Exclusive Seattle Engagement

  The 6 1/2-furlong Seattle Handicap, the first stakes in the Washington Oaks series and the only one under a mile, was the featured race of the three-day Memorial Day weekend. Run as the Federal Way Handicap from 1998 to 2010, the May 27 stakes drew a field of eight sophomore fillies, including a trio of 2011 stakes winners: Exclusive Diva, Talk to My Lawyer and Sweet Saga.

  Squatting Dog Stable and Rusty G. Warwick's Royal Moses, who was twice stakes-placed at two and had won an April 15, 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race by nearly four length, was the nine-to-five favorite in the $50,000 sprint, but the race belonged to Exclusive Diva from the start.

  A homebred for Jerre Paxton's Northwest Farms LLC, Exclusive Diva, guided by Juan Gutierrez, held the lead at every call and drew off to win by 8 1/2 lengths "with complete authority." Her winning time of 1:14.58 tied the stakes record set in 2003 by Emerald and state champion Youcan'ttakeme.

  "The plan was to go to the front and try to get her to relax," said Gutierrez. "I felt a little pressure from Lady Hokulea, but at the quarter pole, my horse took another gear."

  Race highweight (120 pounds) Royal Moses, a Washington-bred daughter of Cahill Road-Miss Wagon Lode, got up for second place, three-quarters of length the better of Lady Hokulea, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Roman Ruler-Tennis Lady who races for Kama'aina Thoroughbreds.

  Trained by Tom Wenzel, Exclusive Diva is a Kentucky-bred daughter of champion and major sire Bernardini out of the stakes-winning Dehere mare Puxo Saco. Exclusive Diva has earned $70,605 in four starts with a record of 3-0-1.

WTBOA Sales poster boy Smiling Tiger earned his 14th graded stakes placement when he finished third in the $400,000 True North Handicap (G2) run as part of the Belmont Stakes (G1) undercard on June 9. The five-year-old son of Hold That Tiger-Shandra Smiles, by Cahill Road, finished 1 1/2 lengths behind winner Caixa Electronica in the six-furlong stakes.

  Parker's Storm Cat is also the sire of four-year-old Peter G who won a seven-furlong allowance at Charles Town Races on May 27. It was the second win in six starts for the South Carolina-bred colt out of Jazz Concert, by Concerto, who has earned $33,900.

  Sloane Ranger, a six-year-old stakes winning son of Parker's Storm Cat out of the You and I matron Toppenish, won a six-furlong allowance test at Monmouth Park on June 8, improving the Pennsylvania-bred's record to 6-6-6 from 27 starts and earnings to $350,472.

Bred by Kenneth and Jan Heidt, who operate K & J Farm in Arlington, the three-year-old gelding was ridden to his neck victory by multiple Hall of Famer Russell Baze. Trained and owned by Jerry Hollendorfer and John Carver, Summer Hit is a half-brother to Emerald Downs champion and Washington-bred $1968,697 stakes winner Starbird Road and $140,747 stakes-placed Light of a Star. All three runners were produced out of the winning Tough Knight mare Mia F Eighteen, a full sister to John and Kitty Fletcher Stakes winner Miatough. Summer Hit's second dam is a half-sister to multiple Washington champion and Grade 2 stakes winner Hilco Scamper.

  A son of Dixieland Band out of the Grade 2 stakes-winning Capote mare She's Tops - a three-quarter sister to successful Washington sire He's Tops - Dixie Union won five graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational and Malibu Stakes, and earned over $1.2-mllion before retiring to stud at Lane's End where he sired 42 stakes winners and the earners of over $32-million before his untimely death in 2010.

  Among the many other top racehorses that Sarkowsky has either bred and/or raced are Eclipse Award winning juvenile filly Phone Chatter and Washington champion Sharper One.

  The Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART) will be sponsoring an emergency animal sheltering course at the Cumberland Fire Station in Enumclaw on July 28-29, 2012. The course is open to the public (adults only), as well as to WASART members training for deployment. The deadline for pre-registration and payment is required by July 16.

