Category: Christine Oser

Trainer Morris Nicks Dies at 74

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Father of trainer Ralph Nicks, Morris was based primarily in the southwest.

 

Longtime trainer Morris Nicks, also the father of trainer Ralph Nicks, died Nov. 25 at home in Waskom, Texas, at age 74. He had been battling cancer.

“His upbringing and bringing me up was to have a good work ethic and to start doing things early,” said Ralph, who trained 2017 champion 2-year-old filly Caledonia Road . “If you were big enough to hold a pitchfork, you were big enough to start cleaning a stall. Basically if you were big enough to walk, you learned how to lead a horse; the list goes on from there. It’s how he brought me around, which probably has to do with some of the things I was able to accomplish and carry on.”

Morris was born in Clarksville, Texas, and grew up in the nearby town of Avery. He became a mainstay at the Southwest racetracks. Since official statistics began being tracked in 1976, he trained 819 Thoroughbred winners that earned $15,737,189 through 2018, according to Equibase. Morris retired in 2018 due to leukemia.

 

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Longtime Louisiana Trainer Eddie Johnston Dies

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Veteran trainer Eddie Johnston conditioned state champs Pacific Pink, Zarb’s Luck.

 

Longtime Louisiana trainer Eddie Johnston died Aug. 28 following a battle with cancer. He was 74.

Close friend and fellow horse trainer Sturges Ducoing remembered Johnston as a “true friend, very loyal, and totally, totally a family man. He lived for his family—his wife, his kids, and his grandkids—did everything that he could possibly could for them.”

Johnston got his start on the racetrack hotwalking for his uncle, Alex Johnston. He began training in 1981, according to Equibase statistics, and remained a trainer throughout his life. Through Aug. 31, Johnston had won 558 races from 2,988 starts and his horses over the years have collected almost $13 million in earnings. His top horses included Louisiana’s 2015 champion 3-year-old filly Pacific Pink  and Louisiana’s 2003 champion older horse Zarb’s Luck.

 

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Mo Tom, El Deal Represented by First Black-Type Winners

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Red River Farms’ freshman stallions had stakes winners Aug. 21 at Louisiana Downs.

 

Mo Tom  and El Deal , both freshman stallions standing at the Adcock family’s Red River Farms in Coushatta, La., were represented by their first black-type winners Aug. 21 at Louisiana Downs.

In the second race of the day, Wholelottamo  took the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes for Mo Tom, and two races later True Deal  eked out a victory in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Stakes to represent El Deal. Both 2-year-olds were bred in Louisiana by Cloyce Clark Jr.

 

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Cilla First Black-Type Winner for California Chrome

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Sophomore filly won Louisiana Legends Mademoiselle Stakes June 5 at Evangeline Downs.

 

Two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome   sired his first black-type winner June 5 when his 3-year-old daughter Cilla  drew away to win the $70,000 Louisiana Legends Mademoiselle Stakes at Evangeline Downs.

From her sire’s first crop, Cilla is an earner of $143,500 and holds a 3-0-2 record in eight starts. Last year at 2, she placed in the Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. She was bred in Louisiana by her trainer, Brett Brinkman, and owner, P. Dale Ladner.

Joel Dominguez guided Cilla in the 5 1/2-furlong Mademoiselle. The bay filly was fifth early before pulling ahead for a 4 1/4 length victory on the sloppy, sealed track. The final time was 1:03.74.

 

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Lone Star Approved for Two Additional Race Dates

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Aug. 5 and Aug. 12 will be added to the Thoroughbred meet.

 

The Texas Racing Commission approved July 21 two extra Thoroughbred race dates for Lone Star Park. The racetrack near Dallas recently lost nearly eight whole race days after a racing operations employee tested positive for COVID-19.

Lone Star was granted the requested dates of Aug. 5 and Aug. 12, the first two Wednesdays of next month, for its Thoroughbred meet. The track was originally slated to conduct a 44-day meet April 16-Aug. 11, but did not get underway until May 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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La-bred Chimney Rock Digs In for Churchill Allowance Score

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Three Diamonds Farm’s Chimney Rock, fourth in his season debut, rebounded with a fighting effort to eke out a narrow win May 17 in a turf sprint allowance for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs.

The 5 1/2-furlong dash was Chimney Rock’s first race back against Four Wheel Drive, who went 3-for-3 as a juvenile and defeated Chimney Rock by three-quarters of a length in the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T). While Four Wheel Drive was away slow from the rail as the 3-5 favorite, Chimney Rock stalked the pacesetter and fought for a head victory. Four Wheel Drive finished seventh. Jack and Noah, who showed the way through fractions of :22.85 and :46.20, proved to be a challenger to Chimney Rock but had to settle for second. Guildsman rallied from 10th to finish third, 3 1/4 lengths behind Jack and Noah.

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Boyd Gaming Applies for Evangeline Downs Race Dates

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Company requested 50 dates for delayed Thoroughbred meet.

Fifty dates for Thoroughbred racing at Evangeline Downs have been requested by track owner Boyd Gaming, the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association announced May 15.

The Opelousas, La., racecourse was originally set to open for its Thoroughbred season April 8 and race through Aug. 29, but the track has remained closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The revised schedule submitted to the Louisiana State Racing Commission lists June 5 as the new opening date, with racing four days a week on a Wednesday-through-Saturday basis. Closing day would remain the same.

Boyd Gaming management applied for 14 days of Thoroughbred racing in June, 19 days in July, and 17 days in August at Evangeline.

May 16 marked the first day horses stabled outside Evangeline Downs and Delta Downs were welcomed back through the stable gates at the two tracks. Since mid-March, no new horses were allowed to enter the racetracks. The horses already stabled there were allowed to remain in place after Boyd Gaming reversed course after originally telling horsemen March 16 they had 48 hours to vacate the premises. Horses resumed training April 13 for the first time since the lockdown after Louisiana District Court judge Sharon Wilson on April 9 dissolved a temporary restraining order obtained by Boyd Gaming that resulted in no racehorse training.

“We’ve had some positive steps in the last month,” said Benard Chatters, the president of the Louisiana HBPA and a trainer at Evangeline Downs. “We were able to get the horses back training, and then today we were able to bring some of the horses back to the racetrack that had been locked out. The regular workout people were back, the outriders were back, and it was a really joyous and refreshing day for me.”

Chatters, who was at Evangeline on Saturday morning, said people were eager to get their horses back to the racetrack, including trainers who ship their horses in for workouts on the track.

Racing has not taken place in Louisiana since Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots ended its meet about a week early March 21.

 

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Pound for Pound Wins Louisiana Champions Day Classic

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Fair Grounds’ Dec. 14 feature first black-type win for trainer Andrea Ancil Ali.

 

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Israel Flores Horses’ Pound for Pound edged Trevilion to take the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic, giving trainer Andrea Ancil Ali and jockey Aubrie Green their first black-type wins Dec. 14 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

The Classic was the highlight on a 13-race card for accredited Louisiana-breds, including three Quarter Horse stakes.

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Into Mischief and Mitole Available to Quarter Horses

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Breeding will be via artificial insemination handled by Robicheaux Ranch.

 

Spendthrift Farm has partnered with Robicheaux Ranch and will offer the opportunity for Quarter Horse mares to breed with leading Thoroughbred stallion Into Mischief  and recent Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner Mitole  for the 2020 breeding season, it was announced Nov. 20. Quarter Horse mares will be bred via artificial insemination.

Between Spendthrift Farm owner B. Wayne Hughes looking for creative ideas and Ryan Robicheaux, manager of Robicheaux Ranch in Breaux Bridge, La., looking for an outcross, the venture interested both sides of the deal.

 

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