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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Juveniles take center stage on the Gulfstream Park turf course May 11, as a pair of $120,000, five-furlong stakes will award an automatic berth to one of six 2-year-old races held at the Royal Ascot meeting June 18-22.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
For what appears to have been nothing more than a minor clerical error, the New York Gaming Commission and its head steward Braulio Baeza, Jr. has fined NYRA Racing Secretary Keith Doleshel $2,000 for “failing to conduct business in a professional manner.” Doleshel has appealed the decision and has the backing of NYRA management. Under Baeza, the Gaming Commission has been quick to fine NYRA employees for what can be argued are nothing more than honest and inadvertent mistakes. Among those who have been sanctioned with fines are clocker Richard Gazer, the former Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Frank Gabriel, Jr. and Assistant Racing Secretary Rob MacLennan. Doleshel personally accepted the entry of the first time starter Sassy Allie (Coal Front) for a maiden special weight race carded for May 2. The entry was made by trainer Robert Falcone, Jr., who provided NYRA with the information concerning the ownership of the horse. The ownership details provided by Falcone matched those in The Jockey Club registry, which is how the racing office reviews the accuracy of ownership details. However, a mistake was made somewhere along the line as the entry did not accurately reflect a recent change in ownership. Following the entry being accepted, the trainer alerted NYRA of the issue. NYRA informed all relevant parties so that the ownership details could be updated and corrected in the program. However, Baeza ordered that the horse had to be scratched. “Mr. Doleshel took an entry from Robert Falcone and the ownership was misstated by the trainer,” said Doleshel's attorney Drew Mollica. “At the end of the day, it was a minor administrative error. Keith did everything according to Hoyle. The trainer gave him the information. He crossed referenced it. There was no impropriety. There was no effort to conceal. It was strictly a bookkeeping error. Those sort of things happen every day and in every walk of life. “Once it was discovered by due diligence, it could have easily been corrected. All it would have taken was a simple announcement that would have corrected the information regarding the ownership. That's the type of thing all of us have heard over the public address system a thousand times. The horse should have been allowed to run and Keith should not have been fined. Instead of solving problems, the Gaming Commission decided to create a problem where there was none. “Not only did they scratch the horse to the detriment of everybody involved, the owner, the trainer, the association, the betting public, now they double down and fine Mr. Doleshel. This rule, not tending to business in a proper manner, is unconstitutionally vague. Everyone has a different opinion of what that means. This is insanity to its highest level.” NYRA Vice President of Communications Pat McKenna confirmed that Doleshel has the full support of track management. “This is but the latest example of the New York State Gaming Commission leveling significant financial penalties to individual NYRA employees for inadvertent, and sometimes unavoidable, clerical errors,” McKenna said. “Keith Doleshel is a valued and talented NYRA employee who always conducts himself professionally. As we explore separate avenues of recourse, NYRA will take every step to support an appeal should Doleshel pursue that option. These kinds of formal sanctions are a departure from standard business practices and have the effect of discouraging self-reporting and decreasing NYRA's ability to recruit and retain top talent.” This is the second time the Gaming Commission has fined Doleshel for “failing to conduct business in a professional manner.” Doleshel was fined on Oct. 20, 2022. That ruling stemmed from an incident at Saratoga in which an unauthorized agent was allowed to claim a horse. After the claim, NYRA officials informed the Gaming Commission of the error. Doleshel agreed to a settlement with the Gaming Commission and the offense was expunged from his record. According to Mollica, fines of more than $250 become part of a racing official's permanent record. “Those fines have to be reported every time a licensee applies for another license,” Mollica said. “That's a scarlet letter. Any time you apply for a license or a job in the racing industry, you have to disclose these. Why would anyone want to work at NYRA under these circumstances where your entire career could be ruined over a clerical error that was nobody's fault?” Baeza, regarded as the most powerful of the three stewards working at the NYRA tracks, has had to deal with controversies of his own. The stewards disqualified Brick Ambush (Laoban) after he crossed the wire second in the $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct last December. Brick Ambush did not appear to do anything in the race to warrant being disqualified and many expressed an opinion that Baeza and the other two stewards disqualified the wrong horse by accident. Asked for comment, Gaming Commission spokesman Brad Maione said, “We have no additional information to provide beyond what's in the ruling.” The post NY Gaming Commission Fines Another NYRA Employee appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
After the shell-shock of City Of Troy's performance in Saturday's 2000 Guineas still reverberating, the Derby has a much more open look than it did last week and so the focus on Chester's May Festival will be even keener than usual. Wednesday's G3 Boodles Chester Vase has supplied the Blue Riband hero twice since 2013 and with a record 10 successes it is clear that Aidan O'Brien has come to prioritise the trial for his Epsom hopefuls. Ryan Moore had the pick of a duo this time and has opted for the form choice Grosvenor Square (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), as tailor-made a Derby candidate as can be found anywhere being from the family of Urban Sea and therefore Galileo himself. Dynamic with his all-the-way tour de force when last seen in Leopardstown's G3 Eyrefield S. in October, the half-brother to the G1 Irish Derby winner Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}) is joined by the Dylan Browne McMonagle-ridden Agenda (Ire). Another son of Galileo, he earned TDN Rising Star status when taking the same Dundalk maiden in March won by the yard's 2022 Chester Vase scorer Changingoftheguard (Ire). “He looks the clear form choice on his form at two. I didn't ride him in any of his three starts last year, but he followed up a good third in the Beresford when an impressive winner of a group three at Leopardstown on deep ground,” Moore said of Grosvenor Square. “He promises to be well suited to this trip and there is no reason to think he won't be as least as effective on a decent surface. In fact, he will probably improve for it. He's a good prospect, but our other Galileo colt, Agenda, is far from out of this, either.” This select affair could easily shake up the Derby market, with Juddmonte's Cadogan Place (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a full-brother to Quadrilateral (GB), re-opposed by Godolphin's Hidden Law (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), a son of the Oaks runner-up Secret Gesture (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) who he beat by a short head on debut at Southwell in March. Hidden Law has since won impressively at Newbury and could bolster Charlie Appleby's already-solid Epsom hand. “He's a nice colt who has just taken a bit of time which is why he started so late, he's a big horse,” Juddmonte's European racing manager Barry Mahon said of Cadogan Place. “I suppose we're going to find out what we have and we didn't have the Derby on our minds, simply as in he didn't make it to the track at two. He's a fine, big, well-bred horse and very nice physically. He's taken his time to mature, but he passed his first test and we're stepping up to the next level and if he passes that then there's all the conversations to be had.” Also in the mix is Rachel Hood's imposing Wolverhampton novice winner Pappano (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who represents the Gosdens successful 12 months ago. “He won well at Wolverhampton first time out this year and has come forward for that run,” Thady Gosden said. “He is stepping up in grade significantly, but he is a horse we have always liked. He is obviously still inexperienced and he's stepping into a solid race where Grosvenor Square sets the standard off 109, but the race looks a good fit for him.” Fillies Take Their Turn In The Cheshire Oaks… Also on the card is the Listed Cheshire Oaks, where the key pointer looks to be the 10-furlong Leopardstown maiden won by the Joseph O'Brien-trained Galileo Dame (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}). She is re-opposed by Ballydoyle's runner-up Rubies Are Red (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the daughter of Red Evie (Ire) (Intikhab) who was in turn in front of the stable's Listed Victor McCalmont Memorial S. runner Flight Of Fancy (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). This was the maiden in which Above The Curve (American Pharoah) and Thoughts Of June (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) filled the first two places two years ago only for the form to be turned around here, while 12 months ago Savethelastdance (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) also got off the mark in that before delivering her stunning performance in this trial. “She won really nicely at Leopardstown and now steps up slightly in trip which we think she will handle fine,” Joseph O'Brien said of Galileo Dame. “Her two runs so far have been on soft ground, so getting on better ground will be a slight unknown for her. However, we think she is a nice filly who will be able to hold her own in listed company going forward.” Ryan Moore has passed over the ride on Rubies Are Red for the Dundalk maiden winner Port Fairy (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and he rarely gets it wrong, particularly in this which he boasts five successes during the last 10 years. “I have been on board both for their runs this year and Port Fairy showed a good attitude to win at Dundalk, where she probably did it a bit snugly,” he said. “Rubies Are Red is a sister to Found among others and I think she probably finished second to a very good filly in Galileo Dame, who she meets again here. Improvement is needed from both, but of course the potential is there after just the two starts.” One who could yet become a leading British Oaks contender is the impressive Wolverhampton debut winner Forest Fairy (Ire) (Waldgeist {GB}), a certain stayer descended from Gestut Ammerland's ground-breaking Borgia (Ger) (Acatenango {Ger}). “It was a good effort first time and I don't think we were expecting it,” trainer Ralph Beckett said. “She has done well for the time she has been given in between. She's a tall, well-balanced filly who has worked well on the grass at home and we're looking forward to it. This is the right place for her and she's been training well in the run up to it.” The post All Eyes On Chester With Epsom Classics Up For Grabs 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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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Average Joe Racing Stables Ltd. and Dan Wells' Mugatu (Blofeld), an also-eligible entrant in the GI Kentucky Derby and most recently fifth in the Apr. 6 GI Toyota Blue Grass S., will make his next start in the May 18 GI Preakness S., trainer Jeff Engler confirmed Tuesday. “He's getting better. He really moved up on the dirt. His numbers proved it. Seize the Grey (Arrogate), who won the [GII] Pat Day Mile, we finished in front of him in the Blue Grass. I heard Seize the Grey is going in the Preakness, so it's a logical spot,” Engler said. “We were a little frustrated we didn't get into the Derby. We feel the more distance the better for this horse. I do like the 1 3/16 miles, so we're going to head up.” A maiden winner over the Tapeta at Gulfstream last November, Mugatu opened 2024 with a pair of third-place efforts going one mile over the synthetic at Turfway over the winter. He was fourth in the Mar. 2 John Battaglia Memorial S. and eighth in the Mar. 23 Rushaway S. before making his third start over the dirt in the Blue Grass. Mugatu is scheduled to breeze five furlongs Saturday before shipping to Pimlico. While Mystik Dan (Goldencents)'s participation in the Preakness is still undecided, the Derby winner is expected to return to the track Wednesday at Churchill Downs. “That's a typical routine for us,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “We'll walk them three days [after a race]. He could have gone back to the track [Monday] if we'd wanted, but he didn't need to.” Asked if he has seen anything that would rule Mystik Dan out of a Preakness engagement, McPeek said, “Not at all. Same thing. We've just got to get through the weekend and take it from there.” Entries for the Preakness will be taken Monday. The post Mugatu Confirmed for Preakness 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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