  WASART is also offering a CPR/first aid class, which is open to the public and will be taught by a licensed instructor, on August 4 in Enumclaw for a cost of $50. For more information on either class, e-mail

  2010 WTBOA sale graduate Cruzin the Harbor, a full brother to Washington champion and $120,286 earner Hollywood Harbor, finished second in a six-panel allowance at Golden Gate Fields on May 12. The Frank L. Gaunt-owned runner next won an allowance/$40,000 optional claiming race at the Albany track on June 3 and now has a record of two wins and two seconds in four starts and the Washington-bred son of Harbor the Gold and stakes winner Miss Slewette has earned $47,100.

  2010 WTBOA-sold two-year-old Formal Plan, who was stakes-placed three times in 2011, returned to the races after an 11-month hiatus with an impressive 2 1/4-length victory in a five-furlong grass allowance race at Churchill Downs on May 20. Bred in California by Dr. Jack and Claire Lien's Willow Creek Farm, the daughter of Formal Gold-Choice Plan (a daughter of Washington champion Money by Choice) next ran third, beaten only a neck for second, in a six-panel allowance/$50,000 optional claiming race at Churchill on June 22 and improved her record to 2-2-3 from ten starts. The $400 buy has earned $88,699 for Brooley Racing LLC, a partnership of Brad Brooks and trainer Jennifer Tooley. An article on Formal Plan and Tooley entitled "Formal Plan is Her Stable's Sole Support," written by Marty McGee, appeared in the June 22, 2012, Daily Racing Form.

  2010 WTBOA sale graduate Gaelic Passion, a three-year-old Washington-bred son of Salt Lake-Mike's Way, by Gulch, bred by John Roche and Richard Egge, won a 5 1/2-furlong $25,000 maiden claiming race at Prairie Meadows by 3 1/2- lengths on May 27. The colt, which races for Jack Peters and Gregg Reisinger, won a six-panel $25,000 claimer at the Iowa track on June 9 and upped his earnings to $26,360.

  2010 WTBOA Summer Yearling Sale RNA Italian Boy, a three-year-old Washington-bred son of Tizbud-Cordial Russian, by Hennessy, bred by DiPietro Thoroughbreds, scored a gate-to-wire 7 1/2-length win in a 5 1/2-furlong allowance/$25,000 optional claiming race on May 26 at Emerald Downs. The Tim McCanna trainee ran a quick 1:01.59 to earn his second victory and then added his third victory in five starts with a nearly four-length tally in an allowance/$25,000 optional claiming race at the Auburn track on June 16 and pushed his earnings to $31,730.

  Elttaes Stables' homebred Aaron the Baron took a mile allowance/$40,000 optional claiming race at Emerald Downs by 2 1/4 lengths on June 2. It was the third win in ten tries for the Washington-bred five-year-old gelding by Tribunal who is out of stakes winner and 1999 WTBOA summer sale graduate Silver Screen Girl. Aaron the Baron, who is trained by Doris Harwood, has earned $48,229.

  2000 WTBOA Sale two-year-old Collect Call, a daughter of Meadowlake who went on to become a graded stakes winner of $434,000 and produce Grade 2 $583,280 stakes winner Old Fashioned, foaled a colt by Medaglia d'Oro on April 14 and was bred back to Distorted Humor.

  Upgrade, who became the tenth stakes winner sired by Saint Liam after he won the $150,000 Jaipur Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park on June 8, is a son of $363,125 stakes winner Emily Ring, one of two stakes winners produced out the unraced Table Run mare Commercial Run. Bred in Washington by Foothills Farm, Commercial Run was a $22,000 1990 December WTBOA Sale graduate and was a half-sister to 1993 Washington champion three-year-old filly and $139,300 earner Commercial Choice and to stakes-placed runners Teal Top ($161,288) and Our Game Plan. Upgrade has earned $283,456 from 17 starts with a record of 5-7-2.

