CIGAR LICENSED BY CMG, PROFITS TO BENEFIT CHARITIES
Horse of the Year Cigar has become the latest superstar to be signed
by CMG Worldwide, Inc. Owner Allen Paulson announced Wednesday that
he had signed an agreement with the licensing company to handle the
rights to Cigar's name, image and likeness, with all profits from the
venture going to charity. The three charities selected by Paulson and
his wife Madeleine are: the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation,
Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund and the Jockeys Guild Disabled
Riders Fund.
'I wanted the offers we've been getting to be handled professionally, ' said Paulson. 'And I wanted to make sure that all profits would go to charities that help horses and horsemen.' The Paulsons have been besieged by people with ideas for products carrying Cigar's likeness since the horse emerged as a superstar last year. Since his victory in the Dubai World Cup in March, the offers have escalated. 'We have been very flattered and we want to do what we can to help promote racing,' said Madeleine Paulson, 'but we also want to protect the integrity of Cigar's image.'
Cigar, who will attempt to tie Citation's modern-era, North American 16-race win streak in Saturday's Citation Challenge at Arlington International Racecourse, is also the leading money-earner in North America with winnings of more than $8 million.
'Everything about Cigar is of championship caliber,' said CMG Worldwide representative Kelly McLane Jones. 'We welcome him to the ranks of our roster of the greatest American legends of the century.' McLane Jones is in the process of reviewing stacks of proposals for Cigar merchandise, 'everything from caps, T-shirts and sweatshirts, to coffee mugs, glasses and debit cards,' she said. 'We've even had discussions with representatives from Visa and MCI for credit cards.' There are plans for Cigar to have his own home page on the CMG Worldwide Internet site, 'hopefully up and running by Saturday, in time for his race,' noted McLane Jones. The site will incorporate photos and the champion's race record and will eventually include information on all licensed products. The site can be accessed on CMG's homepage at www.cmgww.com.
Based in Indianapolis, Ind., CMG Worldwide specializes in managing and promoting famous images. Included in CMG's roster of clients are James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth and Humphrey Bogart and equine greats Secretariat and Ruffian.
CIGAR'S RACE TO BE TELEVISED IN SELECTED FOREIGN COUNTRIES
When Cigar seeks to tie Citation's modern-era North American win
streak in Saturday's Citation Challenge, his attempt will be
televised not only in the U.S. but in selected foreign countries as
well. CBS will provide a feed of the race, which will include pre-
race coverage, the race itself and post-race interviews to its
affiliates in the U.S. on the network's 'Sports Show' from 4:00 to
6:00 p.m. (EDT). Channel Four Racing, based in the United Kingdom,
will air the race July 20. According to Arlington International notes,
an agreement has been made with The Television Corporation to delay-
broadcast the race to 152 countries on Gillette Wide World of Sports.
Middle East Dubai Television will also show the race, as well as
Channel 9 in Australia. Japanese and Hong Kong television are also
expected to air the race.
OLYMPIC THREE-DAY EVENT TEAM IS MOSTLY THOROUGHBREDS
Since Thoroughbreds normally dominate the sport of three-day
eventing, it comes as no surprise that this year's U.S. Olympic squad
will be comprised predominantly of Thoroughbreds. Named to the team
are Bruce Davidson aboard the Thoroughbred Heyday, Jill Henneberg on
the Thoroughbred Nirvana II, David O'Connor aboard Giltedge and Karen
O'Connor on the Thoroughbred Biko. Two individual horse and rider
combinations were also selected -- Dorothy Trapp and her Thoroughbred
Molokai and David O'Connor on Custom Made. Alternates for the squad
were also named. They are: Mara DePuy on Hopper; Kerry Millikin on
Out and About; Karen O'Connor on Worth the Trust; and Mimi Osborn on
Pennylane. Hopper is the only non-Thoroughbred on the list of
alternates.
Of the 10 horses named to the squad, five are former racehorses who have a combined record of one win from 53 starts with earnings of $5, 368. Alternate Worth the Trust, who raced under the name Throttle Up, has the best racing record among the group. He raced 29 times, has the lone victory among his peers and earned $3,838. Molokai, who raced under the name Surf Scene, never won in his six outings and earned a mere $720. Nirvana II raced nine times as Smoked Silver, never finishing better than fourth and earned $810. Alternates Pennylane, a.k.a. Serenalda, and Out and About (who raced under the name Judge Tomasiello) ran seven times and two times, respectively, and didn't earn any money.
