By Ray Paulick Please click here to donate to Breeders’ Cup Charities benefiting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and V Foundation for Cancer Research. Give a minimum of one penny per mile and you will be eligible for a drawing to win one of 10 Breeders’ Cup caps to be signed by the winning jockeys of all 14 Breeders’ Cup races this Friday and Saturday.
Saturday was supposed to be strictly a driving day for the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive, but Brad Cummings and I never met a racetrack we didn’t like, so when we saw that Will Rogers Downs was just a couple miles from the Claremore, Okla., exit on I-64, we felt compelled to stop.
The fundraising drive, done in partnership with Breeders’ Cup Charities, will benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
There was no live racing going on at WRD, but plenty of slot machines, simulcasting and a friendly staff. We even saw a patron arriving on horseback—not something you see every day.
The simulcast room was relatively full, and we talked with one of the regulars, a fellow who looked like a love child of Yosemite Sam and ZZ Top. He was a serious player, bringing a briefcase full of trip notes on tracks around the country, but said he was looking forward to the live meeting that begins at WRD in February. “The racing’s gotten pretty good here,” he said. “Some of the horses from the Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park will show up.”
This is one of those racetracks that probably wouldn’t be in business were it not for slot machines, or in this case Indian gaming. Will Rogers Downs is owned by the Cherokee Nation, one of three Indian tribes that own racetracks in Oklahoma. The Choctaw Nation owns Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw. That’s the track where jockey Mark Pace died earlier this month. Since that tragedy, the Choctaws announced they will be closing the track because of economic reasons related to the track’s location.
Tomorrow, we’ll be visiting Remington Park, which recently was purchased by Global Gaming Solutions, a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation. No track has taken ahold of the bit on raising funds for the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST drive like Remington Park has, and I think we’ve got an exciting and gratifying day ahead of us tomorrow. Scott Wells and his staff have gone above and beyond any of our wildest expectations, and we owe a special thanks to Joy Rose Murphy, the track’s promotions coordinator.
I’m not sure I’ll feel the same way after tomorrow’s “Hippity Hop” race, when Brad and I mount giant rubber balls and bounce our way down the track against members of the local jockey colony. But if you’re going to be humiliated, you might as well do it for a good cause.
On a serious note: If our experiences with Remington Park under its new ownership are any indication, horse racing is going to benefit from the Chickasaws’ involvement in the industry. It appears they understand the value of good corporate citizenship.
The visit with Michael Straight and his family at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago will be with us for a long time. Sadly, just in the last 24 hours we’ve learned of more spills and mishaps involving jockeys, beginning with an accident at Keeneland involving Julia Brimo, a Sovereign Award winner as leading apprentice in Canada. She was listed in critical condition at a Lexington hospital. Apprentice Amanda Casey, who earlier on Friday at Aqueduct celebrated her first win of the meeting, ended up at a New York hospital with a bruised liver after getting kicked in a paddock mishap. Earlier today, we learned that Omar Moreno was involved in a spill at Woodbine in Canada.
The beat goes on, and so does the industry’s need to help provide for jockeys who are permanently disabled from riding accidents. If you haven’t made a donation to Breeders’ Cup Charities to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research, please do so by clicking here.
After Friday’s visit with the Straight family, we headed south and encountered heavy rainfall alongo the way. We thought we’d stop in and catch some racing at Fairmount Park’s simulcast room late in the afternoon, but didn’t bring our waders to walk through the parking lot to the front door. Apparently we’d just missed a heavy storm that flooded the parking lot and other businesses in the St. Louis area.
Our Saturday began with a tasty breakfast at a Waffle House in Springfield, Mo., in the Ozarks. I thought I’d walked into a bizarre rehearsal for the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but Brad reminded me that it was Halloween morning, and the crew was just having a little fun. Too bad. I think the Rocky Horror Waffle House could be the next big thing in the franchise world.
Sponsors for the Chicago to Oklahoma City portion of this fundraising drive are: Global Gaming Solutions and Remington Park; Terry Finley and his West Point Thoroughbreds partners; Tommy Simon’s Vinery; and Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm.
Sponsors for our previous segments were
TVG; Bill Casner and WinStar Farm; Barry Irwin of Team Valor International; Kate Lantaff of Tahoma Stud; the William S. Farish’s Lane’s End, Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley, Brereton C. Jones’ Airdrie Stud and the Young family’s Overbrook Farm.
A special thanks to our media partner TVG and the TVG’s online community for playing such a big part in promoting the drive and raising awareness and money for these charities. All sponsorship dollars go directly to Breeders’ Cup Charities, to be divided evenly between the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Even with no Grade 1 races offered this weekend, there are still a number of competitive graded stakes to be run in Kentucky and New York. Keeneland closes its meet on Saturday with the running of the G3 Fayette, for three-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles over the Polytrack surface. Vying for favoritism will be Blame, coming off a second-place effort in Louisiana’s G2 Super Derby, and the Shug McGaughey-trained Parading, who comes back to Kentucky after a California campaign that yielded off-the-board finishes in three Grade 1 events. Parading won the Ben Ali (G3) this year at Keeneland’s spring meet. Medjool and Giant Oak have scratched.
