Wandering Eyes

Old Friends at Cabin Creek will host an evening of food, music, silent auctions and raffles to honor its retired Thoroughbreds. The event will be held Aug. 5 at the Saratoga National Golf Club beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, which can be purchased at www.oldfriendsatcabincreek.com, are $100 in advance and $125 at the door. View the full article

Frankie Dettori has had the ten-day ban he picked up at Newmarket's July festival reduced to six days but will still miss Ascot's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) and the first two days of Glorious Goodwood. View the full article

So often in horse racing the circle of life involves the Triple Crown. View the full article

The Stronach Group’s efforts to open a racetrack in Massachusetts have taken a major step forward as it has located a piece of property in Lancaster, Ma. it is willing to buy if they are able to secure approval to build a track there. The Stronach Group will meet with the Lancaster town planning board Monday to go lay out its plans to build the track. “We’re dead serious about this,” Stronach Group COO Tim Ritvo said. “This is an important market for us. There have been orders from the top to make sure we give every effort and take a hard look at this. We are in a step-by-step process. The first step is securing lands and it looks like we have a really good partner there.” Lancaster is about 50 miles northwest of Boston. Ritvo said The Stronach Group has earmarked $40 million for the building of a new racetrack. The future of racing in Massachusetts is in flux because the owners of Suffolk Downs, which lost out on efforts to obtain a casino license, have sold the property to developers. The track will race just six days this year and is tentatively scheduled to close for good after its Aug. 5 program. Despite Suffolk’s demise, the Stronach team believes it can operate a Massachusetts racetrack at a profit. In order to do so, however, it will need legislation passed by the state whereby it is guaranteed the bulk of the revenue from simulcasting and ADW wagers placed within the state. The Stronach team, should it build a racetrack, would also be at the head of the line when it comes to companies looking to eventually operate sports betting in the state. “If we were lucky enough to get legislation in our favor we would build a racetrack and we would want favorable ADW legislation, favorable OTB legislation,” Ritvo said. “Basically, if we are the guys providing the content in the state, we should get a majority of that money.” With a parcel of property already chosen, Ritvo is ready to take the next steps. “Now that we have located the property, the next step would be to get legislation and an agreement with horsemen in place,” Ritvo said. “The third step would be to build the track. There is $200 million of pari-mutuel handle in the state and we’d hate to see that go away.” Massachusetts is in a unique situation because racing receives a cut from the slot handle at the state’s casinos. With Suffolk running just six days a year, only a small portion of that pool will be paid out this year with the rest put in escrow. There is about $12 million currently in the fund, which is for purses only. Ritvo said his company would not ask for any of the fund money to be diverted from purses to the track, but added that the existence of the money will make it easier to run a profitable operation. “Nobody is building racetracks today and the reason is the economics of running them is too much,” he said. “Under the scenario where Massachusetts has slots revenue coming in and that money is being earmarked for purses, that makes the economic model much more viable.” Ritvo went on to explain that with slots revenue providing the money for purses, ownership would seek a deal with the horsemen where a larger-than-normal percentage of handle goes to the track. It’s common for horsemen and a track to split the profits from handle on a 50-50 basis. Ritvo said his company may be looking for a split along the lines of 70-30. “We’d be looking for a more favorable split as the horsemen would be receiving their money from the slots,” he said. “Let’s say, 60-40, 70-30. With the horsemen getting 100% of the slot money for purses, that creates an environment where you can be successful.” If The Stronach Group’s plans come to fruition, Ritvo said it would be likely that the track would open in 2020. He said he is prepared to guarantee the state and the horsemen a meet of a minimum of 30 days. The Stronach team is not the only one looking to keep racing going in Massachusetts. The current ownership of Suffolk Downs sees many of the same benefits of operating racing that The Stronach Group does and is attempting to retain a racing license. The question for them is where would they hold a race meet? One proposal has been for racing to be held by Suffolk’s current owners in Western Massachusetts at the long shuttered Great Barrington Fair. Ritvo, who began his career as a jockey at Suffolk Downs, said his company would drop plans to operate in Massachusetts if it is not the only entity allowed to operate racing. View the full article

After a weekend off July 21-22, the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships series moves back to Monmouth Park July 29, Haskell Invitational Stakes Day at the New Jersey track. View the full article

