National HBPA Selects Phil Hanrahan as Chief Executive Officer

The Board of Directors of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) is proud to announce its unanimous selection of attorney and retired Army Brigadier General Phil Hanrahan as its new Chief Executive Officer. Hanrahan will begin his new position on Monday, December 19, 2011.

Hanrahan earned his bachelor’s degree with cum laude honors from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He also graduated magna cum laude from Washington and Lee Law School in 1986. Hanrahan spent almost seven years on active duty in the Army as an armor officer between his bachelor’s degree and law school. After law school, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky and began practicing law, where he has specialized in bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, and equine law for the last 25 years.

Meanwhile, Hanrahan steadily rose through the ranks in the Army Reserve as an armor and cavalry officer, ultimately being promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and serving in two Commanding General positions. He also received a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College before retiring from the military in 2009.

Hanrahan grew up working on a horse farm on Long Island, where he learned to ride in exchange for mucking stalls. It was here that he met Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens and spent part of a summer – after attending paratrooper school – walking “hots” at Belmont for the trainer.

For a time, Hanrahan was a licensed Thoroughbred trainer. He has also owned, bred, and pinhooked racehorses. He is currently a handicapper and occasional tournament player.

According to National HBPA President and Chairman Joe Santanna, “Phil brings a full array of proven leadership skills to the National HBPA as a result of his vast military experiences. His quarter-century of practicing law adds legal and professional negotiation, litigation, and public speaking skills. When we coupled those with his hands-on experiences in every facet of the Thoroughbred horse racing industry, we knew we had the right person. We are looking forward to Phil Hanrahan serving as the CEO of the National HBPA.”

The National HBPA (www.nationalhbpa.com), based in Lexington, Kentucky, is the largest racing horsemen’s representative association in North America, with 30 affiliate organizations and over 30,000 member horsemen. Big Dee’s Tack & Vet Supplies, Equineline.com, and Horseman Labor Solutions are proud corporate partners of the National HBPA.

Louisiana HBPA Accepting Resumes for Executive Director Position

The Louisiana HBPA is accepting resumes for the position of Executive Director until December 2, 2011.

Applicants should have a good business and horse racing background. Knowledge of insurance issues is a plus.

If interested, please fax a resume and cover letter to (504) 454-7808 or email it to Stanley@webdsi.com.

Baird Elected President of Mountaineer Park HBPA

The Mountaineer Park HBPA recently concluded a Board of Directors election, and John W. Baird was elected the new president of the organization.

Elected as owner directors were Robert T. Bedner, John Donofrio, Janice Hanna, Theresia Mahan, and  Jeannette McIntosh.
                                                            
Elected as owner/trainer or trainer directors were Bart Baird, Philip Heidenreich, Douglas Johnson, Doug Shanyfelt, and J. Edwin Shilling.

Happy Thanksgiving from the National HBPA

The National HBPA Board of Directors and staff would like to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels over this holiday.

The National HBPA's main office in Lexington, Kentucky will be closed in observance of Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25. The office will reopen on Monday, November 29 at 9:00 a.m.

Congratulations to Florida HBPA Secretary Bill Kaplan on his Breeders' Cup Victory

The National HBPA's officers, staff, and Board of Directors would like to congratulate Florida HBPA Secretary and owner/trainer Bill Kaplan for his exciting upset victory with Musical Romance in the $1,000,000 Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (Gr. I) at Churchill Downs on Friday, November 4. Kaplan co-owns Musical Romance with Pinnacle Racing Stable.

Musical Romance, a winner in September of the Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (Gr. II), pressed the early pace of Golden Mastery early in the Filly and Mare Sprint, dropped back a little on the far turn, and bulled her way through a narrow opening in the turn before coming running in the stretch. She took over in midstretch and easily held off the late charge of Switch to cross the wire 1 1/4 lengths in front in 1:23.47 for the seven furlongs at odds of $20.20-to-1.

Kaplan owns 50 percent of Musical Romance, who had to be supplemented for $130,000 to the 2011 Breeders’ Cup. “That’s probably not the greatest fiscal decision, because she has to run second to get that back,” he said prior to the event. “But she’s in the best form of her career. Actually, it’s amazing how well she’s carried that form since she went back to sprinting. She’s an extremely manageable horse, and she and her jockey Juan Leyva really get along. He’s given her eight great trips. They really seem to have a lot of confidence in each other. I think she’ll give an outstanding effort. I don’t know if it’s enough at this level, but I know she’ll give it everything she’s got. She always does.”

