Blog Feed: Paul Moran at the races

The puzzle is scattered on the table

Published on 2009-04-13 17:45:00

The Kentucky Derby is a bit less than three weeks away and this is the point from which nothing good happens. Any news is almost certainly bad, this at the point of decision. The puzzle is scattered on the table.Excluding the Jeff Mullins story, the bad news began last week, actually, with the withdrawal of The Pamplemousse from chase. Then appeared the quarter crack in one of Quality Road’s hind hooves. “You don’t see (quarter cracks) behind too often,” Jerkens said last week. But the [..] > read more

The Mullins debate: Peering through the smoke

Published on 2009-04-11 16:15:00

The Jeff Mullins incident has spawned a good deal of debate during the last week and two distinctly different schools of thought.The first: Since the substance that Mullins was observed administering with an oral syringe to Gato Go Win, who was to have run in the Bay Shore Stakes, was a perfectly legal product, a mixture of natural ingredients (and a small amount of alcohol) called Air Power, the matter is overblown and amounts to no more than a detention barn infraction. “It’s like sucking [..] > read more

Board to Paragallo: You're out

Published on 2009-04-11 15:37:00

New York State Racing and Wagering Board Chairman John D. Sabini released the following statement this afternoon following the arrest of Ernest Paragallo on charges of animal cruelty under the state Agriculture and Markets Law.“After we learned from the State Police today that Mr. Paragallo was being charged with cruel treatment of horses at Center Brook Farm, the Racing and Wagering Board immediately terminated his privilege to be involved with thoroughbred racing in New York. In fact, the Bo [..] > read more

Laragh put to dirt test in Comely

Published on 2009-04-10 17:17:00

If she kicks off her 2009 campaign the way she finished up 2008, it could be quite a year for Laragh.The lanky gray daughter of Tapit, who closed out her 2-year-old season with a front-running victory in the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet on December 13, makes her sophomore and main track debut at Aqueduct Racetrack Saturday, heading a field of six in the 60th renewal of the Grade 2, $150,000 Comely for three-year-old fillies at a mile. She is considered a prospect for the Kentucky Oaks, a decision t [..] > read more

House of Paragallo continues to crumble

Published on 2009-04-10 11:02:00

Update: According to published reports, Ernie Paragallo was charged today with 22 counts of cruelty to animals and arraigned in the town of Coxsackie, N.Y. All counts are misdemeanors. He faces, potentially, a year in prison and $1,000 fine on each count.The New York Racing Association has barred the suddenly contrite Ernie Paragallo, who yesterday was in the process of surrendering his authorized agent license to the Racing and Wagering Board, from access to all areas of its racetracks except t [..] > read more

Arkansas Derby: Old Fashioned, Winn Willy II

Published on 2009-04-09 17:15:00

Win Willy, the upset winner of last month’s Rebel Stakes, and Old Fashioned, the beaten favorite in that race, head a field of 10 for the 73rd running of the $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. The mile-and-an-eighth fixture for three-year-olds anchors Oaklawn’s prestigious Racing Festival of the South. The Arkansas Derby will be telecast live on ESPN2 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. (ET) on “NTRA Racing to the Kentucky Derby”. Also on the telecast, via same-day tape, will [..] > read more

Blue Grass: Mafaaz out to first U.S. test

Published on 2009-04-09 17:12:00

Hold Me Back, winner of Turfway Park’s Lane’s End Stakes, the undefeated Charitable Man and Mafaaz (GB), winner of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Kempton Park in England last month, headline a field of 11 horses entered for Saturday’s Grade I, $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.The 1 1/8-mile Toyota Blue Grass is the final Grade I prep for the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands. A total of 19 horses that ran in the Toyota Blue Grass have gone on to [..] > read more

Paragallo: Time to pay the piper

Published on 2009-04-09 11:38:00

The malnourished, neglected horses found on Ernie Paragallo’s upstate New York farm are in the care of the ASPCA and it appears only a matter of time before charges are brought against what is one of New York’s most visible racing figures.Paragallo has long skated around the rules. Though Paraneck Stable is officially owned by his daughters, there is no doubt that Paragallo is the owner, decision maker and sole proprietor. For the record, he is the authorized agent for his daughters. His o [..] > read more

Paragallo farm impounded

Published on 2009-04-08 22:57:00

The New York State Police in Catskill today executed a search warrant at Center Brook Horse Farm, town of Coxsackie, Greene County, in an investigation assisted by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board into reports of neglected horses on the property.A contingent of troopers and Greene County Sheriff’s Department deputies were joined by volunteer veterinarians with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, along with Columbia-Greene Humane Society officials. The vet [..] > read more

Maryland moves to sieze racetracks

Published on 2009-04-08 17:56:00

Earlier today in the General Assembly in Annapolis, House Bill 1578 was introduced attempting to confiscate Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park, the Bowie Training Center and the Preakness Stakes from the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC).“We share the Governor’s interest in preserving the historic Maryland Jockey Club and the Preakness,” said MJC president and chief operating officer Tom Chuckas. ”But we question the government’s right to confiscate private property which will only lead to more [..] > read more