I had a unique career experience today and tonight when I wrote two stories for the paper about the Rebel Stakes, the third of Oaklawn Park's four Kentucky Derby qualifying races. The race was split into two divisions (two races), and as a consequence, I was asked to write two Rebel Stakes stories. Both required nearly identical explanations and backstories. Here are excerpts from each, combined to display the trickiness of the paper's request:*
PETE PERKINS
HOT SPRINGS — The early race of the two-division Grade II $750,000 1-mile-and-1/16th Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Saturday virtually wrapped up a spot in the Kentucky Derby for a horse loaded with local connections.
Owned by Willis Horton of Marshall, ridden by long-time Oaklawn jockey Jon Court, and trained by nine-time Oaklawn training-champion Steve Asmussen, a colt named Long Range Toddy improved on his previous success at Oaklawn with a late move to win the Rebel over a field of seven other three-year-olds, each with sights on racing’s pinnacle.
Long Range Toddy, at 8-1, completed the race in 1:42.49 before a crowd estimated at 45,500.
The Rebel was split into two races by Oaklawn officials to make room for shippers, particularly those from the west coast burdened in their pursuit of Kentucky Derby qualifying points by Santa Anita Park’s closure, which led to the cancelation of the San Felipe Stakes, a Derby prep that was to offer 85 qualifying points
When the season began, the Rebel — as one race — offered a purse of $1 million and was designated to distribute 85 Derby qualifying points. After Santa Anita’s self-imposed suspension on March 5, which followed the deaths of 21 horses injured on its surface, Oaklawn decided to raise the total purse of a split Rebel to $1.5 million, or $750,000 for each race. By Derby qualification rules, qualifying points for each race were reduced by 75 percent from 85 points to 63.75.
PETE PERKINS
HOT SPRINGS — Mike Smith spent seven seasons at Oaklawn Park early in his career. Now a 53-year-old member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall Fame, Smith makes periodic returns to the track as a racing superstar.
They rarely disappoint.
Smith rode Fox Hill Farms’ Omaha Beach to a photo-finish win over top-ranked and 1-2 favorite Game Winner in the late division of the two-race Grade II $750,000 1-mile-and-1/16th Rebel Stakes in 1:42.42 before a crowd estimated at 45,500 on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Game Winner, owned by Gary and Mary West, was shipped by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert from the disastrous aftermath of Santa Anita Park’s recent tragedy. A total of 22 horses have been euthanized since mid-December after they were injured on Santa Anita’s racetrack near Los Angeles.
Smith, a longtime Santa Anita veteran, said he remains hopeful for racing in California and nationwide.
“It’s such a sad situation for such an iconic place,” Smith said. “It’s a huge a black eye for horse racing, but we in racing are a huge family. I think we’ll pull together and pull through this. We all love horses, and we want to do what’s best for them at all times. Without horses, we wouldn’t have this life that we’ve been so blessed to have. We just need to make sure they’re well protected, and we’ll get ourselves back on track.”
Two Rebels were offered by Oaklawn officials to help West Coast three-year-old horses and their connections in search of another avenue to earn Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Their local opportunity was lost with Santa Anita’s closure and the subsequent cancelation of the San Felipe Stakes, which was to offer 85 points toward Derby qualification.
The Rebel, as planned, would have offered a purse of $1 million and hand out 85 Derby qualifying points to the first four finishers. With the split, Oaklawn added $500,000 to the total purse. To meet Derby qualification rules, the two split Rebels distributed a total of 63.75 points, down 75 percent from the original designation.
Omaha Beach, in his first stakes attempt, picked up 37.5 Derby points with his Rebel win, enough to virtually assure his qualification for the Derby, scheduled for May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. No horse has reached 33 or more points and failed to qualify for the Derby since the points system was established for the 2013 race.
*having read this, I am reassured that I did a job adequate to fulfill the paper's request. I feared excessive redundancy (and in fact submitted a brief argument for one big fucking story rather than two smaller ones. I still believe that would have been a wiser choice, but I'm pleased this worked out OK)
By the way, home now at 11:56 p.m., I now think I know why I complained so much last Saturday about Jo's death. I think my favorite times with her were after long, gut-wrenching days at Oaklawn Park. She was usually a joy to return to and usually seemed as pleased as I was. You know, most times, and I think maybe that's it. We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment