Latest news with #Beyer
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
George Weaver Eyes Woody Stephens For Promising Lafayette Winner Colloquial
Harrell Ventures and Starlight Racing's promising stakes winner Colloquial worked five furlongs in 1:03.25 on Thursday over Saratoga Race Course's Oklahoma dirt training track in preparation for the $500,000 Woody Stephens (G1) on June 7 at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Trained by George Weaver, the son of his dual Grade 1 winner Vekoma was last seen winning the seven-furlong Lafayette (L) on April 7 at Keeneland. There, he showed a new dimension when setting the pace after two solid efforts from off-the-pace, including an eye-catching local seven-length graduation sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs at second asking that garnered a 106 Beyer Speed Figure. Advertisement The 2 1/4-length Lafayette saw him earn an 88 Beyer, the same number he earned on debut last June when a nose second to subsequent graded stakes winner Mentee in a track record-setting performance. 'We've been happy with him,' Weaver said. 'We've been waiting for this race for a long time, and now we're getting close.' Weaver said the chestnut's versatility is the mark of a top-level horse. 'Good horses are [versatile], and they can adjust to situations,' Weaver said. 'He's talented, so luckily he's good enough to have that versatility. I don't think he's tied to any one way of running. I'm sure this will be a competitive race, but I wouldn't trade places with anybody.' Advertisement Colloquial is one of several candidates for Weaver at this year's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. The veteran conditioner also has Dorth Vader, Sacred Wish, and Soontobeking nominated to races during the five-day Festival. John Ropes' Grade 2 winner Dorth Vader was a troubled fourth last out in the La Troienne (G1) on May 2 at Churchill Downs, enduring a bumpy trip into the first turn while running in third position under John Velazquez. She went on to finish just 1 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Raging Sea with just a head and three-quarter-lengths separating the minor awards between Taxed, Randomized and Dorth Vader. Weaver said Dorth Vader is likely being pointed to the $500,000 Ogden Phipps (G1) on June 6, which offers a 'Win and You're In' berth into the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) in November at Del Mar. 'She had horse and was running the whole way, and it was pretty tight in the first turn,' Weaver said. 'She was on the rail and [Randomized] stopped her progress. We're just hoping for a good, clean trip [in the Phipps].' Advertisement Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, Christopher Dunn and Anthony Spinazzola's Grade 1 winner Sacred Wish was a last-out seventh – defeated just 2 1/2-lengths – in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on May 3 at Churchill Downs. The 5-year-old Not This Time mare has been a model of consistency, currently holding a 14-for-20 in-the-money record that includes a Grade 1 triumph in last year's Matriarch at Del Mar, and over $1.1 million in earnings. Weaver said the dark bay, who worked a half-mile in 51.25 seconds yesterday over the Oklahoma dirt, has been nominated to the Grade 1, $500,000 Just a Game on June 5 at the Festival, but he is unsure if that will be her next start. 'We'll see how her next work goes,' Weaver said. 'We're kind of up in the air about her next start.' Advertisement Our Blue Streaks Stable and SGV Thoroughbreds' consistent New York homebred Soontobeking is targeting the $200,000 Mike Lee for state-bred sophomores on the June 4 Opening Day of the Festival. Co-owned by Weaver, the son of King for a Day has put together a respectable 12-3-3-4 record with $363,428 in earnings, led by a stakes triumph in the state-bred Gander on March 8 at Aqueduct Racetrack. 'We're looking forward to seeing him again,' Weaver said of the colt whose last effort was a runner-up finish in the NYSSS Times Square on April 13 at Aqueduct. 'You appreciate the horses that always show up, and he does. He just overcomes with try.' Beyond the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, Weaver is eyeing a return next month to Royal Ascot, where he won the Group 2 Queen Mary in 2023 with Crimson Advocate. This year, Weaver is hopeful he'll be represented by two juveniles for owner Dew Sweepers in stakes winner Sandal's Song and maiden-winning New York-bred Tough Critic. Advertisement 'It's a hard thing to get done,' Weaver said of winning at the prestigious meeting. 