Share This: Creative Minister won at Keeneland this spring. Will he win again in the Preakness Stakes?
Thoroughbred U is sharing with you its ponderings on the Preakness. This Saturday, May 21, 2022, is the 147th edition of the Preakness Stakes! Prepare to compare the fine nine contenders.
Share This: Seeking the Soul has come a long way since winning the final race of Keeneland’s Fall Meet in 2016.
Get pumped up for the Pegasus! This Saturday, is the 3rd annual Pegasus World Cup Invitational. It is a race card that you won’t want to miss. 9 stakes races on a card of 12 offer huge purses of over $16 million dollars. These are the richest races in North America. Who will win the prized Pegasus?
Share This: Sydney, Australia, home of the 2000 Summer Olympics and Winx!
As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics started a few days ago, I quickly lost interest following the opening ceremony. I wish all of the athletes luck in pursuit of their Olympic dreams but the featured sports are just not, “The Sport of Kings”. I’ve never been to the Olympics and I am good with that. The closest I have ever been to anything Olympic was this street art when I visited Sydney in September of 2011. All the while, when I was checking out koalas and joeys, my favorite thing about Australia was foaling and I didn’t even know it. Winx was born on 9/14/11 and racing has never been the same for Sydney or the world. Winx is my favorite Olympian of the Outback!
Share This: Stellar Wind, sales topper at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, is not breeding yet, she is racing in the 2018 Pegasus World Cup!
Are you ready for The World’s Richest Race? Don’t despair. Read on and I’ll break it down and make it real simple for you. This is your portal to The Pegasus World Cup.
Share This: Eclipse Awards on display at the Kentucky Horse Park including 1979 Horse of the Year, Affirmed
The cream of the crop have been crowned! The 2017 edition of the Eclipse Awards was held tonight, 1/25/18. There was a most deserving horse selected in all equine categories. Read on to learn how your favorite athlete’s performance on the track led to the most prestigious award in North American Thoroughbred racing.
Share This: Collected won the 2016 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland
On this fine Christmas Eve many children are eagerly awaiting a visit from their favorite mythical gift giver. I am looking forward to attending church and spending the day with friends and family. It is a very special time of the year that requires a great deal of preparation and anticipation. Then, Christmas Day comes and goes like a flash. Fortunately, the big guy in red isn’t the only Santa I’m waiting on. Here comes Santa Claus Anita!
Rise and shine! It’s another beautiful day in sunny Del Mar, California. The race track will soon be packed with fans from all over the earth to watch the last day of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Today, the final 9 races will take place where each contending Thoroughbred will stake their place in history.
Share This: Wake up sleepy heads! It is well worth being an early riser today. The Dubai World Cup (DWC) card starts at 7:45 A.M. EST on Saturday, 3/25/17! CaliforniaChrome represented the United States well last year when he romped in the DWC. Will Arrogate win for America in this year’s race? Which Thoroughbred will pick up 100 points on the road to the Kentucky Derby in the UAE Derby? The “richest day in racing” carries $30 million dollars in prize money and features 9 Group 1 and 2 races. This day of racing is every bit as delightful for me as my love for the University of Kentucky Wildcats is at NCAA tournament time. In Meydan today, we have March Madness!
The time is near for the premier of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational! It has been one year since Frank Stronach announced his vision at the Thoroughbred Owners Conference at his Gulfstream Park. By May, the stage was set for the inaugural running of the Grade 1, world’s richest race. This Saturday, 1/28/17, history will be made when the 1st winner of the Pegasus takes home $7 million dollars, the share awarded to the 1st place finisher of a race with a $12 million dollar purse.
The Pegasus World Cup will surpass the $10 million dollar Dubai World Cup to become the richest Thoroughbred race world wide. California Chrome won the 2016 Dubai World Cup and he will be hard to beat as he aims for the Pegasus which would push his earnings to $21 million dollars, the highest for any Thoroughbred in history. The Pegasus was created by Frank Stronach, the billionaire tycoon for the manufacturing of auto parts and the founder of The Stronach group. He envisioned this race to benefit the Thoroughbred racing industry. He wanted to showcase the sport in our somewhat off-season in a way to please the fans and attract new attention for racing. He perfectly positioned the race in the calendar during a time that would allow horses to compete with ample recovery time after the Breeders’ Cup and before the Dubai World Cup as well as a final send off for horses retiring to breed which usually follows each February in North America. The Pegasus filled the spot of the former Donn Handicap, inaugurated in 1959. The Donn was held at the same time of the year and had the same distance, grade and track however, it carried a purse of only $500,000. The Pegasus race will be for Thoroughbreds age 4 and upwards. It is 1 and 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on the main dirt track at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, FL. 12 horses were selected from backers whom each invested their own $1 million dollars. Each horse will get a $250,000 dollar return on their investment. 2nd place will take $1.75 million and third place will get their $1 million returned.
