Casse and Pletcher remain 1-2 in Penn Gaming Racing Challenge

While neither was able to secure a victory on this past Saturday night’s Race for the Ribbon card at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, trainers Mark Casse and Todd Pletcher still sit in first and second – separated by 1 point - in this year’s Penn Gaming Racing Challenge.  Casse, who earlier won the Penn Mile (G3) with Catch a Glimpse sent out Grande Shores to a runner up finish behind Rise Up in this past Saturday’s Wild & Wonderful.  Earlier in the year, Casse saddled Kaigun to a runner-up effort in the $200,000 John Connally Turf Cup (G3) and Theogony to a fourth place finish in the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic (G3).

Pletcher, victorious with both Stanford in the Charles Town Classic (G2) in April and Sweet Victory in the $200,000 Penn Oaks, looked poised to take the lead from Casse, but odds on favorite Sophia’s Song checked in third in the Charles Town Oaks (G3), beaten just a neck for the top spot.  2015 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge leading trainer Mike Maker sits in third while with Tom Amoss moving up to fourth following Rise Up’s triumph and Alan Goldberg completing the top 5.  Amoss joined Maker, Goldberg and Pletcher as the only conditioners to win multiple races in the series thus far in 2016.

Two time defending Penn Gaming Racing Challenge champion jockey Javier Castellano was able to widen his lead in the jockey category to a near invincible margin after a victory and pair of third place finishes on the Charles Town Oaks program.  While his mount on Sophia’s Song didn’t result in a victory, Castellano previously found the winner’s circle with Rise Up in the Wild & Wonderful earlier in the night. Castellano, whose biggest day in this year’s series came back in April when he was victorious in the $1,250,000 Charles Town Classic (G2) aboard Stanford and won the Robert Hilton Memorial on the undercard the same day with Dig Deep, also rodeSweet Victory for Pletcher in the Penn Oaks.

Castellano, who won the first two Penn Gaming Challenge’s handily, now has a 52 point lead on Florent Geroux, who occupies the second slot.  On the Penn Mile card, Geroux captured a pair of races by piloting both Catch a Glimpse and S’maverlous to their wins in the Mile and Mountainview respectfully.  Geroux is the only rider besides Castellano to have won four races so far in this year’s series following victories on Da Big Hoss in the John Connally and Twirling Cinnamon in the Space City Stakes at Sam Houston.

Joe Bravo, Joel Rosario and J.D. Acosta round out the current top 5 in the jockey category.

Colts Neck Stables LLC remains on top of the leaderboard among owners on the strength of a pair of wins this year with Take Cover in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup and Dig Deep in the HIlton.  The New Jersey based stable owned by Richard Santulli first found success in the Penn Gaming Racing Challenge in 2015 when Force the Pass emerged victorious in the Penn Mile prior to going on to win the Belmont Derby (G1) in his next start.   

Sitting in second place is John Huber’s Gata Racing Stable just 5 points out of the lead after sending out S’maverlous in both the Charles Town Classic and Mountainview Handicap earlier this year.  BB Horses, who saw Sweet on Smokey claim the runner-up spot in Saturday night’s Pink Ribbon sits in third place with 28 points, while Charles Town Classic winning owners Stonestreet Stables LLC, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith sit in third, just 7 points out of the lead while Midwest Thoroughbreds rounds out the top five.  

The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge, inaugurated by Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PNGI) in 2014, ties together 22 stakes races worth more than $5 million purse money at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Sam Houston Race Park, and Zia Park.  The Challenge includes tie-ins between groups of races in the series, as well as bonuses and prizes that include free nominations, refund of entry and starter fees, and trips to the PNGI owned M Resort in Las Vegas.

All owners, trainers, and jockeys who participate in the unrestricted stakes on the designated event days will receive two points. Additionally, points are awarded for Top 5 finishes in varying scales, based on the value or grade of the race. The additional points range from the 25 received as a result of a win in a Grade 2, to one (1) point for a fifth place finish in an unrestricted stakes race worth between $50,000 and $75,000.

At the end of the Challenge, the owner, trainer, and jockey with the most points will each receive two round-trip airfare tickets and a three-night stay at the 390 room M Resort located on South Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas.  In addition to the travel rewards, the owner and trainer accumulating the most points at the end of all seven events will have their entry and starting fees refunded in any unrestricted stakes race run at a PNGI thoroughbred track in 2017, with the exception of Penn National itself. The winners of the inaugural 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge were Ken and Sarah Ramsey as leading owner and Chad Brown in the trainer category while Javier Castellano took away honors as the top jockey.  Last year, Fox Hill Farms edged out Ken and Sarah Ramsey as the top owner, with Maker the top trainer and Castellano once again leading jockey.

The Challenge is divided into six divisions based on race type – 3-year-old & up turf route, 3-year-old and up turf sprint, 3-year-old and up dirt sprint, 3-year-old and up filly and mare dirt sprint, 3-year-old and up dirt route, and 3-year-old and up filly and mare dirt route.  Horses running in a race within one division will automatically be nominated free of charge to the following races within that same division. Also, horses that start in a Challenge race will have all entry and starter fees refunded (excluding supplemental fees) when they start in a subsequent race in the same division.

The next event in the Penn Gaming Racing Challenge takes place at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley on November 21 when they play host to the second running of the $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint.   Later that same week, the series concludes on November 23 with Zia Park’s Land of Enchantment Day, while Penn National runs the $200,000 Fabulous Strike the night before Thanksgiving.

Source: Penn National Gaming, Inc.