Laura Smith, marketing coordinator for the Performance Horse Registry, which tracks the performance of Thoroughbreds and part- Thoroughbreds in equestrian sports, noted that 'at least 80 percent of the horses representing the U.S. in this year's Olympics are of Thoroughbred descent, including the show jumping and dressage horses.'
The Olympic Equestrian competition begins Sunday, July 21. Portions of the cross country phase of the three-day event are scheduled to be broadcast on NBC.
GEAR FOR SPORTS IS OFFICIAL BREEDERS' CUP MERCHANDISER
Joining the ranks of the National Basketball Association and Major
League Baseball, representatives of Breeders' Cup Ltd. have announced
that GEAR for Sports has become the official licensee of Breeders'
Cup merchandise. GEAR for Sports will be responsible for selling
Breeders' Cup merchandise at Woodbine Racecourse, host of this year's
Breeders' Cup Championship Day. Officially licensed merchandise will
be sold at racetrack gift shops, retail stores, through a mail order
catalog and via the Breeders' Cup Internet site on the World Wide Web.
The 1996 Breeders' Cup merchandise became available on July 1.
GEAR for Sports is a leading national sportswear apparel manufacturer headquartered in Lenexa, Kan. Founded in 1974, the company has grown from a small, entrepreneurial sportswear apparel business to a fast-growing national competitor. GEAR for Sports also holds licenses for U.S. Open Tennis, U.S. Open Golf, the PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. Co-founder Barry Golden is a Thoroughbred owner who owns multiple stakes winner Golden Gear, who ran in the 1995 Breeders' Cup Sprint.
ROCKINGHAM PARK CHAIRMAN FEATURED IN PBS SPECIAL
Max Hugel, chairman of the board of Rockingham Park, Salem, N.H.,
will be featured in a Public Broadcasting System documentary on the
occupation of Japan entitled 'Occupied Japan: An Experiment in
Democracy.' The special will air Friday, July 12 on PBS stations.
Check local listings for time. Hugel will be profiled along with
other Americans who served in military intelligence during the
occupation of Japan. Produced by the Oregon Public Broadcasting
Company, the feature traces the transformation of Japan from enemy to
ally, from feudal nation to a titan of world industry and from an
imperial monarchy to democracy in the last 50 years.
CALDER'S FULL-CARD SIMULCASTING-ONLY DAY A SUCCESS
Calder Racecourse's first day of full-card simulcasting without the
additional attraction of a live card was deemed a success by track
management. On-track attendance was 1,371 with a handle of $334,619,
a per-capita average of $244. Calder, located in Miami, Fla., will
continue to offer full-card simulcasting on Wednesdays for the
remainder of the season.
RACING ON THE AIR
July 11 'Racehorse Digest' 3:30-54:00 a.m. ESPNRACING TO HISTORY
July 12, 1971: Bold Ruler, sire of 82 stakes winners, including Secretariat, died at Claiborne Farm.
July 13, 1986: Jockey Kent Desormeaux rode his first winner, a three- year-old filly named Miss Tavern, in the fifth race at Evangeline Downs.
July 14, 1951: In his last race, Calumet Farm's six-year-old Citation won the Hollywood Gold Cup by four lengths, and became racing's first millionaire horse.
July 15, 1966: Dr. Fager won his first race by seven lengths at Aqueduct racetrack. He was sent off at odds of 10-1.
July 15, 1972: After finishing fourth in his racing debut on July 4, Secretariat won his first race, under jockey Paul Feliciano. The six- length victory occurred at Aqueduct.
July 15, 1987: Jack Van Berg became the first trainer to win 5,000 races when he sent Art's Chandelle, a $10,000 claimer, to victory at Arlington Park.
July 17, 1975: Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. notched his 3,000th career victory.
July 18, 1942: Garden State Park officially opened. A crowd of 31, 682 welcomed the return of racing to New Jersey after a 49-year absence.
July 18, 1989: The last Northern Dancer foal to be sold at public auction, later named Northern Park, was purchased by Zenya Yoshida for $2.8 million. The colt's dam was the stakes-winning mare Mrs. Penny.
July 18, 1993: Jockey Gary Stevens topped $100 million in purse earnings after winning the seventh race at Hollywood Park aboard Don't Presume (GB).