The name Pegasus was applied to honor the greatness of horses as Stronach intended when he had a 110 foot, 473 ton, $30 million dollar statue of the mythical winged horse, Pegasus, built at his Gulfstream Park. It is the largest bronze equine statue in the world. The Stronach group owns several racetracks in addition to Gulfsteam; Golden Gate Fields, Pimlico Race Course, Santa Anita Park, Portland Meadows, Rosecraft Raceway and Laurel Park in America. They have foreign investments as well and they own simulcasting and wagering technologies. Additionally, they breed Thoroughbreds and have an aftercare program too. Stronach will be represented by their Stronach Stables, Shaman Ghost, in the Pegasus, with it’s post owned by their own Adena Springs.
For tickets ranging from $100 to over $700 dollars, fans may buy tickets to attend the 12 race card this Saturday at Gulfstream. There will be 6 other stakes this day, 3 of those are graded stakes. Race 1 kicks off at 11:30 A.M. EST. For television viewers, NBC will feature live coverage from 4:30 to 6 P.M. EST. There will be viewers in 122 countries. Race 12 is the Pegasus, with a post time of 5:40 P.M. The field is as follows by post position/horse/jockey/trainer//morning line odds/owner/$1 million investor:
Semper Fortis/Tyler Gaffalione/Doug O’Neill/50-1/Reddam Racing, LLC./Reddham Racing, LLC.
Keen Ice/Javier Castellano/Todd Pletcher/12-1/Donegal Racing, Jerry and Ronald Frankel and Calumet Farm/Ronald and Gerald Frankel
Breaking Lucky/Luis Contreras/Reade Baker/25-1/GunPowder Farms LLC., West Point Thoroughbreds, et. al/Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Randy Hill and E. Young
California Chrome/Victor Espinoza/Art Sherman/6-5/California Chrome LLC./California Chrome,LLC.
Arrogate is the 4 year old grey son of Unbridled’s Song and Bubbler. He is considered Chrome’s worst competition. Arrogate finished a half length before Chrome in the BC Classic in 2016, a move many consider the fault of Chrome’s jockey whom has vowed to ride Chrome differently in this race. However, Arrogate’s win in the Travers Stakes was a record breaker and he is a fine, fast horse. He has the rail position so he will have to break well to keep from getting pinched. He has a record of 5 in 6 for wins. He has never raced at Gulfstream.
Prayer for Relief is the 9 year old male horse of Jump Start and Sparklin Lil. He has won 8 of 45 starts. His last win was in 2013. He has experience at Gulfstream Park and finished 4th in the Donn in 2015.
Neolithic is a 4 year old colt of Harlan’s Holiday and Swingit. His only 2 wins were his only 2 races at Gulfstream. He has 7 career starts. He has not won a graded stakes and his last race was an allowance. He won that race and he broke his maiden in his first outing, each took place at Gulfsteam.
Noble Bird is a 6 year old horse born to Birdstone and Anyhow. He has won 7 of his 20 races. He has never raced at Gulfstream but he has won a graded stakes race. I witnessed his win in the Hagyard Fayette Stakes this last Fall meet at Keeneland and have fed him a mint. He’s a good boy.
War Story is the gelding of Nothern Afleet and Belle Watling. He is 5 years-old and has finished 1st in 4 of 17 races. He has raced at Gulfstream and he has participated in many graded stakes including two BC races.
War Envoy is 5 years old and he was born to War Front and La Conseillante. He has won just 2 of 21 starts. He has not raced at Gulfstream nor has he won a stakes race. He has raced twice in the BC.
