WASHINGTON THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS AND OWNERS ASSOCIATION
 
Gate-to-Wire Newsletter
News from the WTBOA
December 6, 2013

 

Washington Thoroughbred 
2013 STALLION REGISTER

Click here 

for Alphabetical Stallion Listing
Click here
for Listing by Farm

 

Watch for the 2014 Stallion Register!

Coming Soon! 

 

Calendar

 

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

NORTHWEST RACE SERIES NOMINATION DEADLINE

(253) 288-7878;

[email protected]

washingonthroughbred.com

 

Monday, January 6 - Friday, January

10, 2014

KEENELAND JANUARY HORSES OFALL AGES SALE

Lexington, KY (800) 456-3412;

keeneland.com

 

Friday, January 31, 2014

NORTHWEST RACE SERIES LATE EXTENSION DEADLINE

(253) 288-7878;

[email protected]

washingtonthoroughbred.com 

 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

THE JOCKEY CLUB DEADLINE TO NAME FOALS OF 2012

Lexington, KY

(859) 244-2700 or 1 (800) 444-8521; equineline.com

 

Friday, February 14, 2014

WASHINGTON HORSE RACING COMMISSON MEETING

Auburn City Council Chambers, 25 W. Main St.

Auburn, WA (360) 459-6462

 

Saturday, February 22, 2014

WASHINGTON ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

Emerald Downs, Auburn, WA

WTBOA (253) 288-7878

[email protected]

 

Friday, February 28, 2014

WASHINGTON THOROUGHBRED FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE (RACE FOR EDUCATION)

Lexington, KY

(859) 252-8648; [email protected]

 

 

 Quick Links

 

 

HORSES FOR SALE

 

Nice Thoroughbred mares by Monarchos (in foal) and Kitten's Joy; weanlings (including filly by Parading); and horses of racing age. (859) 553-0775 or

(859) 612-7413.

 

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Mission Statement
The Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association seeks to unite and represent those who are interested in breeding, owning, racing and improving Thoroughbreds in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest.

 

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The 2014 Stallion Register is now online!

 

Click here for Stallions (alphabetical)

Click here for Stallions (by farm)

 

Watch for photo pages and print version to come soon!

Don't Miss the

2014 Stallion Season Auction!

 

 Proceeds go to the Sales Incentive Program.

 

Stallion Owners and Managers: Donate a season and receive exposure to broodmare owners in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Breeders: Bid on a season and get a great price

while supporting racing and breeding in

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For more information, contact Julia Wolters at

(253) 288-7878 or by e-mail at

[email protected]

 

Ben's Cat Scores Stakes Win Number 19 in Fabulous Strike Handicap

   King Leatherbury-bred, -owned and -trained Ben's Cat, a seven-year-old son of Gibson Thoroughbred Farms soon to be three-time leading Washington sire Parker's Storm Cat and out of Twofox, by Thirty Eight Paces, added a half-length victory in the $250,000 Fabulous Strike Handicap run at Penn National on November 27. The Maryland-bred gelding, who had taken the 2012 edition of the Fabulous Strike by a head, improved his impressive r�sum� to 24-4-3 from 37 starts and he has $1,862,640 in total earnings. His 2013 earnings of $505,350 have contributed just over half of his sire's $1,090,276 total thorough December 2.

   "He truly is a remarkable horse," commented Leatherbury after his stable star's most recent win.

Summer Hit Six-length Winner in Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap

   John Carver and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's Summer Hit, who was partnered by Russell Baze, took his fourth stakes win and second Grade 3 tally when the four-year-old gelded son of Bertrando won the $100,000 Berkeley Handicap (G3) by six lengths on November 29. Finishing third in the 1 1/16-mile Golden Gate Fields stakes was David Heerensperger's multiple stakes-winning Fire With Fire, a five-year-old son of Distorted Humor.

   Bred by Ken and Jan Height of Arlington, Summer Hit is a half-brother to stakes winner and Emerald Downs champion Starbird Road. He has earned $417,505 in 15 starts with a record of 9-2-2.

   Summer Hit's dam, the Tough Knight mare Mia F Eighteen, is currently a member of Terry and Mary Lou Griffins' Griffin Place broodmare band. Her yearling filly by Harbor the Gold was purchased by trainer Jeff Bonde for $30,000 out of last August's WTBOA sale.

2013 Freshman Sire Leader Nationhood Has Fourth Winner

  Washington's 2013 freshman sire leader Nationhood had his fourth winner, from six starters and a crop of 15, on November 28 when Find Your Spot won a $32,000 maiden claiming race by 2 1/2 lengths at Golden Gate Fields.

  Bred by Rick and Debbie Pabst out of their stakes-winning mare Sudden Departure, by Demons Begone, the new winner races for Where We At and is trained by Jim Penney. A $10,000 2012 WTBOA sale graduate, Find Your Spot had finished second or third in her other two starts and has earned $14,885.

  Nationhood's other three winners are Slewbie Doo, Zafari Nation and Gale Creek.

  An $181,820 stakes-winning son of Cherokee Run, Nationhood hails from the family of champions Gold Beauty, Dayjur and Sky Beauty.

  He stands at the Pabsts' Blue Ribbon Farm in Buckley where his 2014 stud fee is $1,200 live foal.

Another WTBOA Sales Graduate in the News

   In two starts, two-year-old Lotta Attitude, a daughter of Sharp Humor-Kickin' the Clouds, has run second twice, including her neck miss in a six-furlong race on November 23 at Golden Gate Fields. The Blaine Wright trainee races for John and Janene Maryanski and Gerald Schneider.

2013 Breeders' Cup World Championships Addendum

    Mark Dedomenico's other two-year-old filly, Colonel Joan, by Colonel John, who he owns in partnership with Kathy Harty, ran third behind Chriselliam (Ire) and Testa Rossi (Fr) in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).

    Finishing second behind winner New Year's Day in the $2-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), was Foxwoods Champagne Stakes (G1) winner Havana, ridden by Gary Stevens. From the first crop of Belmont Stakes (G1) runner-up Dunkirk, Havana is out of $103,283 winner Missy Turtle (by Kyle's Our Man), a half-sister to stakes winners Chief J Strongbow and Egg Head, stakes-placed Catsuit and $51,367 earner Follow Your Shot. A 2004 daughter of Sir Cat, Follow Your Shot is owned by Pat and Mullen Chinn's Vital Signs Stable, who raced her first foal, two-year-old Fragrant Harbor, at Emerald Downs this year. Fragrant Harbor, a daughter of Harbor the Gold, won a $25,000 maiden claiming race by over four lengths. Follow Your Shot also has a yearling filly by Harbor the Gold named Val de Saire and a 2013 filly by Abraaj named Miss Comfort n Joy. She is expecting a 2014 foal from the first crop of Atta Boy Roy.

Additional Keeneland November Sale Purchases

   Joseph and Rosalia DiPietro (DiPietro Thoroughbreds) purchased a trio of colts through Tim McMurry's Fleetwood Bloodstock, all three of whom are the first foals from their dams. The first is a colt by top sire and Grade 1 winner Songandaprayer and out of a stakes-placed daughter of Greenwood Lake. Canadian Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner Wando is the sire of their chestnut colt, which is out of a half-sister to Grade 1 stakes winner and top international sprinter Euroears. The colt's second dam won the Grade 3 Sorority Stakes. The final colt is a son of Champion two-year-old and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) stakes winner Stevie Wonderboy, and the February 1 foal is out of $201,390 winner Calamari, a half-sister to 2013 stakes-placed Kipling's Joy.

Pegasus Training Center Two-old Sale Alumni

   When three-year-old Midnight Casanova won a $20,000 maiden claiming race at Betfair Hollywood Park on November 12, he became the 40th winner from the 46 starters and 52 horses cataloged in the 2011-12 Pegasus Thoroughbreds Two-year-olds in Training Sales that were held by Mark Dedomenico and Glen Todd.

   As these runners are only four (22 individuals) and three (30 individuals), more is certain to be added to their totals.

   Two horses, With Council (2011 $75,000 Ascot Graduation Stakes at Hastings Race Course) and Broken Sword (2012 $50,000 Juan Gonzalez Memorial Stakes at Santa Rosa) broke their maidens in stakes and another nine were maiden special weight winners.

   Thorough November 21, 2013, the Pegasus alumni had won 83 races and included three additional stakes winners: 2012 $75,000 Fantasy Stakes (Hastings Race Course) winner Innocent Love; 2013 $50,000 Wine Country Stakes (Santa Rosa) winner Catrageous; and 2012 $15,000 Silver Patrona Stakes (Portland Meadows) winner Lady Aragorn.

   Another five runners have placed in stakes, including Blonde Fog, who finished second in the $500,000 Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet Stakes in 2012. The others are Changethechannel, Bluegrass Sapphire, Five Yard Penalty and the sale's top earner so far, Belle Gallantry, who ran third in the 2011 Fantasy Stakes and most recently won a starter/$50,000 optional (N) claiming race in September at Belmont Park en route to earnings of $256,170.

Other News

   Estialescq, a three-year-old Oklahoma-bred daughter of Pulse Ranches' Preachinatthebar out of Laitee Legs, won a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race by four lengths at Remington Park on December 4.

   REV Racing's Valiant Flame scored his second victory in a six-furlong allowance test at Golden Gate on November 24. The three-year-old gelding by Eddington-Joi's Flame, who had finished second in the 2013 Emerald Downs Derby, is trained by Frank Lucarelli. Unraced at two, the gelding has earned $60,675 in 11 starts.

   Karl Krieg's homebred Love Makor, a stakes-placed sister to 2012 Washington horse of the year Makors Finale, won a six-furlong allowance/$30,000 optional (N) claiming race by three lengths at Turf Paradise on November 29. Trained by Valorie Lund, the five-year-old mare by Makors Mark out of 2012 state broodmare of the year Coup de Foudre, by Basket Weave, improved her record to 5-7-4 from 24 starts and the Washington-bred distaffer has earned $83,663.

   Gibson Thoroughbred Farm's three-time leading Washington sire Parker's Storm Cat graded stakes-placed three-year-old half-brother Positively took a seven-furlong allowance race at Churchill Downs by nearly three lengths on November 21. The son of Distorted Humor-Macoumba has earned $155,363.

   2012 Emerald horse of the meet Class Included won her first stakes since being sold by her breeders Michael and Amy Feuerborn to Brittlyn Stable Inc. in late 2012 when she took the $150,000 Treasure Chest Stakes at Delta Downs by six lengths on November 23. Now trained by Ron Faucheux and ridden by Rosie Napravnik, the five-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Include-A Classic Life improved her record to 11-7-0 from 22 starts and her earnings to $507,146.

   Horseplayers Racing Club LLC's (HRC) Glamoride ran second in the $150,000 Louisiana Jewel Stakes for state bred two-year-old fillies at Delta Downs on November 23. The daughter of Ide-Driven has earned $53,060 for the partnership. Sunrise Danseur, a four-year-old Louisiana-bred daughter of Wildcat Shoes, went over the $100,000 mark to $105,508 with her 3 1/2-length victory in a mile claiming race on November 30 at Delta Downs. The filly races for the same partnership. HRC's homebredKatilla Charm, a three-year-old Oklahoma-bred son of Tactical Cat-Daleo's Angel, took a mile and 70 yard allowance race at Remington Park on December 4 in gate-to-wire fashion. He has now won three races and earned $57,922.

