News and Notes for May 17, 2013

NEWS AND NOTES
May 17, 2013

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
SB 1340 (Seliger) now carried by Representative Tracy King in the House, was voted favorably out of the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee and will hopefully be up for consideration on the House floor early next week.  Please contact your State Representative to ask for support of this bill.  Talking points may be found on the TTA website and Facebook page.

LONE STAR STAKES RECAP
Lillie Abbie pulled off a 12-1 upset to win by a nose in the second annual running of the $50,000 Lane’s End Stallion Scholarship Stakes for Texas-bred fillies and mares on May 11th.

The race was named in honor of the generous donation by William S. Farish, to the Texas Thoroughbred Educational Fund to provide scholarships to TTA members and their children.

The 5-year-old mare, bred by Joe Carothers out of the Robin des Pins mare I’m a Pine by Uncle Abbie, clocked the distance in 1:30.60 and picked up three times her claiming price from barely a week earlier. Lillie Abbie has compiled a career record of 24-6-4-4 with earnings of $119,629 and is having her best campaign yet with a mark of 7-3-2-1 this year and nearly $50,000 in earnings. Lillie Abbie’s sire Uncle Abbie, a Kingmambo stallion out a Seattle Slew mare, stands at Joe and Sharon Kerby’s Key Ranch near Salado, Texas.

Judy Peek’s homebred Lasting Bubbles, a Pulling Punches mare who was sent off as the favorite after winning the JEH Stallion Station Stakes last time out at Lone Star, finished second with just a head back to third-place finisher Mescaleress, a Marquetry mare running for breeder Lynn Ellen. Shannon’ Phavorite finished a very close fourth and was followed by Smiles Golden Song, Perfect Meadow, Patty’s Pride, Shezararebird and Claudia’s Mingun.

The Texas Stallion Stakes Series for foals of 2010 wrapped up two divisions run at one mile for a purse of $75,000 apiece.

In the Stymie division for colts and geldings, Hall’s Family Trust’s homebred He Has Bling pulled off a 6-1 upset for trainer Danele Durham to boost his record to 13-3-3-1 with earnings of $94,660. He Has Bling is out of the Stravinsky mare Deeya Maria and became the 10th stakes winner sired by Too Much Bling from only 58 starters to date. Too Much Bling has sired the earners of nearly $550,000 so far this year to easily top the list of leading sires in Texas.

End Zone Athletics Inc.’s Meme Jo, another gelding by Too Much Bling who finished second in the Jim’s Orbit division of the TSS at Sam Houston in February, filled that spot again. Bred by Jeanne Bruce, Meme Jo has banked $55,755 in six career starts.

Littlebrother Farm LLC’s homebred Breathethefire, a colt by Lane’s End Texas stallion Valid Expectations, crossed the wire third. Worldventurer (Wimbledon) and Tarmac (Midway Road) completed the field of five.

After three straight runner-up finishes, including two in divisions of the TSS at Sam Houston and Retama, Clarence Scharbauer Jr.’s homebred Tastefullyxcessive earned her first career stakes win in the $75,000 Got Koko Division of the Texas Stallion Stakes for fillies.

Tastefullyxcessive, who has now earned $112,615 with three wins and three seconds in nine starts, is the 12th stakes winner sired by Early Flyer, who stands at Scharbauer’s Valor Farm near Pilot Point. Tastefullyxcessive is out of Hadif Cat, a daughter of former Valor stallion and longtime top Texas sire Hadif.

Hubert Southard’s homebred Joyful Hannah, a daughter of Key Ranch stallion Uncle Abbie, finished second in just her third career start. Out of the multiple stakes-winning Texas-bred Coastalota, the filly broke her maiden at first asking in March at Sam Houston.

W.S. Farish’s homebred Makeshift, by Lane’s End Texas stallion Too Much Bling, crossed the wire third. This marked the first start for Makeshift since winning the Two Altazano division of the TSS in February at Sam Houston.

Final Song (by My Golden Song), Open Summary (Touch Tone) and Lady Sayla (Valid Expectations) competed the field.

CHICK LANG TURF CLASSIC AT LSP
Lone Star Park will again be paying tribute to the late Chick Lang, former VP and General Manager of Pimlico Race Course on Saturday as a part of Preakness Stakes Day. As a consultant to Lone Star, he helped develop the hugely popular All-Star Jockey Championship held here from 1998 through 2004. He was also responsible for getting Eclipse Award-winning horse Skip Away to race here during the first week of the inaugural season. In honor of Mr. Lang, the sixth live race will be the second running of “The Chick Lang Turf Classic.” Lone Star Park’s Director of Racing and Lang’s grandson, Bart Lang, will be in the paddock before the race to call the traditional “riders up.”

PIMLICO’S XPRESSBET JOCKEY CHALLENGE AND PREAKNESS STAKES
Both pride and purses will be on the line for eight male and female riders in the inaugural $34,000 Xpressbet Jockey Challenge on Friday at Pimlico Race Course. This is the fifth year for a jockey challenge at Pimlico on the Preakness eve card. The Xpressbet Jockey Challenge brings together a group that has won more than 23,000 career races and over $1 billion in purse earnings, including 14 Triple Crown races, five Eclipse Awards and two Sovereign Awards for riding success.

Friday’s card is highlighted by seven stakes, including the $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G3) for 3-year-old fillies and the $300,000 Pimlico Special (G3) for older horses; as well as the Lady Legends for the Cure IV, sponsored by Wells Fargo. A pari-mutuel event with eight retired female riding pioneers, the race is run as part of a joint effort between Pimlico and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer organization.

In the challenge format, riders will earn points in four designated races and the jockey with the most points at the end of the competition will be crowned champion. The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ winner is determined by which team, male or female, has the higher point total overall for all riders in the four-race challenge.

The Preakness will be shown live on NBC in a two-hour telecast beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. There will be live pre-Preakness coverage, including three stakes on the undercard, on the NBC Sports Network beginning at 2:30, as well as a post-race show at 6:30.

If Orb prevails Saturday against a field of 8 competitors, he will move on to the June 8 Belmont Stakes in New York seeking to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. That 35-year drought is the longest in Triple Crown history since Sir Barton became the first Triple Crown winner in 1919. Wouldn’t it be awesome have a Triple Crown Winner this year?

ORB SPONSORSHIP TO BENEFIT CHARITIES
According to a Blood-Horse article, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation will benefit from a sponsorship arrangement between the Maserati car company and Orb, the even-money favorite for the Preakness Stakes.

The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation supports research projects aimed at enhancing the health and safety of horses. The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation is a charitable trust created to provide financial relief to needy members of the Thoroughbred industry and their families.

NOTES… May 24 is the deadline to consign horses to the Fasig-Tipton Texas Summer Yearling Sale to be held at Lone Star Park on August 26…May 31 is the deadline to accredit foals of 2012 at the member rate of $75… The next TRC Meeting is tentatively set for June 11 The next meeting of the TTA Board of Directors is scheduled for June 15 at Lone Star Park… Leading rider Rosie Napravnik will soon be joining the Board of Directors of Old Friends, the nonprofit equine retirement facility… Best wishes to former TTA Executive Director David Hooper, presently a steward at Canterbury Park, for a good race meet…Our continued thoughts and prayers go out to the Texas communities affected by severe storms on Wednesday evening.