Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

Opening Day, May 11, 2002

Monmouth Park opened its gates on its 57th season of thoroughbred racing at the shore oval.  With the state's horseman and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority coming to agreement on racing dates for the year optimism runs high for another outstanding meet.  The Monmouth meet opened early this year, due to Atlantic City Race Course deferring its days to Monmouth, running the weekends of  May 11 &12, 18 & 19, 25-27 and May 30-June 2. Starting June 4 racing will then run normal five day weeks (Wednesday-Sunday) until September 1. Among the new outfits at Monmouth this year are stables trained by Mark Hennig, Chuck Simon, Ronny Werner and Allen Iwinski.  Joe Bravo is back in the saddle after breaking his leg last year and is expected to battle with the other top jocks at Monmouth including last years riding champ, Eibar Coa.  In addition,  journeyman Craig Staples, from Australia, joins apprentice riders Nelson Arroyo and Lynn Rice as new comers to the Jersey Shore jockey colony.

Along with purses averaging better than $300,000 per day, some improvements have been made to the Monmouth facility.  The second floor clubhouse has been completely renovated with new simulcast facilities, the dining room has been refurbished, a new bandstand has been constructed for weekend entertainment and a modernized cooling-heating-venting system for better air quality has been installed.  As for the racing surfaces, the turf course, which was beaten to shreds by the army worms last year, has been resodded. 

Opening day saw 18,067 pass through the gates to wager on the opening day stake, The $50,000 Open Mind Handicap, for registered NJ bred fillies and mares three and up, contested at six furlongs in race ten.  Silent Serenade beat a field of nine starters as Dean Butler rode the six year old daughter of Blaire of Trumpets to victory for owner C.L.S. Stable and trainer Charles Carlisimo, Jr.   Sunday, May 12, featured eleven registered NJ breds contesting six furlongs in the $50,000 John J. Reilly Handicap.  Summer Swing, a five year old gelding trained by Kevin Sleeter for owner Gerald Sleeter, got up at the wire in an exciting finish beating some heavy hitters including Sea Of Tranquility, H.M.S. Jackson, Loaded Gun and Thistyranthasclass.  See the Monmouth Park page for more details of all the weekends action. 

News and Notes

Weekends, May 18-27, 2002

• Joe Bravo continued his torrid riding pace winning ten races on the May 18-19 cards, riding six winners on Saturday the 18th. On May 25th Bravo won the featured Revidere Stakes aboard three-year-old filly, Once Around, trained by Vicki Oliver for owner G. Watts Humphrey, Jr. 
• Speaking of the Vicki Oliver she is having a great start to the Monmouth meeting as she sent out Once Around to win the Revidere on May 25th and then she saddled Southern Fiction on May 27th to win the Monmouth Beach Stakes. 
• A Memorial Day crowd of 16,824 was in attendance at Monmouth Park on Monday featuring the $100,000 Jersey Derby (G3).  Attendance at Monmouth for the three-day Memorial Day Holiday weekend totaled 49,314, largest of any racetrack in the nation by a wide margin. 
• Linda Rice trainee, Sparkling Number, won the Thomas J. Malley Stakes for owner Richard L. Golden as Jose C. Ferrer was aboard for the victory. The Rice-Ferrer combination was very successful last year and looks to be in early form again this season. 
• On May 26th Jose C. Ferrer rode Monmouth veteran Sea Of Tranquility to victory in the Frisk Me Now Stakes for trainer Richard Paulus and owner Triple M. Farm and then came back a race later on the same card to ride Sparkling Number for Linda Rice in the Malley sweeping the days features. Ferrer was also set to ride eventual winner of the Jersey Derby, Emergency Status on May 27th but was taken to the hospital for observation after suffering a fall in an earlier race and was thus not able to ride his remaining days mounts. Roberto Alavarado, Jr., picked up the mount on the Derek Ryan trainee, Emergency Status, and won the Grade III event at odds of 55/1.

News and Notes

June 1, 2002

The meets leading rider, Joe Bravo, was involved in a spill in the seventh race on Thursday's card (5/30) and suffered a broken wrist.  After emergency surgery Thursday at Monmouth Medical Center orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Torpey announced that the healing and rehab process for the injury will be approximately three months.  Bravo, the eight time Monmouth riding champ, will thus be sidelined for the remainder of the current meeting.  Torpey commented to the media that Bravo's prognosis is good and that he will need one more surgery to remove five pins that were inserted into the wrist in the first surgery.  Bravo led the Monmouth jockey colony with 21 victories going into Thursday's action.

Monmouth

June 4, 2002
Injury stops new, improved Bravo
By RYAN GOLDBERG   Daily Racing Form

OCEANPORT, N.J. - It was 11:15 last Thursday morning, and the jockeys' room at Monmouth Park was quiet as riders and valets began to trickle in. Joe Bravo, the meet's eight-time riding champion, was already at his
locker, raring to go on an ordinary weekday card. 