Carl Moore’s Finley’sluckycharm (Twirling Candy), who captured her first Grade I win with a gritty score in the Apr. 7 GI Madison S. at Keeneland, is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the GII Honorable Miss S., the Wednesday feature race at Saratoga. The 5-year-old mare will be looking to get back on track after tiring to fourth as the favorite in the May 5 GI Humana Distaff S. She was second, beaten just a neck, last year’s Honorable Miss and is six-for-seven at the six-furlong distance. Former claimer Kirby’s Penny (Macho Uno), another 5-year-old mare, will be looking for back-to-back graded victories in the Honorable Miss. Trained by Wesley Ward for Kent Spellman, the dark bay is coming off a 1 1/2-length win in the May 12 GIII Vagrancy H. at Belmont Park. She is two-for-two at Saratoga, having won a starter allowance and allowance at the Spa last summer. Lael Stables’ Chalon (Dialed In), second behind Kirby’s Penny in the 6 1/2-furlong Vagrancy, is coming off a four-length victory in the June 17 Regret S. at Monmouth Park. View the full article

The time-tested axiom that pace makes the race is precisely the reason that trainer Tom Amoss announced July 24 that he has decided to send Lone Sailor to the Betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park July 29. View the full article

Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard will have two opportunities to return to the winner's circle July 26 in the $175,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase Handicap (NSA-G1). View the full article

A touch of the bizarre descended upon Mountaineer Park’s second race Monday night when a trainer won his first career race with a 10-year-old maiden that hadn’t started in nearly five years. But wait, there’s more: The race winner, 27-1 Hero’s Wager (Partner’s Hero), was the beneficiary of a huge but unintentional assist when the three-length leader in upper stretch, Viritzi (Corfu), had the saddle slip badly, causing the jockey to fall off sideways. The fallen jockey, Kevin Gonzalez, lost his helmet upon hitting the ground but walked off the turf course after the five-furlong MSW turf sprint. Jim Colvin, Mountaineer’s manager of racing operations, confirmed via phone to TDN on Tuesday that Gonzalez did not need to go to the hospital. Viritzi continued to run along with the saddle hanging off his flank, gamely crossing the finish wire just behind the wide-and-driving Hero’s Wager and galloping out with the pack. He appeared unhurt. Hero’s Wager–trained by Ted Randolph, owned by A La Carte Thoroughbreds, and ridden by Ricardo Barrios–hadn’t started in a race since Oct. 20, 2013, at Keeneland, when he ran sixth in a $15,000 maiden-claimer. The gelding had a 17-0-1-1 record entering Monday’s start. The start was Randolph’s fifth as a licensed trainer according to Equibase, but he’s not a total newcomer to racing. Colvin described him as an owner who has competed at Mountaineer in the past. Randolph could not be reached to discuss the story behind Hero’s Wager’s extended layoff. The TDN could not locate a working phone number for him, and messages that Mountaineer backstretch officials agreed to pass along did not yield a callback prior to deadline for this story. View the full article

In his first start since finishing third in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), Juddmonte Farms homebred Hofburg could strike an imposing figure in the $100,000 Curlin Stakes July 27 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

