BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST: REMINGTON GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND
Monday, November 2nd, 2009By Ray Paulick
Please click here to donate to Breeders’ Cup Charities benefiting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and V Foundation for Cancer Research. Give a minimum of one penny per mile and you will be eligible for a drawing to win one of 10 Breeders’ Cup caps to be signed by the winning jockeys of all 14 Breeders’ Cup races this Friday and Saturday.
ON THE ROAD FROM OKLAHOMA CITY TO AMARILLO, TX.—Somewhere near the Oklahoma-Texas border, while listening to the Broadway showtunes station on satellite radio, Brad Cummings and I heard Alfred Drake’s booming voice singing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” from the 1940s hit musical “Oklahoma!”
How appropriate.
We’d left Remington Park a couple of hours earlier on our BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive, and, oh, what a beautiful morning it had been, as well as a beautiful day. From the moment we’d contacted the track’s general manager, Scott Wells, a couple of weeks ago, we had a feeling that Remington Park might be the highlight of this seven-stop, 10-day journey to raise money and awareness through Breeders’ Cup Charities for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
We had no idea how special the day would be. Thanks to the track’s new owner, Global Gaming Solutions (a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation tribe), general manager Wells and his staff (particularly an amazingly creative and hard-working promotions coordinator, Joy Rose Murphy), and very giving jockeys, horsemen, and patrons, we were able to add nearly $25,000 to the money raised for the two charities, putting our total for the first five days above $60,000. We were overwhelmed by their passion for the cause and the gracious hospitality they afforded us during our 24-hour stopover in Oklahoma City.
Global Gaming donated $12,500 to the cause, well beyond the $2,000 we had been asking for segment sponsorships. Murphy, along with the 16 jockeys who, after the day’s regular program was over, competed against Brad and me (more like humiliated us) in a pair of “hippity hop races” on big rubber balls, raised more than $10,000 to sponsor each starter in the races. And two well-cast young ladies roamed the facility and filled a pair of jockey boots with cash donated by track patrons.
Ray before the race
Ray after the race
Brad ‘hopping’ in race
But the BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST fundraising drive is about more than just raising money. Remington Park really scored on this account, too. Jo Hayes, a former Remington Park jockey paralyzed in a 1997 riding accident and a beneficiary of the PDJF, was invited to take part in winner’s circle ceremonies and the presentation of the check to Breeders’ Cup Charities. She was also the subject of a heartfelt video tribute produced by Remington Park that recapped her riding career and her life since the racing accident.
As with our previous stop in Chicago, where we spent a day at the races with paralyzed former jockey Dennis Keehan at Hawthorne and then met with recently injured Michael Straight and his family, our resolve to not let these people be forgotten was further strengthened by the courage and dignity shown by Jo Hayes. The one thing I’ve learned about disabled former jockeys like Dennis and Jo is that while they may be out of racing, they haven’t abandoned their love of the sport. Jo still enjoys riding horses, though she admitted she gets frustrated that she can’t ride the fast ones anymore.
There was a sense of pride among the management team and many members of the jockey colony that Remington Park was the leader in raising money for Breeders’ Cup Charities. That may come from a feeling that Remington’s comeback from a near-death experience only five years ago has been largely overlooked on the national scene. This is a proud group, and for good reason.
The Remington Park comeback was fueled by legislation permitting slot machines at state racetracks. Before slots, according to Wells, purses at Remington Park had bottomed out to a paltry $64,000 a day. Currently, he said, thanks to the addition of revenue from electronic gaming machines, purses and state incentive awards total more than $250,000 per day, almost a 400% increase. It’s attracted stronger stables and better horses, and it should be a matter of time before it is recognized by more simulcast and account wagering customers as a top product on which to wager.
It’s interesting to compare Oklahoma to Kentucky. Both states have only a couple of major population centers and both have deep-rooted horse traditions. Christian values are equally important in both states, yet Oklahoma’s legislature had the foresight to allow racetracks in the state to play on a more level playing field with the 81 Indian casinos throughout the state by giving the tracks the opportunity to install slot machines. While Kentucky has no such competition from Native Americans within the state, its borders are virtually surrounded by casinos in adjacent states.
Remington was built by the late Edward J. DeBartolo in 1988 under the supervision of former track executive David Vance, who was on hand for Sunday’s fundraising activities. Twenty years later, it remains one of the best designed and comfortable facilities in racing, though most of its first-floor grandstand has been converted to an electronic gaming facility. Vance built a spirit of commitment to both the local community and racing industry within the track’s management team, and that commitment has continued through the bad times and good times that followed his departure.
We would like to thank the following individuals who sponsored the two “hippity hop” races: JoAnn Adams, Duane Harrel and Jimmy Harrel; Steve and Julie Asmussen; Danny Caldwell, Tim and Terry Doocy; Terry Edwards; Roger Engel; Global Gaming Solutions and the Chickasaw Nation; Ace and Randy Hare; Chris and Hillary Hartman; Heidelberg Family; Heritage Place; Joe and Hazel Lucas; Randy Morse; Glen and Joy Murphy; Kenny and Sally Nolen; Joe and Karen Offolter; Oklahoma Thoroughbred Association; Dustin Orono Photography; Tommy and Claire Page; Petalino Racing Stable; Danny and Sabina Pish; Pasquali and Palumbo Law Firm; Randy Patterson; Remington Park; Remington Park Jock’s Room; Remington Park Jockey’s Agents; Richter Family Trust; Carol Ricks; Rusty Roberts; Duane and Joyce Salisbury; Mark Sommers; St. Philip Neri Church and School; Gary Thomas; Von Hemel Family; Dr. Robert H. Zoellner.
I’d also like to apologize to my race sponsor, the Pasquali and Palumbo Law Firm, for putting forth such a poor effort when eased in the late stages of the “hippity hop race.” I did have an excuse, however: I was stuck in a bad post position, broke slowly, and never got ahold of the track. It’s clear that I was at least one or two workouts short of being fit for this spot. I think I needed a race over the track.
We also want to thank the following sponsors for the Chicago to Oklahoma City portion of this fundraising drive: Global Gaming Solutions and Remington Park; Terry Finley and his West Point Thoroughbreds partners; Tommy Simon’s Vinery; and Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm.
Sponsors for our previous segments were TVG; Bill Casner and WinStar Farm; Barry Irwin of Team Valor International; Kate Lantaff of Tahoma Stud; the William S. Farish’s Lane’s End, Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley, Brereton C. Jones’ Airdrie Stud and the Young family’s Overbrook Farm. A special thanks to our media partner TVG and the TVG’s online community for playing such a big part in promoting the drive.
If you’re interested in sponsoring one of the remaining segments of BREEDERS’ CUP OR BUST, please send an email to info@paulickreport.com or give me a call at (859) 312-2102.
We’ll be on the road bright and early Monday morning, headed to Zia Park, in Hobbs, N.M., for an afternoon of racing
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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There was no live racing going on at WRD, but plenty of slot machines, simulcasting and a friendly staff. We even saw a patron arriving on horseback—not something you see every day.
After Friday’s visit with the Straight family, we headed south and encountered heavy rainfall alongo the way. We thought we’d stop in and catch some racing at Fairmount Park’s simulcast room late in the afternoon, but didn’t bring our waders to walk through the parking lot to the front door. Apparently we’d just missed a heavy storm that flooded the parking lot and other businesses in the St. Louis area.