Monthly Archives: January 2018

2017 Breeders Fund Award Winners Announced

Breeders Fund award winners for 2017 have been announced, and a total of $525,000 will be distributed among 53 different thoroughbred breeders. 248 Virginia-bred victories were recorded from 2,231 starts, which translated into $3,926,079 in purse winnings.

Highest money earning breeder was the Keswick Stable & Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings at $70,631 thanks to three time stakes winner and top bonus money earner last year, Stellar Wind. The 6 year old Curlin mare collected a trio of Grade I stakes wins in the Clement Hirsch,  Apple Blossom Handicap and Beholder Mile. Stellar Wind earned a capped bonus of $25,000 each from the last two, and $20,631 from the first stakes win. In 2017 Stellar Wind won $800,000 in purse monies, and her career earnings now stand at $2,253,200.

Hronis Racing’s Stellar Wind and jockey Victor Espinoza, left, outleg Vale Dori (Mike Smith), right, to win the Grade I, $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, Sunday July 30, 2017 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar CA.© BENOIT PHOTO

The leading breeder by sheer number of wins was Mr. & Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin, who had 35 individual awards that totaled $69,447. Their American Dubai was one of two Virginia-breds that had five wins in 2017. The 5 year E Dubai horse’s triumph in the Downs at Albequerque Handicap produced a $13,066 bonus alone. He also prevailed in the Sunland Park Handicap and totaled five wins from ten starts last year, good for $332,310 in earnings.

Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone were next with 22 wins. Their 7 year old Stroll gelding, Special Envoy, won a three pack of Virginia-bred stakes in 2017 — the Edward Evans, Hansel and Bert Allen Stakes.  The combined trio of efforts added up to $14,349 in bonus monies. He completed the year with $129,510 in purse earnings, and has amassed a career bankroll of $287,650.

Special Envoy turned the tables on Rose Brier as the two battle to the wire in the Edward Evans Stakes. photo by Jim McCue.

Morgan’s Ford Fam was third highest by wins, with 20. Four of those came courtesy of River Deep, who was bred in conjunction with F and F Stables and won $119,300 in purse monies from nine starts last year. Queen Caroline had wins in the Nellie Mae Cox and Brookmeade Stakes, both for Virginia-breds, and each resulted in a bonus of over $4,000. The 5 year old Blame mare earned $115,318 from eight starts and now has $375,613 in life earnings.

Larry Johnson-bred horses reached the winner’s circle 18 times including Do What I Say, who scored in the Commonwealth-bred Tyson Gilpin Stakes and generated a $4,900 bonus. The 5 year old Street Magician mare has bankrolled $114,935 from just nine starts. Johnson’s Greek God had four wins, Porte Cochere connected three times and Street Miz chipped in with a pair.

Do What I Say captured the inaugural Tyson Gilpin Stakes June 24th at Laurel. Photo by Jim McCue.

The William Backer Revocable Trust was fifth with 17 wins, followed by Lazy Lane Farms (13) and Audley Farm Equine (11). The Backer-bred West End Gambler had three triumphs to complement a pair each from Nice Try and Alabama Slim. Lazy Lane’s Rapid Rhythm won two stakes in 2017 —the Mardi Gras and the Richard Scherer Memorial — good for over $7,500 in combined bonuses. Audley Farm bred the impressive Greyvitos, who was named Remington Park’s Horse of the Year. The 3 year old son of Malibu Moon earned a $25,000 bonus from a win in their $400,000 Springboard Mile. Greyvitos earned $306,345 from just four outings.

Another horse in the top ten by award winnings was Just Call Kenny, who captured the Philip Iselin Stakes at Monmouth. The 7 year old son of Jump Start was bred by Althea Richards, won twice in 2017 and had four additional “in the money” finishes from various stakes. He earned $197,830 last year and has accumulated $479,565 in his career.

Just Call Kenny, bred by Althea Richards, won by 1 1/4 lengths over Double Whammy April 21st at Laurel. Photo courtesy of Jim McCue.