Shaman Ghost is also 5 Years-old. He was sired by Ghostzapper. His dam is Getback Time. Shaman Ghost has raced and won at Gulfstream. He has won graded stakes and holds the 2015 Sovereign Award for Champion 3 year-old colt. He has a record of 6 wins in 13 starts.
Semper Fortis is a 4 year old colt. He is the offspring of Distorted Humor and Rebridled Dreams by Unbridled’s Song. Semper Fortis has never raced at Gulfstream before or won a graded stakes. He has won 2 of 12 races. Primarily, this horse has raced in California.
Keen Ice ran third behind California Chrome and Arrogate in the 2016 BC Classic. He is a 5 year-old horse born to Curlin and Medomak. Keen Ice’s jockey won the 2016 Eclipse Award. Keen Ice has won 2 of 19 races. He was 6th in last year’s Donn. He won the Travers Stakes in 2015 beating the amazing American Pharoah. He has raced 3 times at Gulfstream. His last race was the Harlan’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream where he finished 2nd.
Breaking Lucky is a 5 year-old horse sired by Lookin at Lucky. His dam is Shooting Party. Breaking Lucky ran his first race at Gulfstream. He holds a win record of 3 in 16. He has won a graded stakes.
Eragon is a 6 year-old horse born to Offlee Wild and Express Time. He has won exactly half of his 20 starts. This is his first race in North America. He is an Argentina bred horse. He has won three Group 1 races.
California Chrome is the favorite and certainly my favorite. He is the 6 year old flashy chestnut of Lucky Pulpit and Love the Chase. I have written about this horse a lot. Please, search my page for more stories about this 4 time Eclipse Award champion. He has raced and won on many tracks and in 2 countries. Chrome has won 16 of 26 starts. I am hoping he wins once more before retiring to Taylor Made Farm to start his career as a stallion. I am looking forward to bringing him back to my hometown. Unfortunately, wins from post 12 are very rare at Gulfstream due to the track conformation.
Don’t miss your chance to watch California Chrome race one final time! This is a horse people will talk about for the ages. The Pegasus World Cup will also be most historical. I would like to thank The Stronach Group for working towards improvement in recognition for the Thoroughbred industry and supporting aftercare of both jockeys and horses. Check back soon for more adventures in the industry.
Share This: Spoiler alert: You are looking at the two time Horse of the Year and the Older Dirt Male winner of the 2016 Eclipse Awards, California Chrome!
The results are in! Last night, the 2016 Eclipse Award winners were announced. Congratulations to the connections of all the 46th annual award winners.
The Eclipse Awards were originated in 1971. These awards are given to the most elite of North American Racing in 17 horse and human categories as well as media and people worthy of lifetime achievement recognition. The name Eclipse was derived in honor of the great sire Eclipse. Eclipse was foaled during a solar eclipse in 1764. He was sired by Marske and his dam was Spilletta. Eclipse did not race until he was 5 years-old. He was undefeated. He won 18 races consecutively and then retired because he had no one to race with. 8 of his 18 wins were walkovers. He simply had no competition entered in his races because no one dared to try to match him. Therefore, he retired to stud in 1771. He was an amazing stallion. His offspring, of up to 400 winners, have gone on to make him part of the pedigree in most Thoroughbred horses. Secretariat and Phar Lap got their oversized heart from the Eclipse line.
On January, 21, 2017 the 2016 Eclipse Awards winners were announced beginning at 8 P.M. EST at Sport of Kings Theater, part of Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Tickets to attend were $425 or it could be watched via TVG2 or multiple streaming services. Last night’s awards were presented to the best horses, jockeys, trainers, owners, breeders, racing media, handicapper and 2 awards of Merit. The panel of judges was appointed by the Daily Racing Form, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). The awards were organized by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and presented by the Breeders’ Cup, the Daily Racing Form and the Stronach Group.
Prior to last evening’s presentation the recipients were announced in the following categories:
Merit – Andrew Beyer and Steven Crist. Beyer is retired from writing for the Washington Post. He is the creator of Beyer Speed Figures as detailed in his best selling book, “Picking Winners”. Crist is a retired writer from the New York Times. He was the founder, chairman and publisher of The Racing Times and chairman/publisher of The Daily Racing Form. He created the category for the horseplayer of the year. He has served on New York’s advisory commission on racing and he was the vice-president of the New York Racing Association.
