Thursday, March 1, 2012
NTRA Thoroughbred Notebook
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Dr. Kendall Hansen
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Weekend Stakes Races
Racing to History
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK  top 
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Awesome Maria and Royal Delta both trend on Twitter last Saturday following the Grade III Sabin Stakes at Gulfstream Park
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Aaroness and her Perfect Soul foal playing at Norse Ridge Farms in the snow (Image courtesy of Keith McCalmont)
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The Factor wins last Saturday’s Grade II San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita (Image courtesy of Benoit Photography)
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Luck actor John Ortiz with trainer Julio Canani (who inspired Ortiz’s character in the HBO drama) at yesterday’s Big ’Cap draw at Santa Anita (image courtesy of Benoit Photo)
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Join cast members from HBO’s critically acclaimed horse racing drama Luck and horse racing experts every Monday night at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific for #LuckChat to discuss the show!
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Dr. Kendall Hansen. Image courtesy of HorsePhotos.com
Dr. Kendall Hansen is the majority owner of Hansen, the 2011 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt.  Dr. Hansen operates a pain-management clinic in Crestview Hills, Ky., near his residence in the northern part of the state. He has two children and has been actively involved with equine charities, having donated $12,000 of Hansen’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winnings to the Thoroughbred retraining center New Vocations.
TWO MINUTE LICK WITH DR. KENDALL HANSEN top
Name: Dr. Kendall Hansen


How I got into to horse racing:
My first memory is of Secretariat. I was in high school, and he just put me in such a good mood. I think he did that for the whole country. After that, I was working in a Ford factory and noticed that one of the guys was betting $5 a day. I had lunch with him one time, and he took me under his wing and taught me what he’d learned over 30 years.


Favorite racetrack:
Turfway is my home, but I probably have the best memories at Hollywood. I’m a handicapper as well as an owner, and I’ve had my two biggest wins at Hollywood Park. On Cinco de Mayo, May 5th [Kentucky Derby Day], I may change my mind on my favorite track.


Favorite racing event:
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile now, of course! It was the best day of my life.


What I would like to see more of in Thoroughbred racing:
I’d like to see more of the stars stay around. For example, if Hansen has a really good three-year-old campaign and gets a big fan base, I think he should stay around as long as the public’s interested. I think it helps horse racing.


First racetrack I attended:
Latonia – now Turfway Park.


Favorite Thoroughbred:
Secretariat. And Hansen right there next to him, but I’m not quite ready to put them in the same sentence!


Best moment in racing:
Duh – the Breeders’ Cup win.


Best racetrack food:
Once, I didn’t have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving, and everything was closed. The only place I could eat on Thanksgiving that year was a hot dog at Turfway Park. So that was the best hot dog I ever had.


Favorite jockey:
Ramon Dominguez… slash Rafael Bejarano.


Favorite Trainer:
Mike Maker!


Person in horse racing I would most like to have dinner with:
Bo Derek


My philosophy on life:
Do whatever it takes to reach happiness. Happiness should be everyone’s goal, and horses make me happy.

Favorite animal other than a horse:
Dogs
FAN PHOTO OF THE WEEK top
NTRA
Congratulations to photographer Terry Ford, winner of the January 29 Fan Photo contest! From Terry: “This energetic unraced 3 year old was out behind the Fair Hill Equine Therapy Center under the care of Amy Jackson. He has a love/hate relationship with his Jolly Ball! When she throws it in he smashes and thrashes it, and then throws it back out hoping someone will throw it back. Never saw a horse play like that before (like a dog!)”
WING'S WATCH top
NEW WEEKLY FEATURE: NTRA.com’s Eric Wing offers up insights on who he thinks are the Top 40 Triple Crown contenders. (Wing's Watch PDF)
VOICES top
FROM THE GRANDSTAND top
Owner Dr. Kendall Hansen on Hansen’s level of motivation heading in to Saturday’s Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct:

 “You don’t want to go against the champion in his first start after a loss. He was really ticked off [after the Holy Bull].”

 

Actress Kerry Condon, who plays the Irish jockey Rosie in HBO’s Luck, quoted in NYMag.com on the welfare of the retired Thoroughbreds used in filming the show:

 You should see how they take care of them. They are really loved.”

 

Trainer Michael Matz, quoted by Bill Finley in The New York Times, comparing 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro to last Sunday’s Fountain of Youth winner Union Rags:

“Barbaro was an undefeated horse, and we had a lot of confidence in him. There were no doubts. If it wasn’t for two feet in the Breeders’ Cup, this horse would be undefeated also.”


VIDEOS OF THE WEEK top
Four cast members of HBO’s Luck enjoy and discuss a day at the races (HBO.com)

 

Santa Anita looks forward to the Big Cap, even with the defection of Game On Dude to Dubai (Santa Anita Park’s YouTube channel)

 

Union Rags wins the Grade II Fountain of Youth by daylight (Gulfstream Park YouTube channel)

 

El Padrino nabs Mark Valeski on the wire in the Grade II Risen Star at Fair Grounds (albamia1 YouTube channel)

 

Catching up with the son of Curlin and Rachel Alexandra (The Blood-Horse)

 

A day in the life of Taylor Made Farms (Taylor Made YouTube Channel)


IN THE NEWS top
Centennial Farms founder Donald Little dead after jumping accident (Daily Racing Form)

 

South Florida neighbors remember Davy Jones as friend and horse lover (ABCactionnews.com)

 

From 2002 when Davy Jones visited Colonial Downs (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

 

Baker’s dozen entered for Saturday’s Santa Anita Handicap (Miami-Herald.com)

 

With no Dude on hand, Ultimate Eagle is favored in Big Cap (Los Angeles Times.com)

Chantal Sutherland could be the first female rider in Dubai World Cup (
The National.com)


Hansen faces a dozen in Gotham (
The HandicappersEdge.com)

 

“All Others” slight favorite over Union Rags in Derby futures Pool 2  (The HandicappersEdge.com)

Union Rags the latest Derby contender with Pennsylania ties
(Daily Racing Form)

Florida Derby—and a tangle with Union Rags—could be next for El Padrino
(The Blood-Horse)

 

Trainer Todd Pletcher has one fewer Kentucky Derby runner in the hunt; undefeated Algorithms injured (Wall Street Journal.com)

 

Union Rags takes Fountain of Youth, becoming the Derby front-runner  (New York Times.com)

 

Union Rags, Kentucky Derby Favorite (Forbes.com)

 

Six years after Barbaro, trainer Michael Matz has another Kentucky Derby contender (Washington Post.com)

 

Kentucky Derby report and podcast (ESPN.com)

 

2012 Kentucky Derby Analysis Week 5: The Risen Star Stakes (Bleacherreport.com)

 

Dominguez wins George Woolf Award for Jockeys (NBCsports.com)

 

California jockeys on their other turf: the basketball court (Los Angeles Times.com)
 

Pimlico Special returning to Preakness Weekend (The Baltimore Sun.com)


The race made famous by Seabiscuit returns to Pimlico
 (WBAL.com)

 

Ward named Executive Director of Kentucky Racing Commission (Daily Racing Form)

 

Zenyatta: wait for first foal combines science, art and anticipation (Daily Racing Form)

 

New evidence suggests training and racing Thoroughbreds at 2 years promotes longer career  (Equine UK.com)

 

Meet the NTRA Aftercare Horse of the Month, a "Moose" who's worth his weight in gold (NTRA Aftercare)

 

The Jockey Club launches its 2012 pilot program: the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (Louisville.com)

 

 “Luck” recap: Have a heart (EW.com)

 

“Luck” review: Episode five (Pastemagazine.com)

 

“Luck” recap: Horses make even the toughest of gangsters soften (Complex.com)

 

Seabiscuit among acclaimed sports movies that got shut out on Oscars night (Total Pro Sports)

 

Looking back at historic African-American jockey Jimmy Winkfield (Humanities.com)

 

Live racing set to resume this Friday at Mountaineer (The Review.com)

 

World’s oldest horse has stable life in Essex   (Thesun.co.uk)

IN THE BLOGOSPHERE top
Union Rags: The freak is back (Horseracingnation.com)

Should we really be that high on Union Rags? (Horseracingnation.com)

Big H hits the Big A (Louisville Courier-Journal.com)

Handicapping the Gotham (NTRA.com)

Analysis of last weekend’s big Derby preps (Xpressbet.com)

Sweet 16 Derby List (Horseracingnation.com)

Looking back at the supposed top Derby contenders at this time last year (Bleacherreport.com)

“All others” heavy favorite in Oaks Future Wager (Louisville Courier-Journal.com)

In Kentucky, 2015 Derby Winner Could Arrive Any Day Now (NPR.com)

Reality of horse industry: It’s not the top 1 percent (Louisville Courier-Journal.com)

Recalling some comments by 1963 TOBA President A.G. Vanderbilt (Brooklynbackstretch.com)

OTTB Willie Cruise gets the job done in all his post-racing endeavors (Paulick Report)    
NHC NEWS top
NTRA

Gulfstream Park Handicapping Challenge set for March 17-18 (
Gulfstream Park)

 

Treasure Island to host 100% payback NHC Qualifiers April 7, May 6 and June 10   (NTRA.com)

 

Learn more about the 2012 Daily Racing Form NHC Tour (NHC)

CALENDAR top
RACING TO HISTORY top
March 1, 2005: At a two-year-old-in-training sale in Miami, Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum paid a record $5.2 million for a son of Tale of the Cat.


March 1, 1969: Tuesdee Testa, 27, became the first female jockey to win a race at a major American Thoroughbred track when she won the third race at Santa Anita Park aboard Buz On.


March 1, 1989: Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, holds its inaugural day of racing in 20-degree temperatures during a snowfall. Jockey Cindy Noll wins the first race aboard Holmish in a $2,300 claiming event. 


March 1, 1991: Pat Day, 37, became the sixth rider in history whose mounts earned $100 million when he rode Wild Sierra to a second-place finish in the first race at Oaklawn Park.


March 2, 1940: Beaten by a nose in both the 1937 and 1938 Santa Anita Handicaps, Seabiscuit finally won the Big ’Cap in his final race. He retired the then-leading money-winning horse in the world.


March 2, 1966: Kelso, Horse of the Year 1960-64, ran his last race, finishing fourth at Hialeah Park.


March 3, 1966: Ogden Phipps’ Buckpasser won the Flamingo Stakes by a nose, under the guidance of Bill Shoemaker. The colt was such a prohibitive favorite among the field of nine that the race was declared a non-wagering contest and was dubbed “The Chicken Flamingo.”


March 3, 1985: Bill Shoemaker became the first jockey in history to win $100 million in purses after he won the Santa Anita Handicap aboard Lord at War (ARG).


March 3, 1993: Russell Baze had his 4,000th career win, with Frank Musso, at Golden Gate Fields.


March 3, 2004: Santa Anita Park set a North American record with a gross Pick Six pool of $7,302,848, which included a three-day carryover of $1,413,136. There were three winning tickets worth $1,567,984 each. 


March 5, 1988: Carl Gambardella had his 5,000th career winner, aboard John’s Goldenapple, at Suffolk Downs.


March 5
, 2011: Chantal Sutherland became the first female jockey to win the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap when she piloted Game On Dude to a nose victory. Before the race was declared official, Game on Dude and Sutherland had to survive a 12-minute stewards’ inquiry regarding a bumping incident with favored Twirling Candy who finished fifth.