Bravo was off to the best start of his career, having won 20 races in seven days, including six on a single program that started a 10-win weekend, May 18-19. In winning six races, he equaled the track record and became the first jockey to accomplish the feat twice at Monmouth. Bravo, 32, was as excited as a bug boy, and he credited his success to an unexpected source.

"The injury has been a godsend," Bravo said Thursday morning, referring to the leg injury he suffered last July that sidelined him eight months. "My mindset has been 100 percent different.

"Before the injury, a six-win day would have been just another day in the office," Bravo said. "The old Joe Bravo, after winning six races, would have been out all night partying on the Jersey Shore. The new Joe Bravo went home, ordered in, relaxed, and handicapped the next day's races. I'm just thankful to be doing so well after the injury."

In only four hours, Bravo's outstanding meet came to a crashing end.

In the seventh race, Bravo swerved his mount, Oh My Pretty Halo, going into the clubhouse turn after Mato and jockey Eibar Coa took a spill. Bravo was thrown from his mount and landed on his left arm, breaking his wrist. He faces three to four months of rehab that will test the new strength he found since injuring his leg last summer.

Is there any way to find optimism in this injury, as he did when he hurt his leg?

"I just don't know right now," Bravo said from his home Sunday, after being released from the hospital. "There must be some reason why this happened."

Regardless of the reason, the effect was devastating. He was on pace to eclipse the meet record of 171 wins set by Chris Antley and had set a goal to join the country's top tier of jockeys.

Regarding his leg injury, Bravo on Thursday morning said: "I never worked to be better as a jockey before the injury. I never had to think about it. Racing had become pretty easy. After 15 years it turned too much into a job. The injury changed all that.

"I want to fly around and ride Grade 1's. I want to keep pushing the envelope. I want to step up to the plate, to the major leagues. This could be the summer to push me to the next level. I'm not going to let anything
get in my way."

Now, Bravo will have to wait.

Monmouth

June 4, 2002
This year, Werner decides to stay for a while
By RYAN GOLDBERG   Daily Racing Form

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Trainer Ronny Werner said that last year's Grade 1 Haskell Invitational, in which his Touch Tone was narrowly beaten by eventual Horse of the Year Point Given, was the most exciting race he has ever been involved in. Before and after the race, Werner said that he liked his first visit to the Jersey Shore so much that he might decide to bring a stable here.

Werner has done just that this summer, expanding his operations to include a string of 26 horses at Monmouth. Werner already has stables at Lone Star Park and Churchill Downs, and will return to Saratoga for a second summer after Churchill closes. Although Werner has yet to win at Monmouth in five starts, he said he is optimistic about a successful season here.

"I'm feeling Monmouth out a little bit," Werner said from his home in Texas. "I have to see where my horses are going to fit. It's pretty tough at Monmouth and so far we've been beaten pretty good. But I hope to get that turned around soon."

Werner's main focus is on 2-year-olds, and he has enjoyed great success at Keeneland and Churchill Downs with this division. He said that the main reason he decided last winter to open a stable at Monmouth was because he needed another spot to take his 2-year-olds. All of Werner's starters this meet have exited races at Lone Star, but Werner said he also has some horses here from Kentucky.

Werner said that his main owner, Tom Durant, who owns Touch Tone, liked his stay here last year for the Haskell and was instrumental in encouraging Werner to open a stable at Monmouth.

"He really liked the way he was treated and liked the racetrack," Werner said. "He was prodding me a little bit to go with a stable this year."

Werner said he enjoys going to new tracks every year and is constantly evaluating meets and plotting future plans. Since switching from Quarter Horse training to Thoroughbreds, Werner has made a quick impact at some of the country's best tracks - Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and Saratoga. 

"I want to keep a little chip on my shoulder at all the tracks I'm at," he said. "It's a doubting game and I have to prove myself wherever I go. I'm really geared up for Monmouth."

Both Olivers are on a roll

The horses coming out of Barn 8 are hot. The husband-wife combo of Phil and Vicki Oliver are off to a scorching start, as Phil has hit for three wins, all on the turf, and Vicki already has two stakes scores - the $50,000 Revidere and $50,000 Monmouth Beach Stakes.

"It's definitely the best start we've had at Monmouth," Phil Oliver said. "Our horses ran good at Keeneland before this and the timing has been great for them to come here and start firing."

Phil Oliver is 3-2-2 in 10 starts through Sunday, and each winner had run well at Keeneland before scoring here. Vicki Oliver has two wins in eight starts, as she saddled 3-year-old filly Once Around to a win on the turf in the Revidere and 4-year-old Southern Fiction to the Monmouth Beach victory.

The standouts in the barn, besides the stakes winners, are Touring England and First Lieutenant. Touring England was fourth in the Grade 3 Jersey Derby on Memorial Day and First Lieutenant, second in the Grade 2 Iselin here last year, is prepping for another summer campaign.

A big negative for the stable, though, is the meet-ending injury of Joe Bravo. Bravo rode four of the Olivers' five winners.

"Joe fit our horses the best," Vicki Oliver said.

