IMAGINE Have SHARED the UPSIDE the Most Obvious Way to Try and Answer That Question Is by Measuring Pari-Mutuel Handle in the United States
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January 11, 2016 www.PaulickReport.com SPECIAL The Year Ahead By Ray Paulick One of the things we like to do at the Paulick Report (www. 30 percent from the all-time high of $15.2 billion wagered in paulickreport.com) is ask readers through online polls what 2003. But the number of races run in the U.S. has declined by they think, both on specific issues and general trends within almost the same percentage, 27 percent, over the same num- the industry. ber of years. So, essentially, the amount of money wagered per race has been flat over the last dozen years. One recent poll, for example, asked readers whether 2015 was, in general, a positive or negative year for horse racing. That may be why our readers were so pessimistic when asked Readers responded overwhelmingly (81 percent to 19 per- in a December poll if the Thoroughbred industry is on the right cent) that 2015 was a “positive” year. track or had fallen on the wrong track. More than two-thirds (69 percent) answered “wrong track,” with only 31 percent There was a lot to feel good about. feeling the industry was on the “right track.” For starters, horse racing had its first Triple Crown winner Just like there was a lot to feel positive about in 2015, there since 1978. With those three victories and his tour de force in is a great deal to be concerned about while looking into the the Breeders’ Cup Classic, American Pharoah brought massive Continued on Page 5 publicity to the sport, particularly through social media outlets. There were an estimated 22 million viewers of NBC’s Belmont Stakes coverage, the third highest in history. if you But did the Triple Crown winner have coattails that also trans- could lated to economic gains for the industry? IMAGINE have SHARED THE UPSIDE The most obvious way to try and answer that question is by measuring pari-mutuel handle in the United States. It grew, on one of these well-bred though modestly, at year’s end, winding up just short of $10.7 G1-winning imports: billion dollars – a gain of 1.2 percent from 2014. I’m not sure we can give American Pharoah credit for that growth; some EL PRADO (IRE) early-season numbers were up, and wagering was down in June and August. STREET CRY (IRE) Economic benefits from a superstar horse like American Phar- CANDY RIDE (ARG) oah cannot be measured in short-term analysis. The year-end betting number of $10.7 billion is a decline of New for 2016 HAMPTON COURT ASK RAY Record-Breaking G1 Winner by Legendary Sire REDOUTE’S CHOICE QUESTION: Any predictions for 2016? ANSWER: Arizona Cardinals win the Super Bowl, OPEN HOUSE Michigan State the NCAA men’s basketball tourna- Today – Friday, 1-3pm daily ment, a longshot wins the Kentucky Derby – and no Triple Crown winner. The Chicago Cubs win their first World Se- ries since 1908, and Donald Trump beats Bernie Sanders to become President. The Breeders’ Farm (859) 294-0030 | spendthriftfarm.com www.PaulickReport.com Page 2 Dispersal Spotlight Estate of Sarah J. Leigh By Frank Mitchell The late Gerald Leigh was one of the great sportsman breed- Three Chimneys Farm and as a private adviser, knew ers of our time, and after his early death, Leigh’s daughter Sar- the Leighs well. ah Jane found the energy and wherewithal to continue the work and pleasure so uniquely mixed in our pastime of breeding and “In terms of being able to turn out high-quality classic horses racing the Thoroughbred. from a small group of mares, I’d put Mr. Leigh up there with Fed- erico Tesio,” Rosenberg said. “Gerald started boarding horses And at this 2016 Keeneland January sale, the final hammer with us at Three Chimneys in the mid-1980s, and the mares will come down on the Leigh bloodstock with the dispersal of that Sarah Jane retained after his death stayed on there.” the estate of Sarah J. Leigh. The horses are consigned through Craig and Holly Bandoroff’s De- The broodmare Summer Solo, who nali Stud. sells as Hip 259, is an indicator of some of the lessons that Sarah Leigh “Sarah Jane didn’t have a lot of learned from her father. Looking at the horses, she didn’t do it full time, family, the young mare’s dam Summer but it was a passion she inherited Solstice was a stakes winner by French from her father,” Craig Bandoroff Derby winner Caerleon (by Nijinsky said. “She was in the theater II). Summer Solstice produced two business, and for her, racing and stakes winners, and the second dam breeding were an avocation, rath- produced two stakes winners and two er than a vocation.” stakes-placed runners. Last month at Tattersalls, the But more important than the presence Leigh estate sold its European of black type is the evidence of very high stock, with lots realizing up to racing class in the black type. Sum- 1.1 million guineas for the Pivotal Summer Solo mer Solstice had a full sister named mare Seta, whose second dam is the Leighs’ great mare Bro- Summer Symphony who was group I-placed, and they had a cade, winner of the G1 Prix de la Foret and dam of Barathea half-brother named Gharir who was third in the French 2,000 (Irish 2,000 Guineas, Breeders’ Cup Mile) and Gossamer (Irish Guineas. The best of all the siblings was Act One, who won five 1,000 Guineas, Fillies Mile). of his six starts, including a pair of G1 races in the Criterium International at 2 and the Prix Lupin at 3. In all, this is a small dispersal, consisting of those horses Sarah Leigh had in America: two broodmares, three racing or brood- In keeping with the depth of quality in this family, Summer Solo mare prospects, and a yearling. was G1-placed as a 3-year-old and is in foal for the first time to Horse of the Year Ghostzapper. But volume was never an interest of the Leighs. At his Eydon Hall Stud, Gerald Leigh bred such horses as Barathea, Bosra “I admired the Leighs both as people, for the goodness and gen- Sham, Gossamer, and Markofdistinction. Dan Rosenberg, both erosity, and also for their commitment to breeding the best in his role as former president and chief operating officer of horses possible,” Rosenberg said. PRS Florida Thoroughbred Farm Managers’, Inc. Annual Charity Auction of No-Guarantee Stallion Seasons Auction Preview is January 12th, Auction is Live on January 13th and ends at 8:00 pm, Friday, January 15th. www.starquine.com k3 Time aG1 Winner and bc maile chamkpion fromo the immendiate famtily of kiingmaembo "...might have been the best single turf performance turned in by any horse all year in North America." -Marcus Hersh DRF 1:32 4/5 ARGUABLY THE BEST BRED SON OF TIZNOW FOUR GENERATIONS OF GRADE 1 WINNERS “Wayne Lukas picked Strong Mandate as a yearling and then told me he was among the best 2YOs he had trained. We bred two mares to him.” -Chuck Kidder Inquiries to Grant Williamson at 859.873.7053 www.PaulickReport.com Page 5 Honor Roll Birdatthewire Rewards Connections For Their Vision By Scott Jagow Davona Dale Stakes. Those efforts made her a 5-1 choice in the G1 Kentucky Oaks, where she finished fifth but came out of the race a tad “off,” according to Romans. “We decided to keep her moving and keep her training so she would loosen up and not lose her fitness, and she started getting better and better and came back to her old self,” Romans said. Romans shipped her to California, and Birdatthewire capped off 2015 with a Grade 1 victory in the seven-furlong La Brea. “The best thing is probably her attitude,” said Romans. “You never even know she’s in the barn. If you take care of her, she takes care of you.” For the winter, Birdatthewire is under the care of Tom Proc- tor in California. When she returns to Kentucky in the spring, 2012 Bay Filly, Summer Bird - My Limit, by Wagon a possible target might be the G1 La Troienne at Churchill Limit. Consigned by Pauls Mill to 2013 KEE Jan., Downs, a race Romans won last year with Molly Morgan. PRS $22,000 RNA. Consigned by Select Sales to 2013 Fasig-Tipton July, $37,000 RNA. Consigned by Se- lect Sales to 2013 Fasig-Tipton Oct., purchased by Tom Camp for $23,000. Having a second set of eyes you trust can be a key to success in the Thoroughbred business. For trainer Dale Romans, those eyes belong to longtime horseman Frank Smith. In the fall of 2013, Smith’s gaze fell upon a Summer Bird filly that had failed to meet her reserve in two pre- vious sales that year. She may have been an “awkward young horse,” according to Romans, but Smith’s stamp FEATURED of approval was all he needed. YEARLING SESSION “He has a way of seeing things, and he’s taught me how to see things that maybe other people don’t see on a horse,” said Romans. “He’s done it many times with in- expensive yearlings.” The ownership group Forum Racing IV, which includes Romans and is managed by Tom Camp, snatched up Birdatthewire for $23,000. The filly, bred in Kentucky MIXED SALE – HORSES OF ALL AGES by Lynn and Kathy Jones has since collected nearly 25 times that in earnings ($569,090).