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Vanderburgh County Democratic Party Calendar of Events 7/3/2017

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Wednesday,
July 12th		 Golf Scramble 11:00 AM EST 8th District Democratic Committee Golf Scramble

  • Location: Geneva Hill Golf Course – 13446 South Geneva Hills Road – Clinton, IN
  • Cost: $75 per golfer.  Sponsorships available.
  • Contact: Jeff Lehman jldemo@minerbroadband.com
Wednesday,
July 26th		 Fundraiser 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM Breakfast with Ben: Hosted by the Shoulders for Commissioner Committee
Wednesday,
July 26th		 Meeting 6:00 PM Vanderburgh County Democrat Club Meeting

  • Location: FOP – 801 Court Street – Evansville, IN
Friday,
August 18th		 Golf Scramble 12:00 PM State Representative Ryan Hatfield Golf Scramble

  • Location: Eagle Valley Golf Course – 10350 Petersburg Rd – Evansville, IN
  • Lunch and Registration at 10:30 AM – Shotgun Start 12:00 PM
  • Cost: $60 per person, $240 per foursome.  Sponsorships available
  • Contact: Charlie Wyatt @ (812) 455-9108 or charlie104pac@aol.com
Wednesday,
August 30th		 Meeting 6:00 PM Vanderburgh County Democrat Club Meeting

  • Location: FOP – 801 Court Street – Evansville, IN
Wednesday,
September 27th		 Meeting 6:00 PM Vanderburgh County Democrat Club Meeting

  • Location: FOP – 801 Court Street – Evansville, IN
Friday,
September 29th		 Golf Scramble 8:00 AM Commissioner’s Cup Golf Scramble for Ben Shoulders for County Commissioner

  • Location: Fendrich Golf Course – 1900 E Diamond Ave – Evansville, IN
  • Breakfast and Registration at 7:00 AM – Shotgun Start 8:00 AM
Wednesday,
October 25th		 Meeting 6:00 PM Vanderburgh County Democrat Club Meeting

  • Location: FOP – 801 Court Street – Evansville, IN
Wednesday,
November 29th		 Meeting 6:00 PM Vanderburgh County Democrat Club Meeting

  • Location: FOP – 801 Court Street – Evansville, IN
Wednesday,
December 27th		 Meeting 6:00 PM Vanderburgh County Democrat Club Meeting

  • Location: FOP – 801 Court Street – Evansville, IN

Bradley Teams With Borel For Career Triumphs 500, 501

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 ‘I’m happy Calvin was on both of them. He’s probably won as many races as any jock with me. I’m glad he hit the milestone with me last week.’
HENDERSON, Ky. (Monday, July 3, 2017) — Start the countdown: Buff Bradley is only 499 wins away from his 1,000th victory training racehorses.
Bradley earned his 500th victory with Kiss My Note, owned by the trainer and David Goldman, leading all the way to win Ellis Park’s first race Monday. The winning rider was Calvin Borel, who at various stages rode two of Bradley’s most important horses: $2 million-earner Brass Hat, the trainer’s first Grade 1 winner, and two-time female sprint champion Groupie Doll. Borel also was aboard when Bradley earned his 100th Churchill Downs victory with Tempestuous Angel on June 22.
“It’s good to hit this milestone. We waited for it for about a month,” Bradley, a four-time Ellis Park training champion, said with a laugh. “We had that win the other day to get to 499. But it’s always good to reach these milestones. We need to start toward 1,000 in the fifth race. Hopefully, Calvin is on my 501.”
Mission accomplished on Poseidon’s Way, leaving Bradley 2 for 2 on the day.
“Yeah, Calvin’s gotten me started on the next 500,” Bradley said afterward. “Very good day. I’m happy and glad Calvin was on both of them. He’s probably won as many races as any jock with me. I’m glad he hit the milestone with me last week and then this week.”
The 3-year-old Kiss My Note won a $7,500 maiden-claiming event, not the stage of Bradley’s biggest victories such as Brass Hat in Gulfstream Park’s Grade 1 Donn Handicap, Groupie Doll twice winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita and most recently Divisidero becoming only the third horse to win Churchill Downs’ Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic twice.
But Ellis Park has special meaning to Bradley, who is from Frankfort, Ky., but spent parts of many summers here with his late father, Fred, a product of nearby Providence, Ky., who considered Ellis his hometown track.
“I did grow up around here in a sense,” Bradley said.  “My dad brought me down here quite a bit at an early age. That’s probably been more than 40 years ago that I was coming with him.
“It’s a laid-back atmosphere; everybody is friendly and has a lot of fun here.”
Brass Hat will parade July 16 at Ellis Park on TAA Day
At age 9, Brass Hat finished a good second in Ellis Park’s Cliff Guilliams Memorial behind future Grade 1 winner Turallure, then winning Keeneland’s Grade 3 Sycamore in his penultimate career start. Brass Hat will return to Ellis Park on Sunday, July 16, to parade and be on display in the paddock as part of the festivities for Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Day at the track. Joining him will be King of Speed, his former stablemate and now paddock buddy at Bradley’s Indian Ridge Farm. King of Speed ran 15 times at Ellis in a career spanning 111 races. Both horses had second careers in the show ring after retiring from the track.
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accredits and helps fund facilities that rehab, retrain for second careers and adopt-out retired racehorses.
Borel inducted into Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
Calvin Borel, the only jockey to win the Kentucky Derby three times in a four-year span, missed Saturday’s opening card to attend his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, La. He is only the 10th person enshrined for horse racing. Borel also is a member of the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.
Among those inducted with Borel into the Louisiana hall were former NFL star Ed Reed, golfer David Toms and major-league baseball standout Juan Pierre.
“It was awesome, to be around people who were born and raised where I was and to see them come back,” Borel said. “It brought back a lot of memories. It was pretty cool.”
Yes, that was 30-1 odds on Asmussen allowance winner
There’syourtrouble, 12-1 in the morning line and coming off victory in a maiden special-weight race, would have seemed more likely to go off at 3-1 than 30-1 for Hall of Famer and 2016 Ellis champion trainer Steve Asmussen. But the cleverly-named 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief (and out of the mare Wickedly) ran down 25-1 shot On Probation in the stretch to win Monday’s $41,000 allowance feature by 1 1/4 lengths, covering 5 1/2 furlongs on firm turf in 1:01.42 and paying $63.20 to win in her turf debut.
It was There’syourtrouble’s fourth lifetime start, all this year, and coming after she won a six-furlong maiden race at Indiana Grand by 2 1/2 lengths under apprentice Katie Clawson. The filly is owned by her breeders, Charles and Ben Kidder and Nancy Cole.
“I know she just broke her maiden at Indiana Grand, and she’s was running against fillies who have been running in allowance races,” said jockey Alonso Quinonez, who this year returned to Kentucky, where he competed early in is career, after spending a decade in California. “But she was feeling super-good. I said, ‘I’m just going to let her have her own trip, and if she’s good enough she’s going to win.’ And she did. She was pretty professional.”
“She couldn’t read the Form,” said Christy Hamilton, who oversees Asmussen’s Ellis Park division. “She’s a really nice filly who is coming into herself and performing tremendously. I’m extremely proud of her and the team behind her and grateful for the opportunity from the owners and Steve to work with her.”
One happy couple after the race was Dennis and Rachel Johnson from Hancock County, who came to Ellis to celebrate their fourth anniversary a day early. The Johnsons were having no luck handicapping, so Dennis told Rachel just to pick three numbers.  Rachel came up with the 2, 5 and 10, with Dennis boxing the 10 (There’syourtrouble) and 2 (On Probation) for $2 to bag the $1,633 exacta. Throwing in the 5, he also had a $1 trifecta box with favored No. 5 Jet Away Sue, hitting for another $7,199 while betting a total of $10.
“I had one horse that I particularly liked the name, that was the 10,” Rachel said. “Then I chose the two digits in his age. It happened to be two of those had really high odds. He laughed and said it would be a miracle if those two horses came in. We really did not expect anything near a winner.”
Sprinting out: Ellis Park ends its four-day holiday run with Tuesday’s July 4 card, then goes to its regular Fridays through Sunday schedule…. Friday is the first Meet the Announcer promotion, where fans can sign up for a chance to go to the announcer’s booth and meet Jimmy McNerney, seeing how he prepares for and calls a horse race. Saturday is the ever-popular ostrich and camel races. That morning announcer Jimmy McNerney and paddock analyst Joe Kristufek conduct the first of their handicapping seminars held every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Central in the first floor of the clubhouse. Programs, coffee and donuts are free to attendees …. Making of a Racehorse, the fan-education initiative staged in collaboration with Ellis Park and the Kentucky HBPA that represents the track’s owners and trainers, will start July 22, being held every Saturday thereafter throughout the meet. The free event begins at 7:30 a.m. Central by the starting gate positioned in the mile chute, with the public able to park close by in the south end of the parking lot past the clubhouse. Fans learn about the preparation that goes on in the mornings to get a horse ready to run in the afternoons.
Photos: Kiss My Note, with Calvin Borel up, won Ellis Park’s first race Monday for trainer Buff Bradley’s 500th career victory. Head shot of Buff Bradley, and winner’s circle presentation. Bottom right is There’syourtrouble and jockey Alonso Quinonez winning the allowance feature. Credit for all: Coady Photography

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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Below are the felony cases to be filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office today.