Kimmel comes out firing on all cylinders

Trainer John Kimmel also has been hot. Of Kimmel's 14 starters at the meet, 13 have been in the money. Kimmel is in third in the trainers' standings with four wins, behind leading trainer Eddie Broome, who has six wins. Most of Kimmel's horses stabled here are nearly as good as those of his main string at Belmont. He has some very high-priced maidens and 2-year-olds.

"John used to have his main stable here and he knows how to fit his horses very well here," said Brian Ange, who oversees the Kimmel barn at Monmouth. "We've been on a roll and it has just snowballed since. We've got four or five nice 2-year-olds coming around in another month or so."

Cruz returns from suspension

Carlos Cruz, who had one win in nine starts opening weekend, will resume riding Wednesday after serving a suspension dating from last summer. Cruz will be riding in his second full meet at Monmouth since leaving Philadelphia Park as one of the leading jockeys there. He recorded six wins last year in 89 starts here. 

Danny Mellul, Cruz's agent, said the jockey will be riding first-call for trainer Dennis Manning.

Max's Pal tries to regain old form

Thursday's seventh race, a $45,000 money allowance for 3-year-olds and up, drew a competitive field of seven.

Max's Pal's last win came on June 23 of last year in the Longfellow Stakes here, but a return to Monmouth, where he has three wins in four starts, should benefit the 5-year-old stakes winner. Oro de Mexico and Bobby's
Buckaroo should offer the stiffest competition to Max's Pal. 

Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

June 15, 2002 - June 23, 2002

June 15, 2002 - Dennis A. Drazin's Tempest Fugit won The $100,000 Oceanport Handicap giving trainer Jason Servis his first stakes win. Servis claimed Tempest Fugit for $75,000 out of an Aqueduct race in April, and in two starts for his new connections, the Florida-bred has run second in the Frisk Me Now Stakes and won the Oceanport. The Oceanport field was reduced to three runners when taken off the grass thus removing the Graded Stakes status because of said factors. Servis was none the less excited, "This is my first stakes win and it feels great,' Servis said. 'It was gratifying to take a horse for that kind of money, spot him in a race like this, and the plan works out."

June 19, 2002 - Jockey Roberto Alvarado will miss six weeks of racing action with a broken left hand suffered Sunday (June 16th) morning.

June 22, 2002 - Sunshine Messenger won the first leg of the Malouf Auto Group Starter Series for trainer Greg Sacco and owner Michael Boker.

June 23, 2002 - Kris's Prayer powered past the field late to capture the $50,000 Choice Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday in track record time of 1:47 for a mile and an eighth for the Haskell Turf Course.

Monmouth Park

June 28, 2002

Pompay's wins come in bunches

By RYAN GOLDBERG - Daily Racing Form

OCEANPORT, N.J. - As if six wins in five days last week weren't enough, trainer Terri Pompay continued her hot streak by sending out another winner Wednesday at Monmouth Park. Seven wins in six days, including a win each day. She had no horses entered Thursday.

"I guess I better quit training while I'm ahead," Pompay joked Thursday morning. "I just want to ride the wave as long as I can."

Pompay started a bit slowly this meet, but she has been unstoppable since her winning streak started. She has catapulted into a tie for second in the trainers' standings with nine wins, one back of leading trainer Tim Hills through Thursday afternoon. Pompay had five wins at Monmouth last year and eclipsed that number this meet in one week. She said this meet has been her most rewarding as a trainer.

"My horses were running well in Florida and that has carried over to here," she said. "Two weeks ago I had a couple of seconds and then last week it turned around."

Turf horses have been Pompay's specialty this meet. Four of her seven wins have come on the grass. To cap off her amazing week on Sunday, Kris's Prayer won the $50,000 Choice Stakes at nine furlongs on the turf for 3-year-olds. Kris's Prayer ran second in the Grade 3 Jersey Derby on May 27, his first start after winning his maiden.

Pompay, who has been training on her own since 1995, said the rest of this week would be pretty quiet. But next week, she said, her horses will be "revved up" to go, including Clearly a Queen, third in the Politely Stakes, who will start in the Grade 3 Vinery Matchmaker Stakes next Sunday.

If that's the case, you can bank on Pompay being atop the trainers' standings very soon.

Shorter distances for Menacing Dennis

Menacing Dennis, trained by Jeff Bonde, will return to sprinting in the Grade 3, $100,000 Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup for 3-year-olds at six furlongs on July 4, assistant trainer Sal Muniz said Thursday.

Menacing Dennis's last three starts have been routes, and in each race he has been very strong up to about one mile. He seems to be best at sprinting and the Jersey Shore will be his opportunity to win for the first time since March 6.

"I think six furlongs up to one mile are his best distances," Muniz said. "But he's an honest horse and will give you everything he has in every race."

In his last race, the Grade 3 Leonard Richards at Delaware Park at 1 1/16 miles on June 8, Menacing Dennis looked strong turning for home but he tired and finished fifth. He was the early pacesetter through six furlongs in the Preakness Stakes, and was beaten a head in a nine-furlong California-bred stakes at Hollywood Park April 28.

