American Racehorse - Winter 2020 by American Racehorse (formerly Southern Racehorse)

W W W. A ME RI CA NRA CEH ORSE. C OM WINT E R 2020

In this Issue: F SOCIAL MEDIA STAR SOUTHERN PHANTOM F CELEBRATING THE BRILLIANCE OF CALIFORNIA CHROME

A Division of Center Hills Farm

FLAT OUT

(Flatter-Cresta Lil, by Cresta Rider)

ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING NEW STALLIONS TO EVER COME TO OKLAHOMA! A superior and sound racehorse who earned more than $3.6 million with G1 wins including the Cigar Mile and Jockey Club Gold Cup (twice). His first three crops include 21 stakes horses and the earners of more than $10 million! 2020 FEE: $3,000

Nominated to the Breeders’ Cup

LIAISON

(Indian Charlie-Galloping Gal, by Victory Gallop) OKLAHOMA’S LEADING ACTIVE SIRE IN 2019! A Grade 1 winner at 2 who in just three crops has sired nine stakes horses, including 7-time SW BRONX BEAUTY ($462,220) and $500K SW and Breeders’ Cup starter MOONLIGHT ROMANCE ($421,040).

DEN’S LEGACY

(Medaglia d’Oro-Sunshine Song, by War Chant) OKLAHOMA’S #1 STALLION BY MARES BRED IN 2018! Grade 3 winner by a top international sire. Watch for his first 2yos this year!

2020 FEE: $2,500

2020 FEE: $2,000

Nominated to the Breeders’ Cup

All fees are stands and nurses All stallions are nominated to the Oklahoma Bred Program, Oklahoma Stallion Stakes, Iowa Stallion Stakes and Minnesota Stallion Stakes

Mighty Acres

675 W. 470 Rd. • Pryor, Oklahoma 74361 Phone: 918-825-4256 • Fax: 918-825-4255 • Randy Blair: 918-271-2266 www.mightyacres.com

$4 MILLION REASONS

CMY

BREED RACE $

WIN

Over $4 Million will be paid to Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders in Oklahoma this year

THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATION OF OKLAHOMA ONE REMINGTON PLACE 405.427.8753

OKLAHOMA CITY 73111

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EL PRIMERO TRAINING CENTER GRADUATES JUST KEEP WINNING AND WINNING!

Here are just a few of our latest rising stars… GOLD STREET – A stakes winner as a 2yo, he put himself on the Kentucky Derby trail with a win in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn. ROWDY YATES – After three stakes wins as a 2yo, he launched his 3yo campaign with an easy win in the $104,200 Riley Allison Derby at Sunland Park. FINITE – A G2 winner as a 2yo, she started her 3yo season with a victory in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds. BUBBA BLING – An earner of more than $80,000 last year, he earned the Texas Co-Champion 2YO Colt/Gelding award.

CONGRATS TO STEVE AND HIS TEAM! The records keep coming for trainer Steve Asmussen… • Steve recently scored his 1,000th career stakes winner with El Primero Training Center grad FINITE, and now he’s closing in on 9,000 total wins for his Hall of Fame career! • Steve added two more Eclipse Award winners to his amazing list of top racehorses. Congrats to owners Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt’s MITOLE on winning for Champion Male Sprinter and Bloom Racing, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing’s MIDNIGHT BISOU for Champion Older Dirt Female!

Keith Asmussen, 956-763-8907

Dr. Steve Velasco, veterinarian • Dee Martinez, office manager, 956-763-7594 P.O. Box 1861 • Laredo, TX 78044 • Phone: 956-723-5436 • Fax: 956-723-5845 Email: kaasmussen@aol.com • Website: www.asmussens.com

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP IN TEXAS!

Purses are on the rise in the Lone Star State, and you can capitalize with the help of more than five decades of experience at Asmussen Horse Center and El Primero Training Center. Contact us today to find out how we can get your young horse ready to race!

LOOK FOR OUR CONSIGNMENT AT THE TEXAS 2-YEAR-OLDS IN TRAINING SALE ON APRIL 3 AT LONE STAR PARK! NAME SEX SIRE

30–MORE THAN PLAY C 43–UNNAMED C 54–BLING MOON F 82–SUPER STOCK C 97–UNNAMED C 152–MISS MIRACLE CATS F 153–MISS CHIT F 156–UNNAMED F 157–TAP THE DOT C 164–FEARLESS BLING C 167–SISTER FREUD F 172–KANDY GINGER F

INTIMIDATOR TAPITURE TOO MUCH BLING DIALED IN TAPITURE PALACE DOCTOR CHIT SKY MESA MORO TAP TOO MUCH BLING AFFIRMATIF KANTHAROS

Keith Asmussen, 956-763-8907

DAM

MORE THAT LILY PERFECT MOMENT RED MOON CAT SUPER GIRLIE TRIFOLIUM D J K STORM DAPHNE ANGELA DIAMONDINTHESTREAM DOT PRODUCT FEARLESS WILDCAT FLYING FREUD GINGER RUSH

ABOUT AMERICAN RACEHORSE

American Racehorse (formerly Southern Racehorse) covers Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the Southwest, Midwest and Midsouth regions. The magazine is mailed to all members of the following associations: • Alabama Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association • Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Horsemen’s Association • Colorado Thoroughbred Breeders Association • Georgia Horse Racing Coalition • Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association • Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association • Michigan Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association • Minnesota Thoroughbred Association • North Carolina Thoroughbred Association • Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners • Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma • South Carolina Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association • Texas Thoroughbred Association • Plus hundreds of Louisiana horsemen.

For more information or to inquire about advertising, contact Denis Blake at (512) 695-4541 or visit www.americanracehorse.com.

CONNECT WITH AMERICAN RACEHORSE HHH

Online: www.americanracehorse.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/americanracehorse • Twitter: @AmerRacehorse Email: info@americanracehorse.com Phone/Text: (512) 695-4541 • Fax: (512) 870-9324 Published by Pangaea Enterprises LLC d/b/a American Racehorse American Racehorse • P.O. Box 8645 Round Rock, TX 78683 Physical Address American Racehorse 1341 Meadowild Drive Round Rock, TX 78664 Editor/Publisher Denis Blake • info@americanracehorse.com Senior Art Director Amie Rittler • arittler3@gmail.com Graphic Designer Julie Kennedy • julie@digitalcitydesigns.com Copyeditor Judy L. Marchman

Contributors Lisa Groothedde Photographers Benoit Photo Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography Coady Photography Kevin Cosgriff Jen Doyle/JennyPhoto Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins Dustin Orona Photography Anne M. Eberhardt John Engelhardt Joy B. Gilbert Keeneland Pyrois Media/Melissa Bauer-Herzog Konrad Weeber, Saratoga Scenes Photography Cover Photo Southern Phantom at Saratoga – Photo by Konrad Weeber, Saratoga Scenes Photography

Copyright © 2020 American Racehorse All rights reserved. Articles may not be reprinted without permission. American Racehorse reserves the right to refuse any advertising or copy for any reason. American Racehorse makes a reasonable attempt to ensure that advertising claims are truthful but assumes no responsibility for the truth and accuracy of ads. 6 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

WHAT’S INSIDE

American RACEHORSE

Winter 2020

“America’s Horse” is ready to write a new chapter in the Land of the Rising Sun

30 The white-faced

wonder heads to the Southwest

Departments Fast Furlongs 10 State Association News

The Marketplace Classifieds

Features International Male 18 American racing sensation and 2020 freshman sire California Chrome relocates to Japan Face in the Crowd Social media phenom Southern Phantom is helping spread a positive message about horse racing

AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 7

SUPERIOR PEDIGREES... REASONABLY PRICED! Check out the QUALITY BLOODLINES at Eureka Thoroughbred Farm...

Mr. Besilu

The Hunk

MR. BESILU

THE HUNK

A.P. Indy – Balance, by Thunder Gulch

Speightstown – Penniless Heiress, by Pentelicus

By the incomparable racehorse and sire A.P. INDY out of the multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire BALANCE, who is a half sister to the great ZENYATTA.

A stakes winner by champion sprinter and leading sire SPEIGHTSTOWN and half brother to successful stallion WILDCAT HEIR.

2020 Fee: $2,000

Expect A Lot

Keep Up

EXPECT A LOT Awesome Again – Tizamazing, by Cee’s Tizzy A son of Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner AWESOME AGAIN and a full brother to Preakness Stakes (G1) winner OXBOW and G3-placed SW AWESOME PATRIOT. Nearly the same pedigree as Grade 1 winner and Belmont Stakes (G1) runner-up PAYNTER. 2020 Fee: $2,000

KEEP UP Unbridled’s Song - Keeper Hill, by Deputy Minister A Grade 3 winner with victories on the turf, dirt and synthetic surfaces and already the sire of three stakes horses from his first 26 starters. His dam won the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and earned more than $1.6 million. 2020 Fee: $2,000

Vanning a problem? Give us a call and we can help! EUREKA THOROUGHBRED FARM Accredited Texas Stallions All fees are stands and nurses • Inquiries to Bill Tracy 6476 U.S. Highway 290 E. • Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 Phone: (830) 688-1709 • Email: info@eurekathoroughbreds.com • Website: www.eurekathoroughbreds.com Nominated to the Texas Stallion Stakes Series and Minnesota Stallion Stakes

PROVEN AND PROMISING!

We are proud to announce the addition of the brilliant multiple stakes winner and leading young sire ATREIDES for 2020, joining perennial top Oklahoma stallion LATENT HEAT and emerging stallion EXCAPER! ATREIDES

Medaglia d’Oro – Dream Rush, by Wild Rush One of the most exciting 3-year-olds of his crop with Beyer Speed Figures of 105 and 102, ATREIDES won a Gulfstream Park stakes by an incredible 17 ½ lengths. Out of a G1-winning and G1-producing mare, ATREIDES is a leading second-crop sire with five stakes runners, including SUENO, who placed in four straight graded stakes as a 3-year-old in 2019: Louisiana Derby (G2), Southwest (G3), Sham (G3) and Lexington (G3). 2020 Fee: $2,000

LATENT HEAT Maria’s Mon – True Flare, by Capote One of the most accomplished sires in Oklahoma with progeny earnings of more than $13 million and 22 stakes horses, including seven graded stakes performers! 2020 Fee: $2,000

EXCAPER Exchange Rate – Ada Ruckus, by Bold Ruckus A Grade 2-winning and Grade 1-placed Breeders’ Cup runner on the turf. Watch for his runners to excel on the grass and the dirt! 2020 Fee: $2,000

RIVER OAKS FARMS INC. All fees are stands and nurses 3216 U.S. Hwy. 177 North • Sulphur, Oklahoma 73086 Inquiries to Lori or Francisco Bravo Ranch: (580) 622-4412 • Francisco: (940) 367-4457 • Lori: (940) 367-4380 • Fax: (580) 622-4411 Email: riveroaksfarms@aol.com • Website: www.riveroaksthoroughbreds.com Accredited Oklahoma Stallions • Nominated to the Oklahoma Stallion Stakes and Minnesota Stallion Stakes Stallions are property of Eureka Thoroughbred Farm

fastfurlongs Lady Apple Wins Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic to Highlight Strong Start to Meet