National Horseplayer of the Year – Paul Matties, winner of the National Handicapping Championship
Media Awards – NBC, ESPN, Jay Houdey, Barbara Livingston, Molly McGill, Todd Marks, The Paulick Report, John Scheinman and Natalie Voss. NBC won for television and live programming, ESPN for television and feature programming. Houdey, Livingston and McGill won together for the Daily Racing Forms multimedia. Marks won for photography. Paulick and Scheinman won for feature commentary. Voss was awarded for news/enterprise.
Last night we discovered those honored with the remaining awards:
Horse of the Year: California Chrome, at 6 years-old Chrome has one more race, the Pegasus World Cup, before he retires to stud at Taylor Made Farm. He has won 16 of 26 starts in his lifetime. He won 7 of 8 races in 2016. He was the winner of the Dubai World Cup last year. He won the horse of the year in 2014 too. He also received the fan voted award for the NTRA Moment of the Year for his Dubai World Cup race.
3 Year-Old Filly: Songbird, winning 11 of 12 races this filly is special. Her only loss was her photo-finish to Beholder in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Her votes were unanimous.
3 Year-Old Male: Arrogate, the only horse to beat Chrome in 2016. He has won 5 of 6 races. He won the Travers Stakes and the BC Classic. He will compete again in the much anticipated Pegasus World Cup on 1/28.
2 Year-Old Filly: Champagne Room, has won twice from 5 starts. She won the BC Juvenile Fillies Stakes in her last race of 2016. She is ranked number one on the Kentucky Oaks leader board.
2 Year Old Male: Classic Empire, has won 4 of 5 career races. His only loss was actually due to the fact he tossed his jockey. His final race of 2016 was the BC Juvenile, which he won. He holds the top spot on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leader board.
Older Dirt Female: Beholder, she now has 4 Eclipse Awards, she won as a 2YO and a 3YO and now twice for older in 2015 and 2016 consecutively. Beholder has won 18 of 26 starts. She won the BC Distaff in 2016 and is now retired as a broodmare. Hopefully she will have an Uncle Mo foal in 2018.
Older Dirt Male: California Chrome, now has 4 Eclipse Awards. In 2014 he was Champion 3 Year-Old Colt.
Female Sprinter: Finest City, is 5 years-old and has won 5 of 15 starts. She won the BC Filly and Mare Sprint in 2016. Yesterday, she won the Santa Monica Stakes.
Male Sprinter: Drefong, is a 4 year-old colt who has won the last 5 of 6 races including the BC Sprint.
Female Turf Horse: Tepin, is one of my favorites. She is 6 years-old and she is still racing. She will be entered on 2/11 in Tampa Bay Downs Endeavor Stakes. She won the Turf Horse/Grass Mare in 2015 too.
Male Turf Horse: Flintshire, is a 9 year-old with 8 wins in 24 starts. Only his first two races were not graded stakes and in 21 races he has finished in the money. Flintshire has placed second in the BC Turf twice.
Steeplechase Horse: Rawnaq, is a nine year-old and deserves congratulations. He does not flat race.
Trainer of the Year: Chad Brown earned his first Eclipse Award. He trained New MoneyHoney for her win in the BC Fillies Turf in 2016. He has won many BC races over the years. He trained for 763 races in 2016 and won 182 of those.
Breeder of the Year: WinStar Farm won this award for the first time. They made the most in earnings this year, collecting over $10 million dollars. They also had the most graded wins in 2016.
Jockey of the Year: Javier Castellano won his 4th consecutive Eclipse award last night. He was New Money Honey’s jockey in her BC win. Castellano was ranked 4th by wins in 2016.
Apprentice Jockey of the Year: Luis M. Ocasio won his first Eclipse Award last evening. He was 93rd in earnings in 2016. He will be keeping busy at Parx Racing and Penn National this week.
Owner of the Year: Juddmonte Farms, owner of Arrogate, took this Eclipse for the third time. They ranked second in earnings in 2016.
Thank you for all the award recipients for their contributions to the Thoroughbred industry. Also, thank you for the money they raised last night at the live auction during the ceremony. Over $80 thousand dollars were collected for Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. I am proud of all the fine people and horses that make my favorite sport better.
Thank you for continuing to read and share my webpage. My next post will get us up to speed on the upcoming Pegasus World Cup.
