American Pharoah, Todd Pletcher elected to Hall of Fame

Associated PressMay 5, 2021, 8:55 PM EDT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The highlight of Bob Baffert’s Hall of Fame career as a thoroughbred trainer happened six years ago. Nothing else comes close.

“Winning the Triple Crown with American Pharoah was the greatest sports moment of my life,” said Baffert, fresh from winning his seventh Kentucky Derby. “It was so emotional and such a terrific thing for racing. He deserves all the accolades he gets.”

The greatest accolade came at Wednesday’s announcement that American Pharoah has been elected to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame. Seven-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher and 13-time champion steeplechase trainer Jack Fisher also were elected.

American Pharoah ended racing’s 37-year Triple Crown drought when he swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in 2015. A bay colt bred in Kentucky by owner Zayat Stables, American Pharoah went on to win the Haskell Invitational and Breeders’ Cup Classic. Coupled with his victories earlier in the year in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, he was voted Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Male for 2015, a year after he was crowned as the top 2-year-old.

Overall, American Pharoah posted a career record of 9-1-0 from 11 starts and earned $8,650,300. He now stands at stud in Kentucky.

“He’s certainly among the all-time greats. I don’t think there is any question about that,” Baffert said in a release from the Hall of Fame. “He did everything so effortlessly and with such class. The way he moved, his mechanics were absolutely flawless.”

The 53-year-old Pletcher holds records for career earnings ($405,791,977) and Eclipse Awards and ranks seventh in wins (5,118). He’s won the Kentucky Derby with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017), and the Belmont Stakes with Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013), and Tapwrit (2017). Pletcher also has won 11 Breeders’ Cup races and has led all North American trainers in earnings 10 times.

Since he struck out on his own after breaking into the thoroughbred racing business as an assistant for D. Wayne Lukas from 1989-95, Pletcher has won 60 individual meet training titles and, according to Equibase data, has won 708 graded stakes, including 166 Grade 1s.

“I’m really humbled to be elected to the Hall of Fame. It’s an incredible honor,” Pletcher said. “Training horses is all I ever wanted to do. I remember being 11 or 12 and telling my mom I wanted to train and she said it was wonderful. From that point on with her endorsement I never thought of doing anything else.”

Fisher, 57, won his first race as a trainer in 1988 at Middleburg, Virginia, and has been a dominant force atop the National Steeplechase Association standings for the past two decades. Fisher has 593 career steeplechase victories, ranks second all-time in purse earnings with more than $17.8 million, and is the only trainer in steeplechase history to surpass $1 million in purse earnings in a year, something he’s done five times.

Among his champions was two-time Eclipse Award winner and Hall of Famer Good Night Shirt, one of only three horses to earn $1 million in steeplechase racing. Fisher also trained Eclipse Award winners Scorpiancer (2017) and Moscato (2020).

“I was terrible in school and didn’t want to be there. I loved riding and I love training,” said Fisher, whose father, John, also was a trainer. “I’ve had some wonderful and patient owners and great talent in the barn. I’m pretty darn lucky.”

American Pharoah and Pletcher were selected in the contemporary category in their first year of eligibility. Fisher was chosen by the museum’s steeplechase review committee, which meets once every four years.

The class of 2021 will be enshrined Aug. 6 in Saratoga Springs, New York, along with the 2020 inductees: trainer Mark Casse; jockey Darrel McHargue; thoroughbreds Tom Bowling and Wise Dan; and Alice Headley Chandler, J. Keene Daingerfield Jr. and George D. Widener Jr. in the “Pillars of the Turf” category. Last year’s induction ceremony was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The ceremony this year will be broadcast live on the museum’s website. An announcement regarding public attendance will be made later.

Churchill Downs moves meet to Ellis Park to examine protocols following 12 horse deaths

Associated PressJun 2, 2023, 6:39 PM EDT

Michael Clevenger and Erik Mohn/USA TODAY NETWORK

Churchill Downs will suspend racing and move the remainder of its spring meet to Ellis Park in order to conduct a “top-to-bottom” review of safety and surface protocols in the wake of 12 horse fatalities the past month at the home of the Kentucky Derby.

No single factor has been identified as a potential cause for the fatalities or pattern detected, according to a release, but the decision was made to relocate the meet “in an abundance of caution.”

“What has happened at our track is deeply upsetting and absolutely unacceptable,” Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said in Friday’s release. “We need to take more time to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all of the details and circumstances so that we can further strengthen our surface, safety and integrity protocols.”

Racing will continue at Churchill Downs through Sunday before shifting to the CDI-owned racing and gaming facility in Henderson, Kentucky. Ellis Park’s meet was scheduled to start July 7 and run through Aug. 27 but will now expand with Friday’s announcement.

Ellis Park will resume racing on June 10.

The move comes a day after track superintendent Dennis Moore conducted a second independent analysis of Churchill Downs’ racing and training surfaces as part of an emergency summit called this week by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) with the track and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Meetings took place in Lexington, Kentucky, and at the Louisville track.

The head of the federally created oversight agency suggested ahead of the summit that it could recommend pausing the meet and that Churchill Downs would accept that recommendation.

Churchill Downs’ release stated that expert testing raised no concerns and concluded that the surface was consistent with the track’s prior measurements. Even so, it chose to relocate “in alignment” with HISA’s recommendation to suspend the meet to allow more time for additional investigation.

“We appreciate their thoughtfulness and cooperation through these challenging moments,” HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said in a statement. “We will continue to seek answers and work with everyone involved to ensure that horses are running safely at Churchill Downs again in the near future.”

Carstanjen insisted that relocating the remainder of the spring meet to Ellis Park would maintain the industry ecosystem with minor disruption. He also said he was grateful to Kentucky horsemen for their support as they work to find answers.

Rick Hiles, the president of Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, questioned the move, especially since there’s no conclusive evidence that Churchill Downs’ surface is the problem.

“We all want to find solutions that will improve safety for horses,” Hiles said in a statement. “However, we need to discuss allowing trainers and veterinarians to use therapeutic medications that greatly lessen the risk of breakdowns.

“Drastic steps, such as relocating an active race meet, should only be considered when it is certain to make a difference.”

The latest development comes a day after Churchill Downs and HISA each implemented safety and performance standards to address the spate of deaths.

HISA will conduct additional post-entry screening of horses to identify those at increased risk for injury. Its Integrity and Welfare Unit also will collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities for use while investigating a cause.

Churchill Downs announced it would immediately limit horses to four starts during a rolling eight-week period and impose ineligibility standards for poor performers. The track is also pausing incentives, such as trainer start bonuses and limiting purse payouts to the top five finishers instead of every finisher.

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT

Matt Stone/USA TODAY NETWORK

NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.