Maryland on the Move - Paulick Report...Page 3 MIXED SALE – HORSES OF ALL AGES 2829 South...

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Maryland on the Move By Ray Paulick ASK RAY QUESTION: Why haven’t you reported on all the glaucine positives in Maryland? ANSWER: Most racing commissions (including Maryland’s) won’t discuss possible medication viola- tions until split samples have been returned to confirm the original finding. In these cases, there is a strong suspicion the glaucine is a contaminant in wood shavings from tulip poplar trees. Continued on Page 5 Represented by first-crop 3yo CHERRY WINE in the $1.5 million Preakness S. (G1) Not that long ago, renovations at Maryland Jockey Club race- tracks involved little more than a fresh coat of paint and some newly planted flowers. That’s not the case any more. The once-moribund racing circuit is flexing its muscles today and the optimism and excitement about the future, in the words of longtime Maryland horse industry stalwart Robert Manfuso, are “immeasurable.” There is no question Frank Stronach and his management team are focusing on Laurel Park, spending tens of millions of dollars over multiple phases of capital improvements, even putting seri- ous thought into one day bidding to host a Breeders’ Cup. They’ve made some necessary improvements to Pimlico, but it’s akin to putting lipstick on a pig. Old Hilltop is … well … old, and you would need to start with a wrecking ball to transform it into a facility people would want to attend more than once or twice a year. But Laurel is a different story. It has the foundation and infra- structure from which to add significant capital improvements, as Maryland Jockey Club president and general manager Sal Sinatra pointed out to reporters last year when discussing the very real possibility that the Preakness could move to Laurel in the not-too-distant future. That kind of talk leaves Baltimore city officials aghast, and the Maryland Stadium Authority has been commissioned to con- duct a two-part study: first, to examine the economic impact of the Preakness and what it would take to rebuild Pimlico, and then to identify potential development options. Until the study is done, the focus will remain on modernizing Laurel. To date, the capital improvements are impressive, both in the stable area’s new barns and in the grandstand’s first floor, where new dining areas, better food options and more comfortable seating for both live and simulcasting have been added. But, as the Breeders’ Cup likes to say, the best is yet to come. Second-floor enhancements will include suites and box seats. The saddling paddock will be moved to the front of the grand- stand, where it will be visible to passengers on commuter trains that will be stopping at a new station, adjacent to a parking structure and linked to the racetrack entrance. A condominium development is also on the drawing board, along with shops and restaurants that are part of Frank Stronach’s vision to recreate what now exists at Gulf- stream Park. This is a multi-phase plan whose goal is to make Laurel Park a major player on the national racing scene. .COM SPECIAL MAY 21, 2016

Transcript of Maryland on the Move - Paulick Report...Page 3 MIXED SALE – HORSES OF ALL AGES 2829 South...

Page 1: Maryland on the Move - Paulick Report...Page 3 MIXED SALE – HORSES OF ALL AGES 2829 South MacArthur Blvd., Oklahoma City OK 73128 405.682.4551 Reasonable Rates Great Facility FEATURED

Maryland on the Move By Ray Paulick

ASK RAYQUESTION: Why haven’t you reported on all the glaucine positives in Maryland? ANSWER: Most racing commissions (including Maryland’s) won’t discuss possible medication viola-

tions until split samples have been returned to confirm the original finding. In these cases, there is a strong suspicion the glaucine is a contaminant in wood shavings from tulip poplar trees.

Continued on Page 5

Represented by first-crop 3yo

CHERRY WINEin the

$1.5 million Preakness S. (G1)

163765-PaddyOPrado-CvrBanner-PRS.indd 1 5/18/16 5:29 PM

Not that long ago, renovations at Maryland Jockey Club race-tracks involved little more than a fresh coat of paint and some newly planted flowers. That’s not the case any more.

The once-moribund racing circuit is flexing its muscles today and the optimism and excitement about the future, in the words of longtime Maryland horse industry stalwart Robert Manfuso, are “immeasurable.”

There is no question Frank Stronach and his management team are focusing on Laurel Park, spending tens of millions of dollars over multiple phases of capital improvements, even putting seri-ous thought into one day bidding to host a Breeders’ Cup. They’ve made some necessary improvements to Pimlico, but it’s akin to putting lipstick on a pig. Old Hilltop is … well … old, and you would need to start with a wrecking ball to transform it into a facility people would want to attend more than once or twice a year.

But Laurel is a different story. It has the foundation and infra-structure from which to add significant capital improvements, as Maryland Jockey Club president and general manager Sal Sinatra pointed out to reporters last year when discussing the very real possibility that the Preakness could move to Laurel in the not-too-distant future.

That kind of talk leaves Baltimore city officials aghast, and the Maryland Stadium Authority has been commissioned to con-duct a two-part study: first, to examine the economic impact of the Preakness and what it would take to rebuild Pimlico, and then to identify potential development options. Until the study is done, the focus will remain on modernizing Laurel.

To date, the capital improvements are impressive, both in the stable area’s new barns and in the grandstand’s first floor, where new dining areas, better food options and more comfortable

seating for both live and simulcasting have been added. But, as the Breeders’ Cup likes to say, the best is yet to come.

Second-floor enhancements will include suites and box seats. The saddling paddock will be moved to the front of the grand-stand, where it will be visible to passengers on commuter trains that will be stopping at a new station, adjacent to a parking structure and linked to the racetrack entrance.

A condominium development is also on the drawing board, along with shops and restaurants that are part of Frank Stronach’s vision to recreate what now exists at Gulf-stream Park. This is a multi-phase plan whose goal is to make Laurel Park a major player on the national racing scene.

.COMSPECIALMAY 21, 2016

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Stallion SpotlightEmpire State Sires

By Frank Mitchell

In light of the exceptional purse money being offered for race-horses and breeders through the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, there is no surprise that New York-breds are in high demand. There are, however, a few mod-erate surprises with regard to the availability of New York-bred stock at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale to be held at Timonium on May 23-24.

First of all, just a hair more than one-sixth of the whole catalog is New York-bred. That’s about two and a half times the number of Maryland-bred juveniles available at the sale be-ing held in Maryland. A few moments’ thought about the purse structures of the different jurisdictions make that understandable enough. Breed-ers, owners, and trainers follow the money. It’s that simple.

Secondly, however, among the New York-bred 2-year-olds offered for sale at the Midlantic auction, there is a se-lection of yearlings by a much wider sample of sires than some state-bred programs allow. There are young athletes by Freud and Frost Giant, leaders among the Empire State’s set of home stallions.

The number of New York-bred juveniles in training by New York-based sires, however, is virtually identical to the New York-breds by stallions standing elsewhere, although mostly in Kentucky.

And these are not just any Kentucky stallions, either. There are New York-bred 2-year-olds by Pioneerof the Nile, Giant’s Causeway, Smart Strike, Tapit, Congrats, Super Saver, More Than Ready, and Lookin at Lucky, as well as by well-regarded but

largely unproven sires like champion Hansen, Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford, Sid-ney’s Candy, Stay Thirsty, and Algorithms.

That proportion results from the current breed-back rule that allows a mare to foal a New York-bred, then become a resident mare if she stays a specific time, or if she stays all year, to go outside New York to be covered.

My esteemed colleague Robert D. Fierro, who was instrumental in the formation of the legislation that set the rules for New York breeding and registration, said that “the previous breed-back rule caused an economic crisis because there was no incentive to keep your mare in New York longer than was required to have her foal and be covered again. Then she could just leave. Ironically, the people who stood quality stallions came together to change the breed-back rule to encourage better mares to stay in-state and encourage bet-ter stallions.”

The legislation also increased the payout to breeders if breed-ers used a New York-based stallion to give them a further ben-efit for fully participating in-state.

The result has encouraged useful in-state stallions like Freud (by Storm Cat), who is represented by four juveniles at Timonium, including Hip 39, a bay filly out of the stakes-placed mare Leaves of Autumn. And the rule also has allowed breeders to send mares out to superstar sires like Smart Strike (Mr. Prospec-tor), who has five hips cataloged, including Hip 427, a chestnut colt out of stakes winner C C’s Pal, a multiple G2 stakes winner of $799,420. PRS

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Freud

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MIXED SALE – HORSES OF ALL AGES

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Kaigun A Surprise Package For CasseBy Scott Jagow

Honor Roll

2010 Chestnut Gelding, Northern Afleet—Cruis-ing Kris, by Kris S. Consigned by Richard Moylan, agt., to the 2011 Canadian-Bred Yearling Sale, purchased by Lucky Strike for $37,359. Consigned by Casse Sales to the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale, $34,000 RNA.

The Casse team had every intention of selling Kaigun at the 2012 F-T Midlantic Sale, but the buyers didn’t oblige. Too bad for them.

“In the last seven, eight years, I’ve tried to pinhook about 15 horses and was probably successful three or four times,” said trainer Mark Casse. “The ones that we wound up being stuck with ended up being re-ally good horses.”

Kaigun turned out to be one of those blessings in dis-guise. The Ontario-bred didn’t start as a juvenile due to a knee issue but when he did make it to the races the following year, Casse realized the $34,000 buy-back might produce a huge return on investment. He convinced owner Gary Barber to come in with him.

