Veteran race caller who has been the announcer at Thistledown during the afternoons and Northfield Park in the evenings over the past four years, was notified Wednesday that he's being replaced at Thistledown.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There will be a new voice at Thistledown when the thoroughbred track kicks off its live racing on May 4.
Ayers Ratliff, 35, the veteran race caller who has been the announcer at Thistledown during the afternoons and at Northfield Park in the evenings over the past four years, was notified Wednesday that he's being replaced at Thistledown.
"A Thistledown official in human resources called to tell me that being the face of racing at both tracks was a conflict of interest," said Ratliff, who is also a councilman in Marion, Ohio. Ratliff is a harness racing announcer at a variety of county fairs throughout the summer.
Thistledown General Manager Lee Dillard was not available for comment.
Courageous Lady news: Northfield Park is in the spotlight in April, and not just because of its new partner, Hard Rock Gaming & Entertainment.
The half-mile harness racing track is hosting the first national stakes race of 2012 when the three-year-old fillies make the scene on April 28 for the $90,000 Courageous Lady. A total of 22 distaff pacers have been nominated, including some of the young stars from around the country.
There should be a lot of interest in Frontierpan, a filly owned by the Peter Pan Stables of Pepper Pike and trained by Pennsylvania's Ron Burke. Frontierpan tuned up in an April 6 qualifier at Burke's home track, the 5/8-mile oval at The Meadows in Washington, Pa. The daughter of No Pan Intended won by more than 13 lengths in 1:54.4. She won five of 14 starts last year, earning $136,938 and clocking a top mile of 1:53.3.
Another Ohio-owned nominee is Sectionline Yankee, a Yankee Cruiser filly trained by Michael Conklin at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, where the sophomore pacer notched her career best 1:54.4 mile on the half-mile oval. Still to make her 2012 debut, Sectionline Yankee earned $86,345 as a two-year-old for owners Harold Lee Bauder and Harold L. Bauder of Delaware, and Michael Dixon of Hilliard.
Trainer Tye Loy and owner Bill Sanders, who have some Courageous Lady history, have nominated Sand Latte'. Loy and Sanders won the Courageous Lady in 2009 with Sand E Fiftyfive and in 2010 with Sand Windsor. Sand Latte' didn't do much in her freshman campaign, but has won four races this year and $25,760, with a mile best of 1:53.3 at The Meadows.
Trackside seats: Youngstown horse owner Bruce Zoldan will have some special friends in his box seats at the Kentucky Derby on May 5, and they paid a healthy price to watch Zoldan's Went the Day Well as the stallion makes a Run for the Roses. At the recent Power Of Love Gala for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Zoldan was asked to donate some of his Kentucky Derby box seats for a special auction.
The benefit coincided with Muhammad Ali's 70th birthday party, and Ali's boxing gloves from the Floyd Patterson fight went for $1.1 million. Zoldan's Kentucky Derby seats brought a rousing $170,000. The winning bidder for both was Las Vegas casino owner Lorenzo Fertitta.
Zoldan is a member of the Team Valor syndicate that owns Went the Day Well, who won $500,000 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., on March 24 to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. It was a repeat for Zoldan, owner of Phantom Fireworks and the Youngstown Phantoms of the U.S. Hockey League. Zoldan is a member of the Team Valor syndicate that owns Animal Kingdom, a winner of last year's Spiral Stakes and the Kentucky Derby.
Watch Animal Kingdom win the 2011 Kentucky Derby
Giss is smokin' again: Local horse racing expert Keith Gisser is back in the horse picking business. The long-time face of Northfield Park, where he was the track handicapper and part-time publicist, holding court trackside most nights, Gisser is debuting a new race selections column with the U.S. Trotting Association. The "Smoking with the Giss" column is now appearing on the ustrotting.com Web site.
Kaneoka gets an 'A': Harness racing driver Rachel Kaneoka has graduated at Northfield Park. After posting 11 wins and almost $25,000 in earnings, the reinswoman was upgraded from a provisional license to an "A" license. Presiding Judge Bud Teeters said she is only the second woman he has upgraded to "A" status in the 12 years he's been a race judge.