Coady Photography

Sam Houston Race Park kicked off its 26th season of Thoroughbred racing on January 10 and featured one of the track’s biggest ever days of racing on January 26. The 39-day meet got off to a strong start with significant increases in handle and attendance, plus a larger horse and trainer population compared to last year thanks to increased purses. Maiden and allowance races are being offered at $36,000 and $37,000, respectively, in 2020 compared to $20,000 and $21,000 last year, and claiming purses are up approximately 80 percent. On the January 26 Houston Racing Festival card, Lady Apple upset millionaires Serengeti Empress and Street Band in the 1 1/16-mile, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic (G3) in front of a crowd of more than 6,000. Trained by Steve Asmussen with Ricardo Santana Jr. in the irons for owners Lady Apple picked up a graded stakes win at Sam Houston to go with previous tallies at Remington Park, Phoenix Thoroughbred III and Prairie Meadows and Oaklawn. KatieRich Stables, Lady Apple earned her sixth win from 12 starts and meet with 12 days of racing complete. The increases came despite rain boosted her bankroll to $990,150. that caused a total of 10 races to be shifted off the turf; during the same The card also included the $200,000 John B. Connally Turf period last year no races were moved off the turf. Other meet highlights Cup Stakes (G3), won by Dot Matrix. The new $200,000 Texas through January include the following: • Sam Houston had 1,604 entries for its first 12 days of racing, a Turf Mile went to local connections as Texas-based Red Lane Thor45 percent increase over last year. oughbreds LLC and trainer Danny Pish took the one-mile test with Bodecream, a Kentucky-bred gelding by Bodemeister. In other stakes • There are 1,136 horses stabled at the track, a 26 percent increase over action that day, Texas-bred Mr Money Bags, fresh off being named the last year. 2019 Texas Horse of the Year (see page 49), defeated open company • Total handle is up 28 percent over last year. in the $75,000 Stonerside Sprint Stakes. The son of Silver City, who • Average field size has increased from 8.06 to 8.52 starters per race. runs for breeder Roy Cobb and is trained by Mike Neatherlin, won • The Houston Racing Festival had total wagering handle of nearly $3.3 million, a 37 percent increase over last year and the largest the six-furlong race by nearly seven lengths in 1:09.94 with Ernesto single-day handle at the track in 17 years. Valdez-Jiminez aboard. The Sam Houston meet continues through March 28. Track officials reported positive results during the first month of the 10 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

Lone Star Park Announces Enhanced Stakes Schedule and Purse Structure, Debut of Texas Derby

Courtesy Lone Star Park

Lone Star Park officials have announced an increase of nearly 43 percent to overnight race purses for the upcoming Thoroughbred racing season. Overnight race purses this year will average $200,000 per day compared to $140,000 per day in 2019. Lone Star Park’s stakes schedule will offer 12 stakes worth a combined $1.425 million, up more than $300,000 from a year ago and the richest since 2011. This includes the notable addition of the new $300,000-guaranteed Texas Derby, which offers an additional incentive of up to $100,000 for Texas-bred entrants. The season opens April 16 and concludes July 19. The Texas Derby, along with the $100,000 Lone Star Park Turf Stakes, will go on Memorial Day, May 25. Stakes previously offering purses of $50,000 have all increased to $75,000, including, including the Bluebonnet Stakes on opening night, as well as the Wayne Hanks Memorial, Lane’s End Danny Shifflett Scholarship Stakes, Valor Farm Stakes and Highlander Training Center Assault Stakes. “We are super excited about running the first Texas Derby this year,” said Lone Star Park Director of Racing Bart Lang. “Featured with the $100,000 Lone Star Park Turf Stakes, Memorial Day racing returns to one of our best days on the schedule.” Also offering higher purses this year are the divisions of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes Series for 2-year-olds. The Pan Zareta division and the Staunch Avenger division have increased from $65,000 to $75,000 each. Remaining at $300,000 is the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile, slated for Sunday, April 26. Both the fillies and the colts and geldings divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity will again offer estimated purses of $100,000 apiece, with $50,000 in added money to each. The increases are possible due to funds collected and distributed to the track by the passage last year of H.B. 2463. The new law, which went into effect September 1, enhances purses at the state’s racetracks and incentive programs for breeders.

Alamo Downs ran a race called the Texas Derby in the 1930s, and now a new era starts with the creation of the $300,000 Texas Derby at Lone Star Park with an additional $100,000 available for Texas-breds. The law will eventually put up to $25 million annually into escrow from a portion of the taxes collected on the sale of horse feed, supplements, bedding, tack and grooming supplies, plus any other taxable expenditure directly related to riding, boarding and owning horses. Of the $25 million collected each year, up to $17.5 million will be available to Texas’ racetrack operators strictly for purses. The other $7.5 million will be available to official breed registries to enhance their incentive programs. They include the Texas Thoroughbred Association, Texas Quarter Horse Association, Texas Arabian Breeders Association and Texas Paint Horse Association. For more information, go to lonestarpark.com.

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AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 11

WestWin Farms Launches in Oklahoma with Three Stallions on Roster Prominent Southwest horse owner Bryan Hawk recently acquired a breeding farm in Purcell, Oklahoma, and is now doing business as WestWin Farms. The farm was owned at one time by American Quarter Horse Hall of Famer Frank Merrill, and a long list of champions was bred and raised at the facility. Hawk said he would love to continue the legacy that Merrill built and will breed both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. Hawk currently has 30 mares there that he has acquired from both racing and sales. Hawk raced stakes winners Code West and Pass the Buck and is standing them at the farm. The two horses are from the successful program of Gary and Mary West, who have campaigned such stellar horses as Game Winner, West Coast, Dollar Bill, Family Tree and Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security. Code West, a son of Lemon Drop Kid, earned more than $800,000 in a career that included a victory in the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs and a runner-up finish in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds. His first foals arrive in 2020. Pass the Buck, by Pulpit, earned three wins and two seconds in seven career starts, highlighted by a score in the Zia Park Derby. Code West stands for $1,500, and Pass the Buck for $1,000. The farm also is offering Mister Lucky Cat, a winning son of Storm Cat,

Graded stakes winner Code West headlines the stallion roster at WestWin Farms. for a fee of $1,000. From a limited number of starters, Mister Lucky Cat is the sire of Starling, winner of the 2018 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile, and Criminal, a three-time winner and stakes-placed earner of $66,734. For more information, go to westwinfarms.com.

Unbridled’s Song Stallion Keep Up to Eureka Thoroughbred Farm in Texas Eureka Thoroughbred Farm in Fredericksburg, Texas, has announced was not expected to ever make the races. He eventually debuted late in the addition of Keep Up for the 2020 breeding season. The multiple his 3-year-old year and then blossomed with his stakes wins coming at stakes-winning son of Unbridled’s Song stands for a $2,000 fee with ages 5 and 6. Keep Up’s dam, the Deputy Minister substantial discounts for mares that are mare Keeper Hill, earned more than $1.6 foaling in Texas. Keep Up stands as the million, with three Grade 1 victories, inproperty of Mike Grossman, who owns cluding the Kentucky Oaks and Spinster Eureka and also stands Mr. Besilu, ExStakes. pect a Lot and The Hunk at the farm. “With the increased purses and Sired by Unbridled’s Song, whose breeding incentives in Texas thanks to sons at stud include Arrogate and Liam’s new legislation, we’ve already seen inMap, Keep Up won seven of 18 career creased interest this breeding season,” starts with two stakes victories, includGrossman said. “We think Keep Up is ing the Grade 3 River City Handicap a strong addition to our stallion roson the Churchill Downs turf course. An ter and gives breeders in the region an earner of $300,545, Keep Up won five option for a classic pedigree with a strong times on the grass, along with breaking focus on stamina.” his maiden at Gulfstream Park on the Keep Up earned more than $300,000 on the track and has From 26 starters to date, Keep Up is dirt and capturing an allowance on Arsired three stakes horses in his young stallion career. represented by three stakes horses, includlington Park’s synthetic surface. As good as Keep Up’s racing career was, it likely could have been even better if ing In a Fog, a two-time stakes-placed earner of nearly $140,000, and not for a knee fracture he sustained in the field as a yearling. Keep Up Ucantkeepup, a stakes-placed earner of almost $125,000. was confined to a stall for more than six months during his recovery and For more information, go to eurekathoroughbreds.com. 12 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

New Holland to Offer Equipment Discounts Through Equine Equipment

Courtesy Equine Equipment

New Holland has formed a sales alliance with Equine Equipment, exclusive savings opportunities from partners who truly understand and a Georgetown, Kentucky, company that offers dedicated equipment care about their operation.” discounts to participants in the equine Equine Equipment works to unindustry in the United States and derstand the needs of each customer, Canada. including racetracks, large stables, Equine Equipment programs ranches and veterinarians, and conprovide direct and tangible finannect the customer with their local cial and other support to the equine participating New Holland dealer. industry with the discounts offered. “This partnership will benefit the This alliance provides exclusive entire equine community by deliversavings opportunities on New ing quality products from a worldwide Holland equipment for eligible leader in farm equipment,” said equine customers, ensuring they Steve Andersen, founder of Equine get the right equipment for their Equipment. “I am honored that New operation at a discounted price, as Holland has placed its trust in my well as great service after the sale. company. It’s a pretty simple concept: “Equine participants are shopping If you offer the top brands, top dealers for demonstrable value, making New and excellent service with a clear and concise savings program, you’ll be Holland the perfect fit,” said Brett helping the industry.” Davis, vice president for New HolTo learn more about the New Holland, North America. “By working New Holland is the new tractor partner with Equine Equipment. with Equine Equipment, we’re providing those in the horse industry land partnership and savings opportunity, visit equineequipment.com.

The Visualiser Relocated to Kirton Farms in Oklahoma Veteran Oklahoma stallion The Visualiser has been sold and relocated within the state to stand the 2020 breeding season at Bill and Sabrina Kirton’s Kirton Farms near Turpin. Formerly at Mighty Acres in Pryor, the 17-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway will stand for $1,000 as property of Curtis Temple.

On the track, The Visualiser earned $136,072 with three wins and a graded stakes placing. As a stallion, he has sired the earners of approximately $2 million, topped by dominant sprinter Welder. That 7-year-old gelding is closing in on millionaire’s status with 21 wins in 32 starts and earnings of more than $970,000.

Record Number of Entries in Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, New Incentives Announced The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park are pleased to announce a record number of consignments to the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. A total of 182 head, pending the addition of supplements, have been entered in the sale set for Friday, April 3, at 12 noon at Lone Star. The under tack show will be held Wednesday, April 1, at 10 a.m. at the track. This year’s head count is up nearly 35 percent from last year’s 135 (including supplements) and more than double the number in the 2016 sale, which was the first held jointly by the TTA and Lone Star. “We expected to have more entries after the passage of beneficial legislation in Texas last year, but we were a little surprised by just how much interest there’s been from both consignors and buyers,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “We are excited about the two incentive programs related to this sale and the overall increase in purses in Texas and incentives for Accredited Texas-breds.” The passage of H.B. 2463 is expected to inject up to $25 million annually into the Texas horse industry, and its effect is already being seen with increased purses in 2020 for the current Sam Houston Race Park

meet and upcoming Lone Star meet. In addition, money generated by H.B. 2463 is being used to provide a rebate of up to one-half of the entry fee to consignors at this sale. Plus, graduates of this sale will be eligible for a new purse incentive program for all races this year at Texas tracks. The incentive is available for all graduates, regardless of where they were bred. As always, sale graduates will be eligible for the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity this summer at Lone Star with divisions for fillies and colts/ geldings offering purses of $100,000-estimated apiece. The list of nationally prominent stallions in the sale is far more extensive than in recent years, including Animal Kingdom, Bodemeister, Candy Ride, Fusaichi Pegasus, Goldencents, Kitten’s Joy, Maclean’s Music, Overanalyze, Palace, Tapiture and Uncle Mo. This year’s catalog includes offspring of many of the Southwest’s leading and emerging stallions, including Astrology, Bradester, Court Vision, Custom for Carlos, Early Flyer, Flat Out, Half Ours and Too Much Bling. For more information and the online catalog, including photos and videos after the under tack show, go to ttasales.com. AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 13

65-Year-Old Jockey B.L. Goff Goes 17 Years Between Thoroughbred Wins at Remington Park

Dustin Orona Photography

Sexagenarian jockey B.L. Goff hadn’t won a Thoroughbred race at Remington Park in 17 years, but the long dry spell came to an end on December 5, 2019. Goff, now 65, was 48 when he last had his picture taken in the winner’s circle in Oklahoma City in 2002 aboard Eggs Galaxy for trainer Michael Gass Sr. Seventeen years later, Goff went straight to the lead aboard second-time starter Salvo, who had bolted in his first try and dropped jockey Jason Eads just out of the gate. The horse that Goff won on was 63 years younger than him. The 2-year-old Salvo, a gelded son of Chitoz, had a wide lead as the field of nine turned for home in the six-furlong sprint for maiden claimers and was trying to hang on coming to the wire. Trainer Tim Martin replaced the injured Eads with Goff, and it was a sync-up truly for the ages. Since beginning his career in 1989, Goff has ridden 971 horses and won 36 times. Only three of those wins were on Thoroughbreds in Oklahoma City. Before 2002, Goff’s last win aboard a Thoroughbred came in 1995. His biggest year for Thoroughbreds was 1993 when he won 10 times in 142 mounts, marking the only year he earned double-digit victories. Goff said he runs 5K races and has set records for his age group in those events. It’s not uncommon for him to drop to the ground and do 30 or more pushups in the barn area during morning training. Salvo is owned by Big Sugar Racing and was bred in Oklahoma by Circle Bar H.

B.L. Goff is among the oldest jockeys to ever win a race at a North American racetrack.

Top Oklahoma Stallion Kipling Dies at Age 23 Oklahoma stallion Kipling, the sire of Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner Kip Deville, was euthanized in mid-December at Mighty Acres in Pryor due to complications with old age. The 23-year-old stallion was buried at the farm, which is a division of Dr. Warren Center’s Center Hills Farm. Kipling had modest success on the track with five wins from 28 starts and earnings of $121,862, but he had a superb pedigree and found great success as a sire with progeny earnings of more than $15 million. Kipling was a son of champion sprinter Gulch out of the Storm Bird mare Weekend Storm, who was a full sister to Preakness Stakes (G1) winner and top sire Summer Squall and a half sister to Horse of the Year and leading sire A.P. Indy. Weekend Storm also produced Court Vision, a full brother to Kipling who won the Breeders’ Cup Mile and also became a successful sire. Kipling’s top runner was Kip Deville, who was bred in Oklahoma by Center Hills and won 12 of 30 starts with earnings of more than $3.3 million. A $20,000 purchase at the 2004 Texas Summer Yearling Sale at Lone Star Park, Kip Deville broke his maiden at Remington Park and then went on to become one of North America’s top turf horses. In addition to his Breeders’ Cup win, Kip Deville won six other graded stakes and finished second in another edition of the Breeders’ Cup Mile. 14 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

Kipling sired the earners of more than $15 million, including Breeders’ Cup-winning Oklahoma-bred Kip Deville. He won numerous Oklahoma-bred awards, including Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008. Kipling sired more than 30 other stakes runners, including Texas-bred Dreamsandvisions, an earner of more than $500,000. “He was the first stallion owned by Center Hills Farm and was a big part of our success,” said Randy Blair, manager of Mighty Acres. H

WESTWIN FARMS

OKLAHOMA’S NEWEST SOURCE FOR QUALITY BLOODLINES!

CODE WEST

Lemon Drop Kid – Charitabledonation, by Saint Ballado TALENTED, DURABLE, SOUND, CONSISTENT, VERSATILE – CODE WEST IS THE REAL DEAL! 2020 Fee: $1,500

MISTER LUCKY CAT

Storm Cat – Get Lucky, by Mr. Prospector AN IMPECCABLY BRED STALLION AND A PROVEN SIRE OF STAKES HORSES! 2020 Fee: $1,000

PASS THE BUCK Pulpit – Windy, by Wild Rush

A TALENTED SON OF PULPIT COMES TO OKLAHOMA FOR 2020! 2020 Fee: $1,000

WESTWIN FARMS

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No other regional or national racing and breeding publication reaches more area horsemen and horsewomen than American Racehorse! We make it easy to get your message out to thousands of horsemen in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Our ad rates are affordable, and we can design an ad for you at no charge!

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MORE MONEY AND MORE HORSES! The T exas 2-Y ear -O lds in T raining and H orses of R acing A ge S ale will have more than 175 head, making it the largest juvenile auction in many years! Sale grads will be eligible for a special purse bonus in all 2020 races in Texas, and purses are already soaring thanks to new legislation. Now is the time to buy, sell and race in Texas!

SALE DATE: APRIL 3 BREEZE SHOW: APRIL 1 • LONE STAR PARK AT GRAND PRAIRIE Look for the catalog, photos and breeze show videos at www.TTASALES.com.

TTA SALES

For more information, go to www.ttasales.com or call Tim Boyce at (972) 523-0332 or the Texas Thoroughbred Association office at (512) 458-6133. AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 17

INTERNATIONAL

MALE

AMERICAN RACING SENSATION AND 2020 FRESHMAN SIRE CALIFORNIA CHROME RELOCATES TO JAPAN BY LISA GROOTHEDDE

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Jen Doyle/JennyPhoto

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alifornia. Kentucky. Maryland. New York. Pennsylvania. Florida. United Arab Emirates. England. Chile. No, it’s not the travel itinerary of a rockand-roll band on a world tour, or even that of a jet-setting business mogul or an international flight crew. Instead, it’s a litany of locations that twotime Horse of the Year and equine ambassador California Chrome visited during his celebrated racing career and then for his nascent stud career. On the track, he netted more earnings—and, arguably, more fans—than any other Thoroughbred in North American history at the time of his retirement. Now, his reach and influence are set to become even more global, stretching approximately 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. There, at Arrow Stud on the island of Hokkaido, the four-legged frequent flier is settling in for the 2020 breeding season after his recent sale as a stallion to Japanese interests.

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Shining Star A copper-coated California-bred who sported colorful connections and a media-friendly rags-to-riches tale, California Chrome captured the imagination of not only those ensconced in the insulated world of horse racing, but also of the American public in general. The flashy colt’s magnetic personality and stirring athletic exploits from 2013 through 2017 endeared him to the masses to a heightened degree not witnessed since another plucky West Coast wonder named Seabiscuit lifted the spirit of Depression-era Americans during the 1930s. Dubbed “America’s Horse,” California Chrome became the first Thoroughbred superstar of the modern age—a social media sensation. Every move was debated on Twitter, supporters swooned in countless Facebook posts and collectors clamored to purchase the Breyer model horse marketed in his image. Fans called themselves “Chromies” and dressed in costume when he raced. He was twice selected by popular vote to receive the Secretariat Vox Populi Award and remains its sole multiple recipient. His owners, trainer and jockey participated in autograph sessions. California lawmakers passed a resolution in his honor. All the while, California Chrome was kept to task by veteran trainer Art Sherman, achieving much of what was asked of him as his star power intensified. At 2, he defeated state-breds in the final stakes ever conducted at historic Hollywood Park.

At 3, he carried a four-race win streak to Churchill Downs and emerged as the first California-bred in 52 years to capture the Kentucky Derby (G1) while competing as the betting public’s 5-2 wagering and sentimental favorite. After storming down the track at Pimlico Race Course to take the Preakness Stakes (G1), he broke hopeful hearts nationwide in the Belmont Stakes (G1) when he failed by less than two lengths to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 in front of a raucous Belmont Park crowd estimated at 102,199. Racing’s blue-collar hero was later named 2014 Horse of the Year. Retirement rumors swirled throughout a 2015 campaign punctuated by minor ailments, an unsuccessful sojourn to the Newmarket gallops in Great Britain and a lengthy layoff back in the states, but California Chrome delighted his avid followers and defied modern racing convention when he returned to competition better than ever at age 5. Another six-race win streak— which included his jaw-dropping victory in the United Arab Emirates’ $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1) despite his saddle girth slipping dangerously back to bucking bronco territory— culminated with a second Horse of the Year title. California Chrome retired to Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky prior to the 2017 breeding season with seven Grade 1 victories on dirt and turf, four Eclipse Awards and a career bankroll of $14,752,650. And it was at this Nicholasville nursery where the second chapter of his story began.

IN THE 2016 DUBAI WORLD CUP AT MEYDAN RACECOURSE IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, CALIFORNIA CHROME CEMENTED HIS STATUS AS ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS.

Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins

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Mane Attraction

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Dubai R

Keeneland

Managed by a 50-share syndicate and originally priced at a $40,000 fee to attract middle-market mare owners, California Chrome was favorably received as he transitioned to the next phase of his life as a breeding stallion. The son of Lucky Pulpit covered an initial book of 145 mares in 2017, followed by 133 mares in 2018 and 143 mares in 2019. He also courted top Southern Hemisphere mares when he shuttled to Haras Sumaya in Chile during the summer and fall months of 2017 and 2018. In recognition of California Chrome’s status as a cultural phenomenon, Taylor Made held regular tours and fan events centered around the horse and sold branded California Chrome merchandise such as blankets and baby bibs in its gift shop. Yearlings from California Chrome’s first crop hit the sales ring in 2019, giving an indication of how his foals would be received by racing interests. Commanding the peak price of $325,000 for his yearlings was a colt out of Laffina, by Arch, who was selected by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert for Charles and Susan Chu’s Baoma Corp. at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt, subsequently named Unexpected, is a half brother to Baffert’s three-time Grade 1 winner Bast, a 2019 Eclipse Award finalist for Baoma in the 2-year-old filly division. Also among California Chrome’s inaugural crop are several youngsters with ties to Texas and the Southeast. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay paid $230,000 for a filly out of Edit, a winning daughter of Unbridled’s Song out of Sam Houston Race Park stakes winner Key to the Cat, at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Georgia-based Victory Racing Partners spent $175,000 at Keeneland September for a colt out of Our Biggest Fan, a Louie Roussel-trained half sister to 2016 Iowa Derby (G3) winner American Freedom. And bloodstock agents Alex Solis II and Jason Litt, whose portfolio boasts

2013 champion 2-year-old male Shared Belief and 2019 Kentucky Derby winner Country House, paid $170,000 at Keeneland for a filly out of Emma Carly, a stakes-producing dam whose broodmare sire is champion sprinter Groovy, the highest-earning Texas-bred racehorse in history. Despite the widespread interest in California Chrome’s offspring

among American buyers, however, some of the stallion’s splashiest Keeneland September fireworks were triggered by Japanese patrons, who took home four fillies for an aggregate $875,000, led by a $260,000 daughter of Grade 2 winner Warbling purchased by Kanayama Holdings and a $235,000 daughter of stakes winner Celtic Chant acquired by Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings.

Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins

AT LEFT, TWO-TIME TRIPLE CROWNWINNING TRAINER BOB BAFFERT MADE THE WINNING BID OF $325,000 FOR THIS CALIFORNIA CHROME COLT AT THE 2019 KEENELAND SEPTEMBER YEARLING SALE, FOR THE SIRE’S TOP-PRICED YEARLING. Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography

AT TOP, CALIFORNIA CHROME AVENGED A SECOND-PLACE EFFORT IN THE 2015 DUBAI WORLD CUP WITH A WIN IN THE 2016 EDITION. ABOVE, CALIFORNIA CHROME WON THE 2014 KENTUCKY DERBY, THEN WENT ON TO CAPTURE THE PREAKNESS STAKES BEFORE COMING UP SHORT IN HIS TRIPLE CROWN BID IN THE BELMONT STAKES.

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Jen Doyle/JennyPhoto

CALIFORNIA CHROME’S MATINEE IDOL LOOKS AND TALENT ON THE TRACK EARNED HIM THE DEVOTION OF FANS WORLDWIDE.

Overall, 42 of California Chrome’s first-crop yearlings sold in 2019 for an average price of $89,500—a respectable figure considering his original $40,000 stud fee, but only enough to rank 33rd among all stallions by North American yearling sales average last year and a significant decline from the first-crop weanling average of $116,714 he had achieved in 2018. California Chrome also faced the daunting task of competing for attention against a pair of newly minted Triple Crown winners during his first three years in the breeding shed. After his own near miss in 2014, two other talented colts managed to claim racing’s holy grail: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018, both Baffert trainees who retired to Coolmore America in Kentucky for six-figure fees without racing past their respective 3-year-old seasons.

