Steeplechase purses in upward trend

The 2008 National Steeplechase Association season, which came to a close Saturday with the inaugural Palm Beach race meeting, set new highs in total and average purses. Total purses reached a record $5,359,100, up $1,455 from last year, while the average purse of $27,483 also broke new ground, topping last year's mark of $26,655.

"Overall I was very happy with how the season went," said Bill Gallo, the NSA's director of racing. "Palm Beach was a great conclusion to a big year. We set an all-time purse record for the second year in a row and reaching that plateau was very meaningful. It says we have a very bright future and that's something to be excited about."

NSA purses topped the $5-million mark for the third time in the last four years. While the robust 2008 numbers are a source of pride, Gallo received the greatest satisfaction in the racing itself.

"To me the most rewarding part -- and what I'm most happy with -- is the racing product overall. We were able to give horsemen a few more opportunities as well as stretching the season out a little bit. It just goes to show that if you put races together in proper way and put on a good showing the better off you will be," Gallo said. "Filling the races at Saratoga was a highlight for sure. We take great pride in putting on best races we can, but entering Saratoga filling the races were a challenge with the amount of horses we had. So at the end you ask yourself, ‘Was it good?' And we can safely say, ‘Yes, it was.' For our sport, the more exposure we get, then the more possibilities for new race meets to crop up occur. That's where we are most effective. People forget we are a regulatory body, but at the same time I feel we do a great job of putting out a good racing product."

The NSA sanctioned 195 individual races in 2008, down six from 2007. The loss of the Little Everglades and Queen’s Cup meets in the spring and the cancellation of three races at Shawan Downs in September due to heavy rain were compensated by the addition of new venues, as Kentucky Downs and the Palm Beach Steeplechase helped pick up the slack in the fall.

Steeplechasers returned to Kentucky Downs for the first time since 2000, taking part in the $500,000 Kentucky Cup Turf Festival on Opening Day. Two jump races offering $75,000 in purses were run on that Sept. 13 card, including the $50,000 Belle Meade Stakes. Gallo enjoyed the sport's revival at the all-turf track and has already scheduled a return trip for next year.

"It was good to get back to Kentucky Downs after being away for so long, and that was another day where we put out a good product and the races went well," he said. "We have a good relationship with management and we're already booked to open their festival turf season next year on September 12."

Palm Beach reappeared on the NSA calendar after an even longer absence. The NSA circuit last ventured to the South Florida locale in 1985, when the meet opened the season with four races totaling $50,000. Things grew considerably this time around, as Palm Beach closed out the calendar with five races totalling $180,000.

"Palm Beach was a magnificent ending to the season. It was a beautiful racecourse and the amenities were great, so we were very happy with the racing," Gallo said. "It was pretty interesting to see it all happen and know that though it was something that was created at the start of the season it ran so smoothly. I think everyone down there had a very good time and the event was well received. There's even talk of a spring meet next year, though that's still to be determined."

The 2009 schedule will kick off at Aiken, S.C., Gallo noted, and other developments are in the works this winter as he and NSA chief executive Lou Raffetto look to build on the successful framework laid down this season.

"Lou Raffetto and I have spent hours looking at attainable goals, including increasing racing opportunities. Though purses are very important horsemen seem to be more concerned with opportunities than with purses. There's a lot to look forward to in the future, from racetrack opportunities to potential for simulcast wagering. And even though the economy is difficult shape right now these are attainable goals," Gallo said. "We've already rekindled the idea of running a hunt meet at Monmouth Park, a return to Tanglewood in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in May is also in the works and Charleston in November is being discussed, though the date is not set in stone. We're obviously looking forward to getting started in 2009."


NSA CHAMPIONS CROWED

The 2008 season ended with a slew of exciting equines capturing divisional crowns. That excitement should carry over well into 2009, as all but one of the winning horses will be back in training next year.

Leading Horse: Good Night Shirt.

5 races, 5 wins. $485,520 in earnings.

Sonny Via's champion defended his crown in dominant fashion, going a perfect 5-for-5 in Grade I stakes and shattering the NSA single-season earnings record he set last year at $314,163. The 7-year-old son of Concern was brilliant from start to finish, annexing the Georgia Cup and Iroquois in the spring and then returning in the fall to take the Lonesome Glory, Grand National and Colonial Cup. The Jack Fisher trainee is odds-on to claim his second consecutive Eclipse Award in January.

Timber Champion: Bubble Economy.

8 races, 3 wins, 2 thirds. $110,250 in earnings.

Arcadia Stable's 2004 champion rolled to a second timber title thanks to great days at Great Meadow, where he won the $100,000 Virginia Gold Cup in May and the $50,000 International Gold Cup in October. In between those scores, the durable 9-year-old old picked up checks all around the timber circuit, capping his campaign with a November victory at Camden that helped him set a new single-season earnings record.

First-Year Novice Champion (horses that started 2008 as a maiden over jumps): The Price Of Love.

7 races, 3 wins, 1 second, 2 thirds. $122,792 in earnings.

The Bill Pape-Jonathan Sheppard connection sent out another good looking prospect in this 5-year-old son of Prenup, who built some momentum in the spring before putting things together in the fall. The Price Of Love broke his maiden in his seasonal debut at Camden in March and finished third in the Grade II National Hunt Cup at Radnor in May. He really got rolling at Saratoga, winning a pair of novice stakes (the Jonathan Kiser in July and the Mickey Walsh in August). He added to his bankroll during the fall, finishing fifth in the novice stakes at Monmouth Park and third in the Grade I AFLAC Championship at Callaway Gardens.

Second-Year Novice Champion (horses that broke their maiden over jumps in 2007): Be Certain.

8 races, 2 wins, 5 seconds. $168,138 in earnings.

Runner-up for the 3-year-old crown in 2007, the son of Thunder Gulch showed no signs of a sophomore jinx in 2008, winning a pair of races in the spring, including the National Hunt Cup over 2007 novice champion and stablemate Planets Aligned. Trainer Tom Voss and Alnoff Stable set their sights on bigger things at Saratoga, and Be Certain hardly disappointed, running second to Dark Equation in the Grade I New York Turf Writers against open company. After being headed out for the win in the Monmouth County novice stakes, he again fared well in open company, finishing a game second to Good Night Shirt in the Grand National at Far Hills.

Filly/Mare Champion: Guelph.

6 races, 4 wins, 1 second. $123,424 in earnings.

Guelph heads off to retirement with a second filly/mare title thanks to a win over males in the Palm Beach Stakes this past weekend. Filly/mare and novice champion in 2005, The Fields Stable's homebred dominated the distaff division in 2008, beginning in May with stakes scores in the Henley at Nashville and the Valentine at Fair Hill. The 7-year-old daughter of Sky Classic finished fifth against the boys in the Grade II A.P. Smithwick at Saratoga and second in the Peapack at Far Hills before notching another pair of stakes victories in the season's final month.The Tom Voss trainee took the Crown Royal filly/mare stakes at Callaway and the aforementioned inaugural Palm Beach Stakes in November, and retires a seven-time stakes winner with an 8-of-15 career mark over hurdles.

Three-Year-Old Champion: Class Real Rock.

3 races, 1 win. $31,750 in earnings.

This Mede Cahaba homebred led a bevy of talented Lilith Boucher 3-year-olds and takes home the trophy based on his come-from-behind win in the $50,000 Gladstone at Far Hills. The son of Rock Point sandwiched a pair of fourth-place finishes around his Gladstone score; a maiden at Middleburg in October and the Woolfe Memorial at Camden in November.

Champion Trainer: Jack Fisher.

122 races, 26 wins, 12 seconds, 21 thirds. $1,156,907 in earnings.

Fisher defended his 2007 training crown by holding off a late charge from Tom Voss on the season's final day to notch his fourth title in six years. Fisher ruled the earnings standings as well, becoming the first steeplechase trainer to surpass $1 million in a season. Fisher's runners succeeded at every level in 2008, as his deep and versatile stable set the standard.

Champion Jockey: Xavier Aizpuru.

83 races, 22 wins, 13 seconds, 11 thirds. $527,777 in earnings.

The English-born jockey repeated as champion with another dominant performance in 2008. A talented and versatile rider, he rode favorites and longshots with the same determination, and finished the season as the leading timber rider as well.

Champion Owner: Sonny Via.

7 races, 5 wins. $487,020 in earnings.

Another repeat winner, Via rode to the title on the back of Good Night Shirt, who set a single-season NSA earnings record for the second year in a row. Via also campaigned the 3-year-old prospect Pleasant Top. -- NSA