Breeders Cup Champion trotter kidnapped in Italy

From Harnessracing.com

Equinox Bi, who won this year’s Breeders Crown and Maple Leaf Trotting Classic and is scheduled to begin a career as a sire at Blue Chip Farms in New York next February, has been kidnapped from the Gina Biasuzzi Farm near Padua, Italy. There has been no official information regarding the circumstances of the kidnapping, but news of it began spreading throughout Italy, Europe and the US early Friday morning.

Equinox Bi, who is 6 years old, is the fourth trotter of renown to be kidnapped in Italy in the past 10 years. About two years ago Lemon Dra was kidnapped and that horse has never been found.

Equinox Bi was bred by the Biasuzzi family and trained at their farm in northern Italy by Jan Nordin.

Equinox Bi came to the US this summer and competed at the Meadowlands and Mohawk. He finished second in the Nat Ray on Hambletonian Day, then won the Breeders Crown and Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk in September. He earned $774,348 in purses in North America this year, giving him a career bankroll of $1.3 million.

Equinox Bi carries a royal American pedigree. His sire, Valley Boss Bi, is a full brother to Valley Victory. His dam, Personal Banner, raced for George Steinbrenner in the US and was sold to the Biasuzzis before she won the Breeders Crown as a 3 year old. Personal Banner hails from the family of the great Delmonica Hanover.

A top sire can make millions in stud fees for its owner. The only trouble I see is if the horse is stolen, how do you sell Equinox Bi’s progeny? They obviously would be worth quite a bit of money. If the breeding papers say the father was Equinox Bi, I’d think a buyer wouldn’t want to risk money(and his liberty) purchasing stolen property. If the papers don’t say Equinox Bi, then the colt or filly won’t raise as much money at sale time.

Anyone who knows more about the horsebreeding business, please pipe in. I’d love to hear some theories as to what the horsenappers plans could be with Equinox Bi.

Update- Just occurred to me. The kidnappers could ask ransom of Equinox Bi’s owners in return for their horse.

Harness racing driver Joe Hennessey dead at 82

I can not recall ever seeing Joe race, but his son Walter drove many races I attended at Pompano Park here in Florida. Wally is in the Hall of Fame, and I’m sure his father Joe is a great part of why he made it. RIP.

Joe Hennessey, the father of Hall of Fame driver Wally Hennessey, died Monday in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island at the age of 82. Mr. Hennessey was the patriarch of one of the province’s most well-known harness racing families.

Mr. Hennessey drove his first winner in 1943 at Summerside Raceway, directing his father Wal’s horse Dale H to a 4-2-1 summary finish, with the 2:11 victory being the fastest on the race card that day. He went on to drive 923 winners over his career.

Included among Mr. Hennessey’s more well-known horses were Royal At Law, Cheeky Chief, Dominion Byrd, My Darling, John Willie Bob and Callie Hal. Along the way he also helped many young horsemen get their starts in the business, including Ralph (Bo) Shepherd, Jack Pound, Joe Arsenault, Bert McWade, Lorne Hennessey, Maurice Hennessey and Lloyd Duffy.

Mr. Hennnessey was also instrumental in the careers of his sons, which included Danny, Jody and Gordie, besides Wally.

Mr. Hennessey is survived by his wife, Shirley, and 10 children.

Another doomed horse racing track- Vernon Downs

Officials there want to end its racing season early.

VERNON, N.Y. (AP) – After struggling to open this year, a harness track in central New York wants to pull the plug on its racing season to save money.

Officials at Vernon Downs near Utica say they want to cancel the last four racing days of the year. The track’s owners want to close for the season after Saturday’s races. Vernon Downs had been scheduled to race on weekends until November 10th.

The track’s owners were hoping that legislation would be passed in the state Assembly earlier this week that would increase vendor license fees for video lottery at New York’s race tracks.

That would have given track operators a higher percentage of revenue from their video lottery terminals.