'It's hard to win over there, even when you have the right horse – they run big fields, and you have to ship a long ways. It makes it exciting to do it, and hopefully everything goes smoothly and they run their race.' Sandal's Song looks to follow the path of Crimson Advocate after a stylish debut graduation in the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile by 1 1/2 lengths with a stalk-and-pounce trip engineered by Luca Panici. The Mendelssohn chestnut, who was a $75,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, overcame a hop at the start to sit off the pace down the backstretch and responded kindly into the lane to draw off to the victory in a final time of 56.30 seconds. Weaver said Sandal's Song is likely pointing towards the Norfolk (G2) for juveniles sprinting five furlongs on June 19. 'They've only had that race [the Royal Palm Juvenile] for the last couple of years, and we've been fortunate enough to get horses that have a chance to compete in it,' Weaver said of the race that awarded Sandal's Song a $25,000 equine travel stipend for Royal Ascot. Advertisement The New York-bred Tough Critic was also impressive in his debut, taking a 5 1/2-furlong maiden on April 24 at Keeneland by 1 1/4 lengths with a deep-closing trip under Eclipse Award-winning rider Flavien Prat. The $350,000 Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale purchase is by Caravaggio and is out of is out of the Invincible Spirit mare Thatchit, a half-sister to 2009 Norfolk winner Radiohead. Weaver said Tough Critic is being considered for the six-furlong Coventry (G2) on June 17 or the five-furlong Windsor Castle (L) on June 18.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
OpSong's return to Clayton to partner with North Country Troopers Assisting Troops
CLAYTON, N.Y. (WWTI) – Operation Song's annual visit to the Clayton area has seen tremendous growth over the last four years and the organization is only planning for bigger and better things. Operation Song will make its fourth trip to the north country for Nashville's Salute to the Trooper concert on Friday May 23 for a 7 p.m. concert. May 23: Operation Song -Salute to the Troops The event has local veterans collaborate with country music songwriters to tell stories about their lives. Some of the songs are about life in the military while others are about everyday life and experiences. This year's event will be at the bigger Clayton Opera House after having the first three shows at the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel. Moving to the bigger venue is something that makes Operation Song's Executive Director Mike Beyer happy. 'Clayton is just one of those picturesque towns and it's so exciting to see this event grow,' Beyer said.' Beyer did add that the hotel will still be plenty involved with the events this weekend. The new venue is also intriguing to songwriter Baker Grissom, who is from Little Rock, Ark. Grissom likes the Clayton Opera House to a classic country music venue. 'This place (the opera house) is kind of like Grand Ole Opry,' Grissom said. 'They have those overtones like a church.' Beyer has been with the organization for a number of years. He is a retired Army First Sergeant, OIF/OEF Veteran, musician, and songwriter. Beyer is also an alumni of Operation Song and knows the collaboration process between the songwriters and veterans. 'Our songwriters connect with the veterans,' Beyer said. 'It gets their mind going and they get excited. After talking about an hour, they loosen up.' Fort Drum BOSS volunteers make community impact Beyer added the songs range from emotional to lighthearted. He added there's a massive a catalog of songs from different perspectives of military members. Grissom said he loves having songwriting sessions with the veterans and telling their stories. 'Songwriting is the biggest therapy session in the world,' Grissom said. 'Songs are kind of a way that you can say something that you didn't know would come to you.' Next year marks the a milestone fifth trip to Northern New York for the event. Beyer said the organization already has big plans for the 2026 show. 'Year five is coming up soon and we have to up our game,' Beyer said. Performances are informal and are reminiscent of a 'songwriters round,' which is a type of live music event where several songwriters gather to perform their original songs, often in a circle with the audience surrounding them. It's like shows like VH1's 'Storytellers' and live venues like the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Grissom will be joined by other songwriters AJ Kross, Kelli Johnson. He said he can't wait to perform with them on Friday night. 'I know AJ and Kelli and we'll tell stories,' Grissom said. 'Talk about the song and go back and forth… we just go on down the line. You can't get anywhere else.' Tickets are available at the Clayton Opera House website or by calling 315-686-2200. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Global News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
A Better Calgary Party to endorse some Communities First candidates to avoid vote split
One of Calgary's three political parties won't be running a full slate of candidates in the upcoming election, in an effort to avoid splitting conservative voters. The A Better Calgary Party (ABC Party) held a one-time 'bypass vote' amongst its members to determine whether to run a candidate in certain wards. 'We felt that for the sake of Calgarians, we need to stop splitting the vote,' ABC Party executive director Roy Beyer told Global News. ABC Party members voted to refrain from running a candidate in five wards across the city: Ward 1, Ward 4, Ward 7, Ward 10 and Ward 13. The incumbents in those wards include Sonya Sharp, Sean Chu, Terry Wong, Andre Chabot and Dan McLean. However, Sharp has announced her intention to run for mayor and it remains unclear if Chu will seek another term, after telling reporters this term would be his last back in 2021. Story continues below advertisement Beyer said Sharp's endorsement is based on her work as a councillor and not for her candidacy for mayor. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The ABC Party's endorsements of incumbents include candidates of Communities First, the other centre-right party formed by Sharp, Wong, Chabot and McLean. 'You just need eight council members,' Beyer said. 'If we can get there between us and others, we will have a true conservative coalition or centre-right coalition and that's the goal here.' Communities First declined to comment when asked by Global News on Monday. Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said it's too early to tell whether the endorsements could stand to benefit the Communities First party. 'It could help them,' Williams said. 'But the affiliation with or the endorsement of a further right political party could potentially hurt them amongst those who are not interested in ideology or parties, or are much more moderate in their conservatism.' The Calgary Party, the third party on this year's municipal ballot, said it plans to run a full slate of candidates in the election. Its mayoral candidate Brian Thiessen said he feels it's important for a party to run candidates in each of the city's 14 wards. Story continues below advertisement 'I think Calgarians deserve the right to vote for policies of the party, so if you don't run in certain wards, you're depriving Calgarians the right to vote on your policies,' he said. 'I think if Communities First or A Better Calgary has good policies, they should run in every ward and let Calgarians decide.' According to the ABC Party, all other incumbents including Mayor Jyoti Gondek received a no vote from the members, and the party will move forward with nominating and supporting challengers including in the mayoral race. 'People like Wong got a vote, or Sharp, their voting records don't necessarily scream conservative,' Beyer said. 'But our people said, 'No, overall we still see them as good candidates,' and we want to see that we avoid vote splitting.' Gondek has announced she is running for re-election as an independent, while former councillors Jeromy Farkas and Jeff Davison are also vying to become Calgary's next mayor without party affiliation. The ABC Party said it will announce its nominated candidates in Wards 2, 9, 12 and 14 'in the coming days.' The nomination deadline for candidates is on Sept. 22, and Calgarians head to the polls on Oct. 20.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dem gov's new campaign message man once said 'religious right' united by 'white supremacy'
The reelection campaign of Governor Katie Hobbs, D-Ariz., has tapped someone with a penchant for slamming white people, despite being white himself. Hobbs, a vocal progressive and anti-Trump leader, brought Michael Beyer on as her 2026 reelection campaign communications director in April despite his history of going after people because they are white, and not just Republicans either. A look through Beyer's X account shows the staffer levying criticism on social media as early as 2014 against a range of demographics, all with one thing in common – they're white. Trump Backs Republican Rivals In Arizona Governor's Race After Rep. Biggs Enters Contest: 'I Had A Problem' Beyer has accused the "religious right" of being united through "a belief in white supremacy," blasted self-professed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders' voters for having "white entitlement" and accused Taylor Swift and other "white people" of "romanticizing the conquest of Africa." Beyer has also espoused anti-gay rhetoric targeted at gay white Republicans, positing in a social media post about the leader of one of the longest-standing pro-gay GOP nonprofits in the country that it was "unclear" whether he was "just a bunch of twinks standing on top of each other hiding in a trench coat." In another post, Beyer complained there were too many "white men" in a 1980's news segment about HIV, while in another Beyer suggested "white suburban voters" in Louisiana "had taken over" the local newspaper. Read On The Fox News App The Arizona governor's recent hire is just the latest in a series of tumultuous staffing issues Hobbs has faced as governor. In 2022, it was reported that in just five months two-thirds of Hobbs' gubernatorial campaign staff left, with several describing their work on the campaign as "emotionally abusive." Meanwhile, Hobbs has also been forced to fire past employees over inflammatory social media posts. Arizona To Verify Up To 50K People From Voter Rolls Who Failed To Prove Citizenship "White evangelicals are the only group that predominantly wants anti-gay discrimination, poll shows," Beyer posted on then-Twitter in 2017, along with a link to a blog from Slate. "Once again, it is a belief in white supremacy that unites the Religious Right," he added in his tweet. In addition to blaming religious conservatives for being racist, Beyer also said in 2015 that Republicans in general "thinks [sic] they only have to answer to white voters." In a subsequent post, Beyer slammed Secretary of State Marco Rubio for only appealing to "whites" after allegedly "romanticizing U.S. colonialism." Turning to liberals, Beyer has also had choice words for white Bernie Sanders supporters, saying in a 2016 post on Twitter that they all have "white entitlement." He suggested in another post around the same time that the only reason Sanders won New Hampshire during the 2016 election was because the state is "91% white." In 2015, Beyer went after Taylor Swift and other "white people" for "romanticizing" colonialism. "Only white people would be the people romanticizing the conquest of Africa," Beyer said in a 2015 post, referring to Swift's song "Wildest Dreams" that debuted around the same time. His post was in response to a separate tweet Beyer posted that included a link and title of a NPR op-ed with the headline: "Taylor Swift Is Dreaming Of A Very White Africa." Southern Border State Governor Takes On Cartels And Security With Signing Of Executive Order Despite Beyer's numerous claims suggesting white people are racist, he contended in 2017 that "white people are very bad at identifying racism/racists." Fox News Digital reached out to the Hobbs campaign to question whether it would be reconsidering its decision to hire Beyer, but never received a response. Beyer himself did not respond when reached for comment, either. In addition to Beyer, Hobbs has a history of hiring other staffers who have made controversial remarks on social media. She has also had an issue with high turnover in her office. Arizona Sheriff Praises Trump Prioritizing Border Security: 'Drastic Difference' One of Hobbs' former press secretaries was fired in 2023 after posting an image of a lady drawing two pistols from her hip, which included the caption "Us when we see transphobes." The social media post came the same day a gender-confused individual opened fire at an elementary school in Nashville, after which some critics cited the person's gender dysphoria as a possible catalyst for the horrific event. Hobbs' office has also been impacted frequently by an unusually high turnover rate among her staff. In 2022, it was reported that two-thirds of Hobbs' gubernatorial campaign staff left across a period of just five months, with some of the departing staff describing their work on the campaign as "emotionally abusive." The culture was apparently so bad, the staffers said, they had to upend their lives mid-election to seek employment elsewhere. Hobbs has lost staffers in the middle of ongoing legislative sessions, and, in 2023, Hobbs' legislative director resigned just hours before the release of the state's budget. At least one of Hobbs' staffers went from their job on her campaign to another job with Arizona article source: Dem gov's new campaign message man once said 'religious right' united by 'white supremacy'
Fox News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Dem gov's new campaign message man once said 'religious right' united by 'white supremacy'