 

Five different breeders shared $25,000 in stallion awards from a total of 20 wins and $298,290 in purse money earned. Phyllis Jones netted the highest amount, collecting $10,762 in awards from four wins via their stallion Friend or Foe. Those victories were by On the Fringe and Mr. Buff, both with two each. Lady Olivia at North Cliff was next with $8,449 from seven wins courtesy of their stallion Cosa Vera. Rounding out the top five were Susan Minor ($3,981- Fierce Wind), Sara Collette ($1,006 – Xenodon), and Lazy Lane Farms ($805 – Hansel).

Progress Continues At Virginia’s Fourth OTB In Collinsville, Virginia

Renovations continue at the site of the Virginia Equine Alliance’s (VEA) fourth Off Track Betting (OTB ) Center inside the Quality Inn in Collinsville (just outside of Martinsville).

Work on the bar area continues at The Windmill OTB. Televisions will be plentiful for customers sitting at the bar and those seated at tables throughout the restaurant/lounge.

The OTB will be called “The Windmill”, since the hotel’s exterior has a giant windmill on its façade. Locals have referred to the property as the Dutch Inn for years.

Once renovations are complete, the second floor combination sports bar/OTB will feature 47 televisions. A blend of live horse races from tracks around the country along with sports programming will be shown seven days and evenings per week. Up to 20 tracks will be simulcast daily. A combination of ten betting terminals will be available for fans to wager the horse racing action — 7 will be self bet machines and the other 3 can be utilized as either a manned or self bet terminal. Two of the televisions will be a 75-inch screen format while the other 45 will be of the 55-inch variety.

The OTB will is scheduled to open in late winter, in time for key Derby prep race weekends and of course, the Triple Crown.

The centerpiece of the Windmill OTB is a square area that will feature large TVs on two intersecting walls and a bank of five self bet terminals.

The Quality Inn  is located on heavily traveled Route 220 and has a large amount of free parking spaces. Progress updates will be available at www.virginiahorseracing.com.

Brown Hoping To Add To Virginia-Bred Stellar Wind’s Appeal

The following appeared in The Daily Racing Form January 22nd and was written by Nicole Russo. Stellar Wind will compete in Saturday’s (Jan. 27) $16 Million Pegasus World Cup At Gulfstream Park.  Wagering will be available at all 3 Virginia Bets OTBs — at Ponies & Pints and Breakers Sports Grille in Richmond, and at Buckets Bar & Grill in Chesapeake. Advance betting on Gulfstream’s entire Saturday card will be available all day and evening on Friday. Virginia residents can also bet via four on line partner companies — TVG.com, Xpressbet.com, Twinspires.com and NYRABets.com.

There are few downsides to having a seasoned champion walk into a trainer’s barn in racing form. But trainer Chad Brown has just one regret about his association with Stellar Wind.

“The most disappointing thing is only having her for one start,” Brown told Gulfstream Park publicity. “We’ll try to make the most of that one start.”

Hronis Racing’s Stellar Wind and jockey Victor Espinoza, left, overpower Beholder (Gary Stevens), right, to win the Grade I, $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, Saturday, July 30, 2016 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar CA.
© BENOIT PHOTO

Stellar Wind was purchased for a sale-topping $6 million by the Coolmore partnership at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale as a mate for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, who is based at the international outfit’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky. First, though, she will get the opportunity to recoup some of the investment in that one start for Brown, the $16 million Pegasus World Cup on Saturday. She will be the first female to start in the Pegasus, now in its second year.

:: PEGASUS PLAYER’S PACKAGE: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Pace Projectors, and more!

“She came into us in really good shape to begin with,” Brown said of Stellar Wind, trained for the majority of her career by John Sadler. “It’s a tall order. It’s going to be a really, really hard race, as it should be. . . . [But] it is a horse race. Anything could happen.”

Stellar Wind breezing at Santa Anita October 14th. Photo by Zoe Metz.

Stellar Wind, a daughter of Curlin, has won nine graded stakes, six of those Grade 1 events, and was honored with the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old female of 2015. Her pedigree also attracted Coolmore, as she is from the immediate family of the dams of Grade 1 winners Mor Spirit and Great Hunter, and shares common ancestry with multiple stakes producer Life Happened, the dam of champion Tepin.

“She’s a very good-looking mare,” Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier said after making the purchase. “She’s a champion. Most of her life, she was brilliant. Let’s hope we can do a good a good job with her, and she’s as good as a broodmare.”

:: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales

Stellar Wind will be among the highlights of American Pharoah’s third Northern Hemisphere book. Other mares already committed to the Pioneerof the Nile horse include Grade 2 winner Miss Sky Warrior; Grade 1-placed stakes winner Indy Groove and her Grade 3-placed daughter Emphatically; and Spring Eclipse, the dam of stakes winner Bet She Wins.

American Pharoah has been among the most active stallions in North America in his first two seasons, covering 208 mares in 2016 and 214 in 2017 according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred. The stallion is averaging $467,308 from 13 members of his first crop sold at public auction late last year and early this year.

Pari-Mutuel Handle In Virginia Surges Over The $100 Million Mark In 2017

Pari-mutuel handle on horse racing in the Commonwealth surged over the $100 million mark in 2017 thanks to a 5.6% increase in Advance Deposit Wagering and the addition of two new Off Track Betting (OTB) Centers.

Of the four ADW — or on line betting  — partners, TVG led the way with a handle of $37,543,768, an increase of 7.3% over 2016 figures. Twin Spires was next with $28,864,384 in handle, a 3.28% bump over the prior year. XPress Bet followed with $12,959,739, a 6.1% drop, while NYRA Bets, which just completed its first full year accepting wagers from Virginia horseplayers, handled $1,708,643. The four combined to handle $81,076,535, including over $5.5 million in December.

The Buckets OTB in Chesapeake has averaged over $32,000 in handle daily since it opened in mid-November.

The three OTBs combined to handle $20,803,619. Breakers Sports Grille in Richmond’s west end led the way with $10,931,061, good for a daily average handle of $30,279. Ponies & Pints, located downtown in the Shockoe Bottom entertainment district, took in $8,215,369 in wagers, a $23,675 average, and Buckets Bar & Grill accepted $1,352,264 in horse race bets. Of the three, only Breakers operated the entire year. Ponies & Pints opened in mid-January while Buckets had a mid-November bow. In its first 1 1/2 months of business, Buckets averaged $32,196 in handle.

Over $179,000 in handle was bet at the spring and fall Gold Cup races at Great Meadow in 2017.

Virginia Gold Cup races at Great Meadow and harness races at Shenandoah Downs both added to the $101,880,154 total handle figure. $179,930 was bet on a combination of steeplechase and flat races overt two days at the Gold Cup, while $124,993 was handled in ten days of harness action at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds in Woodstock.

Charlie Davis, Exercise Rider For Secretariat, Battling Lung Cancer

The Secretariat Team announced today that Charlie Davis, the colorful and engaging exercise rider for 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, has been diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer and will immediately begin chemotherapy and radiation treatments to combat it.

“Charlie is in good spirits and ready to take on this challenge,” said Leonard Lusky, spokesman for the Secretariat Team. “His family and friends have rallied around him, and we stand ready to do what we can to help.”

Davis, who turns 78 next month, has regularly made appearances at racing venues, the Secretariat Festival and other events to the delight of generations of fans, always willing to share stories of Big Red and his first-hand experiences as a member of the Meadow Stable Team. Those appearances are a primary source of income for Davis, but due to his illness, he has not been able to travel.

To assist with uncovered medical bills and unforeseen living expenses, his family has launched a fund-raising effort, which already has been seeded long-time pal jockey Ron Turcotte, the family of Penny Chenery, and Secretariat.com along with a few special friends and an associated GoFundMe account. Fans wishing to offer their support can find more information at gofundme.com/charliedavis1973. As a token of appreciation, Davis will sign and send an autographed photo of himself aboard Secretariat to each donor. Cards and letters for Davis can be mailed to:

Charlie Davis
℅ Secretariat.com
P.O. Box 4865
Louisville, KY 40204

Charlie Davis, long time exercise rider for Secretariat.

