Wandering Eyes

Full-season ticket plans for the 2019 Saratoga season will go on sale Mar. 19 at 10 a.m. A full-season ticket plan includes admission and a reserved seat in the clubhouse or grandstand for all 40 days of the meet, which will feature eight weekends. Season ticket packages for the grandstand and clubhouse will be available for purchase online through NYRA Account Manager where fans may utilize the Saratoga Virtual Venue seating map to digitally preview their seat location and sightlines before purchasing tickets. The Saratoga meet will run from July 11 through Sept. 2. View the full article

A Top Line Sales-consigned Candy Ride (Arg) half-sister to Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Drefong (Gio Ponti) was purchased by Japan’s Northern Farm for $675,000 Tuesday afternoon at the OBS March Sale (ThoroStride video). Northern Farm is the stallion home of Drefong. The Jan. 25 foal was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Carrie and Craig Brogden, who acquired the filly’s dam Eltimaas (Ghostzapper) for $77,000 in foal to Mizzen Mast at Keeneland November in 2013. Through the Select Sales agency, Machmer Hall sold the dark bay to Carlo Vaccarezza for $300,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. Produced by a half-sister to champion and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Action This Day (Kris S.), hip 147 also hails from the female family of GISW Cannock Chase (Lemon Drop Kid). View the full article

College graduate Reylu Gutierrez has an offer to study Health and Human Performance at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. He applied last spring and deferred a year. By May, he must give a final answer. View the full article

George Handy hasn’t started a horse since January 2018, but he is not retired or giving up on a training career that began in 1946. He still goes to the barn at Gulfstream every day, is still on the lookout for new horses and still optimistic that there are more winners in his future. If Handy can keep going, he could make racing history. Last July, Jerry Bozzo became the oldest trainer in history to win a race. He was 97 and has since passed away. “My goal for my dad is to see him win that title, to be the oldest trainer to win a race,” said his son, George Handy Jr. “He’s so close. He’ll be 96 in July. It would be quite a dream to fulfill. I think it’s something my dad would enjoy. He’s doing fabulous. At the V.A., they said he has the statistics of a 45-year-old. I think he’ll live to be 100.” He still goes to the barn at Gulfstream every morning to train his two horses, Storm Warnings (Cimarron Secret) and Kimchi’s Strike (Smart Strike). But both are having problems and are merely in light training and Handy is not sure whether or not he can get them back to the races. Yet, he gets up every morning and goes to work and is actively scouting for horses. Earlier this week, he was at Palm Meadows looking at prospective horses to purchase. He has already been promised a horse by a prominent trainer that wants to see Handy keep going and have at least one horse to train. That horse, who is fit and in good form, should arrive in his barn shortly. Handy Jr. said that trainer wanted to remain anonymous. He is also hoping to acquire a couple more horses. Handy was planning on being a jockey, but had to put things on hold when he went to serve in the Navy in World War II. He served on the destroyer, the USS Kidd. While taking part in the invasion of Okinawa, the Kidd was hit by a kamikaze plane and 38 men were killed. Handy was wounded in the attack, getting hit by shrapnel in an eye and in his back. He was awarded a Purple Heart and honorably discharged from the Navy following the attack. “The ship didn’t sink. We were able to get to an island to patch her up,” he said. “It wasn’t scary. You don’t have time to get scared. The toughest part of it was burying my buddies at sea.” He’s proud of the fact that he gave the kamikaze pilot the finger before the plane struck. No longer having to serve his country, he headed to the racetrack. “During the war, I got too heavy to be a jockey, so I turned to training,” he said. “I won my first race in 1946 at Narragansett in Rhode Island. Handy is a character. He loves the color orange and would always buy orange sports cars, often convertibles. Many a time he was seen driving around the backstretch with a comely blonde at his side and he always dresses impeccably. He is a friend to everyone on the backstretch and he has a great sense of humor, which he has not lost. “At my age,” he said, “I don’t buy green bananas.” In 2002, he could no longer find anyone selling orange sports cars so he bought a bright red Mustang convertible, which he still drives today. Handy moved around during his career, training in New England, New Jersey and in Florida before making Gulfstream his permanent home. His was always a blue-collar stable, one that managed to win five training titles at Suffolk Downs. But when given a chance with a quality horse, he proved more than capable. Handy won the 1973 Arkansas Derby with Impecunious and the 1981 Tampa Bay Derby and Illinois Derby with Paristo. He is a member of the New England Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Equibase lists him with 770 career winners, but its records only go back to 1976. Handy estimates he has won 2,500 races during his career. In 2011, at the spry age of 87, he won 11 races. But soon thereafter, his numbers fell. “What happened, ” he said, “is that all my owners died before I did.” His last owner was Barbara-Ann McDonnell, who, along with her husband, Francis, was with Handy for over 15 years. When Barbara-Anne McDonnell died last year, Handy had no one to fill the void. She is still listed as the official owner of Storm Warnings and Kimchi’s Strike, the two horses Handy keeps on the Gulfstream backstretch. Though he hasn’t had a horse healthy enough to run in over a year, Handy does not consider retiring. “I have no plans to retire,” he said. “I’d rather keep busy. I like people and I like horses. I don’t want to quit.” He also believes he can still get the job done. “I don’t really think about my age,” he said. “I just keep working and go to the barn every morning.” Which is to say he perseveres. He’s still looking for that next winner and a lot of people are rooting for him to find one. Is he running out of time? The thought never crosses his mind. View the full article

Wishful Thinker (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}), who made Sunday’s Class 1 Flamingo Flower H. (1200m) at Sha Tin his fourth victory from his last five runs (video), has received an invitation for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan Racecourse Mar. 30, South China Morning Post reported Tuesday. The 5-year-old, a two-time winner in six Victorian starts for trainer Mick Price, was successful in a pair of tries in Class 2 last November before finishing a luckless third in the G3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy H. up the 1000-metre straight course Jan. 1 (video). He was off to a sluggish start in a 1200m Class 1 at Happy Valley Feb. 13, but darted through late to score a somewhat improbable win (video) and overcame a four-horse field and a paceless race Sunday to ultimately secure his spot in the Al Quoz, where he will face the likes of Godolphin’s Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), two-time GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint hero Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) and G1 British Champions Sprint victor Sands of Mali (Fr) (Panis). Wishful Thinker is set to be one of two runners on World Cup night for trainer Richard Gibson, who will also saddle Gold Mount (GB) (Excellent Art {GB}) against the likes of G1 Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup (3200m). The consistent Caspar Fownes-trained Southern Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) will represent Hong Kong against Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) in the G1 Dubai Turf, while Fight Hero (GB) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), second in the Keeneland Korea Sprint last September, was a surprise addition to the field for the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. View the full article

Prior to the second day of racing during the four-day Cheltenham Festival, there will be precautionary inspection of the course at 8 a.m. local time, as strong winds are in the forecast. If racing is deemed unsafe on Wednesday, the entire seven-race card will be rescheduled for Saturday instead. A full refund will be issued to all Wednesday ticket holders, with tickets for Saturday available for purchase at www.cheltenham.co.uk if the need arises. “Strong gusting winds are forecast for the area on Wednesday, but their precise strength and location are not possible to predict in advance,” said Regional Director Ian Renton, who manages the south west region of The Jockey Club. “We are currently looking at forecasts of gusts in excess of 45 mph, which may present challenges out on the track and around the site, dependent on their direction. We remain optimistic and we will assess the situation in the morning, working with our team, forecasters, the British Horseracing Authority and our Safety Advisory Group, in order to make a decision about whether racing goes ahead as planned.” View the full article

Day two of the Cheltenham Festival is set to welcome another cracking display of racing. Ballymore Novice Hurdle The Irish against the English trainers is really what the Cheltenham Festival can sometimes be about and ante-post favourites, Champ and Battleoverdoyen are poised for a fascinating clash in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. This contest kicks off day two […] The post Cheltenham Festival 2019 Preview – Wednesday appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

College graduate Reylu Gutierrez has an offer to study Health and Human Performance at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. He applied last spring and deferred a year. By May, he must give a final answer. View the full article

Cheltenham is off to a great start with normal service resumed as Willie Mullins took the opening two races. It was also a red letter day for Gavin Cromwell who took the Champion Hurdle with Espoir D’Allen. I was very impressed with how he travelled throughout and he may have won even if Buveur D’air […] The post Donald McCain Cheltenham Day Two Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

A New York-bred colt by perennial leading sire Tapit out of Chester and Mary Broman’s dual Grade I winner Artemis Agrotera (Roman Ruler) was hammered down for an even $2 million within the first hour of bidding on day one of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Tuesday morning (ThoroStride video). The colt, cataloged as hip 33, was purchased by Lane’s End Bloodstock on behalf of a group including West Point Thoroughbreds, Rob Masiello and Siena Farm. The breeders will also retain a share. The Feb. 9 foal was consigned to the sale by Becky Thomas’s Sequel Bloodstock on behalf of her longtime clients and is the first produce from his dam, winner of the 2013 GI Frizette S. and the 2014 GI Ballerina H. for the Bromans. The colt, whose SW & MGSP second dam Indy Glory (A.P. Indy) is a full-sister to Stephen Got Even, is also a half-brother to SP Time Squared, a son of Roman Ruler’s sire Fusaichi Pegasus who topped the 2006 Keeneland April 2YO sale on a bid of $1.05 million. That colt was also consigned by Sequel Bloodstock. View the full article

Okay then, the task facing me today is whether I can beat Altior in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on day two of the Cheltenham Festival. I think that might be tough. I’m riding Saint Calvados in the race and realistically we’re not going to beat him. We raced against him in the Tingle Creek […] The post Gavin Sheehan Cheltenham Festival Day Two Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

College graduate Reylu Gutierrez has an offer to study Health and Human Performance at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. He applied last spring and deferred a year. By May, he must give a final answer. View the full article

Popular jockey Neil Callan is making up for lost time – and wins – when he jumps aboard Electric Lightning at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The Irishman partnered the five-year-old to a third placing early in the season at the city track but subsequently got suspended and missed his victory the following start, with now retired jockey Douglas Whyte swooping in to take the spoils. The David Ferraris-trained galloper then ventured into Class Three and looked to be out of his depth, but finds… View the full article

Chris So Wai-yin feels the pressure of taking a talented first-starter to the races, but said he was not about to rush things with his gun three-year-old Aiolos.So will unveil the son of Super Easy at Happy Valley in the Class Four John Peel Handicap (1,000m) after giving him eight barrier trials to prepare himself for his debut.It was not until his last trial two weeks ago that So was prepared to race Aiolos after he matched engines with dual Group One winner Mr Stunning and the highly rated… View the full article

Hong Kong will have four horses flying the Bauhinia flag on Dubai World Cup night with Richard Gibson’s duo Wishful Thinker and Gold Mount getting late invites, alongside Me Tsui Yu-sak’s dirt specialist Fight Hero.Wishful Thinker heads to the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m), securing the invite with a win at Sha Tin on Sunday, while his stablemate Gold Mount will compete in the Group Two Dubai Gold Cup (3,200m).The surprise of the group is Fight Hero, who has struggled for form since his… View the full article

Zawari (two months), Amirul (one month) suspended, KY Young fined View the full article

Noh likes a Paint with bold character View the full article

Paparazzi looking to make headlines again View the full article

In a White Paper issued March 11, the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation said Equibase should consider the collection and distribution of racing data as a marketing expense and distribute it for free, or as open as possible. View the full article

GALILEAN (c, Uncle Mo-Fresia, by El Prado {Ire}) O-West Point Thoroughbreds, Denise Barker & William Sandbrook. B-Bar C Racing Stables, Inc. (CA). T-Jerry Hollendorfer. Sales History: $60,000 Ylg ’17 BARSEL; $600,000 2yo ’18 BARAPR. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, $261,000. Last Start: 1st, California Cup Derby, SA, Feb. 18. Next Start: GII Rebel S., OP, Mar. 16. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. California-bred Galilean owns a 3-for-4 record, and he pummeled state-bred competition so soundly that he deserves a shot at open stakes company. He’ll get it this weekend in what is shaping up as a split-division Rebel S. at Oaklawn. This $600,000 BARAPR Uncle Mo colt (pinhooked for $60,000 as a BARSEL yearling) tends to be forwardly placed in his races and has stretched out capably in distance with each successive start. On Monday morning Galilean worked a half mile in :48.40 (6/18) at Los Alamitos. Jockey Flavien Prat has opted to stick with this Jerry Hollendorfer trainee in the Rebel, vacating the mount on the promising Omaha Beach (War Front) to do so. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st California Cup Derby 1st King Glorious S. 2nd Golden State Juvenile S. 1st Barretts Juvenile S. View the full article

BOURBON WAR (c, Tapit-My Conquestadory, by Artie Schiller) O-Bourbon Lane Stable & Lake Star Stable. B-Conquest Stables (KY). T-Mark Hennig. Sales History: $410,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $525,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSP, 4-2-1-0, $155,100. Last Start: 2nd, GII Fountain of Youth S., GP, Mar. 2 Next Start: Possible for GI Florida Derby, GP, Mar. 30 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 21. Other than a fourth-place try in the GII Remsen S. (that trainer Mark Hennig described as being “thrown to the wolves” because it was too tough an assignment too soon), Bourbon War owns two wins and a very close second, and he looks to be in decent shape heading into his next (still undetermined) prep race. This $525,000 KEESEP Tapit colt was barreling down the Gulfstream Park homestretch behind a too-fast pace meltdown in the Fountain of Youth S., and although he can’t always count on such a fortuitous pace scenario to assist his off-the-pace style, you can see a nice competitive streak developing. If you watch the replay of his Fountain of Youth stretch drive, the Gulfstream pan shot doesn’t really do his late run justice, because the camera followed other horses crossing the wire and did not fully show Bourbon War surging past winner Code of Honor a jump after the finish line. His gallop-out was also stronger and longer than the winner’s. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 2nd GII Fountain of Youth S. 1st Allowance Optional Claimer 4th GII Remsen S. 1st Maiden View the full article

COUNTRY HOUSE (c, Lookin At Lucky-Quake Lake, by War Chant) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Mrs. J. V. Shields, Jr., E. J. M. McFadden, Jr. &LNJ Foxwoods. B-J.V. Shields, Jr. (KY). T-Bill Mott. Lifetime Record: GSP, 4-1-2-0, $120,175. Last Start: 2nd, GII Risen Star S., FG, Feb. 16 Next Start: GII Louisiana Derby, FG, Mar. 23 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 20. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Country House was green but game in chasing home top-ranked War of Will in the Risen Star S., and the performance rates even more impressively when you consider that he was a May 8 foal shipping to an unfamiliar track and racing for the first time outside the maiden ranks. This Lookin At Lucky homebred got a good schooling out of the effort too, breaking twelfth, rating in traffic, then advancing four wide on the far turn. He split horses five-sixteenths out, barreled five wide into the lane, then lugged in and shied off heels before finishing up willingly enough to suggest nine furlongs is well within the scope of his ability. Country House will get a rematch with War of Will in the Louisiana Derby, and if he still needs seasoning or qualifying points, trainer Bill Mott has indicated he thinks this colt is robust enough to start in one additional prep if rather than wait the six weeks between Mar. 23 and the Kentucky Derby. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 2nd GII Risen Star S. 1st Maiden 2nd Maiden 9th Maiden View the full article

Keeneland kicks off its 2019 Spring Meet on April 4, with a community-wide celebration headlined by an afternoon of racing starting at 3 p.m. ET followed by the popular Central Bank Thursday Night Live, to be held in the track's scenic Paddock area. View the full article