The reelection campaign of Governor Katie Hobbs, D-Ariz., has tapped someone with a penchant for slamming white people, despite being white himself. Hobbs, a vocal progressive and anti-Trump leader, brought Michael Beyer on as her 2026 reelection campaign communications director in April despite his history of going after people because they are white, and not just Republicans either. A look through Beyer's X account shows the staffer levying criticism on social media as early as 2014 against a range of demographics, all with one thing in common – they're white. Beyer has accused the "religious right" of being united through "a belief in white supremacy," blasted self-professed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders' voters for having "white entitlement" and accused Taylor Swift and other "white people" of "romanticizing the conquest of Africa." Beyer has also espoused anti-gay rhetoric targeted at gay white Republicans, positing in a social media post about the leader of one of the longest-standing pro-gay GOP nonprofits in the country that it was "unclear" whether he was "just a bunch of twinks standing on top of each other hiding in a trench coat." In another post, Beyer complained there were too many "white men" in a 1980's news segment about HIV, while in another Beyer suggested "white suburban voters" in Louisiana "had taken over" the local newspaper. The Arizona governor's recent hire is just the latest in a series of tumultuous staffing issues Hobbs has faced as governor. In 2022, it was reported that in just five months two-thirds of Hobbs' gubernatorial campaign staff left, with several describing their work on the campaign as "emotionally abusive." Meanwhile, Hobbs has also been forced to fire past employees over inflammatory social media posts. "White evangelicals are the only group that predominantly wants anti-gay discrimination, poll shows," Beyer posted on then-Twitter in 2017, along with a link to a blog from Slate. "Once again, it is a belief in white supremacy that unites the Religious Right," he added in his tweet. In addition to blaming religious conservatives for being racist, Beyer also said in 2015 that Republicans in general "thinks [sic] they only have to answer to white voters." In a subsequent post, Beyer slammed Secretary of State Marco Rubio for only appealing to "whites" after allegedly "romanticizing U.S. colonialism." Turning to liberals, Beyer has also had choice words for white Bernie Sanders supporters, saying in a 2016 post on Twitter that they all have "white entitlement." He suggested in another post around the same time that the only reason Sanders won New Hampshire during the 2016 election was because the state is "91% white." In 2015, Beyer went after Taylor Swift and other "white people" for "romanticizing" colonialism. "Only white people would be the people romanticizing the conquest of Africa," Beyer said in a 2015 post, referring to Swift's song "Wildest Dreams" that debuted around the same time. His post was in response to a separate tweet Beyer posted that included a link and title of a NPR op-ed with the headline: "Taylor Swift Is Dreaming Of A Very White Africa." Despite Beyer's numerous claims suggesting white people are racist, he contended in 2017 that "white people are very bad at identifying racism/racists." Fox News Digital reached out to the Hobbs campaign to question whether it would be reconsidering its decision to hire Beyer, but never received a response. Beyer himself did not respond when reached for comment, either. In addition to Beyer, Hobbs has a history of hiring other staffers who have made controversial remarks on social media. She has also had an issue with high turnover in her office. One of Hobbs' former press secretaries was fired in 2023 after posting an image of a lady drawing two pistols from her hip, which included the caption "Us when we see transphobes." The social media post came the same day a gender-confused individual opened fire at an elementary school in Nashville, after which some critics cited the person's gender dysphoria as a possible catalyst for the horrific event. Hobbs' office has also been impacted frequently by an unusually high turnover rate among her staff. In 2022, it was reported that two-thirds of Hobbs' gubernatorial campaign staff left across a period of just five months, with some of the departing staff describing their work on the campaign as "emotionally abusive." The culture was apparently so bad, the staffers said, they had to upend their lives mid-election to seek employment elsewhere. Hobbs has lost staffers in the middle of ongoing legislative sessions, and, in 2023, Hobbs' legislative director resigned just hours before the release of the state's budget. At least one of Hobbs' staffers went from their job on her campaign to another job with Arizona politics.