Davis, a native of Eutawville, S.C., was a member of legendary trainer Lucien Laurin’s “Holly Hills” crew and exercised some of the era’s top racing stars of the 1960s, including champion filly Quill and Belmont Stakes winner Amberoid. In 1971, when Laurin took over Christopher Chenery’s Meadow string, Davis was assigned as exercise rider for the stable’s champion colt Riva Ridge and later Secretariat. He still enjoys sharing memories of the 1973 Triple Crown winner he affectionately calls “Red.”

“He give me a vibe,” Davis remembers. “Like your kid is talking to you, but it was a stronger vibe, like, ‘Hey, I’m the man, you just along for the ride.’”

Stellar Wind Again Named Top Mid-Atlantic Horse

or the second time in three years, Stellar Wind has been chosen as the top horse bred in the mid-Atlantic region in the final Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred/The Racing Biz Top Midlantic-bred Poll.

One year after narrowly losing out to Maryland-bred Cathryn Sophia for Top Midlantic-bred honors, Stellar Wind, a Virginia-bred, edged Mor Spirit to take the 2017 laurels.

The Mid-Atlanic Thoroughbred/The Racing Biz Top Midlantic-bred Poll is comprised of nearly 30 media members and other participants in mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred racing. The top seven horses combined to win six Grade 1 events among their 16 graded victories.

Stellar Wind is shown with jockey Victor Espinoza after winning the Beholder Mile. Photo courtesy of Santa Anita.

“Some of the most exciting runners in the country this year were Midlantic-breds,” said The Racing Biz founder and publisher Frank Vespe. “It was a thrill for regional racing fans to see so many runners of such quality thriving in major races around the country.”

During the season, Stellar Wind won three of four starts, all in Grade 1 company. Among her wins were the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn in April, the Beholder Mile at Santa Anita in June, and the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar in July. She concluded her season with a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

For her career, Stellar Wind has won 10 of 16 career starts, and the $800,000 in earnings she piled up in 2017 brought her career mark to more than $2.2 million.

Hronis Racing’s Stellar Wind and jockey Victor Espinoza, left, outleg Vale Dori (Mike Smith), right, to win the Grade I, $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, Sunday July 30, 2017 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar CA.© BENOIT PHOTO

Stellar Wind was bred in Virginia by Peggy Augustus’ Keswick Stables & Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC. She is a daughter of Curlin out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Evening Star.

Sold twice as a yearling, she was purchased the second time, for $86,000, by Barbara Houck at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling sale. She began her career in Houck’s colors, with Donald Barr training her at Laurel Park. She broke her maiden – by nearly nine lengths – in her second start and was sold privately to Hronis Racing, LLC, for whom she campaigned through the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons, going on to win nine graded races, six of them Grade 1 events. All of that work came under the tutelage of trainer John Sadler.

She earned Top Midlantic-bred honors in 2015 following a season in which she won four graded events, including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks, and earned an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly. That year she finished a near-miss second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, which would turn out to be the best of her three results in that event.

Following her 2017 campaign, Hronis Racing sold her at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for a staggering $6 million. But plans to breed her are – temporarily – on hold. Coolmore, which bought her, has sent her to trainer Chad Brown’s Palm Meadows operation, where he is prepping her for the $16 million Pegasus World Cup later in January at Gulfstream Park.

“Stellar Wind has been one of the most effective and consistent Midlantic-bred runners of recent vintage,” said Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, which publishes Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred. “With plenty of tough company, she has once again earned the nod as the region’s best.”

The remainder of the top seven are:
•    Mor Spirit (PA), winner of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap;
•    Unique Bella (PA), winner of five graded stakes, including the Grade 1 La Brea;
•    Irish War Cry (NJ), winner of two Grade 2 events, including the Wood Memorial;
•    Finest City (PA), a Grade 2 winner in 2017 who also placed in four other graded events;
•    Tom’s Ready (PA), a Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed in 2017; and
•    Green Gratto (NJ), whose two graded wins for the year included the Grade 1 Carter Handicap.

The Legacy of Visionary Breeder “Ned” Evans Is Burning Brighter Than Ever

The following piece was written by Nancy Sexton

As the ultimate American racing showpiece, the Breeders’ Cup can be relied upon to provide its share of threads for discussion.

