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Fort Erie Files Trade Grievance Against Woodbine

Ontario's two Thoroughbred tracks are sparring. The Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium (FELRC) announced Tuesday it has filed a grievance with the Canadian Trade Commission over an alleged “impasse in their attempts to resolve ongoing issues” with Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), which runs Woodbine Racetrack.

“For the past several race seasons, Woodbine has implemented a horse shipping policy which, in the opinion of the FELRC's board of directors, is designed to starve Fort Erie of its necessary horse supply by restricting the movement of horses between the two tracks,” stated the Fort Erie release. “This amounts to Woodbine abusing its position as the dominant market force, which is hampering Fort Erie's ability to run a business and a fulsome race calendar.”

Fort Erie is also alleging that Woodbine's refusal to return the Canadian Triple Crown dates to their pre-pandemic calendar spots equates to a “refusal to collaborate in the best interest of the horse racing industry” at large.

“By far the largest attraction in Canadian horse racing, the Triple Crown begins with the King's Plate at Woodbine, followed by the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, and finally the Breeders' Stakes back at Woodbine,” the Fort Erie release stated.

“Traditionally the three races were held consecutively in June, July, then August,” the Fort Erie release stated. “However, during the COVID crisis, certain restrictions necessitated moving the first jewel of the crown, the King's Plate, to later in the summer. This pushed Fort Erie's signature race, the Prince of Wales Stakes, out of the summer tourism season, and into September.

“With the pandemic over, Woodbine has refused to move the King's Plate back to its regular spring date, or even a mutually planned date, forcing Fort Erie to keep the Prince of Wales Stakes in September,” which does “not allow Fort Erie to meet its maximum potential for such a historic and esteemed event,” Fort Erie claimed.

The Ontario news site NiagaraThisWeek reported Tuesday that a Woodbine spokesperson denied Fort Erie's allegations.

“The assertions made by Fort Erie Race Track are baseless and without merit and we will vigorously and confidently defend ourselves if requested by the Canadian Trade Commission or any other regulatory authority,” Woodbine communications director Jamie Dykstra told NiagaraThisWeek.

Jim Thibert, the chief executive officer of the FELRC, took an opposing view.

“Woodbine holds a near monopoly in our industry,” Thibert said in the Fort Erie statement. “Woodbine's business practices towards Fort Erie are unfair and clearly predatorial. While this situation is particularly harmful for the continued existence of racing at Fort Erie, it is genuinely harmful for the owners, trainers, jockeys and others employed directly in racing and indirectly in services to the thoroughbred racing industry in Ontario.”

The Fort Erie release outlined another allegation: “Further demonstration of Woodbine's hostility is their continued practice of greatly inflating purses in lower level races compared to Fort Erie's, especially claiming races. The use of provincial subsidies for horse racing should not be allowed especially when Woodbine is increasingly running more and more of Fort Erie's race offerings.”

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Great Lady M Highlights Los Alamitos Stakes Schedule

A trio of stakes, headed by the $200,000 GII Great Lady M S., highlight the upcoming Los Angeles County Fair meet at Los Alamitos. The nine-day season is scheduled to begin Friday, June 23 and continue through Sunday, July 9.

Racing will be conducted Friday-Sunday opening week (June 23-25), Saturday-Tuesday (July 1-4) the middle week and Saturday-Sunday (July 8-9) the final weekend. Post time will be 1 p.m.

Highlighting the stakes schedule with $425,000 in guaranteed purses, the six-furlong Great Lady M. S. will be offered Tuesday, July 4.

The $125,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos Derby for 3-year-olds will be contested Saturday, July 8 while the $100,000-guaranteed one-mile Bertrando S. is scheduled for Saturday, June 24.

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Frosted Colt, Nyquist Filly Fastest at OBS Tuesday

A colt by Frosted (hip 449) matched the fastest furlong time of the week so far, while a filly by Nyquist (hip 484) tied the fastest quarter-mile breeze with workouts during the third session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Tuesday in Central Florida.

Hip 449 worked a furlong in :9 3/5 shortly after 8:30 a.m. for the Longoria Training and Sales consignment. A $50,000 Keeneland September acquisition, the youngster was one of a group of yearlings purchased last year in the first-time partnership of Texas businessman Paul Neatherlin and consignor Jesse Longoria.

“I was very excited about the way the colt worked,” said Neatherlin. “He worked phenomenal, I thought. I was really pleased.”

The bay colt is out of Handwoven (Indian Charlie), a full-sister to stakes-placed Auspicious and a half to graded-placed Flatter Than Me (Flatter).

“He was just a real nice colt with a big hip and a good, sloping shoulder and a huge walk,” Neatherlin, who began pinhooking some 15 years ago with his uncle, the late trainer Mike Neatherlin, said of the colt's appeal last September. “Jesse and I both loved the colt and when we went up to buy him, Jesse told me, 'No matter what this horse brings, don't let him go. Don't miss out on him.' We thought we had a bargain at $50,000.”

Some four hours after the bullet breeze, Longoria and Neatherlin teamed up with another yearling purchase when a colt by Omaha Beach (hip 500) worked a furlong in :10 flat.

Neatherlin, who is vice president of sales for Platinum Pipe Rentals, said he pinhooks six to eight horses a year. He had recently been partnering with Robert Brewer. Among their success was a Cross Traffic filly purchased for $18,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale who sold to Bill Parcells's August Dawn Farm for $150,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale. Now named Maple Leaf Mel, the filly is undefeated in three starts and a two-time stakes winner.

Brewer and Neatherlin also purchased a Midnight Storm filly for $27,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcased and sold her following a :9 4/5 work for $240,000 at the following year's OBS March sale.

Despite their success, Neatherlin found himself looking for a new pinhooking partner heading into the yearling sales last fall.

“Robert Brewer decided he didn't want to do it this year,” Neatherlin said. “He suggested Jesse and I love Jesse. I've known him for 30 years and he's a good friend of mine. And I know he's a great horseman.”

The partnership got off to a good start at the OBS March sale last month when selling a filly by Vino Rosso (hip 579) for $185,000. The bay had been acquired for $55,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Neatherlin currently has just one horse in training, a filly by Accelerate who RNA'd at the March sale.

“The Accelerate filly caught that big headwind in March and worked :10 2/5, but looked really good doing it,” Neatherlin said. “I turned down $30,000 after the sale and just kept her and I will run her. I've run a lot of horses in my life, but now I am mainly into pinhooking.”

Nyquist Filly Breaks Out of the Pack

Anticipating a spate of fast furlong workers over a tight track Tuesday morning, Jimbo and Torie Gladwell of Top Line Sales hoped their filly by Nyquist (hip 484) would distinguish herself from the pack with a quarter-mile breeze. The filly duly delivered a bullet drill in :20 3/5 right at the start of Tuesday's session as temperatures hovered around a chilly 51 degrees.

“Talking about it this morning, we thought there might be a handful of fast eighth-mile breezes, :9 4/5s, because we thought the track was going to be nice and tight,” explained Torie Gladwell. “So we wanted to separate this filly from all those :9 4/5s. That's why we decided to go a quarter with her.”

Of the end result, Gladwell said, “She prepped really fast and we knew she would have a shot of going the :20 3/5. That wasn't too much of a surprise with her. But we are really happy with it. She showed up.”

The bay filly is out of stakes winner Hi Holiday (Harlan's Holiday), a half-sister to graded winner Dr B (Liam's Map). She was purchased by the Gladwells for $100,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale and Torie Gladwell credited her mother-in-law Martha for landing on the yearling.

Top Line Sales sent out a pair of fillies to work quarter-miles Tuesday. In addition to hip 484, they also sent out a filly by Liam's Map (hip 518) who covered the distance in :20 4/5.

“They are almost complete opposites,” Gladwell said of the two speedy juveniles. “The Nyquist filly is an average-sized filly and tries really hard. The Liam's Map filly is a big filly and it looks like she's just galloping, floating across the track. When the breeze rider jumped off, he said, 'Oh my gosh. I didn't think I was going that fast. She must have a monster stride.' I think she does have a big ground-covering stride. She is a really laid back, cool filly.”

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The Spring sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday. Bidding begins each day at 10:30 a.m.

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Preakness 148 Offers Limited Edition Ale

Preakness 148 announced its partnership with Baltimore's Guinness Open Gate Brewery to launch “Preakness Ale”. The limited edition collaboration beer brewed with blood orange and hibiscus will debut May 11 on draft and in cans to-go at Guinness Open Gate Brewery, at select Baltimore area bars while supplies last and at Pimlico during Preakness weekend.

The “Preakness Ale” was brewed exclusively at Guinness Open Gate Brewery in their 10-barrel innovation brewery, where Irish brewing experience meets American beer creativity. At a 5% ABV with a ruby red hue, the fruit-forward beer brings bold flavor and aroma. The Guinness Open Gate Brewery will also serve a special beer cocktail inspired by the iconic Black-Eyed Susan incorporating Preakness Ale and a fresh pineapple-based mixer.

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