There have been concerns all week about a possible storm hitting Southern California on Santa Anita Handicap day, but the current forecast calls for only light rain in late afternoon and on Saturday night, so the Big ‘Cap show will go on without the threat of cancellation due to drainage problems on the synthetic main track that have plagued the current meet.
Santa Anita’s 11-race card featuring four graded stakes gets off to an early start, with a noon local or 3 p.m. Eastern first post. The Santa Anita Handicap goes as the 10th race, with an approximate post time of 8:02 Eastern.
With high weight in this handicap assigned just 117 pounds, it’s clear there is no standout in the Big ‘Cap field, but it’s an outstanding betting race with 14 starters and many serious contenders. The 5-year-old mare St. Trinians was installed the 7-2 morning line favorite off the strength of four consecutive victories since coming to the United States from England and joining the barn of trainer Mike Mitchell, her last win coming in the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap. No filly or mare has ever won the Big ‘Cap.
French import Loup Breton, winner of the San Marcos in his third American start for trainer Julio Canani, is second choice on the morning line at 4-1. He’ll be making his first start on synthetics after racing on turf throughout his career.
Dakota Phone, beaten at head last out at 34-1 in the San Antonio Handicap by Richards Kid, gives trainer Jerry Hollendorfer a chance to sweep two Grade 1 races on the card. He’s 20-1 on the morning line in the Big ‘Cap but has to be considered off that last race, while the top-class 3-year-old filly Blind Luck looks to have her six rivals over a barrel in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks as the 1-2 morning favorite. The daughter of Pollard’s Vision was 1-5 when she won the Grade 1 Las Virgenes last time out by a nose, getting a favorable head bob at the wire to beat longshot Evening Jewel, who is not in the Oaks lineup.
The Oaks goes at 6:57 p.m. Eastern time.
The third Grade 1 of the card, the Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap, is topped by Ever a Friend, who gives the aforementioned Mitchell a chance for two Grade 1 victories on the day, heady stuff for the longtime claiming trainer. The Kilroe, scheduled on turf, goes at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
The final graded stakes on the Big ‘Cap card is the rescheduled Sham Stakes for 3-year-olds, a Grade 3 event at 1 1/8 miles on the synthetic track. Nextdoorneighbor is the tepid 3-1 morning line choice but don’t overlook Eoin Harty-trained Kettle River. The son of Congaree comes off a hard-fought allowance win in his third career start. The Sham is schedule at 6:24 p.m. Eastern.
Once again bucking national economic trends, Oaklawn Park announced across-the-board purse increases of approximately $10,000 per day for the second half of its 54-day racing season.
The increase of $500 in all claiming races and $2,000 in all allowance and maiden special weight races – approximately five percent - goes into effect with the races of Thursday, March 4.
Oaklawn kicked off its 2010 season offering the highest purse structure in its 106-year history, featuring maiden special weight races at $36,000 and no purses lower than $15,000. This purse increase will take Oaklawn purses to yet another record level – maiden special weight races of $38,000 and no purse less than $15,500.
“We have had wonderful cooperation from our horsemen.” Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope said. “When we have been fortunate with the weather, our fans have responded by being very supportive of our racing product. We are now getting into the time of our season where the weather is typically beautiful, so we’re very happy to be able to reward our horsemen at this time.”
The purse increase can also be attributed to the popularity of Oaklawn’s newly expanded Instant Racing and Gaming Center, which opened in May of last year and underwent an expansion the week prior to opening day of the 2010 Live Season.
“The excitement since the announcement of the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational has also kept Oaklawn in the minds of racing fans,” Pope said of the April 9 event designed to lure champions Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. “We have certainly benefited from the publicity and positive vibes generated by that event.”
By Ray Paulick
Flanders, the 1994 Eclipse Award-winning juvenile filly who defeated stablemate Serena’s Song in one of the most exciting editions of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies ever run, was euthanized in mid-February after complications arose following a paddock accident in December at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
The daughter of Seeking the Gold out of the Storm Bird mare Starlet Storm had been purchased by Coolmore boss John Magnier for $400,000 from the Overbrook Farm dispersal, with Eaton Sales as agent, during the Keeneland November breeding stock sale in 2009. She was 18 at the time of her death.
Bred and owned by the late William T. Young’s Overbrook Farm and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Flanders finished first in all five of her starts at two, including four Grade 1 races—the Spinaway, Matron, Frizette and Juvenile Fillies. A positive test for the therapeutic medication isoxsuprine, used for circulation problems in a horse’s foot—disqualified Flanders from her victory in the Matron.
While she finished first by a combined margin of 36 1/2 lengths in her first four races (including a 21-length win in the Frizette), it was her duel against Serena’s Song–who went on to win an Eclipse Award the following year and later induction into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame—that endeared Flanders to so many racing fans and horsemen. Hooked throughout the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile Fillies by Serena’s Song and appearing beaten in the final furlong, Flanders dug down and battled back to win by a head over her stablemate in what proved to be her final race. She pulled up lame under jockey Pat Day after the finish and never made it back to the winner’s circle. Flanders had surgery the following day for a displaced condylar fracture of the cannon bone and an axial fracture of the sesamoid in her right front ankle. She was subsequently retired to Overbrook Farm.
Click here to see a video of the Flanders-Serena’s Song duel in the Breeders’ Cup.
Flanders’ first foal, Surfside, a daughter of Seattle Slew went on to be a multiple Grade 1 winner and champion 3-year-old filly of 2000. She produced several other winners, including Battle Plan, a 5-year-old son of Empire Maker who has won three of four starts for trainer Todd Pletcher and is aiming for the Oaklawn Park Handicap this spring following an impressive allowance win at Gulfstream Park Feb. 18. He is one of a small number of horses bred by Overbrook that were not included in the dispersal.
Flanders produced a Bernardini colt last month, but developed complications from the paddock accident and could not be saved. Thoroughbred Times reported she developed laminitis. The colt has been placed with a nursemare.
“Flanders was a gorgeous mare,” said Chris Young, the grandson of William T. Young who manages the remaining Overbrook horses. “She was one of my absolute favorites—probably had the best personality of any mare I’ve ever been around. I understand she was the one mare John Magnier really wanted from our dispersal, and it’s really a shame they lost her.”
By Ray Paulick
Todd Pletcher isn’t the only who had a big weekend last week, winning three American Graded Stakes races for 3-year-olds on Feb. 20: the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park with Eskendereya, the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds with Discreetly Mine, and the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields with Connemara.
Coolmore Ashford’s Giant’s Causeway sired two of the Pletcher-trained AGS winners, Eskendereya and Connemara, giving the 13-year-old Storm Cat stallion a total of three AGS winners thus far in 2010 (San Pasqual Handicap winner Neko Bay is the other one). For good measure, another top 3-year-old prospect by Giant’s Causeway, Northern Giant, finished a solid third for Pletcher’s mentor, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, in the Risen Star. Only 16 days earlier, Northern Giant turned in a huge effort winning an Oaklawn Park maiden race by 11 1/4 lengths. He’s obviously a slow developing colt, the win coming in his sixth start.
On the strength of those AGS winners, Giant’s Causeway is atop the general sire list thus far in 2010 after being leading North American sire in 2009 for the first time since his first crop reached the racetrack in 2004. He was a truly outstanding racehorse and it’s no surprise that he’s developed into an elite sire. Giant’s Causeway has yet to sire his first American classic winner, but Eskendereya, who moved to the top of many Kentucky Derby lists with his Fountain of Youth victory, could easily change that.
With his weekend victories, trainer Pletcher now has won eight AGS races of 2010 with seven different horses. That’s 16% of the 50 AGS races run so far this year. Pletcher is on a brief “vacation” now, the result of a suspension stemming from a positive test at the 2008 Breeders’ Cup. His stable is deep in talent, is coming off a very strong 2009, and is ranked as the leading trainer by money won so far in 2010 (with reigning Eclipse Award winner Steven Asmussen in hot pursuit) while winning at a 27% clip. With Quality Road leading the way in the older male division, an incredibly deep roster of 3-year-old talent, and undoubtedly a talented group of 2-year-olds now going through early training, this could be a year to remember for Pletcher.
By Ray Paulick Jerry Moss has been living a dream since moving to California from his native New York in 1960. In 1962, with trumpeter and band leader Herb Albert, he formed A&M Records and over the next quarter century produced music for a diverse group of recording artists ranging from The Carpenters, Joan Baez, Phils Ochs, and Cheech & Chong to Joe Cocker, Janet Jackson, Oingo Boingo, The Tubes and The Police—and that’s only a very small list. He and Alpert were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. His life as a Thoroughbred owner has been pretty groovy, too, especially in recent years. Moss and his wife Ann won the Kentucky Derby with Giacomo in 2005, and Zenyatta has carried them to consecutive Eclipse Awards as champion older mare during an unbeaten career that hit a high note at Santa Anita last November when she became the first distaffer to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. She is currently preparing for an April 9 showdown against Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in the $5-million Apple Blossom Invitational at Oaklawn Park. Moss also serves on the California Horse Racing Board, having been appointed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004. He was the only member of that panel not to vote in favor of the synthetic track mandate when it was proposed in 2006. Moss abstained, believing more research and study was needed before such a significant change was enacted. He, along with Zenyatta’s trainer, John Shirreffs, have become critics of the synthetic surfaces. Moss spoke with the Paulick Report about the synthetic track controversy and a variety of other subjects. Let’s go back to 2006 when the push was made for synthetic tracks. What was your position? I frankly wasn’t prepared for the speed at which this was enacted. I thought we needed more data and felt we shouldn’t be rushing off to do this, causing tracks to spend $40 million based on one season at Turfway Park. Yet if you were in the room that day–and the truth is every vendor, Polytrack, Cushion Track, Tapeta, they all had people show up and do demonstrations—that meeting was hell bent on doing this. There were only five commissioners present, and the overall support from TOC and CTT (Thoroughbred Owners of California and California Thoroughbred Trainers), and particularly from two trainers, Richard Mandella and Howard Zucker, was rampant. The room was rocking to do this. First I made a statement that we should all study it enough to pick one surface and be consistent and no one took that seriously. We could have managed it better with maintenance. We took this vote, and I was hoping someone would stand up and say, ‘You can’t do this.’ I said, ‘I abstain, I think we need more time.’ We had been fortunate enough to win the Kentucky Derby the previous year with Giacomo, and I felt these tracks would make it so much more difficult for the owner of a California horse to achieve the dream, to win the Derby. Sometimes you can train on Polytrack and do well, but it’s hard to race on it and transfer the same form to dirt. The nature of the tracks changes every day. We run on three different synthetic tracks in Southern California and a fourth, quite different track, is at Golden Gate (near San Francisco), and every one of them changes every day. It’s been very hard for trainers to build up the strength of horses on these tracks. With John Sadler now president of CTT, an open poll of trainers came up with a 70% vote to reinstall dirt. I hope we live up to that. I think it’s a big, divisive thing that’s happened. We have enough divisiveness. If Santa Anita takes the lead and installs a dirt track, it would become the center of racing again in the U.S. People will still complain about the track. Everybody complains about the condition of the track, every trainer. At least with a dirt track you’ve got people with years of experience in maintaining it. With this stuff, nobody knows anything. We were told we wouldn’t need water and that couldn’t be further from the truth. We were told there would be lower maintenance costs. Our horse Tiago had a huge piece of rubber in his nose. It took us weeks and months to get this gook out of his mouth. The fibers melted from the heat. What are some of the other challenges the industry faces in California? Getting our product across to the consumer. I’m pleased that the CHRB is really concentrating on the mini-satellites. We’ve had a bill put forth in the state legislature that seemed to allow a greater number of them to commence operations, but there’s a restriction they had to be 20 miles away from an existing track or wagering site. In all this time, only one mini-satellite got set up—at a card club in Gardena, and they’re doing really well. It showed people still have an appetite for our game. A friend of mine owns movie theaters and wants to incorporate bet facilities in movie theaters. I think it’s a great idea, yet nobody seems to be jumping up and down about it. The thing that really gets me down about our game is we have so many wise men who are so negative. I feel that’s what’s plaguing our industry. Not enough guys who want to put their money up and take a shot. The dream keeps getting dimmer. There are some new thoughts blossoming. Our new CHRB chairman (Keith Brackpool) has some good ideas, some practical ideas. He’s thinking positively. What needs to happen to reverse the trend? Leadership. Are there