“The sale was a win-win for both sides,” Perry Martin explained. “Japan’s breeding marketplace had a void at the upper end, while America’s marketplace became overcrowded at the upper end with two recent Triple Crown winners coming into an already saturated market. “Racing and racing purses are growing in Japan, and California Chrome’s progeny will benefit, allowing him to climb the world’s top sire list more quickly,” Martin added. “His fans should be pleased.” The sale of California Chrome required a super majority of syndicate votes. The Martins blocked the first few attempts, adding requirements and only voting to approve the transaction when all of their needs were met. Caveats included granting the syndicate the first right of refusal if the horse is ever sold again and ensuring him

Timing Is Everything

Jen Doyle/JennyPhoto

While California Chrome’s luster in his homeland began to dull a bit in favor of shinier specimens in 2019, simultaneous rumblings in another country helped usher in a monumental change for the California-bred superstar. Last summer, Japan’s breeding industry was hit with a double dose of tragedy. On July 30, the country’s world-renowned stallion Deep Impact was euthanized at age 17, followed just 11 days later by the death of King Kamehameha at 18. The former reigned as Japan’s leading sire from 2012 through 2019, while the latter held the supreme title in 2010 and 2011. The sudden loss of these dominant sires spurred Japanese stud farms to replenish their top-tier ranks for 2020. Accordingly, Shadai Farm purchased 2019 North American Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar as a stallion prospect last August, and in October, the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association acquired 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom. At the same time California Chrome’s first yearlings were being scrutinized by the often-fickle U.S. commercial market, representatives of Japan-based JS Company started making serious inquiries about the stallion’s availability to his ownership syndicate. On November 20, Taylor Made announced an agreement had been reached to sell California Chrome outright, with majority shareholders Perry and Denise Martin retaining some breeding rights to the iconic racehorse they had co-bred and originally campaigned in partnership.

a permanent home at Taylor Made in Kentucky upon his eventual retirement from breeding. “We got everything we asked for, which made saying no very difficult,” Martin said. “It was a tough decision but learning and participating in a growing market, which is new to us, is exciting.” Japanese breeders eagerly welcomed California Chrome before he even entered quarantine for export. Within a week of the announcement of his sale, his new Japanese syndicate had sold out and he was booked full for his introductory Arrow Stud season at a fee of 4 million yen, which converts to approximately $36,000 and represents the second-highest advertised fee among more than 40 former U.S.based runners who are standing abroad in 2020. AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 25

The Ride of a Lifetime

without foals at their side, depending on market conditions. We will Throughout California Chrome’s extraordinary journey from foal sell and race in Japan, again depending on market conditions. to phenom, his staunchest supporters have been the Martins. Small “One major goal for us is to bring a California Chrome colt back to business owners in the technology realm, the Martins have traveled the states via the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby,” Martin added. alongside their horse to nearly every port of call and are planning “That would be big for us, for U.S. horse racing and for the Japanese their first-ever trip to Jabreeding industry.” pan in April to visit their In addition to their 9-year-old homebred, as expansion as internationwell as five mares they al breeders, the Martins have exported to breed to have also diversified their him this year. bloodstock holdings The group includes stateside. Grade 3 winner WildFor the 2020 breeding cat Lily (by D’Wildcat), season, the couple relostakes-placed winner Decated five of their mares cennial (by Trippi) and in foal to California Oklahoma-bred Lake Chrome from Kentucky Ponchatrain (by Afto Val Murrell’s Clear leet Express), a multiCreek Stud in Folsom, ple stakes winner and Louisiana. They are part$626,368-earner whom nering with Murrell to the couple acquired last stand the winning Tabassummer. The other two co Cat stallion Peppered mares feature strong Cat there in order to parpedigree ties to their ticipate in the accredited adopted homeland: EvaJen Doyle/JennyPhoto Louisiana-bred program. sion is by former Japanese The Martins recently ALL TOLD, CALIFORNIA CHROME WON 16 OF stallion Empire Maker 27 STARTS AND BANKED $14,752,650, A RECORD purchased the 20-yearout of 1995 champiold sire, who previously AT THE TIME FOR A NORTH AMERICAN HORSE. on older mare Inside stood in California, and Information, and Grade 1-placed stakes winner Right There is by he will be bred to the couple’s mares as well as be made available to current Japanese stallion Eskendereya out of Elrose, a half sister outside mare owners. to 1997 champion 3-year-old colt Silver Charm, who stood for Like many other breeders, owners, consignors and fans, the many years in Japan. Right There’s 2018 California Chrome filly Martins are eagerly anticipating the debut of California Chrome’s was bought by Shadai Farm for $180,000 at last year’s Keeneland 2-year-olds this year. Two of his youngsters have been catalogued to September sale. the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company 2-year-olds in training sale on “Perry and I are really excited about sending our mares to Hokkai- March 17-18. do,” Denise Martin said. “The last 10 years have marked a significant “I believe the high quality of Chrome’s first-year mares will present change in the business policies of Japanese farms. They have enhanced as high performance of their offspring on the track,” Perry Martin the quality and performance of their bloodstock by shifting their said. “Everything I’ve seen in the foals growing up supports this. The focus to the development of quality breeding and nurturing of brood- last important piece of the puzzle was getting the yearlings into the mares, rather than just producing large numbers of them.” right hands to move forward. I believe all systems are go!” H The Martins have ambitious plans for their entry into Japan’s Thoroughbred industry. Lisa Groothedde is a national award-winning journalist and “We are sending five of our better mares now, and we have some Thoroughbred breeder based in Southern California. A graduate very nice fillies and mares in training, so hopefully we can continue of Texas A&M University and former editor of The Texas Thoroughto upgrade our stock in Japan as our horses end their racing careers,” bred, she currently specializes in bloodstock consulting, sales and Perry Martin said. “We will rotate mares back to the states with or social media. 26 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

HIT THE TEXAS TRIFECTA! Get a Three-Year TTA Membership for the Price of Two!

All renewals and new memberships will be entered into a drawing for a free lifetime TTA membership valued at $2,000!

here has never been a better time to be involved in Texas racing and breeding with $25 million annually being injected into the industry thanks to new legislation. And there has never been a better time to join the Texas Thoroughbred Association or renew your membership with this special promotion offering one year free with any three-year membership or renewal. Even if your current membership is not due to expire soon, you can still take advantage of this deal. Help yourself to savings while also helping our Thoroughbred athletes after they leave the track! For every new membership or renewal through this promotion, the TTA will donate $20 to your choice of Thoroughbred aftercare organizations. You can choose to have your donation go to: • LOPE TEXAS (www.lopetx.org) • REMEMBER ME RESCUE (www.teamkeen.com) • THE PADDOCK FOUNDATION (www.paddockfoundation.com) To take advantage of this offer, call the TTA office at (512) 458-6133 or go to www.texasthoroughbred.com.

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Accredited Oklahoma Stallions • Selected Stallions Nominated to the Oklahoma Stallion Stakes, Iowa Stallion Stakes and Minnesota Stallion Stakes

FACE

in the crowd

social media phenom

Southern Phantom is helping spread a positive message about horse racing by denis blake 30 AMERICAN RACEHORSE â&#x20AC;¢ WINTER 2020

AMERICAN RACEHORSE â&#x20AC;¢ WINTER 2020 31

Konrad Weeber, Saratoga Scenes Photography

Any horseman will tell you that Thoroughbreds are individuals who can exhibit humanlike traits, but as different as some horses act, the majority of them look pretty much the same. Sure, trainers should have no problem identifying runners in their barn, but to the casual fan a horse is a horse (of course, of course, for those old enough to remember the TV show Mister Ed.) That is, except for Southern Phantom. The exquisitely colored 4-year-old has developed a loyal following on social media and inspires a paparazzi-like atmosphere every time he steps on the track. And while he has yet to have his picture taken in the winner’s circle, he’s proven to be a great ambassador for the sport with a little help from his new owners, Danny and Allison Caldwell. The son of Bodemeister grabbed the attention of social media almost immediately after he was foaled on June 5, 2016. Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm and Southern Equine Stable LLC, the colt got his moniker through an online naming contest in which Mike Moreno of Southern Equine partnered with BloodHorse. The winning entry came from Mary Beth Woods of Louisiana, who said she came up with it because the horse reminded her of the titular character in The Phantom of the Opera. The naming contest was so popular that the entry period was cut short in order to go through the submissions in a reasonable timeframe. While Southern Phantom’s white face is his most noticeable trait, there’s even more that makes him unique. His eyes are different colors—one blue and one brown—and his white socks, with some black at the top, rise high on his legs like someone at the gym without any fashion sense. Even his tail is different, as if he’s a rebellious teenager who decided to dye the ends of their hair.

A Horse of a Different Color

Seeing his reflection while stabled on the backside of Saratoga might be the only chance for Southern Phantom to see another horse who looks like him. 32 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

Konrad Weeber, Saratoga Scenes Photography

Where did his unique coloration come from? Southern Phantom’s sire Bodemeister, winner of the Arkansas Derby (G1) and runner-up in both the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1), has a large white blaze on his face, but dam Out for Revenge (by Bernardini) is your typical bay horse. “The short answer to why is his coat like that, there is likely a mutation in one or more of the genes involved in pigmentation,” said Rebecca Bellone, professor and director of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, in an article on CNN.com. The fact that Southern Phantom was profiled by CNN highlights his widereaching fame. Those splashes of color have made him a darling on social media, where a photo is certainly worth more than a thousand words, especially when it’s hard to get more than a couple of sentences in a tweet. While Southern Phantom is registered as a bay, his markings make him look like a Paint more than a Thoroughbred. There have been a handful of pure white Thoroughbreds in recent years that have attracted similar attention, and a Paint-like horse smartly named Koda Chrome got some headlines running at Belterra Park and Turfway Park a few years ago, but the unforgettable white face of Southern Phantom seems to set him apart.

AMERICAN RACEHORSE â&#x20AC;¢ WINTER 2020 33

Hitting the Track

Anne M. Eberhardt photo

Kevin Cosgriff

Captions

34 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

Kevin Cosgriff

A foal unlike any other...

Anne M. Eberhardt photo

Besides the question of how he got his unique colors, perhaps the second most-asked query is “Can he run?” In his racing debut in July 2018 as a 2-year-old at Saratoga Race Course in New York, Southern Phantom answered with “maybe.” Trained by Eric Guillot and ridden by Joel Rosario, the colt finished fifth in a field of 10 for an $85,000 maiden special weight purse. Running for Calumet and Southern Equine, Southern Phantom improved in his second start to finish third, beaten just 2 ½ lengths, in another top-tier Saratoga maiden contest. The winner of that race, Unionizer, went on to capture the $75,000 Sapling Stakes next time out at Monmouth Park, proving that Southern Phantom certainly had some talent under his unique exterior. But after that effort Southern Phantom hit a bit of a slump and finished off the board in four straight maiden races in New York before taking third in his 3-year-old debut in a $68,000 maiden affair at Aqueduct. With seven starts, two thirds and earnings of $29,260, he was certainly not on his way to the Kentucky Derby, but he had proven to be a solid runner who perhaps just needed a change of scenery.

Kevin Cosgriff

His white face made him an equine celebrity not long after he was foaled.

Above, Southern Phantom takes a run with his dam, Out for Revenge.

AMERICAN RACEHORSE â&#x20AC;¢ WINTER 2020 35

36 AMERICAN RACEHORSE â&#x20AC;¢ WINTER 2020

Finding New Owners Southern Phantom got that chance to jump start his racing career when he was consigned to the Keeneland November breeding stock sale as hip 3111. His opportunity will now come in the colors of Oklahoman Danny Caldwell, a perennial leading owner at Remington Park, Prairie Meadows and Oaklawn who every year since 2014 has ranked among the top eight owners nationally in wins. While Caldwell and his wife, Allison, have campaigned hundreds of horses over the years, this one truly stands out. “It was very spur of the moment,” Allison said about the auction purchase. The Caldwells were in Oklahoma City while their agent, Don Waits, was in Lexington at the sale. “Allison said that pretty horse is selling today,” Danny recalled. “I said, ‘Oh really, pretty horses probably don’t run.’ I’m in the racehorse business and I figured I couldn’t afford him. “Don called and said look at hip 3111,” he continued. “I pulled him up on Equibase, and I didn’t even look at the name. I saw he ran third at Saratoga and third at Aqueduct, so I said I’ll give $20,000 or $25,000 for him because I need horses for Oaklawn.” The couple was watching the sale from home and when Southern Phantom walked into the ring, Danny immediately figured out who the horse was. “I thought we can’t afford him; he’ll go for $50,000 or $100,000, so I don’t know how we got him for $20,000,” he said. For a short period of time, the Caldwells weren’t sure that they actually got the horse, as Waits didn’t text or call like he normally does to confirm a purchase. “Our hearts kind of sunk, and we thought maybe it was too good to be true,” Allison recalled. “Don finally called and we asked why he didn’t call or text, and he said as soon as he signed the ticket he was doing interviews.” It’s not uncommon for horses to sell for seven figures at Keeneland, so that might have been the first interview ever for a $20,000 purchase.

