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Constitution Half to Fly So Pretty Scores on Debut at Ellis

4th-Ellis, $46,172, Msw, 8-21, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:05.73, fm.
LA LIBERTEE (f, 2, Constitution–La Rambla {SP}, by City Zip), a half-sister to Tracy Farmer’s homebred Fly So Pretty (Sky Mesa), SW, $125,919, who scored in Aqueduct’s Stewart Manor S. last November at two, made her debut a winning one at Ellis for the same connections. The chestnut found a fluid stride immediately out of the gate and settled into a comfortable third on the rail with the top flight while the rest of the field dawdled several lengths back. Behind fractions of :22.49 for the quarter and :47.12 for the half, La Libertee split horses at the top of the stretch and blew on by the favored front-runner Saturday Night (Tapit). With her ears pricked, she galloped home a 3 3/4-length victress to pay $12.80 as the third choice. Fly So Pretty and La Libertee are La Rambla’s first two foals. The mare produced a filly by Tiznow in 2019, was barren for 2020, and has been bred back to Sky Mesa for 2021. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $27,720. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
O/B-Tracy Farmer (KY); T-Mark E. Casse.

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Federal Court Upholds Arizona Simulcast Signal Equality Law

A bid by The Stronach Group (TSG)’s simulcast signal brokerage company to keep the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) from enforcing a law requiring companies that provide off-track- betting signals to sell them to anyone in the state who wants to buy them got stymied by a federal appeals court ruling Aug. 20.

A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging whether a relatively new state statute or the federal Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (IHA) should take precedence in the dispute between TSG-owned Monarch Content Management, LLC, and the ADG.

According to Capitol Media Services in Arizona, the basis for the case dates to 2018, when the newly reopened Arizona Downs sought access to Monarch’s menu of simulcasts, which include TSG tracks and other popular winter signals like Tampa Bay Downs. Monarch initially agreed to send its signals to the track itself but refused to do business with the Arizona Downs OTB sites, presumably because three of them (at that time) were in the Phoenix area, where they would compete with OTBs controlled by Turf Paradise.

Capitol Media Services reported that last year lawmakers “voted to force Monarch into that all-or-nothing situation: If it wants to do business with Turf Paradise, the law reads, it has to provide the same signals to anyone else who wants it.” It also gave the state racing commission the authority to review simulcast contracts to determine whether fees are “excessive or unreasonable” or the terms are “anti-competitive or deceptive.” Monarch and co-plaintiff Laurel Park then sued to block that law.

According to the court opinion authored by Judge Andrew Hurwitz, the panel held that the plaintiffs, “had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims. The panel first held that that the IHA, pertaining to interstate horse race wagering at off-track sites, did not preempt [the state law]. The panel determined that on their faces, the IHA and the Arizona statute regulated different actors and activities. The IHA did not address how the states can regulate simulcasts, and the Arizona statute did not address Laurel Park’s statutory right to consent before interstate wagering on its races could be conducted. Thus, it was not facially impossible to comply with both laws. The panel further rejected plaintiffs’ argument that [the state law] frustrates the intent of the IHA.”

The judgment continued: “The panel assumed arguendo that Monarch’s simulcasts were expressive in certain respects. The panel held, however, that the Arizona statute did not regulate that expressive content, but rather only Monarch’s conduct-the “offer” to sell simulcasts to live-racing permittees and OTB sites. The statute’s requirement that Monarch must make simulcasts available on equal terms was plainly incidental to the statute’s focus on Monarch’s non-First Amendment business practices.”

Tom Auther, an Arizona Downs owner, told Capitol Media Services that he is treating the ruling as a victory. But the judgment won’t automatically give his track or OTB network access to the Monarch-brokered signals, because Monarch chose back in January to cease selling any signals to Arizona entities.

Both Arizona Downs and Turf Paradise have called off their 2020 race meets because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Plans in the Pipeline For Owners And Spectators to Return to Arlington

Arlington International Racecourse is awaiting decisions from local and state health officials that would pave the way for spectators to once again be allowed at the races under socially distanced pandemic precautions.

The plan calls for a phased-in approach that would start with horse owners being allowed back to the track, then ramping up attendance to allow 2,000 people into the plant for live racing on the day of the GI Kentucky Derby simulcast.

The Daily Herald of suburban Chicago first broke the story Friday. Arlington has proposed hosting 500 to 800 spectators (ages 18 and up) on other race days through the end of the meet. Advance online registration would be required for designated seating areas along the homestretch. Access to the grandstand would only be permitted to bet and to use rest rooms.

Arlington president Tony Petrillo told the Daily Herald that the track initially was directed to submit spectator plans to the Illinois Department of Agriculture but that management has since been told to pursue approvals through the Village of Arlington Heights, where the track is located. The village, in turn, is working with the county and state.

“It’s nice the way our facility is laid out. People are sitting in pods, basically,” Petrillo told the Daily Herald. “I think [by] the beginning of next week we’ll have some clarity.”

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Kentucky Derby to be Run Without Fans

Just nine days after unveiling plans to allow about 23,000 spectators to attend the running of the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs announced Friday that no fans will be allowed to attend the race.

“We have made the difficult decision to hold this year’s Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 without fans,” read a statement from the track. “Churchill Downs and all of our team members feel strongly that it is our collective responsibility as citizens of Louisville to do all we responsibly can to protect the health, safety and security of our community in these challenging times and believe that running the Derby without spectators is the best way to do that. We deeply regret the disappointment this will bring to our loyal fans.”

Churchill Downs first announced plans June 29 to allow spectators. That came at a time when the COVID-19 numbers in Kentucky were relatively under control. However, the June announcement never specified how many fans would be allowed to attend. That was answered Aug. 12 when the 23,000 figure was released along with a 62-page operations plan. The plans included a mandate that patrons wear masks and the closing of the infield.

But the idea of having fans at the Derby seemed overly ambitious at the time because the coronavirus numbers in the state were climbing. According to the New York Times, there were 177 new cases in the state June 29 when the first announcement was made and 1,109 Aug. 12 at the time of the second announcement. The Times reported that were 1,067 cases Thursday.

A gathering of 23,000 at the Derby would have been the largest crowd assembled for any U.S. sporting event since the pandemic began.

On Thursday, Louisville mayor Greg Fischer said he would not be attending the Derby. He cited the high number of new coronavirus cases and protests being planned for Sept. 5 tied to the death of Breonna Taylor.

The Churchill announcement included a statement from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, who backed the track’s decision.

“The virus is still aggressively spreading in Kentucky, and the White House has announced that Jefferson County and the City of Louisville are in a ‘red zone’ based on increases in cases. This week alone the county had more than 2,300 new cases.

Beshear said, “I applaud Churchill Downs for continuing to monitor the virus and for making the right and responsible decision. I am asking all Kentuckians to take action to stop the spread of the virus so we can get back to the many traditions we enjoy, like the Kentucky Derby.”

Churchill officials said in the announcement they had made the decision after consulting with public health authorities and that the positivity rate had gone from 2% in June to its current figure of 10%.

“This year’s Kentucky Derby was never going to be the celebration we’re used to, but I could not be more grateful to our tremendous team members and community partners for all of their efforts. We’ve left no stones unturned and reached the right decision,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc. “We hope our fans, the Louisville community and our country find an opportunity over the coming weeks to reflect on the challenges we have faced this year as a community and as a nation, and work together toward a better and safer future.”

Only essential personnel and participants will be permitted on property.

Ticket holders for all Derby week race dates and related programming will be automatically issued a refund.

The June 20 GI Belmont S., which was the first leg of the Triple Crown this year, was also held without fans. No announcements regarding fans at the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. have been issued yet by the Maryland Jockey Club.

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