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    • Two 1 1/2-mile stakes races on Florida Derby Day on the Gulfstream Park turf course—the $200,000 Pan American Stakes (G2T) for older runners and the $150,000 Orchid Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares—have a French flavor.View the full article
    • The Road, presented by Gainesway and Darby Dan FarmView the full article
    • The Macau Jockey Club hosts its final race meeting March 30 with a 14-race card, providing trainers, jockeys, and hundreds of stable staff and administrators, who are facing career oblivion, one last chance to shine at Taipa. View the full article
    • When it's considered reasonable for a trotting club to dig up Cardigan Bay to make way for a carpark, you know something has gone wrong. I moved to Auckland in 1983 and loved the place. We were at Alex Park three or four times a month. Gradually that became once a month and then once a year. Ironically this unfolded as my enjoyment of harness racing was stronger than ever. I barely recognize Auckland now. The immigration floodgates have been wide open for years and the city is drowning in people yet they are still coming in record numbers. They all need a home, We lived in the Browns Bay area. Unrecognizable now. On our street of approximately 40 houses, we were seeing relatively modern homes being removed off modest sites and replaced with multiple imposing monstrosities. There were already parking issues yet this practice occurred on seven sites over a four year period. The final straw for us was a developer buying two adjoining properties next to ours with a tidy 1995 and 2005 home on them. Those homes were removed to make way for 16 townhouses. If this is deemed reasonable you know the compass has been lost. Some even describe this as progress. Almost all of the streets, roads and terraces in the area were experiencing similar month in month out.  We left Auckland in 2022 but I return every month for family and business. The only change is the number of people now calling Auckland home has increased considerably and at an even faster pace. Unsure of the exact numbers but anecdotally, even Blind Freddy can see it.  What has been unfolding at just Alex Park and Ellerslie is indictive of what's happening elsewhere in Auckland.  Economist Shamubeel Eaqub believes NZ needs a population of 15 million to function effectively. That won't be a NZ any of us recognize but it's on the way. Auckland getting a taste of what's coming. We could run a sad sweepstake on how long it will take for the entire Alex Park racetrack it's self to be in the history books and replaced with housing. My pick is under 15 years.  Bye bye Ribbon of Light, The Iceman, The Magic Man, The Wizard and The Chief of course  Housing will eventually take over many NZ Racecourses. 
    • For me personally, what a weird coincidence that earlier this week, TDN published a wonderful essay by its columnist Chris McGrath, who spent time with three of the industry's “elder statesman,” among them Ercel Ellis. For it was Ellis who, 40 years ago this coming week, made a decision that altered the course of my life. McGrath obviously had a wonderful time at Lil's Coffee House in Paris, Ky., listening to the yarns spun by Ellis, now 92, renowned veterinarian Bob Copelan (97), and the youngster of the trio, Stone Farm owner Arthur Hancock (81). Forty years ago, when I was a mere 25 and Ellis 52, he decided to leave his position as breeding columnist for Daily Racing Form to train a small string of horses he and his wife owned. I was interviewed by Logan Bailey, who managed the small Daily Racing Form office in Lexington, and was offered the position Ellis was vacating. While Ellis grew up on Dixiana Farm–which his father managed–and had a wealth of knowledge about Thoroughbreds, my initial foray into the industry was as a handicapper (something I still enjoy today). Now any good handicapper inherently learns about pedigrees, but, honestly, I knew very little at the time about such topics as breeding and sales. During the interview, Logan (now deceased) asked me if I could spend time with any one person who would it be. I guess most people answer with the president, or an astronaut, or the Pope … I don't know. I said Secretariat. There were only four persons in the DRF office, which was located in the Keeneland clubhouse, in some of the track's original stalls. I often wondered what horses had stabled where I now had my desk and typewriter. I started the Monday after the Kentucky Derby, and that timing was also interesting. Because I had said I wanted to meet Secretariat, Logan had arranged for me to visit Claiborne Farm and do just that. The week after the 1984 Derby was special at Claiborne because the Derby winner, Swale (Seattle Slew–Tuerta, by Forli), was bred by Claiborne and raced by the farm in partnership with William Haggin Perry, Peter Brant and Edward Cox Jr. Here I was, just a few days after the Derby and new at my job, being shown not only Secretariat, but the incredible roster of stallions, by farm managers John Sosby and Gus Koch. That day, I briefly met farm president Seth Hancock, with whom I had numerous subsequent conversations over the years. Of course, the story of Swale ended up being bittersweet. He also won the GI Belmont S. for trainer Woody Stephens, but eight days later collapsed and died. Though no definitive cause was determined, an autopsy discovered lesions in the heart area which could have been responsible for his death. Chris McGrath, Ercel Ellis, Arthur Hancock and Dr. Robert Copelan | courtesy of Chris_McGrath. When Secretariat died Oct. 4, 1989, Logan informed me we would be allowed to attend his burial at Claiborne. But, the following morning, farm officials decided not to allow press members. We always respected that decision. I have seen Ercel only a few times over the years. But it is always a wonderful experience for me when I do because he has as encyclopedic mind when it comes to Thoroughbreds, able to recall races and pedigrees as if it were yesterday. I was truly honored a number of years ago when Ercel phoned and asked me to be interviewed on his radio show. I will never forget that 15 minutes. During my 25 years regularly covering racing and breeding at Daily Racing Form, The Racing Times and The Blood-Horse, Ercel is an example of those I always jumped at the chance to spend five minutes or five hours with–such as Bob Green, Bob Courtney, Henry White, Warner Jones, Carter Thornton, Alice Chandler, Ted Bassett, Gail Hughes, Brereton Jones, Johnny Griggs, Bruce Hundley, Johnny Jones … and countless others–because though green when I started, I became fascinated with the history and intricacies of the industry. It is hard to believe I was 25 when I started at Daily Racing Form and Ercel Ellis was 52. Now, I have recently started Medicare and Ercel is 92. Where would I be had Ercel Ellis not left Daily Racing Form? Yogi Berra said, “When you get to a fork in the road, take it.” Because of Ercel, there was a fork in the road, and I took it. I just hope those starting in the business today will find mentors not only as knowledgeable as those I was fortunate to have, but as willing to share their knowledge.   The post Letter To The Editor: Ercel Ellis and The Decision That Altered My Life appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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