Jason Lee Jones: Operating a vehicle as an habitual traffic violator (Level 6 Felony)

James Douglas Marrs: Possession of narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), Unlawful possession or use of a legend drug (Level 6 Felony), Unlawful possession of syringe (Level 6 Felony), Possession of paraphernalia (Class C misdemeanor)

Richard Allan Wroten: Criminal trespass (Level 6 Felony), Criminal trespass (Level 6 Felony), Resisting law enforcement (Class A misdemeanor), Disorderly conduct (Class B misdemeanor), Possession of paraphernalia (Class C misdemeanor)

Nicholas Bryan Mobley: Resisting law enforcement (Level 6 Felony)

Joe Eddie Walker: Dealing in cocaine (Level 2 Felony), Aiding Dealing in cocaine (Level 2 Felony)

April Frances Graham: Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), Possession of methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony), Possession of marijuana (Class B misdemeanor)

Seven Otters voted as Frontier League All-Stars

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Seven players on the Evansville Otters roster have been selected as Frontier League All-Stars, the league announced Monday.

The All-Star Game will take place Wednesday, July 12, at Slammers Stadium in Joliet, Ill. Voters in the league-wide process included broadcasters, general managers, field managers, coaches and local media.

Last season, Evansville sent six players to the All-Star Game to play for the West Division and Josh Allen is the only Otter going back-to-back seasons.

Allen was chosen as the second base starter and this will be his third appearance in the All-Star Game after appearing in the 2014 and 2016 games. Allen is batting .317 in 44 games this year with 22 RBIs and 38 runs scored. He has also walked 31 times and stolen eight bases.

John Schultz is making his third trip to the All-Star Game and he will start as an outfielder after playing in the 2013 and 2015 games. Schultz is leading the team with a .347 batting average in 39 games. He has 32 RBIs and 11 doubles along with four home runs and 28 runs scored.

Dane Phillips is second on the team with a .341 batting average in 43 games and he will start as a catcher in his first Frontier League All-Star Game. Phillips is second on the team with nine home runs and he entered this week with 29 RBIs and 35 runs scored.

Evansville’s home run leader, Jeff Gardner, will start for the West Division as an outfielder. Gardner has 12 home runs and 38 RBIs. He has also scored 27 runs and collected six doubles in 40 games.

First baseman Alejandro Segovia made the team as a reserve. So far this season, Segovia has eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 34 games.

Two Evansville pitchers also made the West Division roster.

Right-handed pitcher Max Duval is a potential starter for the West after accumulating a 6-2 record in nine starts this season. He has a 2.63 ERA in 58 innings with 75 strikeouts.

Evansville’s most reliable bullpen arm, lefty Kyano Cummings, also made the team. He enters this week with a 0.95 ERA in 28.1 innings. He has made 21 appearances on the mound so far this season, the most of any Otters pitcher. He has 31 strikeouts with a 2-0 record and two saves.

Last season, Evansville’s Nik Balog earned All-Star Game MVP honors after he went 2 for 3 with two home runs in the West’s 11-4 win over the East Division. Allen went 1 for 2 last year in the All-Star Game.

Tickets for the All-Star Game are on sale at jolietslammers.com and the festivities begin with the All-Star Parade July 10 at 6:30 p.m. The Home Run Derby will take place July 11 at 7 p.m. at Slammers Stadium.

Air Quality Forecast For Region

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Air quality forecasts for Evansville and Vanderburgh County are provided as a public service.  They are best estimates of predicted pollution levels that can be used as a guide so people can modify their activities and reduce their exposure to air quality conditions that may affect their health.  The forecasts are routinely made available at least a day in advance, and are posted by 10:30 AM Evansville time on Monday (for Tuesday through Thursday) and Thursday (for Friday through Monday).  When atmospheric conditions are uncertain or favor pollution levels above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, forecasts are made on a daily basis.

Ozone forecasts are available from mid-April through September 30th.  Fine particulate (PM2.5) forecasts are available year round.

Monday
July 3		 Tuesday
July 4		 Wednesday
July 5		 Thursday
July 6		 Friday
July 7
Fine Particulate
(0-23 CST avg)
Air Quality Index		 moderate moderate moderate moderate good
Ozone
Air Quality Index		 moderate moderate moderate good moderate
Ozone
(peak 8-hr avg)
(expected)		 NA* NA* NA* NA* NA*

* Not Available and/or Conditions Uncertain.

Air Quality Action Days

Ozone Alerts are issued by the Evansville EPA when maximum ozone readings averaged over a period of eight hours are forecasted to reach 71 parts per billion (ppb), or unhealthy for sensitive groups on the USEPA Air Quality Index scale.

Particulate Alerts are issued by the Evansville EPA when PM2.5 readings averaged over the period of midnight to midnight are forecasted to reach 35 micrograms per meter cubed (µg/m3).

Current conditions of OZONE and FINE PARTICULATE MATTER are available in near real-time on the Indiana Department of Environment Management’s website.

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/jail-recent-booking-records.aspx

IS IT TRUE JULY 3, 2017

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IS IT TRUE that the State of Illinois blew the deadline of passing a budget by July 1, 2017 and is now moving into its third year without a budget?…having their debt downgraded to junk ratings is now imminent which will make infrastructure and maintenance improvements more expensive by raising the interest rates to banana republic levels?…Illinois still is not caught up on $16 Billion in routine expenses and another Billion in fees and penalties?…the financial meltdown of Illinois is run from Chicago and the rest of the state is locked into the bus hat Chicago drove off a cliff?…Chicago is also being assisted to fight street crime by the federal government because they can’t seem to keep murders and shootings down to video game levels?…it is a sad state of affairs across the Wabash River?

IS IT TRUE last week the City of Evansville was grappling with a request to allocate $100,000 tax dollars for the purpose of helping poor people with repairs to their homes?…one writer even opined that $100,000 is like buying a cheeseburger to a city with a budget of over $300 Million and the writer is correct?…what the writer conveniently ignores is that $100,000 tossed into the sea of disrepair that makes up several areas of Evansville isn’t even enough to repair broken mailboxes much less a significant number of homes?…it is enough to show favoritism to a fraction of a percent of the people struggling with dilapidation and favoritism or downright cronyism is always at play when public money assists private problems?…from “who gets a “Front Door Pride” house to who gets to rent a $180,000 house at below market rate, to what contractors get approved to do the repairs at inflated prices, there is always the appearance of cronyism and corruption with such programs?

IS IT TRUE that former DMD Director Tom Barnett gave the CCO a tour of some of the areas of worse dilapidation once?…Director Barnett’s statement to the CCO was that Evansville has 10,000 houses that need over $100,000 in repairs to be habitable?…that amounts to a billion dollar problem with dilapidated houses?…$100,000 is 0.01% of what was needed to address this problem 7 years ago?…what the magnitude of this problem should drive home is that there is no damn money for nonsensical things like penguin exhibits, ball fields, and welfare hotels but our elected leaders keep obsessing over fun and games which the roofs fall in?…tossing $100,000 at a crony driven housing assistance program makes about as much sense as putting a cup of boiling water into the Ohio River to warm it up in January?…it does however make more sense than spending millions on a penguin park?…saving the money for real collective benefit is even better?…we know the hungry sharks are circling the potential for $100,000 if graft,to be authorized, and it probably will be, but it just perpetuates irresponsible management to do so?

Todays “READERS POLL” question is: Would you join a positive and non-violent protest in support of the City of Evansville Police and Firemen receiving an increase in salaries and healthcare benefits?

We urge you to take time and click the section we have reserved for the daily recaps of the activities of our local Law Enforcement professionals. This section is located on the upper right side of our publication.

If you would like to advertise or submit and article in the CCO please contact us City-County Observer@live.com

EDITORS FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column doesn’t represents the views or opinions of our advertisers.

CHANNEL 44 NEWS: Poseyville Girl Collecting Blankets for Homeless Vets

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Poseyville  Girl Collecting Blankets for Homeless Vets

JULY 2ND, 2017  BRI WILLIAMS INDIANA

  

One Poseyville girl is looking to give back this holiday. Hayleigh Lethem has been collecting blankets for homeless veterans.

She says she was struck by how much she could do after volunteering earlier in the year. She’s already collected more than a hundred blankets and is looking for more.

Hayleigh Lathem says, “When I get my goal that’s just going to be amazing. It’s just going to be awesome and I know I’m going to make my goal. There’s been some people that have been like you’re not going to get your goal but I know I can.”

Hayleigh has received the Individual Service Award from the National Junior Honors Society for her efforts.

Blankets can be dropped off at the Posey County Sheriff’s office if you would like to help Hayleigh hit her goal of 400 blankets.

TUNING OUT THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA

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TUNING OUT THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA

Making Sense by Michael Reagan

The stock market is soaring.

The economy is improving and employment is up.

But all you get from the Fake News Media (FNM) every night is more Trump bashing.

Night after night, as one phony scandal involving the president, his family or his administration fizzles into nothing and is replaced by another, TV and cable channels bring on their biased reporters to bash Donald Trump.

No wonder everyone’s I meet is bummed – especially those who watch nothing but the FNM’s TV and cable channels.

I can always tell someone who watches nothing but the FNM, because when you meet them they ask, “So what do you think about your president now?”

I also run into people all the time who didn’t vote for Trump and want to feel good about the president.

But when they turn on their TVs or pick up their shrinking newspapers, all they get are negative news stories about Trump.

I’m waiting for the fakers at CNN, MSNBC or the New York Times to do a hard-hitting investigation exposing how the president ties his shoes wrong every morning.

It sure would be nice if there were a place to go where you could just get honest news and analysis, not fake news and opinion.

But what paper can you read, or what station can you watch, where you can trust what you are told?

There’s no one in the media world anymore that makes you feel good about anything to do with the country, the economy or politics.

The FNM sure aren’t doing it. They can’t find positive news anywhere because, like rabid liberal dogs, they won’t let go of non-stories like the Russian-Trump collusion fable.

It’s been going on for almost a year now, right?

And still there’s no proof that Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russians to affect the 2016 election – or affect anything else, right?

But as that undercover Project Veritas video of CNN news producers proved this week, the FNM don’t let truth or facts deter their mission to destroy Trump.

They only care that the bogus Russian stories and their other Trump bashings bring them higher ratings or readers’ eyeballs.

Negative stories about Trump or what he is trying to do to protect America from terrorists or drain the swamp in Washington is all the FNM has time to talk about.

Take ObamaCare, please. Everyone agrees it is a disaster that needs to be fixed, but somehow everything the president and Republicans want to do to fix it is morally wrong or stupid.

All the FNM talk about is that Republicans haven’t voted for their healthcare bill yet — and that if they pass it, it will mean the end of America as we know it.

The FNM’s journalists also parrot – without the slightest bit of skepticism – the absurd claims by socialists like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren that the GOP bill (which hasn’t been finalized yet) is so mean it’ll quickly kill a couple hundred thousand poor, sick or disabled Americans.

The Fake News Media have been feeding us so much garbage about Trump for so long, the American people don’t know what or who to believe.

Now we have CNN firing three top investigative journalists for their fake story about some alleged connections between Trump officials and a Russian investment fund.

CNN says the trio resigned. Fine.

CNN says it retracted their story because it wasn’t properly vetted and didn’t meet their “editorial standards.” Good.

More reporters will probably get the ax at CNN, but the network’s already shaky credibility as a news source has been seriously damaged even among liberals.

For more than a year CNN has been on a mission to destroy Trump and make a buffoon of him, but all they’ve done was prove they were the Fake News Channel Trump always said they were.

—

Copyright ©2017 Michael Reagan.

Arnold Gets Off To Fast Start; Red-Hot McPeek’s Ellis Juvenile Entrant To Be Determined

