http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/racinghub/archive/2012/01/11/angel-cordero-s-last-ride.aspx

The new HBO racetrack drama series “Luck” will debut its pilot episode Sunday night at 10 p.m. Eastern following the season finale of “Boardwalk Empire.” Hollywood heavyweights Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte star in the series, which will feature many real-life racing stars such as Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens and Chantal Sutherland.

From acclaimed director Michael Mann and “Deadwood” creator David Milch, “Luck” takes a provocative look at the world of horse racing — the owners, gamblers, jockeys, and diverse gaming industry players.  Along with Hoffman and Nolte, the cast includes Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Richard Kind, Ian Hart, Kevin Dunn, Ritchie Coster, Jason Gedrick, Jill Hennessy, Tom Payne, and Kerry Condon. The pilot is directed by Michael Mann and written by David Milch.

The Sunday sneak peak is the only time to view the pilot episode until the series debuts its 10-episode first season on Jan. 29, 2012.

Hall of Famer Cigar (Brien Bouyea photo)

Hall of Famer Cigar (Brien Bouyea photo)

Hall of Famer Cigar (Brien Bouyea photo)

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Kentucky and one the best parts of the trip was getting the chance to see how the legendary Cigar is doing these days. He’s 21 now, but as you can see he still looks like he’s ready to put together another 16-race win streak. I will post some more photos from the trip in the next few days.

Man o' War (NMR Collection)

It was 91 years ago today that the immortal Man o’ War went to the post for the 21st and final time in his illustrious career. On Oct. 12, 1920, the 3-year-old son of Fair Play met 1919 Triple Crown winner Sir Barton in a match race at Kenilworth Park in Ontario, Canada.

Sent of at odds of 1-20, Man o’ War had no trouble defeating Sir Barton, who was a year older. The victory was the 14th in a row for Man o’ War and the 20th of his career from 21 starts.

Man o’ War and Sir Barton were both inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.

See the link below for footage from the 1920 Kenilworth Gold Cup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC86Jm5oiMc

Hall of Famer Noor

The remains of Hall of Famer Noor arrived at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Ky., to be re-interred on Wednesday. A public ceremony was held at 10 a.m. at Old Friends.

The ceremony marked the end of a long journey for the English-bred champion, who was unearthed by California-based racing enthusiast Charlotte Farmer after she discovered his burial site was being targeted for development. Noor had been buried in an unmarked grave inside a training track at Loma Rica Ranch in Grass Valley, Calif.

Farmer has been traveling across the country to deliver the remains to Old Friends.

Foaled in 1945, Noor began his racing career in England, where he won the 1948 Diomed Stakes and finished third in that year’s Epsom Derby. Noor was imported to the U.S. in 1948 after being purchased by Charles Howard, owner of the legendary Seabiscuit.

The son of Nasrullah took well to his new surroundings. In 1950, he set five new track records at Santa Anita Park, Hollywood Park, and Golden Gate Fields. He also set world record times at 1 1/8 miles and 1 1/4 miles at Golden Gate.

Noor won seven of his 12 starts in 1950, including scores in the Hollywood Gold Cup, Santa Anita Handicap, and San Juan Capistrano Handicap. He also finished second in that year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Noor arguably is best known for defeating Triple Crown winner Citation in four of their five meetings. Citation finished second to Noor all four times. He also defeated Triple Crown winner Assault twice, making Noor the only horse to defeat two Triple Crown winners.

Noor retired following his 1950 season with 12 wins from 31 starts and career earnings of $365,940. He was retired to stud and sired 13 stakes winners, including French champion sprinter Yours.

Noor lived at Loma Rica Ranch until his death in 1974 at age 29. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2002. Noor is the second Hall of Famer to be buried at Old Friends, joining Precisionist.

The Man o' War Cup (Brien Bouyea photo)

The famous Man o’ War Cup was on display in the Saratoga paddock this morning during the draw for Saturday’s 142nd running of the Travers Stakes. Man o’ War won the gold cup, at the time valued at $5,000, when he defeated Hall of Famer Sir Barton, the first Triple Crown winner, at Kennilworth Park in Canada in 1920. The race marked Man o’ War’s final start and was his 20th win from 21 starts.

Chris McCarron

Jockey Bradley Wilson’s victory aboard Fionn on Aug. 16 at Fort Erie marked the 1,000th combined winner from the graduates of the North American Racing Academy, which was founded by Hall of Fame rider Chris McCarron.

NARA, a program of the Kentucky Technical and Community College System, began classes in 2006 and has produced 18 professional riders from 34 graduates. The program also includes pathways for non-riding professions in the racing industry.

Graduates of the NARA program have ridden in more than 9,800 races and earned more than $14 million in purses.

Wilson graduated from the program in 2008, and rides at Fort Erie and Woodbine. Fellow NARA grad Ryan Pacheco also found the winner’s circle twice that day, the last coming after Wilson’s victory.

“I’m extremely proud of my students,” said McCarron. “They did it!”

Based in Lexington, the program currently has 30 students enrolled for classes, including 16 in the jockey pathway.

Sky Beauty (NYRA photo)

By BRIEN BOUYEA
Communications Officer

Bred in Kentucky by Sugar Maple Farm, Sky Beauty showed tremendous promise at age 2, developed into a force at age 3, and was a champion at age 4. She won at distances ranging from five furlongs to the classic 1¼ miles. She proved she could carry weight. She proved she could handle the big stage that is New York racing.

At age 2 in 1992, Sky Beauty (Blushing Groom—Maplejinsky, by Nijinsky II) won four of five starts for owner Georgia Hofmann and Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens, including the Grade 1 Matron and the Grade 2 Adirondack. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect campaign was a disqualification in the Spinaway.

At 3, Sky Beauty won five consecutive races, including a sweep of the New York Filly Triple Crown, which consisted of the Acorn, Mother Goose, and the Coaching Club American Oaks. She then tacked on the Alabama Stakes and the Rare Perfume. Sky Beauty became just the eighth filly — and the most recent one — to win the combination of the Acorn, Mother Goose, and Coaching Club American Oaks. All eight of those fillies are in the Hall of Fame.

Sky Beauty put together another five-race win streak at age 4 in 1994. She gave 10 pounds to You’d Be Surprised in winning the Hempstead, romped by 10 lengths in the Go for Wand, and carried 130 pounds while defeating Dispute in the Ruffian. Sky Beauty’s tremendous campaign netted her the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Female.

In a brief season at age 5 in 1995, Sky Beauty added a second victory in the Vagrancy. She retired with a record of 15-2-2 from 21 starts and earnings of $1,336,000. Sky Beauty won nine Grade 1 races.

Jerry Hollendorfer and King Glorious (Golden Gate Fields photo)

By BRIEN BOUYEA
Communications Officer

At the time of his Hall of Fame induction, Jerry Hollendorfer ranked in the top 10 in all-time wins and purse earnings among North American trainers. Born in Akron, Ohio, Hollendorfer arrived in California in the late 1960s and began working as a groom at Bay Meadows. He later went to work for trainers Jerry Dutton and Jerry Fanning in various capacities before taking out his own training license in 1979.

Success didn’t come overnight for Hollendorfer. He failed to win more than 16 races in any of his first six years as a licensed conditioner. However, things began to change for Hollendorfer when he won 56 races in 1985. The next year that total increased to 117 and he eclipsed $1 million in purse earnings for the first time. That same year, 1986, also marked the first time Hollendorfer won the training titles at the Northern California tracks Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows.

Hollendorfer’s first stakes winner was Novel Sprite, a $16,000 claimer. Under Hollendorfer’s care, Novel Sprite went on to win more than $400,000 and was named Claimer of the Year in 1986. The talent in Hollendorfer’s stable continued to improve and he began to capture numerous marquee races. From 1986 through May of 2008, Hollendorfer won 37 consecutive training championships at Bay Meadows and 32 in a row at Golden Gate Fields.

Major races won by Hollendorfer horses include three runnings of the Kentucky Oaks with Lite Light in 1991, Pike Place Dancer in 1996, and Blind Luck in 2010. Hollendorfer has also won the Santa Anita Handicap, Haskell Invitational, Hollywood Futurity, Delaware Handicap, Alabama Stakes, Humana Distaff Handicap, and Ohio Derby, among others.

Hollendorfer won his 5,000^th race in December 2007 at Hollywood Park. Through 2010, he ranked fourth in all-time wins with 5,863 and eighth all-time in purse earnings with $119,141,280. Hollendorfer has also been in the top 10 in wins for the past 24 years (1987 through 2010) and has ranked in the top 10 in earnings 12 times in his career.

Hollendorfer shows no signs of slowing down. In 2010, he won five Grade 1 races: the Kentucky Oaks, Alabama, and Las Virgenes with champion Blind Luck; the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile with Dakota Phone; and the Gamely with Tuscan Evening.

Safely Kept (NYRA photo)

By BRIEN BOUYEA
Communications Officer

Safely Kept was the pride of Maryland, but she was a star everywhere she raced. Bred in Maryland at David and JoAnn Hayden’s Dark Hollow Farm, Safely Kept (by Horatius—Safely Home, by Winning Hit) contested her entire 2-year-old campaign in her home state, winning three of five starts, including two stakes, in 1988.

Owned by Barry Weisbord in partnership with Richard Santulli’s Jayeff B. Stable and trained by Alan Goldberg, Safely Kept was dominant as a 3-year-old in 1989, winning eight of nine starts and garnering the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Sprinter. Among the bay filly’s wins that year were the Grade 1 Test Stakes and Grade 2 scores in the Genuine Risk Handicap and Prioress Stakes. Her only setback was a second-place effort to Dancing Spree in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

At 4, Safely Kept was once again among the sport’s elite, posting eight wins in 10 starts. She earned seven stakes wins during the campaign and capped off her remarkable season with a victory in the 1989 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. That win over stars Black Tie Affair and Dayjur also avenged her only loss from the prior year, as she finished 9½ lengths in front of Dancing Spree.

Safely Kept had another triumphant campaign at age 5 in 1990. For the third consecutive year, she won the Genuine Risk Handicap, Maryland Million Distaff Handicap, and the Garden Stakes Handicap. She also won her second Meadowlands Handicap, and added the Chicago Handicap.

Safely Kept concluded her career with a record of 24-2-3 from 31 starts and earnings of $2,194,206, more than any other filly or mare bred in Maryland. She won races in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey at a total of 10 tracks.