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(10/10) Belmont Notes by Fran LaBelle
Trainer Dominic Galluscio still hopes he can be "Mr. October" again this year on New York Showcase Day, Saturday, October 18 at Belmont Park.
Galluscio will be seeking his third straight victory in the day's feature race, the $250,000 Empire Classic for New York-breds, three and up, at nine furlongs. He won the race in 2006 with Organizer and last year with Dr. V's Magic, both for Majesty Stud.
"Dr. V's Magic has had some setbacks, so we're going to try his sister, Raffie's Treasure in there," Galluscio said. "She had a nice win the other day (October 1) and there are not a whole lot of other spots for fillies going long this time of year."
Like her brother, Raffie's Treasure is by Raffie's Majesty out of the Summer Squall mare Treasure Always. A 3-year-old, she is the only filly nominated to the 33rd running of the Empire Classic.
Also expected for the Empire Classic are August Forever Stable's Dr. D.F.C., Lianna Stables' Lorccan, Tri County Stable's Love Abroad, Coastal Racing Stable's R Clear Victory, Gold Square's Spanky Fischbein, Louis Zito's Stud Muffin, Clear Stars Stable's That'srightofficer and Tina Marie Bond's Tommasi.
The Empire Classic will be the final leg of a $400,000 guaranteed Pick 4.
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New York Showcase day is dedicated to the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding & Racing Program, which has grown to become a lucrative program for breeders and owners.
The two top turf races that day are the 30th running of the Mohawk Handicap for three-year-olds and up and the 28th running of the Ticonderoga for fillies and mares, 3 and up. Both races are at nine furlongs on the inner turf course and both races carry purses of $150,000.
Likely for the Mohawk are Bembridge Farm's Al Basha, Nyala Farm's Banrock, John T. Becker's Classic Pack, Hampshire Farms' Give Me Credit, Louis J. Marino's Logic Way, Dee Zee Stable's Sky Dragon, New Day Racing's Stepaside and Winning Move Stable's Stunt Man.
Probable for the Ticonderoga are E El R Stable's Chestoria, Dee Zee Stable's Latitude Forty, Laue Ranch's Love Cove, Barry K. Schwartz's Nedjma, Statehouse Stable's Nehantic Kat, Amherst Stable's Rewrite and Craig Bernick's You Go West Girl.
Sprinters also play a part on New York Showcase Day.
Expected to take part in the 31st running of the $125,000 Hudson Handicap for three-year-olds at up at six furlongs are Sanford J. Goldfarb's Ferocious Fires, Henry C. Gregory's Gold and Roses, Thomas J.Kelly's Good Card, Charlton Baker's Johnie Bye Night, Zayat Stables' Premium Wine, Lael Stable's Rollers and IEAH Stables' Stormin Normandy.
In the 30th running of the $125,000 Iroquois Handicap for state-bred fillies and mares at seven furlongs, Jay Em Ess Stable's Bythe Light, Lansdon B. Robbins III's Ice Cool Kitty, George Bolton's Jet Setting, Akindale Farm's My Dinah, Trinity Farm's Precise Lady, Dogwood Stable's Street Sass, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey's Talking Treasure and Michael Pegram's Under Serviced figure to contend.
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Completing the stakes program on New York Showcase Day are two one-mile juvenile races: the 15th running of the $100,000 Sleepy Hollow and the 15th running of the $100,000 Maid of the Mist for two-year-old fillies.
Expected for the Sleepy Hollow are Fiddlers Green Stable's Fiddler's Afleet, Masie Stable's Head Heart Hoof, Donnie Kelly's Remarkable Storm, Jayeff B. Stable's Straight Story, Michael Yurch's Tall Poppi, James C. Donnan's Trinity Magic and Jeffrey Tucker's Uncle T Seven.
Probable for the Maid of the Mist are Sugar Maple Farm's Anjorie, RFCC Horsemen Stable's Chartreux, Repole Stable's Got Clearance, Lawrence Goichman's High Cry, Edition Farm's Ouchy Night, John Confort's Our Golden Dream, Sugar Maple Farm's Sarah Accomplished, First Class Thoroughbreds' Seek On, Joseph H. Pierce Jr.'s Sneakin Up and Chevalier Stable's Thunder Reigns.
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In addition to the seven New York-bred stakes races, with purse money totaling $1 million, New York Showcase Day is also a great day for family fun.
A pumpkin patch, hay rides, pumpkin carving and a scarecrow hunt are all part of the free festivities in Belmont Park's beautiful backyard from noon until 4 p.m.
From 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the festival tent, a premium sampling area offers whisky and wine tasting, hand-rolled cigars, massages, and live music, all free of charge.
(10/10) Far Hills Races Attract a Crowd (edited text from the 'National Steeplechase Association' E-Mail Press Bulletin No. 19)
The Far Hills Races, a centerpiece of the National Steeplechase Association season, drew 55 nominations for its six-race, all-stakes card October 18. The New Jersey meeting offers purses totaling $550,000, anchored by the $250,000 American Grand National, and attracted divisional stars such as Good Night Shirt, Guelph, Be Certain, and Monte Bianco.
Alnoff Stable's (New York-bred) Be Certain has shown maturity beyond his years for trainer Tom Voss, and the four-year-old son of Thunder Gulch figures prominently in the stakes scene even though he's still eligible for novice races. He just missed in the Grade I New York Turf Writers at Saratoga this summer and lost the Grade II Monmouth County Novice at Monmouth Park by a head September 20. Be Certain could tackle open company in the Grand National or opt for the $100,000 Foxbrook for novices (four-year-olds and up which have not won over hurdles prior to June 1, 2007).
(10/05) Belmont Notes (excerpt) by Fran LaBelle
Trainer Rick Violette was mulling his options for Cribnote, who was third behind Vineyard Haven and Munnings as the favorite in the Champagne.
"There are a couple of different things we can do, but we're not looking at the Breeders' Cup (Juvenile)," said Violette. "We'll let him cool his jets for a while and maybe think of the Nashua ($100,000-added, Grade 3, Aqueduct, November 2, one mile) and Remsen ($200,000, Grade 2, Aqueduct, November 29, nine furlongs)."
(9/26) Racing Cancelled at Belmont Friday, Sept 26 due to weather -- resumes Saturday (NYRA Press)
With Belmont Park hit with an inch and a half of rain overnight and the prediction that two more inches, accompanied by high winds, are on the way today, the New York Racing Association has cancelled today's live racing program. Belmont Park will remain open for simulcast wagering and the NYRA Rewards account wagering Telebet option will be available as well.
Today's cancellation will also enable NYRA to keep Belmont Park's track and turf courses in the best condition possible for Saturday's race card, which features five Grade 1 stakes, topped by the 90th running of the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup. With a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, reigning Horse of the Year Curlin would become the first American thoroughbred to top $10 million in career earnings.
Three significant stakes are scheduled to be run on the grass on Sunday. NYRA intends to run the Kelso Handicap (G2) on the grass if at all possible. The other two turf stakes, the Pilgrim (G3) and Miss Grillo (G3), have been moved to Wed., Oct. 1. Both stakes are Breeders' Cup qualifying "Win and You're In" races, with the winner of the Pilgrim guaranteed a spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, and the Miss Grillo winner guaranteed a berth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
(9/24) NYRA Board of Directors announced (NYRA Press)
The New York Racing Association, Inc. today announced the current composition of its 2008 Board of Directors. Ten of 11 governmental appointments to the Board have been made and all 14 NYRA elected seats have been filled.
The New York Racing Association, Inc. 2008 Board of Directors:
Appointed by Governor
Chester F. Broman - NY Thoroughbred Breeders' Representative - Director
of NYTB
Michael D. Hess - Off-Track Betting Representative - Vice Chairman, Giuliani
Partners
Denis M. Hughes - AFL-CIO Representative - President, NYS AFL-CIO
Richard A. Violette - NY Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Representative
- President, NYTHA
Michael Dubb - Founder, Beechwood Organization
Bennett Liebman - Executive Director, Government Law Center - Albany Law School
Leonard Riggio - Chairman, Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Appointed by Senate
John R. Hendrickson - President, Marylou Whitney Stables
John J. Nigro - President, Nigro Companies, Inc.
Appointed by Assembly
Michael J. DelGiudice - Senior Managing Director, Millennium Credit Markets
LLC
(An additional Assembly appointment will be made at a later date.)
Elected Members
Dennis Dammerman
C. Steven Duncker, Chairman
Robert S. Evans
Lucy Young Hamilton
Charles E. Hayward
James P. Heffernan
Stuart S. Janney III
John W. Meriwether
Barry Ostrager
Ogden Mills Phipps
Michael L. Rankowitz
Richard T. Santulli
Peter G. Schiff
Stuart Subotnick
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) operates three Thoroughbred racetracks: Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course. Founded in 1955, and franchised to conduct Thoroughbred racing in New York through 2033, NYRA contributes more than $2 billion annually to the State's urban, suburban, and rural economies. To learn more about NYRA, please visit www.nyra.com.