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Trainer Rusty Arnold got off to a great start at Ellis Park, winning a $40,000 maiden turf race with Calumet Farm’s 3-year-old filly English Affair and a $41,000 allowance race on grass with Preston Madden’s Derby Champagne on Saturday’s opening card.
Arnold trained English Affair’s mom, the talented Lady Melesi. The trainer particularly remembers Lady Melesi narrowly losing in Churchill Downs’ Dogwood Stakes 17 years ago. As noted in the official Equibase race chart, the stakes wound up being hand-timed and the chart-callers were the ones determining the margins and order of finish. Arnold recalls that the photo-finish operator had a heart attack, and there was never a picture to determine the outcome. (As an aside, finishing sixth in that Dogwood was Spain, who later at 56-1 odds would win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff).
“That’s how far back I go with the filly,” Arnold said. “Then Watts ended up selling Lady Melesi years ago, and one of the group of babies that Calumet sent me two years ago was this baby by English Channel out of Lady Melesi. Just coincidence.”
English Affair Was Second In Her First Two Starts.
“She was a little slow to come around,” Arnold said. “We ran her at Belterra first time out because we wanted to get her off to a good start. It came off the turf; we ran her anyway, and she ran pretty good and got some education. Ran back at Indiana and had kind of second-start-itis. She didn’t want to load, threw a little fit in the gate, got way back and came running. I was really impressed with her (at Ellis). She was kind of in trouble down on the rail. Didn’t have a place to go, switched to the outside and finished up and finished really strong. She’s a typical English Channel — she’s going to get better with age. We think she’s got a future. She’s made huge strides.”
Two races later, Arnold and jockey Brian Hernandez teamed again to win the entry-level allowance feature with Derby Champagne. That gelding is one of three horses Arnold trains for Madden, the master of historic Hamburg Place whose grandfather was the legendary John E. Madden, breeder, owner and trainer of Derby winners around the turn of the 20th century.
“We’ve a couple of 2-year-olds for him that we really like, a Blame and an Uncle Mo,” Arnold said. “They’re not close to the races yet. But he called me like a year ago, and this was the first horse I ever had for him. That was a pretty solid race at Ellis Park — it wasn’t the old easy place to go. Pretty good bunch. I think you’ll see that with the money being added down there.”
McPeek Will Be In EP Juvenile — Horse To Be Determined
Trainer Kenny McPeek does not plan to run Friday night’s Bashford Manor winner Ten City or Debutante heroine Sunny Skies back in the 2-year-old stakes at Ellis Park on Aug. 20. But that doesn’t mean McPeek won’t have horses in the $75,000 Ellis Park Juvenile and Debutante.
While Ten City and Sunny Skies are expected to train up to the 1 1/16-mile Iroquois and Pocahontas at Churchill Downs’ September meet, McPeek said he’s got more youngsters in the barn to put on display.
“I’ve got some others that can run in those races anyway,” he said by phone of the Ellis races. “I’ve got a bunch of 2-year-olds that are going to run in the next few days and weeks. I’ll end up having something for them, but it’s a matter of which one.”
Of Ten City, McPeek said, “He might be the best horse I’ve ever had my hands on. He does everything, goes out like a 5-year-old already. So it’s pretty easy to get excited about him. What I don’t want to do is beat him up over the summer and run in blistering heat. I want to keep him under wraps for a little while.”
McPeek runs a pair of 2-year-olds in Tuesday’s maiden race at a mile on turf, carded as the fifth race (post time 2:42 p.m. Central). It’s a formula he’s long used at Ellis, wanting the longer distance rather than looking for grass. Rushin Tothecircle ran once at Churchill, going five-eighths on dirt, breaking slowly and finishing last to the ultra-impressive Copper Bullet, the Bashford Manor runner-up. Eclipsed Moon is a $400,000 yearling making his debut off some impressive works at Keeneland.
“As far as the group as a whole, yes, it’s exceptional,” McPeek said of his 2-year-old crop. “It will still be later in the year when they’re all ready.”
McPeek knows well how tough a maiden race at Ellis can be. He was sixth in a mile dirt race last August with Senior Investment, who this year won Keeneland’s Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes before taking third in the Preakness. The 10-length winner in that maiden race was Not This Time, who in his next two starts won Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Iroquois by 8 3/4 lengths and narrowly lost the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Jockey Robby Albarado not only won both 2-year-old stakes Friday at Churchill but swept the card’s third stakes with the Ben Colebrook-trained bourgeoning sprint star Limousine Liberal taking the Kelly’s Landing. In addition to McPeek’s treasure trove, Albarado also rides some very promising 2-year-olds for trainer Dale Romans, the pair teaming to win a maiden race by 10 lengths at Ellis last summer with Not This Time.
“I’ve got quite a few of them,” Albarado said. “It’s promising to have these 2-year-olds for the future. Kenny’s 2-year-olds were impressive. And Limousine Liberal, in an overnight handicap, not to be disrespectful of anyone but it was a breath of fresh air for him (versus graded stakes). It was nice to do it on that stage, the last night of racing.”
Winning will make a person forget the weather. And in between the Bashford Manor and Debutante, Churchill experienced an hour delay when a storm blew through. “What rain? I didn’t see any rain,” joked Albarado. “Actually I was worried about myself freezing up, my body freezing up. I stayed on the vibrating machine in the little workout room, kept stretching.”
At some point, Albarado’s 2-year-old mounts could stack up for the same race and decisions will have to be made — a great problem to have for a rider. “By the time the route races come along in the fall, whether Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity or Churchill’s Iroquois, by then we’ll have a good line on who’s who,” he said. “First time out, all of them were impressive. I can’t split them.”
Betting Up 62 Percent On Ellis’ Opening Card
Total betting on Saturday’s opening card was $1,789,882 — up 62 percent over the $1,106,508 wagered on last year’s first day of racing. That breaks down to $232,276  bet on Ellis at Ellis (up 14 percent over 2016) and $1,557,715 bet off track on Ellis’ nine-race card (up 72 percent percent over last year’s $903,119). Another $300,993 was bet at Ellis on other racetracks, a number that does not show up in the all-sources total but which was up 10 percent, the track said.
“It was just a delightful and great day,” said track president Ron Geary. “We worked hard the whole year to get to this position. We launched a bunch of new things, the new video and tote board and a lot of interior improvements. We’re very excited. Obviously we got our purse money up, and that helps a lot. But I think our team executed quite well. We thought we’d have a good meet; this is certainly a good indicator. But we’ll see what happens in the next 30 race dates, see if it rains or anything like that.”
Sidelined Jockey Francisco Torres Visits Ellis Park
Jockey Franciso Torres just needs his surgeon’s clearance to resume getting on horses after sustaining a broken neck for the fourth time in his long career on March 28 in a spill at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds. He was supposed to meet with his Indianapolis surgeon on Wednesday, but said the doctor canceled because of a heavy surgery schedule and can’t fit him in until Aug. 1.
“I said, ‘Are you serious? That’s another month,’” said Torres, who was visiting Ellis Sunday. “Meanwhile, I emailed the surgeon in New Orleans (who did the actual surgery) to see if he can see me before Aug. 1. I’m waiting to hear back. If he’ll see me before Aug. 1, I’ll make a trip down there. But I think things happen for a reason. If he can’t see me, it’s another month I can heal. But, believe me, I am anxious to get back.”
Torres keeps a photo on his phone of the hardware in his neck — the latest being a titanium plate and eight screws. “The surgeon said, ‘Cisco, you’ll never break your neck again,’” he said.
He showed how he has maintained complete flexibility in his neck. “If you’d told me (before) that they’d fuse my neck (and he could continue riding), I’d have told you you’re a liar,” Torres said. “What hurt the most was my tailbone. I broke my tailbone also. That hurt for a good two months. I’m just getting over that now.”
We Want You To Sing The National Anthem
Do you sing or know someone who does? Ellis Park is looking for talented singers to audition to sing the National Anthem for our live races this summer. To audition, email aerkman@ellisparkracing.com or call 812-435-8903.
Photo below: Jockey Brian Hernandez guides English Affair to victory in a grass maiden race Saturday at Ellis Park. Credit: Coady Photography. Jockey Francisco Torres, sidelined with his fourth neck fracture, was a visitor at Ellis Park. (Jennie Rees photo)
Trainer Rusty Arnold got off to a great start at Ellis Park, winning a $40,000 maiden turf race with Calumet Farm’s 3-year-old filly English Affair and a $41,000 allowance race on grass with Preston Madden’s Derby Champagne on Saturday’s opening card.
Arnold trained English Affair’s mom, the talented Lady Melesi. The trainer particularly remembers Lady Melesi narrowly losing in Churchill Downs’ Dogwood Stakes 17 years ago. As noted in the official Equibase race chart, the stakes wound up being hand-timed and the chart-callers were the ones determining the margins and order of finish. Arnold recalls that the photo-finish operator had a heart attack, and there was never a picture to determine the outcome. (As an aside, finishing sixth in that Dogwood was Spain, who later at 56-1 odds would win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff).
“That’s how far back I go with the filly,” Arnold said. “Then Watts ended up selling Lady Melesi years ago, and one of the group of babies that Calumet sent me two years ago was this baby by English Channel out of Lady Melesi. Just coincidence.”
English Affair was second in her first two starts.
“She was a little slow to come around,” Arnold said. “We ran her at Belterra first time out because we wanted to get her off to a good start. It came off the turf; we ran her anyway, and she ran pretty good and got some education. Ran back at Indiana and had kind of second-start-itis. She didn’t want to load, threw a little fit in the gate, got way back and came running. I was really impressed with her (at Ellis). She was kind of in trouble down on the rail. Didn’t have a place to go, switched to the outside and finished up and finished really strong. She’s a typical English Channel — she’s going to get better with age. We think she’s got a future. She’s made huge strides.”
Two races later, Arnold and jockey Brian Hernandez teamed again to win the entry-level allowance feature with Derby Champagne. That gelding is one of three horses Arnold trains for Madden, the master of historic Hamburg Place whose grandfather was the legendary John E. Madden, breeder, owner and trainer of Derby winners around the turn of the 20th century.
“We’ve a couple of 2-year-olds for him that we really like, a Blame and an Uncle Mo,” Arnold said. “They’re not close to the races yet. But he called me like a year ago, and this was the first horse I ever had for him. That was a pretty solid race at Ellis Park — it wasn’t the old easy place to go. Pretty good bunch. I think you’ll see that with the money being added down there.”
McPeek will be in EP Juvenile — horse to be determined
Trainer Kenny McPeek does not plan to run Friday night’s Bashford Manor winner Ten City or Debutante heroine Sunny Skies back in the 2-year-old stakes at Ellis Park on Aug. 20. But that doesn’t mean McPeek won’t have horses in the $75,000 Ellis Park Juvenile and Debutante.
While Ten City and Sunny Skies are expected to train up to the 1 1/16-mile Iroquois and Pocahontas at Churchill Downs’ September meet, McPeek said he’s got more youngsters in the barn to put on display.
