Posts Tagged ‘bradford cummings’

Our good friend Joy Rose Murphy who rolled out the red carpet for the Paulick Report when we swung through Oklahoma City for the Breeders’ Cup or Bust tour will be participating in the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant this April. True to herself, Joy has chosen the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund as her platform.

Below is the press release on her entry. Please feel free to write well wishes to Joy as she tries to bring national attention to an incredibly important issue to our industry.

Choctaw native to compete for title of Mrs. Oklahoma America
Joy Rose Murphy will represent the City of Choctaw at the official state preliminary for the Mrs. America Pageant
 

CHOCTAW, Okla. – Joy Rose Murphy, a committed volunteer and local horse racing personality, has been chosen to compete for the title of Mrs. Oklahoma America from a field of applicants received from throughout the area. Murphy is the promotions coordinator at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, where she hosts a televised race-day program.
 
The 2010 Mrs. Oklahoma Competition will take place April 16 and 17 at the historic Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple. Murphy will compete in three categories for the Mrs. Oklahoma title: personal interview, swimsuit and evening gown.
 
If selected as Mrs. Oklahoma America she will use her title to bring state and national attention to her platform, the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), for which she recently raised $25,000. The organization works to provide financial assistance to former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries.
 
“Oklahoma has a thriving horse industry, and my husband and I are so proud live and work here,” says Murphy. “By supporting PDJF and bringing awareness to this cause, I hope to promote the welfare of all jockeys, who are pound-for-pound the best athletes in the world.”
 
In her free time, Murphy is devoted to community service. She is a Sunday School teacher at St. Philip Neri Parish organizing and directing the curriculum for second grade students. She has held the position for five years.
 
Her husband, Glen, is a top thoroughbred jockey in the Midwest region. The couple makes their home in Choctaw.
 
About the Mrs. Oklahoma Competition
Mrs. Oklahoma is the official state preliminary for Mrs. America, the only nationally televised pageant for married women in the country. Mrs. America celebrates the achievements, poise and personality of today’s married women. Mrs. Oklahoma delegates are judged on their communication skills, achievements, poise and appearance.

After a depressed infield at last year’s Preakness due to the ban on the tradition of bringing your own beer, executives have made a move to try and bring back the crowd that abandoned Pimlico last year. Organizers are cutting the cost of admission and offering all-you-can-drink-beer.

For only $20, each infielder can purchase a refillable cup along with a $10 cut in admission. "We were boycotted by the college kids, but we still believe that was the right decision," said Mike Gathagan, spokesman for the Maryland Jockey Club. "Obviously, we took something from them last year. This is trying to give something back."

Will this bring back the college kids or has the damage already been done? I suspect where there’s all-you-can-drink-beer, college-aged and college-minded folks of all stripes will be there in droves.

Read it at the Baltimore Sun

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

Is it possible that a fracture has occurred between Kentucky State Senator Damon Thayer and Senate President David Williams? It seems the recent Instant Racing bill that included two other measures to help the racing industry has brought some conflict between the two Kentucky Republican Senators.

"It’s very difficult when one week President Williams is supporting the bill and lobbying Senate members, and then less than a week later, he changes his mind," said Thayer in an article from the Blood-Horse. "That’s a pretty challenging situation I find myself in. I’m drafting yet another amendment and have to decide very soon if there is a way forward with this. I know what I believe is right—passing Instant Racing by statute.”

Read it at the Blood-Horse

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

By Bradford Cummings
It’s a young person’s world. With the advent of computers and the web infusing every corner of our lives, every industry must strive to reach younger and younger audiences in order to stay relevant, much to the chagrin of the ever aging Thoroughbred industry. According to the superbly written and researched R2Collective, our demographics are trending in the opposite direction. A super majority of 91.7% of racing’s audience is 40 or older and 49.7% is over 55 while a whopping 0.3% is under 25. With the knowledge that most people make their lifetime purchasing decisions by the age of 30, these numbers are depressing, no matter how you look at them.

But enough of the bad news. After all, this is Good News Friday sponsored by Liberation Farm. Instead, we’d like to share a strong kernel of hope for the future of racing. Despite the downward trends we are currently seeing, there will always be an opportunity to recapture the imagination of our youth. Because even in the face of basketball, football, poker, baseball and other endeavors, we will always have one advantage on the rest of the competition. At the center of our industry, we have the opportunity to celebrate one of the most beautiful and elegant creatures known to man…the horse.

An eight-year-old giving up birthday presents is like Jess Jackson passing on a press conference but that’s exactly what Logan Resnick did this year. I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Kimberlee Resnick, this selfless boy’s very proud mother.

A family from a northern suburb of Chicago, Northbrook, the Resnicks have a passion for racing. The majority of their stable are Thoroughbreds who run at Arlington Park and Oaklawn Park with a few Standardbreds featured at various parks around the country. As with many owners, racing is not the family business but instead a hobby. When asked if it was a money making opportunity, Kimberlee chuckled and simply answered, "No, like I said, it’s a hobby and a passion."

And they have effectively handed this excitement down to their young son Logan who absolutely delights in being around the horses, helping to take care of them and watching them run. "He was a year old when we started into it," said Mrs. Resnick in a familiar fast-talking Chicago dialect. "He developed the passion along with his dad."

"Like father, like son?"

"Yes, exactly."

So when they were planning Logan’s birthday party this year, they were discussing their options and a friend’s party came up that had left an impression on Logan. Apparently, his friend Rachel had asked her friends to make a donation to a local food pantry in lieu of gifts. When Kimberlee brought this up to him as an option, he showed some interest but had the natural questions one might suspect an eight-year-old would have about a potential birthday party without presents. More on that later.

Quickly, Logan decided to go with the charity idea. "When we asked, do you have any place you want to give money to, he said ‘The horse mommy, the horses that get hurt," said Resnick.

After some research, the Resnick’s landed on Thoroughbred Charities of America.

As of yesterday, the TCA has received 17 donations totaling $318. When his donations started to be received, the TCA noticed and sent Logan a care package as a thank you for his support. In the care package included a letter that thanked him for his support and indicated he was helping to save horses. "The money people are sending are actually helping the horses?" Logan asked. It’s then that it really sunk in the positive effect his generosity was having. One friend Jacob even got into his piggy bank and found $20 to give with his parents matching him dollar for dollar.

Is $318 going to turn the TCA upside down? Of course not, but that’s also not the point. It’s just so refreshing to hear the tale of a little boy who is so selfless that he would sacrifice a part of the biggest day of his year to help a cause he cares about so deeply. We should make it our mission to celebrate every Logan out there. After all, they are the ones who will one day grow up to help make our industry stronger.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, he still received gifts from his family. There are some things even the greatest of eight-year-olds can’t give up. This thirty-two-year-old completely understands.

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

Savvy businesses recognize value. Advertise in the Paulick Report.



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

Only a few days after his Senate committee approved a KY horse industry aid bill including Instant Racing, Damon Thayer has withdrawn his bill from consideration. He now prefers that Governor Steve Beshear sign an executive order to bring the popular alternative to slot machines to Kentucky’s racetracks after opposition from anti-gaming groups.

It appears that Senate President David Williams has put the pressure on Thayer to withdraw the bill even after expressing the sentiment that it had bipartisan support.

"There’s still a chance (at passage)," Thayer said. "I just didn’t feel comfortable moving forward in its current form."

It begs the question, what has happened between six days ago when it came out of your committee and today Damon?

Read it at the Blood-Horse

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

In a report from The Saratogian, Paul Post acknowledges that thinking the unthinkable in this economy is a simple reality. Due to NYRA’s recent problems, Post gives credence to the idea that Saratoga could possibly not run this year.

Charles Hayward indicates NYRA can get through Saratoga, but goes on to say that if New York City OTB closes ‘all bets are off’.

Read it at The Saratogian

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

One of California’s top jockeys Joel Rosario fired jockey agent Vic Stauffer whose tenure with Rosario lasted only 16 months.

"I got him at the fall meet of Hollyood in 2008," Stauffer said. "At that time, he was 10th in the standings; he ended up second. The next meet was the main one at Santa Anita, he finished third.  The next meet was Hollywood spring; he was leading rider. Then was Del Mar; he was leading rider. Then came Oak Tree. He had a chance to tie for the title in the last race of the meet and finished second."

"Joel contacted me contacted me yesterday after the races…I was heartbroken."

Read it at Brisnet.com

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

After much back and forth about the legitimacy of the deal struck by Governor David Paterson and AEG, the Division of the Lottery in New York has refused to give the controversial investor group the slots bid at Aqueduct.

Because of this refusal, Paterson’s administration informed AEG the state has withdrawn their support of the organization.

No doubt this came as a result of the political pressure and lack of transparency in the bid process for the long anticipated VLTs at the Queens racetrack.

Read it at Bloodhorse.com

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

As Michael Veitch of The Saratogian says, Monmouth’s new purse structure implemented by Governor Chris Christie may prove to be the biggest challenge to New York racing in a long time. The push to reduce race days but increase average daily purses to $1 million will force NYRA to compete with the New Jersey track for top horses in the region.

Veitch continues to make the argument that despite Saratoga’s prestige and relatively high purse money ($730,000), many horsemen will be drawn to the $100,000 overnight stakes and the $75,000-$80,000 maiden special weights for 2-year-olds.

Is this a legitimate concern? Will Saratoga become less competitive due to the innovation of their neighbor to the South?

Read it at The Saratogian

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

Since embattled Governor David Paterson named Aqueduct Entertainment Group the vendor for Aqueduct’s proposed VLTs, there has been nothing but controversy swirling around his decision. And while nothing specific has been released, it appears the probe from state investigators into AEG is only making matters worse.

"It’s becoming clearer and clearer that there’s a problem there," a source close to the investigation said. Digging through emails and documents between the state and racino bidders, officials have told investigators they were shocked with the selection of AEG.

"AEG was not highly thought of, at least not by the (administration) bureaucrats."

Read at the NY Daily News

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings