Trainer Mike Maker and rider Miguel Mena, who teamed up to win the $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup (G3) with Coalport on Saturday night, sit on top of the standings in the trainer and jockey categories for the second Penn Gaming Racing Challenge following the completion of the series’ first event – the Houston Ladies Classic card run this past weekend at Sam Houston.
Maker, who also led the 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge after the first event, earned 46 points for the night based on Coalport’s victory in the Connally, a fourth place effort by Dreams Cut Short in the same race and a third place finish by Shanon Nicole in the Houston Ladies Classic. Currently sitting in second – 7 points behind Maker – is Larry Jones, who not only sent out Cassatt to win the featured $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic but also had his night enhanced by Exodus’ victory in the $50,000 Allen’s Landing. Ken McPeek, Ronald Pellegrini and Tom Amoss round out the top 5.
While Jones occupies the runner-up spot among trainers following his two wins on Saturday, another member of Cassatt’s and Exodus’ connections, Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farms, tops the owner standings. With Cassatt’s victory, Fox Hill Farms now owns wins in 2 of the 3 runnings of the Houston Ladies Classic, having taken it in 2013 with Grade 1 winner Joyful Victory. Close on the heels of Fox Hill Farms is 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge leading owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey who won their second consecutive Connally after winning it with Admiral Kitten in 2014. The Ramseys 22 points is good for second place, 7 behind Fox Hill Farms’ 29 points.
Miguel Mena is the leading rider in the Challenge after the Ladies Classic card having ridden Coalport and Shanon Nicole for Maker and picking up 38 points in the process. Mena, who won the Charles Town Oaks in 2013 aboard So Many Ways, also finished seventh as the second choice in the $75,000 Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint on Petey Cramer. In second place with 31 points is Kerwin Clark, who piloted both Cassatt and Exodus during their wins at Sam Houston. Forest Boyce and James Graham sit tied for third with 28 points apiece.
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 April 18 as Charles Town hosts the seventh running of the $1,500,000, Grade 2 Charles Town Classic.
Source: Penn National Gaming, Inc.