Menacing Dennis won his maiden at Monmouth last year and has thrived over this track while being stabled here for the second straight summer. Since running in the Leonard Richards, Menacing Dennis has worked extremely well. He fired a bullet four-furlong workout in 47.60 seconds here June 22, the best of 50 workouts at the distance.

"He's doing really great," Muniz said, "so now we'll wait for the race and see what he can do at six furlongs."

As of Thursday, other confirmed starters for the Jersey Shore are Calends, It's a Monster, and Wild Pro. Ben Perkins Jr. trains It's a Monster and he is also likely to run either Spin Zone or Forest Snitch.

Mike's Wildcat gets stakes shot at Belmont

Mike's Wildcat, a 2-year-old filly trained by Bonde who won her maiden here May 30, will make her next start Sunday at Belmont in the $100,000 Astoria Stakes, Muniz said.

Monmouth-based trainers will have a strong presence in the Astoria, as the Mary Hartmann-trained Milliondollarlady is also set to run.

Mike's Wildcat romped by nearly six lengths in her second career start. Muniz said Bonde intended for her to run in an entry-level allowance here this week for juvenile fillies, but the race did not fill, as has been the case with 2-year-old allowances. Jose Santos will be aboard Mike's Wildcat in the Astoria.

- Eibar Coa won five races Wednesday, easily his best day of the meet, to take first place in the jockey standings. Coa, who won the title last year, has 30 wins through Thursday, four ahead of Jose Ferrer. Chuck Lopez and Jose Velez Jr. are tied for third with 23 wins. Eddie King is fifth with 22 wins.

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Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

June 26, 2002 -July 7, 2002

June 26– June 30 - Eibar Coa had a great week booting home 12 winners for the week.  On Wednesday he rode five winners including Wildcat Heir to a maiden win for New Farm as well as Headless Horseman’s, HMS Jackson in the featured allowance.  He recorded a win on each card from Thursday (June 27^th) to Saturday (June 29^th).  Saturday’s win was aboard Atelier in the Molly Pitcher Breeders' Cup.  On Sunday (June 30^th) he rode five winners including both ends of the co-featured stakes with Wish It Were, in the Dearly Precious and then with Cat’s At Home, in the Skip Away Stakes.

July 5^th – Tim Hills trained three winners on the days card including Trueamericanspirit in the first race, a $40,000 Maiden Special Weight - For Thoroughbred Two Year Olds, New Jersey State Breds, at five furlongs on the main track, for owner Tee-N-Jay Farms.

July 6^th – With Anticipation wins the Grade I United Nations Handicap and in the process sets the second turf course record in two weeks.  The gray son of Relaunch covered the one and three-eighths mile race in a new course record time of 2:12.81, for trainer Jonathan Sheppard and jockey Pat Day who traveled to the shore for the mount. 

July 7^th – Thoroughbred Times is reporting that War Emblem, the Kentucky Derby and Preakenss Stakes winner will make his next start in The Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on August 4th.  Trainer Bob Baffert will come to the Haskell for the second consecutive year with a horse for The Thoroughbred Corp.  Last year Baffert trained Haskell and Eclipse award winner, Point Given, for The Thoroughbred Corp.

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Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

July 8, 2002 - July 21, 2002

At the end of 55 days (July 21, 2002) of racing the leaders standings are shaping up this way:

Leading Jockeys

Leading Trainers

War Emblem Skipping The Haskell

July 22, 2002

The Bloodhorse is reporting the The Thoroughbred Corp. has contacted the officials at Monmouth Park to advise that Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, War Emblem, is out of the Haskell. War Emblem was to have a key workout today in preparation for the August 4 race but Bob Baffert has decided to change the plans for the three-year-old son of Our Emblem. The connections of War Emblem were not happy with the weight assignment for their star three-year-old (124 pounds) giving among others, two pounds to recent Swaps Stakes winner Came Home. Came Home's only two losses have come in the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Richard Mulhall, manager of The Thoroughbred Corp. was quoted on Sunday saying that the chances of War Emblem running in the Haskell were "50/50", but Baffert has since changed the colts plans due to the weight and now in light of the recent passing of Thoroughbred Corp. owner, Prince Ahmed Salman. Baffert claims that War Emblem is a smaller horse than Point Given, who carried 124 pounds in the Haskell last year, and that at 1000 pounds (War Emblem), 124 pounds is too much for a smaller horse and the heat in the East could create a scenario where such racing would take too much out of the colt possibly hindering the chances of having him in prime condition for The Breeders' Cup Classic, in the fall, and the Dubai World Cup next year.

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MONMOUTH PARK

July 26, 2002

Came Home to skip Haskell
By STEVE ANDERSEN - Daily Racing Form

DEL MAR, Calif. - The $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Aug. 4 lost its second leading candidate in a week when trainer Paco Gonzalez said Friday that Came Home would pass the race in favor of the $200,000 King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 24.

War Emblem, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, was declared from the Haskell on Tuesday after the death of owner Prince Ahmed bin Salman. In addition, trainer Bob Baffert said he was dissatisfied with War Emblem's 124-pound weight assignment.

Came Home, a five-time stakes winner this year, captured the Affirmed Handicap and Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park earlier this summer and would have been favored in the Haskell against a small field.

His defection has encouraged owners and trainers with leading 3-year-olds to take a closer look in deciding between the Haskell and the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on the same day.

Gonzalez said Came Home will pass the Haskell to give him additional time between the Swaps Stakes on July 14 and the seven-furlong King's Bishop. "I know it's $1 million and only four or five horses, but it would be three races in six weeks," Gonzalez said.

Came Home worked five furlongs in 1:02.20 on Friday at Santa Anita under jockey Mike Smith. The time was a second slower than Gonzalez had hoped to see.

Several trainers based at Saratoga are now giving more consideration to the Haskell. D. Wayne Lukas said that Shah Jehan, the runner-up in the Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 13, may run in the Haskell. He was an intended starter in a seven-furlong allowance race at Saratoga on Saturday, Lukas said.

As of Friday, the Haskell field had three probables: Magic Weisner, Puck, and Like a Hero. Trainer Tony Reinstedler said he is considering starting Peekskill, who was fourth in the Ohio Derby.

Magic Weisner, second in the Preakness Stakes and the winner of the Ohio Derby on July 20, is the strong favorite. Trainer Nancy Alberts said that Magic Weisner will arrive at Monmouth on Thursday. 

Before Came Home's defection from the Haskell, the Jim Dandy had as many as 11 possible starters including Medaglia d'Oro, Easyfromthegitgo, Essence of Dubai, Fisher Pond, Gygistar, Iron Deputy, Nothing Flat, Quest, Stephentown, Mr. Mellon, and Running Tide. 

Bobby Frankel, trainer of Belmont Stakes runner-up Medaglia d'Oro, said he may also look at the Haskell. Plans for Mr. Mellon hinge on a Sunday workout at Saratoga, trainer Elliott Walden said. Trainer Steve Asmussen was set to run Easyfromthegitgo in the Jim Dandy but was stunned to learn that Came Home was skipping the Haskell.

"There's no way in the world I can pass that if he didn't run," Asmussen said. "What a weird 3-year-old year." Asmussen said Easyfromthegitgo would work Monday at Saratoga before making a final decision. 

- additional reporting by Ryan Goldberg and David Grening

War Emblem back in Haskell

By STEVE ANDERSEN - Daily Racing Form

July 27, 2002

DEL MAR, Calif. - War Emblem, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, rejoined the field for the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Sunday, less a week after he was declared from the race following the death of owner Ahmed bin Salman.

Trainer Bob Baffert informed Monmouth Park officials on Saturday that War Emblem was a candidate. Earlier in the week, Baffert declared War Emblem from the Haskell after Salman's death and Baffert's unhappiness with the 124-pound weight assignment.

But the lack of a strong field, combined with War Emblem's recent training, led Baffert and Richard Mulhall, the racing manager of Salman's Thoroughbred Corp., to reconsider. 

"That's a lot of money to leave on the table," Mulhall said.

On Friday, the Haskell lost a top contender when Came Home, the winner of five stakes this year, including the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park on July 14, was removed from consideration. Came Home is being pointed to the $200,000 King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 24.

In the Haskell, War Emblem will face a small field that includes Magic Weisner, the winner of the Ohio Derby and the runner-up in the Preakness Stakes; Like a Hero, who was second to Came Home in the Swaps Stakes; and Puck. Several owners and trainers are considering the Haskell Invitational or the $500,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga on Sunday.

Baffert on Saturday emphasized that War Emblem's participation hinges on a workout at Del Mar on Monday. "It all depends on the workout," Baffert said.

Baffert was satisfied with War Emblem's five-furlong workout in 1:01 last Wednesday. He said the colt ran off "for about a mile" during an otherwise routine gallop on Saturday.

War Emblem is scheduled to leave on Thursday. He has not started since finishing eighth in the Belmont Stakes on June 8 in a bid to sweep the Triple Crown.

As a longer-term goal for War Emblem, Baffert is considering the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 25.

Baffert and the Thoroughbred Corp. won the 2001 Haskell Invitational with Point Given, who was later named Horse of the Year.

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Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

News and Notes

July 22, 2002 - August 1, 2002

With a month to go the Monmouth meet now looks forward to its marquee event as The Grade I Haskell Invitational is the feature on Sunday, August 4, 2002.  Here is some other news and notes since our last installment:

-Daily Racing For is reporting that Carlos Cruz was given a seven-day suspension for his ride aboard First Lieutenant in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile last Saturday. First Lieutenant was disqualified from first to third in the race. Cruz, who returned to win three races the following day, has appealed the suspension.

-On Wednesday, Prince Faisal was officially appointed by his family to oversee The Thoroughbred Corp. Prince Faisal gave Bob Baffert and Richard Mulhall the go ahead to bring War Emblem to the Haskell before he was officially appointed by the family to oversee The Thoroughbred Corp.

