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3,975th Winner Makes Gerald Bennett All-Time Canadian-Born Leader

Gerald Bennett saddled the 3,975^th winner of his career Friday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., becoming the winningest Canadian-born Thoroughbred trainer of all time.

The 77-year-old trainer saddled Tampa Bay Downs shipper Baby Boomer ($12.40) for a victory in Race 3 to pass Frank Merrill Jr., a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer who won 19 Canadian championships and led all North American trainers three times by races won, as well as winning four Gulfstream titles between 1955-1980.

“Frankie Merrill had the record for the amount of wins for a Canadian-born trainer. I'm Canadian-born. I raced at Woodbine and all over the place. I tied him today in the third race at Tampa. This breaks the all-time record for wins,” said Bennett, who saddled West Side Warrior for a win at Tampa before scoring at Gulfstream with Baby Boomer, who led throughout under Emisael Jaramillo.

Bennett, a Springhill, Nova Scotia, native, began his training career in Canada in 1976 saddling horses alongside Merrill, who passed away in 1990.

“Frankie Merrill was big in the claiming game. When you're young starting out, you said, 'I'm going to be like Merrill,'” said Bennett, who ranks 13^th on the all-time North America races-won list.

Bennett, who is once again dominating at Tampa with a meet-leading 55 winners this year, has gone on to be an exceptional claiming trainer but still hasn't given up on “every horseman's dream.”

“I just go and try to buy young horses. We haven't got to the Kentucky Derby, but we've won a lot of stakes here and there,” said Bennett, whose only Grade 1 success came with Beau Genius in the 1990 Philip Iselin (G1) at Monmouth. “I've never had anyone pay a lot of money for a horse. We usually buy for $17,000-$25,000 and hope to get lucky. Sooner or later, the harder you work, you might get lucky and someday get to the Derby. That's every horseman's dream.”

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QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame Announced

The QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, the first official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing honouring the champions of the sport, will be unveiled on Monday, Apr. 26, QIPCO announced on Wednesday.

Marking the 10th year QIPCO has sponsored the British Champions Series which started in 2011, the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame will immortalise the modern greats of British Flat racing-both human and equine-from 1970 onward. (Click here to view a highlights reel of modern greats). New members of the Hall of Fame will be inducted twice annually during the Flat season-ahead of the QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket in May and in October in advance of the QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot. The Hall of Fame will exist online, and, in addition to featuring a range of expertly-curated written, pictorial and video content that pay tribute to Hall of Famers, as well as figures of historical importance, will tell racing's story from its beginning in the 17th century to modern day.

Visitors to the site will be able to register their details to receive updates as more Hall of fame content is added, including the inaugural Hall of Fame class prior to the start of the QIPCO Guineas Festival. The site will be updated throughout the summer and fall chronicling some of racing's most important moments and influential figures from the 17th-20th centuries. Visit www.Horseracinghof.com to register.

Sheikh Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, Director of QIPCO Holding, said, “My Brothers and I are passionate about British flat racing and its rich history and heritage which makes it the envy of other racing jurisdictions the world over. We are delighted to announce the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, which will honour the tremendous contributions made to British flat racing and will celebrate our most significant and important stars and their achievements.

“When I first got involved in British racing, I was captivated by racing's rich history and I hope that the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame will engage and excite existing and new fans by shining a light on the sport's most important figures.”

Rod Street, Chief Executive Officer of QIPCO British Champions Series, added, “British Champions Series, which showcases the finest flat racing, is the perfect home for a Hall of Fame. Over the past decade, QIPCO have been dedicated and committed partners of British Racing and our thanks go to them for their support of the QIPCO British Champions Hall of Fame and for helping to make this a reality. Our racing is the best in the world and we are delighted to be able to honour our greats through this exciting new initiative.”

Each Hall of Fame class will be selected from a quartet of categories-horses, jockeys, trainer and major contributors consisting of owners, breeders and other leading figures. Although the total number of inductees per year will remain flexible, at least one horse, jockey and trainer will join the Hall of Fame annually.

The following independent panel of horseracing experts will select the Hall of Fame members for the 2021/2022 classes:

Martin Mitchell, Former Tattersalls Bloodstock Director
Emma Berry, European Editor, Thoroughbred Daily News
Brough Scott, Racing Broadcaster and Journalist
Jamie Lynch, Racing Broadcaster and Journalist
James Delahooke, International Bloodstock Agent
Lydia Hislop, Racing Broadcaster and Journalist
Alan Byrne, Editor-in-Chief, Racing Post
Ruth Quinn, Racing Director, BHA

There will also be an annual shortlist of horses to be put to the public vote, with the winning horse also joining the Hall of Fame in October each year. Inductees will be honoured with a prestigious medal designed by Asprey to mark their achievement.

