Archive for the ‘California’ Category

By Ray Paulick

When IEAH Stables bought an interest in 2007 Remsen Stakes winner Court Vision from WinStar Farm earlier this year, the son of Gulch had the look of a Derby horse. He eventually lived up to that billing, though his Grade 1 Derby victory came not on the dirt at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May but on the Hollywood Park turf on the last Sunday in November. Under Ramon Dominguez, who earlier in the day won the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes with Godolphin Racing’s Cocoa Beach, Court Vision made an eye-catching run from last at the top of the stretch to win the Hollywood Derby by three quarters of a length, defeating Cowboy Cal and Midships.

Trained by Bill Mott, Court Vision covered a mile and one-quarter on firm turf in 2:01.43 as the 7-2 second choice in the betting. It was his fifth win in 12 starts and first in a Grade 1 event.

After winning three of four starts as a 2-year-old, Court Vision regressed somewhat on the road to the Triple Crown, finishing third in both the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park and Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. After a disappointing 13^th behind IEAH’s Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby, Mott switched the colt to turf, where he finished fourth in the Colonial Turf Cup and an unlucky second, beaten a nose, in the Virginia Derby, both races at Colonial Downs.

Back on dirt in the Travers at Saratoga, Court Vision was never a factor when sixth behind WinStar’s Colonel John, then ended his six-race losing streak with a victory in the Jamaica Handicap on turf at Aqueduct (the first time Dominquez rode him).

Muny set the pace from the outside post position in the Hollywood Derby, going a half mile in :49.41, six furlongs in 1:13.40, and a mile in 1:37.56. Cowboy Cal overtook the frontrunner in midstretch, but didn’t have enough to withstand the fast-finishing Court Vision, who caught him in the final strides. Midships closed well to get third. Based on Court Vision’s position at the one-mile call on the Equibase chart, he flew home his final quarter-mile in about 22 3/5 seconds.

Bred in Kentucky by the W.S. Farish and Kilroy Thoroughbred Partnership, Court Vision was produced from the Storm Bird mare Weekend Storm, a half sister to leading sire A.P. Indy. 

Video of the Hollywood Derby.

Earlier in the Hollywood Park Turf Festival program, favored Cocoa Beach rallied  in the stretch to catch the front-running second-betting choice Precious Kitten and win the Matriach by three-quarters of a length. Juddmonte Farms’ Visit was third.

Cocoa Beach, second to Zenyatta in her last start, the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, was trying the grass for the first time since her maiden victory in Chile in January 2007. She was purchased by Godolphin last year and sent to Dubai, where she won two of four starts and was third in the UAE Derby. The 4-year-old daughter of Doneraile Court won her first two American starts, including the Grade 1 Beldame at Belmont Park, before running second in the Breeders’ Cup on the synthetic Pro-Ride track. She is trained by Saeed bin Suroor. Cocoa Beach covered the mile on firm turf in 1:35.49.

Matriarch chart.

Video of the Matriarch.

Video of the Hollywood Turf Festival graded races.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. 

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

Earlier this year when 46 Thoroughbreds from a California breeder’s farm wound up by deception at a feedlot in Arizona, their eventual destination likely to be a Mexican slaughterhouse, Priscilla Clark of Tranquility Farm in Tehachapi, Calif., stepped in. Working with a nationwide network of friends and supporters who helped raise awareness of the horses’ plight and, more importantly, the funds to buy them, Clark saved the Thoroughbreds from likely slaughter and within weeks found adoptive homes for nearly all of them.

Without Tranquility Farm, those horses would almost certainly have gone through a terrible ordeal ending with an undignified death, and in so doing tainting the Thoroughbred industry as one that discards its equine participants with little regard for their welfare.

Since 1998, the mission of Tranquility Farm, a 501(c)3 organization, has been to take in Thoroughbreds retired from racing or breeding and to either find them new homes, after rehabilitation and retraining, or give them a comfortable retirement whenever possible. The operation is based at the Harry A. Biszantz Memorial Center, developed on an abandoned horse farm located 120 miles north of Los Angeles. The center was made possible through the generosity of Thoroughbred owner and breeder Gary Biszantz, the former golf club manufacturer and owner of Cobra Farm whose dream was to create a horse sanctuary in honor of his late father. After Biszantz purchased the property, donations came in from a variety of sources throughout the industry to help build new barns, fencing and training facilities.