That is especially true from the perspective of those in the bloodstock industry, who walked away from this year’s event having seen it again pay tribute to More Than Ready, the sire of two winners in Roy H (Sprint) and Rushing Fall (Juvenile Fillies’ Turf), as well as Clarkland Farm’s wonderful producer Leslie’s Lady, the dam of Into Mischief and Beholder, whose latest 2-year-old, Mendelssohn, enriched the mare’s stud record yet further by landing the Juvenile Turf.

It was also a meeting of which the late Edward P. ‘Ned’ Evans, former chairman of Macmillan publishing, might have been particularly proud.

Evans bred over 100 stakes winners at his Spring Hill Farm in Virginia from 1969 to 2010, including Horse of the Year Saint Liam, multiple G1 winner Quality Road and Irish champion Minstrella, the controversial 1986 Cheveley Park Stakes winner who was the highlight of his period dabbling in Europe.

Many were the products of families integrated into Spring Hill over an extended period, and the subsequent cultivation and level of investment was such that today a Ned Evans family – among them those descending from Christmas Bonus, Execution, Flight Dancer, Intentional Move and Prayer Bell – remains easily recognisable and highly sought after. Nowhere was that more evident than the Evans dispersal sold at Keeneland through Lane’s End Farm after his death in 2010, which turned over $62,347,000 for 220 horses sold.

Gun Runner: furthering the influence of one of ‘Ned’ Evans’ outstanding families. Photo by Ting Shen/Eclipse Sportswire

Intuition and intellect

“Mr Evans had a very long-term view,” says Chris Baker, manager of Spring Hill Farm for 11 years, “and the sole metric he used to measure all decisions was racing performance. He loved depth of pedigree, but performance was of paramount importance.

“He cultivated numerous families. All had specific traits for temperament, maturation rates, distance and surface aptitude – over time you learn how to accentuate the positive in all of them to maximize the chance for racing success.”

He adds: “He never bred commercially. His long-term view underlined his belief that racing performance was the best way to create commercial value and he was proven and is still being proven to be correct in his assessment. This philosophy, along with his intuition and intellect for breeding, racing and business in general, made him successful.”

Six years on following his dispersal and the Evans name continues to burn bright through the deeds of Quality Road, one of his last big runners, who is gaining real traction at stud at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky, and Gun Runner, a product of Evans’ outstanding Flight Dancer family, also responsible for Saint Liam. Both did their bit to ensure an Evans flavour at Del Mar’s Breeders’ Cup; Gun Runner’s romp in the Classic will live long in the memory, while Quality Road was represented as the sire of Juvenile Fillies’ heroine Caledonia Road.

Confidence in Quality Road

Bred by Evans out of Kobla, Quality Road had stood just one season at Lane’s End when Evans died in December 2010, aged 68. It says much for the power of the breeding operation at Spring Hill that the son of Elusive Quality went on to owe a lot of his early success to foals out of mares hailing from the Evans dispersal, among them Prix Morny runner-up Hootenanny (bred by Barronstown Stud out of More Hennessy, bought out of the dispersal for $360,000), G2 winner Blofeld (bred by Keats Grove Farm out of Storm Minstrel, bought for $150,000) and the G3-placed Seve’s Road (bred by WinStar Farm out of Silk Road, bought for $435,000).

Today, he is the sire of six G1 winners from four crops of racing age, among them this year’s Kentucky Oaks heroine Abel Tasman, the aforementioned Caledonia Road and Del Mar Futurity winner Klimt, who is about to start his own stud career at Darby Dan Farm. Three of them came in the past year, and as a result Quality Road is due to stand the 2018 season at $70,000, up from $35,000.

“Mr. Evans always had the utmost confidence in Quality Road to be the horse in racing and breeding that would finally make sense of the longstanding commitment he made to playing at the top of the game,” says Baker. “Given what Quality Road has done, I am confident that if Mr. Evans were still alive to be a part of his success he would in essence ‘double down’ and invest further to pursue his passion for racing.”