The time-tested axiom that pace makes the race is precisely the reason that trainer Tom Amoss announced July 24 that he has decided to send Lone Sailor to the betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park July 29. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It’s just a tick after 7:30 a.m. on an overcast and humid Tuesday morning and impressive Belmont Park debut winner Swamp Rat (Hat Trick {Jpn})–more on that eccentric name in a bit, too–is cooling out during the break on the backstretch of Saratoga’s historic Oklahoma Training Track. With a small stable of promising 2-year-olds housed in Barn 66, veteran conditioner Phil Gleaves seems to have a permanent smile on his face throughout the morning as old acquaintances and passerby wish him well in his first full season stabled back at the Spa since 2002. “We had been in Miami year-round for the last 15 years or so and we decided that now that our son Schuyler is in college-he’s going to be a sophomore [in the fall]-it was a good time to relocate back to Saratoga,” said the affable Gleaves, adding that he and his wife Amy recently purchased a home in nearby Ballston Spa. The former longtime assistant to the legendary Woody Stephens enjoyed one of the biggest highlights of his career right here on 267 Union Avenue with Wise Times in the 1986 GI Travers S. In addition to that dramatic come-from-behind win over Danzig Connection in the Saratoga slop, the son of Mr. Leader also captured that term’s GI Haskell Invitational H. at Monmouth Park and GI Super Derby at Louisiana Downs. “It was my second year on my own,” Gleaves, a native of Liverpool, England, said. “I left Woody in ’85 and we were fortunate enough to have Wise Times in the barn for our longtime client Mr. Reineman.” Gleaves continued, “I’ve come up to Saratoga sporadically to run a horse here or there, but after not being here on a regular basis for the last 15 years, you tend to get a greater appreciation of it. I feel lucky and blessed to be back. NYRA was very good about giving me stalls. I just love being here-it’s a great feeling.” The aforementioned Swamp Rat, named after a prized rodeo bull for the Hilliard family, turned in a smart stretch rally at 24-1 to win going away by 2 3/4 lengths traveling six furlongs in a grassy maiden special weight at Belmont June 17. Swamp Rat was produced by the unplaced Smart Strike mare R Smarty Pants. Yes and Yes (Sidney’s Candy), bred by Gleaves and co-owned along with Joseph R. Straus, Jr. and Hugh Fitzsimons, also lit up the tote at first asking downstate at 36-1, just getting up by a nostril at five furlongs on the Belmont lawn May 25. Both received very respectable 72 Beyer Speed Figures and are training up to the $100,000 Skidmore S. for 2-year-olds going 5 1/2 furlongs over the Saratoga turf Aug. 17. A potential allowance prep race this week failed to fill. “Both ran impressive races,” Gleaves said. Yes and Yes added another chapter to Gleaves’s unraced Distorted Humor mare Aberdeen Alley (TDN Feature), who has remarkably produced six winners from six starters, including Saratoga stakes winner Miami Cat (Powerful Goer) and the stakes-placed I Ain’t Gonna Lie (Monarchos). “That mare continues to throw good runners,” Gleaves, 60, said proudly. “Aberdeen Alley is my only mare and we relocated her from Kentucky to get involved in the New York State breeding program. She is currently at McMahon Farm and has a Dominus colt by her side and is in foal to Freud.” Gleaves will saddle a pair of 2-year-old firsters this week at the Spa as Bull Feathers (With Distinction) kicks off her career in a maiden special weight for New York-breds on the main track Wednesday and Isabelle’s Joy (Kitten’s Joy) lines up in a maiden special weight sprinting on the grass Thursday. He plans to winter at Peter Vegso’s farm in Ocala, Florida, and race at Tampa Bay Downs. “I have eight horses and they’re all 2-year-olds,” Gleaves said. “That’s the whole kit and caboodle and I’m quite comfortable with that. We’re fully aware of the level of competition up here, so we have to temper our enthusiasm somewhat. But, after saying that, we have a nice group of young horses and we’re not up here to play around.” View the full article

The Far Hills Race Meeting will offer pari-mutuel wagering for the first time on all of its steeplechase races Oct. 20. The Far Hills Race Meeting, which includes the $450,000 G1 Grand National, offers purses totaling $850,000. “Far Hills is pleased to offer our loyal patrons this prized amenity: a chance to bet on our races,” said Far Hills Chairman Guy J. Torsilieri. “The wagering experience is yet another way for our fans to enjoy and be intimately involved in our races, which, every year, draw top horses from the United States and overseas.” Under New Jersey law, Far Hills will conduct its one-day of wagering under Monmouth Park’s pari-mutuel license. All races will be under the supervision of the New Jersey Racing Commission. “After years of working closely with the Far Hills Race Meeting team, we’re so pleased the partnership is finally official,” said Dennis Drazin, president and CEO of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth Park. “We are grateful to have an opportunity to support this beloved 98-year tradition while also raising greater awareness for steeplechase racing and all equine sports throughout the region and beyond.” View the full article

G M B Racing’s Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior), who missed by just a nose to Core Beliefs (Quality Road) when second last time out in the June 23 GIII Ohio Derby, will face off against that rival again in Sunday’s GI Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. “The decision was between staying where we are at Saratoga for [Saturday’s GII] Jim Dandy or going to the Haskell,” said trainer Tom Amoss. “The underlying and deciding factor was the pace set-up. My horse wants to have a pace to run at, and looking at the two races and comparing the fields it was evident that there was going to be a lot more pace in the Haskell than the Jim Dandy.” Lone Sailor, third in last year’s GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, was also second in this year’s GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. Also expected for the Haskell are: GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic (Curlin), GI Preakness S. runner-up Bravazo (Awesome Again), Navy Commander (Poseidon’s Warrior) and Roaming Union (Union Rags). View the full article

Edward Daly, whose successes as a bloodstock agent included sourcing El Prado (Ire) for export to the U.S., died suddenly last weekend, according to Racing Post. Daly spent his formative years with the likes of Collinstown and Coolmore Studs in Ireland and Yarraman Park Stud in Australia, and did a stint as assistant to Neil Adam before working up to management level with Airlie Stud. Daly went out on his own as a bloodstock agent in 1990 and while sourcing El Prado was his greatest contribution to the bloodstock world he also sourced Group 1-winning fillies like Fiesolana (Ire) (Aussie Rules) and Watsdachances (Ire) (Diamond Green {Fr}) in training. View the full article

The likelihood of fast ground for Saturday’s G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. has left a few former contenders likely to stay on the sidelines, but Sir Michael Stoute says he is happy with his charges Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Poet’s Word (GB) (Poet’s Voice {GB}). Trainer Andre Fabre told Racing Post on Tuesday that he would bypass Ascot’s midsummer showpiece with his G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), while Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) also looks unlikely for trainer John Gosden. Stoute said of his Royal Ascot winners Crystal Ocean and Poet’s Word, “Both horses seem in good shape and their preparations have gone well. They have both been in good form this year so, touch wood, we are happy at this stage. Crystal Ocean has won all three of his starts this year and he has won over the course and distance at Ascot. The ground may be fast, but he is actually impervious to ground. He comes from a very good Rothschild family and they seem to improve with age.” “The win of Poet’s Word in the Prince Of Wales’s S. at Royal Ascot would have been his best performance to date. He ran very well in the Dubai Sheema Classic too–he is effective at a mile and a half. He has been recording high levels of form and seems versatile in terms of distance–10 or 12 furlongs. He has won at the track too and his preparation has gone well.” Stoute revealed that William Buick will ride Crystal Ocean with regular rider Ryan Moore needed for Ballydoyle’s Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while James Doyle keeps the mount on Poet’s Word. Of his G2 Queen’s Vase and G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Kew Gardens, trainer Aidan O’Brien said, “Kew Gardens is a progressive horse and physically he seems to be stepping up with every run. We had our eye on the King George for a long time with him, as he is a horse who stays very well and enjoys fast ground. With the King George, you usually have to handle good ground or quicker with the race being at the height of summer. We thought after Royal Ascot that it would help him to have another race back over 12 furlongs and that’s when we decided to go to Longchamp as it fitted in perfectly for us ahead of the King George. We felt we would get a better picture of his chances in the King George if he ran at Longchamp. Ryan [Moore] was very happy with him and took his time on him in France. He rode him like a good horse.” View the full article

Longtime owner and breeder Allen Poindexter will offer four yearlings at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale and two of the quartet received a timely update with the sparkling debut win of Rowayton (Into Mischief) at Del Mar last Saturday (video). Through the Bluewater Sales consignment, Poindexter will offer a full-sister to that 2-year-old colt, who himself sold to Larry Best’s OXO Equine for $320,000 at last year’s Saratoga sale. During the auction’s second session, Poindexter will offer a filly by Tapit out of Rowayton’s second dam Kid Majic (Lemon Drop Kid) through the Gainesway consignment. Rowayton’s front-running win going five furlongs at Del Mar was not exactly a surprise to Poindexter. “I was really kind of expecting it,” he admitted. “We had been hearing that they thought this was a very nice colt. We thought that he was really going to run well and, considering he drew the 10 hole and they wrapped up on him probably 50 yards from the wire, I thought he ran very impressively.” Poindexter purchased Kid Majic as a 2-year-old in 2006 as part of a racing partnership. The mare, a half-sister to Grade I winner J P’s Gusto (Successful Appeal) and from the family of champion Proud Spell, was third in the 2007 Lone Star Oaks. “I bought her with Champion Racing as part of partnership to race her,” Poindexter recalled. “And then I bought them out or traded them out when we knew she was going to be a broodmare. I liked that she was a Lemon Drop Kid and the family is pretty deep.” Kid Majic’s first foal was graded stakes winner Miss Mischief (Into Mischief), Canadian champion female sprinter and champion older mare in 2015. Poindexter has high hopes for the mare’s Tapit yearling, who will sell at Saratoga as hip 142, as well as the weanling who could well be in next year’s auction. “She’s drop-dead gorgeous,” Poindexter said of the yearling. “I also have a weanling out of Kid Majic by Tapit. I think she could be even nicer than this filly. And this filly is a 10.” Kid Majic’s third foal was Rosemonde (Indian Charlie) who RNA’d for $195,000 at the 2013 Saratoga sale. She was training at Churchill the following fall, but never made it to the races. After producing Rowayton in 2016, the mare produced a filly by Into Mischief last year. That yearling is catalogued to the Saratoga sale as hip 88. Comparing the two siblings, Poindexter said, “I think [the yearling filly] is bigger than the colt. She’s very racy and I think she’s physically maybe even better than that colt.” Rosemonde produced a colt by GI Met Mile winner Frosted (Tapit) this year. Poindexter’s Saratoga quartet also includes hip 115, a daughter of Empire Maker who is consigned by Bluewater and is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Awesome Speed (Awesome Again); and hip 151, a filly by Street Sense who is consigned by Gainesway and is out of a half-sister to Grade I placed Gio Game (Gio Ponti) and multiple graded stakes placed Isotherm (Lonhro {Aus}). “I’m very excited about the Saratoga sale,” Poindexter said. “We have four excellent horses. The Street Sense is a really nice filly and I think the Empire Maker filly is the only Empire Maker that is in Saratoga. This Into Mischief, of course I’m prejudiced, I think she will be the best physical Into Mischief that is in the sale, plus she has a hell of an update with Rowayton.” Once the Saratoga sale is over, Poindexter has plenty to look forward to at next month’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale. “I have some really nice horses going in September also,” he said. “I’ve got Gio Game’s brother by Bernardini and I have a Wicked Strong colt who is very, very nice.” Poindexter traces his involvement in racing to a visit to Oaklawn Park in the 1970s when he was working on a Mississippi River oil refinery. Now living in Missouri where his primary business is Allen’s Mechanical, a plumbing, heating and air conditioning company, Poindexter’s racing stable began in the early 1990s. “I started with one or two horses and I’ve probably had as many as 40 in training from coast to coast,” he said. “We have cut our numbers back in racing and concentrate more on the breeding now because it’s more profitable. It’s tough to race.” He continued, “I am one of these that sell the best and keep the rest and by never knowing what the best is in this business, I sell the ones that are the most commercial.” In addition to his 25-strong racing stable, which regularly sees action across the country, Poindexter has a broodmare band of some 70 head. “They all get bred in Kentucky,” he said. “All of my mares in Kentucky are at Tim and Nancy Hamlin’s Wynnstay Farm and they do an excellent job for me. And then I foal them out in New York, some in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Oklahoma, Indiana. So I have foals all over even though they are all bred in Kentucky. That allows me to take advantage of the regional programs in those states and it also gives me a good way of getting my mares black-type horses through state programs, which increases their pedigree. So the next foal has black-type.” Poindexter, who campaigned multiple stakes winner and graded stakes placed Chanel’s Legacy (Dominus) and sold a son of Kid Majic for $600,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May Sale, thinks diversification is key to his success. “We sell weanlings, yearlings, 2-year-olds, we race, and we have a significant breeding program,” Poindexter said. “I am in all aspects because it gives me other ways to go. At a yearling sale where people don’t race and don’t go to 2-year-old sales, they get backed into corners to where they sell–no matter what the price is, they let them go. “I take some to the [yearling] sales and, if they get RNA’d, I use Cary Frommer or Susan Montanye at SBM and I’ll take them on to a 2-year-old sale. I had one RNA this year, a Yes It’s True filly, I RNA’d her for $17,000 [at Keeneland September] and then took her to the 2-year-old sale and she brought $270,000 [at OBS April]. It happens. If I think they are a racehorse, then I don’t bail out. I just say, ‘We’ll go to the next step and prove to people that this is a racehorse.’ And sometimes there will be minor vet issues that will keep the horse from selling for what I want it to bring, but yet as a racehorse, it’s not going to bother them. So we’ll race them.” The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale will be held Aug. 6 and 7 at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion. Both sessions begin at 6:30 p.m. View the full article

