Horse Racing: Arkansas Derby day recap: $41,000,000 bet, Nadal and Charlatan win Ky. Derby preps

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, November 18, 2019

• Luis Quinones, who rides at tracks in West Virginia and Ohio most often, is the winningest rider in North America this year. Quinones has a 12-win lead over Irad Oritz, Jr.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 1: Junior Alvarado finished with a furious rally and got a nose up in time. He is the meet leader with six victories.

​

• Race 6: Julio Correa, one of the top bugs in North America who likely will be a finalist for an Eclipse Award Apprentice of the Year, moved his tack to New York from Laurel and promptly won with his first starter. Nice way to break into the colony. He had lost his last 19 starts.
• Javier Castellano, Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Luis Saez each won twice.

Finger Lakes (New York):

• Weather: Heavy snow at times in upstate New York.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Tyler Gaffalione won three times and finished a very successful day 6 3-1-1.
• Stanley Hough, a legendary trainer at Calder in Miami, is having more success in short spurts in Kentucky. He is 4 3-1-0 this meet. Overall, he is at 24% this year which is his highest for any year since 25% in 1969 (per Equibase).

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Leading riders: Four riders -- Cristian Torres (a leading bug in North America), Leonel Reyes (now injured), Emisael Jaramillo and Edgard Zayas -- are within two victories atop the standings.
• Rainbow Six: The carryover will start at more than $600,000.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, November 8, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Payouts: Extraordinary results for much of the card. Favorites won just one of nine races.
• Race 9: As I have said often, crazy things happen in New York finales. Today was no different but select payouts were staggering. The $1 double paid $1,054. The $1 Pick 3 was over $11,000. But the biggest of all of them was the $.50 Pick 5 which returned over $142,000. Whoever won this bet did so with 5 out of 6 as no live tickets had every winning combination. Extremely uncommon for New York.
• Race 8: Lohntwist (Mike Luzzi/Leo O'Brien) won at 36-to-1 in a field of 11. A rare win for both the rider and trainer. Luzzi, whose only other ride was sent off at 145-to-1 earlier, out-rode Irad Ortiz, Jr. A lengthy photo review determined the winner and it was remarkably close. The winning horse lost stride in the stretch slightly but the veteran rider held on and took control just in the nick of time. Luzzi! The $1 double paid over $240. The $1 Pick 3 paid over $3,800. This is a tough beat for those who played the chalk.

​

• Race 6: An Irad Ortiz, Jr-John Velazquez $1 exacta paid $125.50
• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $31,000.
• Race 2: The 4-to-5 favorite, seemingly home, was nabbed at the wire. The $1 double paid $151.50. The $2 tri returned more than $4,200.
• Race 1: Two of the longest shots -- topped by a 13-to-1 -- started the day in impressive style assisted by the 1-to-5 shot finishing off the board. The show prices were among the most dazzling this year. That thump was the collective result of the reaction by bridge jumpers.

[TABLE="class: brtb_item_table"][TBODY][TR][TD]Horse[/TD][TD]Win[/TD][TD]Place[/TD][TD]Show[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]Champagne Bliss[/TD][TD]$28.00[/TD][TD]$15.40[/TD][TD]$46.00[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]Blahnik[/TD][TD][/TD]
[TD]$16.00[/TD][TD]$57.00[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]Pharaoh's Daughter[/TD][TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]$23.00[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]​

• John Velazquez is cold. He was unsuccessful at the Breeders' Cup and has now lost 23 straight rides with just one win in his last 36 attempts. He is a Hall of Famer and went through funks earlier this year. It isn't always about the jockey but much more is expected out of top riders.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 1: A 32-to-1 shot won. Winning rider Jorge Ruiz
• Race 8: A 20-to-1 shot won. Winning rider Jorge Ruiz.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Rainbow Six: The winners each got over $30,000 for a successful $.20 wager. The carryover will be more than $640,000. We could very well see a million dollar jackpot this weekend.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Julien Leparoux won three times.

Del Mar (California):

• Opening day: The brief meet began today. The weather appeared to be foggy.
• Tiago Pereira got off to a good start by winning two of his four mounts.
• Bill Spawr trained two winners to get a quick start in the standings.
• Race 8: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $82,000. The $.50 Pick 4 paid over $10,000.
• Race 7: Wicked Old Fashioned (Evin Roman/Victor Trujillo) won the $75,000 feature race at 32-to-1 in a close finish. The winner paid $67.80. The trainer, from what I know, is based in northern California and from what was reported turned 55 years of age today. I don't recall him sending too many horses outside the fair tracks or Golden Gate.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale: Day Three
Larry Best (former exec at Boston Scientific and relatively newbie in T-bred ownership) did it again. He plunked down $775,000 on a Curlin weanling earlier today. That is the most money spent on a weanling in North America this year. Earlier this week, he bought a weanling for $700,000 also at the ongoing Keeneland sales. The baby foal was born January 31. Best has spent over $3 million on six horses this week.

So far, 634 horses (of 1,100) have sold for $139,307,000 at the sales this week through three days. The sale continues until November 17.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, November 11, 2019

• Mark Casse, who is a member of the Canadian Hall of Fame, won five times. He entered horses in 10 races and won half. His overall record was 14 5-1-1. His horses ran at Woodbine, Churchill Downs, Gulfstream and Aqueduct.
• Steve Asmussen suffered from seconditis going 10 0-6-2 across two tracks.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Joel Rosario was a monster today. He rode furiously and closed in his typical fashion. He had three winners, including two stakes, and nearly captured a third.
• Mark Casse entered horses in two races and won both. Each was a stakes race.

​

• Irad Ortiz, Jr., ended the day as the meet leader with seven wins.
• Race 6: Jose Lezcano is a good turf jockey. Everyone knows that. Today he won on board a 36-to-1 shot. The $2 double paid close to $800.
• Race 5: Yes, the benefit of hindsight but how does a Christophe Clement first-time starter go off at 15-to-1 in New York? Clement may be the second best turf trainer based in New York. Joel Rosario went gate-to-wire.
• Race 2: Balon Rose (Javier Castellano/Chad Brown) finally breaks her maiden. One of the high-cost purchases of the oft-mentioned Larry Best (OXO Equine).
• John Velazquez failed to hit the board with all six starters. He has now lost 29 straight rides with just one win in his last 42 attempts.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Tyler Gaffalione was ablaze much of the day. He won four times on seven mounts and finished 7 4-1-1. He is tied for third most wins at the meet. The kid is alright.
• Steve Asmussen sent out six starters and finished second with the first five.
• Race 10: Mr. Dumas (Joe Rocco/John Ortiz) won the $175,000 Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf.

​

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Paco Lopez rode four winners including a 21-to-1 shot in the sixth.. He finished 10 4-2-1. One of his mounts that did not hit the board started for the 42nd time but was a perfect 5 5-0-0 at GPW. Lopez is just one win behind Cristian Torres among the meet's leaders. Lopez is at a solid 29%.
• Samy Camacho won three times with six mounts.
• Rainbow Six: The $.20 Pick 6 paid over $65,000. The carryover, which exceeded $825,000 today, will start at $691,000+

Hawthorne (Illinois):

• Larry Rivelli's first three starters won. He entered four.

Del Mar (California):

• Drayden Van Dyke rode three winners which tied him with Tiago Pereira for most wins this meet after two days.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Eurico Sa Silva won four times including a natural hat trick to open the race day. He finished 8 4-1-2. Da Silva has hit the board with 15 of his past 18 mounts. Da Silva has 153 wins at the meet which is 22 more than his closest challenger.
• Mark Casse trained three winners in the five races he entered.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Junior Alvarado won twice to tie Irad Ortiz, Jr. with 8 wins atop the jockey standings this meet.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr. is 32 8-7-8 (25%/72%) at the meet.
• Joel Rosario won the opener. And the theory that if he wins early enough on a card, he will repeat transpired again today. He won three times including the last two races of the day. He has won 6 of his last 14 starts.
• Race 10: Bray (Joel Rosario/Christophe Clement) won the finale as the only first-time starter. Like yesterday, this pair was sent off with high odds (11-to-1) in a turf race.
• Race 9: Fly So Pretty (Joel Rosario/Mark Casse) won the $100,000 feature race. The 2-year-old filly has won twice in four career starts with both victories at New York tracks and both losses in Kentucky.