  2010 WTBOA September sale RNA, Until You proved good things come to those who wait when the three-year-old colt won his first start, a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Betfair Hollywood Park on June 9. Until You, who races for his breeder Barbara Ratcliff's Coal Creek Farm, is the fourth foal and winner produced out of One for You, a winning half-sister to stakes winners Hilltown and Newfound Man and stakes-placed runners Hamilton Island and Royal Riyadh. Another half-sister is Lorrains Love , who is the dam of stakes-placed Coup de Foudre, a daughter of Basket Weave who has two homebred stakes horses running this year for Karl Krieg: 2012 Auburn Stakes winner Makors Finale and Absolutely Cool, who placed in three Turf Paradise stakes this year. Until You, who is trained by Vann Belvoir, earned $31,200 for his half-length win.

  After finishing second by a neck in his first outing, an Emerald Downs maiden special weight race on May 12, Jack and Ivor Jones' homebred three-year-old Edge Forever won a six-panel maiden allowance race at the Auburn track on May 26. The Doris Harwood-trained runner is the fourth winner out of Stevies Lil'wonder, by Smart Strike, a half-sister to It's Stevie's Time - the dam of 2011 Washington champion Point of Reference, who was also bred and raced by the Jones brothers. Both Stevies Lil'wonder and It's Stevies Time are daughters of the Jones-raced two-time Washington champion Run Away Stevie.

  Two-year-old Royal Recruit became the 13th winner for her dam, Royal Herat, when the filly by Our New Recruit won her first outing, a five-furlong trial at Les Bois Park on June 16. Royal Herat is also the dam of $302,612 stakes winner Chitka, $291,684 stakes-placed Royal Affirmed, $252,910 stakes-placed and 2012 winner Fu Peg He Rat, stakes-placed Heartbuster and stakes winner Houseofroyalhearts, a son of Chester House who stands at El Dorado Farms LLC and whose first crop races this year.

  Wilkerson, the four-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Lemon Drop Kid who won the $150,000 American Handicap (G2) at Betfair Hollywood Park on May 26 at odds of $44.30-to-one, is out of graded stakes-placed Tasha's Delight, whose granddam, Rain Chaser, by Ben Adhem, is a half-sister to Washington horse of the year Delicate Vine, stakes winner Missa Bet and stakes-placed Fool's Guest. All are out of Washington broodmare of the year Fool's Miss (by Saltville). Wilkinson, who is Grade 1-placed, has a record of 5-3-3 from 18 starts and has earned $336,994. Another member of the family, four-year-old Shrug, a son of Medaglia d'Oro out of Delicate Vine's stakes-placed daughter Babeinthwoods, increased his earnings to $136,930 after he won a 6 1/2-furlong allowance/$62,500 optional claiming race at Betfair Hollywood Park on June 15.

  2011 Longacres Mile (G3) winner Awesome Gem added another stakes win to his tally when he was promoted to first place in the $100,000 Berkeley Handicap at Gold Gate Fields on May 28. First-place finisher Positive Response was demoted to fourth place for interference. Awesome Gem, a nine-year-old gelded son of Awesome Again, has now won 11 races and earned $2,821,370.

  Mark Dedomenico LLC and partners' Capital Plan (Rock Hard Ten-Miss Dahlia) and City to City (City Zip-Stormbow) ran three-four in the $250,000 Gamely Stakes (G1) at Betfair Hollywood Park on May 28 behind Irish-bred distaffers Belle Royale and Quiet Oasis. Capital Plan, who Dedomenico owns with trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, earned $30,000 in the nine-furlong turf race, and has earnings of $245,800. 2008 WTBOA Summer Yearling Sale graduate and multiple Grade 2 winner City to City has put$529,726 into the coffers of Dedomenico, Hollendorfer and William DeBurgh.

  David Heerensperger and John Xitco's Major Magic won a mile turf $50,000 claiming race at Betfair Hollywood Park on May 31. It was the first win for the three-year-old son of Kitten' Joy-Celestial Woods since he had been purchased after winning the Chenery Stakes at Colonial Downs in July of 2011. The Kentucky-bred gelding has now won three of five starts and earned $72,600.