   Five-year-old Royal Lahaina (Chapel Royal-Fabulous Bonus, by Bonus Money [GB]), scored her first graded stakes victory in the $300,000 Go for Wand Handicap (G2) run at Aqueduct on November 29. The Kentucky-bred mare won the mile test by 2 1/2 lengths and upped her earnings to $513,830 with her seventh win. Royal Lahaina is a half-sister to Carnation Racing Stables and Ron Crockett Inc.'s young broodmare Laurelhurst Lauren, whose first foal, a filly by Raise the Bluff, sold as a yearling at the 2013 WTBOA summer sale.

   Two-year-old Ontario-bred stakes winner Lexie Lou, a daughter of Sligo Bay (Ire) out of $143,695 winner Oneexecssivenite, a daughter of 1994 and 1995 Washington champion and graded stakes winner Favored One, by Son of Briartic, took the $118,877 South Ocean Stakes for Canadian-bred fillies by three lengths on November 24. Ridden by former three-time leading Longacres rider Gary Boulanger in each of her seven starts, Lexie Lou has earned $294,656.

   The ground-breaking ceremony for Calgary Racetrack and Casino was held on December 4, 2013. The new racetrack will be located north of Calgary next to the CrossIron Shopping Mall.

   The December 2013 issue of Money magazine features an article on Z Thoroughbreds' racing syndicate manager and former airlines executive Steve Zerda titled "Upping the Stakes" in which Zerda is quoted that being involved in racing "is a big improvement over going to an office."

   Bar C Racing Stables Inc.'s Harbor the Gold was featured in the "Stallion News" section of the November 23, 2013 The Blood-Horse in an article about the stallions success on the 2013 Oregon championship card titled "Harbor the Gold Has Red Letter Day in Oregon."

 

 

50 to 1 - A Film About Kentucky Derby Winner Mine That Bird to Arrive in Theaters in March

   Mine That Bird, the underdog racehorse that won the 2009 Kentucky Derby (G1), is the focus of a new Hollywood film 50 to 1 that opens in theaters March 21, 2014.  The news was announced by 50 to 1 director, producer, co-writer and racehorse owner Jim Wilson (Oscar�-winning producer of Dances With Wolves). Starring in the film are Skeet Ulrich (Jericho, Scream, As Good as It Gets), Christian Kane (Leverage), William Devane (24, The Dark Knight Rises), Todd Lowe (True Blood, Gilmore Girls) and newcomer Madelyn Deutch, as well as real-life jockey Calvin Borel, who plays himself in the picture. Faith Conroy co-wrote the script with Wilson.

   The film, which is rooted in New Mexico and shot in over 30 locations throughout the state - from Santa Fe to Las Cruces - will kick off the theatrical release with the world premiere in Albuquerque at the historic KiMo Theatre on March 19.

   50 to 1 is about a misfit group of New Mexico cowboys who find themselves on the journey of a lifetime when their crooked-footed racehorse qualifies for the Kentucky Derby. The cowboys face a series of mishaps on their way to Churchill Downs, becoming the ultimate underdogs in a final showdown with the world's racing elite.

   "I had been waiting for a great racehorse story for a very long time," Wilson said, noting he had read numerous horse racing scripts over the years, "but when I watched what unfolded at the 2009 Kentucky Derby, I was stunned. I've always been a fan of true underdog stories and after meeting the owners, trainer and finally Bird himself, I was hooked. This story had all the cinematic elements you could ask for. It's been a real adventure and one I am proud to share with the world." 

   Wilson won the Academy Award� for Best Picture for Dance With Wolves, which he produced. He also produced The Bodyguard, Wyatt Earp, Sing Vote, Mr. Brooks and Message in a Bottle. Wilson's previous directing credits include Head Above Water, Whirlygirl and the critically-acclaimed documentary about renowned jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., Laffit: All About Winning.