​

• Race 6: John Velazquez broke his skid when he nabbed another Hall of Famer Javier Castellano just before the wire. No truth to the rumor that the winning Hall of Famer needed directions to the winner's circle, said jokingly. He had lost 31 straight rides and now has two wins with his last 47 attempts.
• Maximum Security is confirmed to run December 7 in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. Maximum Security is 8 6-0-0 or 8 7-0-0 lifetime depending on if you believe he won this year's Kentucky Derby or not.

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Jeremy Rose had two mounts and finished 2 1-1-0. His remarkable comeback story is at 31% winning this year, a career high.
• Race 1: The winner paid $100.80. A 48-to-1 shot held off a 4-to-5 challenger.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 5: Mia Gift (Ashley Castrenze/Claudio Gonzalez) won at 6-to-1. Whenever Ashley Castrenze wins, owls export wisdom, fox offer slyness and lions provide others with strength. Of the 15 jockeys at the meet with 10+ wins, Castrenze is winning at a 20% clip which is second best. Gonzalez leads all trainers in wins at the meet with 21.
• Race 10: Wicked Race (Rebeccca LaBarre/Lacey Gaudet) won at 11-to-1. The show price was high at $7.80. The favorite finished second. The jockey is 25 years old and from Wisconsin. She is in her first true year of being a professional rider (she rode amateur and sporadically as pro prior).
• Sheldon Russell leads the meet with 26 wins among all jockeys.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Race 7: Goldenlineof (Hector Barrios/Jaime Mejia) finally broke his maiden in his 31st start. Interestingly, he was sent off the favorite. That was one of two oddities in this race. The #1 horse, sent off at the low odds of 3-to-1, was ridden by Vicente Gudiel who had just one prior start since late 2016. He was a bug in Illinois a few years ago.
• $.20 Pick 6 paid off $167 to all winners, a low sum with the chalk-favoring results. The next card will begin at $727,000+.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 8: Leucothea (Abel Cedillo/Peter Miller) was sent off the prohibitive favorite at 2-to-5 and easily won the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes.

​

• Jockey leaders: Three riders have three victories through three days of racing at the brief meet.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Monday, November 11, 2019

• A hearty salute to all Veterans on this holiday.
• Open for business: Finger Lakes and Aqueduct (New York), Parx (Pennsylvania), Mahoning Valley (Ohio), Laurel (Maryland), Turf Paradise (Arizona), Zia Park (New Mexico), Golden Gate (California) and Charles Town (West Virginia) were among the handful of places open.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Trainer Linda Rice sent this message with a picturesque image:

​

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. won five times including a natural hat trick to end the race day. He had seven mounts. The five wins elevated him to sole possession of the meet lead with 13 victories, five ahead of Junior Alvarado. Ortiz is 39 13-7-8 (33%/72%). Phenomenal numbers.

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. has 274 winners this year, four behind leader Luis Quinones who rides at smaller venues. Irad has earned over $31,000,000 in 2019.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr.-Chad Brown teamed for two wins in as many opportunities. Both were prices at 6-to-1 and 9-to-1, rarities especially for Brown starters. The trainer entered horses in two races and won both.
• Eric Cancel won consecutive races. He doesn't get many mounts and to win in consecutive starts is noteworthy.
• John Velazquez has won once in 21 starts this meet. The Hall of Famer had other funks earlier this year, too.
• The Empire Six: The $20 Pick 6 paid over $31,000.
• Handle: Over $7,000,000.

Finger Lakes (New York):

• Race 3: Tammi Piermarini's mount was elevated to victory via an objection/inquiry amid falling snow. She doesn't ride much at this stage of her life and career but she currently ranks as the third winningest female jockey in North America annals. She won a majority of her races in her home state of Massachusetts.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 9: Jenn Miller won for the third time this year with her 43rd starter. She doesn't get many mounts but the former dressage rider, who hails from western Massachusetts and became a T-bred rider relatively later in life, deserves special acclaim as she returned from serious injury in late November 2017 following a spill in West Virginia.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

• Light day. It is that time of the year with only select tracks running, some of which ran on Monday's holiday.