Panel member Brough Scott said,”I am really thrilled and honoured to have been asked to be part of the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame Judging Panel. Most of all because I have long believed in the idea and am really grateful for QIPCO and the British Champions Series to have brought it about. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame will be a true accolade at the pinnacle of the sport and I look forward to the panel's discussions on who is to be honoured in this way.”

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Racing League Jockeys Revealed

Several big names have been added to the upcoming Racing League competition this summer. Frankie Dettori, Oisin Murphy, Jim Crowley and Hollie Doyle are all set to take part.

Dettori is part of the Newmarket team, along with fellow riders Jamie Spencer and Luke Morris, who are paired with trainers John Gosden, Sir Mark Prescott, Robert Cowell and David Simcock. Murphy, Hayley Turner and Sean Levey are riding for Andrew Balding and Richard Hannon.

Murphy said, “This is an exciting innovation and considering the prize money there should be fierce competition between the teams. I look forward to being involved.”

Turner added, “It's great that the racing industry has decided to try something a bit different. I know the jockeys and the trainers are all really excited. I think it will help to capture a non-racing audience and be a fun event all round.”

The trio of Jim Crowley, Hector Crouch and Pat Cosgrave will ride for trainers George Baker, David Menuisier, Gary Moore and Amanda Perrett. Meanwhile, Doyle, Jack Mitchell and Cieren Fallon team up with another Newmarket training team consisting of Michael Bell, Ed Dunlop, James Fanshawe and Roger Varian.

Ireland is represented by David Egan, Gavin Ryan and Dylan Browne McMonagle for O'Brien brothers Donnacha and Joseph. However, Team France is in a holding pattern, as confirmation of regulations surrounding Brexit and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is still needed before announcing their nominated jockeys.

The Racing League competition limits each jockey to 18 of the 36 races in the competition. There is also £50,000 on offer to the three jockeys that score the most points in the competition. The 12 teams will compete at six meetings of six races apiece over six consecutive Thursdays in the summer beginning at Newcastle on July 29. Points are available from first to 10th in each race, and the highest scoring team throughout the competition wins the league.

Oli Harris, the Racing League's Chief Marketing Officer, said “We're delighted that the teams have now confirmed their jockeys. The likes of Hollie, Oisin and Frankie will no doubt grab the headlines, but we are also excited to have some of the most talented up and coming jockeys in UK and Ireland on board, as well as experienced campaigners such as Paul Hanagan, Martin Dwyer and Jamie Spencer. This is an important step in painting a complete picture of the Racing League.

“We will follow this by announcing the principal naming partner of each team, before the 30 horses in each team's squad are selected in July.”

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GAIN to Sponsor The Advantage Series

GAIN Equine Nutrition will sponsor a new race series, The Advantage Series, for the Irish Flat Season, Horse Racing Ireland announced on Tuesday.

Launched with Ado McGuinness Racing, the eight part series of races will be run for points over a variety of conditions to cater to different trainers and horses throughout the season. For each race, there will be a 40% prizemoney boost. A grand prize of €5,000 worth of GAIN Equine Nutrition products will be awarded to the trainer who tops the GAIN The Advantage Series at the end of the season.

The series will begin on Classic Trials Day at Leopardstown on Apr. 11, and then move to Cork, Navan, Ballinrobe, Fairyhouse, Tipperary, The Curragh and end at Naas on Oct. 17, where the overall winning trainer of the series will be determined. There will be a drawing for grooms only for a three-night luxury stay at The Alex Hotel in Dublin supported by The Alex. In addition, the winning breeder of each race will receive a framed photo of the winning horse and will be entered into a drawing to win one tonne of GAIN Equine Nutrition products. For more details on the series, please visit www.hri.ie.com.

Joanne Hurley, GAIN Equine Nutrition, Irish Country Manager, said, “The team at GAIN are really excited to launch the GAIN The Advantage Series. Thoroughbred racing and breeding customers are a key part of our business and we are delighted that we can support so much of the industry through this series that travels right around the country. The stable staff are often the lesser-known connections of the horse, but an equally important element to a racehorse's success and it is fantastic that we can reward them through this series also.”

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