Have a comment or question about this week's update? Send an e-mail to davidh@texasthoroughbred.com. Read past updates in the Executive Director's Update archive.
FASIG-TIPTON TEXAS 2YO SALE ON TAP MARCH 30; UNDER TACK SHOW ON SUNDAY
The annual Fasig-Tipton Texas 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale, sponsored by Texas Thoroughbred Association, will start at 10am on Tuesday, March 30, with 223 lots catalogued for the auction being held in the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion at Lone Star Park. On Sunday, March 28, the sales horses will begin appearing under tack at 10am for timed workouts through the Lone Star stretch.
Texas sires are represented in the sale by offspring of City Street, Early Flyer, Lil’s Lad, Midway Road, Pine Bluff, Primal Storm, Uncle Abbie, Valid Expectations and Wimbledon.
Several of North America’s most popular stallions have offspring sprinkled through the sale including Awesome Again, Badge of Silver, Birdstone, Bluegrass Cat, Bwana Charlie, Cherokee Run, City Zip, Closing Argument, Cuvee, D’wildcat, Even the Score, Forestry, Fusaichi Pegasus, Johannesburg, Leestown, Lion Heart, More Than Ready, Posse, Speightstown, Touch Gold and Wildcat Heir.
Buyers are reminded to check on any state entry requirements if they plan to move sales horses out of Texas after settling on their purchases.
Denis Blake, who maintains TTA’s website, will be at Lone Star for the under tack show and the sale taking photos of 2-year-olds in their works and in the sales ring that will be available for purchase by consignors and buyers.
The outs to date are Hip Nos. 10, 45, 48, 60, 61, 94, 100, 107, 122, 125, 126, 128, 139, 142, 146, 154, 182, 184, 195 and 203.
$100,000 MAXXAM GOLD CUP DRAWS 10 INCLUDING 7 INVADERS FOR SATURDAY CARD
The $100,000 MAXXAM Gold Cup drew a competitive field of 10 older horses for its 1 1/8-mile renewal as Saturday night’s headliner at Sam Houston Race Park. The field includes seven horses shipping in from Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park or Sunland Park to take on three runners who made their last start at Sam Houston.
The Kindred Thoroughbred LLC entry of Going Ballistic and Numismatist is listed as a lukewarm 3-1 favorite followed by Darley Stable’s Tybalt at 4-1 and Frontier Stables LLC’s 5-1 Red Lead.
The $50,000 Sam Houston Distaff attracted eight older fillies and mares with Du-Zee Stables’ Bubbler returning to Sam Houston from Fair Grounds for the 1 1/16-mile stakes. Bubbler won the $100,000 Gallery Furniture Distaff on the Texas Champions Day card last December and has added a second stakes win at Fair Grounds since then.
TTA ATB STARTER ALLOWANCE STAKES SERIES SET IN 2010 AT CLASS 1 TRACKS
Lone Star Park, Retama Park and Sam Houston Race Park will each host two added-money races in the newly created 2010 TTA ATB Starter Allowance Stakes Series. The six stakes will be offered as a part of each track’s Texas-bred championship race day programs beginning with Stars of Texas Day at Lone Star Park on July 10, and followed by Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Day at Retama Park in the fall and Texas Champions Day at Sam Houston in December.
Purse revenue for the ATB Starter Allowance Stakes Series became available through forfeiture of security bond money posted for two South Texas tracks, Valle de los Tesoros in McAllen and Laredo Downs, which are principally owned by members of the LaMantia family. Failure to open either track for simulcasting by January 1, 2009, or for live racing later in the year, resulted in forfeiture of nearly $60,000 that would have accrued to the ATB Incentive Program if the start-up timetable for simulcasting and live racing had been met.
When the Texas Racing Commission first advised TTA that the bond money would be available, TTA’s Executive Committee considered various uses. In order to maximize distribution to as many owners, breeders and stallion owners participating in the ATB Program as possible, the concept of the ATB Starter Allowance Stakes Series was born and staff had instructions to discuss ways to implement the races with the Class 1 track racing secretaries, with available bond money divided equally. The results of discussions are as follows:
Each track will host one race for colts and geldings and one race for fillies and mares with the age category being for 3-year-olds and older that have started for a claiming price of $7,500 or less since January 1, 2009;
Lone Star plans to offer a purse of $25,000 for each of the TTA ATB Starter Allowance Stakes and will run them at 5 furlongs on turf;
Retama and Sam Houston plan to offer purses of at least $20,000 for each of the ATB Starter Allowance Stakes they host. The Retama stakes will be run at 6 ½ furlongs on the main track. Sam Houston will use the Susanna Dickinson and Davy Crockett, starter allowance races run on past Texas Champions Day cards, but change the distance from 5 ½ furlongs to one mile on dirt and double the purses in 2010.
Fast furlongs...Pimlico prohibited Preakness Day infield fans from bringing any drinks onto the premises in 2009 and attendance dropped more than 30 percent, falling under 100,000 for the first time in many years to 77,850, but the beer will flow in the infield in 2010 when unlimited refills will be offered after the initial $20 mug purchase...Objections filed by the New York Racing Association and Thoroughbred and Standardbred horsemen’s groups over the legitimacy of New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation’s bankruptcy filings under Chapter 9 have been thrown out by the bankruptcy court judge...The Jockey Club has released a preliminary analysis of data collected over a one-year period on the North American fatality rate for Thoroughbreds based on information collected in the Equine Injury Database...Frank Stronach will keep control of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes, now that MI Developments, the parent of Magna Entertainment Corporation, has agreed to buy both Maryland Jockey Club tracks...The first of three “Road to the Kentucky Derby” telecasts begins this weekend with two major 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 prep races, the $750,000 Louisiana Derby from the Fair Grounds and the $500,000 Lane/s End Stakes from Turfway Park, set to air on USA Network from 4-5pm CDT...Our heartfelt sympathies are extended to TTA Business Manager Mary Ruyle and her extended family on the passing of Mary’s 56-year-old sister, Patti Spence, after a two-week bout with pneumonia.