July 20, 1965: Ground was broken for the new Belmont Park.
July 20, 1974: Carl Rosen's Chris Evert trounced Miss Musket by 50 lengths in the world's richest match race, a $350,000 winner-take-all contest at Hollywood Park.
July 20, 1988: John Galbreath, founder of Darby Dan Farm, died at age 90. He owned and bred winners of the Kentucky Derby (Proud Clarion) and the Epsom Derby (Roberto).
July 21, 1989: Jockey Chris McCarron notched his 5,000th winner, riding I Sure Hope So to victory in the fifth race at Hollywood Park.
July 22, 1941: Ron Turcotte, the regular rider of Secretariat, was born in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada.
July 23, 1873: Hall of Fame trainer 'Sunny' Jim Fitzsimmons was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.
July 23, 1985: A bay colt, Seattle Dancer, son of Nijinsky II and the mare My Charmer, sold to Robert Sangster for $13.1 million -- the record price for a Thoroughbred. Seattle Dancer, a half brother to 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, raced five times as a three- year-old to earn less than $150,000 from two wins, one second and one third before he was retired. The previous record for a horse sold at auction was $10.2 million, paid by Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum in 1983 for Snaafi Dancer, who never raced.
WEEKEND STAKES |
SATURDAY |
Arlington Citation Challenge, 3&up;, $750,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Arlington
The Arlington Citation Challenge may be 'Mission: Impossible' for
those trying to defeat Cigar. This year he has already won the Dubai
World Cup plus the Donn and Massachusetts Handicaps. Last year's
Horse of the Year is seeking to equal the mark for consecutive
victories by a modern-era U.S.-based horse with his 16th straight
tally. Cigar returns to the races after being slowed down by a
bruised right forefoot which caused him to miss the Grade I Hollywood
Gold Cup. An intriguing field will try and end Cigar's streak.
Unbridled's Song, winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is
perhaps the most unpredictable horse in training and probably one of
the fastest. He will try and return to the winner's circle and get
back in the hunt for an Eclipse Award. He lost the Kentucky Derby and
Peter Pan Stakes while numerous questions about his physical health
lingered. Unbridled's Song will have company up front in the form of
Honour and Glory and Polar Expedition. Honour and Glory scored a
gutsy decision while
beating older horses in the Grade I Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont.
Polar Expedition, an Illinois-bred, won the Grade II Jim Beam Stakes
in 1994 and won this year's Grade II Washington Park Handicap at
Arlington. Tenants Harbor won the Grade II Stephen Foster Handicap at
Churchill Downs. Dramatic Gold, winner of the 1994 Grade I Molson
Million, and Eltish, second in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, both
are trying to live up the promise they once showed.
Hollywood Oaks, 3yo fillies, $200,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade I, Hollywood
Antespend returns to the main track for the Grade I Hollywood Oaks.
This year, she captured a pair of Grade I stakes at Santa Anita, the
Las Virgenes and Santa Anita Oaks. After defeats in the Grade II
Fantasy Stakes and Grade I Kentucky Oaks, Antespend won the Grade III
Honeymoon Handicap at Hollywood on the grass. Listening was an upset
winner of the Grade III Princess Stakes last time out while
Supercilious won the Grade II Railbird Stakes and the Melair Stakes.
Shocker T. Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $100,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Calder
Spend a Buck Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up;, $100,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Calder
New York Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $150,000, 1 1-4 Miles Turf, Grade II, Belmont
Oceanport Handicap, 3&up;, $100,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade III, Monmouth
SUNDAY |
Bel Air Handicap, 3&up;, $125,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade II, Hollywood The Bel Air gives California horses a chance to warm up for a possible confrontation with Cigar in the Grade I Pacific Classic at Del Mar, Aug. 10. Dare and Go, the winner of the Grade I Strub Stakes in 1995, came off a layoff to finish fifth in the Hollywood Gold Cup. Cleante (ARG) was Horse of the Year in Argentina and won the Bates Motel Handicap last year. Dernier Empereur, a Group I winner in Europe, tries the dirt again after finishing fourth in the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup to Cigar in October.
Delaware Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $200,000, 1 1-4 Miles, Grade III, Delaware
Lexington Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, 1 1-4 Miles Turf, Grade III, Belmont
Long Branch Stakes, 3yo, $75,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Monmouth
The Running Horse (https://www.isd1.com/alauck)