News and Notes for September 13, 2019

TEXAS CONNECTIONS AND ATB’S IN UPCOMING STAKES
Awesome Emmit (Tiz West – Awesome Emma) will take on 8 competitors in the $50,000 Tom Metzen HBPA Sprint Stakes for 3-year-olds and up going 6 furlongs at Canterbury Downs.  The 6-year-old gelding was bred by Mike Grossman and now runs for B. L. Stables LLC.  He won his latest race at Canterbury on August 31 and has odds of 10-1.

Best of luck to Steve Asmussen, who will send out 8-1 Lotta Ott (KY) in the $200,000 (Gr.2) Pocahontas Stakes on September 14 at Churchill Downs.

In the $200,000 (Gr.3) Iroquois Stakes, Asmussen trains 7-2 Rowdy Yates (OK).  Texan Joseph W. Sutton bred 5-1 Scabbard (KY), and 10-1 Juggernaut (KY) is owned in partnership by Texas’ Rocker O Ranch LLC.

MAILBOX MONEY
ATB checks for the mixed meet at Gillespie County Fair Grounds will be mailing next week.

Award amounts are based on the amount of Accredited Texas-Bred award monies available for the pay period divided by the purse money earned by accredited Texas-breds finishing first, second or third in any race at this track.

Based on this formula, award totals were calculated as follows:

Breeder Awards:        8.17607% of 1st/2nd/3rd purse money earned

Owner Awards:          21.71014% of 1st/2nd/3rd purse money earned

Stallion Awards:          3.69357% of 1st/2nd/3rd purse money earned

The total amount of awards paid out for this period of racing at Gillespie County Fair Grounds is $11,405.43.  By law, 40% ($4,562.18) is paid for Breeders Awards, 40% ($4,562.18) is paid for Owners Awards and 20% ($2,281.07) for Stallion Owner Awards.

Please note that for awards calculation purposes, all individual purses are capped at $10,000.00.  Also, there are no ATB Owners Incentive Awards paid on restricted stakes, as the purse already contains added money from the ATB Program. 

Also, if your horse placed first, second or third in an open company race during this meet, you will receive an Owner’s Bonus award totaling 18.00957% of purse money earned.  The first 25% of total ATB Awards for 2019 is allocated to the Owner Bonus Fund, which equates to $3,801.82 for this meet.  If you qualify for this new Owner’s Bonus, you will receive a separate itemized statement, and the funds will be included in your check for regular ATB awards.

Please be aware that the owner percentages are so high because 2 of the 12 races in this meet were ATB restricted stakes, which earn no owner awards.

TEXAS RACING COMMISSION ACTION
The TRC met Tuesday and voted to post several rules in the Texas Register for public comment, including rules to govern new funds to the industry (racetracks and breed registries), which are too lengthy to post here, and annual racetrack license fees, below:

Fees for Class 1 racetracks, $200,000;
Fees for Class 2 racetracks, $95,000;
Fees for Class 3 or 4 racetracks, $25,000

These fees are calculated using a projected base of 48 days of live racing (inclusive of all breeds) per Class 1 track and 8 days of live racing (inclusive of all breeds) per Class 3 or 4 track.

If a Class 1 track does not intend to use all of the race days allotted to it, it shall share the unused days with another Class 1 track.

In the event additional days are requested by the tracks, the TRC executive secretary may add a fee of $5,345 for each live race day added beyond the base.

The Commission approved Lone Star’s request for a 44 day Thoroughbred meet (April 16 – July 19, 2020); Retama’s request for a 28 day mixed meet (July 3 – September 9, 2020); and Gillespie’s request for an 8 day mixed meet over the period of July 4 – August 23, 2020.

Sam Houston Race Park was previously granted a 32 day Thoroughbred meet (January 24 – March 28, 2020).

Since race dates had to be requested before the allocation of new purse money is made, the tracks may request additional days prior to their meets.

The next Commission meeting is scheduled for October 29th.

NOTES: Congrats to the connections of divisional winners of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes this week at Retama Park. Bubba Bling who won the $65,000 My Dandy Division and It’s My Money took the Darby’s Daughter Division. The next races in the TSS will be for 3-year-olds at Sam Houston Race Park next spring…Congrats to leading trainer for the Retama Park Thoroughbred meet Karl Broberg and leading owner End Zone Athletics…I will be out of the office for much of the next two weeks and will not be able to write News and Notes for that time period.