-What a crazy two weeks leading up to the Haskell. The race started out with so much promise. War Emblem was on board. Came Home was slated to run as well as Medaglia D'Oro and Magic Weisner. Then the War Emblem camp decide to stay home due to the weight allowance and then the untimely death of Prince Ahmed bin Salman. War Emblem was going to stay on the west coast. Then two days later Came Home's connections decide to skip the Haskell in favor of another race. The field was diminished to three horses: Puck, Magic Weisner and Like A Hero. Then last Saturday (July 27) War Emblem's connections reconsider and notify Monmouth Park officials that they will be attending the race.  What does a track have to do to get horses to show up for a million dollar event now a days?

-The Star Ledger is also reporting that MP officials will be paying Bob Baffert $50,00 as an appearance fee and giving him two round trip tickets from Continental Airlines, since they will be co-sponsoring the weekend, for bringing War Emblem to the race. Baffert will be flying in Sunday for the race after his wedding Saturday to fiancé, Jill Moss, in California. 

-Chris McCarron, the recently retired Hall of Fame jockey who won the Haskell Invitational on King Glorious in 1989 and on Touch Gold in 1997, will be Monmouth Park's special guest throughout Haskell Weekend, this Saturday and Sunday. McCarron is scheduled to participate in a two-hour autograph session on Saturday, Aug. 3. There will be a $5 fee for a photo and autograph.  On Sunday, Aug. 4, Haskell Day, McCarron will be the guest handicapper at the paddock handicapping seminar, which starts at 11:30 a.m. Monmouth Park announcer Larry Collmus will host the seminar.

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Monmouth Park - Finish Wire

Haskell Review

War Emblem Wires The Field In The Haskell

Sunday, August 4, 2002

Oceanport, NJ - He was in the race, he was out of the race, then he was back in the race. Who cares, he won the race. Not only did he win the race he won it convincingly. War Emblem's performance in the 2002 Haskell Invitational in front of a crowd of 45,212 fans on a hot, humid Sunday afternoon in August left little doubt about who is the best three-year-old on the planet.

After rearing in the gate moments before the race the three-year-old son of Our Emblem settled down and broke perfectly all but erasing his miserable start in the his previous race, the Belmont Stakes. The field let the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner set the early fractions as he strolled through a very moderate three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.67. He set every fraction as Puck and Mr. Mellon were the only two horses in the race to even get within two lengths of the winner.  Meanwhile second betting choice Magic Weisner spotted the leader too many lengths down the backside on an uncontested lead to ever catch up when it came time for his patented run in the stretch. At the top of the lane Magic Weisner made a wide move to clear some running room, but it was too little too late as War Emblem was four and one-half lengths clear and rolling to the wire in front of an appreciative crowd and very excited track announcer, Larry Collmus.  War Emblem stopped the tele-timer is 1:48.21 over a fast main track. The Haskell win, worth $600,000 to the connections of War Emblem, pushes the colts career earnings to $3,491,000 and this years earnings to $3,455,00 winning seven of eleven lifetime races. His win made him the first Kentucky Derby winner to ever win the Haskell and made it the second straight Haskell victory for The Thoroughbred Corporation and trainer Bob Baffert, who won The Haskell with Point Given in 2001.

The remaining order of finish saw Like A Hero finishing third while Puck finished fourth, followed by Mr. Mellon finishing fifth in the five horse field. After the wire Puck was pulled up by jockey Cornelio Velasquez after he discovered the colt showed some lameness in his right front leg. Puck was able to walk back to the barn under his own power. War Emblem paid $2.60, $2.20 and $2.10 as the 3/10 favorite. Magic Weisner returned $2.80 and $2.10 as Like A Hero paid $2.10 to show. There was a minus show pool of $26,602. 

War Emblem's jockey, Victor Espinoza, aboard for the colt's wins in the Derby and Preakness and now the Haskell told the media, "I never really asked him for run. He was excited going into the gate and reared, but I told the guy on the gate crew to just leave him alone and he'll settle down. He listened to me, and the gate crew did a great job......He did it very easy today. This horse is all business. He just loves to win. when he broke from the gate, it was pretty much over." Trainer Bob Baffert commented, "I asked Victor after the race when he knew he had the race won and he said he knew as soon as he came out of the gate, he had so much horse. I hoped the race would be that easy. The easier the race, the longer they last."

Magic Weisner's trainer, Nancy Alberts, said of her three-year-old, "He ran awesome. He tries so hard every time." Magic Weisner ran second to War Emblem in the Preakness and was given a four pound weight break to the winner.

The on-track crowd of 45,212 was the second largest in track history only to last years crowd of 47,127 that came out to see Point Given win the 2001 edition of the same race. Wagering at Monmouth Park for the entire Haskell card was $10,041,071 (12 races on the card). The total handle for the Haskell (race 11) was $2,379,612. 

This years edition of the Haskell was not filled with any post race drama. The big news going into the race was who would run and who would not. War Emblem was scheduled to run and then he wasn't because of the weight assignments. Then Came Home decided not to run. Medaglia D'Oro's trainer Bobby Frankel then decided that his three-year-old would not come to the shore. Then The Thoroughbred Corp.'s owner Prince Ahmed bin Salman passed away suddenly and the status of where War Emblem would run next became a question. Then a few days later War Emblem is a back in the race as his trainer was married the day before in California. Add to that the appearance fee of $50,000 and two plane tickets for War Emblem's trainer that nobody was eager to talk about and it was the usual whirlwind that follows Baffert and crew wherever they go. Regardless of how he got the horse here War Emblem's performance was still awesome and one the crowd at Monmouth surely appreciated. While many who follow New Jersey racing disagree on running this race and the purse involved it sure turned out to be a very good day.

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Monmouth A messy surface switch 

By RYAN GOLDBERG - Daily Racing Form

August 19, 2002

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The betting public and trainers at Monmouth Park were left in confusion Sunday when negotiations between jockeys and track officials about the safety of the turf course led to two turf stakes being switched to the main track. The changes occurred after trainers were arriving at the paddock with their horses for the sixth race and pick four players had already purchased their tickets for the multi-race bet that began a race earlier.

According to jockey spokesman Eddie King, the turf course, with the rail at the hedge, was unsafe dating back to Haskell Day, Aug. 4, when the riders notified track officials of a soft spot at the top of the lane. King said the soft spot may have been caused by a huge storm two days before the Haskell, and he said jockeys decided to ride the turf course because Haskell Day is the premier day of the meet. Although the soft spot was fixed, continued turf racing chewed it up, and the issue resurfaced last Thursday. Director of facilities Robert Juliano, in charge of the turf course, said last Thursday was the first day he was notified of the soft spot on the turf course.

King said the jockeys did not want to ride on the grass last Thursday, after notifying track officials of the soft spots on the course, which eventually led to the sixth race on the turf being pulled. Juliano said he probed the Lennox turf course (rail out 30 feet) last Friday morning and concluded that the course was chewed up in certain spots because the course had been used to its fullest in the cycle, before switching the rail to 10 feet out. "I didn't think it had to do with the storm Aug. 2," Juliano said. "It was never brought to my attention until Thursday." While turf racing was conducted on Friday, the turf course, with the rail at the hedge, was deemed unsafe Saturday when jockey Chuck Lopez had a spill in the eighth race. Lopez said his mount, Szep, did not clip heels, but slipped in the soft area at the top of the lane. "I've been riding for 23 years and I know what it feels like to clip heels," Lopez said Monday. "My horse bobbled first and got stuck. He was trying to get out of the turf but his rear end couldn't keep up."

Stewards, track officials, and jockeys watched the replay of Lopez's race on Sunday morning. According to King, the jockeys were unanimous that Lopez's mount slipped, but the stewards believed Lopez's mount clipped heels. King said the jockeys decided to ride the first turf race (fourth race), as an experiment, to see if the course was safe. Track management tried to fix the soft spot at the top of the lane with a steel roller, Juliano said. With track officials knowing a decision would be made after the fourth race, Juliano spoke with King after he rode Sport d'Hiver to victory in the five-furlong turf race. While accounts somewhat differ, King told Juliano after the race that the turf course was fine from his standpoint, but he would have to speak with the rest of the jockeys who rode behind him in the race. After having a meeting, King said the other riders in the race deemed the turf course unsafe, and they unanimously decided to notify track officials of the decision. They told state steward Harvey Wardell, who happened to be in the jockeys' room at the time, and Wardell said he contacted Monmouth's general manager, Robert Kulina. King said the decision by the jockeys was made 15 minutes before the fifth race, when wagering on the pick four started. After that, though, track officials were in discussions with King and other jockeys to try to convince them to ride, King said. Kulina said he was on the phone with King while the fifth race was loading and then started.

The switch to the main track was made after the fifth race, yet no reason was given to the betting public, and those who handicapped the turf for their pick four wagers were left with nonrefundable tickets. Trainers were already saddling their horses in the paddock before the race, the Continental Mile Stakes, and were equally upset, since many equipped their horses with bandages and shoes suited for turf racing.

Trainer John Salzman, who shipped in My Boy Kyle from Maryland for the race on the turf, said, "It's not kosher, the whole deal," he said. "We should've had the opportunity to scratch." Owner Randy Brooks agreed. "We wouldn't have shipped to run on the dirt," he said.

Turf races were switched to the main track Monday and also will be moved to the dirt Wednesday. While King said the "deep bog" at the top of the lane is the worst part, he said there are other soft spots on the course. Juliano said maintenance workers are doing many things to try and fix the problem. "We're spot-seeding the areas to filling in divots, and waiting to see if the area dries up," he said. "We won't roll it or it will get too hard." 

A rule initiated in June by the late Basil Plasteras, member of the New Jersey Racing Commission, would prevent this situation from happening. The law was passed in June, but the waiting period designates that it will be signed into law two to three weeks from now. The rule states that if turf races come off the grass after betting is closed on multi-race wagers, without the public being notified, then those races will be declared no contest.

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MONMOUTH ATTENDANCE, HANDLE DOWN DURING 2002 SEASON;
HILLS, COA WIN TITLES; RUNNIN HORSE FARMS, FEHSENFELD TIE 
Sunday, September 1, 2002 - Monmouth Park Publicity/Press Department

OCEANPORT, N.J. --- It was a long, dry summer at Monmouth Park, as the excessive heat and lagging economy sent statistics for the 78-day 2002 meeting downward, following a record year in 2001.

Numbers were down for on-track attendance and the handle, both on-track and all sources, showed declines. The track was coming off a strong 2001 meeting, which had shown good gains off 2000.

The season highlight came on August 4, when War Emblem became the first Kentucky Derby winner to take the Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Park's signature event.  The crowd for the season's biggest race, 45,212, was the second highest in Monmouth Park history, behind the record breaking Haskell of 2001 when Horse of the Year Point Given took the event. 

On-track handle for the 2002 live cards averaged $785,976 this year, a 15.7 percent drop from last season. Overall on-track betting (on live and simulcast races) averaged $1,466,065, a drop of 10 percent.

Total handle on Monmouth's races, on-track, intrastate and out-of-state, averaged $3,450,861, a drop of 12.7 percent from 2001. Total handle from all sources on Monmouth races and simulcasts averaged $4,130,950, down 11.1 percent from the previous year.

On-track attendance averaged 9,838 this year, a drop of 8 percent from the 2001 average of 10,658. Monmouth raced eight more days this year than last.

Trainer Tim Hills celebrated his first training title at Monmouth Park capturing 28 races this summer.  In the jock's race, Eibar Coa took home his second consecutive riding title, winning 82 races.  Finally in the owner's column, it was a tie between Runnin Horse Farms, Inc. and Mac Fehsenfeld, each winning 15 races.

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Monmouth handle declines

By DRF STAFF - September 2, 2002

Betting handle and attendance at Monmouth Park's 78-day meeting that concluded Sunday declined from last year's meet, according to the track.

Ontrack handle for the 2002 live cards averaged $785,976 this year, a 15.7 percent drop from last season. Ontrack handle on live and simulcast races averaged $1,466,065, a drop of 10 percent. Total handle on Monmouth races averaged $3,450,861, a drop of 12.7 percent from 2001. Total handle from all sources on Monmouth races and simulcasts averaged $4,130,950, down 11.1 percent from the previous year.

Attendance averaged 9,838 this year, down 8 percent from the 2001 average of 10,658. Monmouth raced eight more days this year than last.

Tim Hills won his first training title at Monmouth with 28 victories. Eibar Coa earned his second consecutive riding title with 82 wins.

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Opinions differ on reasons for declines

By MATT HEGARTY - Daily Racing Form

September 3, 2002

Significant declines in business at Monmouth Park this year have generated controversy once again over the number of Thoroughbred racing dates in the state, an issue that has bitterly divided horsemen and Monmouth's management in the past.

Monmouth Park closed its 78-day meet on Sunday with a 10-percent drop in all-sources handle, to $3.45 million, and an 8 percent drop in ontrack attendance, from 10,658 to 9,838. Betting on Monmouth's races by ontrack horseplayers plummeted 16 percent, track officials said.

The declines sharply reversed the double-digit gains the track posted last year, when New Jersey horsemen received a $12 million purse supplement from the state and Monmouth posted record handle numbers. The purse supplement was rescinded this year because of state budget constraints.

Bruce Garland, the vice president of racing for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operates Monmouth Park, said that the meet "never generated any momentum," in part because Monmouth ran 78 live days, compared to 72 last year.

"Any time you run more days, you are going to eventually take a toll on the horse population and availability," Garland said.

Monmouth ran the additional days under an agreement with horsemen that called for the authority to run a total of 141 days a year, split between Monmouth and The Meadowlands, which the authority also owns and operates. The agreement was reached earlier this year as part of a settlement of a lawsuit horsemen filed against the track.

Under a law passed several years ago, the NJSEA must run a minimum of 141 days in order to offer telephone wagering and offtrack betting. With the lawsuit, horsemen had contended that they were only forcing the authority to comply with the law.

Tuesday, Dennis Drazin, the legal counsel for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said that the precipitous declines at Monmouth this year had nothing to do with the extended meet. Instead, he blamed the late date at which the track and horsemen agreed to a settlement.

"We think that had an impact on everything," Drazin said. "It had an impact on expectations, everyone's expectations, from horsemen to the fans. No one knew when the meet was going to start, no one knew what the purses were going to be, or even where to get stabling."

Next year, Monmouth Park is scheduled to run 92 dates under the horsemen's agreement. The 49 remaining live dates will be run at The Meadowlands.

Despite the three-year length of the current contract, Drazin said that the horsemen have been negotiating with the authority about changing the dates next year.

"We have been in the process of talking, ever since the day we settled the lawsuit," Drazin said. "But they haven't come back to us with something that we think is fair."

Garland, who also blamed hot and wet weather during the summer for the track's declines, said that something will have to give to avoid declines next year.

"We need to change a lot of things, but we're working under a three-year agreement that is based on a statute that says we have to run a specific number of days," Garland said. "There's no doubt, especially considering what happened, that this is a bad statute."

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