 

 

EQUIBASE MEDIA ADVISORY

 

Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators

 

Indicator

November 2013

November 2012

% Change

Wagering on US. Races*

$905,786,453

$867,892,112

4.37%

US Purses

$106,111,542

$104,460,729

1.58%

US Race Days

371

379

-2.11%

 

Indicator

YTD 2013

YTD 2012

% Change

Wagering on US Races*

$10,174,191,155

$10,084,384,297

0.89%

US Purses

$1,057,264,192

$1,052,778,022 

0.43%

US Race Days

4,820

4,975

-3.12%

* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on US races.

News from The Jockey Club

Customizable Leaders' Lists Introduced on equibase.com

   Which horse has made the most starts in graded stakes in 2013? What jockey has the most victories in graded races on the turf this year?

   Equibase Company LLC has made it easy to access this type of data with the introduction of leaders' lists that can be filtered through a variety of categorical sorts in the Stats Central section on equibase.com.

   Anyone visiting equibase.com to view the standings for horses, jockeys, trainers, and owners can now use these filters and then sort their customized data set in either ascending or descending order by column to view the information from a different perspective.

  The expanded North American racing leaders' lists include every human and equine starter annually back to the year 2000.

  "There are 118 different ways to customize the data in the horse category alone," said Hank Zeitlin, president and chief operating officer for Equibase Company. "And from each of those 118 data sets, you can then sort the list a dozen different ways - by starts, wins and earnings per start - to name just a few."
   Profile pages on equibase.com have also been enhanced to include every graded stakes win for jockeys and trainers since 1976.  Individual profiles for horses, jockeys, trainers, and owners have also been enhanced to include special achievements such as year-end championships honors and Hall of Fame designations.

In Memoriam

Raymond E. Sherman Sr.

   Ray Sherman, 70, longtime head of security at Emerald Downs, passed away on November 17, 2013. Born on December 25, 1942 in Colcord, Oklahoma, Ray was the oldest of 16 children born to Harold and Faye Sherman.

   When Ray was seven, his family moved to Clatskanie, Oregon. Ray excelled in baseball and basketball at Clatskanie High School, from which he graduated in 1960. He then joined the US Air Force and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for several years training guard dogs for the military.

  He was married to Linda Engelhart for 35 years.

  He began his 32-year career in law enforcement in Shelton and joined the Auburn Police Department in 1969 where he rose from the ranks of patrolman to captain. In 1991 he was one of the first Auburn Police Department officers to complete an 11-week law enforcement training course at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

  After retiring from the Auburn Police Department in 1997, he served as director of security for Emerald Downs for 13 years. He also spent more than ten years as a part-time court officer and sergeant with the Pacific Police Department's corrections department.

  Ray was a member of the Auburn Noon Lions for over 25 years and served as its president in 1992. He was awarded the Lions' Melvin Jones Fellowship for his many years of community service and involvement.

  An avid outdoorsman, Ray loved hunting and fishing.

  He was preceded in death by his parents. Ray is survived by Kathleen, his wife of 13 years; children, Sherri (Donnie) Adcox, Raymond Jr. and Robert; stepdaughter, Brittany Hermansen; six grandchildren, Jenette, Jessica, Megan, Marcus, Matthew and Hailey; two great-grandchildren, Jackson and Abbie; and his 15 brothers and sisters.

 

Rose Insernio Vacca

   Rose Vacca, 103, passed away on November 25, 2013. She was born on May 25, 1910, the fourth of nine children of Italian immigrants Nicola and Principia Isernio, on a farm in South Seattle, which is now the site of the Museum of Flight.

   She married Ralph Vacca Sr. in 1934 and they lived their entire 61 years of married life in the Rainier Valley near Sick's Seattle Baseball Stadium until his death in 1995.

   She was employed at Franklin High School and Longacres Racetrack and was known as "Mom" by the students, workers, and neighborhood kids.