“We’re sellers, but I thought if Gary bought part of him, we’d get to keep him and train him. It’d be good for everybody. Gary bought half of him and the rest is history.”

Kaigun was a bad actor in his early starts, dumping his rider one time on the way to being scratched, but after the colt was gelded, he turned into a focused and game racehorse. In 30 starts, the son of Northern Afleet has hit the board 18 times, with six victories. He’s won a trio of Grade 2 races, helping to boost his

earnings above $1.4 million.

“It’s frustrating to listen to the handicappers say he’s a bridesmaid,” said Casse. “He may be a little short in the win department but there aren’t too many horses that show up and run hard every time like he does.”

In his most recent start, the G1 Man o’ War Stakes May 14, Kaigun had an off day, finishing sixth although beaten only three lengths. Casse said the 6-year-old likes to run so he probably won’t get too much of a break before returning to competition. While 29 of Kaigun’s starts have come on the turf, his trainer calls him a versatile horse that can run well on dirt, too.

“It’s a little hard to run him on the dirt when he’s run-ning so well on the grass,” Casse said. “I’m waiting for the day he’s in on the grass and it comes off.” PRS

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to go in the Oaks and was injured just be-fore the race, but her granddaughter said, “I’ll take care of this for you.”

Who did you breed Cathryn Sophia’s dam to this year? She is down in Kentucky as we speak. I wanted to breed her back to a horse called Street Boss, and she is in foal. Before this year I wanted to breed her to a Midat-lantic stallion, which I’ve done (she has a

2-year-old and foal by Bullsbay). Sheave has a yearling filly by Denman going in the September sale.

If you could change one thing about racing, what would it be? It would be to improve the fan experience at all tracks. You certainly see it here in Maryland. What they’ve done at Laurel has been a plus. Tracks have to recognize that fans want to be entertained. You get people to come back, and you might find

some of them want to become breeders or own a horse.

Page 4

PRS

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THE LATEST NEWS

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR OUR PREAKNESS ISSUE

AT YOUR FINGER TIPS

DISTRIBUTED AT PIMLICO MAY 20

Getting to know breederBob Manfuso

Back Ring

Bob Manfuso (second from right) and friends at Laurel taking in Cathryn Sophia’s Kentucky Oaks victory

Where does this rank, to breed a Kentucky Oaks winner at the Chanceland Farm you and Katy Voss own in Maryland? It’s top of the game for me. She’s a special filly, and I’m proud of what John Servis has done with her. We’ve come a long way in terms of the state recognizing and hopefully supporting the Thoroughbred in-dustry, from breeders to the racing game. This was huge. Maryland has an agricultural land preservation program, and that’s the prop-erty she was raised on. Having a Maryland bred and raised horse is such a plus for what we are trying to do.

Were you at Churchill Downs for the Oaks? I was up here and enjoying the show at Laurel in their new facil-ity, Tips, with a handful of buddies and a couple of hundred fans having some beers. She has an incredible fan club here, which I think is a major plus. There was a big crowd at Tips, and when that filly made her move on the far turn, the whole place went bonkers. It was so exciting to feel.

How did you choose Street Boss for her dam Sheave’s first mating? I was at the November sale, and popped over to Darley be-cause I had not seen Street Boss. Took one look at the physical and thought this was would be a wonderful cross to Sheave.

Sheave was unraced but out of your stakes-winning Un-bridled mare Belterra. What kind of runner was she? She was an incredible racemare, winning the Golden Rod and finishing second in the Ashland for Carl Nafzger. She was set

For advertising inquiries pleasecall Emily at 859.913.9633

Ray Paulick - Publisher [email protected] Alberti - Director of Advertising [email protected] Jagow - Editor-in-Chief [email protected] Schweitzer - News Editor [email protected] Voss - Features Editor [email protected] Hackbarth - Asst Editor [email protected] Marr - Custom Publishing EditorFrank Mitchell - Contributing Writer

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About

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1. Have any of the 11 previous Triple Crown winners had a bigger winning margin than American Pharoah’s seven-length victory in 2015?

2. Rain turned the Pimlico surface sloppy just before the 2015 Preakness. Who was the last Preakness winner before Ameri-can Pharoah to win on a sloppy surface?

3. Which of the 12 Triple Crown winners had the fewest foes in the Preakness and had the shortest odds?

4. Who was the last Kentucky Derby winner NOT favored to win the Preakness?

5. Can you name the last Preakness winner that wasn’t first or second at the stretch call (furlong pole)?

6. When Mario Gutierrez won the Preakness aboard I’ll Have Another in 2012, he was the third consecutive jockey to win with his first Preakness mount. Who were the other two?

7. Three Hall of Fame jockeys have had 10 or more Preakness mounts without a single victory. Who were they?

Continued from Page 1

Much of this is funded by the Maryland casino industry, which, under law, must contribute a specific percentage toward a horse racing fund to support both purses and capital improvements. But company officials understand the casino revenue stream may not last forever and the day will come that racing must stand on its own.

All of this activity is having a positive impact on breeders. The Maryland foal crop, over 1,000 as recently as 2003, dipped as low as 369 in 2012. It has inched back upward in the last three years, now topping 500.

The Kentucky Oaks victory by Maryland-bred Cathryn Sophia came along at a perfect time for the industry.

“What Tim (Ritvo, The Stronach Group’s chief operating officer) and Sal have done has been an incredible plus for the busi-ness,” said Manfuso, the breeder of the Oaks winner. “The new enthusiasm these guys have brought to the table is vital to help

the breeding business.”

Page 5

By Chelsea Hackbarth

“Here is a simple but powerful rule: Always give people more than

they expect to get.”

– Nelson Boswell

Buckland Sales is working to reinvent the customer service experience for Thoroughbred owners.

During this year’s Fasig-Tipon July Sale, Buckland will offer a small Horses of Racing Age consignment. There is still time to nominate colts,

fillies or geldings in training for this highly anticipated boutique sale.

Zach Madden: 859.396.1907Zach@bucklandsalesagency.comwww.bucklandsalesagency.com

Preakness Trivia

ANSWERS: 1. Yes, Count Fleet, 8 lengths in 1943; 2. Deputed Tes-tamony, 1983; 3. Citation had 3 foes in 1948 and was 1-to-10 favorite; 4. I’ll Have Another, 2012; 5. Timber Country, 3rd at stretch call, 1995; 6. Martin Garcia (Lookin At Lucky, 2010) and Jesus Castanon (Shack-leford, 2011) 7. Braulio Baeza (10), Ramon Dominguez (10), Edgar Prado (14)

PRS

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Ron), winner of the G1 Woodward Stakes, placed second in the G1 Preakness, and earner of $1.7 million.

Hip 506 Bay filly by Bernardini x Evening Jewel, by Northern Afleet: This March foal is by Bernardini, sire of 45 stakes winners, and is out of G1 Ashland Stakes and Del Mar Oaks winner Evening Jewel, one of the top per-formers for evergreen Northern Afleet. A half-sister to the Deep Impact stakes winner Deep Jewelry, Evening Jewel produced this filly as her second foal.

Hip 510 Chestnut colt by Creative Cause x Exclusive Rosette, by Ecliptical: By the Giant’s Causeway stallion Creative Cause, winner of the G1 Norfolk Stakes at 2, this colt is from his sire’s first crop. Colt is out of a stakes winner and is a half-brother to a pair of stakes winners, G2 winner Storm Wolf and G3 winner Misty Rosette, who also ran third in the G1 Test. Bred along the same Storm Cat lines as all this mare’s important stock, this colt is also a half-brother to Littleprincessemma (Yankee Gentle-man), the dam of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile).

Five to Watch:

Hip 133 Chestnut filly by Congrats x Pinta, by Carson City: A May foal, this filly is by leading sire Congrats (by A.P. Indy) and is a half-sister to Grade 2 San Rafael Stakes winner Rojo Toro (Mountain Cat) and a half-sister to stakes-placed Saintly Rose (Graeme Hall). The dam is by leading broodmare sire Carson City (Mr. Prospector) and is out of a Ferdinand half-sister to G1 winner Sefa’s Beauty.

Hip 149 Bay colt by Algorithms x Provisions, by Devil’s Bag: By an unbeaten son of leading sire Bernardini (A.P. Indy), this colt is out of the listed stakes winner Provisions. He is also a half-brother to multiple G3 stakes winner Jack Sullivan (Belong to Me), who was multiple group-placed in England before twice winning at the G3 level in the UAE. Dam is also a half-sister to Piedras Negras, the dam of superfast filly La Traviata (Johannesburg).

Hip 309 Chestnut colt by Bellamy Road x Viva La Viva, by Crafty Prospector: By Wood Memorial winner Bellamy Road, this colt is a half-brother to stakes winner Ready to Live (More Than Ready) and to stakes-placed Viva La Slew (Doneraile Court). The latter produced Itsmyluckyday (Lawyer PRS

A look at some of the sale’s top hips By Frank Mitchell