Churchill Downs opens its doors on Sunday and the spotlight will be on juveniles in two Grade 3 stakes, the Pocahontas, for fillies, and the Iroquois, for colts and geldings. Both races are one-turn miles on the dirt. There are no stand-outs in the contentious Pocahontas field, but look for good showings from Sassy Image, Tiz Miz Sue and Happy Week. Running Bride is three-for-three at Hoosier Park which also makes her a factor here.
The Iroquois is also wide open; the morning line favorite at 4-1 is Dublin, trained by Wayne Lukas. Dublin won the Hopeful (G1) but ran fifth out of six starters as the odds-on favorite in the Champagne (G1). Uh Oh Bango and Three Day Rush are coming off minor stakes wins.
Racing changed venues in New York this week and the Aqueduct graded stakes schedule includes Sunday’s G3 Long Island Handicap, for fillies and mares, three years old and up at 1 ½ miles on grass. In the field of seven, Tom Albertrani’s trainee, Criticism, is the one to beat. The 5-year-old daughter of Machiavellian has three wins this year, all performed in wire-to-wire fashion. Most recently, she finished second to Pure Clan in the prestigious Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap. This is expected to be Criticism’s final race before heading to the breeding shed.
By Ray Paulick
Every kid should be so lucky to have parents like Sandy and Beth Straight.
“They are very inspirational people,” said Nancy LaSala, executive director of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
The Straights are parents of 23-year-old twin sons, Michael and Matthew, who were living out their dream together as professional Thoroughbred jockeys until that dream turned into a nightmare in a split second on Aug. 26. That’s the day Michael Straight suffered severe spinal and head injuries in an Arlington Park racing accident. The lives of the family from Albany, N.Y., took a dramatic and tragic change.
Sandy and Beth Straight were watching the race at the Albany OTB parlor. Matthew was riding in Kentucky. All of them knew immediately that this was a bad spill. Arlington Park chairman Dick Duchossois dispatched his private jet to New York to bring Michael’s parents to the hospital. Matthew didn’t need to be told. He got in his car and began driving to Chicago within minutes of the accident.
Sandy and Beth Straight put their lives on hold and have remained with their son in Chicago since August. Every day they come to the hospital, first at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and now at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where Michael was moved Oct. 11 and is now undergoing occupational, physical and speech therapy. They are there from nine in the morning till seven at night many days, offering support, love and hope to their son. “It’s one day at a time Michael,” Beth Straight said.
The Straights aren’t wealthy people; they work for the state of New York’s labor department—or used to until Michael was injured. But thanks to fellow riders, friends, family, people in the horse industry and organizations like the Jockey Club Foundation, the Don MacBeth Fund and the Jockeys’ Guild, they are getting able to stay with Michael. Right now, the situation is grim. “No one knows,” Sandy Straight said. “The spine is a mystery. You just can’t give up hope.”
Matthew has been there for his twin, too, spending as much time with him as he can. “He likes us to be around,” Sandy said, “but there’s nothing that lifts his spirits as much as seeing his brother.” Earlier this week, Matthew took Michael out for lunch and cruised the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue, not far from the Rehabilitation Institute.
Michael and Matthew Straight have always been best friends, and they both grew up dreaming of becoming jockeys. Sandy Straight talked about how as young boys he’d seen them straddling the back of a couch, using pillows for saddles and crouching low while driving their mounts to the wire in an imaginary race. When they were nine, the boys went from riding the couch to practicing on an Equicizer, the simulated riding device developed by jockey Frank Lovato and used by professional jockeys to get back in riding shape after taking time off. At 12, Michael and Matthew learned about an organization started by the late Trudy McCaffery, “Kids to the Cup,” which offered expense paid visits to tracks hosting major races around the country including the Breeders’ Cup. Getting a close-up look at their sport through the “Kids to the Cup” program cemented their desire to ride.
Eventually they went to the North American Riding Academy that Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron established at the Kentucky Horse Park, Matthew graduating in 2007 and Michael the following year. As required by the NARA curriculum, Michael served an apprenticeship, working in the stable of trainer Wesley Ward. He launched his career earlier this year, winning with his first mount at Tampa Bay Downs on March 6. He had 39 career wins when Im No Gentleman, the horse he was riding Aug. 26 apparently clipped heels and fell, throwing Michael to the Polytrack surface awkwardly. The horse, which apparently died from a broken neck, did not fall onto or roll over the jockey.
One of the Chicago-area owners Michael rode for, Dan Sullivan, organized a fundraiser for the jockey and his family on Oct. 25 at a restaurant Sullivan owns in a Chicago suburb. “Dan Sullivan has been incredible,” Sandy said. “He’s done so much for us. One of his kids wrote that letter up there on the wall,” he said, pointing to an over-sized, hand-printed letter signed by all of his classmates.
“Bill Thayer (Arlington Park racing executive) just loves Michael and he’s devastated over what happened. Guys like Wesley and Chris are being really hard on themselves, thinking they somehow are to blame for this, but it’s not their fault.”
Sandy and Beth said it was tough to watch Matthew when he rode at Arlington Park for the first time after Michael’s injury, and they watch his races from a completely different perspective today. “We always said ‘just get around the track safely,’” Sandy said, “but now…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence.
We had the opportunity to visit with Michael and his parents, along with the PDJF’s Nancy LaSala on Friday morning, while in Chicago on the second stop of the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive from Kentucky to California. The drive, in partnership with Breeders’ Cup Charities, is benefiting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research. We’ve had some fun raising money for the charities, but today’s visit really hit home what these seriously injured riders go through.
Everyone in racing is hoping that Michael Straight will not have to become the next rider to benefit from the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund—certainly not his parents. But the PDJF has to be there to help these riders when there are no miracles and prayers are not enough.
Michael and Matthew Straight will turn 24 years old in a couple of weeks, on Nov. 12. The best birthday present for them would be an improvement in Michael’s condition, but the odds are against that happening so soon. A donation to Breeders’ Cup Charities to benefit the PDJF and V Foundation would be an appropriate way to recognize their birthdays. Please click here to make a donation.
If you can’t give, please consider sending a birthday card to lift Michael’s spirits. (It can be sent to Michael Straight, c/o Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 E. Superior, Chicago, IL 60611.) It might also lift the spirits of Sandy and Beth Straight. They have shown incredible strength over the last 10 weeks, but the stress they are experiencing and the pain they are feeling is taking a toll on them, too.
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Liberation Farm celebrates the many horsemen and horsewomen who strive each day to make things better for horses and those who work with them. To learn more about Liberation Farm, click here.
By Ray Paulick
When a jockey goes down in a race, there’s no one that shows more concern than a fellow rider, even if it’s been 45 years since that fellow rider has been on a horse’s back. I witnessed that concern Thursday afternoon at Hawthorne, when a horse named Loose Lips got cut off a few strides out of the gate in the seventh race and jockey Angel Stanley tumbled to the ground.
Brad Cummings and I were sitting with former jockey Dennis Keehan in the box area when the incident occurred, and the look in his eyes when Stanley went down was a picture I’ll remember for some time. Fortunately, Stanley jumped up and apparently was uninjured.
Keehan wasn’t so lucky the last time he fell onto a racetrack. It was 45 years ago at Sportsman’s Park when a horse he was riding was shut off, stumbled and went down in a four-horse spill. A trailing horse tripped and fell right on top of his chest, paralyzing him from the waist down. Keehan was 21 years old, and needless to say, he’s been through a lot since then. Claire Novak tells his story in a poignant ESPN.com article here.
Today, Keehan is a witty and engaging man who now and then enjoys coming out to the track, handicapping the races and betting a couple of bucks. Life isn’t easy when you’re in a wheelchair and on your own, but the monthly check he gets from the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund helps Keehan get out from under the medical bills that can pile up when you have special needs.
To see the Dennis Keehan interview, click below.
We were at Hawthorne on day two of the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive from Kentucky to California, and as I said in our sendoff from Keeneland yesterday, where we were blanked at the betting windows, Chicago is our kind of town.
We’d like to thank TVG, Bill Casner and WinStar Farm, Barry Irwin of Team Valor International, and Kate Lantaff of Tahoma Stud for sponsoring this segment of the trip. Their sponsorship dollars go directly through Breeders’ Cup Charities and will be divided equally between the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Lane’s End, Darley, Airdrie Stud and Overbrook Farm sponsored the first segment.
Hawthorne’s management and staff provided the same great hospitality we were treated to at Keeneland, but the horses here were much more accommodating. The wagering bankroll provided to us by Breeders’ Cup more than doubled (thanks largely to a 7-1 winner, Watch Pat, in the fifth race) making up for a tough start in Kentucky. Our guest handicapper from the TVG online community, Steve Hunsberger, also had a good day at Hawthorne, hitting an exacta in the sixth along with a sizable place bet on the second-place finisher, Napoleon’s Retreat, whose Waterloo came in the final sixteenth of a mile. Had Napoleon’s Retreat held on for the win, Steve would have cashed an even bigger ticket. on behalf of the charities. Thanks to TVG for their partnership on this fundraising effort and to all the members of the TVG community who participated.
Hawthorne got into the spirit, too, bankrolling Katie Mikolay, the track’s personable simulcast hostess and handicapper, and assistant general manager Jim Miller. If they went bust (like I did at Keeneland on Wednesday), Hawthorne was going to make a generous donation to Breeders’ Cup charities. A special thanks to Hawthorne president and general manager Tim Carey.
All proceeds from the winnings go to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Whether you are an owner, breeder, trainer, racing fan/horseplayer or someone like me who has had the good fortune to make his living in this industry, I hope you’ll consider making a donation to support these two worthy organizations.
Please click here to go to the Breeders’ Cup Charities page and make a donation.