(9/6) Albert Fried Jr. of Buttonwood Farm is TOBA honoree as outstanding NY breeder
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Jenny Carpenter, Buttonwood Farm manager, accepts TOBA award on behalf of Mr. Fried |
The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) honored Albert Fried Jr. of Buttonwood Farm in Rhinebeck as the New York TOBA Breeder of the Year for 2007 at its annual National Awards Dinner on Saturday evening, September 6 at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky. It was the second TOBA award for Fried, the breeder of New York Thoroughbred Breeders 2007 Champion Two-Year-Old Male Giant Moon and Aqueduct 2007 stakes winner Light Tactic and previously honored as New York TOBA Breeder of the Year for 2002. The evening's entertainment featured a special performance by the Southern California contemporary swing band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Previous TOBA honorees representing New York have included Herbert Schwartz for 2001, Chester and Mary Broman for 2003 and 2004, Carl Lizza Jr. for 2005, and Vivien Malloy for 2006. For complete article about Mr. Fried from the TOBA National Awards Dinner Program, please click here.
(9/6) John A. Hettinger (1933 - 2008)
Horse advocate John A. Hettinger, a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York Racing Association and Chairman Emeritus of the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation, died this morning at his Akindale Farm in Pawling, N.Y. after a lengthy illness. There will be no public ceremony.
Born December 18, 1933, Hettinger was the son of an investment banker who also taught at Harvard University. Hettinger, however, attended Yale and earned a degree in American History in 1955.
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Fascinated by the language and culture of Mexico, he spent eight years in Mexico City working in sales and marketing for the Celanese Corporation, which produced chemicals and chemical fibers. After a two-month visit to Spain, he and his wife, Betty, relocated there and he began a career in real estate. He purchased 450 acres of land about five miles east of the Rock of Gibraltar, developed vacation homes, built a road and a beach club and later, sold it all to an investment bank.
The sale of the development allowed Hettinger to return to the United States in 1973 after 17 years abroad and he took over Akindale Farm about 75 miles north of New York City. His father had purchased the 18th century farm house and 55 acres many years before, and Hettinger expanded the property to 800 acres. Akindale Farm campaigned such stakes-winning horses as Chase the Dream, Genuine Regret, Jazzing Around, Lady D'Accord, Move It Now, Prospector's Flag, Up Like Thunder and Virgo Libra. Akindale also stood such stallions as D'Accord, Personal Flag, Stacked Pack and Sir Wimborne.
Hettinger's big horse was Warfie, who he said gave him his biggest thrill as an owner when she won the Long Island Handicap in 1989.
Hettinger also stepped at a crucial period in the history of Fasig-Tipton, North America's oldest Thoroughbred auction company. In December of 1991, Hettinger personally supplied 40 percent ($2.4 million) of the firm's $6 million recapitalization plan, and then supplied another $1.2 million from trusts benefiting his sons, James and William. Most of the funds were used to pay off Fasig-Tipton's debt, and in exchange, the Hettingers were given high voting rights; in fact, Hettinger held about 58 percent of the voting control of Fasig-Tipton.
Winner of the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2000, Hettinger was an outspoken opponent of horse slaughter and founded Blue Horse Charities to abolish the mistreatment of horses and to set up adoption for many after their racing careers were over.
Asked in one interview why he was so devoted to the cause, Hettinger said: "All of my best friends have four legs."
In addition to his wife and sons, Hettinger is survived by his three grandchildren: Caroline, Charles and Lilly.
(8/25) New York-Breds: Purse Earnings Way Up; Need for Award Changes
The New York Breeding and Racing Program has experienced much success on the tracks of North America, within the breeding sheds of New York, and also in the sales rings across the nation.
NY-Breds are running for more purse money than ever before and doing so in the most valuable restricted race program in the nation. In just the last five years, the number of restricted races in New York, particularly among the lucrative purse structure of the 3 NYRA tracks, has increased nearly 50% and purse earnings have risen just about the same. NY-Breds are earning a lot more money and enjoy a lot more opportunities at NY's four thoroughbred tracks. In 2003, for example, total restricted purses were $28M but have soared to over $41M in 2007 and going forward looks even brighter. Beyond NY's borders, NY-Breds who earned $57M throughout North America saw that total increase to nearly $77M last year - a healthy 32% increase in just 5 years. Owning and breeding a NY-bred has never been so potentially lucrative!
