Posts Tagged ‘Add new tag’
Saturday, September 5th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
When the field for the $300,000 Darley Debutante reached the top of the stretch at Del Mar, track announcer Trevor Denman said even-money favorite Mi Sueno was “struggling.†But the flashy daughter of Pulpit, who had been passed on both sides entering the home straight, swung to the outside under Michael Baze and came flying late to win the Grade 1 race for 2-year-old fillies by one length. Blind Luck finished second, La Nez was third and It Tiz fourth in the field of eight going seven furlongs on Polytrack.
Necessary Evil, breaking from the inside, rushed up to take the early lead, with pressure from Punctual to her outside, clipping through an opening quarter-mile in :22.60. Mi Sueno raced in fourth position early, then was shuffled back a bit around the turn as the leaders went the half in :45.59. Once Baze swung her outside of horses, she lengthened her stride, reaching out beautifully and gaining ground quickly on the leaders. She was pulling away at the wire, completing the seven furlongs in 1:23.78 after a six furlong split of 1:10.80.
Bred by Southern Equine Stables and Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, Mi Sueno was coming off a 6 1/2 length win in the Sorrento Stakes, her first victory in three starts (she finished second in two Hollywood Park maiden races). When the filly was offered at the 2007 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, Southern Equine’s Mike Moreno bid $1.7 million to buy the filly out of the partnership, an American record price for a weanling. She races for Southern Equine and is trained by Eric Guillo.
Mi Sueno was produced from the Hennessy mare Madcap Escapade, an outstanding racemare who won seven of nine starts, including the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland over champion Ashado, and she earned in excess of $1 million. Frank Brothers called her “absolutely the best filly I’ve ever trained and probably one of the most brilliant filly sprinters that I’ve seen.â€
Mi Sueno’s long stride suggests she will be able to stretch out beyond the seven furlongs of the Darley Debutante, and she has to be considered the early favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Click here for the Darley Debutante chart.Â
Tags: Add new tag, blind luck, darley debutante, del mar debutante, Eric Guillot, hill 'n' dale, It Tiz, la nez, madcap escapade, mi sueno, necessary evil, Southern Equine Stable
Posted in Stakes Results | Comments Off
Friday, July 10th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
A national survey from the Unwanted Horse Coalition released Thursday shows that the number of neglected, unwanted or abused horses has been on the rise as economic conditions across the country have worsened. No surprise there (though a group called the Equine Welfare Alliance said the Unwanted Horse Coalition survey was “slanted” and was released in conjunction with a Senate committee hearing in hopes of stopping federal anti-slaughter legislation). Eighty-seven percent of the participants in the survey (horse owners, equine industry stakeholders and non-horse owners) believe the issue of unwanted horses has become a “big problem,” and 63% of horse rescure or retirement facilities polled are at or near full capacity.
The national survey also said 38% of horses brought to the facilities are turned away.
That isn’t the case with the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, according to the non-profit organization’s development director, Cyndi Greathouse. “No horse is ever turned away,” Greathouse told the Paulick Report.
 Opened in April 2007, the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, located on Catnip Hill Road in Nicholasville, Ky., has taken on 400 horses of all shapes, sizes and breeds (including donkeys, miniatures and mules). It accepts horses from individuals, corporations, county animal control agencies throughout Kentucky, other humane societies or equine organizations. “We are a shelter much like the animal shelters for cats and dogs,” said Greathouse. “After an equine is surrendered to KyEHC, they are wormed, immunized and have a physical examination by a licensed veterinarian. Those that are deemed physically and mentally suitable, are put up for adoption.”
Horses not qualified as adoptable, due to severe injury, illness, or mental unsuitability, are humanely euthanized by a licensed veterinarian.
Lori Neagle, co-founder of ReRun, another Kentucky-based non-profit that helps develop second careers for Thoroughbreds, serves as the Kentucky Equine Humane Center’s executive director. The center maintains a small paid staff (three full-time and one part-time employee) but relies heavily on volunteers. Volunteer orientation is held every second Saturday of the month.