It’s an idea that’s as exciting as it is outlandish. What if, for just a day or two, you could turn a few city blocks into racetrack? What if you could literally bring racing to the masses and send a cascade of sprinting Thoroughbreds down the Champs-Élysées in Paris, or Fifth Avenue in Manhattan? If you are Peter Phillips, these are more than just late-night, spirit-fueled hypotheticals. Phillips, first son of Queen Elizabeth II’s daughter Anne and eldest grandson of the British monarch, has been working over these questions for some time now. And within the next year, his dreams might become our reality. Through a partnership that includes his company, Sports Entertainment Ltd. (SEL UK), Phillips is set to launch City Racing, which will organize a day’s racing on some of the most iconic streets in the world. Or at least that’s the plan. City Racing will feature a five-furlong, synthetic straight course laid down over existing avenues. The racing will operate under the rules of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and, it’s expected, will be sanctioned wagering events. The rest will be part block party, part afternoon at the track. City Racing will most often be held near existing tracks. That provides a pool of local horses to draw from, and, more importantly in the eyes of Phillips, opportunities of cross-marketing with those tracks. If all this sounds like an impossible task, Phillips, 40, has already made a name for himself as a down-to-earth, hands-on entrepreneur who embraces a challenge. His accomplishments include hosting 10,000 guests for The Patron’s Lunch in honor of the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016, as well as organizing a major showjumping event, The Longines Global Champions Tour meeting, in the heart of London in 2014. Another accomplishment for Phillips? Successfully balancing being member of the royal family with living out the normal life his parents aimed to give him when they declined titles of nobility for him and his sister. Fourteenth in the line of succession to the throne, Phillips bears more than a passing resemblance to his cousin, Prince William. But Phillips has eschewed many royal trappings. He played rugby in college, worked as a corporate hospitality manager for Jaguar, and spent time at the Royal Bank of Scotland. In 2008, he married a Canadian management consultant named Autumn Kelly, and four years later launched SEL UK. There, he’s been known to hop on a forklift to help out his crew. It was during one SEL UK event, the Global Champions Tour in 2014, that Phillips began working alongside Andrews Bowen. The equine footings manufacturer was tasked with installing the competition surface, and Phillips noted how quickly Andrews Bowen personnel were able to set up and tear down. A conversation started about applications elsewhere, and before long, the idea of City Racing was born. JS Communications and The Jockey Club in Britain joined as partners. (Andrews Bowen is better known in the States as the manufacturer of the SafeTrack surface at the OBS training center in Ocala.) Phillips will visit Saratoga in early August and hopes to attend the races and sales. Last week, the TDN talked with him by phone about the feasibility of City Racing, the engineering behind it, and what industry insiders have been saying about this unique endeavor. LM: At its core, what idea informs City Racing? PP: Throughout the world, the racing bodies we’ve spoken to say the same thing: they are struggling to attract an audience. We believe this is a fantastic platform for those bodies to communicate to a different, new, and dare I say, younger audience. We are here to support the industry, and we are not, absolutely not, competition to the tracks. We should be seen as a promotional platform for the tracks, and for the wider racing industry. We’ve been working closely with horsemen’s groups to make sure we deliver a genuine product. What this couldn’t be seen as is a marketing gimmick. It simply doesn’t work if it’s a gimmick. What we are trying to create is a complementary platform to enable the industry to attract new fans. LM: The first thing that jumps to mind is the equine safety. PP: For us, equine safety is the primary concern. We’ve been working with the British Horseracing Authority to pull together our rules and regulations, and we will abide by as many of the track rules as possible to enable us to safely put on racing in a city center. We are working with the industry, and it will need to be a collaborative effort. We don’t want, for instance, trainers to be sending us horses that have just come out of a field after six months, or who have a history of leg injuries. We need to work together to make sure it works not only for the City Racing series, but for the industry in whichever country we go to. LM: Will these be gambling events? PP: We are hoping so, absolutely. That’s why we’ve gone for the minimum distance under BHA rules. We want to make this as authentic as possible. And not just “as possible.” It is going to be an authentic race meeting. LM: Would purse money be supplied through wagering? PP: Forgive me for being slightly vague about this, but the one thing this will be is a commercially viable event. So therefore we will be sourcing funding through sponsors and through traditional means, be it gambling or ticketing or hospitality, or other revenue streams. LM: How many races will be held during an average City Racing event? PP: Realistically, a race card would be six races, with eight horses in a race. We’d be looking to get a pool of jockeys to ride in all of those, so that we could create a sort of jockeys’ championship within those six races. Which, once the series is up and running, could run across a number of different countries. The idea is that we’ll use local horses and top international jockeys. LM: Have you spoken to many riders? What has their reaction been? PP: The feedback has been very positive. The chance to race down an iconic street is an opportunity you’d struggle to turn down. LM: Are you hoping to draw elite horses to these events? Mid-level types? PP: These will be handicap horses, zero to 90-weighted horses. We’ll be using local horses whenever possible. We are absolutely not trying to kid ourselves that we’re going to get Grade I or II horses, and in many ways, that’s not what this is about. LM: How many people are you hoping to draw to a typical City Racing event? PP: I would hope the only restriction would be how many people that the city would allow us to fit into the area safely. Part of this is to attract a new audience to the sport, and we want people to walk away saying, “You know, that’s pretty exciting.” LM: Is the idea to bring in truckloads of synthetic material? PP: There’s a system. A layer of [Andrews Bowen’s] Equaflow goes down, then a membrane, then the SafeTrack on top. That combined surface is BHA-approved. As we’ve talked to racing jurisdictions, it’s helped tremendously to already have a product that is BHA-approved. From the horsemen’s perspective, that gives them peace of mind. LM: Would you be shipping the surface from city to city? PP: Not necessarily. Ideally, we’d make it as close to the site as possible to reduce costs. The SafeTrack can be manufactured in each country, and we’ll probably have to ship the Equaflow layer around, since that’s site-manufactured. LM: What are some of the cities you’ve been in talks with. Paris? London? PP: As you’d expect, we’ve been talking to a number of different cities. Paris is definitely one of them, as is London. We’ve been talking to some U.S., European and Far East cities, as well. LM: Are there certain cities in the U.S. that you think would be perfect venues–a Las Vegas or New York, for instance? PP: I don’t want to be too specific at this juncture. But part of the purpose of this series is to support the local industry. You’ve mentioned a few cities there and you wouldn’t be too far off the mark, and from our perspective, the more spectacular images we can get of horses racing down these streets with iconic backgrounds, the more the event goes beyond the racing industry. It starts to filter into the tourism industry, as well. LM: When are you hoping to host the first City Racing event? PP: 2019 is the goal. I’m not going to commit to any number of set races, but we’ll look to have multiple race cards in 2019. I’m a firm believer in never counting your chickens before they hatch, so until the ink is dry, I don’t want to go into much further detail. LM: On a personal level, Thoroughbred race fans celebrate your grandmother’s love of the sport. Are you a passionate race fan as well? PP: If I’m being honest, I was brought up around National Hunt racing more than flat racing. We live 40 minutes from Cheltenham, so that’s on my annual calendar. But so is Royal Ascot, and I’ve always enjoyed racing. It’s a fantastic day out. I rode as a youngster, and obviously my parents and sister have competed at high levels [in show jumping], so horses have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. And if there’s a way to combine business with a passion, then that ticks a lot of boxes for me. LM: Speaking of your business, SEL UK, you’ve tackled a lot of larger-than-life projects. You’ve staged a horse show in the middle of London. You hosted The Patron’s Lunch for 10,000 guests to celebrate the Queen’s 90th. Where does this rank among the more ambitious things you’ve done? PP: It’s up there [laughs]. Primarily because of the concerns of equine and human safety. It’s a challenge to communicate with all the city councils and authorities, and so on and so forth. But really, the thing we’re probably more diligent on than anything is equine safety. My love of the horse and all equine matters, that’s sort of built into me and this organization. When you’re talking to people who have not necessarily dealt with horses before, it’s quite an important point to get across. It puts their minds at ease. And if you can put their minds at ease, that you’re on top of the equine safety aspect of it, it relieves some pressure from their decision-making process. View the full article

After a weekend off July 21-22, the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships series moves back to Monmouth Park July 29, betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes Day at the New Jersey track. View the full article

Frankie Dettori has had the ten-day ban he picked up at Newmarket's July festival reduced to six days but will still miss Ascot's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) and the first two days of Glorious Goodwood. View the full article

German Group 3 winner Julio (Ger) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) and group-placed 2-year-old Charming Kid (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) have been added to the Goffs UK Goodwood Sale on Aug. 1 after racing at Glorious Goodwood. A winner and twice Group 3-placed last year at two, 3-year-old colt Julio won a six-furlong Group 3 at Hamburg on June 30 and will be offered with an entry in the Aug. 3 G3 Thoroughbred S. at Goodwood. G1 Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and G3 Chester Vase winner Golden Sword (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) appear under Julio’s third dam. Charming Kid won on debut for trainer Richard Fahey on May 16 and after beating two home in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot, he finished third in the G2 Arqana July S. at Newmarket on July 12. Charming Kid is offered with an entry in the G2 Richmond S. the day after the sale and York’s G2 Gimcrack S. on Aug. 24. View the full article

In his first start since finishing third in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), Juddmonte Farms homebred Hofburg could strike an imposing figure in the $100,000 Curlin Stakes July 27 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

The Magnier family and trainer Aidan O'Brien, the driving forces behind Coolmore and the Ballydoyle Racing Stable, have been selected as the recipients of the 2018 Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit. View the full article

Frankie Dettori has had a 10-day ban picked up at Newmarket last week reduced to six days on appeal, but will still miss the rides on Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in next week’s G1 Sussex S. and Stradivarius (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Goodwood Cup. He also misses this Saturday’s G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., for which regular mount Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is under consideration. Dettori received the ban after his mount Angel’s Hideaway (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) shifted right without sufficient correction in the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. and interfered with a handful of runners. Dettori did not comment following the verdict, but had insisted during the hearing that he had not been at fault for the incident. He said, “I went for the gap as there was plenty of room for me to go. No, she didn’t hang into Colm O’Donoghue’s filly. I stayed straight. Colm O’Donoghue went slightly left and I think James Doyle [on Main Edition] went marginally left. He [Silvestre de Sousa on Pretty Pollyanna] just gradually went right. When Silvestre de Sousa drifted and went right, she was intimidated. I was trying to explain to the panel on the day in that instance, when Silvestre de Sousa came across, she had a tendency to go right with him. I used the whip once when she ran off a true line, I put my hands back on the reins to try to avoid a collision.” Trainer John Gosden testified that Angel’s Hideaway is a very nervous filly, but disciplinary panel chairman David Fish said, “This is not a straightforward case and a number of issues have been raised by both sides. We’ve given careful consideration for this and have decided to dismiss this appeal. We have taken the view that Mr Dettori’s horse showed a tendency to go right in what is called to be the ‘O’Donoghue’ incident, which is regarded to be sufficient enough to give Mr Dettori notice that this difficult filly might go further right. He then used his whip in the left hand and the filly started to go to the right. We take the view he had sufficient time to take preventative action before he did and that amounted to careless riding.” Dettori will be able to resume riding on the Thursday of Glorious Goodwood, when the G1 Nassau S. is the feature race. View the full article

The Magnier Family and Aidan O’Brien have been announced as the recipients of the 2018 Longines and IFHA Award of Merit, which recognizes distinguished horsemen and horsewomen for lifelong contributions to Thoroughbred racing. They will be honoured on Aug. 14 in Dublin at an event to coincide with the launch of the 2018 Longines Irish Champions Weekend, which will take place at Leopardstown Racecourse on Sept. 15 and The Curragh Racecourse on Sept. 16. Representing the Magnier family, MV Magnier, said, “We are most grateful to Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities for this recognition, and while the award may have the Magnier name on it we know that we are part of a much larger family which includes our partners, the Smiths and the Tabors, along with all the O’Briens at Ballydoyle. A big thanks to all.” Aidan O’Brien said, “Our thanks to the Magnier family, the Smiths and the Tabors for helping to make Ballydoyle what it is today. We are privileged to be associated with such wonderful people who leave no stone unturned as we try to get the best out of every horse. We really appreciate the tremendous and unfailing support of all the team at Ballydoyle, whose commitment is second to none, I would like to thank them all.” Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland and a vice-chairman of the IFHA, said, “It is a source of great pride that those we honour today hail from Ireland, yet are recognized the world over. With its origins in County Tipperary, the Magnier family has built an unrivalled global operation that has been responsible for so many of the greatest equine stars the world has seen. In Aidan O’Brien, the Coolmore partners have the best trainer in the world, indeed a world-record holder after his exploits last year. Their successes do so much to promote Ireland as a global leader when it comes to breeding and racing, and I wish the Magnier family and Aidan, Annemarie and their family every success for the future.” Aidan O’Brien has trained over 300 Grade/Group 1 winners, and last year set a record for Group 1 wins in a season, besting Bobby Frankel’s previous mark of 25 with 28. The Magnier family owns both Ballydoyle and Coolmore, which has developed numerous sires to reach international acclaim including Sadler’s Wells, Galileo, Montjeu and Danehill. Previous winners of the Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit include Yutaka Take, the Romanet family, Jim Bolger, Alec Head, Seth Hancock, and the late Marcel Zarour Atanacio. View the full article