Kaplan has had two previous Breeders' Cup starters: Fortune Pending, winner of the My Girl division of the Florida Stallion Stakes and Seacliff, winner of all three legs of the Florida Stallion Stakes. Both finished 10th in their respective Juvenile divisions in 1994 and 1995.

Kaplan says co-owner of Musical Romance Adam Lazarus, who founded Pinnacle Racing, is an unique managing partner. “He has some members that own as little as half a percent, but they get all the benefits as a primary owner,” he said. “I don’t think he even charges a management fee, and he does all the billing, taxes and such himself. He’s brought a lot of people into the business, and they’re having a lot of success. He wants everyone to have as much fun as he’s having.”

Trainers' Prep Exam Classes Set in Lexington and New Orleans

Enrollment is now open for two fall Trainers' Exam Prep Classes.  Class will be held in Lexington, Kentucky Saturday, November 19th through early afternoon Monday November 21. A second class is scheduled for New Orleans, Louisiana on Monday-Wednesday November 28-29-30.

Students registering for each class will be emailed class locations and times. Enrollment for each class will be limited to 12 so that everyone will have a chance to participate in the hands on portions as well as allow plenty of time for everyone to get their questions answered (a minimum of six must enroll by the cutoff date in order for each class to be held.)

Tuition is $350 ($330 if paid online prior to the cutoff date). Click on the link below for more information and to sign up:

http://www.purplepowerracing.com/?group/tepsubjectmaster.htm

Supplemental Nomination Deadline for the 2011 Claiming Crown is This Friday, November 18

This Friday, November 18, is the deadline to supplement horses to the six races of the 2011  Claiming Crown. The $500,000 Claiming Crown will be run this year on December 3 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans, Louisiana.

All supplemental nominations, which must be accompanied by a fee equal to five percent of the guaranteed purse of the race to which the horse is being supplements, must be received on or before 12:00 midnight EST November 18, 2011. Nominations received after the close of nominations (12:00 midnight EST) on Friday, November 18, 2011, will not be accepted.

Supplemental Nominations accompanied by a fee equivalent to five percent (5.0%) of the guaranteed purse of the intended race will be accepted from the owner of record at the time of nomination, or his
authorized agent, in accord with the following schedule. At the timeof nomination, the nominating owner or his authorized agent must identify both the nominated horse and the intended Claiming Crown
race. Horses made eligible to Claiming Crown 2011 by Supplemental Nomination are exempt from payment of Pre-Entry, Entry, and Starting fees.

No refunds will be made except for the following: One-half (50%) of the Supplemental Nomination fee paid shall be refunded to the nominator in the event that the horse has earned enough points to enter a Claiming Crown 2011 race but does not enter. In the event that the horse has not earned enough points to enter a Claiming Crown 2011 race, the Supplemental Nomination fee shall be fully refunded.

Pre-Entries for the six 2011 Claiming Crown races will be taken on Monday, November 21, at which time nominated horses must be declared for a specific race. Final entries for the races will be taken on Wednesday, November 30.

The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Patterned after the Breeders’ Cup, the Claiming Crown was designed to reward Thoroughbred racing’s “blue-collar” horses and offer races at varying distances on both dirt and turf. This will mark the first time Fair Grounds has hosted the event, which debuted at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota in 1999. Canterbury has hosted 10 of the first 12 renewals of the event. The Claiming Crown was held at Philadelphia Park (now Parx Racing) in Bensalem, Pennsylvania in 2002 and at Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky in 2007.

For more information about Claiming Crown please visit www.claimingcrown.com.

Congratulations to Kentucky HBPA Vice President Dale Romans on his Breeders' Cup Triumph

The National HBPA's officers, staff, and Board of Directors would like to congratulate Kentucky HBPA Vice President and trainer Dale Romans for his exciting upset victory with Court Vision in the $2,000,000 TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (Gr. IT) at Churchill Downs on Saturday, November 5. It marked Romans' second win in a Breeders' Cup race, with the first coming in 2009 with Tapitsfly in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Romans took over training the six-year-old Court Vision from Rick Dutrow when B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm purchased the son of Gulch and the Storm Bird mare Weekend Storm in August of this year. After a seventh place finish in the September 18 Woodbine Mile (Can-I), Court Vision rebounded to post an unlikely victory at odds of 64-1 - the longest odds in the Breeders' Cup Mile (Gr. IT) field.

The Breeders' Cup Mile (Gr. IT) was Court Vision's first victory since the 2010 Woodbine Mile (Can-I), and he had finished off the board all four of his 2011 starts.

Court Vision and Turallure trailed the field early in the Mile, but as they came around the final turn, both horses kicked into gear on the far outside. Meanwhile, three-time Mile champion Goldikova (IRE) had stalked the pace and was ranging up to challenge the leaders. Goldikova (IRE) hit the front by midstretch in a valiant effort to win the race for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year, but Court Vision and Turallure were coming too fast in the center of the racetrack. Those two surged past a game Goldikova (IRE), with Court Vision and jockey Robby Albarado hitting the wire a nose in front of Turallure in 1:37.05.

Romans said after the race that he was thrilled to have the four-time grade I winner moved into his barn. He continued, “I’ve loved Court Vision since he was a 2-year-old. We saw him at the sales and have been following him. I’ve been saying all week how good this horse was doing. When I saw how easy he was running down the backside, I thought if they just back up a little we’ve got a hell of a shot.”

In addition to Court Vision's victory, Romans notched a second place finish behind Caleb's Posse with his 2011 Preakness Stakes (Gr. I) winner Shackleford in the $1,000,000 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (Gr. I).

Congratulations to Oklahoma HBPA President Donnie Von Hemel on his Breeders' Cup Victory

The National HBPA's officers, staff, and Board of Directors would like to congratulate Oklahoma HBPA President and trainer Donnie Von Hemel for his stirring victory with Caleb's Posse in the $1,000,000 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (Gr. I) at Churchill Downs on Saturday, November 5. It marked Von Hemel's first victory in a Breeders' Cup race.

Owned by Don McNeill and Everett Dobson, the three-year-old Caleb's Posse put in his customary strong late rally in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and swept by the field before drawing off for an impressive four-length score over Preakness (Gr. I) winner Shackleford in 1:34.59.

Von Hemel said after the race, "It’s the biggest (victory of my career), no doubt; a million dollar race on Breeders’ Cup day. If my chest could swell any bigger, it probably wouldn’t fit here. I’m so proud of him, he’s such a neat little horse, and he comes to run on those one-turn races, man."

Caleb’s Posse added the Dirt Mile to 2011 victories in the King’s Bishop (Gr. I), Amsterdam (Gr. II), and Ohio Derby (Gr. III), as well as the listed Smarty Jones Stakes. This year, the son of Posse has five victories, one second and one third in 10 starts and earnings of $1,030,909.

With his sprint and route victories, Caleb's Posse is a candidate for the Eclipse awards for both top sprinter and top three-year-old male.

Plan Ahead: If You Will Be Looking for Worthwhile End-of-the-Year Tax Deductible Donation Opportunities, Consider the National HBPA Foundation

As the year starts to wind down, many people are looking for worthwhile charities to which they can make tax deductible donations in order to both make a difference in a positive way and earn a deduction from their taxes. The National HBPA Foundation is a perfect place to direct your tax deductible donations in order to help your fellow horsemen when they need it the most.

The National HBPA Foundation, a tax-exempt Sec. 501 (c)(3) fund, was developed as a safety net for horsemen when other forms of assistance are unavailable or have been exhausted after disaster strikes. Every year, the National HBPA Foundation helps horsemen make it through difficult times such as disease quarantines at a racetrack or natural disasters likes floods, fires, etc.

Every year, the National HBPA Foundation provides horsemen and horsewomen in need with tens of thousands of dollars in needed assistance.

If you would like to read more about what the National HBPA Foundation does, click here to read an article from the Summer 2010 issue of The Horsemen's Journal.

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the National HBPA Foundation and make a difference in the lives of your fellow horsemen and women who may find themselves in need, click here.

Did You Know? Tax Benefit for 2011 Breeding Stock Sales

Please take a moment to prepare for the breeding stock sales by watching a short tax benefit video from the NTRA.

Click here for the three minute update that summarizes the $500,000 expense allowance and explains how it may apply to your purchases.