  Her many talents included sewing, crocheting, gardening, cooking and baking. Her passion was preparing authentic Italian food on holidays and other special occasions. These meals were anxiously anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed by her family, for whom she had unconditional love.

  A woman guided by faith, she adored and lived for her sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She lived an unselfish life, believing that it is better to give than to receive.

   She leaves a void that cannot be filled, but her loving memory will live on forever.

   She is survived by her two sons, Ralph "Bud" Vacca (longtime horseman and former WTBOA general manager) and Richard "Dick" (Linda) Vacca; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandsons; sister, Louise (Dode) Fusaro; many nieces, nephews and extended family members.

Equine In Memoriam

Hollywood Harbor

   Two-time Washington champion Hollywood Harbor had to be humanely euthanized due to the results of a ruptured stomach on December 3, 2013. The six-year-old gelding, which had being prepared for a 2014 racing comeback, had been vanned to the Washington State University Veterinary School in Pullman for treatment.

   Bred by Pam and Neil Christopherson's Bar C Racing Stable Inc., Hollywood Harbor was purchased by Jody Peetz's One Horse Will Do Corporation for $21,000 out of the 2008 WTBOA Summer Yearling Sale and turned over to trainer Chris Stenslie's care.

   At two, Hollywood Harbor made four starts for One Horse Will Do Corporation and John Holmes. After finishing second in a maiden special weight race in his first outing to the highly thought of Forener, Hollywood Harbor went gate-to-wire for a five-length maiden victory in the Northwest Stallion Strong Ruler Stakes in July - in the first of three consecutive stakes wins. He next added a 5 1/4-length victory, again in gate-to-wire fashion in the open Premio Esmeralda Stakes and capped off his first season of racing with another "pillar to post" win in the mile WTBOA Lads Stakes, which he won by defeating his paternal half-brother Koala Beach by 2 1/2 lengths. With Hollywood Harbor off the racing trail, Koala Beach went on to take the Gottstein Futurity, but since Hollywood Harbor had soundly defeated Koala Beach in each of their three meetings, the Peetz-Holmes runner was an easy choice for year-end championship juvenile honors.

    At three, Hollywood Harbor - now racing in the name of One Horse Will Do and Stenslie - had his only outing in the six-furlong Harry Henson Stakes on April 21 over Hollywood Park's turf course and finished ninth, though only about six lengths behind winner Excessive Passion. It would make his only finish out of the top three spots. He was then put on the shelf for the rest of the year due to injury.

   Returned to his Emerald Downs stomping grounds at four, Hollywood Harbor finished second by a neck to another paternal half-brother - Bogachiel - in an allowance/$50,000 optional claiming race. Hollywood Harbor then reeled off consecutive tallies in two 6 1/2-furlong allowance/optional claimers, the second by nearly six lengths, and in only four ticks off Sabertooth's 1:13 flat track record. He almost made it three in a row, but ended up second by a neck to Davos in a straight allowance race in mid-August in what would be his final start in 2011.

   At five, the quick chestnut would start four times and earn his second championship honors as the state's top sprinter. In his first start of the season, Hollywood Harbor not only drew off to take the 5 1/2-furlong allowance by three lengths, he set a new world record of 1:00.87 for the distance. He next ran third in the Governor's Handicap and then scored a gate-to-wire tally in a six-panel allowance, which he won by three lengths in a speedy 1:07.23. He would run third in what would be his final race, a 6 1/2-furlong allowance, where he was only beaten a neck and a head.

   In 13 lifetime starts, Hollywood Harbor had a record of 7-3-2 and earnings of $137,202.

   One of ten state champions sired by Harbor the Gold, Hollywood Harbor is the leading runner from the first four starters and winners produced out of $127,107 stakes winner Miss Slewette, a 1992 daughter of Slewdledo who won seven races, four of which were two-year-old stakes, and placed in five other stakes in her 18 lifetime starts.