The current horse population at Tranquility numbers about 100 and includes millionaires, stakes performers and many fan favorites. Click here to see its roster of retirees. Because it cannot accommodate every retired racehorse, the farm prioritizes its adoptees by their racing or breeding accomplishments. Owners are requested but not required to contribute sponsorship funds to defray costs, which exceed $250,000 on an annual basis.

Clark, who has bred and raced Thoroughbreds for many years, serves as Tranquility Farm’s president. She is supported by a board of directors of knowledgeable and influential California racing industry participants.

Click here to find the different ways you can support Tranquility Farm, though one of its most popular fund-raising efforts is its annual calendar. The 2009 calendar, “In the Presence of Champions,” includes such stars as Big Brown, Zenyatta, War Chant, Nashoba’s Key, Lethal Heat, Street Boss, Golden Doc A and Colonel John. Click here to order a copy.

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. 

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

The dispute that’s prevented out-of-state horseplayers from betting on Hollywood Park races through account wagering or advance deposit wagering (ADW) companies is about money, of course. Isn’t it always? The same issues shut down account wagering on Churchill Downs, Calder Race Course and other tracks earlier this year.

No one who’s been paying attention to the hot-button issue of revenue distribution of account wagering dollars can say they didn’t see this coming.

Thoroughbred Owners of California has drawn a line in the sand against the ADWs, saying they deserve a more equitable share of ADW revenue from wagers made both in California and out-of-state. As more dollars shift from on-track or traditional simulcast locations to ADWs, the TOC claims, horsemen are getting a smaller slice of the action to fund purses. “We’ve been saying it for years, and the time is finally here,” said TOC president Drew Couto. “We’re not going to consent (to previous agreements).”

Horsemen’s associations have the contractual right through the federal Interstate Horse Racing Act to withhold simulcast or account wagering. However, it wasn’t until the creation last year of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Group, which assists local horsemen’s organizations with ADW contract negotiations in at least 17 states, that horsemen began to aggressively exercise that right. TOC helped create THG and Couto serves as vice president of the new organization. THG acts in a similar capacity to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), which negotiates and collects licensing fees on the use of copyrighted music created by its members.

While the dispute involves four ADW companies, the most vocal critic of TOC and THG is David Nathanson, president of TVG, the leading horse racing cable channel and largest ADW company. Since the Hollywood Park fall meeting began Wednesday, TVG has used its television and online platforms to urge fans to contact TOC with their complaints.

“The TOC decision is bad for everyone involved in horseracing,” TVG president David Nathanson said in a statement. “Purses are being cut. Horsemen will lose money. Hollywood Park will lose revenue. Worst of all, this action hurts the fans when the industry needs them the most.”

Hollywood Park already has announced purse cuts.

Couto sees it differently. “We’re trying to build a model where everyone can prosper,” he said. “(TVG) didn’t listen to us for seven years because we weren’t working with other groups. Now they are listening because they don’t have a choice.”

Couto presented a detailed report on ADW wagering and revenue distribution during a meeting of the California Horse Racing Board in mid-October that showed how revenue to both in- and out-of-state horsemen and tracks is being squeezed with the growth of account wagering. “Up to about 72% of ADW revenues are retained by ADW companies, and overall about 50% is retained by those four companies,” Couto said. “We don’t believe that’s equitable or in the best long-term interest of the industry.”

TVG disagrees with Couto’s assessment of the distribution share that TVG has been paying, saying that it paid 67% to tracks and horsemen on wagers made during the 2008 Hollywood Park spring meeting.

Complicating matters in the current ADW dispute is what many see as a conflict of interest with Hollywood Park president Jack Liebau, who also serves as chairman of the board of Youbet, one of the four ADW companies involved in contract talks. Hollywood Park is expected to close next year, so some question whether or not Liebau is concerned more with the profitability of Youbet than he is with Hollywood Park. However, Couto has said Youbet and Magna Entertainment’s Xpressbet have engaged in good-faith negotiations. TVG and TwinSpires, the ADW platform owned by Churchill Downs, have not, he said.

“We are on our seventh version of a model that would assure ADW companies of content for the next three years at slightly higher rates than they currently pay,” said Couto “The rates do escalate if ADW handle grows by 20% over three consecutive quarters. That recognizes that the ADWs incur no incremental cost in growth.”

Nathanson insists that TOC is turning down a deal that would bring horsemen and the tracks $500,000 more in revenue than they received in 2007. “The only reason they are withholding the signal,” he said, “is to benefit this out-of-state horsemen’s consortium (THG). It doesn’t make economic sense. We are ready and willing to sit side by side and face to face any time to resolve these issues. Ultimately these need to be rational decisions as opposed to decisions that aren’t in the best interest of their own constituency.”

Couto flatly rejects Nathanson’s contention. In a letter to TOC members posted on the organization’s Web site, Couto wrote: “To the contrary, CA Thoroughbred interests would have received over $165,000 more from TVG alone, and over $633,000 from all four licensed ADW providers during the spring meet alone! Over the entire calendar year, North and South, that adds up to millions more in purse revenues for California owners! “

“We have cut back on our Hollywood Park coverage,” Nathanson said. “We are showing 100% of Hollywood Park’s races, but when you are cutting off a large chunk of the revenue we can’t afford to send a full-fledged crew down there to do special shows. We had to eliminate the popular All-Access show because of this.”

“Nathanson is misleading people,” Couto said. “He’s saying let’s make one group happy and screw the rest. We had no success getting higher rates with the TVGs of the world. We got together, shared information, took it back to our boards and said, ‘Here’s what we’ve learned.’ Our boards individually said, ‘We’re getting screwed.’ The only way we can get the TVGs of the world to change is for us to say,’Enough is enough.’

“These guys have had seven years to work with each of the horsemen’s associations,” Couto added. “They created the situation, and yes, horsemen are saying we are going to solve this once and for all for everybody, so we can move on, so this industry can get healthy again.”

 Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. 

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one holding his breath when the gates opened for the fourth race Saturday at the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting from Santa Anita. Seven “old” men and one still young woman, all of them Living Legends who have retired from professional race riding, were set to show that their skills had not all faded.

Thankfully, the eight horses and riders made the seven-furlong course safely, with 59-year-old Canadian Sandy Hawley, one of the all-time great riders and gentlemen of the game, romping to victory aboard the race favorite, Tribal Chief. (Click here to view the race.) Hawley took his charge wire to wire to win by 6 ½ lengths, looking every bit as good as he did in his prime 30 years ago, when he was nine times Canada’s champion jockey and four times led all North American riders by wins. Tribal Chief gave Hawley his 6,450^th career victory, 10^th on the list of all-time North American leaders.

Following Hawley across the finish line were horses ridden by Living Legends Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, Pat Day, Julie Krone, Jacinto Vasquez, Chris McCarron and Angel Cordero Jr. (Equibase chart.) All are members of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Not riding but participating in autograph sessions were three other Hall of Famers: Eddie Delahoussaye, Laffit Pincay Jr. and Jorge Velasquez.

We’re hearing a lot recently about what a good thing it is to be a maverick. Jackson seemed worthy of that title as a supporter, ironically, of tradition; and restoring the BC’s more appropriate role in championship racing. By running in the Turf instead of the Classic, Curlin’s master would not only maintain his personal credibility, but would also assume a leadership role in righting racing’s course.

Finishing second in his lone turf start — sandwiched between two previous BC Turf winners — Curlin’s defeat in the Man o’ War appeared to be more a function of riders than horses. Curlin could redeem himself against the returning Red Rocks and add to his Horse of the Year resume in the process. The best part would be that Curlin’s fans would be able to bet him with the confidence they would be getting a competitive as well as sporting effort from both horse and owner.

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. 

Well, it was fun while it lasted, this dream of someday returning to Hialeah Park to enjoy horse racing in its most beautiful setting. Since making my first trip there in 1988, when the South Florida track already was in severe decline, I’ve held out hope that someone, somehow could restore it to some semblance of its past elegance.

At first, I let John Brunetti convince me that everyone really was out to get him and that if he could only get a break from state legislators and regulators he could be the one to bring Hialeah back. But then, as the years went by and I saw Brunetti’s recalcitrance and heard about his disingenuous actions from horsemen and others involved in Florida racing, my expectations were that Hialeah Park would never be reopened after running its last race in 2001.

Then along came Halsey Minor, reigniting the flame of hope many of us hold for Hialeah. The Internet entrepreneur and Virginia Thoroughbred owner and breeder put together a team of experts to appraise the property, map out renovations for the grandstand and clubhouse, design new barns, and develop an operating plan. He engaged Brunetti is discussions that so many of us hoped would lead to a sale of the track to Minor and the rebirth of the “sport” of racing in South Florida.

Brunetti is one of those guys who has a number in his head that isn’t based on appraised values, or highest and best use of the property. The price Brunetti wants today, the Paulick Report has learned, isn’t even in the ballpark of what he was trying to get previously from the state of Florida. It’s much higher.

There is no rationale for Brunetti’s demands, for he isn’t a rational man. He just has a price, and one that isn’t based on reality – especially the reality of an economy that has seen real estate values plummet, credit tighten and development slow to a crawl.

So the talks between Minor and Brunetti are dead, unless Brunetti has any second thoughts.

Given the nature of the economy, financial markets and zoning impediments that would keep Brunetti from bulldozing the track and putting up a business park or condos, Hialeah Park isn’t going anywhere soon. It will just sit empty as Brunetti gets older and more bitter about his plight. Minor, 43 years old and involved in many other business projects, can simply wait Brunetti out and see if his heirs have more interest in doing something with the track than Brunetti.

As Minor has been quoted as saying, in that scenario Brunetti would “forego any of the recognition of giving back what he took from racing."

The problem isn’t what NYRA’s marketing department has done over the last few months. It’s much bigger than that. The challenge for the “new” out-of-bankruptcy NYRA (which looks suspiciously like the old NYRA to me) is to redefine itself and somehow overcome a reputation defined by decades of arrogance and indifference to the public.

THANKS TO THE READER WHO TIPPED US TO THE LATE SCRATCH OF SAILORS SUNSET from Saturday’s Grade 1 Ancient Title sprint at Santa Anita. A check with the California Horse Racing Board’s equine medical director, Dr. Rick Arthur, confirmed that there was a scratch on that day’s program because a horse received a pre-race throat flush that involved something other than water, the only substance permitted on race day. Arthur said there appeared to be no performance-enhancing procedure attempted on the horse (i.e., a milkshake), but that a steward’s hearing would be conducted into the matter. If Sailors Sunset was indeed the horse in question, the hearing would involve trainer Marcelo Polanco.

California’s prohibition on race-day of throat-washing products such as Wind Aid that are commonly used in some other jurisdictions could create problems at this year’s Breeders’ Cup for trainers unfamiliar with CHRB regulations. For that reason, Arthur said, the Breeders’ Cup horseman’s handbook will explain its medication rules in detail and an associate steward will be assigned to outline California medication rules to every trainer with a horse in the Breeders ‘ Cup.

All were outstanding, without question, but in my book the race that might be the most overlooked was the track-record blowout by Fatal Bullet in the Kentucky Cup Sprint at Turfway Park. This 3-year-old Red Bullet gelding is a synthetic track specialist who could be very dangerous on the Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Who did you like in these Breeders’ Cup preps?

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

Support the Paulick Report. Make a donation today.

In addition, Halpern said, Jeff Mullins, a member of the CTT’s board, also agreed to take a voluntary leave of absence 
"while current CHRB charges against him are litigated." Jack Carava and Clifford Sise were named as interim directors by the board. Jim Cassidy was named to replace Sadler as president of the organization.

During a phased-in ban on anabolic steroids, the CHRB began testing July 1 without treating positive tests as violations but informing trainers and owners if a horse tested positive. From Aug. 1-Sept. 3, positive tests were to be reported as violations but but penalized. Beginning Sept. 4, penalities are to be meted out on steroid positives. According to Thoroughbred Times, Sadler accounted for 18 of 38 positive tests after testing began.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. 

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

While CNET founder Halsey Minor continues his efforts to purchase Hialeah Park from current owner John Brunetti, he also has contacted financially troubled Magna Entertainment about the possible sale of Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles and the company’s two Maryland Jockey Club tracks, Pimlico and Laurel. But after speaking with Magna’s chief financial officer, Blake Tohana, Minor doesn’t think Magna is a serious seller, despite recent comments by company chairman Frank Stronach during a conference call to discuss second quarter financial results.

“I had the most baffling conversation in my life with a CFO, particularly one whose job depends on asset sales,” Minor said in an email to the Paulick Report, which he also copied to Tohana. “Basically, nothing is for sale. Maybe they have some time shares for you. (Tohana) said Frank misspoke when he said he was considering selling a majority interest in Santa Anita. Now it is back to a minority interest.

“You can only buy (the Maryland tracks) if you have a gaming license. (Tohana) did not specify what that meant or why it was important. …  This is despite the fact that Magna is not guaranteed any slot franchises in the current legislation, and they would need to post a $50-million bond which they don’t have to get one. At the very least if he had been on his toes he should have asked to borrow the money.

“You need to call him and hear this for yourself,” Minor suggested. “You would think you were talking to the CFO of Microsoft sitting on a pile of cash, given the attitude. Self-effacing, Blake is not. Not a good quality in a salesman. Without an investment bank, nothing sells if my experience is any guide.”

Minor said Tohana had no idea who he was when he called (“which is odd because I am the only person in America acquiring tracks right now and they claim they are selling them”) and eventually hung up on him. “I will go on record as saying these assets are going to be sold by banks,” Minor continued. “Banks don’t necessarily have good bedside manners, either, but they have good prices.”

Tohana responded to Minor with a terse email of his own, which he also copied to the Paulick Report, saying that Minor had “misrepresented” their telephone conversation. “Further, your manner of communicating to me via email and telephone was inconsiderate, rude and misinformed,” Tohana wrote. “In doing my job, I have always carried myself with dignity and professionalism. I think that view would be shared by anyone who has dealt with me during my career.”

Tohana went on to say that MEC has sold more than $400 million in assets “without investment bankers,” adding, “We will continue to pursue other asset sales and joint venture transactions as we have previously publicly disclosed. However, I do not have to take your personal insults just because you purport to have an interest in Santa Anita Park and the Maryland Jockey Club.”

Tohana also seemed irritated that Minor had called him to discuss the possible sale of the tracks during a family vacation, a comment that seemed to heighten Minor’s disdain for Magna’s CFO.

“I find interesting that you are on vacation at all and that you feel so offended I have bothered you on your vacation,” Minor wrote Tohana in a follow-up email. “My company is not imploding and yet I am fully engaged working to clean up some of your mess while here in Hawaii (on a vacation) with my family.

“Blake, you are condescending and that is no way to be with a company whose market value is less than many of our farms, whose massive debt is unserviceable and where you work in the service of the company that has literally blighted our industry.

“Enjoy your vacation, Blake, because when you get back things will only have gotten worse, not better, and you pissed off a potentially valuable ally royally. And if you haven’t noticed, you didn’t have many to start with.

“I believe results in life speak volumes, and I believe this applies equally to my career as it does to your company. Neither failure or success is an accident. A quick check would reveal that I have created billions in value, even exceeding your leader’s car parts business, while your outfit has not only destroyed massive amounts of shareholder value, but possibly the Thoroughbred business with it.”

When reached by the Paulick Report, Tohana said Minor was not “respectful” during their conversation. Tohana said he was fully aware of who Minor was when he received a call from him. “I had heard of the guy,” Tohana said, “but I wasn’t happy with some of the things he has said about our chairman (Stronach).”

Tohana has been Magna Entertainment’s CFO for more than five years, outlasting many of the executives who have come and gone in a revolving door atmosphere. He joined the company in July 2003 after serving in a number of executive positions at Fireworks Entertainment, a Toronto, Canada-based concern that produces and distributes television programs and movies.

“I’m quite a reasonable person,” Tohana told the Paulick Report. “I’m pretty straight up. Look, it’s not a secret (that we’ve had a great deal of executive turnover). This company hasn’t performed very well.”

Tohana insists Magna is “continuing to sell” some properties but said Stronach’s comments about possibly selling a majority interest in Santa Anita were “misreported.” He also said there remains the possibility that MI Developments, the real estate operating company that holds a controlling interest in Magna Entertainment, could be reorganized to relieve the debt-ridden racetrack company’s financial pressures. MI Developments recently extended by one month a bridge loan in excess of $100-million owed by Magna Entertainment and due at the end of August. Dennis Mills, a former member of Canada’s parliament and one-time vice chairman of Magna Entertainment, was recently named interim CEO of MI Developments following the departure of John Simonetti.

In the meantime, Minor continues to work on a business and operating plan for Hialeah. He has had a second meeting with Brunetti in Del Mar, Calif., and said Brunetti is working with his team on developing a business plan. “That’s a tremendous benefit,” Minor said, “and it shows that John really wants to help get Hialeah reopened.” Minor said the architects he would use to renovate Hialeah Park have inspected the long-shuttered track to get a better estimate of what the price tag would be to return it to its former condition.

Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report

Support the Paulick Report. Make a donation today.

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world. 

Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick