
Jockey Oscar Delgado has found success at tracks across the country, including Mount Pleasant Meadows.
– Crain’s Detroit Business has been monitoring the situation surrounding Pinnacle Race Course’s sale of a parcel of land to the Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa Indians and the ensuing controversy it has generated in the local government. The publication has published several updates since the deal was publicly announced, outlining Pinnacle’s economic situation, tax snafus by the Huron Township government, and concerns by local leaders about the handling of Pinnacle’s incentives to purchase and build on the property.
Here is a list of stories published on the site in recent days. There are some inaccuracies in a few of the details (most notably suggesting the racetracks themselves are footing the bill for additional State regulation when it is actually coming from the horsemen’s purse pools), but the general idea paints an unsettling picture of the relationship between the track and local government.
8-25 – Text of Wayne County Commission’s concerns about Pinnacle Race Course
8-25 – Commissioners weigh legal issues of Pinnacle land deal
– Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley discussed the state government’s treatment of Michigan’s horse racing industry in his column on Thursday. Finley notes the hypocrisy of offering movie studios hundreds of millions in breaks and incentives to film in Michigan, while leaving horse racing, an industry that generates money for the state and provides jobs without the massive state investments, out to dry. Michigan Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association president Patti Dickinson and Pinnacle Race Course owner Jerry Campbell are quoted in the piece, as is spokeswoman for Governor Jennifer Granholm, Liz Boyd.
– Hoosier Park put out a news item on Aug. 12 about Quarter Horse jockey Oscar Delgado, also a regular at Mount Pleasant Meadows. The piece profiles Delgado’s life and racing career, where he has won riding titles at Mount Pleasant and the inaugural Quarter Horse meet at Hialeah Park. He also discusses racing against his brother, Juan, who is among the leading Quarter Horse riders at Mount Pleasant and the Indiana circuit. Oscar Delgado currently hangs his tack at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa.
– The Michigan Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Yearling Sale is this Sunday at the Michigan State University Pavilion’s south barn. The yearling show begins ay 9 a.m. followed by the sale at 1 p.m.. For an online catalog of the sale, click here. To view this site’s preview of Sunday’s sale, click here.
Daylight Savings colt tops 2010 MTOBA Yearling Sale
Carter Road took home top honors in every stage of Sunday’s Michigan Thoroughbred Owners And Breeders Association Yearling Show and Sale at Michigan State University.
The bay Daylight Savings colt started the day by earning grand champion honors in the yearling show, then followed through by dropping the hammer for a sale-topping price of $16,000. For the second straight year, the top seller was the only horse offered to draw more than $10,000.
The uncertain present and future of Michigan’s racing industry led to only 23 yearlings entering the sales ring, with 13 finding new owners. Of the 41 percent of the entries that failed to meet the reserve, seven did not draw the minimum $1,000 bid and two received bids, but did not meet the price set by their consigners.
For the second straight year, Dan McCarthy was the sale’s leading buyer on the strength of one purchase, which also happened to be the top-seller.
Also enjoying repeat success was leading consignor Opportunity Lane, who sold four horses for a total of $25,500, including the top bid-getter. Opportunity Lane sent out three of the top five sellers in this year’s sale.
Earlier in the day, Carter Road took home the top honors at the yearling show. The reserve champion award went to Dickinson Stable’s Equality filly Bubbicious.
For a detailed breakdown of the sale results, click here.
Let’s take a look at the top sellers from Sunday’s sale, along with a few others who were noteworthy for one reason or another.
Top Five Sellers:
#1: Hip #20 – Carter Road – $16,000

Top bid-getter and yearling show grand champion Carter Road was purchased by leading buyer Dan McCarthy for $16,000. The bay Daylight Savings colt was brought to the ring by leading consignor Opportunity Lane. Carter Road is out of stakes winning Matchlite mare Just Tricks, who notched five wins for career earnings of $96,889. Her two foals of racing age have yet to hit the track. Daylight Savings is the sire of 2007 Michigan champion two-year-old Hot Chili, Sire Stakes winner J.P.’s Big Boy and multiple stakes winner Baba Booyah.
“He’s a phenominal colt,” said Opportunity Lane’s Cami Cumper. “It’s a tough market. The racing industry is really not well. So for the buyers to stand behind a nice colt like that and still pay for him – I’m honored.”
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The rest of the notables from Sunday’s sale can be found behind the jump. Did the horses on your watch list crack the top five? Click below to find out!
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Tagged as Awow, Bubbicious, Carter Road, Dan McCarthy, Michigan Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, MSU Pavilion, MTOBA Yearling Sale, Musical Prayer, No Touch, Opportunity Lane, Wicked Kamikaze