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Voting Now Open for 2022 Secretariat ‘Vox Populi’ Award

Online voting is now open to select the winner of the 13th annual Secretariat Vox Populi Award. Created by Secretariat's late owner Penny Chenery, the Vox Populi, or “Voice of the People” award recognizes the racehorse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the public and gained recognition for the sport during the past year.

Fans can vote in the online poll at Secretariat.com for one of three nominees selected by the Vox Populi Committee. Voters also have the option to write in a racehorse of their choice. The poll is open now through Nov. 30, with the winning recipient to be announced live on the FanDuel TV network Dec. 4. The Vox Populi trophy presentation is scheduled to take place at Santa Anita Park Jan. 14.

The 2022 nominees are: Cody's Wish (Curlin), the talented 4-year-old colt whose win in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile was his fourth in five starts this year, and who shares a heart-warming and celebrated bond with his namesake, Cody Dorman; Flightline (Tapit), the spectacular 4-year-old colt whose electrifying performances winning the GI Metropolitan Mile, the GI Pacific Classic by 19 1/4 lengths and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic capped off an undefeated season and an unprecedented racing career; and Rich Strike (Keen Ice), the 3-year-old colt and sensational 80-1 longshot winner of the GI Kentucky Derby whose rags-to-riches story and unheralded connections sparked hope for underdogs everywhere.

“All three of these nominees are definitely talented athletes in their own individual ways as well as fan favorites that have brought heart-warming stories and interest to the sport,” said Kate Chenery Tweedy, family historian and daughter of Penny Chenery. “Fan engagement is the name of the game–and that was Mom's vision for the Vox Populi Award and any of these horses would be a worthy recipient.”

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Vekoma Weanling Back On Top, Munnings Filly Shares Top Spot

During Tuesday's session of the Keeneland November Sale, a pair of horses secured final bids of $130,000 to top the ninth day of selling. After a pair of weanlings by Vekoma led sessions earlier in the week, a colt by the Spendthrift stallion once again headed the leaderboard Tuesday. Christina R. Jelm, agent, purchased Hip 3178, who was consigned by Eaton Sales, agent. The grey is out of Gypsy Grey (Giant's Causeway), and from the family of Grade I/Group 1 winners Chief Honcho and Poet's Voice and Grade III-winner Gemswick Park.

Hip 3369, a winning-daughter of Munnings, equaled the mark yesterday. Purchased by River Bend, Souper Munnings was consigned by Warrendale Sales, agent for Live Oak Stud. Out of the winning Mylitta (Sky Mesa), the filly is a half-sister to Grade III-placed Judge Davis. She hails from the family of Canadian Horse of the Year Alywow and graded winners Century City and Wow Me Free.

Eaton Sales also consigned the dam of Tuesday's weanling topper–Gypsy Grey–in foal to Midshipman. The second highest-priced mare of the session, Hip 3177 was purchased by Kildare Stud Farm for $90,000. The 8-year-old is out of SP Sheraton Park (Cozzene).

The highest-priced weanling filly Tuesday was Hip 3358, a daughter of Instagrand, whose is represented by his first crop of weanlings this year. Offered by Greenfield Farms, agent for Sierra Farm, the Feb. 26 foal was purchased by Taproot Bloodstock, agent.

With one session remaining, 2,091 horses have sold for $208,879,800, up 7.41% from last year's $194,463,100 for the comparable period when 2,239 horses sold. The average of $99,895 is 15.02% higher than last year's $86,653, and median of $40,000 equals last year.

During Tuesday's session, a total of 265 horses sold for $3,183,200, a 19.02% decrease from 2021, when total receipts were $3,931,400 for 289 horses. The average was $12,012 and the median $7,000, a 22.22% drop from last year's $9,000.

Wednesday, the final day of the November Breeding Stock Sale, begins at 10 a.m. ET. While on Thursday, Keeneland will present the November Horses of Racing Age Sale, beginning at noon.

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Veterinarian Grasso Sentenced to 50 Months

Louis Grasso, a veterinarian who worked in the harness racing industry and was one of more than two dozen individuals indicted in 2020 for their role in a horse doping ring, has been sentenced to 50 months in prison and two years of supervised release. The sentence was handed down Tuesday by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in a lower Manhattan courtroom.

Grasso was also ordered to pay a forfeiture totaling $412,442.62 and restitution in the amount of $47,656,576. He must surrender to authorities on January 24, 2023, at which time he will enter prison.

Grasso was charged with one count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy, a felony. He faced a maximum sentence of five years. Several other defendants in the doping case that have pled guilty received sentences in the neighborhood of three years. That Castel gave Grasso more than four years seems to reflect the severity of the charges against him.

The prosecution had maintained that Grasso's doping led to corrupt trainers collecting over $47 million in ill-gotten purse winnings.

In May, when Grasso entered a guilty plea, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District Court issued a press release in which U.S. Attorney Damian Williams commented on the Grasso plea as well as the guilty plea entered by harness trainer Richard Banca. Banca was sentenced to 30 months.

“Grasso and Banca represent the corruption and greed of those in the racehorse industry looking to win at any cost,” Williams said. “In peddling illegal drugs and selling prescriptions to corrupt trainers, Louis Grasso abdicated his responsibilities as a medical professional to ensure the safety and health of the racehorses he 'treated.' By injecting horses with unnecessary and, at times, unknown drugs, Grasso risked the lives and welfare of the animals under his care, all in service of helping corrupt racehorse trainers like Banca line their pockets through fraud. These latest convictions demonstrate the commitment of this Office and of our partners at the FBI to hold accountable individuals seeking to profit from animal abuse and deceit.”

In the indictment of Grasso, the government portrayed him as a central figure in a scheme to manufacture, distribute and receive adulterated and misbranded PEDs which were administered to horses. The government charged that Grasso and others delivered and received “at least thousands” of units of PEDs issued by pharmacies pursuant to invalid prescriptions. Banca was among his customers.

According to the indictment, Grasso was also manufacturing and/or selling “epogen,” pain shots of joint blocks, bronchodilators and a substance called “red acid.” Red acid is believed to reduce inflammation in joints.

It appears that Grasso's doping may have been restricted to harness racing as the indictment does not mention any illegal activities that involved Thoroughbred racing.

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Over 100 Submissions for Inaugural Big Data Derby

A total of 106 submissions were received for the inaugural Big Data Derby, a competition requiring entrants to provide a machine-learning model to analyze all manner of data regarding horse racing tactics, strategies and path efficiencies. Sponsored by the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association in partnership with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Equibase, The Jockey Club, Breeders' Cup and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Big Data Derby launched with a goal of better understanding the vast data set at hand to racing organizations, and to potentially develop new ways of racing and training in a highly traditional industry.

“Our main objective with this competition was to see if qualified data scientists could utilize horse-tracking data to improve the sport's collective knowledge in key areas such as equine welfare and performance,” said NYTHA President Joe Appelbaum.

The Big Data Derby offers a total of $50,000 in prize money with $20,000 awarded to the winner and $10,000 each to the next three placings. The competition is held on Kaggle, a global data science platform with over 500,000 active users where participants compete by using machine learning to solve problems ranging from the trivial to the extremely complex.

A judging committee will score the submissions based on four categories–Innovation [25 points], Relevance [30 points], Competence [25 points] and Presentation [20 points]. Winners will be announced in early December. For more information, click here.

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