Select opening dates:

• Tampa Bay's opener: November 27, 2019
• Fair Grounds' opener: November 28, 2019
• Gulfstream's opener: November 29, 2019. The current meet is the former Calder Race Course (GPW).
• Turfway's opener: December 5, 2019.
• Santa Anita's opener: December 26, 2019
• Oaklawn's opener: January 24, 2020

Select future big dates:

• Eclipse Awards: January 23, 2020 at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino.
• Pegasus World Cup: January 25, 2020 at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino.
• Saudi Cup: February 29, 2020 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The inaugural running will be the world's largest purse at $20,000,000.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• The Rainbow Six will start tomorrow at over $768,000 after more than $173,000 was added today.
• Paco Lopez, who was named Jockey of the Week in North America this past week, won twice including the opener.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Canceled: It was announced earlier in the week that today's card would be canceled due to cold temperatures.

Louisiana Downs (Louisiana):

• Race 6: Karl Broberg won a race for the 500th time this year. He repeated reaching that milestone from last year when he won a career-best 509 and became the third trainer in North American annals -- joining Steve Asmussen (2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010) and Scott Lake (2006) -- to hit that mark in any single year. Later this evening, Broberg won for the 501st time at Remington in Oklahoma. Only Broberg (twice) and Asmussen (four times) have won 500 races twice in any given year.

Martin Garcia:

• The veteran rider has moved his tack from southern California. He will ride later this year in Kentucky (Churchill/Turfway) and eventually Arkansas (Oaklawn) when that opens early next year.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 1: An exciting opener as a 6-to-1 shot won the final head bob over the prohibitive 2-to-5 favorite ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. Chalk players lost a big one at Aqueduct for the second time in a few days by the narrowest of margins. Both losses were with Ortiz, Jr. riding.

​

• Race 2: Irad Ortiz, Jr., the second winningest jockey in North America this year and the leading purse earner with over $31,000,000, came right back from a close defeat in the opener to win this race at 7-to-1.
• Race 3: Lake Avenue (Junior Alvarado/Bill Mott) won by over 12 lengths in a 4-horse field and if Alvarado let the horse run could have smashed that mark easily. The time was good but nothing exceptional due to being under a hand ride at the end. Owned by Godolphin, the first-time starter is a 2-year-old filly. Sentiments shared by many:

​

• Race 4: Jose Lezcano won a turf race on board an 18-to-1 shot. As said many times, the rider excels on turf.
• Race 8: Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was unseated in the previous race, won for the second time. He showed no effects from being tossed to the ground.
• Race 9: Jose Ortiz put an end to a rare 16-race losing streak by winning the finale.
• John Velazquez is 25 1-4-3 this meet. Almost unthinkable.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Race 9: The longest shot on the board in a field of nine won at 28-to-1. The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $17,000. Alberto Burgos, the winning jockey, now has four wins in 172 starts this year.
• Rainbow 6: More than $104,000 was added to the pool which will begin at $793,000+ tomorrow.
• Emisael Jaramillo won three times with four mounts.
• Leading jockeys: Cristian Torres (26), Paco Lopez (25), Emisael Jaramillo (25) and Edgard Zayas (24). The meet closes November 24. The finish should be a doozy.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Race 6: A rare 13-2B exacta in the feature race with a purse over $100,000. Tyler Gaffalione won for Jimmy DeVito.
• Tyler Gaffalione added two wins to his meet total. He is second at the meet with 12 victories and his 23% is best among riders with 4+ wins.

​

Del Mar (California):

• Drayden Van Dyke rode three winners and now tops the meet leader board with six victories.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

American Pharoah's stud fee is listed at $175,000 for 2020. It was previously listed as "private." Pharoah's prodigy has had success in this their first year. Sweet Melania, Four Wheel Drive and Maven have already won graded stakes.

Gun Runner's fee was announced at $70,000 for 2020. Gun Runner's foals have yet to hit the track. His first foal was born January in Japan.

AmPh and GR are among the two most successful colts on track the past many years.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, November 15, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was dismounted yesterday and then won the following race, was off his mounts today presumably due to the fall.
• Race 10: Dylan Davis rode the favorite to victory. He was one of three jockeys to win twice today.
• Race 9: John Velazquez won on a 2-to-5 shot, his second win at the meet.
• Races 6 and 2: Jose Lezcano won two more times on turf. He is particularly good on that surface.
• Race 5: The $1 double paid $509. The favorite ran off the board after a bad break.
• Race 4: Joey Martinez won for the second time. -He was on board a 27-to-1 shot who got to the lead and overcame another inquiry/objection.
• Race 3: Manny Franco barely hung on to beat John Velazquez... and that sat through an inquiry/objection. John Velazquez did not win an inquiry/objection in New York. Color me surprised. You know Johnny V. is having a tough meet when he loses one of these. But it was the proper decision.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Jeremy Rose is having an outstanding year riding mostly mid-Atlantic tracks. However, that has not translated to Laurel and this meet where he is 7 0-0-0.
• Race 4: Pistoleiro (Julio Correa/Lacey Gaudet) won. The former Steve Asmussen-trainee looked to be the horse and was. Gaudet is not having as good a year as 2018 and her numbers this meet are weak. But she will rebound in 2020, feeling it.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Race 6: Rain won the race...in the rain.
• Luca Panici was replaced on his mounts and has nothing scheduled tomorrow. Whether suspension or injury or something else, I have not heard.
• Rainbow Six: The carryover will be $822,386.25 for tomorrow. We may see the 'pot surpass $1,000,000. It was over $911,000 today.
• Weather: Light rains made the track sloppy and turf racing was unavailable.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Race 9: The 13-horse was sent off 13-to-1 and won.

Remington (Oklahoma):

• Race 7: Welder (David Cabrera/Theresa Luneack) improved to 31 21-4-4 and is closing in on $1,000,000 in earnings. He was sent off at 1-to-9 and won by more than 11 lengths. The Oklahoma Horse of the Year in 2018 won this race for the third straight time. The 6-year-old gelding has won 12 of his past 15 starts. Perhaps most significantly, he has won his last nine races at Remington which is two away from the all-time record at the oval.

Del Mar (California):

• Canceled Thursday: Announced almost a week in advance that Thursday's card will be canceled due to expected stormy weather.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Into Mischief has become the first sire in North America annals to produce 200 winners in a given year. The mark was established a few days ago. The 14-year-old's opulence is remarkable in setting the feat. In 2019, 54.5% of Into Mischief's 369 starters have become winners. For his lifetime, 54% (436) are winners. Into Mischief ran six times, all in California, and was a Grade I winner. He is a son to Harlan's Holiday who was the favorite in the 2002 Kentucky Derby but fizzled. He (H.H.) did win the Pennsylvania Derby later that year.

In 2018, Into Mischief covered 245 mares, which led all stallions.

 

[Preds Partisan]

Into Mischief has become the first sire in North America annals to produce 200 winners in a given year. The mark was established a few days ago. The 14-year-old's opulence is remarkable in setting the feat. In 2019, 54.5% of Into Mischief's 369 starters have become winners. For his lifetime, 54% (436) are winners. Into Mischief ran six times, all in California, and was a Grade I winner. He is a son to Harlan's Holiday who was the favorite in the 2002 Kentucky Derby but fizzled. He (H.H.) did win the Pennsylvania Derby later that year.

In 2018, Into Mischief covered 245 mares, which led all stallions.

Harlan's Holiday of the late great Cradle Stakes @ River Downs. Those were the days.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

@Preds Partisan

You probably know but Bloodhorse has a feature on Kentucky Downs' renovations...