Greathouse said the “mission of KyEHC is to provide humane treatment and shelter while working as a clearinghouse to seek adoptive homes for all of Kentucky’s unwanted equines, regardless of breed. KyEHC is also committed to educating the public and raising awareness for responsible horse ownership so that fewer horses end up in crisis. Our goal is to work with and serve as a model for organizations with the same mission in other states: to save America’s equines from inhumane treatment.”
The Kentucky Equine Humane Center works with the Bluegrass State’s major Thoroughbred tracks (Turfway, Keeneland, Churchill Downs and Ellis Park), where owners can surrender horses directly from a training or racing stable. The racing secretary’s office at each tracks has “surrender forms” that owners can fill out, volunteers for Kentucky Equine Horse Center will care for the horses until the organization arranges for transportation to the Nicholasville farm.
“We ask for a donation when a horse is surrendered,” said Greathouse. “But because the surrenders usually stem from financial reasons, owners giving up their horses can not afford donations that are enough to even offset the cost of transporting the horse to KyEHC.”
The Kentucky Equine Humane Center was founded by: Josephine Abercrombie, Alice Chandler, Dianne Curry, Carol and Tracy Farmer, Becky and Greg Goodman, Staci and Arthur Hancock, Margaret Jewett, Julia and Arnold Kirkpatrick, Lori Kirk-Wagner, Judy and Chris McCarron, Debby and John Oxley, Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, and Kim and Nick Zito.
Visit the KyEHC website to learn more about the organization and its various programs (the “Horse of the Week” is featured on the web and is also spotlighted every Friday on WTVQ, the Lexington ABC affiliate, and an “Open House Adoption Day” is held every third Saturday of the month at the center). The Kentucky Equine Humane Center is a charitable 501(C)3 organization that is sustained solely through grants and private donations. Greathouse said it is the only equine organization in the state of Kentucky with “an open-door policy where no equine in need of shelter is ever turned away and no fee is required to surrender an equine.”
For more information about the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, adoptable horses, or volunteering please visit www.KyEHC.org or call executive director Lori Neagle at (859)-881-5849. 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.Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Add new tag, Alice Chandler, becky and greg goodman, carol and tracy farmer, Debby and John Oxley, dianne curry, equine welfare alliance, good news friday sponsored by liberation farm, horse slaughter, john hendrickson, Josephine Abercrombie, judy and chris mccarron, julia and arnold kirkpatrick, kentucky equine humane center, Kim and Nick Zito, kyehc, liberation farm, lori kirk-wagner, margaret jewett, marylou whitney, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, staci and arthur hancock iii, unwanted horse coalition, unwanted horses
Posted in Good News Friday | 10 Comments »
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
Curlin passed Cigar to become North America’s all-time earnings leader and first $10-million horse with his second consecutive victory in the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup on a sloppy Belmont Park track on Saturday afternoon.
Ridden by Robbie Albarado, Curlin raced in midpack early as Wanderin Boy set the pace under Alan Garcia — his fractions in :24.67, :48.79, 1:13.08, and 1:36.70. Curlin ommenced his rally on the turn, swung out wide at the top of the stretch and wore down Wanderin Boy late to win by three-quarters of a length. Merchant Marine was third, 3 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up. Mambo in Seattle was fourth, followed by Ravel, Stones River, A.P. Arrow and Angliana. Time of the race on a sloppy track was 2:01.93.
(VIDEO), (CHART)
The win, worth $450,000, was Curlin’s 11th in 15 lifetime starts (all as a 3- and 4-year-old in 2007-08), and moved his earnings to $10,246,800, surpassing Cigar’s previous record of $9,999,815.
Curlin, a 4-year-old son of Smart Strike out of Sherriff’s Deputy, by Deputy Minister was bred in Kentucky by Fares Farm. He is owned by Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and the Midnight Cry Stable of Shirley Cunningham and William Gallion, is trained by Steve Asmussen. Curlin began his career racing for Midnight Cry and was trained by Helen Pitts. An 80% interest in Curlin was purchased following his maiden win by Jackson, Satish Sanan and George Bolton, but Jackson eventually bought out those partners and now owns 80%.
There is great speculation about whether Curlin will face Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Big Brown in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but Jackson would not commit to the race during a teleconference earlier this week. He indicated Curlin could race two more times this year, leaving the door open for the Breeders’ Cup and a possible subsequent appearance in either the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in late November of the Japan Cup Dirt at Hanshin race course in Japan in early December.
"As to going out to Santa Anita, we’ll probably load him up, but first we’ll have to get him adjusted," Jackson said. "But it is up to him whether he likes the track and the surface. So those are concerns we still have. But we’ll consider it now that we’re past this hurdle. That’s the next prospect for us, and we’ll give it every bit of attention."
Albarado never appeared to use the whip on Curlin, who seemed to lose ground down the backstretch, but quickly moved into contention when asked by his rider. "Robby was really comfortable down the backside," Asmussen said. "I think he knows who he is on, and he let it sort out in front of him. He lost a little bit of position on the backside when Robby decided he didn’t want to be that wide. He immediately moved up in the bridle and came into the stretch the way you wanted him to be. He looked fabulous through the stretch."
"I can’t say how proud I am to be part of what’s just happened," Asmussen said. "To make history — the all-time money-winning horse in North America — it’s very special. The job that (assistant) Scott Blasi and (exercise rider) Carmen Rosas have done with him on a day-to-day basis enabled him to maintain the consistency. For him to be able to carry the weight of expectation, I’m very proud."
The 3-year-old Kingmambo colt Mambo in Seattle, a narrowly beaten second in the Travers Stakes to Colonel John, was never a factor in the Gold Cup.
Results from Saturday’s other major Breeders’ Cup prep races from Belmont Park, Turfway Park, Oak Tree at Santa Anita and Hawthorne. Updates from each race as they are run.
KENTUCKY CUP JUVENILE FILLIES (Turfway Park): Sugar Mom made a late run in the two-turn mile race to make it three straight wins on synthetic tracks for the owner-trainer combination of Frank Calabrese and Wayne Catalano. First stakes win for daughter of Monarchos out of Plenty of Sugar, by Ascot Knight. Winless in first three starts at Churchill Downs, including her last for a maiden claiming tag of $30,000. Complicity finished second, a length back, with Saxxy Rose Lee third and favored Bold Union tiring to be fourth. Time for the mile was 1:37.86.
KENTUCKY CUP SPRINT (Turfway Park): Fatal Bullet completely dominated his rivals as the 6-5 favorite, setting fast fractions and pulling away in the stretch for an impressive7 3/4-length victory in track-record time 1:08.03 for six furlongs on Polytrack. This was the seventh win in 10 starts for 3-year-old Red Bullet gelding out of Sararegal, by Regal Classic. Owned by Bear Stables and trained by Canadian Reade Baker, Fatal Bullet was coming off stakes victories on Polytrack at Woodbine and Tapeta track at Presque Isle Downs. Silver Sword and No Advantage finished second and third, respectively. Baker said it’s on to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint for Fatal Bullet.
KENTUCKY CUP JUVENILE (Turfway Park): West Side Bernie rallied into the stretch and pulled away by three lengths under Stewart Elliott. The 2-year-old by Bernstein out of Time Honored, by Gilded Time, is unbeaten in two starts for trainer Kelly Breen and owners Lori and George Hall, having broken his maiden by 1 ½ lengths at Monmouth Park Aug. 28. He covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.22 as the 9-5 favorite, with Retap and Gresham finishing second and third.
KENTUCKY CUP DISTAFF (Turfway): Getting their second stakes win of the day, Bear Stable, trainer Reade Baker and jockey Eurico Da Silva teamed up for a four-length victory with Bear Now (Tiznow–Controlled, by In Excess), who sat just off the pace of Devil House, moved to the lead at the head of the stretch and drew off by daylight. Unforgotten rallied late for second, with Devil House holding third. Bear Now, eighth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, has won three of six starts this year, her two previous wins coming on Woodbine’s Polytrack. She covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.37. Baker said he would give Bear Now another chance in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (formerly the Distaff).
KENTUCKY CUP CLASSIC (Turfway): Well-traveled Zanjero pulled away in the final furlong to win the Kentucky Cup Classic by 1 1/2 lengths under Shaun Bridgmohan. Trained by Steve Asmussen and owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Zanjero was winning for the sixth time in 18 starts. He is a 4-year-old by Cherokee Run out of Checkered Flag, by A.P. Indy. Extreme Supreme finished second, followed by Canela and 8-5 favorite, Honest Man. Time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.27. Owner Ron Winchell said Zanjero will be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Oct. 25.
BELDAME (Belmont Park): Godolphin’s Cocoa Beach wore down odds-on favorite Ginger Punch, the reigning Eclipse Award-winning older filly and mare to make it two straight in the U.S., following an easy win in the ungraded Love Sign Stakes at Saratoga. The 4-year-old Chilean-bred daughter of Doneraile Court out of Visionera, by Edgy Diplomat, raced four times in Dubai over the winter, including a third-place showing in UAE Derby, after beginning career unbeaten in four starts in native Chile. She is trained by Saeed bin Suroor. Ginger Punch was second, beaten a half length, after setting fractions of :24.61, :48.18, :1:12.26; and 1:36.76. Final time was 1:49.50 on a sloppy track.
FLOWER BOWL INVITATIONAL STAKES (Belmont): Alan Garcia coaxed Dynaforce to a four-length wire-to-wire victory over heavily favored Mauralakana, who was gunning for her fifth straight win. The 5-year-old daughter of Dynaformer was winning on U.S. soil for the first time in four starts after racing in France for owner-breeder John Chandler.Mauralakana made a bold early run going into the far turn under Kent Desormeaux, but the Bill Mott-trained Dynaforce had too much in reserve, winning by daylight after setting fractions of :26.23, :52.87, 1:19.22 and 1:43.45. Comminque was third in the four-horse field. Time for 1 ¼ miles was 2:07.59 on a yielding track.
VOSBURGH (Belmont): Black Seventeen shipped in from California for trainer Brian Koriner to score a major upset over defending champion Fabulous Strike. The 4-year-old son of Is It True out of Fuzzy Navel, by Strike the Anvil, won the Carry Back Stakes at Calder in July for his only previous stakes win. Black Seventeen raced just behind a three horse duel (Fabulous Strike, J Be K, First Defence), moved to the lead in the stretch, and overtook Fabulous Strike late. Kokiak Kowboy rallied late to get third.
JOE HIRSCH TURF CLASSIC INVITATIONAL (Belmont): Alan Garcia guided Grand Couturier to a 10 1/4-length victory, his second Grade 1 turf triumph in a row for trainer Robert Ribaudo and owner Marc Keller. The 5-year-old son of Grand Lodge out of Lady Eigar, by Sadler’s Wells, comes off a victory in the Sword Dancer over Better Talk Now Aug. 16 at Saratoga. Grand Couturier won last year’s Sword Dancer and then finished sixth behind English Channel in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Turf. Interpation edged Summer Patriot for second. Kent Desormeaux, aboard Interpation, filed a complaint against the winner alleging interference on the turn, but it was not allowed. Precious Passion set the pace in the Hirsch, with slow fractions of :24.97, :50.52, 1:16.84, and 1:42.35 for the opening mile of the 1 1/2-mile event. Strike a Deal took a brief lead with a quarter mile to go, the 1 1/4 miles clocked in 2:09.07, but Grand Couturier charged past to win in hand, getting the distance on yielding turf in 2:34.84.
CLEMENT L. HIRSCH MEMORIAL TURF INVITATIONAL STAKES (Oak Tree at Santa Anita): Making just his second start of the year, Peachtree Stable’s Red Giant (by Giant’s Causeway) set a new track and world record of 1:57.16 for 1 1/4 miles on the Santa Anita turf while edging Out of Control by a head. Transduction Gold was third. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Red Giant was winning for the sixth time in 12 starts. Last year he won the Virginia Derby and was second in the Secretariat Stakes. In his 2008 debut at Saratoga, Red Giant took the Fourstardave by a neck Aug. 3.
LADY’S SECRET (Oak Tree at Santa Anita): Zenyatta tracked from last in the four-horse field under Mike Baze, swung wide into the stretch and pulled away down the stretch under a hand ride to win by 3 1/2 lengths — her eighth straight without a defeat. Pacesetter Hystericalady was second, with Santa Teresita third. The daughter of Street Cry out of Vertigineux out of Kris S, is trained by John Shirreffs and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss. She was odds-on to win her sixth consecutive graded stakes and eighth overall and will be a solid choice in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic Oct. 24 at Santa Anita. Time for the 1 1/16 miles on the new Pro-Ride synthetic track was 1:40.30.
ANCIENT TITLE STAKES (Oak Tree at Santa Anita): Cost of Freedom made the first run under Tyler Baze, getting the lead at the top of the stretch, and then holding off the late charge of 9-10 favorite, Street Boss, to win by a half-length in 1:07.53 for six furlongs (fractions were :21.27, :43.57, :55.50) . In Summation was third. Cost of Freedom was a $50,000 claim by Gary and Cecil Barber in late July at Del Mar. Formerly owned by Harris Farms and trained by Carla Gaines, he is now under the care of John Sadler. A 5-year-old California-bred gelding by Cee’s Tizzy out of Freedom Dance, by Moscow Ballet, Cost of Freedom has now won six of 10 starts, but the Ancient Title was his first stakes victory.
OAK LEAF STAKES (Oak Tree at Santa Anita): Making her 4-5 odds look generous, Stardom Bound overwhelmed her 11 2-year-old filly rivals, rallying from far off the pace to win by 3 1/2 lengths over pacesetter Palacio de Amor. The gray daughter of first-crop sire Tapit (out of My White Corvette, by Tarr Road) broke behind the field and was allowed to settle near the back of the pack by Mike Smith as Palacio de Amor set fractions of :23.32, :46.37, 1:10.61 and 1:35.90 for the opening mile. Stardom Bound swung widest of all into the stretch and easily moved to the lead under a hand ride, completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.44. Oro Blanco was third. The winner, owned by Charles Cono and trained by Christopher Paasch, broke her maiden in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante after running second in a maiden race and second in the Sorrento Stakes — all at Del Mar. The Oak Leaf was her first race around two turns.
YELLOW RIBBON STAKES (Oak Tree at Santa Anita): John Velazquez registered career win No. 3,999 aboard Wait a While for Arindel Farm and trainer Todd Pletcher, racing from just off the pace, taking command in mid-stretch and holding Vacare at sway to win by about three-quarters of a length. Black Mamba was a fast-closing third. Final time for the 1 1/4 miles on firm turf was 1:59.16 after fractions of :24.53, :47.83, 1:12.31, and 1:35.63. Longshot Live Life showed the way for the first six furlongs, then gave way to Solva, Velazquez used Wait a While’s good tactical speed to overcome the No. 10 post position, and raced just off the lead before moving to the front. This was the 12th win in 23 starts and pushed Wait a While (a 5-year-old by Maria’s Mon, out of Flirtatious, by A.P. Indy) over the $2-million mark in career earnings. It Wait a While’s first Grade 1 victory since taking the Yellow Ribbon in 2006.
GOODWOOD (Oak Tree at Santa Anita): Using new off-the-pace tactics, Aaron Gryder guided7-10 favorite Well Armed to a one-length victory over Tiago. Rating in third position most of the way as Mast Track and Informed volleyed for the lead, Well Armed swung to the outside at the head of the stretch, drifted out with a furlong to run, but switched leads and kept to his task to get the win for trainer Eoin Harty. Final time was 1:47.11 for the 1 1/8 miles. Albertus Maximus finished third.It was the sixth victory in 19 starts for Well Armed, and his first in a Grade 1 race. He won the San Antonio and San Diego Handicaps (both Grade 2) going wire to wire earlier this year. Well Armed is a 5-year-old gelded son of Tiznow out of Well Dressed, by Notebook. Harty said Well Armed would be pointed for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, along with another WinStar runner in his barn, Santa Anita Derby and Travers Stakes winner Colonel John.
HAWTHORNE GOLD CUP (Hawthorne): Richard Migliore gave Team Valor’s Fairbanks a perfect trip in the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup, racing just off the pace, moving between horses on the turn for home, and drawing away down the stretch for an easy 2 3/4-length victory as teh 7-10 favorite. Magna Graduate finished second, with Wayzata Bay third Fairbanks (by Giant’s Causeway out of Alaska Queen, by Time for a Change), was winning for the sixth time in 18 starts. He is trained by Todd Pletcher.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: aaron gryder, Add new tag, Alan Garcia, Beldame, bill mott, Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup Challenge, breeders' cup classic, breeders' cup preps, Breeders' Cup Win and You're In, cee's tizzy, charles cono, christopher paasch, cigar, clement hirsch, Cocoa Beach, cost of freedom, Curlin, Doneraile Court, Dynaforce, eoin harty, fairbanks, Fatal Bullet, Flower Bowl Invitational, Frank Calabrese, gary and cecil barber, ginger punch, Godolphin, goodwood, grand couturier, grand lodge, Horse Racing, is it true, jess jackson, John Chandler, john sadler, john velazquez, Kentucky Cup, Kentucky Cup Sprint, Kentucky Juvenile Fillies, lady's secret, mauralakana, monarchos, Oak leaf, Paulick Report, polytrack, Ray Paulick, Reade Baker, Red Bullet, robbie albarado, stardom bound, steve asmussen, street boss, Sugar Mom, tapit, team valor, tiago, todd pletcher, tyler baze, wait a while, Wayne Catalano, well armed, west side bernie, winstar farm, Yellow ribbon, zenyatta
Posted in Breeders' Cup, Curlin, Horse Racing | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
I was in the middle of a dinner celebrating my son’s 20th birthday at the new Malone’s restaurant in the Palomar Center in Lexington (highly recommended, by the way, certainly up to the standards of all the Malone’s and with an appealing outside bar with large plasma screen TVs showing horse racing), so I didn’t get a chance to read the story until sometime later in the evening.
When I did, I was shocked and even more filled with angst when I read the article, written by the interestingly named Frank Angst, a ground soldier in the trade publication army of the Thoroughbred Times I’d crossed paths with on a number of occasions during my tenure as editor in chief of Bloodhorse.
Believe it or not, there are ethical standards among journalists, just as, I suppose, there are among horse traders. One of those standards is that publications that run exclusive stories should receive attribution or credit whenever another publication does a “cover your ass” rewrite, which is clearly what ground soldier Angst was ordered to do from on-high. To quote the leading media critic Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post and CNN’s Reliable Sources, “Making a couple of calls to confirm a story that a journalist would not otherwise know about doesn’t excuse the obligation to give proper credit.” Dick Jerardi, an Eclipse Award-winning writer for the Philadelphia Daily News (and an occasional Thoroughbred Times contributor), found the past-posting article of interest and wrote a story for his paper, giving attribution to the Paulick Report. The story by Frank Angst is not the kind of journalism my old friend Mark Simon, the longtime editor of Thoroughbred Times, expected from his employees 20 years ago when he hired me as the weekly magazine’s managing editor, and I doubt that Mark’s standards have changed very much. So I sent Angst a few angry emails Monday night that he’s had plenty of time to respond to, and hasn’t. (Note to Frank: It’s 2008. If you’re not checking your inbox 24/7, you’re no damned good.)
This is the same Thoroughbred Times and same Angst that was so anxious to report my demise from Bloodhorse last August but failed to run even a brief note about the start-up of the Paulick Report a few weeks back (neither, incidentally, has the Bloodhorse, though traffic reports on the Paulick Report web site show Bloodhorse IP addresses as a frequent, daily visitor…perhaps looking for news leads?). Someone once suggested that there is something Machiavellian about the trade press, that the ends (keeping the trade publications in a cozy, friendly relationship with the industry they cover) justify the means (parsing and lifting from non-trade press). That led me to run a picture of the Italian diplomat and author Niccolo Macchiavelli, especially since Frank Angst isn’t famous enough to have a photo on the Flickr web site. I never read The Prince, Macchiavelli’s most famous written work (I’m sure I’m not the only one who likes to say something is Macchiavellian without knowing what the hell we are talking about), but I do know something about the Thoroughbred trade press and the cozy relationship it has with advertisers and industry organizations it covers. I plead nolo contendere to charges that I was influenced at times during my 15 years at Bloodhorse, succumbing occasionally to brow-beating from advertisers, members of the organization’s board of trustees, its parent at the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, or from a publisher whose frequent jaunts to Margaritaville were made possible by a contented, free-spending group of advertisers. I’ll never forget the chilling words one of the Bloodhorse trustees said to me when I first met him: “We can’t tell you what to do or write. All we can do is fire you.”
The trade publications, for example, are not going to report on something that nearly every breeder in Central Kentucky already knows – that top older stallion Seeking the Gold has been shooting blanks this breeding season and may be finished – because 1) the farm that stands the stallion, Claiborne, is a major advertisers at Bloodhorse and Thoroughbred Times and hasn’t sent out official word yet through a press release, and 2) the stallion is controlled by Dinny Phipps chairman of the Jockey Club, and the people who run the two publications don’t want to do anything to upset Phipps since they enjoy being invited to the Jockey Club Dinner in Saratoga Springs, NY, in August.
Of course, in the Jockey Club’s Macchiavellian manner of controlling as much of the industry as possible (did I just insert Niccolo Macchiavelli again?), one of the members of the board of trustees at Bloodhorse is Bill Farish, who has a double-barrel blast of lucky sperm as the son of Jockey Club vice chairman Will Farish and son-in-law of Dinny Phipps. The chairman of the Bloodhorse board is Stuart Janney, the cousin of Dinny Phipps.
As someone once said to me, “Why should the Jockey Club buy the Bloodhorse when it already controls it?”
The lifting by the Thoroughbred Times of the Philadelphia Park story wasn’t the first time in the brief history of the Paulick Report and certainly won’t be the last time something like this happens. I’m happy to say I may even be influencing their coverage.
In the wake of our breaking story last week on the election of the Breeders’ Cup board of members and trustees, the Paulick Report headline read: CLAY CANNED IN CUP ELECTION. A short time after that story was posted, the Thoroughbred Times apparently did another hasty rewrite, but with the bland headline: BREEDERS’ CUP ELECTS 12 TO BOARD OF MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES. Later that night, apparently someone at the Thoroughbred Times with at least marble-sized testicles changed the story headline to read: CLAY NOT AMONG 12 ELECTED TO BREEDERS’ CUP BOARD OF MEMBERS, TRUSTEES.
Bloodhorse.com apparently transitioned the other way in its brief rewrite and headline treatment. Its original headline, posted hours after the Paulick Report broke the election story, read: CLAY LOSES BREEDERS’ CUP BID. Sometime later, it was changed to the milquetoast: FOUR NOT RE-ELECTED TO CUP BOARD. Perhaps someone thought the latter headline told the story more accurately than the former. It’s more likely that someone reminded the editorial side of Bloodhorse how much money Clay’s Three Chimneys Farm spends on advertising on its web site and magazine.
The Paulick Report will not be beholden to industry organizations like the Jockey Club or to major advertisers. We are operating on the simple premise that the Thoroughbred industry needs and deserves independent reporting and analysis. Similar to listener or viewer supported operations like National Public Radio or Public Television, we believe we will receive support from readers like you.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
CORRECTION: THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS STORY INCORRECTLY STATED THAT A.P. INDY "HAS BEEN SHOOTING BLANKS" DURING THE 2008 BREEDING SEASON. ACCORDING TO STATISTICS PROIDED BY WILL FARISH, A.P. INDY HAS COVERED 113 MARES AND HAS 80 OF THOSE MARES IN FOAL. THE PAULICK REPORT REGRETS THE ERROR.
Tags: Add new tag, Bill Farish, bloodhorse, dick jerardi, Dinny Phipps, frank angst, Horse Racing, howard kurtz, journalistic ethics, journalistic standards, macchiavellian, mark simon, niccolo macchiavelli, Ogden Mills Phipps, past-posting, Paulick Report, Philadelphia park, Ray Paulick, Robert Clay, thoroughbred times, Three Chimneys, trade publications, Will Farish
Posted in Industry, Industry Organizations, Racing Media | 29 Comments »
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