ATB’S IN WEEKEND STAKES
As reported in Daily Racing Form, two-time Grade 3 winner Texas Chrome runs Saturday in the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap for 3-year-olds and up going a mile and an eighth at Churchill Downs, and has morning line odds of 12/1.
Texas Chrome ran second to Mor Spirit in last month’s Grade 3, $200,000 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park, and then finished second in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap, won by Danzing Candy. Texas Chrome earned a 100 Beyer.
The Lone Star Park Handicap was at 1 1/16 miles, and owner Danny Keene said the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Stephen Foster is appealing for Texas Chrome. Both of the horse’s Grade 3 wins came at 1 1/8 miles in last year’s Super Derby and Oklahoma Derby.
Allen Milligan will be the trainer of record when the horse starts in the Stephen Foster. Milligan has just recently been brought on as general manager and senior trainer for Keene Thoroughbreds, said Keene. Milligan said C.J. McMahon is scheduled to ride Texas Chrome in the Stephen Foster. McMahon rode the horse in both the Super Derby and Oklahoma Derby.
Bred by Craig Upham, Texas Chrome is the reigning Texas-bred Horse of the Year. He has won 8 of 17 starts and earned $925,962.
On June 19th, two Accredited Texas-breds are in the field of 7 for the $50,000 San Juan County Commissioners Handicap for 3-year-olds and up going a mile and an eighth at Sunray Park.
Bred by Joe K. Davis, multiple stakes placed Overland Park (Snow Ridge – Bonnie’s Slam) is listed at 3/1. The 5-year-old gelding finished second in the SunRay Park and Casino Handicap on May 22, and boasts a career record of 22-4-12-0 with $143,131 in earnings.
Better Than Magic (My Golden Song – Most Magic) is a 4-year-old multiple stakes placed gelding bred by the late Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Better Than Magic is coming off an Allowance Optional Claiming win on May 27 and has a career record of 21-5-3-6 with $113,281 in earnings. He has been given odds of 9/2.
ARCI APPROVES NEWEST VERSION OF MODEL RULES
The newest version of model rules approved by the Association of Racing Commissioners International is available at www.arci.com.
ARCI’s model rules provide the template for racing regulatory entities and the framework under which the sport has made significant gains toward uniform regulations among jurisdictions.
DERBY WARS, STRONACH GROUP REACH SETTLEMENT
Derby Wars, an online racing contest operator, will begin seeking consent from racetracks to use their races in its contests as a result of a settlement the company reached with The Stronach Group, a large U.S. racing company, the chief executive and founder of Derby Wars said on Thursday.
The settlement, which was approved by a judge on Tuesday, specifically requires Derby Wars to obtain consent from The Stronach Group’s racetracks before using any of the company’s races in its contests. However, the terms of the settlement, and the larger issues it has raised, has moved Derby Wars to seek consent agreements with all racetracks whose content appears on its site, according to Mark Midland, Derby War’s top official.
The settlement defuses a dispute that resulted in The Stronach Group suing Derby Wars in 2015, alleging that the company had violated provisions of the Interstate Horseracing Act, a 1978 federal law, by using races from The Stronach Group’s tracks in online tournaments without the company’s approval.
Although both sides had said that they nominally pursued a settlement in the months prior to the May ruling, officials for The Stronach Group also said that they fully intended to push the case forward to seek a favorable ruling establishing online contest sites as wagering outlets, framing it as an issue with larger ramifications for the racing industry. Simulcasting provides approximately 90 percent of the wagering revenue in the industry, and that revenue is shared by tracks and horsemen.
“We intend to immediately begin working with selected licensed handicapping contest operators to establish a business model under which they can offer these contests to their customers using Stronach content while ensuring that racetracks and horsemen putting on the show receive adequate compensation for the racing content they are creating,” Scott Daruty, the executive vice president of content and media for The Stronach Group, said in a statement.
NOTES: Entries are still being taken for the 2017 Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale. Consignment forms are available at ttasales.com…It’s not too late to make reservations to attend the TTA Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet scheduled for next Saturday, June 24 at Lone Star Park. Call the TTA office at 512.458.6133 for details.