Initiated in 2011 with a $1,000 bonus for eligible two-year-olds that broke their maidens at Emerald Downs in maiden special weight, allowance or stakes race, the WTBOA Board of Directors has expanded the popular program.

  Beginning with the 2015 WTBOA Sale, all yearlings and weanlings that go through the sales ring and are made fully eligible will earn a lucrative bonus if they break their maiden at Emerald Downs at age two or three in one of two levels of racing.

An Incentive Program that Awards Homebreds

• A one-time payment of $1,000 when a horse breaks its maiden at Emerald Downs, beginning with the 2016 season.
• Two-year-olds and three-year-olds are eligible for the bonus.
• Payment goes to the owner of the horse at the time that the horse breaks it maiden.
• The payment is made by the WTBOA within 30 days of the win.
• The horse must break its maiden at Emerald Downs.
• The horse must be a Washington-bred.
• The horse must not have gone through any sale (either sold or RNA).
• The horse must break its maiden at the $25,000 level or better.
• The owner(s) must be members of the WTBOA by April 15 of the year in which the bonus is paid. A horse that is managed by a member will also receive the award. For instance, if a racing partnership or syndicate owns the horse, as long as the person who manages the entity is a member, they will receive the bonus.
• The owner of the horse does not have to be the breeder of the horse.

For more fees, eligibility, deadlines and further information on either program, please contact the WTBOA at (253) 288-7878 or e-mail maindesk@wtboa.com.

  2014 WTBOA summer yearling session sale topper My Palmillia made a winning debut on July 16 when the Washington-bred daughter of Tribal Rule-Bella Campana, by Slewdledo, took a five-furlong maiden special weight race on Del Mar's opening day card.

  Owned by Linear Bannasch and Dr. Rodney Orr and trained by Mark Glatt, My Palmillia was bred by Terry and Mary Lou Griffin out of stakes-placed Bella Campana, whose winning dam was a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and Washington horse of the year Rings a Chime. Bella Campana produced a 2015 filly by Harbor the Gold.

  Two yearlings and one broodmare from the same immediate female line are being offered by the Griffins (Hip 31, Hip 75 and Hip 201) at the August 18 WTBOA Summer Sale.

  Eight-year-old Newfound Gold, a Kentucky-bred gelding by Newfoundland-Binntastic, by Lyphard's Wish (Fr), who was a $9,500 RNA at the 2008 WTBOA summer sale, went over the $200,000 mark with win number 12, which occurred in a 5 1/2-furlong starter allowance race at the Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos on July 9.

  Center Point Racing Stables' Arrom Bear came home with his fifth win in ten starts in an allowance/$25,000 optional claiming (N) race at Emerald Downs on July 11. The Frank Lucarelli trainee won the six-panel event by a neck. Bred by Debbie and Rick Pabst, he has earned $50,992. A three-year-old son of Blue Ribbon Farm stallion Nationhood-Lite Nite, by Conquistador Cielo, his half-brother by Atta Boy Roy is being offered by Timothy Donohoe through Blue Ribbon Farm as Hip 8 in the upcoming WTBOA August sale.

  Calamity Kate, the three-year-old daughter of Yes It's True who took the $300,375 Grade 3 Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park on July 11, is yet another graded stakes winner whose second dam was both a stakes winner and WTBOA sales graduate. Calamity Kate, who was also second in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes at two, is the first foal out of Tiznow mare Justmeandmyshadow, a half-sister to Grade 1 stakes winner and sire Officer, as both are offspring of 1994 WTBOA August sale yearling and stakes winner St. Helens Shadow, a daughter of Septieme Ciel bred by Northwest Farms.

  R E V Racing's first-time juvenile starter Mach One Rules drew off  with "complete authority" to win a six-furlong maiden special weight race by 3 3/4 lengths on July 19 at Emerald Downs. Ridden by Leslie Mawing and trained by Frank Lucarelli, the gelded son of Harbor the Gold-Felice the Cat, by Distinctive Cat, was bred in Washington by Pam and Neal Christopherson's Bar C Racing Stables Inc. Not only did Mach One Rules come home with the $11,275 winner's share of the $20,500 purse, he earned a $1,000 Sales Incentive Program bonus and his owners and breeders split $7,300 from the newly instituted Emerald Buy Here/Win Here Program - and that's in addition to any owners' and breeders' awards he will also earn.

   Sabers Drawn Racing's two-year-old Wando Cat (Wando-Summer Alley Cat), in his second start, finished third in the Emerald Express Stakes at Emerald Downs on July 19.

Palmer Photography

Stryke While the Iron's Hot

  Warm weather has been the recent norm in Western Washington, but on Sunday, July 19, it was downright hot, reaching 95°, nearly 20 degrees above normal for the usually tepid Pacific Northwest. Things were even "hotter" at Emerald Downs as 2014 Washington horse of the year, Longacres Mile (G3) winner and even betting choice Stryker Phd strode to the track for the $50,000 Mt. Rainier Handicap on a direct path to Mile 2015. Eight other inspiring runners joined him for the 1 1/16-mile contest, but unlike his close neck victory over Noosito in the Budweiser Handicap, Jim and Mona Hour's superman in horsehair dominated the Mt. Rainier field with a six-length win. It marked the bay gelding's second Mt. Rainier title and he joins Poker Brad, Flamethrowintexan and Noosa Beach as the fourth two-time winner of the stakes race. Stryker Phd's six-length tally is also the greatest win margin in the race's 20 runnings and it must be noted that seven of the last nine Mile winners had their final tune-up in the Mt. Rainier Handicap.

  The speedy Scat Daddybaby set the fractions for the first three-quarters of a mile, but then gave way as Stryker Phd - who was unhurried early as is his habit - hit his stride in the stretch and drew off as a "handy winner." His 1:42.89 final clocking was well behind his 1:40.20 stakes record timing.

  It marked the second stakes win of the weekend for trainer Larry Ross and rider Leslie Mawing.

  "I knew the pace was going to be fast. He grabbed a hold of the bit early, but his forte is coming off the pace," said Mawing. "He likes running at horses. When I made that move, he was just going by horses. When I asked this horse to go, he just gave me a turn of foot and exploded. I just eased him up in the stretch to save him for next time."

  Karl C. Krieg's multiple homebred Washington champion Absolutely Cool (Absolute Harmony-Coup de Foudre) finished with a steady second, three-quarters of the a length the better of fellow Washington champion Del Rio Harbor (Harbor the Gold-Bahati), who races for his breeders Bar C Racing Stables Inc. and Desert Rose Racing LLC. Another Washington champion, Noosito, finished fourth. 2014 Emerald Derby winner Mebossman, who had been among the nominees for the Mt. Rainier Handicap, instead is one of three late entries to the Del Mar Paddock Sale to be held on July 25.

  Bred in Spokane by Char Clark and Todd Havens, six-year-old Stryker Phd - a half-brother to Kama'aina Thoroughbreds' two-time Washington champion Madame Pele - has now won six stakes, placed in six others, including two grade 3 events, and earned $375,651 in 20 starts with a 7-5-5 record. And in another side note, Stryker Phd has now tied two-time Washington horse of the year Noosa Beach's record of six straight Emerald stakes wins set in 2010-11.

Palmer Photography

Barkley Express

  The first two-year-old stakes and the first race of the 2015 Northwest Race Series - the $50,000 Emerald Express Stakes - featured five two-year-old colts and geldings. The stakes was the first of two on the Sunday, July 19, card.

   Only two of the five runners entered in the six furlong stakes had achieved winner's status and the twosome went off as the even money (Barkley) and six-to-five second choice (Gold Rush Dancer). John Parker's Gold Rush Dancer (Private Gold-Dances On Water) set fractions of :22.19, :45.50 as he led into the stretch. Stalking his pace was Barkley, who ridden by Javier Matias, wore down his foe to finish a half-length the better of him in a long stretch drive. Sabers Drawn Racing's Wando Cat (Wando-Summer Alley Cat) came home 6 1/2 lengths further back in third place. Final race time was 1:11.04.

  "He's a pretty class horse," said Matias. "I've been working him in the morning and he's all horse. At the quarter pole I was waiting to ask him for a nice kick and then he gave me a nice kick."

  Barkley, who is now two-for-two after taking a maiden special weight race by 3 1/4 lengths on June 20, races for trainer Howard Belvoir and the Vicki Potter-led syndicate Rising Star Stable III. It marked Belvoir's record fifth win as a trainer in the juvenile stakes.

  The ninth stakes winner for Grade 2 stakes winner and leading second crop sire Munnings, Barkley was purchased by Potter for $21,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The now $38,775 earner is the first foal out of the unraced Medaglia d'Oro mare Numero d'Oro, who is a daughter of $244,795 stakes winner and Grade 2-placed Numero Uno, by Afleet. Barkley's fourth dam was French champion two-year-old filly Silver Cloud.

Palmer Photography

Kent Hill

  Of the five sophomore fillies going against Belle Hill in the $50,000 Kent Handicap on July 18, only Perhaps a Pie had not gone down in defeat to the Aithon Stable LLC colorbearer in the mile Irish Day Handicap, and the outcome proved no different as the field stretched out to 1 1/16 miles.

  Todd and Shawn Hansen's homebred champion Ethan's Baby (Offlee Wild-Hope and Vow), the second betting choice at $3.70-to-one, set the fractions through the first six furlongs. Belle Hill, partnered by Leslie Mawing, raced behind the early leaders - who were becoming a steadily tightening pack - before poking her nose in front in late stretch and gamely edging away to beat a tenacious Ethan's Baby by a length. Gary Barber's Suva Harbor (Rockport Harbor-Queen Dido) finished only a nose back in third. The seven-to-ten favorite tripped the wire at 1:45.14.

  After the race, winning trainer Larry Ross stated that this filly "could be the best horse I've ever trained. It's early, but she's very good."

  "The pace kind of slowed down between the three-eighths pole to about the quarter pole and I was stuck in the pocket," commented Mawing. "I just had to show some patience and wait for a hole to open. I knew I had a lot of horse under me. There was a hole that opened up right after the quarter pole. I was able to take the opportunity and slip through there. And once she saw daylight, she exploded. There was a lot of speed in there so I had to run a smart race. I know she's got the ability to go to the lead because she shot out of the gate at Golden Gate with Russell Baze. I knew there were about three speed horses that were going to come back to me. She's pretty versatile as far as either being on the lead or coming off the pace. I just opted for the latter.

  Bred by prominent horseman Eugene Melnyk and purchased by James Perkins and Mary Holt-Perkins of Issaquah from his dispersal last year as a two-year-old, Belle Hill is a daughter of Sky Mesa out of Canadian Horse of the Year and multiple champion Sealy Hill, a daughter of Point Given who won over $1.7-million and is also the dam of graded stakes winner Hillaby. Belle Hill has three wins and one third from five starts at three and has earned $77,470.

  Also on Saturday, Coal Creek Farm had another nice maiden special weight winner when the Ratcliff family's homebred Dedicated to You, a three-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Purim out of multiple stakes producer One for You, by Dayjur, won a mile event. He is the sixth foal and winner for his winning dam, a twin half-sister to stakes winners Hilltown and Newfound Man, two other stakes-placed runners and Washington broodmare of the year Lorrains Love. Trained by David Martinez, Dedicated to You was ridden to his half-length win by Javier Matias.

  Three more runners came home with their third win of the meet on the July 18 card, as Holmes Harbor, Haleys Rainbow and Diamonds Dena became the ninth, tenth and 11th triple winners.

Palmer Photography

Best Bet

  $33.30-to-one longshot Betrbegone pulled the upset of the season, when after he set a pressured early pace, and then was passed by Mark Dedomenico LLC's Prime Engine (Northern Afleet-Gravy Train's Song) in the stretch, he re-rallied late to take the $50,000 Seattle Slew Handicap by three-quarters of a length over the 2014 Gottstein Futurity winner. Ridden by Leonel Camacho-Flores, Betrbegone finished the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:42.79. One Horse Will Do Corporation's O B Harbor (Harbor the Gold-Flying Memo), who raced just off Betrbegone's lead for the first six panels, finished another 2 1/4 lengths back in third.

  Betrbegone is the fifth Emerald Downs stakes winner conditioned by David Martinez.

  A field of 11, led by four Emerald stakes winners, made it to the post for July 12 stakes, the final sophomore male stakes leading up to the August 9 Emerald Downs Derby. Thetrailerguy, who had won the Coca-Cola Handicap in June, went off as the bettors' choice at $2.20-to-one and finished fifth.

  "I was thinking that this horse has a good speed and if he breaks good, he might take the lead," said Camacho-Flores, who was taking his fourth Emerald stakes victory. "Nobody was pushing me on the front end and so I took the lead. We were going quick early, but it was his own pace. I was sitting still and he was comfortable. As soon as we hit the turn, I thought 'I still have some horse left. We should win this race.'"

  Betrbegone has now won half of his six starts and earned $52,238 for his owner/breeder Howard "Jerry" E. Maggard of Yakima. Maggard also won the race, named in honor of the 1977 Triple Crown winner, in 2009 with Peaceful Reign, when he defeated Emerald champions Noosa Beach and Winning Machine by 4 1/4 lengths.

  Betrbegone is one of a trio of stakes winners this year sired by four-time and current leading Washington sire Parker's Storm Cat. The new stakes winner is one of four foals and two starters out of the placed Tough Knight mare Final Drummer, who also produced Betrbegone's two-time winning full brother Who's Cat Is Dat. While each of Betrbegone's next five dams were all winners, you must go to his sixth dam, Cinema Queen, a 1940 daughter of Tedsim, to find another stakes winner. Three-race winner Cinema Queen produced six winners among her seven foals, led by King Damion, a six-time stakes-winning son of Galla Damion who won 16 races, earned $35,882 and placed in nine stakes at Longacres and Playfair.

Charlie Thomas Wins for ERC 2015

  In his third start for the 188-member Emerald Downs Racing Club, four-year-old Charlie Thomas - ridden by Leslie Mawing - was up late to score a half-length win over 2012 Emerald claimer of the meet Rocky's Quest in a mile $15,000 claiming race, much to the delight of the many of his owners in attendance. The Kentucky-bred gelding by Seeking the Dia-Champion Ride, by Candy Ride (Arg), who is trained by Larry Ross, earned $8,195 for his efforts. In 25 career starts, Charlie Thomas - who was stakes-placed at Emerald Downs last year as a three-year-old - has a record of 4-5-4 and has earned $78,742.

  Sharon Radke-owned and Robert Meeking-trained Polish Dollar recorded his 15th win at Emerald Downs when the nine-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Polish Gift-Spediacci, by Rio's Lark, went gate-to-wire to score in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance/$25,000 optional claiming race on July 12. Bred by Brad Varner and ridden by Leslie Mawing, Polish Dollar has lifetime earnings of $148,762.

   Through July 19, Jeff Metz continues his lead in the trainer rankings with 32 wins, 12 more than second place Frank Lucarelli. Metz also leads Lucarelli by earnings, $284,265 to $281,775. Howard Belvoir occupies the third spot with 19 wins and $256,717 in purses won.

  Julien Couton is still on a roll to take his first Emerald jockey title with 57 wins, a dozen ahead of tied Leslie Mawing and Juan Gutierrez. Mawing leads in earnings category with $662,746. Couton's mounts have brought home $624,815 to keep him second place in that category while Gutierrez ranks third with $471,162.

  Week 12 horse honors were awarded to Karl Krieg's impressive homebred Lady Rosberg, who came flying home to take the mile Boeing Handicap by 5 1/2  lengths on July 5. It marked the fourth stakes win for the five-year-old daughter of Rosberg-Enter Laughing, by Distorted Humor, who has now earned $134,222 and won half of her 14 starts.

  A winner at three, Enter Laughing has produced three other foals and winners, including Lady Rosberg's year-younger full sister Ros's Girl, who is currently racing for Krieg at Canterbury Park and has won four of her seven starts and earned $40,941. Enter Laughing's third dam is a half-sister to champion and Belmont Stakes winner Stage Door Johnny (where he upset up to then unbeaten Triple Crown hopeful Majestic Prince).

  Trainer honors went to Jeff Metz, who was six-for-six during the three-day span and currently leads all Emerald Downs trainers this season with 31 wins. Lidia Gutierrez, who works out of the Metz barn, was named groom of the week.

  Sue and Tim Spooner were lauded as owners of the week. Leslie Mawing was named top jockey and Leo Salas, who works for Rosie Simkins, was named exercise rider of the week.

  Week 13 horse honors were bestowed on Howard Maggard's homebred Seattle Slew Handicap winner Betrbegone (see story above).

  Emerald Racing Club (also see above) was named owner of the week. Trainer Joe Toye and rider Leonel Camacho-Flores topped their respective categories. Victor Hernandez, who works for Betrbegone's winning trainer David Martinez, was named groom of the week. Exercise rider Abbie Johnson, who hails from Doris Harwood's well-kept stable, was named best in her field.

  Four connections to the Mt. Rainier Handicap win were honored in week 14. Impressive six-length winner Stryker Phd (see above), bred by Char Clark Thoroughbreds and Todd Havens, was named best Washington-bred. His trainer, Larry Ross and rider Leslie Mawing topped their categories and were also responsible for Kent Handicap winner Belle Hill. The Ross barn was also lauded with groom of the week honors.

  Rising Star Stables III and Howard Belvoir - who race Emerald Express Stakes winner Barkley - were named owner of the week and exercise rider Brian Allen was honored as best in his division.

  Now six-year-old Nico Suave' added four more wins to his totals this spring while running at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort and Mahoning Valley Race Course.

  After scoring only one win in 2014, in his last start of the season on November 17 when he won a $5,000 claiming race at Mountaineer by 7 1/2 lengths, Nico Suave' has compiled a 4-2-0 record from nine outings and added $30,129 in earnings. His 2015 wins have come at a mile ($7,500 tag), six furlongs ($5,000 tag), 5 1/2-furlongs ($5,000 tag) and six-furlong (allowance/$15,000 optional claimer). In his most recent start, Nico Suave' - who now races for Pendlelton W. Larson Jr. - finished second in a six-furlong starter allowance race at Thistledown on May 23.

  Bred by Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Frank's Cacchiotti Ranch, the son of Lucky Acres' stallion Matty G out of Silken Elegance, by Suave Prospect, had won six races and earned $105,881 during his title earning season. His total record now stands at 12-6-6 from 45 starts with $184,873 earned.

  Trainer Wesley Ward and jockey Gary Boulanger head a stellar field of 2015 Washington Racing Hall of Fame inductees.

  Travel Orb, Washington's horse of the year in 1965 and 1966, was elected in the male horse category, and Ropersandwranglers, winner of  ten stakes at Emerald Downs from 1996-98, won the filly and mare division. Herman Sarkowsky, iconic Seattle businessman who bred and raced three state champions and also campaigned 1993 Eclipse Award winning two-year-old filly Phone Chatter, will be inducted as one of the state's top breeders.
  Boulanger turned in the greatest three-year run in state history, piling up 637 wins and Longacres' riding titles in 1989, 1990 and 1991. His 247 wins in 1991 broke the single-season record set seven seasons earlier by Gary Stevens. A 47-year-old native of Drayton Valley, Alberta, Boulanger has won over 3,200 races in a 20-year career that resumed two years ago at Woodbine.
  Winner of the 1984 Eclipse Award for apprentice jockey, Ward outgrew riding and has developed into one of the nation's foremost trainers. In 2009, Ward became the first American trainer to win at Royal Ascot, a feat he has now achieved six times capped by Undrafted's win in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes last month. A 47-year-old native of Selah,  Ward also had two winners in the 2014 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, and has amassed 34 graded wins overall.
  Travel Orb, a 1962 Washington-bred gelding by *Perambulator-Ay-Say, defeated the great Native Diver in the 1966 Californian Stakes before over 50,000 fans at Hollywood Park. A multiple stakes winner in Washington and California, Travel Orb racked up 18 wins and over $200,000 in purses during his remarkable career.
  Ropersandwranglers, a 1993 California-bred by Endow-Silent Surprise, was one of the first superstars at Emerald Downs. Conditioned by Washington Hall of Fame trainer Bud Klokstad, she racked up five division titles at Emerald Downs, winning seven straight stakes in one stretch and was 13-for-20 overall.
  Earlier this year, Robert Geller was bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award for his 19-plus seasons as Emerald Downs' track announcer.

  Portland Meadows will open for training on September 5 in order to get ready for a 2015-16 meet which will start on October 5 and go through February 16. The meet will run on a Monday-Tuesday schedule with a noon post time.

  At their July 15-16, 2015, summer meeting, the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) voted to adopt a new model rule which would require all horses of racing age to be registered twice - first with their respective Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarter Horse associations, and then again with the ARCI as a "race horse" in order that the ARCI will be able to "expand and improve its multi-jurisdictional record-keeping." The effective date would be January 1, 2017. The ruling would make it a prerequisite for race entry within participating North American jurisdictions.

  According to the ARCI, among the benefits this double-registration would give are: facilitate the electronic submission of veterinary records to commissions; and help safeguard retired from racing horses.

  Future plans are to have breed registries offer a single one-stop registration which covers both breed and ARCI requirements.

  The US Senate Finance Committee completed its work on a tax extenders bill in a markup session on July 21, 2015, and approved the resulting document by a 23-to-three vote. The bill contains tax provisions to help families, individuals and small businesses, including specific incentives supported by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) because they spur investment in the horse racing industry. 

  Led by three-year tax depreciation for all racehorses, the bill also reinstates 50 percent bonus depreciation and the $500,000 Sec. 179 expense allowance. Each of these incentives has been in place over the past several years, with the amount of the Sec. 179 expense allowance often fluctuating from one year to the next. The two-year tax extender bill would be retroactive to January 1, 2015, and continue through 2016.

   "A multi-year extension of these incentives will create horse industry jobs and support horse owners who need time and certainty to thoughtfully plan their investment strategies," said NTRAPresident and CEO Alex Waldrop. "Three-year depreciation for all racehorses has been a primary focus of the NTRA's federal legislative team since we first secured this more equitable depreciation schedule in the 2008 Farm Bill."

  Prior to the 2008 Farm Bill, which became effective January 1, 2009, racehorses 24 months of age and younger when purchased and placed in service were depreciated on a seven-year schedule that did not accurately reflect the length of a typical racehorse's career; only racehorses over 24 months old were depreciated using a three-year schedule. The NTRA, along with current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), identified this inequity and worked to have it modified in the 2008 Farm Bill.

  Fifty percent bonus depreciation and the Sec. 179 expense allowance are available to all small businesses, including those in the horse racing industry.

  Fifty percent bonus depreciation permits taxpayers to depreciate in the first year 50 percent of qualified new depreciable property purchased and placed in service. Yearlings that are put into a training program are one example of qualified new depreciable property.

  The Sec. 179 expense allowance is set at $500,000 in the tax extenders bill, with a $2-million investment threshold, for qualified new or used property purchased and placed in service. For every dollar of investment over the $2-million threshold, the expense allowance is reduced by a dollar. A common example of used property in the horse racing industry is a broodmare that had a prior use as a racehorse or broodmare.

  The NTRA will continue to advocate for inclusion of the three-year depreciation provision in the tax extender bill as that bill works its way through the federal legislative process and will periodically update the horse industry as to its progress.

  In a statement released on July 16, 2015, to address the "Thoroughbred Horseracing Integrity Act of 2015" made by Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Congressman Andy Barr on July 16, 2015, the National HBPA voices strong opposition to this proposed bill. The National HBPA represents the largest group of horsemen within North America among its 30 affiliates.

  Each of the horsemen's groups is strong supporters of national uniformity in medication policies, and we all are aware of the significant progress made towards adopting uniformity. In the last year and a half alone our industry has seen an increase in racing states adoption of Controlled Therapeutic Substances utilization, to include 70% of the nation's pari-mutuel handle. However, we are opposed to any form of legislation that interferes with the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (IHA). We plan to review and analyze the bill in order to understand the bill in its entirety. At that time we will be prepared to issue further statements to ensure we stand for, and protect the rights empowered to all horsemen by the IHA.

  Two Pt Conversion became the second winner for her freshman sire, El Dorado Farms LLC's Coast Guard, when the first-time starter won a maiden $12,500 by 5 1/4 lengths on July 18 at Emerald Downs. The new winner, who is trained by Frank Lucarelli and ridden by Leslie Mawing, runs as a homebred for Carlos Cerna, Bill Trabold and Ron Hagen. The winning Washington-bred filly is out of the winning Tribunal mare Clearpoint.

  Three-year-old Sheelfly for Gold went gate-to-wire to win an about 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race at Crooked River Roundup by nearly five lengths on July 16. Owned and trained by Emil Abrahamson Jr., the daughter of Harbor the Gold-Sheelfly, by Cee's Tizzy, was bred in Washington by Rick Lee and Jody Hale.

  Three Thoroughbred stakes were offered on the final card of the 2015 Crooked River Roundup in Prineville, Oregon on July 18. Six-year-old Keepherrockin, by Nucay out of Wind Trail, won the Gloria Simonis Stakes for Oregon-bred distaffers for owner/trainer Tim Abraham with Shame On Rosie, by Seattle Shamus, second and Sea Harbor Go, by Harbor the Gold, third in the about 5 1/2-furlong race. Kentucky-breds won the other two stakes with Legal Victory, by Lawyer Ron, taking the Prineville HBPA Stakes and It Doesn't Add Up, by Speightstown, victorious in the Art Smith Memorial Stakes. Also winning over the four-day meet was Carl Seymour's five-year-old Washington-bred gelding Thirst for First, a son of Prospected-Sabotage Power, by La Saboteur, bred by Jason Homer who took his third win in five starts in an about seven furlong allowance; Disco D,  a seven-year-old gelding by Delineator out of stakes winner Sherries Disco, by Certain Times, bred in Washington by Clemens View Farm, took his 11th victory in an about five-furlong allowance and upped his earnings to $42,502; and four-year-old Top of Union, a Washington-bred son of He's Tops-Top Union, by Dixie Union, went gate-to-wire to win an about five-furlong maiden special weight race by 13 lengths.

  Dr. George Todaro and trainer Jerry-Hollendorfer's Husband's Folly won a mile allowance at Del Mar on July 18. The seven-year-old California-bred son of Decarchy has won or placed in 22 of his 38 starts and earned $325,724.

  2013 Auburn Stakes winner Finallygotabentley, who was bred and raced by the late Jerre Paxton's Northwest Farms LLC, took a $12,500 claiming race by 3 1/2 lengths on July 8 at Los Alamitos' Thoroughbred meet. The five-year-old gelded son of Bernardini out of Paxton's Emerald Downs champion Smart Deb, by Smart Strike, has earned $104,718.  Finallygotabentley is now trained by Vann Belvoir.

  David Mowat's (Ten Broeck Farm) Grade 1 stakes winner Sunset Glow, a three-year-old daughter of Exchange Rate, finished second in the $200,000 San Clemente Handicap (G2) run at Del Mar on July 19 to Prize Exhibit (GB). The well-traveled Sunset Glow - who has raced at six different tracks in nine starts, including Ascot in England for 2015 Washington Racing Hall of Fame trainer inductee Wesley Ward - has a record of 3-5-1 and earnings of $630,145.

  Ed Bloom and partners' Dr. Fager's Gal, a three-year-old New York-bred daughter of Wild Desert, took a six-panel allowance/$40,000 optional claiming (N) race at Del Mar by nearly three lengths on July 18 to push her earnings to $96,380.  Former WTBOA Sale yearling and $108,113 earner Lotta Attitude, by Sharp Humor, was claimed by trainer Carla Gaines out of the race.

  David Heerensperger and Jose Nelson's Grade 1-winning Argentine and US stakes winner Winning Prize (Arg) finished second by a head to his paternal half-brother Pure Tactics in the $86,350 Wickerr Stakes, a mile turf race run at Del Mar on July 23. The six-year-old son of Pure Prize out of Winning Ways - a Peruvian-bred daughter of former leading Washington sire You and I - has won or placed in ten stakes and earned $684.033.

  On July 18, Horseplayers Racing Club LLC and Nancy Vanier's homebred Boom Box, a three-year-old Illinois-bred son of Straight Line, won a $25,000 maiden claiming race at Arlington Park on July 18. It marked the 22nd win for HRC in 2015.

  Dream Star Farm's Council Member's three-year-old daughter Council Rules added her second win in five tries after she won a $16,000 claiming race at Sacramento on July 16. The filly out of Playful Sara, by Fast Play - who was bred in California by Karen and Mickey Taylor LLC and was making her first start since April 5 - has earned $19,765.

  High Dollar Woman, a sophomore Kentucky-bred daughter of Super Saver, scored a one-length win in the $200,000 Indiana Oaks (G2) at Indiana Downs on July 18. Her dam, multiple graded stakes-placed, $101,110 earner Melissa Jo, by Fusaichi Pegasus, is a half-sister to Washington horse of the year and Longacres Mile (G3) winner No Giveaway and two-time Washington champion and stakes producer Youcan'ttakeme (who has a colt by Harbor the Gold entered in the 2015 WTBOA sale). All three siblings are out of Washington broodmare of the year Takeaway, whose two champions were bred by the late Herman Sarkowsky - who will be induced into the Washington Racing Hall of Fame next month.

  Tropics, the now seven-year-old horse by Speightstown who became the fourth stakes winner for Washington broodmare of the year Taj Aire, a Washington-bred daughter of Taj Alriyadh bred by John and Doris Konecny, when he won the Hopeful Stakes in England in 2013, finished second in the Group 1 Darley July Cup for the second year in a row at Newmarket on July 7. Tropics, who is owned and trained by Dean Ivory, lost the high class turf sprint - which was  run in 1:09.34 - by a nose to three-year-old Muhaarar, by Oasis Dream. According to the report in the July 12 Thoroughbred Daily News, "...Tropics and the habitual front-runner Astaire shared the pace-setting duties clocking sub 11-second splits..." Ivory commented after the race, "He traveled so strongly, but it wasn't the ideal ground for him. I thought he's take all the beating, but he was just unlucky and we'll keep going with him and hopefully get that Group 1. I have so much faith in this horse and he's a champ, so I'd just love to prove it to everybody. I'll get that Group 1." Tropics earned £107,500 for his runner-up effort and improved his record, in which he has won four English stakes races, to 8-6-1 from 26 starts. He has earned $754,320. Taj Aire's 11 raced foals have total earnings of $1,830,117.

  El Dorado Farms LLC's Abraaj was represented by another winner from his second crop when on July 11 three-year-old filly Diamond Push Her, bred by Rob McDonald in British Columbia, won a 6 1/2-furlong maiden claiming race by 2 1/4 lengths at Hastings Racecourse in her first lifetime start. The new winner is out of Push Her, by Devil His Due.

  Mark Dedomenico LLC's and North American Thoroughbred Horse Company Inc.'s five-year-old Dear Lilly took her sixth win in 12 starts when the Florida-bred daughter of Graeme Hall-Lilly Marlene, by Lost Soldier, won an allowance/$25,000 optional claiming race at Hastings Racecourse on July 18. She has earnings of $68,121.

  Coal Creek Farm homebred filly My Heart Goes On's maiden special weight win was featured in the Shadwell Farm ad for Albertus Maximus which appeared in the July 18, 2015, The Blood-Horse. As her sire's initial winner, Coal Creek Farm received a $5,000 bonus from Shadwell Farm's breeder incentive program.

Robert "Bob" W. Hall

  Known as "The Guv" in West Coast racing circles, Bob Hall, who passed away on July 22, 2015,at age 85, was best known for being the owner and trainer of one of Canada's greatest horses, George Royal.

  Bob was born in Sligo, Ireland, on April 19, 1930, and had a love of horses from the first part of his life. He moved to Canada in 1954 at age 24 and worked for Dot's Log Co. at Knight's Inlet before going to work for Dr. Sargent with his horses in Southlands, a part of Vancouver. There he met Mrs. Gormley, who needed a gallop-boy for her racehorses. Once on board with her stable she saw to it that he got his trainer's license (in 1956). He started with  six head,  including Beau Sierra, who won an allowance race and two stakes races at old Sandown.

  Earl Marks asked Bob to train Never Out and Somerworth. Marks had not won a race in 14 years. Hall won the first race of the year for him and soon started to make a name for himself with horses like Desert Fire, a $1,100 claim that won the 1959 Premiers. In 1960 he won the British Columbia Futurity with Ky Look and in 1961 he finished second in the Futurity with Polly Royal. Two years later Bob bought and trained Polly Royal's younger half-brother, George Royal, who became the best route and grass horse ever to come out of Canada and was voted Canada's Horse of the Year in 1965. The Cloverdale, BC-foaled runner was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame 11 years later.

 After George Royal came Timber Music. In 1971 she became the first filly to be voted the horse of the year in British Columbia. Among his other notable runners from his small homebred stable were Screaming Sue, the champion filly or mare, and top BC-bred older horse, Big Brac.

    After his retirement in 1981 The Guv has passed on his wisdom to many young trainers starting out, offering advice when asked and even giving them a horse he has bred.

  Bob and his wife, Ann Hall, have left a legacy of which they were very proud. Along with the horses they raised six children at Emerald Acres, "the farm that George Royal built." Three of them are heavily involved in horse racing: Sandra Loseth as a trainer, breeder and owner; Jennifer Johnson and Phil Hall are also trainers and owners. Granddaughter Christine Loseth started her career as a trainer at Hastings in 2011 with three wins from her first nine starts. Grandson Justin Jensen is a jockey at Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino.