his eight-day suspension after being the aggressor in an altercation with Paco Lopez following a July 1 race at Monmouth, Nik Juarez has some choice words for his fellow jockey, calling him “careless and someone who has no regard for his fellow riders.”

Lopez was suspended five days for his ride aboard Midnight Diva (Midnight Lute) in that day's third race. Juarez was suspended for eight days and fined $500 for “initiating a physical confrontation with another jockey.”

According to the footnote of the race, Midnight Diva came out midway on the far turn and impeded Juarez's mount, La Costa (Archarcharch). La Costa clipped heels with Midnight Diva, stumbled badly and was pulled up by Juarez. Midnight Diva crossed the wire third but was disqualified and placed last.

A New Jersey Racing Commission ruling issued July 13 noted that, “Mr. Lopez came out changing paths without sufficient clearance, causing #5 LA COSTA to clip heels and stumble badly, losing all chance.”

Lopez has been suspended numerous times in recent years for careless or rough riding, and Juarez is not the first rider to accuse Lopez of often riding in a reckless manner. The TDN was unable to reach Lopez for comment by deadline for this story.

The fight took place after the race when both riders were at the scales to weigh out.

Juarez had traveled back and forth to Sweden to be there for the birth of his daughter and rushed back to New Jersey to fulfill his riding obligations. He said the travel was difficult and he was frazzled.

“I had, literally, spent 31 hours on planes,” he said. “My daughter was born the day before the incident. My wife is still stuck in Sweden. It was a whirlwind week. Flight cancellations, delays, they lost my bag. It was a nightmare.”

He said his newborn daughter was on his mind when Lopez cut him off.

“He was smirking at me,” Juarez said. “I had just held my baby girl the day before and he just did something that could have cost me my life. He knows what he did and he's done it before. He has no remorse. He never called Romero Maragh in the hospital after he dropped him and the kid broke his neck. I know he would never do anything for me. To know you're riding out there every day with someone like that, it's touchy.”

Juarez said riding against someone like Lopez is like driving on the same road with a dangerous driver.

“Imagine if you are diving to work every day and are driving with the same eight, nine guys every day,” he said. “Just the same people. But you know one guy doesn't give a [expletive]. One day he's going to cut you off, one day he's not. Would you feel safe driving?

Despite his feelings toward Lopez, Juarez said he got what he deserved from the stewards.

“With me, they sent the right message because I deserve my punishment,” Juarez said. “I took things into my own hands and if I did that out on the street there would be repercussions with the authorities. I have to let the authorities do their job. On my end, I think they were fair. I am ashamed of how I acted. What they do with him is out of my control.”

Earlier this year, Lopez was handed a 14-day suspension by the Gulfstream stewards for his ride aboard In Due Time (Not This Time) in the GII Fountain of Youth S., in which two horses fell. In 2019, the Gulfstream stewards hit Lopez with a 30-day suspension for careless riding and causing a spill that resulted in Maragh undergoing surgery for two broken vertebrae and Carlos Montalvo suffering a fractured ankle. In 2021, Lopez got into an altercation with Irad Ortiz Jr. after a roughly run race at Gulfstream. Ortiz was fined $1,000 and both riders were put on probation.

Lopez tops the Monmouth standings with 48 wins. Juarez is in eighth place with 10 wins.

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