The state Senate approved a bill in June, but the Assembly postponed voting on Tuesday because of revenue concerns raised by horsemen’s groups across the state.

The decision to close early must be approved by the state’s Racing and Wagering Board.

My father took me to Vernon Downs once, it was in 1972. The track was 3/4 of a mile then, which is an unusual length for a standardbred venue. Most racing are done on 1/2 mile, 5/8 mile or mile tracks. Pompano Park here in Florida is 5/8ths of a mile around.

Sadly Vernon, like many horse tracks, can’t survive on horse racing alone. In this track’s case, other forms of gambling haven’t created adequate enough revenue to finance racing.(Note Vernon Downs financial difficulties go back many years) Having grown up around the sport of horse, I feel sad at what is happening. In honest truth, I don’t even follow the sport much any more. Take for instance, The Little Brown Jug which some call The Kentucky Derby for Standardbred Pacers, was raced last month. It went totally unnoticed by me.

Side note- The Little Brown Jug website contradicts itself. Saying that Strike Out in 1972 went 156.3 then both a Jug and I believe World Record for a 3-year-old on a half mile track at the time, but on another page saying a record set in 1965 stood till 1977.

I know about Strike Out’s record outing, for I was there. My father owned Fast Clip, the horse who came in second to Strike Out. Clip went 156.4 for the race.

Back to Vernon Downs. Rather than hoping for help from the state legislature, the owners of the track may want to re-evaluate whether horse racing should continue at the track. Another band aid is only putting off the inevitable.

Joanne Nickells, wife of Harness racing trainer Bruce Nickells, dead at age 73

She was married for over 50 years to my late father’s horse racing stable partner.

The matron of the Nickells family, Kathyrn Joanne Nickells, of Lighthouse Point, Florida, passed away on Sunday, June 24, 2007, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Celebrating her birthday on June 13, she had just turned 73.

Mrs. Nickells had been in poor health for some time, but had attended the races at Hoosier Park on many evenings until just a few weeks ago.

She was the wife of noted filly conditioner Bruce Nickells for over 50 years. Nickells’ standout performers have included Miss Easy, p,3,1:51.1 ($1,777,656); Immortality, p,3,1:51 ($1,614,939); Follow My Star, p,4,T1:52.3 ($1,537,503); Park Avenue Kathy, 3,1:56.4 ($553,521); and Central Park West, p,2,1:53.3f ($534,863). His recent promising performer is Me And My Baby, p,2,1:53.1 ($207,336), who is currently competing at the Meadowlands.

In addition to Bruce, Mrs. Nickells is survived by two children. Assisting in the family stable, son Sep Nickells is a trainer-driver. Mrs. Nickells’ daughter, L. Brooke Nickells, runs the Nickells Stable, LLC, currently competing at the tracks in Indiana.

An owner in the Nickells Stable for many years, Mrs. Nickells campaigned horses like Cosmic Crunch, 7,1:54.4 ($287,809); Midnight Cowboy K, 5,1:57.2f ($92,650); Out Of Sight, p,3,1:52.2 ($200,142); and Padre Hanover, 5,1:54.4 ($169,987).

Mrs. Nickells was considered by many as the glue which held the Nickells Stable together. The stable currently includes a filly named in her honor, Kathyrn’s Secret.

She was an avid gardener and enjoyed antiquing. Serving as president of her garden club, the group often raised funds to benefit underprivileged children.

Note- That’s Joanne on the left. This old photo was ironically taken place at the Indiana State Fair in 1973. Indiana was where Joanne died, and where her daughter Brooke still races.

From age 10 till I was 15, I spent many weeks during the summertime traveling with my father as he pursued the race horses of BruBill stables in the mid-west. The horses usually racing at the tracks in the Chicago area, mostly Sportsmans Park, but also at Scioto Down outside of Columbus Ohio. Bruce Nickells, the Bru in Brubill, was an excellent trainer and adequate driver of harness horses. He was also friends with my father, so I spent many days at the Nickells apartment outside Chicago, at their Lighthouse Point home during the winter. My family coming to Florida on vacation for many years before moving to The Sunshine State in 1976.

