There is an Indiana Bred Two Year Old in Training Auction on Sunday. Hoosier Park meet opens on August 2, and the Maidens run for $35,000 with competition being limited. Work outs are on Saturday. I will be attending. Give me a call if you have some interest.
Double Winners at Presque Isle and the Indiana Downs Spring meet comes to a close
Rockin’ Rockstar won for the 2nd time this year at Presque Isle tonight putting his earnings over $80,000 for the year and over $200,000 for his career. He absolutely loves this track. This was his sixth lifetime win with four of them at Presque Isle. He paid $11.20 which really surprised me. Congratulations to Ralph Piercy, Jack Danehy, Terry Ward, Barry Ward, Steve Yamaguchi, Kenneth Agronin and Mary Ann Barth.
Devil’s Prize broke her maiden tonight at Presque Isle running her first time out since the last week of May. We had wanted to run back at Churchill, but the maiden $50,000 never went the last month of the meet. We thought of going to Ellis Park for a maiden special race, but this purse was $13,000 more than the one at Ellis, so we thought we would try it and it all worked out great. Congratulations to Margaux Farm, Dr. Ken Gerson and Dr. Louis Hersh (also the breeder).
We wrapped up the Indiana Downs meet on Wednesday with 11 wins, 10 seconds, 10 thirds and 12 fourths. Total purse earnings were $393,330. We had a few seconds that should have been wins and would have pushed our earnings much higher; we’ll get ’em next time. Indiana racing now takes a two week break until opening day at Hoosier Park on August 2nd.
The Churchill meet has come to a close! Purses won totaled a little over $91,000 winning 4 races (had hoped to win 5 with over $100,000 in purses). We did break our first two-year-old maiden of the year with the filly DANCNINTHELILLIES for new client John O’Meara. She had a win and a second at the meet and he was quite thrilled especially since she had a few personality problems when she first arrived in April. (She spent more time on two legs than four.) We lost three horses in the claim box and gained three horses in the same manner.
It has been difficult working around the aftermath of the tornado. At one time we had horses in 4 different barns at Churchill at the same time from the front gate to the back gate. Any place we could find a stall, we would move in one day and then sometimes we would have to move out a day later. We had to shuffle horses to Trackside due to the shortage of stalls at Churchill and we found ourselves in up to six different barns over at Trackside at one time. Some mornings were very difficult on the employees, but the assistants (Tony Stephens and Troy Metcalf) have made the best out of a very difficult situation and we are thankful for that.
Indiana Downs is still running until July 13th. Then after that we will be running mostly at Ellis Park, Presque Isle, Arlington Park or Mountaineer Park. Then Hoosier Park will open August 2nd and we will have some stabled there. I haven’t ruled out taking a couple to Saratoga.
The first of the yearling sales start Tuesday over at Fasig Tipton. There is also a dispersal of Heiligbrodt Racing Stable which does also include some mares and yearlings as well. Lets talk about getting you in the game.
Last Weekend of Churchill. You can claim one and take it anywhere. They are running them down your throat because the purse money is good.