“I’ve got some others that can run in those races anyway,” he said by phone of the Ellis races. “I’ve got a bunch of 2-year-olds that are going to run in the next few days and weeks. I’ll end up having something for them, but it’s a matter of which one.”
Of Ten City, McPeek said, “He might be the best horse I’ve ever had my hands on. He does everything, goes out like a 5-year-old already. So it’s pretty easy to get excited about him. What I don’t want to do is beat him up over the summer and run in blistering heat. I want to keep him under wraps for a little while.”
McPeek runs a pair of 2-year-olds in Tuesday’s maiden race at a mile on turf, carded as the fifth race (post time 2:42 p.m. Central). It’s a formula he’s long used at Ellis, wanting the longer distance rather than looking for grass. Rushin Tothecircle ran once at Churchill, going five-eighths on dirt, breaking slowly and finishing last to the ultra-impressive Copper Bullet, the Bashford Manor runner-up. Eclipsed Moon is a $400,000 yearling making his debut off some impressive works at Keeneland.
“As far as the group as a whole, yes, it’s exceptional,” McPeek said of his 2-year-old crop. “It will still be later in the year when they’re all ready.”
McPeek knows well how tough a maiden race at Ellis can be. He was sixth in a mile dirt race last August with Senior Investment, who this year won Keeneland’s Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes before taking third in the Preakness. The 10-length winner in that maiden race was Not This Time, who in his next two starts won Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Iroquois by 8 3/4 lengths and narrowly lost the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Jockey Robby Albarado not only won both 2-year-old stakes Friday at Churchill but swept the card’s third stakes with the Ben Colebrook-trained bourgeoning sprint star Limousine Liberal taking the Kelly’s Landing. In addition to McPeek’s treasure trove, Albarado also rides some very promising 2-year-olds for trainer Dale Romans, the pair teaming to win a maiden race by 10 lengths at Ellis last summer with Not This Time.
“I’ve got quite a few of them,” Albarado said. “It’s promising to have these 2-year-olds for the future. Kenny’s 2-year-olds were impressive. And Limousine Liberal, in an overnight handicap, not to be disrespectful of anyone but it was a breath of fresh air for him (versus graded stakes). It was nice to do it on that stage, the last night of racing.”
Winning will make a person forget the weather. And in between the Bashford Manor and Debutante, Churchill experienced an hour delay when a storm blew through. “What rain? I didn’t see any rain,” joked Albarado. “Actually I was worried about myself freezing up, my body freezing up. I stayed on the vibrating machine in the little workout room, kept stretching.”
At some point, Albarado’s 2-year-old mounts could stack up for the same race and decisions will have to be made — a great problem to have for a rider. “By the time the route races come along in the fall, whether Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity or Churchill’s Iroquois, by then we’ll have a good line on who’s who,” he said. “First time out, all of them were impressive. I can’t split them.”
Betting up 62 percent on Ellis’ opening card
Total betting on Saturday’s opening card was $1,789,882 — up 62 percent over the $1,106,508 wagered on last year’s first day of racing. That breaks down to $232,276  bet on Ellis at Ellis (up 14 percent over 2016) and $1,557,715 bet off track on Ellis’ nine-race card (up 72 percent percent over last year’s $903,119). Another $300,993 was bet at Ellis on other racetracks, a number that does not show up in the all-sources total but which was up 10 percent, the track said.
“It was just a delightful and great day,” said track president Ron Geary. “We worked hard the whole year to get to this position. We launched a bunch of new things, the new video and tote board and a lot of interior improvements. We’re very excited. Obviously we got our purse money up, and that helps a lot. But I think our team executed quite well. We thought we’d have a good meet; this is certainly a good indicator. But we’ll see what happens in the next 30 race dates, see if it rains or anything like that.”
Sidelined jockey Francisco Torres visits Ellis Park
Jockey Franciso Torres just needs his surgeon’s clearance to resume getting on horses after sustaining a broken neck for the fourth time in his long career on March 28 in a spill at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds. He was supposed to meet with his Indianapolis surgeon on Wednesday, but said the doctor canceled because of a heavy surgery schedule and can’t fit him in until Aug. 1.
“I said, ‘Are you serious? That’s another month,’” said Torres, who was visiting Ellis Sunday. “Meanwhile, I emailed the surgeon in New Orleans (who did the actual surgery) to see if he can see me before Aug. 1. I’m waiting to hear back. If he’ll see me before Aug. 1, I’ll make a trip down there. But I think things happen for a reason. If he can’t see me, it’s another month I can heal. But, believe me, I am anxious to get back.”
Torres keeps a photo on his phone of the hardware in his neck — the latest being a titanium plate and eight screws. “The surgeon said, ‘Cisco, you’ll never break your neck again,’” he said.
He showed how he has maintained complete flexibility in his neck. “If you’d told me (before) that they’d fuse my neck (and he could continue riding), I’d have told you you’re a liar,” Torres said. “What hurt the most was my tailbone. I broke my tailbone also. That hurt for a good two months. I’m just getting over that now.”
We want you to sing the National Anthem
Do you sing or know someone who does? Ellis Park is looking for talented singers to audition to sing the National Anthem for our live races this summer. To audition, email aerkman@ellisparkracing.com or call 812-435-8903.
Photo below: Jockey Brian Hernandez guides English Affair to victory in a grass maiden race Saturday at Ellis Park. Credit: Coady Photography. Jockey Francisco Torres, sidelined with his fourth neck fracture, was a visitor at Ellis Park. (Jennie Rees photo)
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