Posts Tagged ‘wood memorial’

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

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Do you know an individual or organization who you think we should consider for an upcoming “Good News Friday” feature? Then please e-mail info@paulickreport.com with the name of the individual or organization and a brief description of why you think they should be featured. Additionally, we’d like to thank Rob Whiteley and Liberation Farm for encouraging us to bring to light some of the industry’s positive stories and for sponsoring this exclusive Paulick Report feature.

By Bradford Cummings
Oftentimes, the racing industry loses sight of what is important when trying to market its product. Talk of increased handle, while necessary for the bottom line of racetracks, does not change the public perception and momentum of a sport that has continued a slow and steady slide over the last 20 years. In order to grow this sport, racing needs new fans, not old fans making more bets.
 
So when the ratings came out for the Kentucky Derby and most recently the Preakness Stakes, it was a breath of fresh air and a much-needed shot in the arm for the psyche of racing. The first two legs of the Triple Crown brought in an average of 13.4 million viewers, the most since 1989 when Sunday Silence won both Classics over Easy Goer in a spirited East vs. West rivalry.
 
Individually, the Kentucky Derby brought in 16.3 million viewers with a 9.8 rating and 23 share, up 2.1 million viewers from last year. The Preakness came in at a strong 10.9 million viewers, pulling a 6.8 rating and 16 share. This number was up 3 million viewers from last year’s version with Big Brown easily pulling away from the field.
 
For those not familiar with the television ratings system, the Derby’s 9.8 rating means that 9.8% of all households with televisions were tuned into NBC’s telecast on the first Saturday of May while the 23 share means 23% of all televisions in use watched Mine That Bird pull an unprecedented upset. That means nearly a quarter of all Americans watching television showed an interest in racing’s biggest event.
 
Perhaps most significant was the true lack of a compelling storyline going into the race. Most of the favorites had been sidelined before the Derby, and morning line favorite I Want Revenge was scratched the morning of the race with an injury, leaving what has been proved to be an overrated colt from the Louisiana circuit in Friesan Fire as the betting choice. And while other sports have the ability to build audience throughout the course of a 3 hour game, the fact that a 50-1 shot won the race would have had virtually no effect on the ratings because of how quickly the telecast ends.
 
Much credit must go to NBC, which did an admirable job selling the event throughout the week prior with promos on mainstream mainstays like the Today Show and investing in a solid marketing campaign. The fact a long shot won only added to the mystique of the Derby they so effectively sold.
 
That momentum allowed for the male vs. female storyline to be created with Rachel Alexandra and the unintended positive consequences of media coverage from Mark Allen and Ahmed Zayat’s conspiring to keep her on the sidelines. Proving the old adage there’s no such thing as bad press, the Preakness well out performed every other running this decade except for Smarty Jones in 2004, which brought a 7.7 rating and 23 share.
 
Of course, all of these numbers are irrelevant without some perspective and comparison to other top events in high profile professional U.S. sports. While the Kentucky Derby will not be in the same league as the Super Bowl anytime soon with its 42 rating, racing’s biggest day in 2009 stands incredibly strong with other major championship equivalents.
 
The final game of the NBA Championship from last year, in a matchup of the two most storied franchises in the league, drew only 12.6 million viewers.  The Stanley Cup Playoffs featuring the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins never saw more than 6.8 million folks tune in to a game. The Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR, was down this year to a modest 15.95 million television fans. Even America’s Pastime peaked with just 15.49 million at home spectators during last year’s final World Series game.

Something the ratings do not take into account is the large number of racing fans who watch and wager on events like the Triple Crown races and Breeders’ Cup at a local track or simulcast site. Kentucky Derby Day is the biggest day of the year at some tracks, and those in attendance are not counted as television viewers.