national solutions to racing’s challenges? I firmly believe you need a national presence. We need to figure a way to do this. We’ve got these little fiefdoms, powerful in their regions. There’s no national medication policy; it’s like the Cincinnati Reds playing on different drugs than the New York Mets. It’s just not right. Different rules apply to different places. There’s got to be some national policy. It’s been tried. Business has to operate with one negotiator. It’s also gotten to be too hard for the public to get to see these races, like the Derby preps last weekend. These were some big races, but they weren’t on ESPN and were hardly reported in the papers. The Kentucky Derby still gets a good (television) rating, and the Breeders’ Cup is a big event. People do tune in on big days. But look at something like NASCAR. They are all over the place. Your expertise is in entertainment, and you’ve seen a lot of changes in the music business in terms of distribution and technology. What has the music industry done differently in the face of those changes, as opposed to how the racing industry has reacted? The internet has taken its toll on the sale of records. A large segment of the population started exchanging files and getting music for free. But artists are still making music and the emphasis for making money for these artists is through new sources—personal appearances. Artists in this for the long haul have to keep performing, attach themselves to an audience, people who show up for them, and buy their products. It is possible to be a success in the music industry. Television is more important than before. If you’re talented you’ve got to get your message to the people—and promote it. What are the chances state government can help in California? California breeding has gone way down. California homebreds used to make up a much bigger percentage of the races. State government has done very little in the time I’ve been on the CHRB. It’s very disappointing what the legislature or governor have done for the industry–so far it’s been dismal. But the state is in trouble. I understand where Arnold (Gov. Schwarzenegger) is having to reduce money for breast cancer diagnosis. How can he do something for a rich man’s game like horse racing while reducing the number of teachers in our schools. Clearly, we need some help. But positive thinking and a unified approach to the legislature and governor would certainly benefit. We’ve got to think more positively. People have to let go of some things. We have to move on. We gave up the stage coach a long time–and we moved on. You mentioned how musicians are now emphasizing personal appearances more today. Can racing ever recapture some of the on-track business it lost to simulcasting and advance-depoisit wagering? My belief is that people’s habits have changed. I don’t know if people have that much leisure time these days. In the 1980s when on-track business was strong, you still had the same number of sports–basketball, baseball, NFL, lots of different stuff. Today everybody has to work harder, our economy is still in trouble. To come out and hang out for the whole afternoon is hard for people, their attention spans have changed. That’s why you’ve got to make TV a little easier for them. Are we better off with ADW, even though it’s had a negative effect on on-track business? Yes I’d have to say so. At least it’s brought in the opportunity of a new generation that understands the internet effectively enough to place a wager. I bet on TVG now and then. I think it’s a handy tool. And I’m happy that BetFair owns TVG. Gaming professionals understand racing. They understand gaming. I think they do a pretty good job on TVG—they try to be entertaining. It would have been very easy to send Zenyatta off to Kentucky to be bred after her second Eclipse Award. What factors went into your decision to keep her in training? The initial decision to retire her was purely mine. After the Breeders’ Cup Classic I said what else can I ask her to do? I didn’t talk to my wife, to anybody on the team, I just said I think we’ve got to retire her. We went to visit her at the barn and this was a horse that obviously was liking her job. She’s been there four years now, and we were, what, going to send her to Kentucky? Before the Eclipse Awards, my wife and I said if John thinks she can go another year and she’s happy, let’s do it. She loves the show, she loves the people. The Classic didn’t take that much out of her. John and Dottie (racing manager Dottie Ingordo, Shirreffs’ wife) said, ‘Yeah, she can be pretty good next year.’ The decision to retire her was an emotional one on my part and the decision to keep her in training was more of a reasonable one. She’s a star. How can racing seize the opportunity to promote the Apple Blossom and any other races involving Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra? I believe Mr. (Charles) Cella is a great showman. He’s almost in a class by himself. Back in 1927, someone said, ‘Mr. O’Brien the most amazing thing has happened; a man has flown across the Atlantic Ocean all by himself.’ O’Brien says, ‘That’s fantastic, but let me know when a committee does it. That would be amazing.’ The point is an individual can accomplish anything. Charlie was able to pull this off and you’ve got to give him credit for it. Whatever devise he wants to promote this race is absolutely fine, and I believe he’ll come out of it making money.
Kentucky Derby preps are in full swing across the country with more than a few contenders from the 2007 foal crop hoping to emerge as stars. Gulfstream Park will present two graded stakes for 3-year-olds, the Hutcheson, at seven furlongs, and the 1 1/8-mile Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth, both Grade 2. In the Hutcheson, Rick Dutrow has two entries, Radiohead and D’Funnybone, the likely favorite. Rick’s brother, Tony Dutrow, also has an entry in the Hutcheson, A Little Warm. Nick Zito’s Jackson Bend will face nine rivals in the Fountain of Youth. The diminutive son of Hear No Evil had a five-race win streak broken in his last out when he ran second to Winslow Homer in the Holy Bull. His biggest challenger appears to be Remsen winner Buddy’s Saint.
Gulfstream has also carded a pair of complementary G3 grass races for older horses on Saturday—for the ladies it’s the Honey Fox and the guys run in the Canadian Turf. An overflow field has entered the Honey Fox, including Bluegrass Princess, Backseat Rhythm, and Quiet Harbor, who brings with her a string of five consecutive wins. Courageous Cat makes his 2010 debut in the Canadian Turf; he finished his 2009 campaign with a sensational runner-up effort to Eclipse Award winner Goldikova in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
After inclement weather at Oaklawn Park forced the cancellation of last Monday’s G3 Southwest Derby, it was rescheduled for Saturday. Conveyance, Cardiff Giant and Domonation, the first three finishers in the San Rafael Stakes, shipped in from California and all remained on the grounds and re-entered one mile test.
At the Fair Grounds, the spotlight will be on 3-year-olds in the G3 Silverbulletday, for fillies, and the G2 Risen Star, for colts and geldings. Both races are 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. In the Silverbulletday, Todd Pletcher’s Devil May Care is the slight morning-line favorite over the Dale Romans-trained Quiet Temper. A full field of 12 goes to the gate in the Risen Star; the top choices here are Bill Mott’s Drosselmeyer, and from the Tom Amoss barn, Ron the Greek.
Also, at Fair Grounds on Saturday, two other G3 stakes will be run for older horses—the Mineshaft, at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt, and the Fair Grounds Handicap, 1 1/8 miles on turf. The one-two finishers in the Jan. 23 Louisiana Handicap, Friesan Fire and General Quarters, will face off again in the Mineshaft, while the Fair Grounds Handicap has attracted the likes of Acting Zippy, Transduction Gold and the now 10-year-old Silverfoot. Giant Oak is entered as well, but will run only if the race is transferred to dirt.
The other graded Derby prep on Saturday is the G3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California. Ranger Heartley and Connemara are the likely favorites among eight entered in the 1 1/8-mile dirt contest; they ran first and second, respectively, in the Jan. 16 California Derby.
Saturday’s Santa Anita card features the G2 San Carlos Handicap, a seven furlong dirt race for 4-year-olds and up. Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Dancing In Silks hopes to rebound from his third-place finish in the Palos Verdes and earn a trip to the Golden Shaheen in Dubai in late March. His day could be spoiled by Ventana, runner-up in the Palos Verdes, or the speed demon, Bob Black Jack, off since winning the 2008 Malibu.
On Sunday, the only graded stakes action takes place at Santa Anita with the running of the G2 San Luis Obispo Handicap for older horses on the turf at the marathon distance of 1 ½ miles. Obrigado, now a 7-year-old, won this race in 2007 and makes his seasonal debut here. The Neil Drysdale trainee will face eight rivals, including his stablemate Bourbon Bay.
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.
Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra will make her 4-year-old debut in the March 13 New Orleans Ladies, assuming she continues to progress as expected, owner Jess Jackson of Stonestreet Stables confirmed Thursday. The $200,000 New Orleans Ladies is for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
“That is our intended goal,” Jackson said by phone Thursday evening. “I believe she’s on schedule and she’ll get the prep race before she goes on to Oaklawn. There are other tracks that have offered to have us go, but right now we’d rather stay here.”
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., announced earlier Thursday that the date of the Grade I Apple Blossom had been moved back to Friday, April 9, in order to give Rachel Alexandra and champion older female Zenyatta sufficient time to each get one start before meeting for the first time in what Oaklawn is billing as the “Race for the Ages.” The new date of the Apple Blossom places it 27 days after the New Orleans Ladies.
“We’re obviously thrilled by the news that Rachel Alexandra, already a legend based on her accomplishments last year, intends to make her 2010 debut at Fair Grounds,” said Fair Grounds Vice President and General Manager Eric Halstrom. “We are already working to make sure March 13 will be a special day befitting of racing royalty.”
Jackson expressed his hope that the New Orleans Ladies would attract a solid field of competitors despite the imposing proposition for the others of having to face one of the top female racehorses in history.
“I’d really like to have more than just nominal competition in the race,” Jackson said. “Assuming it’s a fair race I don’t expect Rachel to have any trouble but at the same time, regardless of whether they’re superstars or not, it embellishes the track’s reputation and Rachel’s reputation to have the best possible competition.”
Record rainfall in December and more high levels of precipitation in January repeatedly forced two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Steve Asmussen to adjust Rachel Alexandra’s schedule. More recently, however, she has posted official workouts on consecutive weekends, including a half-mile breeze Saturday in :50 3/5.
“It’s not anyone’s fault, but with the rain and the track conditions it’s been a serious setback to Rachel’s routine,” Jackson said. “When you’re training a horse it’s an animal that needs to have a regular routine and Steve’s been hard-pressed to keep her going given the weather. When we do get her to the track it’s well maintained, but she’s behind schedule and that means we’re compressed to try to get everything done and keep her on schedule leading up to works and preparing her for a major competition at Oaklawn.”
Fair Grounds officials added the New Orleans Ladies to the stakes schedule last fall in hopes that a scenario such as this would play out. Now it appears Fair Grounds will get its wish—to showcase the champion filly in front of New Orleans’ faithful race fans.
“It’s always fun to visit New Orleans, one of the top cities in the United States,” Jackson said. “My wife loves it. You have great food. The rebound has been phenomenal as far as sports are concerned so maybe that will help lead to a full recovery.”
Rachel Alexandra established herself as one of the all-time great fillies last year with historic wins in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks and Grade I Preakness Stakes, as well as six other stakes races, including the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks. She defeated older males twice, in the Grade I Haskell Invitational and the Grade I Woodward.
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.
Following conversations with Jess Jackson and Jerry Moss, the Grade I $5,000,000 Apple Blossom Invitational is back on, Oaklawn President Charles J. Cella announced Thursday. The race, which was increased to a total purse of $5,000,000 provided both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta start, will now be held Friday, April 9, the day before the Grade I $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby, Oaklawn’s traditional closing day.
“The most important day in Arkansas sports history has now become the most important two days in Arkansas sports history,” Cella said. “This is truly a race for the ages.”
Cella reported that he began discussions Wednesday night with both Jackson and Zenyatta owner Jerry Moss, immediately upon hearing that the original date of April 3 was not feasible, and that those discussions continued Thursday morning.
“I understand the concerns of all competitors in needing a prep race and properly preparing for a race of this magnitude, especially in light of the weather we’ve been experiencing recently around the country,” Cella said. “Both parties want this to happen when their champions are at their absolute peak. This date makes that possible.”
UPDATES
Statement by Jess Jackson on Apple Blossom Invitational
“We are delighted that the race is on for April 9 and want to
especially thank Charles Cella and Oaklawn for moving the date.”
Statement by Jerry Moss on Apple Blossom Invitational
"Charlie Cella is a great guy and worked very hard to make this race happen and we are thrilled that it is going to work out. We were planning to go, we wanted to support him and are really pleased to have a chance to run over a good racetrack."