However, revenue to the State's Thoroughbred Breeding Fund has been relatively flat or decreasing due to competition for the gambling dollar, decreases in on-track total pari-mutuel wagering handle, and the Fund's exclusion to any of the simulcast revenue on which the purses are based. The Breeding Fund has been, in recent times, strained and unable to distribute all that was earned in the incentive award category. The continued delay in selecting a video lottery terminal operator for Aqueduct racetrack has further exacerbated this problem.
So, as of September 1, 2008, no awards shall be paid on 4th place purse earnings until such time that Fund revenue increases from inclusion in simulcast revenue and sufficient revenue is derived from the VLT program at Aqueduct. Further, the 20% with-holding amount will be increased to 30%.
The profound increases recently in purse earnings by NY-breds more than make up for these slight variations in award reductions.
(8/25) When it comes to winning, vision is "Relative" By Catherine Toner
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It was the second race at Saratoga Race Course on August 20, and jockey Cornelio Velasquez was waiting for a hole to open up on the inside.
When he couldn't wait any longer, Velasquez decided to swing his mount, New York-bred RELATIVELY READY, off the rail, which was already out 18 feet on the Mellon Turf Course, as they came around the far turn. The dark bay colt was forced to go six wide, and Velasquez really didn't know much about his horse. He had ridden him once before, in the slop at Belmont Park, and Relatively Ready's distant last-place finish was hardly enough to build confidence that he could rally to reach front runner, Umbra, before the wire.
But Relatively Ready was game. He found another gear and roared down the lane to win by more than a length.
But he couldn't see the fans cheering for him as he crossed the wire.
That's because he is missing his right eye, a result of having been accidentally kicked by his dam when he was a foal.
"I knew that when Relatively Ready was about three or four weeks old, his mare kicked him and he lost his right eye," said David Donk, who trains the two-year-old son of More Than Ready-Relativa for John Behrendt, William Bloom, and Charles Marquis.
Despite the injury, Relatively Ready managed to continue on the path toward becoming a racehorse. As a yearling, he was shipped to Ocala, Florida, where he was broken by J. J. Pletcher, father of the Spa's current leading trainer, Todd Pletcher. Relatively Ready trained consistently well throughout the winter and spring, and soon enough was ready to come to New York for the start of his career.
Despite the disability, Donk trained him just as he would any other horse.
"He was ready early, maybe too early," Donk said. "His career debut was at Belmont Park last May over a sloppy five furlongs. He just got buried in it. He got mud in his face, which of course he resented since he only has one eye."
His trainer refused to get down on his horse even after that disappointing first start, knowing all along that he was bred for the grass.
For his second start, Relatively Ready got his chance on the turf.
"I was anxious to run him and see how much horse we really had," Donk said.
Even before the race, Relatively Ready handled himself like a professional. The paddock at Saratoga Race Course is full of other horses, people, noises, and movement. It is a stressful environment for any young horse, but Relatively Ready remained cool, calm, and collected despite only seeing half of what he could hear.
Clearly, Relatively Ready has adapted well to his disability, performing beautifully on the track and off. Donk recounts a horse he had about six or seven years ago that lost its sight over time.
"I think it's more difficult losing it," Donk said. "It's easier if it's all he knows. Relatively Ready is a good feeling colt, but everyone is aware and everybody takes notice. Sometimes, when he hears something to his right, he has to cock his head to see it. So everyone knows to let him move his head around."
As with any promising two-year-old, Relatively Ready's connections are rightfully excited about the recent demonstration of his talent. He is pointed toward the Grade 3 Pilgrim at a mile and a sixteenth at Belmont Park on September 28, where a strong showing could even land him in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at a mile at Santa Anita on October 25.
That is not an unrealistic goal.
In recent history, others have overcome partial blindness to become legitimate racehorses.
Storm in May, a gray Tiger Ridge colt who was partially blind, won the Sunshine Millions Dash and ran in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Pollard's Vision, whose namesake was Seabiscuit's jockey, John "Red" Pollard, who was also blind in one eye, was the winner of the Grade 2 Illinois Derby and a contender in the 2004 Kentucky Derby.
All of whom are proof that it's not a horse's eyes that win races, but its heart.