This ranks the Kentucky Derby as the second most watched professional sporting championship of the last year, a fact few in the industry would have assumed. And the news is actually better than it looks. Wedged in at around 6 p.m. EST and potentially distracted by the dinner bell or an eventful Saturday, a viewer more likely schedules their day around the Derby coverage whereas a typical championship game appears during the primetime hours of 8-11 pm. That coupled with the lack of build up for the average racing fan as evidenced by the paltry ratings of preps like the Florida Derby, Wood Memorial and Santa Anita Derby, means racing has a legitimate opportunity to capture the imagination of the public if marketed correctly.
 
With drug issues and safety concerns being taken seriously, there will be an opening for racing to breeze through. Will we take the opening and shoot through like Mine That Bird’s last to first rally on May 2nd? Will we look at what we have and figure out how to sell this beautiful sport to the masses beyond the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes? Can we turn the Breeders’ Cup into a legitimate championship that builds from January on?
 
The good news is we can.

Liberation Farm celebrates the many horsemen and horsewomen who strive each day to make things better for horses and those who work with them.  To learn more about Liberation Farm, click here.

Previous Good News Friday subjects: Father Chris Clay, The Race for Education, Military Appreciation Day at Keeneland, Kentucky Oaks Pink Out for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Mary Lee-Butte and the Blue Grass Farms Chaplaincy, Mary Jo Pons and the Radio Reading Network

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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This is the fifth in a series of articles written by Edwin Anthony examining the pedigrees of leading contenders for this year’s Kentucky Derby. Previously, he looked at Louisiana Derby winner Friesan Fire, Florida Derby winner Quality Road, Santa Anita Derby winner Pioneerof the Nile and the talented Dunkirk.

This week, Anthony examines the bloodlines of I Want Revenge, who made a miraculous worst to first finish in the Wood Memorial after severely stumbling out of the gate. Anthony, who spent six years as the staff pedigree consultant for Three Chimneys Farm and has contributed to numerous publications, is the author of a newly published book, “The American Thoroughbred (Volume I).” Click here to learn more about the book. – Brad Cummings

I WANT REVENGE (Stephen Got Even—Meguial, by Roy)
By all indications, Stephen Got Even was a quality racehorse (G2 winner at 3, G1 winner at 4—on dirt) and has a pretty darn good pedigree (by A.P. Indy from a G1 placed Cox’s Ridge mare, next dam is a G3 winner by Blushing Groom).  But it seems that demand for his services in the breeding shed have waned somewhat in recent years, gauging by his unbelievably low $7,500 stud fee for 2009.  This is somewhat difficult to process, given that we are talking about a horse that had the champion 2YO colt a few years ago (Stevie Wonderboy) and has also sired useful campaigners like Don’t Get Mad (G2, $793,000 in earnings), For All We Know (G2, $292,000), Sweet Vendetta (G2, $224,000), and Steve’s Double (G3, $479,000).

With this kind of capability, it should surprise no one that Stephen Got Even has come up with another tough and genuine racehorse in I Want Revenge, who proved capable of delivering an astonishingly brave effort in winning the Wood Memorial (G1) over the weekend.  I’ve never made a complete list of ways that a horse can get into trouble during the running of a race, but I Want Revenge certainly tested the boundaries of what a horse can overcome and still win.  Mind you, this wasn’t the 3rd race at River Downs we’re talking about (no offense to my friends in Cincinnati), this was the Wood Memorial—one of the most prestigious races on the racing calendar, against quality horses being forced to the limit in an effort to make it into the Kentucky Derby.

While he displayed speed and an explosive bit of acceleration during the stretch run of the Gotham (G3)—his first race on dirt—I Want Revenge was absolutely left at the start of the Wood Memorial.  Only a patient ride by the young but skilled Joe Talamo allowed them to salvage victory from the jaws of defeat and enable the colt to gain valuable traffic experience in the process.  One can guess that what transpired Saturday wasn’t exactly what I Want Revenge’s connections had planned, and a disastrous beginning seldom translates into such a rosy outcome.  Thus, his ability to overcome such adversity bodes well for his chances in the Kentucky Derby (G1), where a troubled trip is not only probable; it is expected.
I have a bit of personal experience to glean from Stephen Got Even and his damsire, Cox’s Ridge.  My family raced Cox’s Ridge, and he was undoubtedly the most sound and consistent racehorse that we have owned during 30+ years of racing.  He was an excellent stallion for us (and others), siring forward extraordinary soundness in his progeny.  I personally raced an allowance winner named Bullion from Stephen Got Even’s first crop of runners, and he was both sound and a genuinely hard-trying racehorse.

I certainly endorse Stephen Got Even, and all that he seems to need to get a really nice campaigner (or even a G1 winner) is the willingness of a breeder to send him a quality mare.  I Want Revenge is certainly a good example of this, given that his dam by Roy placed 2nd in both the Argentine 1000 Guineas (Arg-I) and Argentine Oaks (Arg-I).

It’s not difficult to fall in love with I Want Revenge’s chances of winning a classic race, going by his form line.  He broke his maiden at 2 in California, and then lost a photo to subsequent Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Pioneerof the Nile in the CashCall Futurity (G1).  He certainly has the jump on his competition prepping on synthetic surfaces, as he has logged two impressive victories on dirt and has already displayed the ability to overcome trouble.  What does his pedigree tell us about his chances in the Triple Crown series?

While Stevie Wonderboy did not have the opportunity to run in the classics, he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) impressively and most of Stephen Got Even’s progeny seem to prosper at a distance.  His sire, A.P. Indy, is most definitely a classic influence, and Stephen Got Even himself won 2 notable races over 9 furlongs (1 1/8 miles).  Cox’s Ridge was capable of racing as far as the classic distance of 1 π miles and sired champions that could win G1 events going as far as 1 ∏ miles.  I Want Revenge’s damsire Roy was primarily a sprinter, being a son of Fappiano from a mare by Never Bend.  Roy has a high concentration of the Frizette family in his pedigree, carrying 6 crosses, including tracing to her directly in tail-female line.  This mixes well with Seattle Slew (sire of A.P.Indy), as he carries Frizette’s daughter Frizeur (dam of Myrtlewood) 2x—neither of these sources being found in the pedigree of Roy.  This Seattle Slew / Roy combination (and Frizette concentration) has already been seen in the pedigree of Great Hunter (G1), and now I Want Revenge makes 2 G1 winners bred that way.

We also see the Blushing Groom / Fappiano combination in I Want Revenge’s lineage, which can also be found in the pedigrees of top performers like Awesome Gem (millionaire), Candy Ride (G1, undefeated), First Samurai (G1), Heatseeker (G1), Intangaroo (G1), Lady Joanne (Alabama), 2009 Lane’s End (G2) winner Hold Me Back, 2009 G3 winner The Pamplemousse, and Broken Vow (G2, sire of G1 winners).

Beyond American-bred Roy, the dam side of I Want Revenge’s pedigree has a very South American influence.  Fitzcarraldo, the sire of his 2nd dam, was bred in Argentina and raced there, winning a G2 event and finishing among the top 4 in all 3 races that comprise the Triple Crown events in that country.  Vervain, the sire of his 3rd dam, was 1st or 2nd in 7 of 8 starts in Europe, and was exported to Argentina to stand at stud.

In attempting to gauge the quality of the Fitzcarraldo / Vervain portion of I Want Revenge’s pedigree, it is interesting to compare it to the family tree of Horse of the Year Invasor.  In crossing these 2 pedigrees, we see a daughter of the stallion Cipayo in Invasor’s pedigree, while Fitzcarraldo is a son of Cipayo.  A mare named Twins is the 4th dam of Invasor, while a full-sister to Twins named Sigma Septima produced the stallion Stallwood, damsire of Fitzcarraldo.  Needless to say, Invasor is closely related to Fitzcarraldo.

