Velasquez Leads Penn Gaming Racing Challenge

On the back of wins aboard Moreno in the Charles Town Classic and Control Stake in the Robert Hilton Memorial this past Saturday at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Cornelio Velasquez has assumed the top spot in the jockey standings following the second event of the 2015 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge.  The pair of wins on Saturday came in Velasquez’ first two career starts at Charles Town.

Velasquez’ 44 points puts him 6 ahead of Miguel Mena who stood atop the standings after January’s Sam Houston Ladies Classic card. Kerwin Clark, who rode Cassatt to her win in the Houston Ladies Classic is in third position with 31 points. Moving into the top 5 in the rider standings was local jockey Jose Montano.  Montano had a trio of mounts on Saturday which resulted in a fourth place finish on Vyjack in the Charles Town Classic, a sixth place effort aboard Arkaybee in the Hilton and a narrow loss on Flattering Bea, runner-up in the Sugar Maple presented by CANTER Mid-Atlantic.  Montano is lodged in a 3-way tie for fourth with Forest Boyce and James Graham, all of who have 28 points.

Despite not having a starter on the Charles Town Classic card, Mike Maker remains atop the trainer standings with 46 points based on Coalport’s victory in the John B. Connally Turf Cup (G3) at Sam Houston and saddling Shanon Nicole to her third place finish in the Houston Ladies Classic. Tom Amoss took sole possession of third place as a result of Control Stake’s triumph and sits 11 points behind Maker and 4 behind Larry Jones.  Eric Guillot and George Papaprodromou, trainers of the 1-2 finishers in the Charles Town Classic round out the top 5.

While Fox Hill Farms remains on top, they saw their lead cut in the owner’s standings with Southern Equine Stables LLC now just 2 points behind. Fox Hill Farms sent out both Cassatt and Exodus to wins on the Houston Ladies Classic card while Southern Equine Stables scored all of their points with Moreno’s victory on Saturday.  2014 Penn Gaming Challenge leading owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey sit tied for third with KM Racing Enterprise, owner of Charles Town Classic runner-up Imperative.  

The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge, inaugurated by Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PNGI) in 2014, ties together 20 stakes races worth more than $5 million purse money at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Hollywood Casino at Penn National 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 six events will have their entry and starting fees refunded in any unrestricted stakes race run at a PNGI thoroughbred track in 2016, 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.

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 on May 30 as Penn National hosts the third running of the $500,000 Penn Mile, which will be contested as a Grade 3 for the first time.  In addition to 2014 winner Bobby’s Kitten going on to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) last fall, the race was also recently represented well by Jack Milton – third in the inaugural Penn Mile – who won the Makers 46 Mile (G1) at Keeneland in his last start.

Source: Penn National Gaming