by Danielle Gibson
It really does pay to have a Pennsylvania-Bred. Uptowncharlybrown Stud LLC founder Bob Hutt said, “There is no other state breeding program that comes close.” The PA-Bred program has so many incentives to repay your investment of breeding a horse in the Commonwealth without even winning a race. This was certainly the case for Keithsendshelloooo, who was named after Parx Racing’s distinguished long-time track announcer Keith Jones. Keith stays in close contact on how his namesake is doing with weekly texts to Hutt.
The 2-year-old bay PA-Bred gelding has handsomely profited his owners by banking $104,000 in earnings and breeder bonuses even before breaking his maiden, but that was just the beginning. Keithsendshelloooo is by Pennsylvania sire Uptowncharlybrown out of Be Bop a Lula, which makes the 2-year-old eligible to receive the PA-Bred and PA-Sired awards. Trainer Ed Coletti Jr. remarked on his consistent charge, “There was always something about him - his personality really stands out and he is the first of the ‘Charlies’ that doesn’t have a quirk in their running style. He can be placed anywhere and likes to be close in the race. He’s just competitive.
“He loves to buck and play in the morning but exercise rider Joanne McDade Flores really gets along with him. She drops her hands and lets him do his thing during morning training.” The big strapping bay gelding made his first start at Parx Racing in late April in the track’s first 2-year-old race, going two furlongs. He ran green but very willingly, finishing just two and one quarter lengths behind the winner. It was easy to see there was plenty of unbridled talent in the young horse and his size indicated stretching out in distance would be to his advantage. The juvenile races generally introduce distance gradually, building a young horse’s stamina and experience. Said Coletti, “Those quarter mile races really helped him get some money in the bank for his partners.”
Keithsendshelloooo made a second bid in a two furlong race about a month later, turning in a huge rally after being bothered at the start. Again, he showed his determination to persevere but the distance was more suited for a compact sprinter type, not a big horse who needs time and distance to get rolling. Keithsendshelloooo hit the board seven consecutive times before getting a victory at Penn National on Oct. 28 under a beautiful fall sky in what Coletti called a “confidence builder” with regular jockey Anthony Nunez in the saddle. They honored his namesake Keith Jones with a beautiful plaque to mark the victory. In his first eight starts he recorded a win, three seconds and four thirds. Two of those second place finishes came in the $100,000 Whistle Pig Stakes and $200,000 Prince Lucky Stakes, both at Parx Racing for PA Bred and PA Sired horses, earning him black type. Keithsendshelloooo would reward his partners Uptowncharlybrown Stud with close to $182,000 between track earnings and breeder incentives.
Hutt broke down how enticing the State Bred program is when winning a Maiden Special Weight at Parx Racing. For example, when a horse runs in a $50,000 Open Maiden Special Weight, the winner gets 60% of the purse, plus 40% PA Bred bonus equaling $42,000, plus if you bred the horse there is another 50% rewarded off the top equaling $63,000. “It’s like winning an overnight stakes race, you are double dipping on the purse,” said Hutt. “We have seven million invested in breeding and racing with the main business exclusively here in Pennsylvania.’’ With a thriving PA Bred program there is also an increase in the Mid-Atlantic sales prices for Pennsylvania Breds, giving trainers a huge incentive to have these horses running at Pennsylvania tracks. PA-Breds like Keithsendshelloooo show it’s possible to share in the state’s beneficial PA-Bred and PA-Sired program. The gelding made his most recent start in the$200,000 Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at Parx Racing for PA Breds going 7 furlongs on Nov. 29. He finished fifth of 11, adding $7,040 to his career earnings for a total of $111,662 in nine starts. We look forward to much more from this talented PA-Bred.
