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News and notes from around the Thoroughbred racing world, compiled by Thoroughbred Racing Communications, Inc. (TRC) (212.371.5911..)  SKIP AWAY LEADS TRC POLL, HORSE OF THE YEAR NEXT? Skip Away received 15 of 26 first-place votes and 237 points to top the final TRC National Thoroughbred Poll, conducted Tuesday, Nov. 11. Undefeated two-year-old Favorite Trick was second, with 210 points and eight first-place votes. Gentlemen (201 points), Formal Gold (168) and Silver Charm (166) were next, with each getting one first-place vote. Rounding out the Top Ten were Countess Diana (86), Deputy Commander (70), Chief Bearhart (67), Touch Gold (51) and Ajina (46). Only Spinning World (11th) and Elmhurst (15th), among Breeders' Cup winners, didn't make the Top Ten. The TRC National Poll has been perfect as an indicator of Horse of the Year balloting. Since its inception in 1988, the horse who topped the final TRC National Thoroughbred Poll has been named Horse of the Year. Skip Away is the only horse, other than Black Tie Affair in 1991, to head the poll only on its final week. Favorite Trick and Countess Diana became the 10th and 11th two-year-olds to finish in the Top Ten. Favorite Trick, at number two, bested Arazi, who was third in 1991. Eight other juveniles have cracked the final Top Ten: Meadow Star (5th, 1990); Gilded Time (6th, 1992); Eliza (7th, 1992); Brocco (6th, 1993); Phone Chatter (10th, 1993); Flanders (5th, 1994); Timber Country (7th, 1994); and Unbridled's Song (8th, 1995). NEW YORK RACING ASSOCIATION PULLS PLUG ON TV RACES The New York Racing Association (NYRA) stopped sending its signal to New York City OTB Thursday, Nov. 13, after an impasse in negotiations. The present agreement, which ran through June 30, was extended three times, to Sept. 12, Oct. 31 and Nov. 12. 'After continuous negotiations, we have not received anything close to an acceptable offer from New York OTB,' said NYRA President and Chief Operating Officer Terry Meyocks, 'though we extended the most recent agreement three times since June 30 in a good-faith effort to negotiate a new agreement. The in-home simulcasts to the City have had a drastic negative effect on our on-track business.' Since 1994, OTB's telephone wagering has increased 445 percent, mostly attributable, according to Meyocks, to NYRA's sending its signal to New York City OTB. Meyocks added that, since the in-home signal started, attendance has been down at all three NYRA tracks, Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. BREEDERS' CUP TV RATINGS DOWN The national television ratings for the 1997 Breeders' Cup were a 2.2 with a 6 share, down from last year's 2.5 and 8, and the lowest in the 14 years of the Breeders' Cup. The races were up against major college football games between Michigan and Penn State, as well as Nebraska-Missouri and LSU-Alabama. Attendance and handle, though, were both up over last year. CHURCHILL DOWNS' PURSES RISE AGAIN Already offering one the highest purse structures in the country, Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Ky., has raised its overnight purses three percent, beginning Nov. 12. 'This is a direct reflection of the success of Churchill Downs and its racing,' said Don Richardson, vice president of racing. 'The overall quality of our racing creates these benefits.'
Nov. 15, 1990: Alydar, one of the top sires in America and runner-up in all three Triple Crown races to Affirmed, was euthanized at Calumet Farm. Nov. 15, 1995: Jockey Julie Krone rode her 3,000th career winner, in the fourth race at Aqueduct, aboard Dustin's Dreamer. Nov. 16, 1951: The Pimlico Special, then a winner-take-all $15,000 contest, became the first race to be televised nationally. The winner was C.T. Chenery's Bryan G. Nov. 18, 1961: Jockey Eddie Arcaro rode his last career race, finishing third on Endymion in the Pimlico Futurity. He retired with a then-record $30,039,543 in purses. Nov. 18, 1972: Secretariat capped his two-year-old racing season with a 3 1-2-length victory in the Garden State Stakes at Garden State Park. The winner's share of the purse was $179,199, the most Secretariat ever won in a single race. Nov. 18, 1979: In the eighth race at Aqueduct, Laffit Pincay Jr. had his 4,000th career win, aboard Gladiolus. Nov. 19, 1956: Jockey Fernando Toro won his first career race at the Hipodromo, Santiago, Chile. Nov. 19, 1995: Jockey Russell Baze became the first rider to have won 400 races a year for four consecutive years, after he rode Royal Boutique to victory at Golden Gate Fields. Nov. 21, 1971: Secretariat completed his preliminary training at Meadow training center.
Nov. 15, Racehorse Digest, 5:00-5:30 a.m., ESPN
California Juvenile Stakes, 2yo, $100,000g, 1 Mile, Grade III, Bay Meadows Cardinal Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $150,000, 1 1-8 Miles Turf, Grade III, Churchill Downs Flawlessly Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $75,000, 1 Mile Turf, Hollywood Frances A. Genter Handicap, 3yo fillies, $100,000, 7 1-2 Furlongs Turf, Calder Hawthorne Juvenile Stakes, 2yo, $150,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Hawthorne Pete Axthelm Handicap, 3yo, $100,000, 7 1-2 Furlongs Turf, Calder Stuyvesant Handicap, 3&up;, $100,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade III, Aqueduct
Arcangues Handicap, 3&up;, $100,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Hollywood Fifth Avenue Stakes, 2yo fillies, $100,000, 6 Furlongs, Aqueduct Great White Way Stakes, 2yo (c&g;), $100,000, 6 Furlongs, Aqueduct Northern Dancer Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Laurel River City Handicap, 3&up;, $150,000, 1 1-8 Miles Turf, Grade III, Churchill Downs |
