Castellano Again Tops Rider Standings In Penn Gaming Racing Challenge
Javier Castellano
Some familiar names have climbed to the top of the standings in the 2015 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge following the third event in the series – Saturday night’s Penn Mile card at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Racecourse. After the dust settled following the runnings of the Penn Mile (G3), Mountainview Handicap, Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup and Penn Oaks this weekend, the standings now find Javier Castellano, the leading jockey in the 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge and Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, last year’s leading owner on top of the rider and owner categories once again.
Castellano racked up 65 points on Saturday evening to pull 21 points in front of Cornelio Velasquez, who piloted Moreno to victory in April’s $1,500,000 Charles Town Classic (G2). The two-time Eclipse Award winner won a pair of races on Saturday taking the Penn Oaks with Strict Compliance and the Mountainview Handicap with Golden Lad while coming up just a head short of winning the Penn Mile for a second straight year when Night Prowler was caught in the final jump by Force the Pass. Over the last two Penn Mile cards, Castellano sports 5 wins from his 8 starts with his mounts earning nearly $800,000.
Jose Ortiz, third in the Penn Mile on Granny’s Kitten moved into third place among jockeys with Miguel Mena and Kerwin Clark rounding out the top five.
Granny’s Kitten was the only runner for Ken and Sarah Ramsey on the Penn Mile card, but the homebred’s third place finish in his first try in stakes company was enough to get them into a tie at the top spot in the owner’s standings with Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. The Ramsey’s had previously won the John Connally Turf Cup (G3) on Houston Ladies Classic day with Coalport. Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence notched their second win in the series with Strict Compliance after taking the Robert Hilton Memorial with Control Stake on the Charles Town Classic undercard.
Fox Hill Farms and Southern Equine Stable sit 7 and 9 points behind the top spot for owners respectively.
Recommended for You
Mike Maker, the leading trainer in the Penn Gaming Challenge going into the Penn Mile, was able to widen his lead thanks to Granny’s Kitten’s performance in Penn National’s first graded stakes event in more than a quarter century. The remainder of the top five in the trainer category reads like a who’s who in racing with Larry Jones occupying the second slot, 19 points behind Maker, 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge leading trainer Chad Brown in third, Tom Amoss in fourth and Todd Pletcher, who saddled Golden Lad to his victory in the Mountainview, in fifth.
While the racing has been good, the business has been good as well thus far in the 2015 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge as the $10,563,226 wagered through the first three events in the series represents a 30% increase over 2014. Both the Charles Town Classic and Penn Mile cards established new single day handle records in the history of the respective facilities.
The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge, inaugurated by Penn National Gaming, Inc. (PNGI) in 2014, ties together 20 stakes races worth more than $5 million purse money at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Sam Houston Race Park, and Zia Park. The Challenge includes tie-ins between groups of races in the series, as well as bonuses and prizes that include free nominations, refund of entry and starter fees, and trips to the PNGI owned M Resort in Las Vegas.
All owners, trainers, and jockeys who participate in the unrestricted stakes on the designated event days will receive two points. Additionally, points are awarded for Top 5 finishes in varying scales, based on the value or grade of the race. The additional points range from the 25 received as a result of a win in a Grade 2, to one (1) point for a fifth place finish in an unrestricted stakes race worth between $50,000 and $75,000.
At the end of the Challenge, the owner, trainer, and jockey with the most points will each receive two round-trip airfare tickets and a three-night stay at the 390 room M Resort located on South Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas. In addition to the travel rewards, the owner and trainer accumulating the most points at the end of all six events will have their entry and starting fees refunded in any unrestricted stakes race run at a PNGI thoroughbred track in 2016, with the exception of Penn National itself. The winners of the inaugural 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge were Ken and Sarah Ramsey as leading owner and Chad Brown in the trainer category while Javier Castellano took away honors as the top jockey.
The Challenge is divided into six divisions based on race type – 3-year-old & up turf route, 3-year-old and up turf sprint, 3-year-old and up dirt sprint, 3-year-old and up filly and mare dirt sprint, 3-year-old and up dirt route, and 3-year-old and up filly and mare dirt route. Horses running in a race within one division will automatically be nominated free of charge to the following races within that same division. Also, horses that start in a Challenge race will have all entry and starter fees refunded (excluding supplemental fees) when they start in a subsequent race in the same division.
The next event in the Penn Gaming Racing Challenge takes place on September 19 as Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races plays host to the $350,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3).