Keeneland

Konrad Weeber, Saratoga Scenes Photography

Above, among the many unique traits of Southern Phantom is his different colored eyes, one blue and one brown. Left, even though his face is unmistakable, he’s sporting another horse’s halter here. AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 37

r-Herzog Pyrois Media/Melissa Baue

Spreading the Word on Social Media From Kentucky it was on to Remington Park in Oklahoma City for Southern Phantom, where his new owners got to meet him for the first time before sending him to Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Arkansas. “He’s got a huge personality,” Allison said. “The first day we saw him he was hugging and loving all over Danny.” Southern Phantom was popular on social media well before the Caldwells bought him, but the couple took things to the next level by setting up his own accounts on Twitter (@PhantomSouthern), Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernPhantom) and Instagram (@southern_phantom). Doing that served two purposes: keeping his many fans updated on his activities and assuring those fans that he was in good hands with the Caldwells and trainer Federico Villafranco. While most of the social media comments after the Keeneland sale were positive, as is the case with nearly everything on social media, there was some negativity. Some questioned why the horse was going to Oklahoma, despite the state boasting one of the nation’s top racing programs, or why he was still going to race at all, despite that he was competitive at Saratoga, one of the nation’s toughest tracks. “People wanted to make sure that he was going to be taken care of,” Allison said. “It seemed like people were vetting us a little too to make sure he was going to a good place and we had a plan for him.” While some might have taken offense to any negativity on social media, the Caldwells instead embraced the opportunity to promote the industry. “Anything that’s a positive for horse racing, I think we need to do it,” said Danny, who serves on the board of directors of the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma. “Allison does a great job sharing info and pictures.” Southern Phantom’s social media feeds feature a mixture of candid barn photos, videos of him working on the track and updates on when he gets his favorite treat, peppermints. “We want people to get behind something positive,” Allison added. 38 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

“We want to let people know when he’s racing so they can follow him. There’s so much negativity in racing; we love this industry and want to do anything we can do to support racing and move in a positive direction. We’ve been blessed to have this opportunity kind of fall into our laps.” Allison said the popularity of Southern Phantom has stretched well beyond the racing world, as she’s heard from people involved with show horses and those who have Paints and American Quarter Horses. The colt has embraced his celebrity as much as a horse can, with Danny saying, “he knows what the camera is and he likes it.” Allison describes him a “goofball” and a bit of a show-off. “Even going to the track, he looks around to see if everyone is watching him,” she said. Of course, first and foremost Southern Phantom is a racehorse, which sometimes means limiting his visitors at the barn so that he and his stablemates can get about their business. The Caldwells expect Southern Phantom to make a couple of starts at Oaklawn before the meet ends May 2, and if all goes well, he’ll be at Remington Park when Thoroughbred racing returns in August. If a career on the track doesn’t work out, there are other options, including as a stallion. “I bought him to be a racehorse until he tells us he doesn’t want to be a racehorse and he doesn’t have a passion for it, then we’ll do something else,” Danny said. “He’s definitely got a second and third career.” While the Caldwells concentrate primarily on racing, they do some breeding and stand Da Stoops, a multiple stakes-winning son of Distorted Humor, in Oklahoma. With a racing operation as large as the Caldwells’—last year the stable had nearly 500 starts—horses move in and out of the barn with regularity. But Southern Phantom has earned a special place in their hearts. “We can assure everyone he will be very well taken care of,” Allison said. “I’d let him live in the house if I could. “We absolutely adore him,” she added. “We weren’t planning on any of this but it happened and we are so excited to share him with everyone and just keep things positive in racing. Maybe it’s an opportunity to get new racing fans. He’s a horse for everybody.” H

Konrad Weeber, Saratoga Scenes Photography

Danny Caldwell (center) with his wife, Allison, and assistant trainer Oscar Flores shortly after Southern Phantom arrived at Remington Park. At right is the colt working at Saratoga.

Konrad Weeber, Saratoga Scenes Photography

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American Racehorse covers the racing and breeding industry in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas and provides you with the news and information you need to know! Each issue features articles on horse health, second-career racehorses, horsemen and horses in the region and more, plus breeding, racing and sales news.

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Mail this form with a check or credit card info to: American Racehorse, PO Box 8645, Round Rock, TX 78683 Or subscribe online at www.AmericanRacehorse.com, call (512) 695-4541 or email info@americanracehorse.com 40 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

STATE ASSOCIATION NEWS Portions of state association news have been condensed for the print magazine. To read complete versions of news from around the regions covered by American Racehorse, go to americanracehorse.com.

ARKANSAS THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS’ AND HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION NEWS Awards Banquet Set for April 3 Our annual awards banquet is being held April 3 at the newly renovated, remodeled and recently opened DoubleTree on beautiful Lake Hamilton. Guest speakers will be Lori Johnson from The Jockey Club and Susan Martin from equineline.com. The Jockey Club’s digital certification and the Thoroughbred Racing and Protective Bureau’s digital tattooing program and procedures will be explained in detail, and equineline.com reports and tools that pertain to the Thoroughbred industry but are not being fully utilized will be highlighted. Recipients will be announced that evening for Arkansas’ 2019 Breeder of the Year, Stallion of the Year, Broodmare of the Year and Horse of the Year, together with an award to each registered Arkansas-bred that won a stakes in North America during 2019. Reservations can be made by calling the ATBHA office on or before March 27.

Oaklawn Enjoys Record Opening Weekend Oaklawn’s opening weekend of racing was highlighted by records for pari-mutuel handle and the second-highest attendance for the month since January racing began there more than 30 years ago. According to figures released by the track, estimated total attendance for the first three racing dates (January 24-26) was 57,500, a 3.6 percent increase over the corresponding period last year. The total off-track handle of $12,787,682.84 increased by 13.1 percent. Total handle of $15,400,631.44—money wagered on Oaklawn’s races—represented a 7.7 percent increase. Opening-day records were set for off-track handle ($4,759,768) and total handle ($5,789,986.10). The off-track figure eclipsed the previous January record ($4,629,703.63), set last year. “What a great weekend to start the 2020 race season,” General Manager Wayne Smith said. “Many thanks go out to our equine athletes, the owners, trainers and jockeys for putting the best racing on the track. A huge thank you to all our team members for enhancing the fan experience. The 2020 race meet is going to be a ton of fun.” Fueled by Oaklawn’s popular price rollback promotion (corned beef sandwiches were 50 cents), January 25 attendance was an estimated 30,000. Oaklawn’s record attendance for January (32,288) was set in 1988, the first year to race in that month. An Oaklawn official said about 11,000 corned beef sandwiches were sold this year. Oaklawn estimates attendance after waiving admission in 2015. Oaklawn’s robust early numbers weren’t lost on trainer Tom Amoss, even though he was roughly 500 miles away. Lured by purses projected to average more than $600,000 daily, the Fair Groundsbased Amoss has a 10-horse division in Hot Springs this year. His first starter at the meet, Lewys Vaporizer, was a blowout winner before an estimated crowd of 20,000 on opening day.

“I was watching Lewys Vaporizer run there opening day on TVG and they panned the crowd,” Amoss said. “You just don’t see that anywhere else in the nation, except for maybe Saratoga and Keeneland. Both of those are little boutique meets. This is not. I see racing’s future right there in Hot Springs, quite frankly.” Oaklawn’s scheduled 57-day meeting runs until May 2.

Local Owners Off to a Strong Start Six owners have had multiple victories this year at Oaklawn through early February, including two who reside in Hot Springs. One is John Ed Anthony, among the most successful owners in Oaklawn’s history. Anthony, 80, has campaigned three Eclipse Award winners and won virtually every major two-turn stakes race at Oaklawn at least once. The second is Carson McCord, whose racing resume isn’t nearly as glamorous. Then again, McCord is only 20. McCord scored her second victory of the meeting on February 7 with favored Futile ($6.20), a Cecil Borel-trainee ridden by the trainer’s younger brother, Hall of Famer Calvin Borel. According to statistics compiled by Equibase, Futile represented McCord’s eighth victory from 48 starts overall. Her first career starter, K J’s Nobility, finished fourth in an August 2018 allowance race at Indiana Grand. She had claimed the Arkansas-bred gelding about a month earlier for $25,000. “Long term, it’s not like this is what I want to do for my career,” McCord said. “I think I want to be a hedge fund manager, but we’ll see. Owning horses is like a hedge fund, in a way. You’re taking a gamble.” So far, it’s paying off for McCord, who graduated from nearby Lake Hamilton High School in 2018 and is a sophomore at Chapman University in suburban Los Angeles. McCord said her hook to Thoroughbred racing was through her father, Bill McCord, who bred and owned horses before going into the stock business in the 1990s. Carson McCord has approximately five horses at Oaklawn with Cecil Borel, who also had a business relationship with her father in the 1980s. “I think I owned my first horse a month after I turned 18,” McCord said. “I think we bought a yearling then, and then I claimed KJ.” Borel came out of a lengthy retirement at the 2019 Oaklawn meeting and recorded his first victory in more than 4 ½ years that April with K J’s Nobility in an Arkansas-bred starter-allowance sprint. K J’s Nobility nearly gave McCord her first stakes victory less than a month later, but finished second, beaten a half-length by state-bred sensation Hoonani Road, in Oaklawn’s inaugural $200,000 Arkansas Breeders’ Championship at 1 1⁄16 miles. “It was close, but I think if Cecil would have had him longer, we would have won,” McCord said. Futile also represented McCord’s first victory of the meeting in a January 25 sprint for older $20,000 claimers. Calvin Borel was named to ride but took off the gelding and was replaced by Fair Groundsbased Miguel Mena, who had ridden Lynn’s Map the previous day in AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 41

STATE ASSOCIATION NEWS

INDIANA THOROUGHBRED OWNER’S AND BREEDER’S ASSOCIATION NEWS 2020 Live Racing and Stakes Schedule Announced for Indiana Grand The Indiana Horse Racing Commission has approved racing dates for the upcoming 18th season of Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse Racing at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. Racing will begin Tuesday, April 14, and conclude Wednesday, November 18, with a slightly altered schedule for the 120-day race meet. The track later announced a total of 37 Thoroughbred stakes with record purses in excess of $4.65 million. Racing will be held the first week of the meet on Tuesday and Wednesday only, picking up Friday and Saturday racing beginning April 24 and 25. The meet will also end with racing only on Tuesday and Wednesday with the final Saturday program set for Breeders’ Cup Night on November 7. No Thursday racing will be held in 2020, and those dates were added to the end to extend the season by an additional week. “We have been diligent in studying business trends and taking into account what is best for our racing partners; we decided to adjust our racing schedule for 2020,” said Mike Rich, senior vice president and general manager of Indiana Grand. “Our biggest revenue driving days are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. By dropping six weekend dates throughout the year and placing our focus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we will be able to provide more calendar weeks of competition for our horsemen while producing the best possible handle results which directly affects purse money. We are constantly working to do what is best for our racing program at Indiana Grand.” Indiana Grand will follow the same post time format for 2020. Racing will begin at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays while Saturday action gets underway at 6:15 p.m. The stakes schedule is headed by the Grade 3, $500,000 Indiana Derby set for Saturday, July 11. Indiana Derby Night will again feature six stakes leading up to the 26th running of the Indiana Derby. Purses for the evening will hit more than $1.1 million. In addition to the Derby, the Grade 3, $200,000 Indiana Oaks will be featured, and the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial will be held, named in honor of the former vice president and general manager at Indiana Grand who passed away in late 2019. The $100,000 listed stakes, formerly known as the Warrior Veterans, will be contested over the turf course at 1 1⁄16 miles. Wednesday, September 9, will feature Indiana’s richest turf races: the $200,000 Caesars Stakes and the $200,000 Indiana Grand, a onemile race for fillies and mares. 42 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

New for 2020 are two Indiana-sired stakes set for Saturday, October 17. The $150,000 Indiana Stallions Championship and the $150,000 Indiana Ladies Championship will be joined by the $100,000 Crown Ambassador and the $100,000 Indiana Stallion Fillies to create a fourstakes evening, boosting purses over the $500,000 mark. A complete list of stakes for the 2020 racing season at Indiana Grand will be available soon at indianagrand.com.