  First-time stakes winner My Gi Gi, the three-year-old daughter of E Dubai who took the $150,000 Honeymoon Handicap (G2) on June 9 at Betfair Hollywood Park, is from the immediate family as 1979 Washington broodmare of year Hold Hands. Her stakes-winning third dam Shapiro's Mistress - a half-sister to 1993 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Stakes (G1) winner Brocco - is out of Anytime Ms., a full sister to 1976 Washington horse of the year Any Time Girl and half-sister to 1979 Washington horse of the year Table Hands, 1989 Washington champion Crystal Run and five other stakes horses, including good state sire Gumboy.

  Stakes-placed J P Jammer, a California-bred horse bred by Marion Christensen and her late husband David, won a nine-furlong $25,000 claiming race at Betfair Hollywood Park on June 2 to up the son of Old Topper-Word Puzzle earnings to $245,773.

  Three-time Grade 1 winner Turbulent Descent won her four-year-old debut in the June 17, Desert Stormer Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park. The daughter of Congrats-Roger's Sue is owned by a partnership which includes Renton resident Steve Zerda. With her 1 1/4-length victory in the six-furlong stakes, Turbulent Descent improved her race record to 7-2-0 from 11 starts and has earned $901,640. 

 Horseplayers Racing Club LLC and Above The Crowd Stables' Kidding, a four-year-old Kentucky-bred filly by Lemon Drop Kid out of Kith N Kin (GB), by Spinning World, won an about mile turf allowance at Louisiana Downs on May 28 increasing her lifetime earnings to $107,846. 

 Oak Crest Farm, John A. Adger, Stone Farm and trainer Michael Stidham's five-year-old mare Upperline added another Grade 3 tally to her record when the daughter of Maria's Mon-Snowflake (Ire), by Caerleon, won the nine-furlong Arlington Matron Stakes (G3) at Arlington Park on May 26. The Kentucky-bred distaffer has won eight of 20 starts and has earned $585,308.

  Four-year-old Burban earned her third win in four starts when the daughter of Speightstown took a seven-furlong turf allowance at Churchill Downs by 4 1/4 lengths on May 31. The $118,440 earner is out of Washington-bred stakes winner Horse B With You, by Slewdledo.

  Two-year-old Positively proved a nearly two-length winner in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race run at Churchill Downs on June 7. The Distorted Humor colt is a half-brother to 2011 Washington leading sire Parker's Storm Cat, as both are sons of French Group 1 winner Macoumba, by Mr. Prospector.

  Stark's a Smarty, a six-year-old daughter of Smarty Jones won a 7 1/2-furlong turf allowance race at Canterbury Park on June 2. Bred in Kentucky by 2011 Washington Hall of Fame breeder inductee Grousemont Farm, the $82,417 earner out of A Stark is Born, by Graustark, is a half-sister to Grade 2 stakes winner Nasty Storm, stakes winner Born Winner and stakes-placed Offshore News, who were also bred by Grousemont, the nom-de-plume for Theiline and Doug Scheumann.

  Four-year-old Whosville, a Kentucky-bred son of Grand Slam out of Washington champion three-year-old filly Grinch, by Salt Lake, won a six-furlong allowance at PARX Racing on June 17. The chestnut gelding improved his record to 5-3-2 in 11 starts and has earned $121,550.

 Two-year-old (Southern Hemisphere time) Winning Prize won the Gran Premio Gran Critrium (Arg-G1) at San Isidro in Argentina on May 25. It was the third win in three stakes for the multiple graded stakes winner, whose dam, Winning Ways (Per), is a daughter of former leading Washington sire You and I. The colt was ridden to his eight-length win by Ricardo Jorge, who is currently vying with Russell Baze to be the winningest jockey of all-time.

  Vika, a five-year-old daughter of El Dorado Farms LLC's Matty G won a 1,200-meter maiden race at San Isidro in Argentina on May 26. The Argentina-bred mare is out of Vitaminada, by Roy.

  Mark Dedomenico LLC and North American Horse Company's Evelyn's Dancer earned her first stakes victory in the $48,700 Emerald Downs Stakes run at Hastings Racecourse on June 10. It marked the third win in eight starts for the Kentucky-bred daughter of Songandaprayer-Seraphic Too who has earned $97,814. Running second in the 1 1/16-mile race was Madeira Park, a filly by Langfuhr out of Capilano, by Demons Begone.

