Philracom honors 2015 achievers

MANILA, Philippines - To give recognition to the sport’s top achievers of 2015, the Philippine Racing Commission will be holding a recognition ceremony today at San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.

The event will coincide with the staging at SLLP of the Philracom-sponsored 1,400-meter first leg Import/Local Challenge.  

In a resolution passed Feb. 3, the commission “deemed it proper and necessary” to recognize the efforts of last year’s “key players” who have “made the most contribution to the industry in terms of revenue and prestige.”

The honorees for Philracom’s first awards ceremony are Horseowner of the Year, lawyer Narciso Morales; Horse of the Year, Low Profile; Trainer of the Year, Ruben Tupas; Jockey of the Year, Jonathan Hernandez; Breeder of the Year, SC Stockfarm, Inc.; and Most Successful Racing Day, the seventh Mayor Ramon Bagatsing Sr. Memorial Racing Festival.

According to Philracom chairman Andrew Sanchez, the selection criteria are “the statistics and empirical data of earnings and numbers of wins.”

Morales’s stable of around 160 horses earned P22.6 million from 137 wins, 139 second places, 138 thirds, and 169 fourths. This figure is P9.4 million greater than the P13.24 million earned by the second-placer horseowner, Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos.

Among Morales’s well-known horses are Messi and Spectrum, respectively, the 10th and 12th highest-ranking horses of 2015.

 Low Profile, owned by Ruben Dimacuha, was 2015’s top money earner, having earned P5.45 million from 12 wins, four second places, and one third place.

Tupas, who also trains for Abalos, notched an impressive 238 wins, 176 seconds, 184 thirds, and 162 fourths to earn P4.3 million, nearly double the earnings of the second-place trainer.

Hernandez, who is also a regular rider of the Abalos stable, earned P4.5 million for 182 wins, 132 seconds, 110 thirds, and 90 fourths.

The seventh Bagatsing racefest racked up almost P41 million in gross sales on Aug. 30 last year at SLLP.

SC Stockfarm is the breeder of multiple stakes winners Low Profile, Miss Brulay (2015 third leg Triple Crown winner), and Princess Ella, among others.