Preakness Preview
National Media Teleconference
May 11, 2023
1:00 PM
Operator: Good day, everyone, and welcome to your conference call. For the opening remarks, I will now hand the call over to Mr. Jim Gluckson. Please go ahead, sir.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you, Jennie (ph), and hello, everyone. And welcome to today’s National Thoroughbred Racing Association media teleconference, previewing the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes, to be held on Saturday, May 20, at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore.
With us today will be NTRA President and CEO, Tom Rooney; and trainers Gustavo Delgado and Gustavo Delgado, Jr., and co-owner Ramiro Restrepo, representing Kentucky Derby winner, Mage; and also, trainers Shug McGaughey; Brad Cox; and Steve Asmussen.
Today’s conference call will be recorded and a replay of the call, and the transcript, will be available on ntra.com in the next 24 hours. So, let’s begin our proceedings with some opening remarks from NTRA President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Rooney.
Tom Rooney: Thanks, Jim. First and foremost, I want to congratulate the connection with Mage — very exciting race — their south Florida connections and I’m very for all those involved. However, the past week has also been challenging for those of us who care about our sport.
Long before I assumed my role at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, I thoroughly enjoyed being involved, as a small breeder and owner myself, as well as a fan and a bettor. In fact, our entire family history can trace back to a guy [Art Rooney, Sr.] who was a pretty famous bettor, back in the early 1930s, who went on to start the [Pittsburgh] Steelers. So, it’s in our blood and we have a family farm in Maryland, with a couple regional stallions and broodmares.
So, I look — always look forward to the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby. But, with those Maryland roots, I also particularly look forward to the Preakness. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, or as the law that we know as HISA, is the law of the land, and will be fully implemented on May 22. This is the clearest action, as an industry, that we can take to show race fans and the general public that we are committed to continuing to improve our sport.
We know that fatalities have dropped precipitously over the decades, but with a week like last week, we owe it to them, as well as the people involved in our sport, to show that we can even get better and we will always try to do so. Last Saturday’s Derby drew the largest TV audience this year, aside from the Super Bowl. But we need to own this issue, every race, every day, at every track.
When you have the highest-rated show, besides the Super Bowl, juxtapose to what happened at Churchill, we owe the public to have solutions, and HISA is a large part of that solution. Massive change in any industry is never easy and we’ve seen pockets of resistance to HISA. Part of the reason for this pushback is due to the fact that, for more than a decade, we can point to real strides, as I said, made in the area of safety and integrity across the country.
Data shows that fatalities, again, are at their lowest since we started tracking them. But the fact of the matter is, we have to do better, and we all know that. The new national rules and regulations set by HISA go further than ever before to enhance the safety and well-being for both horses and riders, while ensuring a greater degree of integrity for our sport and our industry.
Risk is impossible to eliminate in any sport. That’s just a fact. But I’m convinced that our future is safer, fairer, and will also be more popular for all of us — industry stakeholders, fans, and bettors for generations to come. I will be available for any of the press involved, at any point after this call, through our office, to continue this dialog. But this call is for the trainers and the connections of the contestants of the Preakness to talk about their athletes.
So I want to say good luck to everyone participating in next weekend’s Preakness. Back to you, Jim.
Jim Gluckson: Tom, thank you very much. And again, to reiterate, if you have any follow-up with Tom, for any follow-up questions after the call, you can please contact Meghan Rodgers at the NTRA to set that up. All right, everyone, now let’s bring in our first guest for today. This is team Mage. This is the trainer and assistant trainer, Gustavo Delgado, Gustavo Delgado, Jr., — who are co-owners of the horse, of course. And also, co-owner, Ramiro Restrepo.
So, gentlemen, welcome to today’s call and congratulations, again, on your tremendous victory last Saturday in the Derby.
Ramiro Restrepo: Thank you, so much. Greatly you appreciate you having us on the show — excuse me, on the telecon — I’m so programmed right now, with the media we’ve done — for having us on the teleconference. And it’s been a dream come true for all of us. Of course, it’s something that countless people aspirate to get to this position. And we’re just truly blessed with what’s come.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you. Gustavo, we’d like to ask your father, – he has enjoyed tremendous success in Venezuela, and of course, winning many, many races there, now, wining the Kentucky Derby, as America’s greatest race. What has been the feeling like the past few days? And what does it mean, to this victory, to the people in Venezuela?
Gustavo Delgado, Sr.: (Untranslated) — responding.
Ramiro Restrepo: Hello, Jim. This is Ramiro Restrepo again. So Gustavo says that it’s really tough for him to compare both series, because the Triple Crown in Venezuela and the Simon Bolivar are very important races over there for the country and for the thoroughbred industry over there. So they (inaudible) are close to his heart.
But he did come to America knowing that it is the highest level of racing — the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup and all the top-level races here were — was the reason why they came over here, to kind of compete at the highest level of global racing, obviously, the comparability of the location to Venezuela and the United States is close. They have come to America before and had horses racing here in America, with other trainers.
So, for them, I was an — it was a — the transition coming over here was pretty smooth. But clearly, winning the Kentucky Derby is at the top of his list, and many others’ list. It’s a — for him, it’s a blessing. And it’s — as this moment, is the greatest accomplishment of his career.
Jim Gluckson: Wonderful. Ramiro, while we have you here, you picked out the horse at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale for two-year-olds. What did you see about Mage that caught your eye?
Ramiro Restrepo: Sure. Gustavo, Jr., and I have been working the sales together for, like, the last three years. It’s great to have a team. You see many agents with their trainers, and occasionally their owners, work the sales together, in tandem. Sometimes it’s better to have two pairs of eyes or three pairs of eyes than just one.
But, more than anything, the two things that stand out more than anything, Jim, is one, his breeze was phenomenal — not just from a time perspective, but in the fashion, the way he did it, his efficiency. He looked so much like Good Magic on the track, as far as their cadence, their stride, their rhythm. Good Magic ran not too long ago, so he was pretty fresh in our minds and was definitely one of those fresh stallions that was on our radar.
With the Stonestreet and the Hill ‘N’ Dale program, we knew he’d defiately get a big shot, to make that stud. His dam, Puca, was owned by Jerry Crawford, who is a really good buddy of mine. So I definitely saw her break her maiden. I remember her running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and when she placed in the Gazelle. So his pedigree was defiantly just fresh in our minds.
And then, when went back to the barn, the Sequel, Becky Thomas Consignment, he was just a — he was just a replica of his sire. He was like a clone of Good Magic. The horse had a — he just puffed up like a peacock and really showed himself well — his class and just his disposition really struck out to us. And we pretty quickly had a number one the — on our big board of prospects to buy.
And — because how highly we loved him was why stretched beyond our budgets to buy him. So it’s — when you love something and you — sometimes you push it to the limit and things end up working out.
Jim Gluckson: Very good. Well, thank you. We have a lot of media on the line here. So, let’s move over to the question-and-answer session from the media. So with this — let’s have — begin. Jennie?
Operator: Yes. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Should wish to ask a question, please press * 1 on your telephone keypad. Should you wish to cancel your request, you may press * 2. Your first question is from Stephen Whyno from The Associated Press. Please ask your question.
Stephen Whyno: Hi, gentlemen. Thank you for doing this. For all three of you, really — I’m just curious — what does this mean? This is the first Derby with Venezuelan connections, in decades now. I’ll – just what does this mean, just to have a horse, and all of you guys, with the connections to Venezuela and the big ownership group? What does all this mean to you guys?
Gustavo Delgado, Jr.: It means everything. It is an accomplishment that we were looking for. It is by design, actually. This was a dream — actually was the third time that we came to the Derby with a horse. And we saw that this time we certainly had a good chance, and definitely the horse put up a beautiful race for us. And I am — we’re still enjoy.
Ramiro Restrepo: Ramiro Restrepo here, again. For the ownership group, we all have our individual stories. That’s the most, I guess, beautiful thing about having four partners from four, different backgrounds. Everybody’s had their own trials and tribulations and challenges to overcome. We — the Kentucky Derby is the dream of any horse owner and every horse trainer.
We all have a lot of familial ties to this sport. There’s been so much dedication and sacrifice, just devoting every ounce of our energies of our resources to this game, to be able to make it to the Derby is such an amazing accomplishment on its own. You feel like a winner just getting into the gate. So, it — the horse doing well all week and training well all week just encouraged us and gave us the confidence that he was going to put on a good performance.
And then, the fact that he actually won, I mean, it’s like a — in horse-racing terms, a genie in a bottle couldn’t have granted a better wish than that. It was just — it really is a dream come true for everyone — for Jason, Brian, for Sam, for the Gustavos and myself — it’s the Holy Grail and we were able to capture it. It — it was — it’s been phenomenal.
Jim Gluckson: (Inaudible) follow-up?
Stephen Whyno: Yeah, I was just going to say, just confirming you guys are definitely entering the horse in the Preakness?
Ramiro Restrepo: Like we said after the race, everything just — is just patience and temperance on our end. We want to make sure that the horse, from here until Friday, works out — keeps going to the track in order. And that’s — and the plan is that if, on Friday he trains satisfactory, like he’s been training all week, then we would make the announcement that we would go to the Preakness.
We’ve already looked into a couple of logistical options, just to kind of dot our I’s and cross the T’s, but we just want one more good day of training tomorrow. And if he comes back well, then it would be on to Preakness.
Jim Gluckson: Next question.
Operator: Thank you. The next one is from Childs Walker from Baltimore Sun. Please ask your question.
Childs Walker: Yeah, hi. Thanks for doing this. For all three of you, what’s — you just talked about the decision on coming to the Preakness. Can you go a little bit further, talking about how difficult a decision it is to come back on just two weeks, when that is such an uncommon thing, in modern racing?
Ramiro Restrepo: Every decision that is made on our end, Mage makes that decision for us. From the day he made his debut, until now, every race, the horse was put first here. We just let him come back from the race and then monitor — use our horsemanship to monitor every single thing, monitor every single sign that he can give, that he’s doing well and wanting to move forward.
With the two-week turnaround, obviously, it’s something that is not traditional these days, but yet, in South America and Europe and other international racing jurisdictions, it is quite common. So it’s not a foreign subject for a horseman. Gustavo has plenty of experience doing this in South America. He’s won two triple crowns with similar time frames.
So, as far as being prepared and being able to know all the things that Mage needs to check off the list to be able to participate at his best, for the Preakness, we have that in play and we’re quite comfortable with it. And we’ve just been following that protocol, from the Sunday after — from this past Sunday. So, all indications are that Mage is feeling good, doing well on the racetrack, and we just want one more morning, tomorrow, make sure he trains well, because he hasn’t been treated with kid gloves.
They are athletes. They’re athletes that need to be in their regular, exercise routine and fitness regimen. So, he trains well tomorrow, he’ll be on the way to Baltimore, for the Preakness.
Stephen Whyno: Thank you.
Ramiro Restrepo: You’re welcome.
Operator: Thank you. The next one is from Tom Pedulla, freelance writer. Please ask your question.
Tom Pedulla: Yeah, so, I was talking to Javier Castellano, and he said that he offered to fly in for the final work at Churchill Downs, but you all said, no, no, we have J.J. and we’re going to let J.J. handle it. Why did you feel so strongly that J.J. Delgado was the man for that particular task? Javier, by the way, said he understood completely why you’d want to do that.
Gustavo Delgado, Jr.: Well, basically, we didn’t want the horse to do too much before the race, because he gave us the signals that he was ready. And J.J. knows the horse — J.J. Delgado, his exercise rider, knows the horse well. And since he wasn’t doing too much, we wanted to feel more safe with training, pretty much. And then Javier, I mean, it’s about strength, also, and make the horse — just to make sure that the horse doesn’t do too much before the race, pretty much.
Tom Pedulla: Could you also say what role J.J. has played in the horse’s success — in the horse’s development and success?
Gustavo Delgado, Jr.: It’s a major role, I’ll say. He’s been my dad’s primary exercise rider for the horses that we have brought to the Derby before, for example. And they’ve been together for so long that, basically, he doesn’t need too many instructions for what we trying to accomplish, especially train to take horses to longer distances.
And he’s pretty good at teaching them how to rate, for example. And also, he’s pretty much also like us (ph). I mean, he’s got the same last name as us, Delgado — he’s not related, but we have a long-term relationship with him, because we all come from the same town in Venezuela. And he used to ride for my dad, as well, back in Venezuela, when he was an active jockey. So, I mean, it’s a — the whole team that did the right thing, that was necessary.
Tom Pedulla: Okay. Thank you, very much.
Gustavo Delgado, Jr.: You’re welcome.
Operator: Thank you. Your next one is from John Cherwa from Los Angeles Times. Please ask your question.
John Cherwa: Thank you. This question is for all three of you, and it’s — sort of broadens out, on what Steve asked earlier — but it’s slightly more than 50 years since the winner of the Kentucky Derby had a Latino trainer, jockey, and owner. Now, could you guys reflect on what this sort of historic moment means to all Latinos, and talk about why it has taken so long for Latinos to prominent in all three areas in the United States?
Ramino Restrepo: Well, Latinos, as jockeys, have had incredible success, not only in the Kentucky Derby, but on — in the horse racing landscape. And trainers, I mean, Lazaro Barrera won a Triple Crown, and so has Gustavo Delgado in Venezuela. If you look at the trainer standings at racetracks in south Florida, you had South American, Latin American trainers doing well.
The challenge, when it comes to the higher profile races, it lends to the support you get from clients to be able to acquire higher-end, or perceived, higher-end purchases, or well-bred horses. Sometimes, there might be a cultural or language barrier between the cultures of those who are of, I guess, who — from — I guess you want to call them American — Anglo-Americans that come from the — that came here — of English or Irish descent and settled here hundreds of years ago.
If you compare those traditional racehorse owners to those of an ethnic background, there’s definitely — you’re defiantly outnumbered. And the hardest thing is trying to attract new clientele. And maybe it’s because of — there’s a language barrier or a — that comfortability of cultures, to just try to get to know someone and kind of go beyond just — it makes the communication, sometimes, might be a little challenging and that creates some barriers of intimidation for new owners or established owners to welcome trainers of a different ethnicity.
But, look, times have changed — are changing. There are now second- and third- and fourth-generation descendants of Latin American background, like myself. I was born here, and we helped — I — that sort of the reason why Gustavo and I kind of joined forces three years ago, was to try to help increase the profile of his barn, to bring in new partners that were of non-Latin descent, like Sam Herzberg is Brooklyn-born racehorse owner who has had tons of success — Brian Doxtator and Chase Chamberlin, as well.
We had Michael Iavarone, who won the Kentucky Derby, with Big Brown, as one of our partners, as well. So we’ve been welcoming new owners into the barn, which has been great. But, as always, I — you could speak for trainers of all backgrounds — everyone wants to have access to the best stock. And it’s all about being able to create relationships and opportunities.
Jim Cherwa: Okay. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. The next one is from Beth Harris from Associated Press. Please ask your question.
Beth Harris: Hi, this is for Ramiro. I’m interested in you being a south Florida based owner. You, obviously, race at Gulfstream, where one of their surfaces is tapeta, and I’m wondering what is your opinion of the synthetic surfaces like that? And do you see that as any way to mitigate some of these injuries that we saw here recently?
Ramiro Restrepo: Well, I know that they installed the tapeta surface down at Gulfstream. And it’s used, not only as an option for horse — that horses that might take to it, out of just preference, because much like us, who have preferences in different work-out regimens, the all-weather surface is also used at Gulfstream, when it rains and the turf course is soft and might be deemed unsafe by the — by them there, we use the all-weather surface at Gulfstream, and the horses that are used to running on turf respond to it very well.
As far as the safety numbers — I am not informed — I am not well-informed enough to comment on rate of injuries or of those fatalities on the all-weather surface. I’m — you would have to probably ask that question to Gulfstream Park or other racetracks that have the all-weather. On a personal note, we’ve trained over the all-weather surface with no problems. And we’ve run over the all-weather surface with success, so we are defiantly open to any suggestions from track management, and don’t oppose anything that would be brought before us by any safety committees or HISA or whatever’s — told us to do.
