THE 21ST RENEWAL OF THE EL JOVEN AND LA SENORITA STAKES
The $75,000 M2 Technology La Senorita Stakes for 2-year-old fillies going a mile on the turf is carded as the 6th race on Saturday at Retama Park. Leading trainer Danny Pish will send out three horses, including 2/1 morning line favorite Glitter O’Prado, a Louisiana-bred owned by Horseplayers Racing Club LLC. He will also saddle Kentucky-bred Angelita for Scott Brown and Accredited Texas-bred Indygo Rocket (Indygo Mountain – Rockin Regent), bred by the Estate of Clarence Scharbauer Jr. and owned by Riley E. and Ronald G. Morgan.
Rounding out the field are Kentucky-bred Better Concord owned by Jose Luis Espinoza, Kentucky-bred Theron, owned by Bronce LLC, Accredited Texas-breds More Than Most (Indygo Mountain – Better Than Most) owned by Douglas Scharbauer, and Easter Ellie (My Golden Song – Dance With Dana), owned by C. Bradley Douglas.
In the $75,000 El Joven Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings going a mile on the turf, Bret Calhoun will saddle 2/1 favorite Accredited Texas-bred Better Than Magic (My Golden Song – Most Magic) for owner Douglas Scharbauer. Calhoun also trains 3/1 Cash Bonus for Carl R. Moore Management LLC. Danny Pish is listed as the trainer for two Accredited Texas-breds: W. S. Farish’s homebred colt Break Free (Grasshopper – Head for the Shed) and Mach Five (Silent Picture – Terrific Speed), the gelding he bred and now owns in partnership with Dennis Foster.
Completing the field for race 8 are Tiz Cherry Wine (Tiz the One – Miss Cherry), Hello People, Texas Jambalaya, and Neko Nation.
Saturday is also Military Appreciation Night with complimentary admission for all military and a fireworks show after the races.
TTA BOARD ELECTION
The TTA Board of Directors has approved the following slate of candidates to run for election to serve 3-year terms (2016 – 2018) on the Board of Directors:
Northeast Region (1 position) – Jim Harris of Grapeland and Judy Peek of Annona.
South Region (1 position) – Jerry Moore of Kerrville and G. W. Oliver of Fair Oaks Ranch.
At-large (5 positions) – John Adger (incumbent) of Houston, Sonny Ellen of Bryan, Terry Eoff of Boerne, Phil Leckinger (incumbent) of Tioga, Rick Penn (incumbent) of Parker, Rory Rieger of Ft. Worth, Tracy Sheffield of Wimberley, Sherie Smith of Winters, and David Stephens DVM (incumbent) of Aubrey.
Ballots will be mailed to all current TTA members in November, with a December 15 election deadline.
TRC FUNDING
We encourage horsemen to continue efforts to secure full funding for the Texas Racing Commission.
Write, call or email your State Representative, your State Senator and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick to express your concern over future funding of the Texas Racing Commission. In a respectful way, ask for their support in fully funding the Texas Racing Commission.
Suggested talking points are available at:
https://texasthoroughbred.com/wp-content/uploads/Talking-Points-for-Horsemen.pdf
CHANGES MADE TO TEXAS STALLION STAKES SERIES
The TTA Board of Directors met via conference call earlier this week and approved changes to the Texas Stallion Stakes Series (TSSS) in an effort to achieve fuller fields while maintaining purse levels in excess of black-type minimums.
Beginning with races for the foal crop of 2014, the fees of $500 to enter and $1,000 to start have been reduced to $250 to enter with $500 to start. Purses for each division of the three races in the series will be $65,000.
Yearlings (foals of 2014) may be nominated to the TSSS by payment of $500 by December 31, 2015.
Weanlings (foals of 2015) may be nominated to the TSSS by payment of $100 by December 31, 2015.
Nomination forms will be mailed to all TTA members in November, and available for download on the TTA website at www.texasthoroughbred.com.
NOTES: Texas-bred Ivan Fallunovalot scored another impressive win Sept 27 in the Remington Park Sprint Cup, and now the son of Valid Expectations may be headed to the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland. A win in that race would make him the second highest earning Texas-bred of all time behind Groovy… The LOPE Benefit Horse Show is scheduled for Saturday, October 3 at Scissortail Hill Equestrian in Austin. See http://lopetx.org/lope-benefit-horse-show-2015/ for details…Make plans to attend the Roses to Ribbons Old Fashioned Horse Fair at Retama Park on Saturday, October 10. Set for 11a.m. – 1p.m., the event is a great opportunity for the public to shop for off the track thoroughbreds. Available horses will be shown to the public in the saddling paddock area. There will also be a horse fair featuring all sorts of horse related products as well as equine artists. The event goes on rain or shine.