Ramseys, Brown, & Castellano Shine in Penn Racing Challenge

A pair of defending Eclipse Award winners in owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey and jockey Javier Castellano, as well as a trainer fresh off three victories at the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships in Chad Brown top the final standings in the inaugural Penn Gaming Racing Challenge, which concluded this past Saturday night with the $200,000 Fabulous Strike at Penn National.  In addition to a paid trip to the Penn National Gaming, Inc. owned M Resort in Las Vegas for each of the winners, any horse the Ramseys or Brown run in an unrestricted stakes race at a Penn Gaming owned thoroughbred track in 2015, will be entitled to a refund of all fees paid upon the horse starting. 

The Ramseys, who teamed with Brown and Castellano to take the $500,000 Penn Mile with eventual Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Bobby’s Kitten, were the only owners to win multiple Challenge races having also won the John B. Connally Turf Cup (G3) at Sam Houston in January with Admiral Kitten.  In recent years, Ken and Sarah Ramsey have become a force in North American turf racing with their stallion Kitten’s Joy – the sire of both Bobby’s Kitten and Admiral Kitten – claiming the title of America’s leading stallion by earnings in 2013.

Off the strength of those two victories, the Ramseys accumulated 52 points to beat runners-up George and Lori Hall by 11 points.  The Halls had previously won a race in the series when Pants On Fire claimed the Wild & Wonderful at Charles Town in September and most recently sent out Bern Identity to a runner-up finish behind Ben’s Cat in the Fabulous Strike.

The top four owners in the final standings are rounded out by James W. Arrison, owner of Sugar Maple presented by CANTER Mid-Atlantic winner Flattering Bea and KM Racing Enterprise, Inc., who sent out Imperative to an upset victory in the $1,500,000 Charles Town Classic (G2).

Castellano took home the honor as the top rider following his banner Penn Mile day that included not only the victory on Bobby’s Kitten, but also wins aboard Last Gunfighter for Brown in the $200,000 Mountainview Handicap and on Tightend Touchdown in the $150,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup.  With those three wins added to a third place finish on Ready to Act in the $100,000 Penn Oaks, Castellano’s only four mounts in the Challenge combined to rack up nearly $500,000 in earnings on the Penn Mile program.

The 37 year old Castellano, who won his first Eclipse Award this past year as the country’s top jockey, was the only rider to win three races in the Challenge.  Angel Serpa, who won the Penn Oaks on Pin Oak Stud’s Interrupted and $100,000 Pink Ribbon on Geeky Gorgeous, Jevian Toldeo who piloted Miss Behaviour to her victory in the $500,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3) and Stormin Monarcho to his win in the $100,000 Swatara and Kerwin Clark, victorious on Cassatt in the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks and Lasting Bubbles in the $75,000 Zia Park Distaff were the only other jockeys to win multiple races in the Challenge.  Serpa, the runner-up, 18 points behind Castellano, along with Julian Pimentel, Rafael Bejarano and Toledo completed the top 5 amongst jockeys.

The trainer category turned out to be the closest of the three with Brown shading Tom Amoss by just 6 points.  Much like Castellano, Brown made his hay on the Penn Mile card with the pair of wins, Ready to Act’s third place effort in the Penn Oaks and his second Penn Mile entrant, Storming Inti, who finished third beaten 4 3/4 lengths by his stablemate.  The Cornell graduate recently had a Breeders’ Cup to remember after saddling not only Bobby’s Kitten, but also Dayatthespa who parlayed her front running style into a Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) victory and Lady Eli, the impressive winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Brown’s final Challenge starter, Integrity, finished sixth in Saturday night’s Swatara.

Amoss, the only trainer other than Brown to condition the winner of two series races with Sum of the Parts winning the $75,000 Champion Energy Stakes at Sam Houston and Rise Up taking the $100,000 Robert Hilton Memorial presented by Budweiser on Charles Town Classic day, also sent out Kiss to Remember to a runner up finish in the Charles Town Oaks.  Amoss found himself 11 points clear of Mike Maker, with Jerry Hollendorfer and Kelly Breen rounding out the top five.

The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge, inaugurated by PNGI this year, tied together 21 stakes races worth a total of $5,250,000 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Sam Houston Race Park, and Zia Park.  The Challenge included tie-ins between groups of races in the series, as well as the bonuses and prizes paid out to the winners.

All owners, trainers, and jockeys who participated in the unrestricted stakes on the designated event days received two points with additional 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.

The full schedule for the 2015 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge will be announced when the stakes schedules at the constituent tracks are finalized in the coming weeks.

Source: Penn National