We’re quite comfortable training on dirt, turf, all-weather, and racing on whatever is presented towards us.
Beth Harris: Okay. Thank you.
Operator: No more questions at this time, sir. Please continue.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you, very much. I wanted to thank Gustavo and Gustavo, Jr., and Ramiro for taking the time today to talk about Mage. And good luck with your plans. I hope we — hoping to see you in Baltimore for the Preakness. And have a great day. Thank you so much for joining us.
Gustavo Delgado, Jr.: You’re welcome. (Untranslated)
Jim Gluckson: All right, now. We’re going to shift gears here, and go to our next trainer on the line, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will be our next guest. Shug, of course, trains Federico Tesio Stakes winner, Perform, who earned an automatic berth into the Preakness with his victory, of course, in the Tesio. So, let’s bring in Shug, please.
Shug McGaughey: I’m here.
Jim Gluckson: All right, Shug, good afternoon. Jim Gluckson here. How are you?
Shug McGaughey: Good, Jim. How are you?
Jim Gluckson: Very good. Thank you. I would say that another son of Good Magic here, in Perform. He finished fourth, interestingly enough, in a maiden special way at Gulfstream, which was won by Mage. And then, Perform, broke his maiden at the Tampa Bay Downs later on. And, of course, stepped up, big time, in the Tesio.
And, I will tell you, — looking at the replay there, at eighth pole, it didn’t look like he had a chance at all. But, what he did — what confidence did he bring to you after seeing that performance in the Tesio?
Shug McGaughey: Well, it was kind of two-in-row around two turns on the dirt, Jim. And, we took him over to Tampa to run him in a two-turn dirt race. Of course, they have a little difficulty getting to go at Tampa at Gulfstream, and I wanted to try him around there. I figured we’d sprinted him enough to where we had good bob in him and could get him to — where he’d be fit enough to go, I thought.
Irad [Ortiz Jr.] did a great job by easing him back, and sort of waiting on him and getting him relaxed, and he finished really, really well. And then, the (a other than)up here was going a mile and 3/16, or a mile and 3/8, or something, and I thought I didn’t want to run him that far. So I had to test the (inaudible) out — perfect timing, perfect distance, go a mile and 1/8 and two turns at Laurel.
And that’s where we elected to go. And like I say, kind of lumbering around there, doing nothing at the end. But, I mean, at the start, but then, finally went — the better he kind of got to finish in and so I think that off of that, is the reason we’re kind of in the position we are in right now.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Obviously, we don’t know the field. We’re still far away from the race. But this kind of race, at a mile and 3/16, for his running style, how does the race set up well for him?
Shug McGaughey: Well, I mean, I think the distance is a big thing. The two turns is a big thing. And, obviously, we had hoped we could get a little speed in front of us, which we probably will. In these races, they usually do. And I think that, I mean, I hope we’re finishing with Mage, and out-kick him.
But I think that just the two turns on the dirt, the distance — a mile and 3/16 — kind of the timing is pretty good. We’ve got plenty of time in between races. And he had a good work here, last Sunday, with [jockey Feargal] Lynch on him. And I just want to kind of — made up my mind, let’s — along with his owners, to — let’s give it a chance.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Can you tell us his exercise work schedule over the next few days, and travel schedule?
Shug McGaughey: I’m not exactly sure when the travel schedule is. It’ll either be Tuesday, after he trains, or first thing Wednesday morning, after he trains. I think he’s supposed to be in there by 12 o’clock, so it’d be cutting it a little close. I plan on working him, probably a half mile, or here about, while — on Sunday.
Jim Gluckson: All right. I think we have some — a question on the line. So, Jennie, let’s invite our questioner in, please.
Operator: Yes. The first question is from Byron King from BloodHorse. Please ask your question.
Byron King: Hi, Shug. Thanks for joining us. I do appreciate. I was hoping you could talk a little bit about him being supplemented, Perform, to the Preakness Stakes. He was, obviously, a late developer and was not an original Triple Crown nomination. But what did you advise your owners when you all chatted about the $150,000 that it would cost to supplement?