The stallion accounts for only a share of Evans’ posthumous influence, however. The 51 yearlings that grossed a total of $6,527,000 came to include G2 winner Valid (bought for $500,000 by John Ferguson), G3 winner Code West (bought for $340,000 by Ben Glass) and minor stakes winners Mail (bought for $470,000 by Mike Ryan) and Maleeh (bought for $350,000 by Shadwell Estates).

The mares were an altogether more explosive affair. Offered alongside the weanlings and horses of racing age, they were led by the G1 Ashland Stakes winner Christmas Kid, who commanded $4.2 million from Aisling Duignan on behalf of Coolmore while in foal to Bernardini.

The foal she was carrying at the time turned out to be Father Christmas, third in the 2015 G2 King Edward VII Stakes for Aidan O’Brien, and was followed by the Galileo colt Black Sea, successful in the 2016 Leopardstown 2,000 Guineas Trial. Coolmore also came away with the mare’s Elusive Quality weanling Michaelmas, a $525,000 purchase through Timmy Hyde who went on to be G3-placed.

Emerging force

Yet not every buyer needed deep pockets. Three Chimneys Farm paid $75,000 for Elusive Raven, subsequently the dam of G3 winner Lost Raven, while James Keogh as agent for N. L. P. Racing paid $100,000 for Here Music, dam of this year’s G2 Fair Grounds Oaks runner-up Wicked Lick.

Perhaps the real winner, however, was Benjamin Leon’s Besilu Stables, then a rapidly emerging force in the American market, who paid $11.4 million for six lots, the majority of whom represented Saint Liam’s family.

Top of the list was Saint Liam’s Giant’s Causeway half-sister Quiet Giant, a three-time stakes winner herself that year, who commanded $3 million. Leon also came away with two of her half-sisters in Dance Quietly, another young stakes winner who cost $2 million, and a Medaglia d’Oro weanling filly, Miss Besilu, who cost $2.6 million and later ran third in the G1 Coaching Club American Oaks and G1 Alabama Stakes. Completing the spree was Saint Liam’s dam Quiet Dance herself; then aged 18, she joined Besilu on a bid of $800,000.

“At the time of the dispersal, I strongly believed that the next ten years were going to be filled with greater racing and breeding accomplishments than the previous ten years for Mr. Evans and Spring Hill Farm,” says Baker. “Based on the performance of Gun Runner, Unified, Valid and many, many more at the races and Quality Road at stud, it looks like I might have been correct.”

There is a sadness that Saint Liam only lived long enough to sire one crop of foals at Lane’s End Farm, especially as one of that 98-strong group became Horse of the Year Havre De Grace. Another is So Sharp, the dam of recent G1 Cigar Mile winner Sharp Azteca.

However, his Flight Dancer family now has another high-profile shot of furthering its influence via a male in Gun Runner, bred by Leon out of the aforementioned Quiet Giant. The son of Candy Ride, who races for the partnership of Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, is the first foal out of Quiet Giant and followed by the placed Malibu Moon filly Quiet Flirt and a pair of fillies by Tapit.

Throwback to a former age

Evans purchased Flight Dancer, a granddaughter of champion Gallorette who ran third in the Queen Mary Stakes, during the 1970s. Her best foal was Minstrella, the Irish champion 2yo filly of 1986, although it is one of her lesser fillies, Misty Dancer, who features as the dam of Quiet Dance.

Top-class and durable, Gun Runner has packed in a career for Steve Asmussen that is almost a throwback to a former age. Third in the Kentucky Derby to Nyquist, he signed off his busy 3yo campaign by winning the G1 Clark Handicap and returned this year to run second in the G1 Dubai World Cup before sweeping the G1 Stephen Foster Handicap, G1 Whitney and G1 Woodward Stakes en route to his romp in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Plans now call for a career swansong in the Pegasus World Cup, after which he is scheduled to retire to Three Chimneys Farm at a fee of $70,000.

“Mr. Evans would have been extremely proud of how all of his families have carried on, especially Gun Runner’s accomplishments to date in racing and Quality Road’s accomplishments at stud,” says Baker.

“Quality Road was certainly a favourite horse but the development over generations of so many G1 winners and the way in which we were involved in every step of the process from matings to raising them to initial training then racing management and back to the farm as broodmares or stallions made the sense of engagement and accomplishment greater than I have ever seen elsewhere.”

Free $500 Handicapping Contest Set For Sat. Jan 13 at Richmond’s Breakers OTB; Contest Races Announced

$500 in cash prizes will be up for grabs in a free handicapping contest at Breakers Sports Grille on the Saturday of Martin Luther King holiday weekend — January 13th. Fans will get a chance to select a horse in 8 contest races. They will receive a mythical $2 win/place bet on each of those selections. The contestants that accumulate the five highest bankrolls will share in the $500 prize pool as follows:

1st – $250;  2nd – $125;  3rd – $60;  4th – $40; 5th – $25

$500 in cash prizes will be up for grabs in the January 13th free contest at Breakers.

 

Here are the 8 contest races, in post time order. The first contest race is at 4:00 PM and the final one is at 6:35 PM. Contestants do not have to be present at the end of the contest. Prizes can be claimed during a future visit. Entries must be turned in by 4:00 PM.

1                                 $75,000 Duncan Kenner Stakes                  Fair Grounds, Race 5

2                                 $150,000 Marshua’s River Stakes              Gulfstream, Race 9

3                                 $75,000 Marie G. Krantz Stakes                 Fair Grounds, Race 6

4                                 $200,000 Fort Lauderdale Stakes              Gulfstream, Race 11

5                                 $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes                 Fair Grounds, Race 7

6                                 $125,000 Col. E.R. Bradley Handicap        Fair Grounds, Race 8

7                                 $200,000 Lecomte Stakes                            Fair Grounds, Race 9

8                                 $75,000 Louisiana Stakes                             Fair Grounds, Race 10

“Tuesday Talks” Scheduled At Marion Dupont Scott Equine Medical Center In Leesburg

VT Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center

E-News from Virginia Tech’s Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center

 

 

“Tuesday Talks”

The first in a series of four “Tuesday Talks” will be held at the Center on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. Come and meet Dr. James Brown, Clinical Assistant Professor of Equine Surgery, who will present a lecture highlighting the use of standing computed tomography (CT) to diagnose equine paranasal sinus and upper airway conditions in the horse. 

Recent availability of commercial standing computed tomography (CT) combined with the development of standing surgical procedures, permits efficient diagnosis and treatment of sinus and upper airway conditions in the horse.  This lecture-based discussion will outline procedures available at the EMC without the risks and expense of general anesthesia. 

To register your attendance or for more information about future “Tuesday Talks”, please email Sharon at speart@vt.edu  There is no cost to attend; doors open at 6:30 pm with the lecture starting at 7:00 pm. Complimentary light snacks and drinks will be available.

VT Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center

17690 Old Waterford Road
Leesburg, VA | 20176 US

Phone: 703-771-6800
Fax: 703-777-9131

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Virginia-Bred Greyvitos Named Remington Park Horse Of The Year

Greyvitos, the talented gray who won the $400,000 Springboard Mile by 2-1/4 lengths, has been voted the 2017 Remington Park Horse of the Meeting. The seasonal titles are determined by a vote of media that covered the season along with track and racing department officials.

Greyvitos is shown at Remington Park. Photo courtesy of Dustin Orona.

Owned by Triple B Farms of North Hollywood, Calif. and trained by Adam Kitchingman, Greyvitos was ridden to victory in the Springboard by National Racing Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza. Greyvitos, a Virginia-bred colt by Malibu Moon from the Najran mare Snow Top Mountain, overcame his outside number 12 post in the Springboard, to take over the top 2-year-old race of the season with just under a half-mile remaining. Greyvitos set a stakes record for the Springboard Mile, crossing the finish in 1:37.14 over a fast track.

Greyvitos (blue silks) heads to the finish in the $400,000 Springboard Mile Stakes December 17th at Remington. Photo by Dustin Orona.

Greyvitos was also a unanimous selection as the Champion 2-year-old Male for the Remington Park season. He was bred by Audley Farm Equine.