Tributes Planned for Indiana Grand’s Jon Schuster Racing returns to Indiana Grand Racing & Casino on April 14, but for the first time in the track’s history, one person will be noticeably missing. Jon Schuster, longtime vice president and general manager, passed away in late 2019, and Indiana Grand will hold several tributes to him when racing resumes. “Jon was such an integral part of the progress of Indiana Grand dating back to the very first season,” said Mike Rich, senior Jon Schuster vice president and general manager. “He was very dedicated to Indiana Grand and extremely respected in the horse racing industry. We want to ensure his legacy and work continues on for many years by establishing several new initiatives in his honor connected to the business he loved so much and worked so tirelessly to promote.” Opening day’s activities will begin with a moment of silence for Schuster prior to the playing of the national anthem. The first race of the meet will be named the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Mile. Family, friends, team members and racing participants will gather in the winner’s circle following the race for a photo and dedicated tribute in his honor. Opening weekend festivities are set for Saturday, April 25, with special announcements regarding several tributes for Schuster. As a graduate of the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, Schuster will have an annual $2,500 scholarship named in his honor funded by Indiana Grand. The track has renamed an Indiana Derby Night undercard stakes as the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial. In addition, Duralock, the manufacturer of new fencing being installed around the paddock renovation, will dedicate a plaque in his honor to be placed on the new outside barrier of the paddock. The paddock upgrades and renovations were one of the final plans put in motion by Schuster before his passing. Coady Photography

the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, Oaklawn’s first of four Kentucky Derby points races. Because of flight arrangements, Mena was still in Hot Springs January 25 after a scheduled mount in the $100,000 Fifth Season Stakes fell through and entries had already been taken that day at Fair Grounds. It was really a win-win for McCord since her boyfriend, Joe Santos, is Mena’s agent. “That was our first win,” Santos said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Halstrom named Vice President, GM of Racing at Indiana Grand Longtime racing executive Eric Halstrom has been named vice president and general manager of racing at Indiana Grand Racing &

Casino. Halstrom becomes only the second individual to hold the position, succeeding Jon Schuster, who had been with the facility since its inception in 2002. Schuster passed away in late 2019. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Halstrom has an extensive background in racetrack management. Like Schuster, he is a graduate of the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program and has served the industry in several capacities, including vice president of racing at Canterbury Park, vice president and general manager of racing operations at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, assistant director of racing at Prairie Meadows and, most recently, vice president of operations at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs. Halstrom has previous work experience in Indiana, serving as the general manager of Fort Wayne Off Track Betting and Merrillville Off Track Betting in the mid-1990s. “I’m very excited to begin a new chapter at Indiana Grand,” Halstrom said. “This is such an amazing time for this facility and the recent addition of live table games is such a boost to the property. There is so much opportunity for the racing program to grow in the state of Indiana. I’m excited to be part of the team to carry on the great tradition that Jon Schuster has developed over the past 18 years.”

Save the Date for ITOBA Awards Banquet The annual ITOBA Awards Banquet has been set for Sunday, April 19, at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. To be held in the track’s clubhouse, the event will start at 2 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction. Also included will be the annual ITOBA membership meeting and announcement of directors. For more details, go to itoba.com.

IOWA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS AND OWNERS ASSOCIATION NEWS Coady Photography

Kauai Named Iowa Horse of the Year

Kauai

The Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association has named its champion horses for the 2019 season at Prairie Meadows, honoring the on-track accomplishments of six Thoroughbreds that enjoyed success during the 30th anniversary season of live horse racing in Altoona.

Allen Poindexter’s homebred Kauai was a double winner in 2019, earning recognition as ITBOA champion 3-year-old colt/gelding and Horse of the Year. The gelded son of Girolamo competed six times at Prairie Meadows in 2019, winning three races, finishing second twice and third once. Kauai capped his season for Poindexter Thoroughbreds LLC and trainer Lynn Chleborad with a victory over five rivals in the $102,500 Iowa Breeders’ Derby on Iowa Classic Day September 2. Kauai earned $167,530 from his half dozen outings over the Altoona oval, running his Iowa earnings to $201,064 and his lifetime earnings to $202,073. “I was thrilled with his efforts in 2019,” Poindexter said. “I expected that he would run better as the distances increased, and that’s exactly what happened last season.” Poindexter noted that he turned out all of his Iowa-breds when the 2019 meet ended at Prairie Meadows, with plans to bring them back for the 2020 season in the Hawkeye State. “Kauai is stabled at Oaklawn right now,” he said. “He’s had three easy workouts in Hot Springs and our plans are to have a solid foundation of works and/or races under him when the new season starts at Prairie Meadows.” Another talented Poindexter runner, Flat Out Speed, bred by Poindexter and Wynnstay LLC, emerged as the ITBOA champion 2-year-old filly, compiling a perfect three-for-three record and earning $134,654 in her debut season. The gelding Chacha Real Smooth, bred by DNAce Thoroughbreds and owned by the River Ridge Ranch LLC of Prairie Meadows Hall of Famer Sandra Rasmussen, recorded back-to-back victories in his final two races of the season, including the $92,375 Iowa Cradle Stakes on Iowa Classic Day, to collect honors as the ITBOA champion 2-year-old colt/gelding. Snapy Gal recorded three wins from seven starts at Prairie Meadows last season for owner/trainer Travis Murphy and was recognized as the ITBOA champion 3-year-old filly. She was bred by Hi Temp Horses & Cattle. Two Prairie Meadows veterans competing as 4-year-olds in 2019, Minecraft Maniac and Hello Darling, earned honors as the top older horses of the season. Minecraft Maniac scored four wins from six starts for owner-breeder Warren Bush and trainer Doug Anderson to become the ITBOA champion older colt/gelding. Hello Darling, who completed her 2019 season at Prairie Meadows with a strong open-lengths tally in the $100,000 Donna Reed Stakes on Iowa Classic Day, earned $143,452 in Iowa last year to garner ITBOA champion older mare honors. She ran for Kelly’s Racing Stable LLC until being claimed in August by owner Gene Burkholder and trainer William Martin. She was bred by William Hobbs. Allen Poindexter also earned individual honors as the leading ITBOA owner and breeder for 2019, totaling $583,652 in earnings as an owner and $663,361 as a breeder. His mare Gizzy, the dam of Kauai, garnered recognition as the ITBOA leading broodmare of 2019, with offspring earnings of $230,059. The Maggi Moss stallion Native Ruler, who was pensioned from stud duty last fall to the Unbridled Spirits Thoroughbred Retirement Ranch in Lisbon, Iowa, was honored as ITBOA’s leading stallion of 2019. His top progeny accounted for $581,429 in earnings last year, led by Zella Rose ($135,361) and Scrutinizer ($94,129). AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 43

STATE ASSOCIATION NEWS Prairie Meadows Releases First 2020 Condition Book, Stall Applications Due March 25 Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel has announced the release of its first condition book, which covers the first 18 days, May 1 through June 1, of the 2020 mixed Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse racing season. Thoroughbreds will lead off the 84-day meet from May 1 through June 8. Quarter Horses will join the daily program starting June 12 through the end of the meet, September 26. Available at prairiemeadows.com or Prairie Meadows’ racing office, the condition book includes two Iowa-bred stakes for 3-yearolds and five open overnight stakes to kick off Thoroughbred racing. The first day of entries will be Sunday, April 26, for opening night Friday, May 1. Entries for Saturday, May 2 (Kentucky Derby Day), will be on Monday, April 27. The normal entry schedule will then begin with entries being taken a full week out from race day starting on May 1 for the races on the following Friday, May 8. Overnight purses will remain lucrative with the bottom-level purse at $10,000 for maiden $5,000 claimers or beaten $3,500 claimers and the top-level allowance purse at $36,000. Maiden special weight races will be $32,000 for open runners. Iowa-bred overnight purses follow suit in the lucrative status due to breed supplement funds and will range from $13,104 to $47,174 this season. The 2020 Thoroughbred stakes program will feature 32 stakes, including overnight stakes, worth an estimated $1.94 million and highlighted by the Iowa Festival of Racing scheduled for July 4 and 5. The two-day event will kick off with two festival stakes and two Iowabred stakes on July 4 and conclude the next day with four festival stakes: the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3), Iowa Oaks (G3), Iowa Derby and Iowa Sprint. Another signature event on the Thoroughbred stakes program is the Iowa Classic on closing day, September 26. It will feature seven Iowa-bred Thoroughbred stakes races worth an estimated $665,000. The Iowa Classic will return to its tradition of featuring Iowa-bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses with four Iowa-bred Quarter Horse stakes joining the festivities in 2020. Stall applications for the 2020 live racing season are due at the racing office by March 25. Application forms are available at prairiemeadows.com and from Prairie Meadows’ racing office. Prairie Meadows’ stable area will open to horses on Friday, April 3. Training is scheduled to begin Sunday, April 5, weather permitting.

that program are two $100,000 races, the Lady Canterbury and Mystic Lake Mile; two $50,000 dirt sprints, the Dark Star Cup and Hoist Her Flag; and a newly added $50,000 turf sprint, the L’Etoile du Nord for fillies and mares. “We are excited to run all of our featured Thoroughbred stakes on Saturday nights in 2020 and believe that will bring more attention to our racing product across North America,” Vice President of Racing Operations Andrew Offerman said. Major changes are in store for the 27th edition of the Minnesota Festival of Champions, a day of racing restricted to state-breds that offers more than $700,000 in purse money. For the first time in its history, the Festival of Champions will be run on a Saturday evening, September 5. Two fixtures that have been part of the event since 1992 have been moved to earlier in the meet and replaced with two turf races: the $100,000 Blair’s Cove Classic Turf Championship and $100,000 Princess Elaine Distaff Classic Turf Championship. The Wally’s Choice and Glitter Star stakes, both dirt routes, will now be run August 15 with $50,000 purses. They will serve as co-features on Made in Minnesota Day, which features the $100,000 Minnesota Oaks and Minnesota Derby. “Turf racing has continued to grow in popularity among both racing participants and handicappers in recent years,” Offerman said. “Moving two turf championship races to Festival Day should provide a more compelling card for the wagering public while also better serving the needs of Minnesota’s owners and breeders who have shown significantly more interest in the turf races over recent seasons.” Both the Blair’s Cove and Princess Elaine, traditionally run earlier in the meet, have been conducted since 1995 and in recent years have drawn substantially larger fields than the Wally’s Choice and Glitter Star. Purses for the meet are anticipated to exceed $14 million, at approximately $225,000 per day, an amount equal to 2019. A 2012 cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement reached with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, owners and operators of nearby Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, will supplement purses by $7.28 million. The agreement extends through 2022 with more than $83 million going toward purse supplements and joint marketing of the two properties and the region known as RiverSouth–Land of Big Fun. For more information, visit canterburypark.com.

NORTH CAROLINA THOROUGHBRED ASSOCIATION NEWS

MINNESOTA THOROUGHBRED ASSOCIATION NEWS

NCTA Members Continue to Have Success on the Track

Canterbury Announces $3 Million Stakes Schedule Over 65 Days of Racing

Congratulations go out to the NCTA connections of these recent winners: Let’s Play Nine (Super Ninety Nine—Arch Enemy, by Arch) won for the second time in as many races at Laurel Park, on December 28, going one mile in allowance company for owner James Jones partnering with Country Life Farm. Although the 3-year-old gelding bore out at the break from the seven post, he was corrected quickly and went to the lead, where he edged into the two hole and kept a steady pace. He then was loosened up a bit when leaving the half-mile mark to extend his lead and drove home the last three-sixteenths to win by 2 ½ lengths in 1:36.59.