Hawthorne was where I became a racing fan and horseplayer when I lived in Chicago in the mid-1970s, and it’s always fun coming back to the track where I “cut my teeth” in racing. Like any racetrack in Illinois that has to compete with casinos in the Chicago suburbs or in neighboring Indiana, there have been some struggles, but the Carey family that’s owned Hawthorne for 100 years is committed to racing, and it shows.
While here, we had the opportunity to meet several members of the jockey colony, including Jerry LaSala, a board member and treasurer of the Jockeys’ Guild, and the unique father and son riding duo of Randy and Brandon Meier. Randy Meier’s broken 50 bones during his career, and he wasn’t crazy about his son following in his footsteps, but racing has a way of getting into your blood. In talking with him about 21-year-old Brandon, though, you can sense the pride he has in him and can tell how much fun he’s having riding with and against his son.
See interviews with Jerry LaSala and the Meiers by clicking below.
We’re meeting PDJF executive director Nancy LaSala Friday and hope to have a chance to talk with Michael Straight, who suffered a devastating injury this summer as a young apprentice rider at Arlington Park and is undergoing rehabilitation. Then it will be back on the road for the drive to Remington Park in Oklahoma City for some fun and fundraising activities on Sunday.
We’ve got a long road ahead of us between here and California for the Nov. 6-7 Breeders’ Cup, but it’s nothing compared to what these disabled riders face when their passion and their world comes crashing down on them.
If I haven’t asked you already, and I know I have, I’ll ask you again: please give.
By Ray Paulick When Eye of Taurus and Bluegrass Princess swept the Pin Oak Valley View Stakes last week at Keeneland for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, it vaulted the New York-based native of Kentucky to the lead among trainers of American Graded Stakes winners for 2009.
The wins represented the 12th and 13th individual American Graded Stakes winners of the year for McLaughlin, who ranks fifth among North American trainers by money won (click here for those standings) behind Steve Asmussen, last year’s Eclipse Award winner as outstanding trainer and the leading candidate to win again this year. Asmussen, with 11 individual AGS winners, is well ahead in the standings by money won, with $18.7 million. Todd Pletcher, second to Asmussen by money won with $12.8 million, also has 11 individual AGS winners of 2009.
While McLaughlin-trained horses have won only $6.5 million, he’s had just over one-fifth the number of starts that Asmussen’s had (2,403 for Asmussen, 511 starts for McLaughlin). As he said to Karen Johnson in an interview at ntra.com, McLaughlin has purposely cut back on the number of horses in his stable, ending a relationship with West Point Thoroughbreds and focusing more on the Darley and Shadwell Stables owned by Sheikhs Mohammed and Hamdan al Maktoum of Dubai. "Kiaran is a first-class guy," said Terry Finley who runs West Point and described the parting as completely amicable.
McLaughlin’s greatest success came with Shadwell’s 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor. “Shadwell has always enjoyed a very special relationship with Kiaran," said Rick Nichols, vice president and general manager of the operation. "We have gone through many good times as well as many bad times together. He is an excellent trainer and has a terrific organization of assistants and staff. His integrity is beyond reproach and always has in mind what to do best for the horse.
"On a personal note, I consider him a great friend and respect him both as a horseman, a friend and a wonderful family man."
Despite the lead in saddling the number of AGS winners, I’d still consider McLaughlin a longshot this year to win his first Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer. While the Breeders’ Cup could tilt the scales, the current favorite would be Asmussen, followed by the 2009 leader in saddling the most Grade 1 winners, Bob Baffert.
Baffert has six individual G1 winners this year, twice the number Pletcher, Asmussen and Bill Mott, who have three apiece. McLaughlin has saddled two G1 winners in 2009.
A lot of that could change by the end of next weekend.
Our first day of the BC or Bust trip has started off with a bang. We were fortunate to have about ten jockeys attend an autograph signing including stars Kent Desormeaux, Jon Court, Robby Albarado and Julien Leparoux. We sold nearly 100 hats with all the proceeds of course are going to our two charities, the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
These proceeds are great and will add nicely to the over $20,000 we have already raised privately. A special thanks to our Keeneland to Chicago segment sponsors Lane’s End Farm, Darley, Airdrie Stud and Overbrook Farm for coming through with a generous donation to the charities. The outpouring of support has been remarkable but we still have more money to raise. If you are interested in sponsoring a leg of our trip, drop us an email at info@paulickreport.com. If you would like to give a smaller amount, you can always make secure credit card donation on the Breeders’ Cup Charities page linked here.
It only took two hours into our journey for Ray to cop out so this first blog falls on the shoulders of his humble correspondent, Brad Cummings. I’ve become accustomed to carrying his water so nothing new on my front!
According to Mike Wolken who works at the Equestrian Room, the best bet of the day is the grilled rueben sandwich here. That seems to be a safe bet as Tom Leach, voice of Kentucky Wildcats football and basketball lost his first bet on the opening race with a win bet on the four horse. Here’s to hoping that was our only stroke of bad luck today!
Please drop any suggestions you might have in the comments section below.
A few video clips from today. First is a quick look at the autograph lineup of jockeys. Some of the best in the world are here at Keeneland.
