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Oaklawn to Allow Limited Spectators

The 57-day meeting at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, AR, is set to be conducted with a limited number of spectators, pursuant to the directives of the Arkansas Department of Health.

“We’ve been working on plans covering numerous scenarios and we’re happy to announce we will be welcoming back race fans in 2021, albeit on a limited basis,” General Manager Wayne Smith said. “We know that the fans are what make Oaklawn so special, but our main concern is for the safety and well-being of our guests and team members. We appreciate the support we have received from the Arkansas Department of Health in developing this plan. We will be working with them throughout the live season and will adjust as needed.”

Oaklawn officials released the following guidelines:

General admission into the Grandstand will not be allowed initially in 2021.

Entrance into the Grandstand will strictly be for guests with a racing credential and/or reservation for that day’s races. Doors will open at 11 am.

Current seasonal box seat holders and current Oaklawn Jockey Club members may enter the Grandstand with weekly reservations required. Detailed correspondence to be sent separately to these individuals.

Restaurants inside the Grandstand, following Arkansas Department of Health directives, will be open to the public with weekly reservations required.

Simulcast will be open Wednesday–Sunday, 11a.m.–8 p.m. to limited capacity with weekly reservations required.

Social distancing will be enforced.

All guests and team members will be required to have non-invasive temperature checks as they enter the facility. Anyone presenting a temp at/over 100 degrees Fahrenheit will not be permitted inside the building.

All guests and team members will be required to wear masks at all times.

Smoking will not be allowed anywhere inside the facility, including the casino.

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TDN’s Bianca, Wolfe Among Media Eclipse Award Winners

TDN Associate Editor Joe Bianca and multi-media producer Patty Wolfe are among the winners of the Media Eclipse Awards as announced Wednesday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.

Bianca and Wolfe were awarded the Eclipse in the ‘Audio/Multimedia Internet’ category for a piece written and narrated by Bianca and produced by Wolfe entitled “To Hell and Back: Belmont Marks a Deserved Triumph for New York City,” a tribute to the Belmont S., which took place as the first leg of the COVID-19 delayed Triple Crown Saturday, June 20, and appeared the day before the race. It is the first Eclipse Award for Bianca and a second for Wolfe, who also shared the honor with TDN’s Christie DeBernardis for a TDN Multimedia piece on off-the-track Thoroughbreds in 2018.

Bianca’s text and narration goes into the rich history of racing in New York and Belmont Park, which first hosted the Belmont in its current location in 1905. Wolfe weaved in archival racing footage with images of images of New York City, most impacted by the coronavirus.

“Winning an Eclipse Award is an honor like no other in racing and I’m immensely grateful to have been selected this year,” said Bianca. “I want to thank our producer Patty Wolfe and her incredible team of talented editors for illustrating my words so beautifully. Also thank you to our publisher Sue Finley for her steadfast support for my work as we branch out into different types of media at TDN. It has obviously been a very difficult and tragic year, but I’m so proud and thankful to have moved people with one of the inspirational success stories of 2020 in an ode to my beloved hometown.”

Added Wolfe: “This video is a reminder of the things we always had but almost lost. Other professional sports were not competing at that time, and New York had just been through a nightmare with the pandemic. NYRA’s running of the Belmont S. in June was momentous. Talking directly into his computer, Joe’s authenticity was compelling as he put the magnitude of the moment into words.”

The Paulick Report’s Natalie Voss is the recipient of the Media Eclipse Awards for both the ‘Feature/Commentary Writing’ category for her piece entitled “An Angel On His Shoulder: This Thoroughbred’s Fate Was Written in Ink;” and for the News/Enterprise Writing category for her multi-part series “A Decade IN, How Are We Doing With Thoroughbred Aftercare?”

NBC Sports receives the Eclipse for their coverage of “The Breeders’ Cup World Championships” Nov. 7, a program produced by Billy Mathews and Lindsay Schanzer; as well as the ‘Television/Features’ category for “Rider’s Up: The World’s First Sports Bubble,” which aired on NBC Sports Network Oct. 2, 2020, and was produced by the Hennegan Brothers.

Alex Evers is the recipient of the Eclipse for ‘Photography’ for “A Derby Without Fans” which ran in the Paulick Report Sept. 21, 2020.

The 2020 Eclipse Awards ceremony will be a virtual event. It will be televised live on TVG and streamed on other outlets on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Annual TCA Stallion Season Auction Begins

The 31st annual Thoroughbred Charities of America Stallion Season Auction, the largest for the organization, is open for bidding. Bidding on over 200 stallion seasons from 14 states kicked off on www.starquine.com and will continue through Jan. 8 with a staggered ending times beginning at 4:30 p.m. EST. Seasons available in the online auction include Gun Runner, Ghostzapper, Palace Malice, Liam’s Map, More Than Ready, Speightstown, and many more. View all seasons here.

In addition to the online auction, a live auction of select seasons will be held Tuesday, Jan. 12 in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion after the close of book one, session two of the January sale. Select seasons to Blame, Constitution, Curlin, Game Winner, Laoban, Nyquist (with a 2022 breed back), and Quality Road will be offered. To bid on select seasons, bidders or their authorized agents may bid in person at Keeneland, or they may contact TCA by emailing ecrady@tca.org or calling (859) 276-4989 to arrange telephone or online bidding.

A silent auction of non-season items including halters worn by Enable and Tapit, a John Deere X330 lawn tractor, equine air transportation aboard a Tex Sutton flight, vanning from Sallee and Brook Ledge is also currently underway. The silent auction includes over 70 items with a complete list of items available here.

The auction is sponsored by Rosenberg Thoroughbred Consulting, Limestone Bank, Coolmore America, Keeneland, BloodHorse, Paulick Report, and Thoroughbred Daily News. For more information, visit www.tca.org.

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Mucho Gusto Retired

Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man–Itsagiantcauseway, by Giant’s Causeway), winner of last year’s GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, has been retired due to a soft-tissue injury, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert.

“He came up with a minor soft tissue injury that will knock him out of the Pegasus and Saudi Cup,” said Baffert.

The trainer said that the issue had just arisen today and that no stallion deal had been discussed yet.

The Pegasus was one of five graded races won by the 5-year-old chestnut, who also captured the GIII Robert B. Lewis S., GIII Lazaro Barrera S., GIII Affirmed S., and GIII Bob Hope S. He was second in the GI TVG Haskell Invitational and the GI Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity and third in the GI Runhappy Travers S. He was a graded stakes winner at two, three and four.

Mucho Gusto, purchased by Michael Lund Petersen for $625,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, was acquired privately by Prince Faisal Bin Khaled following the 2019 Oklahoma Derby and captured last year’s Pegasus in his first start for his new owner. He followed that victory with a fourth-place effort in the inaugural Saudi Cup last February. Most recently fourth in the Dec. 26 GII San Antonio S., he earned just shy of $4 million on the racetrack, finishing up his career with earnings of $3,953,800.

“We are disappointed because he was a barn favorite,” said Baffert. “He ran in some exciting races, and winning the Pegasus was incredible. Turning for home, he looked like he was going to win the Saudi Cup,” said Baffert. “He gave Michael Lund Petersen one of his biggest thrills when he ran second in the Haskell. We freshened him up, gave him the whole summer off to have him ready for the Pegasus and the Saudi Cup and then this thing happened. It was really disappointing, because I was really excited about him this year. He put up some huge performances.”

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