  St Nicholas Abbey, a five-year-old son of Montjeu (Ire), won his fourth Group or Grade 1 event, after finishing 4 1/4 lengths on top in the Diamond Jubilee Coronation Cup on June 3 at Epsom in England. The now $3.8-million earner's granddam, Group 1 winner Flamenco Wave, a daughter of former Washington sire and classic-placed Desert Wine, was bred by Washington Hall of Fame breeder Dan J. Agnew and Cardiff Stud Farm. Flamenco Wave produced five stakes winners, including Irish champion Ballingarry. St Nicholas Abbey was ridden by Joseph O'Brien, who also partnered Epsom Derby (G1) winner Camelot on the same card, and are trained by the young rider's father, champion trainer Aiden O'Brien.

  Lucky Thirteen, the son of Swiss Yodeler who won the $7,500 Spring Overnite Sprint Stakes at Lethbridge on June 17, went over the $100,00 mark with his 2 1/2-length win in the 5 1/2-furlong race. It was the17th victory for the eight-year-old California-bred, who was produced out of Magic Rhythm, a daughter of former leading Washington sire Cahill Road. Also winning at Lethbridge on June 17 were Washington-bred Hey Jake, a five-year-old son of Lucky Acres' Kentucky Lucky who took an about six-furlong maiden special weight race; and Fuzzy Pitch, a son of Cascadian who won a five-furlong allowance to give him four lifetime tallies. Hey Jake, out of On Wings She Flys, by Golden Slewpy, was bred by Steve and Sally Meredith, and Fuzzy Pitch, out of the Claim mare Touched by N Angel, is bred and owned by Jackie Smith.

  Seven-year-old Briars Flash earned her second stakes victory in the Saskatchewan Lotteries Handicap run at Marquis Downs on June 22. The Alberta-bred mare by Hurricane Center out of the Son of Briartic mare Briars Button has nine wins and earnings of $120,104.

  Spokane native and 1994 Eclipse Award winning apprentice rider Dale Beckner, 39, rode his 1,000th winner aboard Pompous Time at Presque Isle Downs on May 29, 2012.

  The June 2, 2012, issue of the Los Angeles Times featured an article on Ivan Puhich, 2012 classic winning jockey Mario Gutierrez's agent. The 85-year-old horseman, who grew up around Longacres, has been a jockey's agent since 1944.

Equibase Past Performance App Introduced for iPad

  Equibase Company LLC has unveiled the Equibase iPPs™ Past Performance app for the iPad, the company's first product specifically customized for Apple's popular tablet.

  The Equibase iPPs app, which can be downloaded free from the App Store on an iPad, enables customers to download past performances to their iPad and then "mark-up" the program as if handicapping with a traditional pen and paper.

  "The Equibase iPPs app displays past performance information in a format that can be easily personalized simply by touching the iPad screen," said Hank Zeitlin, president and COO of Equibase. "Whatever marks you make while handicapping using a traditional print program or Daily Racing Form - whether it's circling, highlighting or making specific notes - you can now make and save right on your iPad."

  Users can select from a variety of past performance program formats for every North American racetrack for as little as $2. In addition to Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse programs, harness past performances are also available for download to the app. Additional information is available at equibase.com.

The Jockey Club Announces Project to Identify At-Risk Horses

  The Jockey Club announced on June 13, 2012, plans to develop a statistics-based system that would notify track officials and regulatory veterinarians when a horse that has been entered in a race is facing a heightened risk of injury.

  Dr. Tim Parkin, a noted epidemiologist from the University of Glasgow who has conducted research and studies on Thoroughbreds in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, is currently developing the protocols, which are based on The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database. The project is expected to be complete in August 2012.

  "This project provides us with an exciting opportunity to identify the top risk profiles and focus our interventions on the horses that fit those profiles," said Dr. Parkin, who made a presentation on the potential of such a system at The Jockey Club's Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in August 2011.