Second is a great interview with Kent Desormeaux who was gracious enough to give his time. (Due to user error, the first 20 seconds were chopped off. I promise this will be my first and last mistake over the next 10 days…)
Two races down and few more bets have failed. Our TVG Community friend Angelo missed on his first leg of the Pick 4, going with the 4 and 11 horses. No worries though, he’s got a couple more bets to go. Due to our association with TVG, we’ve been able to include a couple of their top community handicappers and look forward to much success on their bets.
Be sure to catch Tom Leach and Ray on TVG as they talk about the BC or Bust fundraising drive right after the third race at Keeneland.
Ray’s got his first bet of the day in the fourth race on the three horse. Looks like Tom is going for the ten. Both would be great for our charity drive. May the best man win! (Appropriate that Tom would pick a horse named flexthegoldenpipes since he’s a radio guy)
And another poor showing. We’re bleeding here folks. On a side note, Petecarol won the race. Ray’s wife’s name is Carol and a USC grad. For those of you who don’t know, Pete Carroll happens to be the name of the USC football head coach. I think Ray might be in the dog house for not catching on to the obvious sign here.
By Ray Paulick TO SAY THE WAGERING SELECTIONS HAVE BEEN COLD would be an understatement. My solo wager of the day, Doubles Partner, broke a bit slowly and then rushed up to engage for the lead around the turn. But the son of Rock Hard Ten paid for his early efforts and had nothing left when Petecarol cruised past at the top of the stretch.
Tom Leach, who was kind enough to take time from his busy schedule to go one-on-one with me in a handicapping challenge (he’s calling a Blue-White University of Kentucky basketball scrimmage later today on WLAP/630 and 98.1 FM The Bull) hasn’t had much luck, either, but we’ll both be swinging in the seventh race. Our TVG community partner, Angelo Lieto, has his big bet of the day in the eighth, on the Indian Charlie filly Silver Time.
In the seventh, Tom and I both are trying to beat the favorite, the Bernstein filly Orchestrator, and we’ve wound up on the same horse: Check the Label, a daughter of Stormin’ Fever owned by Brereton Jones and trained by Graham Motion. I’ll not only be playing a straight bet on Check the Label, but I’ll be pulling for the filly because Jones’ Airdrie Stud is one of the four sponsors for the first leg of this fundraising drive, along with Lane’s End, Darley and Overbrook Farm.
Julien Leparoux will be riding Check the Label. He was one of the many jockeys who took time out of their schedule earlier today to sign Breeders’ Cup caps in front of the Keeneland gift shop. Proceeds, as Brad Cummings mentioned, go the two charities.
At the end of the autograph line was Robby Albarado, who was showing the effects of a nasty spill at Keeneland the weekend before last when he went down and was kicked in the eye. This was one of those spills that could have been devastating, and Robby was lucky to escape with "only" an eye completely swollen shut.
Sitting next to Robby in the autograph line was Kent Desormeaux, who lost the hearing in his right ear from a spill 17 years ago. He’s come back and is riding at the top of his game, but both riders know the dangers of their profession and how important it is to have a safety net in the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
Just 10 minutes to post before our last bet of the day, and unless our TVG online community friend Angelo Lieto is correct, we could be shut out on the day, a tough way to start this portion of the fundraising drive. Silver Time, his pick, Silver Time, has been bet down from her 8-1 morning line to 9-2 with just a few minutes to post time. A win by Silver Time and Jesus Castanon for trainer Larry Jones and the Cottonwood Stables will give us a profit on the day. A loss puts us in a hole that we’ll have to dig out of tomorrow at Hawthorne.
Well, no complaints. Silver Time ran a good race, just not good enough to win. She got a good trip from the inside, bid for the lead turning into the stretch, and was simply outfinished by the late-running Diamond Song, an Unbridled’s Song filly owned and bred by diamond explorer Charles Fipke. Diamond Song was ridden by Kent Desormeaux and trained by Dallas Stewart.
No one said picking winners would be easy. We’ll take our swings tomorrow in Chicago. For Brad and me, it’s our kind of town, Chicago.
Thanks again to the management and staff of Keeneland for helping us launch the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive, and thanks to the jockeys who gave their time to meet fans and autograph Breeders’ Cup caps, TVG for helping promote the fundraiser and to Tom Leach and TVG online community member Angelo Lieto.
And a special thanks to the four sponsors of this segment of the journey: William S. Farish’s Lane’s End, Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley, Brereton C. Jones’ Airdrie Stud and the Young family’s Overbrook Farm for their generosity toward the two charities.
Please consider a donation of any amount to Breeders’ Cup Charities, to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Click here to donate.
By Ray Paulick
With less than 24 hours to go before Brad Cummings and I make our first stop at Keeneland and then hit the road for two weeks on the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST FUNDRAISING ‘DRIVE’ to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and The V Foundation for Cancer Research, I’m having similar thoughts to the ones I had in August when I was packing for an 18-hour flight to Cape Town, South Africa.
Namely, I’m wondering about my sanity.
Two weeks in the car with someone you love is tough (ever take a long road trip with the wife and kids?), but two weeks with a business associate you don’t really know that well magnifies the differences several times over. We do have some similarities and share common interests: we’re both male, were born in Illinois and have a passion for horse racing. But I think that’s about it.
In Chicago terms, I was a Northsider and he was from the South Side. I’m a Cubs fan, he likes the White Sox. I’m a Democrat, he’s a Republican. Come to think of it, I may need to check to see if I’ve got enough frequent flyer miles in my account if I need to bail out.
So all those things are running through my head when I get an email from someone I’d never met who writes to say she is a cancer survivor and is sending a $2,000 donation to support these two causes. “I’m looking forward to following your cross country pilgrimage on TVG!” she added in her note.
That kind of encouragement will sustain us through some long days, short nights and bad food. Because, in the end, this venture isn’t about us but about playing a small part in helping fund vital cancer research and providing assistance to jockeys who have been injured to the point they are permanently disabled and unable to do the daily tasks that so many of us take for granted.
We’ll have a lot of people to thank along the way, and the donations and sponsorships are already starting to come in. If you haven’t done so already, please consider a donation to these charities through our partner on this journey, Breeders’ Cup Charities. You can access their secured online donation site here. If you are interested in sponsoring a segment of the drive, drop us a note at info@paulickreport.com.
In the meantime, you can follow us each day here at the Paulick Report or on our exclusive media partner TVG’s daily program “The Morning Line.” We’ll also be making some afternoon appearances to report on our progress.
If you’re in Central Kentucky, you can tune in tonight to Dick Gabriel’s “Sports Nightly” radio show (WLAP, 630 AM from 6-8 p.m.) to hear more about the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST FUNDRAISING ‘DRIVE.’ I’ll be a guest on the show shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday at Keeneland, I’ll be pitting my rusty handicapping skills against Tom Leach, the radio voice of the Kentucky Wildcats, in an effort by both of us to cash some tickets on behalf of these charities.
And if you’re at Keeneland tomorrow, the jockeys there have been kind enough to hold an autograph line to support this cause. From 11:30-12:30, you can buy a Breeders’ Cup hat or visor for $15 and receive all the autographs you want from your favorite jocks. All proceeds go to Breeders’ Cup Charities.
If you’ve got a sure-fire winner at Keeneland Wednesday, please submit a comment below.
By Bradford Cummings
Kentucky Republicans connected to the horse industry will find themselves in an interesting predicament next year. The always-pending slots issue has caused much consternation for those of us on the right that see this as an economic development issue and not a moral one. In a state with legal gambling on horse racing, a statewide lottery and an abundance of charitable gaming, the overused/misused word hypocrisy easily comes to mind when considering the social right’s argument.
And yet I have stayed silent on this issue publicly. Until recently, I was the chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party (Louisville) while also working for the Paulick Report. It was a non-paying 40-hour-a-week volunteer position, and eventually I had to make a business choice and walked away after 16 months served to fully focus on the growth of this website. (Those of you who have served in volunteer political positions can attest it is a love-hate experience if you try to do it right.)
While not the reason I resigned, the slot machine issue is a perfect example of why my career will likely never head back in the direction of party politics. (That sound you just heard was the last shred of my political career flushing down the toilet…I sure hope we can turn the racing industry around!)
Part of the party game, Republican and Democratic, is to create a platform and get the entire machine to walk in the same direction while beating the same drum. I do not say this to disparage the process. To a certain extent, this sort of singular focus is necessary to get anything done politically or otherwise. Have you ever attempted to get a consensus among 30 people, 10 people or even you and your spouse? The concept of majority rules definitely serves its purpose. But it can also be incredibly destructive for those who feel passionately about an important issue.
And this is where I find some sympathy for the likes of state Sen. Damon Thayer, the Georgetown, Ky., Republican who plans to file legislation in support of a constitutional amendment to legalize slot machines at Kentucky racetracks. Damon is a friend of mine and from what I can tell, a good man trying to do right in a difficult position. Anyone who believes his actions are to help himself personally needs to consider a Kentucky state legislator only makes roughly $30,000 a year. I am not sure what his other work pays, but considering his talents and the fact he has a family to feed, the Senate job probably has less short term upside than his Thoroughbred interests.
Philosophically, I agree with the constitutional amendment. On large fundamental issues, the people’s voice should be heard from directly and I assume Damon’s intentions are to find an opportunity to give this issue a proper public hearing. But upon further review and especially with the details of his proposed legislation, I have to admit to being wrong. The statutory path is likely the only one to bring expanded gaming to the Bluegrass State.
Obviously, much of this rides on how the special election for Republican Sen. Dan Kelly’s now vacated seat turns out. The district has a heavy Democratic registration advantage and their candidate, Jodie Haydon, comes from the most populous region within its boundaries. The Republican, Jimmy Higdon, is well liked and will be a strong candidate but comes from a much less populous part of the region. In many ways, this race shapes up to be a mirror of the election this summer that went to Democrat Robin Webb by a slim margin. If history repeats itself, Kentucky will see a Senate that once had a 23 – 15 Republican advantage slip to a 20 – 18 margin (including one Independent caucusing with the Republicans) in little more than a year. With the commitment from Kentucky’s horsemen obvious, a strong case could be made that this slip may lie primarily at the feet of David Williams’ decision to go down swinging on the slots issue.
Assuming the worst for Kentucky Republicans, which is more likely? Republican Tom Buford continues to vote for slots as he did this year and one other Republican is swayed out of fear of an electoral minority after 2010, or an amendment passes by a margin of 23 – 15, meaning that three Democrats throw away the pro-slots momentum their party currently enjoys and allows Republicans to claim a victory for the horse industry? Anyone who believes Democrats will give up that power clearly does not understand the underbelly of the political system.
Additionally, the House would have to find eight more votes than it had this year and again ignore the historical boost of momentum Republicans would earn from this legislation. The Democrats who possess a super-majority in the House would have been more likely to publicly admit voting for John McCain in last year’s Presidential election.
Even more concerning though is the cost a referendum would put on the horse industry. Millions of dollars would have to be spent to win this referendum, millions of dollars many horse industry folks do not have to spend, especially after the performance of Kentucky’s Thoroughbred sales this year. The opposition would be well funded by social conservatives and other lobbying interests who would prefer to see Kentucky without slots. So while the slots issue polls well now, the political climate would be impossible to foretell. As they say, a year equals several lifetimes in politics.
Assuming this process was a success, Thayer’s amendment proposition requires passage of a local referendum in the counties with racetracks. Likely, most counties would agree to the local referendum but another year would pass, putting us into 2012 before slot machines could be seriously considered. That time frame doesn’t take into account the bidding and licensing process. And if my interpretation of the proposed legislation is correct, racetracks may have to compete with other potential gaming outfits to secure the franchise rights, and might end up without VLTs. While money would still be earmarked for purses, the tracks would suffer if that occurred.
But at least you don’t have to worry about that worst-case scenario happening. This would never get out of the Kentucky House. As Senate Democratic leader Ed Worley, it would be “dead on arrival.”
By Ray Paulick Some people think I’d do just about anything to not get on an airplane. One of those folks is Brad Cummings, my partner in the Paulick Report. A couple of weeks ago, knowing that I’ve had my fill of bad experiences with commercial airlines, he asked if I’d be driving out to the Breeders’ Cup from my home in Lexington, Ky., to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
“Are you nuts?” I asked. I told Brad I was in the process of booking a flight but then, for some reason, said, “Why don’t you drive out there with me.” We had just been discussing our disappointment in not being able to get a group of people together from Central Kentucky to fill a chartered bus and attend a Chicago-area fundraiser Oct. 25 for apprentice jockey Michael Straight, who was seriously injured in a riding mishap at Arlington Park this summer. Brad had really been hoping to show that people in Kentucky had the young jockey in their thoughts and prayers, but understood that giving up a Sunday and Monday to attend the event was a tall order for many folks.
“Maybe we can put together our own fundraiser,” I told Brad, stopping at tracks along the way, and somehow raising awareness and money for not just Michael Straight but for all the injured riders who depend on the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. It’s an organization that provides sorely needed financial assistance to more than 60 jockeys who have suffered some form of paralysis, head trauma or other debilitating injury.
From that lunchtime meeting in Lexington came the idea for BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST: A FUNDRAISING ‘DRIVE’ that gets under way at Keeneland this Wednesday (Oct. 28), continues at Hawthorne in Chicago on Thursday (Oct. 29), Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Sunday (Nov. 1), Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M., next Monday (Nov. 2) and Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz., next Tuesday (Nov. 3). We’ll stop at a Las Vegas racebook next Wednesday (Nov. 4) and then arrive at Santa Anita Park on the eve of the Breeders’ Cup.
We made a few phone calls after our initial discussion, including one to someone at the Breeders’ Cup to see if the organization was interested in partnering with us on this crazy idea. To my astonishment, they were immediately supportive. So was TVG, the racing network and account wagering company, which will help promote this fundraising effort on both their telecasts and online through the TVG community as our exclusive media partner.
Breeders’ Cup Charities officials suggested we branch out and consider a second charity to benefit from this drive, specifically The V Foundation for Cancer Research, founded by ESPN and the late North Carolina State basketball coach and television commentator Jim Valvano. Coach V, who died from brain cancer in 2003, gave the foundation its motto, “Don’t give up…Don’t ever give up,” during an unforgettable speech at the inaugural ESPY awards when he received the Arthur Ashe Courage & Humanitarian Award, just eight weeks before his death.
We’ve all lost friends or loved ones to this disease, and the absence of stricken Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel from this year’s Breeders’ Cup will serve as a sad reminder of how devastating cancer can be. The V Foundation has funded vital research into unraveling the mysteries of cancer over the past 15 years. It ranks among the top 2% of all charities ranked by the independent organization, Charity Navigator, for maintaining extremely low administration and fundraising expenses.
While these two organizations deal with serious medical issues, we plan to have some fun while raising money on behalf of Breeders’ Cup Charities and the two organizations. We’ll be raising awareness for them, too, chronicling each stop on the zig-zagging, 2,835-mile road trip with live blogs detailing our experiences.
