Posts Tagged ‘HRTV’

 Mother Nature has wreaked havoc on racetracks coast-to-coast. Racing was cancelled last Saturday at Santa Anita; all three graded stakes will be run this Saturday, Feb. 13, in addition to the Grade 2 Santa Maria. Santa Anita’s 10-race program will feature five stakes races, including the G1 Las Virgenes and a pair of Grade 2s, the Strub and the Robert B. Lewis. The Las Virgenes has attracted a field of six 3-year-old fillies to go once around the all-weather track. Blind Luck will be heavily favored based on her final three starts in 2009—she won the G1 Oak Leaf before finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and ended the year with a seven-length win in G1 Hollywood Starlet. Among those taking on Blind Luck will be Crisp, winner of G3 Santa Ysabel, and Switch, third in G2 Santa Ynez.

The first two finishers in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic will square off in the G2 Santa Maria, the 8th race on the card. In the 1 1/16-mile dirt test, Life Is Sweet will make her 2010 debut against Florida invader Mushka.

Trainer Bob Baffert has his eyes on a couple prizes Saturday. If Misremembered can prove himself in the Strub, he’ll head for the Santa Anita Handicap, more familiarly known as the Big ‘Cap, next month. Misremembered, a ridgling son of Candy Ride last ran second to M One Rifle in the G1 Malibu. The nine-furlong Strub, for 4-year-olds, has also attracted Smart Bid and Rendezvous, second and third, respectively in the G2 San Fernando.

Baffert hopes to have yet another Kentucky Derby prospect with Tiz Chrome. The son of Tiznow comes into the 1 1/16-mile Robert B. Lewis with just two starts, but his debut at Churchill Downs and his winning performance in the Stuka Stakes at Hollywood were eye-catching. Facing him will be Eoin Harty-trained American Lion, also a son of Tiznow, who won the Hollywood Prevue.

At Gulfstream Park on Saturday, a pair of graded sprints will be featured—the G3 Hurricane Bertie, for older fillies and mares going six-and-a-half furlongs, and the G2 Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship, seven furlongs for males, four and up. The first three finishers from the G3 Sugar Swirl (Pretty Prolific, Warbling and Tar Heel Mom) are entered in the Hurricane Bertie, as well as a pair shipping in from California, Pinkarella and Kays and Jays. Barring wet track conditions, Munnings will be favored in the Sprint Championship, despite his lengthy absence from the track.

Tampa Bay Downs will host two G3 stakes on Saturday. The spotlight will be on Rule in the 1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis. The WinStar Farm homebred has a three-race win coming in, including his most recent win in the Delta Jackpot. Lady Shakespeare takes on an overflow field in the Endeavour, a 1 1/16 mile race for older fillies and mares.

The 1 1/8-mile G2 La Canada on Sunday’s Santa Anita program has attracted a full field of 14 4-year-old fillies, including Stardom Bound, runner-up in the El Encino. Among those facing her are Pretty Unusual, winner of the El Encino, and Unrivaled Belle, who beat Stardom Bound last November in the Gazelle.

On Monday’s Presidents Day card at Laurel, two graded stakes will be presented–the Barbara Fritchie (for fillies and mares) and General George Handicaps. Both are G2 races, run at seven furlongs on the dirt. The General George has such familiar names as The Roundhouse and Ah Day in the entries; Royale Michele, assigned high weight of 121 lbs., takes on a full field in the Barbara Fritchie, spotting her rivals four to 11 lbs.

Holiday racing at Santa Anita will feature the G2 San Vicente, for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs on the Pro-Ride surface, and the G2 Buena Vista Handicap, whose probable entries include Cat by the Tale and Tuscan Evening. The Buena Vista is a one-mile turf affair for older fillies and mares.

The most interesting of the Feb. 15 graded stakes may by the G3 Southwest at Oaklawn Park for 3-year-olds going one mile. Shipping in from California are Conveyance, Cardiff Giant and Domonation, the first three finishers in the San Rafael Stakes.

By Ray Paulick
The good news on this Friday is that Oaklawn Park owner Charles Cella appears to have pulled it off, getting commitments from the owners of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and undefeated two-time champion Zenyatta to contest the Apple Blossom Invitational, which is being moved from April 3 to April 9 at the Hot Springs, Ark., track and will carry a $5 million purse if both compete.

But that’s just one race, and it is hoped the two champion distaffers will face each other a number of times before the year is over. How can racing, an often dysfunctional industry, pull off this even bigger challenge?

I have a proposed solution to this challenge, whether the Apple Blossom dream match comes to fruition or not.

Remember when Barack Obama was campaigning for president and promising to deliver on health care reform, in part by avoiding backroom deals and pledging transparency? He said the negotiations for legislation could be televised on CSPAN. Well, we’re 13 months into Obama’s presidency, and that promise was broken. It was business as usual in the nation’s capital as legislators, lobbyists and the Obama administration went back and forth on health care, winding up with separate bills in the House and Senate that are unlikely to be reconciled with enough support to be voted into law. He should have stuck to his promise.

Jess Jackson, the majority owner of Rachel Alexandra, has been an advocate for transparency in many aspects of Thoroughbred racing in the few years he has been active as an owner. But Jackson, in a press release issued on Wednesday night in which he said Rachel Alexandra would not compete in the Apple Blossom on its original date of April 3, admitted that he had been secretly working behind the scenes with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association to come up with a series of races between his filly and Zenyatta. Those talks were taking place without consulting with Jerry and Ann Moss, the owners of Zenyatta, trainer John Sherriffs or his wife Dottie Ingordo, the racing manager for the Mosses.

Jackson, according to sources, has been pushing for three races, with purses ranging from $3 million to $5 million for each race. I thought Jackson was keeping Rachel Alexandra in training for the benefit of the sport, not for the good of his bank account. In my opinion, this is not the way to get a deal done that’s in the best interests of the industry.

So here’s the proposal.

Instead of backroom deals, let’s negotiate this racing series in the light of day. More specifically, on racing’s version of CSPAN—either TVG or HRTV. The two racing networks can bid for the right to televise the negotiations. Of course, we’d want the races to be televised on more widely distributed networks.

We’ll need a tough facilitator with some experience in racing, and I’ve got the perfect candidate: Tom Meeker, the former CEO of Churchill Downs. Meeker is a former U.S. Marine lieutenant colonel who did three tours of duty in the Vietnamese conflict. He’s a no-nonsense leader who speaks his mind. Meeker has just returned from Haiti, where he assisted in logistics for a surgical team sent into the earthquake ravaged nation by Thoroughbred owner and breeder Earle Mack, a philanthropist, businessman and former U.S. Ambassador to Finland for President George W. Bush. Come to think of it, if Meeker can’t serve as facilitator, perhaps Mack could. The lives he helped save in Haiti would call him a miracle worker.

Racetracks and associations interested in luring Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta would be required to put together detailed written proposals for a race that include the two champions, along with their plans to promote it. Each proposal would be accompanied by a non-refundable deposit of $50,000.

The money from the rights to televise the negotiations, along with those non-refundable deposits from tracks would all go to a racing charity chosen by the connections of the horse that does best in the head-to-head matchups. (Update: this proposal is not for match races of just two horses,)

The facilitator would lay out all the proposals to Jackson and the Mosses and their respective advisers (limit of three, please). He would then put on a pair of brass knuckles, lock the doors, and not let anyone out of the room until an agreement is reached on where and when they will try to meet—all while the cameras were rolling.

Racing has a rare opportunity to make something very special happen in 2010. Please, let’s not allow this one to slip through our hands.

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

By Ray Paulick
A potential April 3 matchup at Oaklawn Park between Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and unbeaten, two-time champion Zenyatta may be the best news racing fans have heard in a long time. Oaklawn Park owner Charles Cella announced the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap would have its purse bumped from $500,000 to $5 million if both horses run, and the race would be lengthened from 1 1/16 miles to nine furlongs. It would change from a handicap to an invitational if both participated. If either fails to enter, the Apple Blossom would revert back to a $500,000 race.

Left unaddressed in the press release from Oaklawn Park was whether any network television plans for the race have been formulated beyond TVG and HRTV. April 3 is a busy day on the racing and sports calendar.

NBC will be televising two important races for 3-year-olds late that afternoon, the Wood Memorial from Aqueduct and Santa Anita Derby from Santa Anita Park in Southern California. Would NBC try to squeeze the Apple Blossom into the same broadcast, and would Oaklawn Park agree to share such a marquee event with two prep races for the Kentucky Derby?

The NBC deal was done with Churchill Downs, not the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which formerly was responsible for much of the horse racing industry’s television exposure, primarily on the ESPN family of networks. The NTRA, while no longer in the television business and Oaklawn Park no longer a member of the NTRA, have assured the Paulick Report they will aggressively work with all parties to promote this event. According to Keith Chamblin, “The NTRA has and will continue to do everything it possibly can to maximize the promotion and television exposure of a showdown between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.”

Post time for the Apple Blossom could be a tricky decision, too. If the race is run after 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (Arkansas is in the Central time zone), it could go head to head with the first of two Final Four games in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament from Indianaapolis, which will be televised on CBS that evening. If it is run between 4:30-5:30 p.m. Eastern, it could butt heads with the Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby.

Needless to say, with the Final Four games scheduled that night, horse racing will have a difficult time getting much coverage in the mainstream press around the country. But if Oaklawn Park can pull it off, it will be a huge day for the Arkansas racetrack, and existing fans of the sport will have got what they wanted.

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

As we run up to the 2009 Eclipse Awards, Jon White of HRTV gives us a very interesting perspective on the ballot process. What if we awarded all-time Eclipse winners in each category? White’s ballot has a nice mix of new and old, respecting the recent accomplishments of Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra while ultimately siding with great horses like Man o’ War and Secretariat and great jockeys like Shoemaker and Arcaro.

Click here for Jon White’s entire ballot

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

- Bradford Cummings

On Saturday, Gulfstream Park will host five sprint stakes, including three Grade 3 affairs–the Mr. Prospector, the Sugar Swirl and the Old Hat. The Spectacular Bid and the Turf Sprint are also on the card. The Old Hat will feature newly turned 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs, including seven with unblemished records. Carphonic and Cuff Me each won their maiden and stepped it up with stakes victories, while Dances With Ashley will try to keep her win streak intact with this stakes debut after beating the competition in allowance company last out.

In the Mr. Prospector, it’s hard to see past Munnings; after two consecutive wins this past summer in Grade 2 stakes races, he took on stiffer competition where he finished third in three tries, all on sloppy main track surfaces. He looks well-spotted here and will have his usual rider, John Velazquez. Others to watch in this six-furlong contest are Past the Point, who missed by just half a length in his last out, the G3 Bold Ruler, and Custom for Carlos, winner of the Bet On Sunshine at Churchill Downs last November.

The Sugar Swirl, counterpart to the Mr. Prospector, has nine fillies and mares going postward, six of them boasting of victories in their most recent starts. Favoritism, however, may go to Thunders Dove who had a five-race win streak broken by Indian Blessing in the G2 Gallant Bloom last September. She has not raced since. Another entry to consider is Pretty Prolific, who was runner-up in the G1 Test at Saratoga two starts back. The Sugar Swirl was previously known as the First Lady Handicap and renamed this year in honor of the Stronach Stables’ luminary, who won the 2008 First Lady.

Graded stakes action at Santa Anita this weekend will be Saturday’s G2 San Pasqual for 4-year-olds and up, and on Sunday, the Santa Ysabel (G3) for 3-year-old fillies. Both events are 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather track. In the San Pasqual, Furthest Land, the upset winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, makes his 2010 debut. The Smart Strike gelding is three-for-three on synthetic tracks and has shown an obvious affinity for the Santa Anita surface. Hard not to like him here, though he’ll be challenged by the likes of Bold Chieftain, Cherokee Artist and Nownownow, who has a tough assignment after being on a layoff since March.

Evening Jewel, from the Jim Cassidy barn, is high-weighted at 122 lbs. in the Santa Ysabel. Her opponents will be carrying 114 or 116 lbs. and include Zilva, Whispering Hush, Crisp, Harissa and Ellafitz.

People in the Great Plains are suffering through some terrible winter weather this Christmas, but racing fans everywhere can take warmth from the traditional day after Christmas opening of Santa Anita Park, California’s Great Race Place that kicks off its winter-sprint meeting with two Grade 1 races–the Malibu and La Brea Stakes–on Saturday. 

A last-minute agreement between TVG and TrackNet Media has guaranteed that TVG account holders can wager on Santa Anita, but the Arcadia, Calif., track’s races will be shown exclusively on HRTV. The 10-race card, which starts with an 11:30 a.m. (Pacific time) post time,has attract full fields and a total of 106 entries (the smallest field. the Grade 3 Sir Beaufort Stakes, has nine runners). Trainer Bob Baffert has the morning-line favorites in both the La Brea (Gabby’s Golden Gal) and Malibu (Misremembered) as he tries to win his 11th and 12th Grade 1 races of 2009–more than any other trainer this year.

Post time for the La Brea is 3:30 p.m. PST (6:30 p.m. EST), and the Malibu goes a half-hour later. For more information on Santa Anita’s opening-day program, click here.

HRTV will also be showing a big stakes card from Calder Race Course featuring the Grade 3 duo of the Kenny Noe Jr. Handicap and Stage Door Betty Handicap and the Grade 2 W.L. McKnight Handicap on turf.

While Ray is traveling back from Osaka (hopefully we won’t have to hear too much about jet lag once he returns to the United States), he wanted to reignite the debate over Horse of the Year. The following piece was submitted by Jeff Shapes, a marketing communications consultant, freelance writer and horse racing enthusiast, not necessarily in that order.

By Jeff Shapes
There’s one overriding reason Zenyatta should win the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year over Rachel Alexandra, and it has nothing to do with their comparative records on the racetrack. No, Zenyatta has earned the honor because her electrifying performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic flew in the face of the general negative assessment of her chances to win the event, while at the same time capping off a brilliant, undefeated career that put her into the discussion of who is history’s greatest female race horse. Now, if that doesn’t make her Horse of the Year, they might as well retire the award.
 
Yes there had been speculation that if Zenyatta ran in the Classic and won, there’d be a Horse of the Year debate. But in their heart of hearts, not to mention their racing opinions, those speculators, whether in public or not, didn’t believe Zenyatta had what it took to beat the “big” boys in the big race. Indeed, there were some who said she shouldn’t even run in the Classic, since there wasn’t really anything to gain. Better to protect her legacy as an undefeated champion with another romp in the Ladies’ Classic, than to go out with a loss chasing an unattainable goal.
 
Need some proof of how little regard the experts had for Zenyatta in the run up to the Classic? Despite being tabbed the pre-race wagering favorite, not one of the 11 media members whose selections were published by USA Today in its Breeders’ Cup preview picked Zenyatta to win. And east coast bias wasn’t in play. Joining writers from the New York Daily News, New York Post, Lexington Herald-Leader and Albany Times-Union in giving Zenyatta the thumbs down were the national correspondent of the Daily Racing Form, horse racing writers from the Associated Press and USA Today, an editor of the Thoroughbred Times, an on-air personality from HRTV and racing writers from the Los Angeles Daily News and San Diego Union-Tribune, in whose backyard Zenyatta ran all except one of her career races.
 
Want to bring in some more exulted names? Joe Drape of the New York Times did not pick Zenyatta, and neither did Steven Crist of the Daily Racing Form. The Washington Post’s Andy Beyer, inventor of the Beyer Speed Figure, the acknowledged statistical method for comparing racetrack performances under different race conditions? He labeled Zenyatta a throw out.

Luckily, Zenyatta’s connections had much greater faith in their magnificent mare than the experts.  Questioned for not shipping Zenyatta to a traditional dirt track to take on Rachel Alexandra head-to-head, team Zenyatta stuck to their guns of getting her ready for the Breeders’ Cup the best way they thought how. If that meant staying in Southern California and competing exclusively on synthetic surfaces, well that’s how it would be done. And though they never stated it, the guess here is that winning the Classic as a finishing touch on a Hall of Fame career, not to mention the historical achievement such a win would represent, was probably the long-range goal of those who guided Zenyatta’s career.
 
Of course, Rachel Alexandra’s connections, like most others in the racing world, assumed their filly had a stranglehold on Horse of the Year when she concluded her 2009 season with a win in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga in early September. It was Rachel’s eighth victory in eight races, accomplished at seven racetracks in six states, with three coming over male competitors. Her campaign encompassed eye popping performances in such keystone events as the Kentucky Oaks, Preakness Stakes, Mother Goose Stakes, Haskell Invitational and the aforementioned Woodward, and was highlighted by either record breaking victory margins or historical firsts just about every time she left the starting gate.
 
With such a resumé, who could blame Jess Jackson for putting Rachel away for the winter, especially since she probably needed a rest after an exhausting year (visible in the Woodward). But, had the Breeders’ Cup Classic not been held on a synthetic surface, there’s little doubt Rachel would have continued her season and run at least one more race to conclude a campaign for the ages. After all, it was Jackson himself who announced his intention to run Rachel in next year’s Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs at the same time he said he would not run her this year on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride because of his distaste for synthetic surfaces (or plastic as he labeled them).
 
Can we know how a Zenyatta-Rachel Alexandra showdown in the Breeders’ Cup Classic would have played out? Is there a certainty that had Rachel been entered in the race, Team Zenyatta would have taken her on? Would Rachel have performed as poorly on the synthetics as last year’s Horse of the Year, Curlin, and as other “dirt” horses seem to? These questions can never be answered. But what is fact is that Zenyatta showed up on Championship Saturday and won the most important North American race that’s open to all Thoroughbreds regardless of age or sex. This was no Raven’s Pass swooping in and leaving nothing behind but a few footprints.

Copyright © 2009, 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

Gone Astray will be a short-priced favorite to win his third consecutive graded stakes Saturday when he takes on five 3-year-olds in the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap at Aqueduct Saturday, one of four graded races across the country this weekend—all on Saturday.

One of those opponents is Haynesfield, a three-time stakes winner over the Aqueduct inner track last winter who has won one of two restricted New York-bred stakes since returning to the races this fall for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Gone Astray, carrying the Phipps Stable silks, is coming off victories in the Pennsylvania and Ohio Derbies—both Grade 2 events. The late-maturing son of Dixie Union had only won two of his previous 10 starts for trainer Shug McGaughey, He carries top weight of 122 pounds, conceding from four to seven pounds to his rivals.

Post time for the nine-furlong Discovery is 3:44 p.m., and the race will be shown on both HRTV and TVG (all times Eastern).

The Grade 3 Kennedy Road at Woodbine has attracted a field of 10 going six furlongs on the all-weather Polytrack surface. Jungle Wave is the morning-line favorite, but don’t overlook Field Commission, who closed with a rush last out to win the Nearctic Stakes on the Woodbine turf. Earlier this year, the Danny Vella-trained son of Service Stripe earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105 while winning the Grade 3 Vigil on Woodbine’s Polytrack. Another contender is the very accomplished El Brujo, who’s won six of 13 for trainer Malcom Pierce and won the Grade 3 Perryville on Keeneland’s Polytrack in his last out.

The Kennedy Road will be shown on TVG at 4:23 p.m.

A field of nine graded stakes veteran fillies and mares go postward in Churchill Downs’ Cardinal Handicap Saturday, a Grade 3 going nine furlongs on turf. Acoma is the 121-pound high weight and morning line favorite on the strength of her four previous graded stakes wins and seven of 13 lifetime victories. Saturday is Calvin Borel bobblehead day, though, and Borel is a very live mount for trainer Graham Motion, Leamington. She comes off a dismal effort on a boggy turf course in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Handicap at Belmont Park but should find Saturday’s firm turf much more to her liking.

The Cardinal can be seen on HRTV at 4:37 p.m.

Saturday’s final graded stakes is the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue, a prep for the Hollywood Futurity. Bob Baffert, enjoying an exceptional year, has two of the race’s leading contenders in Indian Firewater and Maceo. A field of eight juveniles has been entered for the seven furlong race, which goes at 7:05 p.m. It will be shown on TVG.

While not nearly the weekend of racing the last two were, this week holds the distinction of being the last official Breeders’ Cup Win-And-You’re-In contests. All three big races at Woodbine will be televised on ESPN 2 and TVG with early favorite Marsh Side being challenged by Jukebox Jury and offering Champs Elysees in the Canadian International. This $2 million Grade I race ends a strong day of racing at the Canadian track that includes the Grade II $500,000 Nearctic Stakes and the Grade I $1,000,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes for Fillies and Mares.

The other two Win-And-You’re-In contests are the Spend a Buck Handicap (III) at Calder and the Emirates Champion Stakes (I) at Newmarket. The Spend a Buck can be found on HRTV and the Emirates Champion Stakes will be part of this weekend’s ESPN 2 package on a delay.

The other major race this weekend takes place at Keeneland where three year old fillies led by Gozzip Girl will compete. The $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup can be seen on TVG.