  That presentation centered on a complex analysis of data that included more than 1.5 million race starts to identify risk factors for injury. For example, a horse that had made numerous starts in a period between one and six months, while also meeting other similar criteria, would fit the highest risk profile.

  "With this system in place, we can identify the population of horses at markedly increased risk - and potentially implement measures to mitigate that risk," Dr. Parkin said.

  Using data from the Equine Injury Database, racing officials and regulatory veterinarians would receive automatic notifications from racing office software tools provided by InCompass Solutions Inc. The alerts would indicate, based on statistical analysis of patterns in past performances, when a horse presented a heightened risk of injury and needed a closer inspection. Those notices would be sent to regulatory veterinarians and racing office personnel at the racetrack.

  "This development has the potential to be among the most significant advances in the safety of our equine and human athletes," said James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club. "It is only possible because of the excellent participation by racetracks in the Equine Injury Database, which now contains approximately 37,000 injury reports from 86 tracks, representing more than 92 percent of North American racing days."

  Gagliano noted that The Jockey Club, through InCompass, would provide these tools to racetrack and regulatory officials for no additional fee, and that The Jockey Club will be collaborating with the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) to develop the examination protocols that would be used to assist regulatory veterinarians dealing with horses deemed to be at-risk.

Betty Lou Branch

  Betty Lou Branch, 81, died on May 7, 2012, in Des Moines, Washington. Born on November 2, 1930, at home near Carterville, Montana, she was a daughter of five-time leading Longacres trainer and 2012 Washington Racing Hall of Fame nominee Wayne D. Branch and Wauntea Lovitt Branch. Raised in Rosbud, Montana, Betty followed in her father's footsteps and was a noted horsewoman and trainer.

  She was preceded in death by her sister, Loma Ruth Theade; and brother, Dewayne W. Branch. She is survived by her only son, Rocky Robinson; grandchildren, Sara Ashley and Jacob Dylan Robinson; sister, Bonnie June Scanlan; and brother, Billy Lincoln Branch.

Edward "John" Crowley Jr.

  John Crowley, 79, passed away on June 9, 2012, in Spokane. Born in Seattle on July 10, 1933, to Edward and Francis Crowley, his family moved to Spokane when he was boy. His love of sports began as a youth when he played tennis at Comstock Park and both he and his sister worked as lifeguards at the public pools in the Spokane Valley.

  John attended St. Augustine's and Gonzaga Prep and later served in the US Army in the Korean War. After being honorably discharged, he returned to Spokane where he earned a law degree at Gonzaga University, where he would later teach law school classes. After establishing a private practice, he worked as the attorney to Lieutenant Governor John Cherberg.

  John found a passion for horse racing, and after a stint as an owner and breeder, he worked as a steward for the Washington Horse Racing Commission. He later was appointed by the governor to serve as WHRC executive secretary.

  After retiring, he pursued his passions for travel and golf, even partnering with a sister in a travel agency. He traveled throughout Central and South America and all over Asia. He also loved football.

  He is survived by his five children, Colleen (Rich) Elbert; Katherine "Kaki" Crowley; J J (Leslee) Crowley; Mike (Kay) Crowley; and Charles Crowley; and 11 grandchildren; and Jane G. Crowley, the mother of his children.

Karen Elizabeth Hersh

  A little over a month after her husband, Ron Hersh, died on April 18, 2012, Karen Hersh,76, passed away on May 26, 2012. Born on June 29, 1935, in Seattle to Grace Ryan and Clarence Paul Cornwall, Karen grew up in Seattle and on Camano Island. She graduated from Roosevelt High Scholl in 1953.

She loved surrounding herself with nature, horseback riding, berry picking, clam digging, beachcombing and sharing stories around the campfire. She was also active in PTA, Campfire Girls and Boy Scouts.

  She worked for the family-owned Surftech Finishes and also enjoyed several years of working in travel and real estate.

  Karen and Ron raced stakes winner Sendie's Value and bred her Washington champion daughter Casino Lights.

  Karen is survived by daughters, Sheryl (John) Deely and Susan Moore; son, Jeffrey Hersh; and grandchildren, J. James Deely, Daisy Deely, Addison Hersh and Ashley Moore.