We hope you’ll stop by the Paulick Report, beginning Wednesday when BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST starts at Keeneland, where the jockey colony will be autographing Breeders’ Cup caps and I’ll be participating in a one-on-one handicapping challenge with local radio personality Tom Leach, the voice of the Kentucky Wildcats. Breeders’ Cup is staking us to a bankroll that we hope to increase throughout the trip with help from the TVG community and handicappers and horseplayers at each track.
Other promotions along the way include a race pitting the two traveling partners of the Paulick Report against members of the Remington Park jockey colony riding big, bouncing rubber balls. I think I’m at least 50-1 to win that contest.
You’ll have an opportunity to support the ‘drive,’ too, by pledging a specific amount per mile at the Breeders’ Cup Charities secured web site and making a tax-deductible online donation. Please click here to donate now.
In addition, for each of the six segments of the drive, we are soliciting individuals, businesses or charitable foundations as sponsors willing to donate a minimum of $2,000 to the charities. Please email us at
info@paulickreport.com if you are interested in sponsoring a segment, which will be acknowledged throughout the trip in our daily blogs.
It’s been less than 18 months since the Paulick Report launched as an independent source of news and commentary for the Thoroughbred industry. As many of you know, in our early days we were sustained by the support of readers like you who contributed during National Public Radio-style fundraising drives. Since then, we’ve been blessed with overwhelming growth in both readership and advertising support from businesses throughout the racing and breeding communities.
Because of that support, we feel privileged to be able to put our energies toward something that truly is a worthy cause. We are asking you to give again. Please join us in supporting Breeders’ Cup Charities to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Graded stakes racing is especially light this weekend because of the close proximity of the Breeders’ Cup just two weeks away. There will be one race of interest in the Sprint division, the G1 Frank J. De Francis Memorial, to be run on Saturday at Laurel Park. The six-furlong race, for 3-year-olds and upward, has a tradition of being used a springboard to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. In 2006 and ’07, De Francis winners Thor’s Echo and Benny the Bull both went on to compete in the Sprint; Thor’s Echo won the Sprint in 2006 and Benny the Bull finished fourth at Monmouth Park. The De Francis Dash was put on hiatus in 2008 due to financial distress according to the Maryland Jockey Club.
This year the De Francis Dash features Vineyard Haven, installed as the morning-line favorite at 8-5. On the 2009 Kentucky Derby trail after wins in the Hopeful (G1) and the Champagne (G1) as a 2-year-old, he was shipped to Dubai to prep for the Derby. After a dismal race at Nad Al Sheba, he didn’t reappear on the track until Aug. 29 this year in the King’s Bishop (G1) at Saratoga. He finished first but was disqualified to second for interference in the race run over a sloppy track. If he proves his mettle here over older horses for the first time, he may a contender for the Breeders’ Cup.
Other graded stakes being run Saturday are the Harold C. Ramser Sr. Handicap (G3) and the Raven Run (G3), at Oak Tree at Santa Anita and Keeneland, respectively. The Ramser is for 3-year-old fillies going one mile on the turf. The probable favorite is Mrs Kipling, a stakes winner in England and Italy before shipping to the Neil Drysdale barn a year ago. She finished first and second in two graded stakes this year before being eased in the 1 ¼-mile American Oaks (G1) in July. After a three-month layoff, she’s working sharply and returns to the mile distance she obviously prefers. Mrs Kipling is owned by network and celebrity chef Bobby Flay.
The Raven Run, open to 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs on Keeneland’s Polytrack, is full of talent but Flashing is a slight stand-out. The Godolphin-owned daughter of A.P. Indy won the Test (G1) this summer before finishing third with a respectable effort in the Presque Isle Downs Masters (G3) in her debut over a synthetic surface. Look for her to be making a powerful run through the late stretch.
Belmont does not have any graded stakes this weekend. The Saturday card features five stakes for New York breds highlighted by the $250,000 Empire Classic. On Sunday there are six stakes races; two of the races, the Ticonderoga and the Mohawk, are for New York breds.
There was no live racing going on at WRD, but plenty of slot machines, simulcasting and a friendly staff. We even saw a patron arriving on horseback—not something you see every day.
After Friday’s visit with the Straight family, we headed south and encountered heavy rainfall alongo the way. We thought we’d stop in and catch some racing at Fairmount Park’s simulcast room late in the afternoon, but didn’t bring our waders to walk through the parking lot to the front door. Apparently we’d just missed a heavy storm that flooded the parking lot and other businesses in the St. Louis area. 
We hope you’ll stop by the Paulick Report, beginning Wednesday when BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST starts at Keeneland, where the jockey colony will be autographing Breeders’ Cup caps and I’ll be participating in a one-on-one handicapping challenge with local radio personality Tom Leach, the voice of the Kentucky Wildcats. Breeders’ Cup is staking us to a bankroll that we hope to increase throughout the trip with help from the TVG community and handicappers and horseplayers at each track. 