Another salvo was fired Monday in the years-long industry debate over whether Equibase Company LLC, the owner and controller of Thoroughbred racing’s statistical database since 1991, should make more past performance betting information free to the public in the interest of bolstering the sport’s sagging betting handle. This latest attempt to make industry stakeholders aware that American horse racing is falling behind in free access to data compared to other global racing jurisdictions, and even to recently legalized sports betting in the United States, came in the form of a white paper released by the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF), a year-old think tank that is using independent research to try and drive changes in the sport. The paper, titled “Embracing a Future with Free Racing Data” (read it here) calls on Equibase to “propel racing into the analytics era” by treating past performances and other betting tools, not as a commodity, but as a marketing initiative. Instead of earning a small-slice stream of income from selling data, the TIF paper argues, the industry-owned Equibase could better grow the sport’s entire pie by giving away the data, which would theoretically lead to a boom in betting business. “Equibase–as a going interest of the racetracks and The Jockey Club–should eschew their interests to profit from data sales, absorbing the costs of data collection and distribution in favor of the wagering participation and the trickle-down industry benefits this would yield,” the TIF paper asserted. “In other words, the collection and distribution of racing data should be considered a marketing expense, used to attract and retain gamblers…. Equibase’s success should not be measured in terms of data sales, but in the performance of racing’s wagering markets.” The road map for doing this, according to the TIF, is rooted in four planks: 1) Provide free, raw data feeds for registered, non-commercial users. 2) Provide free, basic past performances on all North American tracks. 3) Provide responsive channels to regularly address errors and omissions in the data. 4) Partner with universities to study racing data, developing new and advanced metrics for the betterment of the sport. Reached via phone Monday afternoon, Jason Wilson, the president and chief operating officer for Equibase, declined the opportunity to comment on the TIF’s white paper. “Not today. I really haven’t had a chance to digest what they had to say,” he said. An Equibase staffer did subsequently email a statement attributed to Wilson, which read, in part, “Equibase’s mission at its inception was threefold, and it has not changed. First and foremost, the goal of Equibase was to become the primary source for all racing statistics for the Thoroughbred industry in North America. Second, and in furtherance of that, Equibase would collect, collate, process, store, and disseminate racing information. The third part of Equibase’s mission was to market that information to the Thoroughbred industry and the general public, with a commitment to improve the entire Thoroughbred industry. That mission is being accomplished. “Over the past decade, Equibase has made each data element it collects available for free on its website and has created tools to view and filter the data to foster fan engagement,” the statement continued. “Equibase appreciates the efforts of the TIF and will continue to evaluate how data can be used to help grow racing’s fan base.” Craig Bernick, the president of Glen Hill Farm and the founder of TIF, told TDN via phone Monday afternoon that feedback in the first few hours of the white paper’s release has been “overwhelmingly positive.” Bernick admitted, though, that “I don’t think there’s anything new in this paper for the people who have been talking about this issue for the last 10, 15 or 25 years.” He also confirmed that Equibase itself was not asked to directly participate in the study. But Bernick said he has spoken to officials at The Jockey Club, and its subsidiary, Equibase, a number of times since the TIF’s inception, and he said he told Wilson as far back as last summer that the TIF would, at some point, be making this call for much wider consumer access to data. “So this paper didn’t come as a surprise to them when it was released this morning,” Bernick said. “They’re in a business where you would think the [best way to improve the industry] would be to increase fans and increase participation, and increase betting. But it seems that the mandate for Equibase has been to sell more data. And they’ve done a great job at it. And I think Jason is a great executive and a smart person. But what [the TIF] would like to see is that the mission for Equibase [instead] be to grow fans and handle. “Right now there are huge pay walls blocking [betting growth],” Bernick continued. “Our organization–because we’re new and we don’t have any authority–all we can really do is try to smarten the conversation. It’s going to take a major change of philosophy of the parent companies of Equibase in order to move this thing forward. What they’re doing is essentially choking out our current customers.” Total Thoroughbred betting in America was roughly $11 billion in 2018, down from a high of $15 billion in 2002, according to The Jockey Club. “As wagering on racing has experienced significant declines, how can the industry-led data monopoly justify current pricing levels and continue its restrictive access to said data?” the TIF paper questioned. “Data in North American racing is big business. But should it be?” A TIF price comparison revealed that unlimited access to “basic” past performances via Equibase for a year runs roughly $400. Annual access to STATS Race Lens, a product offered exclusively via Equibase, costs $999. An annual subscription to an unlimited selection of the Daily Racing Form’s “Classic” past performances is $1,299. Equibase, the TIF noted, further packages various products into a series of “day passes” designed to give customers all of the data they might need in one bundle. The cost for the most comprehensive package, a “gold” day pass, is listed at $30/day, though the published average retail value is noted at $500. “Extrapolated over the course of a racing year, a gold day pass would run more than $10,000 [and] the retail value would be an even more alarming $182,000,” the white paper stated. Now that legalized sports betting has arrived in America and is flourishing, Bernick said racing’s data-cost problem is becoming even more pronounced. “If you compare the price of the bets or the access to information [to other sports], we’re an outlier in a terrible way,” Bernick said. “We were a monopoly [decades ago], and we enjoyed that. But we didn’t innovate and grow our business to reach consumers in a major way. And now that sports betting is [legally available] with takeout at a quarter of our retail price with information available for free, if we don’t change this [the effect will be like] a nuclear bomb to our business.” Although Wilson did not want to talk Monday, he made some comments to TDN in a story six months ago (read it here) dealing with open access to data that are still relevant to the debate today. “We’re not a major league with a centralized office,” Wilson told TDN last summer. “We don’t have the ability to share revenues and expenses. So as a stand-alone data company, we have to figure out that balancing act: How much do we give away for free as an enticement and an engagement, and how much do we have to charge as a way to make money so we can continue to do what we do?” View the full article

It’s the first day of the Cheltenham festival and I’m very much looking forward to each and every day at Prestbury Park. I’d obviously like to have more runners but that being said its going to be a great week. I have looked through the opening days races and have picked the horses I think […] The post Donald McCain Cheltenham Day One Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article