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Woodbine Officials Negotiating for Permission to Complete Season

Despite a mandatory 28-day lockdown of Toronto and one of its suburbs, officials at Woodbine Racetrack remain in negotiations with the Ontario government as they seek permission to complete the 2020 Thoroughbred season.

The lockdown went into effect Monday, Nov. 25, at 12:01 a.m. and allows for training and stabling of horses at the track, but live racing has been canceled.

An update late Tuesday from Woodbine read:

“Since being permitted to race without spectators in early June, Woodbine Entertainment has demonstrated that live racing poses no greater health risk to participants than training. Furthermore, it believes it has clearly demonstrated an ability to safely operate live racing without spectators during that time.

“Based on the timing of these ongoing conversations, live racing on Thursday, Nov. 26 and Friday, Nov. 27 has been cancelled. Should Government make the decision that live racing is permitted to safely resume, Saturday, Nov. 28 would be the earliest date. This would require entries to be submitted on Thursday morning.

“Furthermore, if Woodbine Entertainment is permitted to complete the 2020 Thoroughbred meet, it will endeavour to reschedule the cancelled races.

“Woodbine Entertainment will continue to provide updates as they become available.”

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Santa Anita Releases Winter/Spring Stakes Schedule

Starting with three prestigious Grade I stakes on opening day, Saturday, Dec. 26, Santa Anita’s 2020-21 Winter/Spring stakes schedule will offer fans and horsemen a total of 95 stakes through closing day, June 20. This will include 10 Grade I events and 60 graded stakes.

Santa Anita’s traditional Winter/Spring opener will be highlighted by the seven furlong GI Runhappy Malibu S. for 3-year-olds, the seven furlong GI La Brea S. for 3-year-old fillies, and the GI American Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and one quarter on turf, all of which will carry purses of $300,000.

The $400,000 GI Santa Anita H. and the $400,000 GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. will be run Mar. 6 and the $750,000 GI Santa Anita Derby, which has produced 18 GI Kentucky Derby winners, will be run Apr. 3. The $300,000 GI Hollywood Gold Cup will be run May 31, along with the $300,000 GI Shoemaker Mile S. and $300,000 GI Gamely S. over turf.

For the full stakes schedule on the Santa Anita website, click here.

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Honest Mischief Retired to Sequel Stallions

Blue-blooded black-type winner and graded stakes-placed Honest Mischief (Into Mischief–Honest Lady, by Seattle Slew), who hails from one of the top families in the stud book, has been retired to Sequel Stallions New York. He will stand for $6,500 LFSN.

The Juddmonte homebred broke his maiden at second asking at Keeneland at three by eight lengths and was tabbed a ‘TDN Rising Star‘ by virtue of that win, then went on to be third behind Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) in the GII Amsterdam S. at Saratoga in just his fourth career start. An allowance win at Keeneland and a win in the Force the Pass City of Laurel S. at Laurel closed out his sophomore campaign. He began this year with a runner-up finish to Volatile (Violence) in Churchill’s Aristides S. and closed with it with a win via disqualification at the same track in September. The Chad Brown trainee retires with a record of 9-4-3-1 and earnings of $287,464.

“Honest Mischief was pegged as a real talent by our exercise riders from the very beginning,” said Juddmonte’s Garrett O’Rourke. “He had raw speed, he was sound, and he had desire. He placed behind stars like Shancelot and Volatile at the top of their games and when he won, he won like a Grade I horse. Honest Mischief has such a genetic concentration of classic talent, on top and bottom of his pedigree, that expectation of his success at stud is just a given.”

By record-setting leading sire Into Mischief, Honest Mischief is from the signature Juddmonte family of Toussud (El Gran Senor). The remarkable Grade I-winning mare became a blue hen, producing Classic winner and sire Empire Maker (Unbridled), as well as GISW and sire Chester House (Mr. Prospector), GISW Chiselling (Woodman), MGSW, GISP, and sire Decarchy (Distant View), and GISW Honest Lady (Seattle Slew), who is Honest Mischief’s dam. Honest Mischief is one of four black-type winners out of Honest Lady, including GISW and sire First Defence (Unbridled’s Song).

“To stand at stud the son of such an incredible sire, as well as the magnificent female family Honest Mischief exhibits, is beyond exciting,” said Sequel’s Becky Thomas. “I am a super fan of Into Mischief and am honored to bring Honest Mischief to New York with the support and participation of Juddmonte Farm.”

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Indiana Grand Sets Handle Record

Indiana Grand Racing & Casino capped a meet of broken records with a single-season all-sources handle record of $198,960,722. The 2020 figure was up 31% from the 2019 handle of $123,635,376. There were 26 fewer days in the 2020 meet, which concluded last Thursday.

Also during its 2020 season, Indiana Grand recorded its highest single program handle on the July 8 Indiana Derby card with a total of $5,979,952 wagered on the 12 races. The Indiana Derby race alone garnered $1,026,395, which was a single-race record for the track. The four-day race period also marked the best week ever in the 18-year history of racing for Indiana Grand, with a total of $13,176,192 wagered.

The final week of racing also established some records, with a total of $3,869,898 wagered on the final program of the year Thursday, marking the largest handle on a non-Indiana Derby racing card in the history of the track. In all, a total of six days in 2020 showed handle in excess of $3 million. A weather-shortened card of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing was the only card which did not eclipse $1 million in total handle. The total of 91 days with handle in excess of $1 million is also a track record for Indiana Grand.

“To get 96 racing days in during these unprecedented times is a real credit to the Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC) staff, our horsemen and our very dedicated group of employees,” said Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing at Indiana Grand. “When you consider that we did all of that while breaking every handle record on the books makes the season a success by any measure.”

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