Arlington Barn Notes 5/15/19

By Grant LaGrange —-

Ty Kennedy Finding Success in His First Summer at Arlington
State Bred Races with a Twist

TY KENNEDY FINDING SUCCESS IN HIS FIRST SUMMER AT ARLINGTON

Following a winter spent in New Orleans, Ty Kennedy decided to pack up his tack and rather than head for Kentucky as he has in the past for Spring and Summer, he headed for Chicago to ride the Summer meet at Arlington International Racecourse.

The decision to make his way to Arlington wasn’t necessarily a difficult one for him, it just seemed like the most logical thing to do,

“Really towards the end of the meet there in New Orleans we were riding for mostly Chicago based people. I got to talking with Mitchell Murill, who everyone knows here and he mentioned talking to his agent Tim Hanisch about spending the summer in Chicago. I thought, well, rather than going back to Kentucky and battling for mounts I could come to Chicago where I’ve already been riding for these guys. It just seemed like the most logical answer.”

Ty Kennedy rode his first mount in 2014, and since then has slowly but surely been climbing through the ranks and riding more and more winners each year since. Coming into this summer in Chicago, he has a few goals set out for himself,

“We come out here riding for good connections and some nice barns, and my goal is to always keep improving. I’m not going to say I know everything, I still have a lot to learn, but the only way you can get better is by riding more and my agent Tim Hanisch is doing a great job getting me on a lot of horses. That’s how we learn and that’s how we win, we just keep improving.”

On Saturday May 4th he earned his first two victories at Arlington Park, leading 22-1 shot Bulldog Of Bergen to the winners circle for trainer Rodolfo Aguilar, and a few races later he guided Heisfancy to his maiden breaking score for trainer Thomas Swearingen.

STATE BRED RACES WITH A TWIST

For the first time a trio of State Bred horses will be able to compete against each-other. Racing Secretary Chris Polzin has begun carding races that will include Louisiana Bred, Illinois Bred, and Arkansas Bred horses.

Arlington fans and bettors will notice the possible rise in field size for State Bred races. In previous years the State Bred Illinois races may only get 6 entries, and run with a short field. However, this year those same 6 horse fields may turn into 8 or 9 horse fields due to the availability for Louisiana Bred and Arkansas Bred horses to now be entered in alongside the Illinois Bred horses.

There was concern coming into this year that the Illinois Bred races wouldn’t fill and be run, due to the lack of purse money and lack of Illinois breeding. This concept will not only help with field sizes and entries for State Bred races, it also is considered an open-company race. As an open-company race owners of an Illinois Bred horse will receive a bonus on top of the purse.

Trainer Chris Block who has always had Illinois Breds in his barn is huge supporter in Polzin’s idea,

“I fully support it. It’s an excellent idea for a breed that is struggling right now for numbers. Our foal crops are less and less each year and I think Chris Polzin came up with an excellent idea”

It also gives Arkansas bred horses a place to go after the winter meet at Oaklawn Park,

“After that meet in Arkansas in the winter the Arkansas Bred horses really have nowhere to go. Now I think with this program we will start to get a lot more trainers shipping their Arkansas Bred horses here and its comparable competition. It gives our Illinois breds a chance to compete against equal competition even though they are Arkansas bred horses, they’re relatively the same.”

For Louisiana Bred horses, it also gives them a place to go,

“Rather than the Louisiana horses who don’t want to run at Delta having to ship and go run against Florida or Kentucky Breds in open races, instead they can come here as well and have the benefit of running against a comparable competition as well.”

It seems as though Polzin’s idea is a win win all around for owners, trainers, and horses alike.

Arlington International Racecourse – the Chicago area’s premier Thoroughbred racetrack located in Arlington Heights, Ill. – will run a 71-day meet in 2018 from May 4 through September 22. Arlington International Racecourse, whose parent company is Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN), also operates 10 off-track, simulcast-wagering facilities in Aurora, Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Waukegan, Villa Park, Rockford, Hodgkins, McHenry, Green Oaks and Orland Hills. Arlington International Racecourse is a proud member of America’s Best Racing. Information on Arlington International Racecourse and Trackside OTB can be found online at www.arlingtonpark.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arlingtonpark and www.facebook.com/tracksideotb, and on Twitter at @Arlington_Park for the latest happenings, @ArlingtonRacing for the latest racing news and @TracksideOTB for all things pertaining to off-track wagering.