Canterbury Park racing officials have announced a $3 million Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse stakes schedule for the 2020 season that runs 65 days, May 15 through September 12. Several changes and date adjustments have been made with an emphasis placed on the recently announced 5 p.m. Saturday post time. A schedule highlight remains the Saturday, June 27, Mystic Lake Northern Stars Racing Festival, which includes the track’s richest race, the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby, at one mile on the turf course. Also on 44 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

Jones and Country Life Farm scored again at Laurel that day with Bella Aurora (Carpe Diem—Street Interest, by Street Cry) in the seven-furlong Gin Talking Stakes. The 2-year-old filly ran at the back of the pack from the two-path, swung wide outside of horses at the top of the stretch, earned the lead at the sixteenth pole and drew clear to win by 1 ½ lengths in 1:24.24. Texas Wedge (Colonel John—Callmenancy, by Political Force) won the Joe Hernandez Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park on January 1, making it a great start to the New Year for breeder Nancy Shuford. Breaking alertly from post position four and then overcoming some trouble on the backstretch, the 5-year-old gelding swung three-wide on the turn for home, overtook the leader and held off a late challenge to win his first stakes by three-quarters of a length going 5 ½ furlongs on the turf in 1:02.47. Navy Armed Guard (Midshipman—Black Java, by Pine Bluff) won at Tampa Bay Downs on January 4 for owner Frank Coniglio and partners going 1 1⁄16 miles in 1:45.05, off the turf. The 5-year-old gelding was forwardly placed to stalk the leader down the stretch. He started to press the pace on the far turn, battled for the lead at the top of the stretch and then drew clear under encouragement to win by five lengths. Your Secret’s Safe (Tapizar—Keep It a Secret, by Thunder Gulch) won at Penn National on January 4, going six furlongs in 1:12.13, on a sloppy, sealed track for breeder Nancy Shuford. Despite being bumped while leaving the gate, the 5-year-old gelding ran mid-pack, moved to the rail on the turn for home, took over the lead and ran clear at mid-stretch to win by a length.

Ohio Stallions Faring Well on National Scene They say the best advertising for a stallion is on the track. The offspring of three Ohio stallions recorded stakes scores out of state in January. The timing was perfect for Poplar Creek Horse Center, as two of the stallions that were being shown at their open house on January 18 were represented by stakes winners at Gulfstream Park that afternoon. For the third consecutive year, Starship J ubilee captured the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf at 1 1⁄16 miles. The 7-year-old mare was pressed most of the way as the pacesetter and lived up to her favoritism by pulling away by 3 ¼ lengths. On February 8, she picked up her sixth career graded stakes win in the Suwanee River Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream to improve her record to 16 wins from 34 starts with earnings of more than $1.3 million. She has twice won Canada’s Sovereign Award as champion turf female. Starship Jubilee is by Indy Wind, a five-time stakes-winning son of the legendary stallion A.P. Indy. Indy Wind stands for a fee of $2,000. Just 35 minutes after Starship Jubilee’s Sunshine Millions win, the spotlight shone on Kiss the Kid’s son Extravagant Kid, who pulled away to win the $100,000 Sunshine Millions Sprint by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:10.04. Over his career, the 7-year-old gelding has won eight stakes and has been graded stakes-placed on four occasions, including a game second in the Grade 1 Highlander at Woodbine. A picture of consistency and soundness, Extravagant Kid now sports a record of 40-13-11-6 for lifetime earnings of $787,354. Kiss the Kid is a multiple graded stakes winner who won or placed in 17 stakes (12 graded) on dirt and turf. He is the fastest graded stakes winner at stud by Lemon Drop Kid and is out of a half sister to Horse of the Year Black Tie Affair. He stands for $1,500. Just 50 miles up the road, Fair Winds Farm in Waynesville is enjoying the most recent win by a daughter of their newly acquired stallion Danza. In the $100,000 Ruthless at Aqueduct, Cruise and Danze made her 3-year-old debut a winning one, after dueling for the lead and pulling away by 2 ¼ lengths in the seven-furlong test. In just five starts, the Haymarket Farm homebred has bankrolled $97,200. Courtesy Poplar Creek Horse Center

Benoit Photo

Texas Wedge

OHIO THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS AND OWNERS NEWS

Indy Wind AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 45

STATE ASSOCIATION NEWS Grade 1 Winner Drill Joins Raimonde Farm Roster John Engelhardt

Danza is a son of Street Boss out of the stakes-placed Champagne Royale, making him a half brother to multiple graded stakes winner Majestic Harbor ($1,295,814). He was graded stakes-placed in the Saratoga Special (G2) as a 2-year-old and the following season dominated the field in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1). He parlayed that effort to a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1) to Horse of the Year California Chrome and retired with $866,428 in earnings. You can be sure Fair Winds Farm will be adding these names to their “Horses to Watch” list: Betterlethergo, Caldwell and Unbridled Quest. They are all sons of Danza and early nominees to the Triple Crown this year. Danza will be standing his first season in the Buckeye State for a fee of $2,500.

Loooch Racing Stable Comes Up With Expensive Diamond in the Rough Who would enter an Ohio-bred first-time starter in a graded stakes race? Ron Paolucci, that’s who! The OTBO member has hit more than one home run with horses taking a jump in class, and if not for the horse whiffing at the start, he almost scored another one. Named Nikki and Papa, the daughter of Mineshaft brought a final bid of $500,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in March of last year. She was bred in Ohio by Susan King. While Paolucci is the majority owner, he has brought in partners on the striking filly: Ashley Quartarolo, Todd Cady, Leigh Anderson-Butler and Jeffrey Lambert. “I went down to the sale and watched her breeze in :10.1 and she finished up in :45.2,” Paolucci said. “What really was impressive was that she kept going and going. After we got her, I watched her first work and she outworked an older winner. The jockey [Fanny Olsson] works with trainer Bob Hess and she knows her well. We took blinkers off and she started to relax. Her last work was in company too, and she just wants to go as far as she can. She’s a beautiful mover and she is so talented I don’t think I have a horse in the barn she can’t beat.” The Grade 3 Forward Gal at Gulfstream Park was Nikki and Papa’s stepping off point, but the race didn’t start as her connections hoped. When the gates opened, she broke sharply from her inside post toward the rail and by the time Olsson got her straightened away she was trailing the field by nine lengths. “She got four or five lessons in that race,” Paolucci said. “She was hit with plenty of dirt, and when Fanny tried to get her out, Paco [Lopez] kept her down in there. When she realized she wasn’t going to get her out, she decided to go down to the inside and ran on well to the wire finishing third.” Well enough that track announcer Pete Aiello declared, “Nikki and Papa, she’s run a great race in her career debut!” The filly was being pointed to the Grade 2 Davona Dale at one mile on February 29 at Gulfstream. There may be an Ohio-bred in the gate on the first Friday in May for the Kentucky Oaks. We all know her connections aren’t afraid to swing for the fences.

46 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

Drillit, from Drill’s first crop, is a multiple stakes winner and Ohio’s 2018 2-year-old filly.

The stallion ranks in Ohio continue to grow in quality. The latest addition is Drill. Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, Drill broke his maiden in his second start at Del Mar, then captured the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity 25 days later over Creative Cause, starting a bit of a rivalry between the two. Creative Cause would turn the tables in their next start in the Grade 1 Norfolk Stakes. In his second start as a 3-year-old, Drill captured the Grade 2 San Vincente Stakes, over Creative Cause, at Santa Anita. Two races later Drill finished on top in Hollywood Park’s Grade 3 Lazaro Barrera Memorial. He was twice stakes-placed at 4 and then placed in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at 5 to close out his career with $557,022. Drill was standing at Get Away Farm in Ocala, Florida, when Brian Raimonde made an offer to purchase him. “We knew he was available and we found a common ground to buy him and bring him to Ohio,” he said. “He is young in his career and I think he is a stallion you could go to if you are looking for speed. Like him, his foals should develop quickly.” Proof of that statement is a filly from Drill’s first crop, the Ohiobred Drillit. As a 2-year-old in 2018, she flashed brilliant speed and dominated her division, highlighted by her smashing 16 1⁄4-length win in the $150,000 John W. Galbreath Memorial, to seal her state championship. Drill is by champion older male Lawyer Ron out of Cat Dancer, a winning daughter of Storm Cat. As a broodmare, Cat Dancer sold for $1.4 million and her foals have sold for up to $1.5 million. She is a sister to graded stakes winner Magic Storm, the dam of two Group stakes winners in Japan, with both earning more than $2.5 million. Drill joins the stallions Hostile Takeover, Kennedy, Quick Change and Vaquero at Raimonde Farms in Wooster. He stands his first Ohio season for an introductory fee of $2,500.

THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATION OF OKLAHOMA NEWS Welder Becomes First Thoroughbred to Win Back-toBack Horse of the Meeting Titles at Remington

Dustin Orona Photography

Plenty of incredible horses have raced at Remington Park over the past 31 years, but none have ever been voted Horse of the Meeting twice, until now. In earning the 2019 title, Welder became the first horse to repeat as the track’s Horse of the Meeting—something that a litany of other legendary horses in Oklahoma could not do. Clever Trevor, Silver Goblin, Highland Ice, Slide Show, No More Hard Times, Silver Icon, Peaked, Brother Brown, Zeeruler, Marked Tree and Evansville Slew all were Remington Horse of the Meeting just the one time. Owned by Clayton Rash’s Ra-Max Farms and trained by Teri Luneack, Welder, who won four races for the second meet in a row, also was named champion in three other categories: Sprinter, Older Male and Oklahoma-bred. “I’m so thrilled for Welder, Clayton and Toni [Rash’s wife] and the whole Ra-Max team for this accomplishment,” Luneack said. “It’s no easy feat to have all the stars align to make this all happen. He is a

Here’s a look at the other 2019 champions from Remington Park: Champion 2-Year-Old Male: Shoplifted Champion 2-Year-Old Female: Princesinha Julia Champion 3-Year-Old Male: Owendale Champion 3-Year-Old Female: Lady Apple Champion Older Female: Three Chords Champion Turf Performer: Alternative Slew Champion Claimer: Moonlight Train Among the human leaders at the meet, Steve Asmussen, a member of the National Racing Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame, won his 15th seasonal training title in Oklahoma City with 83 victories. It was also his fourth consecutive Chuck Taliaferro Memorial Award, named in honor of one of Remington Park’s leading trainers in its formative years. Asmussen passed Donnie Von Hemel during the meet for most wins in the track’s history with 1,051. He also topped all trainers in 2019 with stable earnings of $2,541,479. End Zone Athletics, the Mansfield, Texas, partnership of trainer Karl Broberg and Matt Johanson, ascended to the top of the Remington Park owner standings for the first time. In doing so, they unseated Danny Caldwell, who had led the owner standings for nine consecutive years. End Zone Athletics won 32 races from 158 total starts. The leading owner by earnings was C.R. Trout, a member of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Trout’s runners compiled $597,671 with Shotgun Kowboy posting the biggest win for the operation. A millionaire Oklahoma-bred, Shotgun Kowboy won his fourth career Oklahoma Classics Cup in 2019. The leading owner is presented with the Ran Ricks Jr. Award, named in honor of the track’s all-time leading owner at the time of his passing in late 1996. Jockey David Cabrera won his second consecutive riding title with 83 victories. The top jockey at Remington Park earns the Pat Steinberg Award, named for the track’s all-time leading jockey at the time of his passing in 1993. Cabrera also led all jockeys in earnings with $2,159,916. The Remington Park divisional champions were determined by voting from track officials and media who covered the 2019 season.

Remington Park Total Handle Continues Upward Trend Welder

superstar. Always will be. I’m just the lucky one that gets to share this life with him. I also want to thank all the Welder fans. I think they love this horse almost as much as I do.” Remington’s two-time leading rider David Cabrera was aboard for all four wins at Remington Park this year, as he was last year. Welder also is the first horse in track history to win four stakes races in one season, achieving that in 2018. Now 7, Welder, a gelded gray son of The Visualiser, broke the track record last year for six furlongs while winning the David M. Vance Sprint in a time of 1:08.13. It was the first of three stakes Welder won at Remington during the meet. He ended 2019 with 21 wins in 32 career starts and nearly $1 million in earnings.

The 2019 Remington Park Thoroughbred season concluded on December 15 and once again experienced increases in total pari-mutuel handle for the 67-date schedule. Total handle on Remington Park racing was $76,885,108, up 7.1 percent compared to the 2018 Thoroughbred season total of $71,798,190. This was the third consecutive Thoroughbred season that total handle on Remington Park racing increased over the prior year. The increase was driven by export handle going up over the previous year for the third year in a row. In 2019, other jurisdictions wagered $73,472,573, an 8 percent jump over the $68,021,279 bet from export sources in 2018. The Oklahoma Derby Day card set an all-time handle record on Remington Park racing of $3,086,572. The record lasted until the Springboard Mile Day program when $3,365,368 was played. Both record dates this season featured 13-race programs.

AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 47

STATE ASSOCIATION NEWS Remington Park’s daily average handle was $1,147,539, up from the 2018 daily average of $1,071,615. “Horseplayers everywhere continue to recognize the value of the Remington Park Thoroughbred racing product and have helped us maintain our upward trajectory,” said Scott Wells, Remington Park president and general manager. “We are extremely appreciative of our horsemen and our racing department for their collaboration in making this one of our most successful seasons ever, capping it off with an all-time record day.” Remington conducted 604 races last year, compared to the 609 contested in 2018. The average field size for 2019 moved 3.3 percent lower to 8.71 per race with 5,259 total starters. The 2018 average field size was 9.01 per race from 5,490 total starters. Total horsemen’s purses continue to grow as well with $16,971,799 paid in 2019. The daily average was $253,310, up 2.2 percent from the 2018 daily average of $247,791, from an overall total that year of $16,602,025 for the same number of days. After enjoying an increase in 2018, on-track live handle slid in 2019 with $3,216,874 wagered, down 11 percent from the total of $3,615,779.

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Will Rogers Downs Meet Starts March 16

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The Thoroughbred meet at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore kicks off March 16 and runs through May 23 with 29 days of racing. “The highlight of this season figures to be Welder,” said John Lies, racing secretary, announcer and oddsmaker at Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs. The track’s three-time Horse of the Meet is approaching the $1 million mark in career earnings. The gelding is being pointed to the Highland Ice Stakes on April 7. “We are encouraged by more stall applications for this meet than any other since I’ve been here, and response to the condition book has been positive,” Lies added. “We hope to proceed in the direction we headed last spring by increasing our exposure and handle through nurturing our relationship with TVG. This looks to be an exciting meet.” Get more information, including the track’s stakes schedule, at cherokeecasino.com/will-rogers-downs.

Between December 20 and January 10, South Carolina’s leading breeder, Franklin “Goree” Smith, saw four horses he bred win seven races at Laurel Park. Three of the winners—Walk Away Joe, Still I Wonder and Sweet Home Dixie—are owned by Smith and trained by his brother, Hamilton Smith. These three, along with Nana’s Shoes, are sired by Done Talking, who stands at Goree’s Elloree Training Center in Elloree. Sweet Home Dixie’s victory on January 10 was very special for the Smith brothers as it marked Hamilton’s 2,000th win as a trainer.

Board Election Results The TRAO counted ballots on January 6 for the 2020 OKHBPA/TRAO trainer or owner/trainer directors. The results were counted by the election committee, which consisted of Bill Anderson, Joe Alexander and Kris Richter, overseen by election director Ric Hedges. The results of the trainer or owner/trainer elections follow and will take their seats at the first TRAO board meeting: Mike Biehler, Kenny Nolen, Joe Offolter, Scott Young and Theresa Luneack. On behalf of the TRAO, we would like to express our gratitude to all candidates for their decision to participate in the election process and to represent the Thoroughbred horsemen of Oklahoma.

48 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

TRAO members are reminded that they are eligible for significant discounts through Equine Equipment, including Toro and Exmark mowers at up to 26 percent off MSRP and discounts on construction equipment, hay equipment and tractors from New Holland, along with Farm Paint and Tenda Horse Products. For details go to equineequipment.com.

Track Supers Event Set for September at Remington Park In case you missed the news last issue, Remington Park is set to host this year’s Track Superintendents Field Day on September 1416. The event brings track supers and their staffs together to discuss ways to improve track maintenance and safety. For more information, go to tracksupers.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA THOROUGHBRED OWNERS AND BREEDERS ASSOCIATION NEWS

South Carolina Stands Proud The 2019 Eclipse Award winners were announced on January 23, and British Idiom was named champion 2-year-old filly. Stuart Grant, owner of the Camden Training Center, is a member of the partnership group. Grant races under The Elkstone Group banner. British Idiom won all three starts in 2019, including the Darley Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland on October 4 and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) on November 1 at Santa Anita. Grant commented, “What a fantastic year she had! She is not only fast, but mentally tough and she is one of the sweetest fillies you could possibly imagine.” Two other Eclipse finalists, Sharing and Structor, have South Carolina connections. Sharing was a finalist in the 2-year-old filly division, and Structor was a finalist in the 2-year-old male division. Sharing is campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Farm. Eclipse has management staff who maintain an office in Aiken. Sharing also has been unanimously voted as the Midlantic-bred Horse of the Year. Structor is a member of the first crop of the Dogwood Stablecampaigned Palace Malice.

Twenty graded stakes winners in 2019 went through the breaking process in South Carolina. Goree Smith’s Elloree Training Center in Elloree led the way with seven: Grade 1 winners Arklow and Hog Creek Hustle, Grade 2 winners My Majestic Rose and Promises Fulfilled and Grade 3 winners Just Howard, Mr. Freeze and Sally’s Curlin. Travis Durr’s Webb Carroll Training Center in St. Matthews was represented with five graded stakes winners. Country House was the official winner of the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. Pat On the Back captured a Grade 2 race, while Heavenhasmynikki, Lift Up and Mitchell Road were Grade 3 winners. Both Mucho Gusto and Coal Front came up through Kip Elser’s program at Kirkwood Stables in Camden. Coal Front proved best in a Grade 1 while also winning a Grade 3. Mucho Gusto captured three Grade 3 stakes last year before debuting this year as winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park. Cary Frommer of Aiken watched two of her grads reach the winner’s circle in graded stakes. Henley’s Joy is a Grade 1 winner and Killybegs Captain won a Grade 2. Justin Wojczynski guided Concrete Rose through the breaking process in Aiken. The filly has gone on to capture a Grade 1 and two Grade 3s. Mike Keogh of Aiken has trained City Boy since the first day the horse had a saddle on his back. City Boy joined the ranks of Grade 2 winners in 2019. Brad Stauffer and Ron Stevens’ Legacy Stable Aiken grad, Eons, won a Grade 3. Synchrony, an alumnus of Jane Dunn’s Holly Hill program, reached the finish line first in a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 stakes.

TEXAS THOROUGHBRED ASSOCIATION NEWS Mr Money Bags Named 2019 Texas Horse of the Year Roy W. Cobb’s homebred Mr Money Bags will be crowned 2019 Texas Horse of the Year at the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s annual meeting and awards banquet on March 21 at Sam Houston Race Park. The night will also celebrate divisional Texas-bred champions with awards based on points earned in stakes performances during the year. Sired by Silver City, who formerly stood at Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas, Mr Money Bags had a tremendous 3-year-old campaign in 2019 with six wins from nine starts and earnings of $328,470. The gelding was undefeated in his home state, winning a division of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes Series and the Groovy Stakes at Sam Houston and another division of the Texas Stallion Stakes at Lone Star Park. The Mike Neatherlin trainee also proved himself against open company with two stakes wins at Zia Park, highlighted by a victory in the $250,000 Zia Park Derby. Mr Money Bags also earned the award for Texas Champion 3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding. The Texas-bred kicked off his 2020 campaign on January 26 with a dominating victory in the $75,000 Stonerside Sprint at Sam Houston. As the leading Texas-bred money earner for the year, Mr Money Bags earned Cobb the BloodHorse Breeder of the Year Award. Texasbred Miss Photogenic, a two-time stakes winner, earned Texas Broodmare of the Year as the dam of Mr Money Bags.

Coady Photography

Twenty Graded Stakes Winners

Mr Money Bags

Valor Farm, with a stallion roster that includes the state’s leading sire Too Much Bling, will be honored as the leading Accredited TexasBred money earner for 2019. The human awards—the T.I. “Pops” Harkins Award for lifetime achievement and Allen Bogan Memorial Award for TTA member of the year—will be announced at a later date. The Texas Champion Claimer award will be determined by an online vote in February. Invitations for the event are being mailed to all TTA members and more information will be posted on the TTA website. Following is the complete list of the 2019 champion horses: 2-Year-Old Filly: Gee She Sparkles (by Race Day) • Owners: GFB Racing LLC and Danny Pish • Breeder: Inside Move Co-2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Bubba Bling (by Too Much Bling) • Owner: Darren Fleming • Breeder: James Wessel Co-2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Moro Said Ready (by Moro Tap) • Owners: Penn Family Racing and Kevin Clifton • Breeder: Kevin Clifton 3-Year-Old Filly: Ima Discreet Lady (by Discreet Cat) • Owners: Duane Coker and Raymond Todd White • Breeder: Larry Huntsinger Older Filly/Mare: Shes Our Fastest (by Oratory) • Owners: Mark Norman and Norman Stables LLC • Breeder: Eureka Thoroughbred Farm Older Horse: Redatory (by Oratory) • Owner/Breeder: James Wessel Champion Broodmare: Miss Photogenic (by You and I) Horse of the Year and 3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Mr Money Bags (by Silver City) • Owner/Breeder: Roy Cobb

TTA Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet Set for March 21 Make plans to mix and mingle with fellow horsemen at the TTA Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet on Saturday, March 21, at Sam Houston Race Park. The event starts at 6 p.m. in the Finish Line Suite with dinner and the presentation of awards honoring the best Texas-breds and Texas horsemen of 2019. A live and silent auction benefiting the Texas Thoroughbred Educational Fund and The Paddock Foundation will also be held. The action on the track will feature AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020 49

STATE ASSOCIATION NEWS Texas Champions Day with seven stakes for Accredited Texas-breds with purses of $75,000 apiece, up from $50,000 last year. The TTA has secured special hotel discounts at the nearby Hilton Garden Inn Houston NW/Willowbrook and Best Western Sam Houston Inn & Suites. All TTA members should have received an invitation in the mail, and more information will be posted at texasthoroughbred.com. Seating is limited so please register by March 6.

We Have Your Money...You Have Our Information! Is your name on this list of breeders and owners who have earned money through the Accredited Texas-Bred Program for 2018 racing? For various reasons, the TTA has been unable to pay the individual(s) listed below. Usually the problem is very simple to correct. Perhaps a transfer form was never completed when you purchased your money-earning Texas Thoroughbred, or maybe you have moved and forgotten to tell us. Please call the TTA’s Accreditation Department at (512) 458-6133 so we can complete your paperwork—and so you can collect your ATB earnings. Basilio Lozano ......................................................................$712.68

50 AMERICAN RACEHORSE • WINTER 2020

TTA Announces Membership Promotion Supporting Thoroughbred Aftercare The Texas Thoroughbred Association is offering the Texas Trifecta, which provides three years of membership for the price of two. That means a three-year traditional individual membership is just $120 (save $60) and joint memberships (for couples and business partners) and family memberships (parents and children under 18) are just $200 (save $100). This promotion is good for new members and renewals, even if the current membership has not expired. Plus, the TTA will donate $20 in the new or renewing member’s name to one of the following Thoroughbred aftercare organizations: LOPE Texas, Remember Me Rescue or The Paddock Foundation. The Texas Trifecta promotion ends June 30, 2020, and one lucky new or renewing member will be drawn at random to win a lifetime TTA membership valued at $2,000. To take advantage of this special discount, call the TTA office at (512) 458-6133 or join/renew online at texasthoroughbred.com

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RECEIVE UP TO $20,000 BONUS BY FOALING YOUR NEW OR MAIDEN MARE IN IOWA

By nominating your mare, you are eligible for a $10,000 Bonus if that foal is the leading money earner (from mares nominated) at Prairie Meadows for any season, starting in 2022. That foal is only eligible to win the Bonus one year. • $5,000 Bonus if that foal went through the sales ring as a weanling or yearling during the ITBOA Fall Sale.

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Register the mare with the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Call (515) 281-4103 The mare must be registered prior to foaling and must remain in the state until she foals. If you brought the mare to Iowa and registered her before December 31, 2019, you may breed her back to any stallion.

• $5,000 Bonus if the foal is by a stallion that sold in the Dec. 2018 ITBOA Stallion Season Auction.

If you bring the mare to Iowa after December 31, 2019, and registered her prior to foaling, you must breed her back to an Iowa-registered stallion if not in foal to an Iowa-registered stallion

NOMINATION SCHEDULE: July 1, 2020: $200.00 (ITBOA MEMBERS) $300 (NON-MEMBERS) Late entries by September 1, 2020 $500.00

The mare is required to be in the state of Iowa for a minimum of 30 days during the foaling period. After foaling, the Department of Agriculture must inspect your foal before it leaves the state.

TOTAL OF $20,000 IN BONUSES AVAILABLE This is non-transferrable. Bonus will only be paid to the Breeder of the foal, as long as it is the same entity that nominates the mare.

The foal must also be registered with the Iowa Department of Agriculture prior to racing.

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