The European stamina influence Wild Risk sired the dam of Blushing Groom (grandsire of Invasor), while Wild Risk appears prominently in the pedigree of Vervain.  Thus, the 2nd dam of I Want Revenge (a mare named Starry Night) has a pedigree that is very similar to that of Invasor.  And given that Invasor was an entirely legitimate racehorse going 1 π miles (Breeders’ Cup Classic, Suburban, Dubai World Cup), this would seem to bode well for I Want Revenge’s chances of getting the Derby distance and possibly winning a classic.  At the very least, one has to admire the horse’s toughness.  Personally, I hope that breeders will take note of Stephen Got Even’s admirable habit of siring sound campaigners.  The industry needs more good mares to visit stallions like him.

–Edwin Anthony

Edwin Anthony was the staff pedigree consultant at Three Chimneys Farm for six years and has penned dozens of articles on pedigree research.  He recently published a reference book, The American Thoroughbred (Volume I), which can be ordered via the banner ad link on this this web page.

By Ray Paulick

Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile made an early run for the lead down the backstretch of the Santa Anita Derby, took over from frontrunner Feisty Suances at the top of the stretch, then held off Chocolate Candy by a length to give trainer Bob Baffert his fifth victory in the West Coast’s leading prep for the Kentucky Derby.

Jockey Garrett Gomez said the son of Empire Maker clipped heels of Take the Points going into the first turn, then pulled him to the lead when no pace developed in the race entering the backstretch. "They started to slow down on me too much," Gomez said immediately after the race to NBC reporter Donna Brothers. "It’s just a slower pace isn’t too comfortable for him." 

Baffert had hoped for more early speed in the race, giving PIoneerof the Nile more of a target to run at, but with the scratch of The Pamplemousse on Saturday morning, the Santa Anita Derby came up with very slow fractions. "Good horses adapt to any situation," Baffert told NBC’s Mike Battaglia. "He’ll have plenty to run at in the Kentucky Derby."

Final time for 1 1/8 miles on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface was 149.17 after fractions of :24.04, :48.65, 1:12.32 and 1:36.67. Mr. Hot Stuff finished third, with Take the Points fourth and the front-running Feisty Suances fifth.

This was the fourth consecutive graded stakes victory for Pioneerof the Nile since joining Baffert’s barn late last year. He began his career in New York for trainer Bill Mott, winning one of two starts on turf and then finishing third in the Breeders’ Futurity on Polytrack at Keeneland and fifth behind Baffert-trained Midshipman in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

Chart of the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

I Want Revenge overcame a rough trip to win the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, breaking in the air and spotting the field several lengths, then facing a wall of horses at the top of the stretch before bursting through a narrow seam to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths over West Side Bernie, with Just a Coincidence third and Atomic Rain fourth in New York’s major prep for the Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Joe Talamo, the son of Stephen Got Even was winning for the third time in eight starts. This was his second consecutive stakes victory following his 8 1/2-length romp going 1 1/16 miles in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. All of his other races have been on synthetic tracks in California, including a narrow loss to Pioneerof the Nile in the CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December and a third to that foe in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Park in February.

I Want Revenge covered the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:49.49 after Lord Justice set fractions of :24.50, :48.13, 1:12.32 and 1:37.33. He was the 1-2 favorite.

This was the first race for I Want Revenge carrying the colors of IEAH Stable, which bought a half interest in the colt from breeder David Lanzman following the Gotham. It is believed the deal included an acceleration clause or bonus for Lanzman if I Want Revenge were to win the Wood. There is believed to be a similar clause for a Kentucky Derby victory. As part of the deal, Lanzman got a 25% interest in Stardom Bound, last year’s champion 2-year-old filly who was upset Saturday afternoon by 24-1 longshot Hooh Why in Keeneland’s Ashland Stakes.

I Want Revenge is trained by Jeff Mullins. Wood Memorial chart.

Here are the notes from the NYRA press office.

Following is the press release from Santa Anita Park on the late scratch of morning line favorite The Pamplemousse: