Brock on Brock

Every now and then I’ll receive a tweet. “He’s entered.” Or I’ll get a message on Facebook: “Looks who running at Santa Anita/Monmouth/Belmont/Saratoga tomorrow.” At the suggestion of a friend on Twitter, I finally have him registered on my DRF.com Watch Mail. Got one the other day as a matter of fact.

Brock is in the third race at Belmont Park Wednesday. The race does not have much noteworthy about it. It is just a weekday maiden special weight for a purse of $51,000. Making his sixth career start for trainer Steve Asmussen (photo right), Brock has time and room for improvement to be kind.

At one point, Brock was Mr. Popularity, Joe Cool on Campus, all that and more when he sold as 2-year-old for $2,300,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Calder Sale last March in Florida. As a son of Distorted Humor, and out of the A.P. Indy daughter Tomisue’s Delight, Brock certainly had an impressive catalogue page and it showed as the next richest horse sold was a Smart Strike colt for $825,000.

Distorter Humor had already sired Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brand (gr. 1) winner Funny Cide and a host of other grade 1 stakes winners. Distorted Humor is among the leading producer of stakes winners and earners and demanded a $90,000 stallion fee the year Brock was bred.

But it was mother that brought most of the fire power to Brock’s bloodlines. Tomisue’s Delight won more than $1.2 million on the track include grade 1 stakes such as New York’s Personal Ensign and Ruffian Handicaps. She had already produced a stakes winner (Mr. Sidney) from six foals, of which three were also winners. She also produced Save Big Money, a stakes-place earner of more than $240,000, and is a full sister to 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, both by Horse of the Year A.P. Indy.

Things seem to be going well for Brock after the sale and leading into his career as a race horse. He stayed on schedule with his early training and by the summer, he was in trainer Steve Asmussen’s barn at Saratoga.

Brock went off at a relatively popular 7-to-2 in his first start, but ran into a buzz saw and finished eighth of nine horses that day, more than 18 lengths behind a rookie Stay Thirsty. Stay Thirsty of course, is on a two-graded race winning streak having taken the Jim Dandy (gr. 2) and Woodward (gr. 1) at Saratoga recently. That was Brock’s only start as a 2-year-old.

More than seven months later, Brock tried another group of maidens, this time on the West coast at Santa Anita and at a farther distance of one mile. Although Brock was the second choice of the bettors again and he ran a better race, Brock finished a well beaten fourth, finishing more than 14 lengths behind the winner. Again Brock had met another steamer in Midnight Interlude, who would go on to represent trainer Bob Baffert in the Kentucky Derby on May 7, but it was time for Brock to make some progress.

Brock made his next start at Churchill Downs on May 7; except he was not running in the Kentucky Derby. Brock was still in maiden races, this one just following the Derby. Brock finished seventh, more than six lengths from the winner. The race was far from impressive, but again there was some improvement.

Brock started again at Churchill a month later, but his progress seemed to have flattened as he was fourth for the second time, this time 10 lengths from the lead. In his four career races, he had beaten by a combined 48 lengths.

Brock was not bred for a fast start and his blood dictates that he should like the longer races. But frustration must still creep into the minds of Asmussen or the team now behind Stonerstreet Stables when considering Brock. Stonerstreet, of course, was founded by the late Jess Jackson and runs under the yellow colors made famous by their Horse of the Year winners Curlin and Rachel Alexandra.

And Stonerstreet horses are not for early retirement. Both Curlin and Rachel Alexandra ran in the year following their Horse of the Year award. Certainly – even as blue as Brock’s blood - they are were not ready to give up after only four starts.

And sure enough, Brock responded in his last race, finishing second in a maiden special weight race at Monmouth Park July 11.

Wednesday Brock makes his sixth start in the third race at Belmont Park going a mile around one turn. Belmont Park line maker has Brock listed as the 2-1 favorite and if that holds, it will be the first time Brock walks into the starting gate favored.

Brock has been training well leading up to this race with five furlong bullet work at Monmouth Park in 1:01 2/5 seconds breezing a week ago Monday. Asmussen followed that with another Monday work this today at Belmont, working as easy three furlongs in :38 2/5ths.

Wednesday’s maiden race is a short field with second choice Crushing breaking from the inside post at 5-to-2 odds. The Chad Brown-trained son of Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo seems most comfortable running near the lead, similar to Brock. However, there appears to be no speedsters to lead the way for this race, which makes it a bit more unpredictable. If there is an unusually slow pace, there is every reason to believe that both or either one of those two may lead this race early.

Or any of the six contenders could try to steal the race by trying get a lone lead. On paper, nobody looks like they want the lead, but Post Ranch and RJ's Affair are making their first starts, both with 8-to-1 morning line odds.

However the race may set up or where ever Brock may finish Wednesday, we’ll still be pulling for him here at The Brock Talk.

Similar to when I followed Hall of Fame Cardinal outfielder Lou Brock during my childhood – I’ve been following Brock the horse. I use the DRF.com Watch Mail to follow equine Brock now instead of the Sporting News which I used then to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. And through the miracle that is TVG I will get to see Brock race live Wednesday instead of the days old box scores on which I had to rely in the weekly Sporting News.

I don't really care about Brock Lesner and the Dallas Cowboy status disqualified Brock Marion from my favorite list. But Lou Brock is my all-time favorite baseball player.

Although he needs a win and a direction change in his career, I’ll take my support a step further with equine Brock. There will be some financial support for Brock at Belmont from Brock at Lone Star Park.

Brock on!

Louisiana Dominates Texas Yearling Sale

The Fasig-Tipton Texas Yearling Sale just keeps trudging along. Held in the stable area of Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, a track mired in Magma Entertainment mismanagement, bankruptcies and an elongated ownership change in recent years; and in a state where legislators who appear allergic to the horse racing and breeding industry; the sale has wavered little. Looking at the 2011 numbers after Tuesday’s sale, the trend continues.

“We thought we had a very solid sale,” said Tim Boyce, Fasig-Tipton Texas Sale Director. “We weren’t high fiving anybody after that sale, but in this economy, flat is the new up.”

Fasig-Tipton, the Kentucky-based auction company formed in 1898, has been conducting the Yearling Sale in Texas since Lone Star Park first opened for racing in 1997. Looking at the sale’s history going back to 2002 as published on the Fasig-Tipton website, the previous nine Texas Yearling Sales averaged $11,582 per yearling sold. Tuesday, 225 yearlings sold for $10,628. Last year, 214 yearlings sold for an average of $11,119.

During the last ten Texas Yearling Sales, the highest average was $13,623 for the 241 yearlings sold at the 2007 sale. The lowest average occurred in 2005 when 323 sold for an average of $10,325.

This year, there were several yearlings sold with no reserve as part of the Heiligbrodt Racing Dispersal. An additional 42 thoroughbred sold after the yearling sale as part of the third phase of the Heiligbrodt Racing Dispesal. Those two factors had an adverse effect on the average price of this year’s sale as several of those yearlings left the sale ring Tuesday after the gavel fell at $1,000 or lower.

Yearlings bred in Louisiana dominated the supply with nearly 60% of those catalogued coming from the Pelican state. Oklahoma-breds (14%), Texas-breds (12%) and Kentucky-breds (9%) made up most of the remaining yearlings sold.

It was the Louisiana-breds that also dominated the demand. Of those sold, Louisiana-breds averaged $11,375, Oklahoma-breds $10,113 and Texas-breds brought an average of just $6,580. Purses or prize money in Louisiana and Oklahoma are supplemented by other forms of gaming such slot machines at race tracks in the state. Earlier this year, Texas state legislature again failed to address the issue costing the horse racing and breeding industry in the state millions of dollars.

“If slot legislation was passed in Texas,” Boyce said, “there is no doubt prices at this sale would reflect what is happening in New York where slots legislation has passed.” A recently concluded Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale recently averaged $55,000 for yearlings bred in New York.

The leading buyer at the sale was Texan Ed Wright (photo left with Bernie Flint) from Amarillo who purchased three yearlings for $137,000. While sitting next to trainer Bernie Flint, Wright was the high bidder on a Lemon Drop Kid colt for $63,000, a Grand Slam colt for $45,000 and a colt by Limehouse for $29,000. Despite calling Texas home, Wright said he plans to run his new purchases with Flint in Louisiana and Kentucky.

Flint has saddled more than 3,000 winners and has titles at nine tracks including Keeneland, Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds. Flint also signed the tickets for on a Not For Love colt for $55,000 and $5,600 for colt by Lunarpal.

A Louisiana-bred filly by the Kentucky stallion City Zip topped the sale after dropping the gavel at $78,000. Consigned by Paul Mills Bloodstock for Judice Farms, the chestnut filly out of the stakes winning Malagra mare, Streak of Malagra, went to Bill W. Cunningham who predominantly races near his home in Vinton, Louisiana with trainer Glenn Delahoussaye. It was Delahoussaye who signed the sale ticket on top selling Daecallherdastreak.

Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye (photo left) was also at the Texas Yearling sale, working in his post-riding career as a bloodstock agent. A winner of two Kentucky Derbies, a Preakness and the Belmont Stakes twice, Delahoussaye remains based in California as an independent bloodstock agent and was representing Eclipse Thoroughbred Partnerships at the sale. “Eclipse runs their horses mostly in California, but there are a few of the partners from Louisiana too,” Delahoussaye said. “So I came to look at some Louisiana-breds for them.”

Delahoussaye said it was his first trip to Lone Star Park since retiring from racing in 2003. “I only rode at Lone Star Park a few times in those jockey championships,” he said, “ but I’ve enjoyed coming back. I have a lot of friends here today from Louisiana too.”

Pinhookers were also well represented at the sale with the likes of Bryan Rice, David McKathan and Harold Hatcher all signing tickets. Those yearlings were purchased for potential profits realized by re-selling them in 2-year-old in training sales next spring.

There were no magical moments with million dollar babies at the Fasig-Tipton Texas Yearling Sale. In fact the top seller fell $22,000 short of six figures. But the sale produced solid numbers in a Texas horse racing environment that is in neglect at best and near extinction at worse. Although the sale bears the Texas name and is located in the Lone Star state, it is neighbors in Louisiana, Oklahoma and other states more in tune to horse racing, breeding and sales, that are now reeping the benefits.

Fasig-Tipton Texas Yearling Sale Stays Consistent in Fluid Southwest Market

The Fasig-Tipton Texas Summer Yearling Sale gets underway Tuesday at the company’s sale pavilion located inside the stable area of Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. The Kentucky-based thoroughbred auction company has catalogued 372 yearlings with an additional 70 horses selling as part of the Heiligbrodt Racing Stable Dispersal immediately following.

The Texas division of Fasig-Tipton Company has been conducting sales in Texas since Lone Star Park first opened their doors in 1997. At that time, horse racing and breeding in the Lone Star state was on the verge of tapping into the long believed potential of the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

Although pari-mutuel wagering had been legal just more than a decade, it had taken that long to develop a major horse racing facility in the lucrative market. While much of that potential was realized in the first five years, the track was eventually sold to Magma Entertainment which drove the facility into bankruptcy. While Remington Park in Oklahoma City never filed for financial protection, that track too was owned and managed by Magma, stagnating the regions developing thoroughbred racing and breeding industries.


The Southwest is also a market in which hurricanes Katrina and Rita whipped out entire thoroughbred seasons in New Orleans and Houston in 2005 and 2006.

It is a market in which Texas state legislators continue to strangle the horse racing and breeding industries. While tracks in other states benefit from hosting other forms of gambling, off-track and account wagering, Texas has been stuck in the technological stone ages of horse racing with purses to match.

Just weeks ago in Saratoga, New York, average prices hovered around $300,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Select Yearling Sale. That sale of course, traditionally features some of the most prominent bloodlines and buyers in the world. But days later, Fasig-Tipton hosted their New York Bred Preferred Yearling Sale at Saratoga and averaged nearly $55,000 for the 124 yearlings that were sold.

Last year at this sale, 214 thoroughbred yearlings sold for nearly $2.4 million for an average of $11,119; far short of even the New York-bred numbers in Saratoga. But the Texas division of Fasig-Tipton Company has not only survivied but continued with a level of consistency.


Top selling yearlings at the Texas sale continue to break the six-figure barrier each year and last year’s prices were nearly 10% above those in 2009.

“The dynamics of this sale has certainly changed over the years,” said sale director Tim Boyce. “This (Texas Yearling) sale used to be predominantly for Texas-breds and Kentucky-breds. Now Louisiana-breds, Oklahoma-breds and New Mexico-breds are a big part of this sale.”

Boyce said they will still see a considerable amount of buyers from Texas, but there has been a recent infusion of demand from other states. “Louisiana has really become more lucrative for owners,” Boyce said. “There has been a large growth in purses while the price of training in Louisiana has remained very competitive. You are also starting to see more national like Maggie Moss and Spendthrift race in Louisiana.”

Boyce said that has brought more Louisiana-bred horses to the sale and additional prospective Louisiana owners to bid on them.

“A lot of our horses are sold to the end user who will run them,” Boyce continued, “but the pin-hookers are also starting to realize that Louisiana-breds will sell anywhere [next year in 2-year-old in training sales.] They’ll sell in Texas or they’ll sell in Florida.”

Boyce has again attracted yearlings representing some of the top sires in North America including Dehere, Exchange Rate, Smoke Glacken, Lemon Drop Kid, Lion Heart, Spightstown and Successful Appeal. The sale will also feature six colts and three fillies by perennial Texas leading sire Valid Expectations.

The sale begins at 10 am at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in the stable area at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie located between Dallas and Fort Worth.

Summer Signs Pointing Up For Horse Racing

This year horse racing couldn’t find a star colt, gelding or horse with a with a spy satellite and a bag of sweet feed.

In both male divisions, any talk of season-ending Eclipse awards is usually guided by the “What have you done for me lately” standard. Recent graded stakes winners Stay Thirsty, Coil and First Dude are at least mentioned when the topic turns to champions, even though Coil and First Dude each won their first grade I race of the year in their last starts (Resorts World Casino Haskell and Hollywood Gold Cup respectively) and Stay Thirsty has only two victories of note this year, both only grade 2 (Gotham Stakes and Jim Dandy).

The two biggest stars in the sport so far this year are from the older female ranks in Blind Luck and Havre de Grace. Not that these two very popular and gusty fillies aren’t worthy of their notability, it’s just that it is not often that we get to see their grade 1 races like the Apple Blossum (won by Havre de Grace), the Vanity Handicap (Blind Luck) or the Delaware Handicap (Blind Luck) on network television. Certainly HRTV and TVG help, but few sports fans would recognize Blind Luck.

Having said all that, from a business standpoint, horse racing is experiencing some notably upward signs, both short and long term. The industry has other more reliable indicators of the industry's overall popularity and profitability, but these positive signs are certainly notable.

Colonial Downs just concluded their 32-day season with a 21% increase in average daily attendance while money wagered on live and simulcast racing rose nearly as high, increasing 19.8%. Reducing and changing racing days and post times are attributed to the average gains, but total money bet at Colonial Downs rose slightly over last year as well.

Although purses at Colonial Downs dropped slightly due to less money wagered on Colonial races at other locations, more fans went to and wagered more money on the New Kent, Virginia track’s races this year compared to last. And that is significant in an national economy that is still far from any considerable recovery.

Saratoga, the prestigious, summer resort season located in upstate New York, is also experiencing increases. During the first two weeks of the meeting, attendance is up 1.3% with those folks wagering 4.5% more dollars on the races.

More interesting is the wagering on Saratoga from downstate. Last year, New York OTB was up and running during the Saratoga meeting. Some 50 OTB locations throughout the city closed in December due to bankruptcy caused by state budgetary problems (very long story short), and have since been replaced by simulcast facilities at both Belmont Park and Aqueduct Race Course on Long Island. The New York City fans have responded to the upgrade in facilities and have not been deterred what so ever by lost convenience of the many OTB locations available to them last year. The results speak for themselves as the increase in downstate wagering during the first two weeks of Saratoga have resulted in an increase of 11.4% over last year’s combined on-track handle.

Churchill Downs incorporated also gave investors and racing enthusiasts good news when they release their second quarter and six month figures ended June 30. In a July 27 press release, Churchill Downs Inc., revealed that net revenues from continuing operation for the quarter grew 16% compared to same period last year – to $249.7 million.

The growth was mainly attributed to the continued expansion and growth of CDI’s online and gaming business segments, of which Youbet.com and Harlow’s Casino near Memphis, Tenn., are included. The release also said that net earnings from racing operations increased primarily because of increases in admission, sponsorships, corporate hospitality and broadcast rights during the Kentucky Oaks and Derby.

Further south in the Lone Star State, where things have looked pretty dreary recently since legislation failed to legalize slots machines and casinos at tracks and on Native American reservations. Texas purses are now sure to decrease, while competing tracks in the Midwest and Southwest continue to increase their horsemen’s prize money through revenues from other forms of gaming in their states. One would think optimism for the future of horse racing in Texas would be rolling out of the state faster than a west bound tumbleweed leaving El Paso.

It has been recent headlines in the state that large gaming companies like the Chickasaw Nation’s Global Gaming and Penn National Gaming had invested heavily in Texas racing with large investments in Lone Star Park and Sam Houston Race Park respectively.

Recently, however, Retama Park in San Antonio has revealed they too are entertaining offers from corporations with large gaming interests. The story that appeared recently in the San Antonio Express-News story identified Retama Park CEO Bryan Brown as saying they would not disclose the name of the interested parties, only to say they were publicly traded Las Vegas Companies.

It may be two years before the Texas legislature meets to again and addresses the slot machine at race tracks issue, but potentially having the assets of three large gaming companies in Texas leads to much optimism for the next battle with those apposing additional gaming in Texas.

Despite horse racing's ability to provide a star in the more popular 3-year-old male and older horse divisions, racing fans appear to be showing up and betting their money on the thoroughbred game this summer nonetheless. Even in the wake of the most disheartening sports news in Texas since the 2010 Dallas Cowboys and Texas Longhorn football seasons, there is reason to look toward the future as gaming companies continue to invest in horse racing in the Lone Star state.

No doubt there are plenty of challenges for horse racing currently, but there are also some significant signs this summer that the game is going in the right direction. When there is no stars bringing the fans to the track, that alone presents signs of optimism.

Belmont Stakes Fun Facts.

Besides being the longest of the Triple Crown races at 1-1/2 miles, the Belmont Stakes has a long and illustrious history and is the oldest of the three races. First run in 1867, the Belmont Stakes is the fourth oldest stakes race in North America, but because it was not run in 1911-'12, the Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuously run sporting event in North America having been run every year since 1875.

There are two significant Belmont records that fit the "it'll never be done again" bill. Trainer Woody Stephens won five consecutive Belmonts Stakes from 1982 through 1986 with Conquistador Cielo, Caveat, Swale, Creme Fraiche and Danzig Connection. The seemingly unbeatable standard is Secretariat's world record performance in 1973 when he finished the race in 2:24, a full two seconds faster than Easy Goer in 1989 and A.P. Indy in 1992 who both stopped the clock in 2:26.

Two jockeys have won six Belmont Stakes. Eddie Arcaro accomplished the feat from 1941-'55 and James McLaughlin won six Belmonts between 1882-'88. Julie Krone won the Belmont Stakes on Colonial Affair in 1993 to become the only female jockey to ever take a Triple Crown race.

The Belmont Stakes is perhaps one of the most formful stakes in North America as 60 of the previous 140 winners were favorites. Twelve of those favorites have been odds-odd (less than even odds), with the last two odds-on winners being Affirmed in 1978 at 3-5 and Secretariat who went off at 1-9.

So you're one of those people who like to bet on the grey horse. Good luck in the Belmont. Only two grey horses and one roan have taken the Belmont compared to 53 bay winners and 51 chestnuts.

Alphabetical fans will be interested to know that 20 winner's names began with the letter C. Seventeen horses whose name started with an S have won the Belmont followed by P with 11.

If the long Belmont Stakes exemplifies any quality among it's winners it's stamina. And stamina is one of those mysterious traits that is widely believed to be passed down from generation to generation. So it is worth noting that 15 Belmont winners have been sired by Belmont winners. The great Man o' War leads the list among sires as three of his sons have won the Belmont including 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral. A year later War Admirabl became infamous when he was defeated by Seabiscuit in the match race made famous on the big screen.

Cammando, the 1901 winner, sired Belmont champions Peter Pan (1907) and Colin (1909), two great Belmont winners who now have significant stakes named for them with the Peter Pan being the local prep.

If Rachel Alexandra had run in the Belmont, she would have tried to become only the fourth filly to win the race. Ruthless took the first running in 1867, Tanya won in 1905 and Rags To Riches won a stirring stretch running battle with eventual Horse of the Year Curlin in 2007. Only 22 fillies have tried the Belmont, with Rags to Riches the first since Silverbulletday finished seventh in 1999. The Belmont is a race that Kentucky Derby winning fillies Winning Colors and Genuine Risk could not win.