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‘Stepped Up the Quality’: Fasig-Tipton California Sale Tuesday

The one-day Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings and Horses of Racing Age sale, which has firmly established its spot on the calendar for West Coast buyers, will get underway Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Fairplex Sales Pavilion near Pomona. Expectations for the sale, now in its fifth edition, continue to grow every year.

“If you race in California, you have to have Cal-breds in your barn,” said Fasig-Tipton's California representative and former California-based trainer Mike Machowsky. “You need a balance in your stables and a lot of trainers and owners realize that. If you want Cal-breds, this is about the only place where you can find them. California has a really great program and if a horse is good enough to advance out to open company, the benefits are huge.

“Breeders in California have really the last few years stepped up the quality of mares they've purchased and brought to California,” Machowsky continued. “If you look at the racing in general out here, Cal-breds are very important to the whole market out here. It works best when people own Cal-breds to balance out their whole stable.”

The one-day sale features a catalogue of 283 yearlings and 60 horses of racing age. Saturday's California-bred GI Cotillion S. winner at Parx–Ceiling Crusher (Mr. Big)–was a $115,000 RNA out of the horses of racing age portion of last year's sale as a 2-year-old. Her 4-year-old full-sister, Cashing Big Checks (Hip 315), sells in the racing age portion this year. Excel Bloodstock consigns the four-time winner.

Among the stallions represented at the sale this year are Kentucky leaders Bolt d'Oro, Ghostzapper, Good Magic, Hard Spun, Kitten's Joy, Maclean's Music, Mitole, Practical Joke, and Vino Rosso, while California stalwarts Clubhouse Ride, Grazen, Mr. Big, Sir Prancealot (Ire), Smiling Tiger, and Stay Thirsty are also a presence.

“I think this year's catalogue is just as strong or stronger than last year's,” said Machowsky. “There's some really interesting young sires and Kentucky sires with their first-crop yearlings. It'll be interesting to see how they size up and how they look.”

The 2022 sale featured 14 six-figure lots, led by a $250,000 Mr. Big filly. A total of 205 horses grossed $6,257,100 with a $30,522 average and a median of $17,000. Machowsky has been busy gauging interest in this year's renewal.

“I've been passing out catalogues, reaching out to trainers and a lot of the buyers. With Keeneland wrapped up, a lot of people out here are waiting for this sale. It's a strong catalogue with a lot of Kentucky-sired Cal-breds out here eligible for the great California program.”

California racing has faced some uncertainty in recent months with the upcoming closure of Golden Gate Fields. In July, 1/ST Racing announced the Northern California track would close its doors at the end of 2023, but it now appears Golden Gate will be able to continue through mid-2024. How does the anticipated closure impact the Fasig-Tipton sale?

“I think we'll be fine; we always get some support from there with trainers and owners,” said Machowsky. “It looks like Golden Gate has been extended through June now and with the fairs filling in, we'll see how that all transpires. Will there be year-round racing up there? I don't know, but they're trying to work something out.

“I don't see it affecting [this sale] a whole lot, honestly. Fingers crossed. If you've got an interest in racing Cal-breds, this is the sale.”

Bidding opens Tuesday at 11 a.m. PST.

“We make it easy for people who have an interest [even if they can't attend in person],” said Machowsky. “Everything is very detailed on the website and there's a lot of ways to bid online.”

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Keystone Integrity Teams Sweep Presque Isle To Parx

Uncovering loaded needles and syringes to apprehending an assistant starter who was in possession of a controlled substance, seasoned integrity teams conducted searches and seizures last week across a pair of Keystone State racetracks.

Led by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission staff, the sweeps took place first in Erie at Presque Isle Downs before spending three days downstate at Parx Racing in Bensalem through Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby.

As part of their integrity program, the Commission once again put together a group of investigators–this time from nine states, plus representatives from England–and set them to work policing the barns and stable gates.

“We do this as part of our commitment to the integrity of horse racing in the Commonwealth and for the safety and security of the horses involved,” said Director of Enforcement, Jason Klouser. “The Commission is able to assemble such a large team of investigators through the contacts made from the Organization of Racing Investigators, whose members are the best and brightest when it comes to enforcement at their local tracks.”

The Organization of Racing Investigators, known as ORI, is a membership organization composed of specialists who are employed by state racing commissions and racetracks. The members' tradecraft helps protect the sport and perform a myriad of duties from combating allegations of race fixing, stopping horse doping, and breaking up nefarious activities in the barn areas. Their network fights a host of other offenses which are committed against equine athletes. The Pennsylvania Racing Commission is a regulatory agency, however, ORI members in various other states are commissioned law enforcement agents. No matter their standing, all investigators are essential when it comes to enforcing the rules.

In the lead up to the big day at Parx, the Commission's integrity teams moved across the state in an effort to maintain the integrity of horse racing in the Commonwealth.

Car search at Parx Racing | PSHRC

“The Commission utilizes all industry assets at our disposal to ensure a level playing field for all participants,” Klouser said.

Conducting enforcement operations in the barn area and searching vehicles entering the stable gate at both Presque Isle Downs and Parx yielded results.

Based on updates through the Commission's website, Ruling No. 23096PI was handed down to trainer William Joseph Dowling, when a search found him with two loaded needles and syringes. The 6-year-old dark bay state-bred gelding Saketumi (Maclean's Music) was scratched from the seventh race Sept. 18 and a summary suspension was issued by the board of stewards Sept. 21.

Shifting the search to Parx last Friday and Saturday, Assistant Starter Luis A. Gonzalez Jr. was found in possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia. Ruling No. 23254PP indicated that Gonzalez was in possession of a methamphetamine pipe containing residue and marijuana. He was summarily suspended by the Parx Board of Stewards Sept. 22.

“The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission is incredibly proactive at the state level and will continue to liaise with organizations in order to strengthen the integrity of horse racing and the health and safety of the equine athletes,” said Klouser. “The Racing Integrity Team was a collaborative effort between the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission, Parx Racing, Presque Isle Downs, and the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.”

Click here to access the state's rulings portal.

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Rich Strike Nearing Return, Pegasus Is Possible

GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) is making progress since being sidelined since May with tendon problems and may make it back in time to compete in the Jan. 27 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park, reports his owner Rick Dawson.

Rich Strike last raced on May 5 when a distant fifth in the GII Alysheba S. at Churchill Downs. He was subsequently transferred from the barn of trainer Eric Reed to Hall of Famer Bill Mott.

“The bigger races we are pointing toward would include the Pegasus,” Dawson said. “That would be the first Grade I race we might go after, but he could race before that in a less-competitive race.”

Dawson said that shortly after the Alysheba, Rich Strike was sent to the Rood and Riddle clinic as a precautionary measure and it was then that it was discovered that he was suffering from problems with his tendons in both front legs.

“He's rehabbing from some issues he had with his front tendons, left front and right front,” Dawson said. “Both have recovered extremely well. Dr. Bramlage at Rood and Riddle did all the work. He's had ultrasounds, X-rays, etc. and he is doing really well. At times, his front suspensory tendons would get inflamed and get slightly damaged. They never tore but scar tissue built up in both legs. There was scar tissue where tendon fibers should have been. Through his treatment and exercise, certain feed, etc., that scar tissue started to reverse itself. It's been a long process but, basically, the tendons were able to get back to normal. We are very fortunate that he did not tear a tendon while training or running. I'm extremely happy that this was caught back in May.”

Rich Strike is currently under light training at Margaux Farm in Midway, Kentucky.

“He is jogging one day, galloping the next,” Dawson said. “We'll be there for another few weeks and at that point Bill Mott and I will discuss where we go from there. Due to his lengthy rehab and our choice to be very conservative and take our time with him so he could get back on track and so that we can give him every opportunity to come back at his best, we are looking at sometime in November for him to begin more serious training with Bill. Maybe we can catch a race in late December.”

It's been a rough go for Rich Strike since he won the 2022 Derby. He's gone 0-for-6 since and in his last two starts, the Alysheba and the GI Clark S., he was beaten a combined 25 lengths. But Dawson remains hopeful that Rich Strike can get back to the form that carried him to a shocking win in the Derby at odds of 80-1.

“We won't know more until we get him back in real training,” he said. “I'll trust Bill to inform me so far as where his skill level is. If he can return to that skill level he showed when winning the Derby, that would be fantastic. We'll see how he does and let him tell us what is next. If he can continue to run at a high level, we will continue to race him. If not, he'll retire and go to the breeding shed.”

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Los Al Winter Stakes Topped By Futurity, Starlet

A quartet of juvenile stakes highlight the stakes schedule for the Los Alamitos winter Thoroughbred meeting.

The $300,000 GII Starlet S. for the 2-year-old fillies will take place for the 10th time at the Orange County venue and will take place Saturday, Dec. 9, one week prior to the running of the male counterpart, the $200,000 GII Los Alamitos Futurity. Each race is run over a mile and a sixteenth.

The two other 2-year-old stakes are restricted to California-bred and or -sired horses. The $100,000 Soviet Problem S. for fillies will take place Sunday, Dec. 10, with the $100,000 King Glorious S.–a race won 10 years ago at Hollywood Park by future dual Classic winner California Chrome–set for Sunday, Dec. 17.

The stakes schedule is completed by the GIII Bayakoa S. for fillies and mares at a mile and a sixteenth and is programmed for Friday, Dec. 15.

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