Shug McGaughey: Well, that really wasn’t a concern. They — obviously, we talked about it. And — but they said, if you feel like it’s worth doing, we’re ready to go. And they’re ready to go, and that’s what they’re in the game for, is this — is it — these kind of situations. And they’re all excited about it and they will be a lot of people there. And — but really, I didn’t have to twist any arms, by any means.
Byron King: So what about the Preakness, in general, Shug? I’d love to get some of your — the races that your remember most of from it. I mean, obviously, I know the Easy Goer’s close defeat, and, obviously, has got to be a big stick-out in one of the races that most everybody, myself included, considers one of the most exciting of all time. But give some of your best recollections.
Shug McGaughey: Well, I think Secretariat’s races was — I mean, it was exciting, because we got kind a new look when he went to lead. And going for the — for a Triple Crown and highly acclaimed horse like that coming into the race, was kind of — was a fun race for me to watch. I mean, I think it was a justified race, in the fog and the rain and all that kind of stuff. It was fun. But there’s a lot of them — a lot of Preaknesses that I’ve watched that I thought have been good races.
Byron King: Thank you, Shug.
Shug McGaughey: You bet.
Operator: Thank you. The next one is from Art Wilson from Southern California newspaper. Please ask your question.
Art Wilson: Hey, Shug. We’re at the time of the year, where a lot of people are debating the Triple Crown format, whether there’s not enough time in between the races — maybe if there was little more time between the Derby and Preakness it would attract more horses that ran in the Derby, to the Preakness. And then, there are others — the people who say it’s been a great spectacle for years. Let’s keep it the way it is. What are your thoughts on that?
Shug McGaughey: Well, I think you probably know. I’m a — pretty much of a traditionalist and I’ve always been the kind that I didn’t want to change it. I did see a format presented the other, on Twitter or something, where they ran the Derby in May — and then in July, ran the Preakness, and then in October, you ran the Belmont.
I didn’t think that was that bad of an idea. I don’t know if it was something I’d vote for or not. But if they came up with it, I don’t think I would fight it too much. But like I say, I do — I am a traditionalist. I hate to see them keep changing a lot of different things. But it’s different times now.
I mean, it’s — so sometimes you — no matter who you are what you are, you got to open your eyes a little bit to — what’s going to be best for racing and best for the horse and this and that. I mean, I think it is exciting and throws a little of intrigue into it, with these horses having to run back in two weeks. And also, usually with that, we get some decent horses that haven’t run, like in the Kentucky Derby.
Or maybe have found — have not even found themselves through the all the different prep to get to it. I mean, it’s hard to get to the Kentucky Derby. And I think, sometimes, that it can take its toll on them, sort of mentally, to run in the race — train up to a race like that, run in a race like that, on a day like that.
And then, has to come back and ship over to a new place and to run again, a different distance. But, like I say, I — it’s a — there’s a lot of exciting things about it.
Art Wilson: And a quick follow-up — do you think we’d see more Triple Crown winners if they increase the spacing between the races.
Shug McGaughey: Well, probably so. But it’s still the same thing. I mean, you’re going to have to — if you won the Derby and then won the Preakness, again in July, and you didn’t run again until October, even the end of August, say, at Saratoga, you’re going to have to probably run them in between then. And you’re going to train them in between then.
So, there’s going to be some release and factor fall in there, no matter how it is. But you’ll probably see — you might see more of it. But I don’t — I’m not really in favor of seeing a Triple Crown winner every year.
Art Wilson: Right. Okay. Well, thank you, sir. And good luck in the Preakness.
Shug McGaughey: Thank you, very much.
Operator: Thank you. The next one is from Beth Harris from Associated Press. Please ask your question.
Beth Harris: Hi, Shug. I know trainers have varying opinions on dirt versus synthetic surfaces. And, based on your own racing experience, what is your opinion of synthetic tracks?
Shug McGaughey: I like them. I was racing a lot around Keenland, when they first started with the Polytrack. And I have a split stable, be in New York and Keenland. And they might call me at night and say, i