I blogged about the Nickells family before in this post, mostly concerning Joanne’s daughter Brooke. My memories of Joanne Nickells are good ones, she was very kind to me and my brother George. Unfortunately my father and Bruce had a falling out in the late 70′s. Other than when Joanne came to my mother’s wake and funeral in 1985, I hadn’t seen her in thirty years.

My condolences to the Nickells family. RIP Joanne.

Trotter, Pacer, what’s the difference?

A very weird incident took place in the world of New Zealand harness racing last week.

A decision about charges being laid over a horse mix-up could be made by the end of the week, says Harness Racing New Zealand chief executive Edward Rennell.

At a Forbury Park meeting in Dunedin last week a pacer ran in a race for trotters after being confused with another horse.

For those not knowledgable about harness racing, here is how to tell the difference.

Pacers move both legs on the same side forward in unison. Most wear hopples – straps connecting front and rear legs on the same side. Hopples help the horse keep stride without limiting speed. Trotters move left front and right rear legs forward almost simultaneously, then follow suit with right front and left rear.

Usually trotters do not wear hopples, so tend to go off stride in inexperienced or trying to trot too fast. This is called ‘breaking.’

My father owned harness horses off and on for thirty years. Most were Pacers. The only trotter I remember Dad owning was one named Charlie Zam. He raced in the early 70′s at tracks like Freehold(NJ), Atlantic City and Brandywine(DE).

The two horses were from the Canterbury stable of Murray Edmonds and it wasn’t until after the pacer ran in the trotting race that the error was realised.

Edmonds did not attend the meeting himself and left the horses in the care of fellow trainer Darryn Simpson.

One report said the identities were switched when the horse covers, which carried the horses’ names, were placed on the wrong horses by the driver of the truck that had transported them to Dunedin. In the race itself, the pacer refused to trot and was pulled up soon after the start.

The trotter that was meant to have run in the race was reasonably well supported to be the seventh favourite in a field of 14.

Rennell said investigations were under way and a decision would be made in a few days.

AdvertisementIt appears there was nothing sinister in the mix-up and Rennell said it was unlikely any charges would be in the category of serious, which would attract a very heavy penalty.

I’m, pardon the pun, betting there was nothing sinister in what happened. The other drivers probably said nothing because it meant one less competitor to beat.(The pacer would have been disqualified if he hadn’t been pulled up.) Why the pacer’s driver didn’t notice, is a whole other matter. I’ve never been in a sulky for a race, but I was around horses often enough when age 10 or 11 to see the obvious difference. Was the driver inebriated or daydreaming?

As to the bettors, were their tickets refunded? If I had to make a guess, I’d say no.

3-year-old Rags to Riches wins the Belmont Stakes

She is the first filly to win the triple crown race in over a century.

NEW YORK – Rags to Riches can beat the boys, too. The fabulous filly outdueled Curlin in a breathtaking stretch run and won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, becoming the first of her sex in more than a century to take the final leg of the Triple Crown.

No one was happier with the victory than trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez, who both ended long droughts in Triple Crown races: Pletcher was 0-for-28, Velazquez 0-for-20.

The normally reserved Pletcher was screaming throughout the stretch run, one that had the fans at Belmont Park on their feet roaring as the two stars battled saddlecloth to saddlecloth to the wire.

Rags to Riches, despite a slight stumble at the start, became the third filly to capture the Belmont — Ruthless took the first running in 1867 and Tanya won in 1905. Only 22 fillies have tried the Belmont, with Rags to Riches the first since Silverbulletday finished seventh in 1999.

*****

When the field of seven 3-year-olds made the turn for home, four horses fought for the lead, with Rags to Riches, the Kentucky Oaks winner, on the outside, and Preakness winner Curlin moving between rivals.

And then it became a two-horse race — a true battle of the sexes. In a furious stretch run, with Velazquez urging his filly on, Rags to Riches won by a head — the same margin Curlin edged Street Sense by in the Preakness three weeks ago.

*****

Rags to Riches covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:28.74, well off Secretariat’s track record of 2:24. But time didn’t matter in this one.

Rags to Riches was sent off as the 4-1 second choice and returned $10.60, $4.40 and $3.20. Curlin, with Robby Albarado aboard, paid $3 and $2.30. Tiago was third and returned $3.70.

Hard Spun finished fourth, followed by C P West, Imawildandcrazyguy and Slew’s Tizzy.

It was Pletcher who made the surprise call to run Rags to Riches, who dominated her own division with four straight victories, including the Oaks five weeks ago at Churchill Downs. The nation’s top trainer said the absence of Street Sense, plus his filly’s pedigree added up to taking a shot.

The Belmont, the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown races, is a race that Kentucky Derby winning fillies Winning Colors and Genuine Risk could not win.

Drawing on the bloodlines that carried her father, A.P. Indy, and grandfather, Seattle Slew, to victory in the race, Rags to Riches proved she is as worthy a winner as her half brother, last year’s Belmont winner Jazil.

*****

Rags to Riches almost lost her chance at the start, stumbling out of the No. 7 post as the gates opened. But Velazquez and the filly quickly regained their cool and caught up to the pack. Meanwhile, long-shots C P West and Slew’s Tizzy were setting a slow pace. By the time the field hit the far turn, Rags to Riches took to the outside to make her move. Curlin, though, had to wait to come off the rail.

By the top of the stretch, the filly had the jump and she never gave in despite Curlin’s best effort.

*****

Pletcher wasn’t even going to run Rags to Riches if the top three finishers from the Derby and Preakness met again in New York. But when Street Sense dropped out, Rags to Riches was in, and came through with a history-making victory.

After finishing 2nd in the Preakness, Street Sense’s owners had little to gain by racing in the Belmont and much to lose if a Barbaro like injury occured. Congratulations to the owners of Rags to Riches.

Horse owners want bigger share of slots revenue at Pompano Tracetrack

Pompano Park’s three year agreement with horse owners ended this week. From the Sun-Sentinel-

The horses raced without interruption Wednesday at The Isle Casino & Racing at Pompano Park as uneasy horse owners and track officials remain locked in tense contract negotiations.

The three-year agreement dictating how much the track pays the horsemen ended Tuesday, as a potentially nasty legal battle brews between Pompano Park and the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association. The association is suing the harness track, accusing Pompano Park officials of refusing to give the horsemen a fair cut of the money generated by the new casino’s Las Vegas-style slot machines.

The association — which represents about 600 owners, breeders, trainers and drivers — wants the state to ban the track from operating its slot machines until a revenue-sharing agreement is reached.

Pompano Park officials announced Wednesday that they would increase the money paid out to the horsemen as of tonight’s races.

“We are pleased to say that on average our purses will increase approximately 45 percent and in some of our more popular race classes, the purse will rise more than 50 percent,” said Doug Shipley, Pompano Park’s general manager.

The attorney for the horsemen’s association questioned Thursday whether the increase in purses is temporary until “the heat is off.”

“Even with this supposed 45-50 percent increase, Pompano Park pales in comparison to what other parks are paying out in other jurisdictions,” said attorney Jeffrey Schneider. “This is even inconsistent with their earlier statements [to the news media] where they said the purses would more than double.”

Horse owner Dave Schneider said he’s considering moving his 15 horses at the track out of state.

“What’s making morale low right now is people don’t know what the future is going to bring,” said Schneider, no relation to the attorney. “You are afraid to leave if it gets good, but afraid to stay if it gets bad.”

Schneider’s threat is pretty empty. Horse racing in this country is in serious decline, click here and here for examples. Moving to another state is not going to improve anything for this horse owner.

Yes the horseman should get a proper share from Pompano Park’s new revenue source, but at the same time the racing industry should be grateful. Without the casino, Pompano Park may have died like so many other racetracks.

Decline of horse racing in Maryland

Two years ago the Washington Post ran a story “Making hay in a horse based economy” The gist of the article was that there are plenty of horse farms in Maryland and that it remains a growing industry. The subtext of the article is that it doesn’t matter if Maryland is losing racing to neighboring states, because the horse farms will prosper anyway. Given the anti-slots approach of the Washington Post this is an important case to make.However as this article in the Baltimore Sun makes clear, the failure of horse racing in Maryland will hurt horse breeding in the state.

The breeding industry is also suffering. Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, said the industry “is at a tipping point where people aren’t going to hang on much longer.”"If the MJC follows through with stated plans to cut more racing days to maintain the purses, it will cut into our revenue stream and limit the amount of money we have to reward Maryland-bred horses,” she said. “If Maryland-breds don’t have the opportunity to run and make money, they’ll be encouraged to run somewhere else.”

(MJC is Maryland Jockey Club and it’s the governing body of the horse racing industry in Maryland.)

There is a trickle down effect. The big money in horse breeding is in racing. If the racing industry in Maryland collapses, resources for raising horses will go elsewhere and the horse farms – even for non-racing purposes – will leave the state too.

It’s not likely that the industry will survive unless the purses can match those of neighboring states. That won’t happen unless slots are approved.

I’m against subsidies to any industry. I’m also not convinced that slots are a great idea. It might just be it’s time to let horse industry in Maryland die.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

From Relief pitcher to Horse trainer

That sums up former MLB Pitcher Dan Plesac.

Dan Plesac has turned his lifelong dream into reality. The one-time major league All-Star relief pitcher has made harness racing his new passion after retiring from 18 seasons of playing professional baseball.

“Harness racing has been a love of mine since I was old enough to walk,” Plesac said. “This is what I’ve really wanted to do my entire life.”

Retired in 2004, Plesac, a youthful 45, has turned his hobby into a full-time profession. His Three Up Three Down farm, located in Crown Point, has produced 12 winners who have earned $37,408 under Plesac’s watchful eye. Plesac’s Major League Baseball career started in 1986 with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was a three-time all-star and finished his career ranked fourth for the most pitching appearances in baseball history with 1,064 games.

“I always hoped to have a career that would lead me to be secure enough to train and have my own horses,” Plesac said. “Training horses is a very difficult job. I just want to start at the bottom and get a feel for what I need to do.”

Plesac’s 40-acre, Hoosier State facility includes a six-stall barn and a half-mile training track.

Plesac’s family — mainly his father Joseph Sr., and his brother, Joseph Jr. — have been involved with harness horses for four decades. The family’s first horse, Baby Hoey, was born in 1968 and earned nearly $100,000 during his career.

In April of 2004, Plesac scored his first training victory when his filly Holistic Hanover won. Plesac also had owned the filly’s sire, Ball And Chain.

“To win a race with a horse that I bought, who was sired by a horse that I owned, was just the greatest thrill imaginable,” Plesac said. “That was very special for me and I was more nervous before the race than I ever was when I was pitching.”

In 1972, I remember watching for the first time one of my father’s horses winning a race. In July of that year I watched Charlie Zam win at Brandywine Raceway in Deleware and Fast Clip at Sportsman’s Park in Chicago. After the race, the winner and its owners have their photos taken. I still have one of those photos somewhere around the house. It’s fun to watch your own horse win.

When I attended the races, I saw or met quite a few people from other sports.(Gordie Howe, Richie Allen, Ron Swaboda to name three) Mostly gamblers, but a few owned race horses too. Good luck to Dan with his new career.