Posts Tagged ‘breeders’ cup pre-entries’

Ray Paulick will be live blogging today’s National Thoroughbred Racing Association teleconference with Jess Jackson, majority owner of Horse of the Year Curlin, during which Jackson will announce a decision regarding Curlin’s pre-entry for the Breeders’ Cup. Pre-entry deadline is noon today (local time), and the list of pre-entered horses will be announced on Thursday.

Curlin worked in company between races Monday at Santa Anita Park, going five furlongs in :59.12 on the newly installed Pro-Ride synthetic surface. Click here to see a video of the work.

The teleconference is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Eastern.

1:03 p.m. … Breeders’ Cup spokesman Jim Gluckson opens the call by introducing Jackson.

1:03 p.m. … Jackson extends his sympathy toward the Big Brown due to the injury that ended his career, then goes on to the business at hand.

"As a native Californian, nothing gives me more pleasure than announcing that Curlin will be entered ion the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

 1:05 p.m. … Jackson hands it over to Breeders’ Cup president Greg Avioli, who must have had his phone on mute when he let out a huge sigh of relief at the news. Avioli then thanked Jackson profusely for helping raise awareness of the Breeders’ Cup by announcing that Curlin will go for a repeat.

1:07 p.m. … Back to Jackson. "This would add just one more dimension to the horse. … It’s not about the money. It’s about him." Jackson calls Curlin one of the greatest horses of the century (the 21st or 20th?) "It’s about the sport. I’ve  tried to revive the passion for the sport of Thoroughbred racing."

1:08 p.m. … Asked about the Pro-Ride track, Jackson said it’s faster than anything Curlin’s raced on and made the comment that it "makes the race shorter" — an interesting observation. Jackson also said he is worried about what looks like a lack of early speed in the race. Is there time to go out and buy a rabbit?

1:09 p.m. … Did Jackson owe it to racing to run Curlin? "No," Jackson said. "I think I owe it to the horse. … I do want to help enlarge the fan base and give hard core racing fans the chance  to see him one more time. But that’s secondary. I’m a Californian and was born a few miles from the track. I want to see him race at one of the great tracks of the world."

Jackson would not commit to the Breeders’ Cup being Curlin’s last race. He is still considering a 2009 campaign, or the Japan Cup Dirt or the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs later this year Jackson again mentioned  The Japan Cup Dirt poses a timing issue with quarantine and travel but is not insurmountable, Jackson said. He referred to the fact Congress is looking into racing and seeking input from owners about how to make the sport more successful and keep more older horses in training.

1:13 p.m. … The insurance for one year on a horse like this is over $3 million, Jackson said, in response to a question about whether or not the legal problems of co-owner Shirley Cunningham and William Gallion complicate the horse’s ability to race in Japan or be sold for stallion purposes. He claims the legal issues are not a factor (the men will be retried on charges involving fees they took in a class action lawsuit).

1:15 p.m. … A question about Horse of the Year.  He should win, Jackson, said, but "It’s up to you guys." He then butters up the media by saying how smart they are!

1:16 p.m. … Jackson is asked to compare Curlin to human athletes. After speaking about Curlin’s durability and speed, he comes up with Lance Armstrong as the best human comparison. Let’s hope those frozen samples come back clean from the Tour de France and other bike races Armstrong won. There remains a cloud of suspicion about Armstrong among some in that sport.

1:20 p.m. …  Responding to a question about racing Curlin next year, Jackson again refers to Congress making some changes and seeking input from owners. Jackson said he is working on a proposal to improve racing  as are others. "We need uniform rules," he says.  Jackson also talks about some of the "reckless tactics" employed by some jockeys, then goes back to the league concept. "A league would be a great boon to the industry (to keep older horses in training). The fan base would be excited. The owners would be compensated, and the tracks would get more revenue. If we do make that effort, regardless of who makes that effort, we need it. I don’t really care about who gets credit."

1:22 p.m. …. Jackson said for self-interest he would rather this year’s Breeders’ Cup be on a conventional dirt surface, but isn’t willing to criticize the Breeders’ Cup or California officials for their decisions to go synthetic.

1:24 p.m. … Where might Curlin stand if retired next year? Talks with breeding farms are confidential regarding where Curlin might stand, Jackson says. But he adds there have been no serious talks yet anyways.

1:26 p.m. … Jackson calls himself a "pretty fair handicapper" and says there appears to be a lack of speed in the prospective Classic field. He calls Go Between and Well Armed two serious competitors. "This race is more interesting than any Classic because of so many uncertainties."

1:28 p.m.  … A question about the "reckless abandon" of jockeys Jackson commented on. Jackson said the jockeys of Hard Spun (Garrett Gomez) and Rags to Riches (John Velazquez) may have conspired to get Curlin beat.  "Larry Jones, one of the best trainers in the industry, wanted Hard Spun to go to the lead. His jockey pinned Curlin in on the rail." Jackson said when he saw the two jockeys high five after Rags to Riches beat Curlin by a nose, he thought they might have been in "cahoots."

1:32 p.m. … The loss of Big Brown was a shame, Jackson said, because the industry "lost the momentum" it had going into the Breeders’ Cup in anticipation of the big matchup between Big Brown and Curlin. Momentum? 

1:35 p.m. … "Steve Asmussen and Scotty Blasi have been a great team of trainers and I’m very appreciative of what they’ve done." Jackson said he may have picked the targets, but Asmussen and Blasi did tremendous work in getting Curlin ready for them.

 END OF TELECONFERENCE

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