March 6, 1965: Jockey Earlie Fires rode his first winner, Carnation Kid, at Oaklawn Park. By year’s end, Fires had amassed nearly $600,000 in purse earnings to earn the title of champion apprentice jockey.


March 6, 1988: Julie Krone became the winningest female jockey in racing history when she won the 1,205th race of her career riding a filly named Squawter in the ninth race at Aqueduct Racetrack.


March 7, 2009: Helen Pitts-Blasi became the first female to train the winner of the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap when she saddled 7-year-old Einstein to victory.


March 8, 1987: Carrying 126 pounds, Zany Tactics set the world record for six furlongs, 1:06 4/5, at Turf Paradise. On Feb. 21, 1993, his time was equaled by Honor the Hero, also at Turf Paradise.


March 8, 1985: Chris McCarron rode his 4,000th career winner, Hawkley (GB), in the fifth race at Santa Anita Park.


March 9, 1977: Seattle Slew made his three-year-old debut, at Hialeah. He won a seven-furlong race in 1:20 3/5, breaking the track record.


March 9, 2009: 2007 Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches gave birth to her first foal, a filly by Giant’s Causeway, at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.


March 10, 1808: Diomed, the winner of the inaugural Epsom Derby in 1780, died in Virginia at age 31. He had been imported to the U.S. 10 years earlier and subsequently became an influential sire.


March 10, 1993: At age 41, jockey Eddie Delahoussaye had his 5,000th career winner, aboard Ackler in the fifth race at Santa Anita Park. He was the 14th rider in North American Thoroughbred racing to reach that plateau.


March 11, 1943: After siring 350 foals that won over $3 million, 26-year-old Man o’ War was retired from stud duty.


March 12, 1966: In the last race of his 40-year career, John Longden won the San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita Park, aboard George Royal. He retired with a then-record number of victories, 6,032.


March 13, 2004: Jockey Edgar Prado became the 19th rider to reach the 5,000-win plateau with his victory aboard Wynn Dot Comma in the Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.


March 14, 1941: Merrick died at age 38, establishing the longevity record for a Thoroughbred.


March 14, 1973: In his final preparation for the March 17 Bay Shore Stakes, the first race of his three-year-old season, Secretariat worked three furlongs in a blistering :32 3/5.


March 14, 1976: Bill Shoemaker gained his 7,000th career victory, aboard Charlie Whittingham-trained Royal Derby II, in the fifth race at Santa Anita Park.


March 14, 1987: Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. became the first rider in the history of Santa Anita Park to win seven races in a single afternoon. In his only loss of the day, Pincay finished third aboard Bob Back in the eighth race.


WEEKEND STAKES RACES top
FRIDAY, MARCH 2

Bold Brat Stakes, 4&up (f&m), $75,000, 6F, Aqueduct

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 3

Santa Anita Handicap, 4&up, $750,000, Grade I, 1 1-4M, Santa Anita Park

 

Gotham Stakes, 3yo, $400,000, Grade III, 1 1-16M, Aqueduct

 

Frank E. Kilroe Mile, 4&up, $300,000, Grade I, 1M (T), Santa Anita Park

 

Las Virgenes Stakes, 3yo fillies, $250,000, Grade I, 1M, Santa Anita Park

 

Top Flight Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $200,000, Grade II, 1 1-16M, Aqueduct

 

Tom Fool Handicap, 3&up, $200,000, Grade III, 6F, Aqueduct

 

Canadian Turf Stakes, 4&up, $150,000, Grade III, 1M (T), Gulfstream Park

 

Maxxam Gold Cup, 4&up, $150,000, 1 1-8M, Sam Houston Race Park

 

Fair Grounds Handicap, 4&up, $125,000, Grade III, 1 1-8M (T), Fair Grounds

 

John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, 1 1-16M, Turfway Park

 

Pelican Stakes, 3yo, $75,000, 5F, Delta Downs

 

Wide Country Stakes, 3yo fillies, $75,000, 7F, Laurel Park

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