Kentucky Downs Begins Renovation - BloodHorse

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 10: The winner was a Laurel shipper who had run 7 of 8 lifetime races at the Maryland oval. With no turf racing in winters at Maryland, Laurel horses will ship to New York. The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $26,000. The $.20 Pick 6 paid over $32,000.
• Michael Maker trained consecutive winners early on the card.
• John Velazquez won twice including a photo finish in the second race.. The sun has risen in the east again.
• John Velazquez and Jose Ortiz, two remarkably successful riders, are a combined 83 8-15-9. For those two riders to be winning under 10% total is surprising.
• Luis Saez was suspended in late October for a ride in June. I believe that is the reason he has not been riding and has no scheduled mounts upcoming. Separately, he was struggling finding wins, just 3 in 31 rides.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr. returned after a one-day hiatus likely due to rest necessitated from taking a spill two days ago. He won twice today and is a splendid 56 17-10-8 (30%/63%) at the meet.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr., Jose Lezcano and Junior Alvarado are the only riders who have 10+ wins this meet.
• Joey Martinez, who I believe lost his bug entering today, has seven wins and is at 21%.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• The Rainbow Pick 6 will start at $861,000+. More than $164,000 was added to the jackpot today which brought the total to approximately $986,000. It should approach $1 million again tomorrow.
• Cristian Torres was DQ'd from winning at 30-to-1 in the opener but won the following race. He is a likely finalist for Apprentice Jockey of the Year in North America. Wesley Henry, who was the victim of the interference in the opener, won his next start in the fourth. Those were his only two rides of the day.
• Paco Lopez won consecutive races, the first of which snapped a 15-race losing skid which for him this year was the equivalent of 100 straight losses for many other riders (said sarcastically).

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 5: Benintendi (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) won by over 8 lengths in his debut. The husband-wife team, mentioned a few times by me, succeeded yet again. Sheldon leads the meet with 30 wins. Brittany is over 25% this year in her second year of training. The winner opened it up in the stretch to pummel the competition. He was purchased for $270,000, a healthy figure, in the 2018 Ocala (Florida) sales for 2-year-olds. Keep an eye on him.

• Race 7: Joe Bravo won his only ride of the day. Bravo has to rank up among the top ten leaders at jockeys who have won at the most different tracks the past five years. Maybe that is an illusion but he does travel with the best of them.

​

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Purses: Six races had $90,000+ purses.
• Tyler Gaffalione added three wins. His 15 wins are second at the meet only behind Corey Lanerie's 19.
• Florent Geroux won twice. He is 13 5-0-3 (38%/62) this meet.
• Peter Miller is 8 5-1-1 at the meet. Impressive numbers for the west coast-based trainer.
• Race 10: Mr. Misunderstood (Florent Geroux/Brad Cox) won the $175,000 Grade 3 at 10-to-1, his 13th lifetime win. He is 6 5-0-1 at CD.

​

Del Mar (California):

• Race 6: Mundaye Call (Mike Smith/Don Chatlos) won the MSW for 2-year-old fillies. She broke her maiden in this her third start. She came out of a 7th place finish in a Grade I at Saratoga. The owner is the much-mentioned OXO Equine (Larry Best) who purchased this filly in 2018 for $950,000 which is an exorbitant sum but not uncommon for the outfit..
• Race 7: High Velocity (Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert) won the $100,000 Grade 3 Bob Hope. The 2-year-old colt out of a Quality Road mare is 2-for-2 lifetime. Only four horses entered. Doug O'Neill's starter, like that of Baffert, was heavily bet and finished second.

====================================================
Kentucky Derby ruling:
A judge dismissed the Kentucky Derby ruling lawsuit by owners Gary and Mary West. This latest verdict will be challenged from reports. The controversial Ky Derby DQ is still debated among followers of the sport. Many have strong opinions, I leaned in favor of no DQ.

Judge dismisses lawsuit by Maximum Security's owners on Derby DQ

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A federal judge in Kentucky has granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that had been filed by the owners of Maximum Security seeking to overturn a decision by the stewards to disqualify the horse from first place in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

In a ruling issued Friday afternoon, Judge Karen Caldwell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted the motion to dismiss sought by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, citing Kentucky regulations that “make clear that the disqualification is not subject to judicial review.” The 25-page opinion summarily strikes down the arguments made by attorneys for Gary and Mary West, the owners of Maximum Security, in an initial lawsuit filed by the couple and in subsequent legal filings.​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Jose Ortiz, Junior Alvarado and Javier Castellano each won twice. The two wins by Junior ties him with Jose Lezcano for second most victories at the meet.
• Chad Brown won for the meet-leading 13th time among trainers.
• Handle: Approximately $9,000,000 bet today.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Alex Cintron rode four times and had three winners and a place finish. He is now tied for the meet lead with 31 wins.
• Races 1 and 2: Ashley Castrenze won the opener on a 1-to-5 shot. When Ashley Castrenze wins, the day is filled with sunshine, lollipops and rainbows even with a 1-to-5. The double was a hearty $21 when Decorated (Sheldon Russell/Jeremiah O'Dwyer) wowed the crowd with a fantastic finish as a 7-to-1 shot. Russell is one of the best riders in Maryland and is tied for the lead meet with 31 wins. The two winning riders are two of the four who have winning percentages at 20% or more for the meet with more than 10 wins.

​

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• The Rainbow Six surpassed $1,000,000 and approached $1.1 million dollars. No unique ticket was declared a winner and as such the next card will start at $909,000+.
• Closing day: This upcoming Sunday is the last day of the meet. Gulfstream Park resumes racing Friday following Thanksgiving.
• Rider Standings: Three jockeys are within the meet lead currently held by bug boy Cristian Torres and his 31 wins. He should be among the top contenders for Apprentice of the Year in North America.
• Jairo Rendon won three times on four mounts.
• Saffie Joseph is running away with the trainer's title at the meet.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Race 10: An exhilarating finish to the race day which produced a $.50 Pick 4 for over $16,000. The $.50 tri paid in excess of $2,700. The $.10 super was over $3,700. When a horse pays over $20 with a third place finish, the numbers are enormous.
• Corey Lanerie (21 wins) and Tyler Gaffalione (15 wins) are the two winningest riders at the meet. Gaffalione won this meet last year.
• Steve Asmussen (11 wins) and Brad Cox (10 wins) are in a battle for winningest trainer.
• Peter Miller won again and is now a staggering 9 6-1-1 (67%/89%) this meet. The California-based trainer is making a lot of noise.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 7: Queen Bee To You (Flavien Prat/Andrew Lerner) won the $100,000 feature race. The trainer is only 30 years old and has less than 50 lifetime wins but this was his day in the limelight.

​

• Drayden Van Dyke, Abel Cedillo and Tiago Pereira are the hot riders this meet but Flavien Prat is gaining traction after beginning the meet with a suspension. He is 15 4-5-2 (27%/73%).
• Kent Desormeaux is leaving southern Cal and heading home to Louisiana to ride at Fair Grounds. The Hall of Famer is from Louisiana and 49 years of age.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Martin Garcia announced a few days he is moving his tack from southern Cal. to the Kentucky/Arkansas circuit and now Joe Talamo will join him at least at Oaklawn.

I expect the Oaklawn (Arkansas) meet, which opens January 24, to be fantastic. It usually starts with a bang as favorites tend to bite the dust fairly often and then settles into a pattern. It has a few Kentucky Derby prep races that get more significant as they advance.

Oaklawn is among the up-and-coming tracks -- if it already isn't there -- in North America and will gain traction with its biggest purses which should be represented through handles. The one drawback is no turf course.

Kent Desormeaux is returning home and will ride at Fair Grounds (Louisiana) after a lengthy stay in southern Cal.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Fan Choice Awards

Fan Choice Awards ends today (Nov. 20). I completed my ballot.

• Race of the Year: Like it or not I chose the Kentucky Derby.
• Jockey of the Year: Joel Rosario though Irad Ortiz, Jr. could have easily been selected.
• Trainer of the Year: Mark Casse though Chad Brown will likely win all major awards. Just for something different I went with Casse.
• Track of the Year for Handicappers: Oaklawn (Arkansas) -- of course. The track doesn't offer turf racing and it can frustrate the most articulate bettor with bombs topping tickets but that is the appeal. Laurel should have been an option, it is my favorite everyday track and offers deep fields. Kentucky Downs is the true pick but being only five days in a calendar year I opted to go with something that offered a longer meet.
• Food, drink and fashion (three categories): Tough to pick food and drink without the true experience.
  • Churchill Downs for the Mint Julep and fashion. I went for tradition.​
  • The egg sandwich at Santa Anita was my food pick since I crave eggs.​
• Track to watch a race: Keeneland (Kentucky) is my choice since at least through the simulcast, the crowds are throwbacks and the railbirds plentiful. I could have chosen Saratoga which also has the electric atmosphere. Nothing beats Churchill and the twin spires from a manmade artistic point of view. Santa Anita's landscape and the majestic mountains is beyond compare.
• Race call: Larry Collmus with Bricks and Mortar did return memories of Tom Durkin's 1998 Belmont Stakes as I mentioned that day.
• Radio show I lack first-hand knowledge and as such don't have an opinion.
• Analyst: Gabby Gaudet because I have touted her from her earliest on-air moments going back to Laurel a few years back. Scott Hazelton was my second pick. Horse racing has excellent options. We are fortunate.
• Horse of the Year: Bricks and Mortar. 6 6-0-0 this year with five Grade I wins.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Jose Ortiz was the star of the day with three wins on three mounts. He has won five of his last eight starts. His insufficient start to meet has been erased at least temporarily. His nine wins is tied for sixth best.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr. (19 wins) and Junior Alvarado (13 wins) each rode a winner and continue to be the two winningest jockeys at the meet.
• Trainers: Four trainers won today for the first time at the meet while two others won for a second time and another for a third time. Chad Brown and Linda Rice were the other victors.
• Race 2: Run for Boston (Jose Ortiz/James Ryerson) won for the 2nd time in 27 starts,
• Race 6: David's Gem (Luis Castro Rodriguez/Chad Summers), a first time starter, finished second at 61-to-1. The jockey won the opener.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Race 1: Richard Mitchell won on board a 17-to-1 shot. The victory was just his second this year and snapped an unofficial losing streak of 98. He last won on March 31, his only other win in 2019 in which he is 157 2-13-10.
• Race 2: A first time-starter won at 41-to-1. The $50 tri was over $2,500. The $1 double was a phenomenal $718.70.
• Race 3: The $.50 Pick 3 paid $3,500+.
• Race 7: Bodexpress (Emisael Jaramillo/Gustavo Delgado) broke an 18-year-old track record while romping to a 6 ¾ -length victory in a mile allowance race. The 3-year-old colt clocked in at 1:35.58. He ran as a maiden and finished 12th in the 2019 Kentucky Derby then tossed rider John Velazquez exiting the gate in the Preakness. He had lost his first seven races before winning his most recent two. He is now 9 2-3-0 lifetime. The $.50 Pick 3 paid $4.25 with three straight chalk wins. A little different than the first Pick 3 of the day.

​

• Paco Lopez won three times.
• Rider standings as the meet ends later this month: Cristian Torres, a bug (31 wins), Paco Lopez (30), Emisael Jaramillo (29) and Edgard Zayas (28).
• Rainbow Six: Carryover Jackpot Climbs To $946,215 For Thursday. As a reminder: The carryover jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Tyler Gaffalione added two wins to his collection. With 17 wins, the defending champ is now just five behind meet leader Corey Lanerie as the two battle it out for the meet title. Churchill closes December 1. Turfway opens December 5.
• Tyler Gaffalione has hit the board with 21 of his past 32 mounts covering the five most recent race days. He has hit the board 54% of the time, a high figure for someone with 79 mounts.
• Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen teamed for two wins.
• Race 8: Gun It (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen) won for the second time in six lifetime starts. He returned today from a 7-month layoff and it was his first win in 11 months. The 3-year-old colt, a son to Tapit, romped to victory. He was purchased for $2.6 million at Keeneland's 2107 sale.
• Race 9: Martin Garcia, who relocated from southern California, won the last of his four starts on this his first day since moving his tack.
• Pick 5: Over $768,000 was bet in the pool. All winners collected approximately $2,500.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

TAMPA BAY DOWNS​

Tampa Bay Downs opens its lengthy meet on Wednesday, November 27. It is the 94th year of the track's existence. They have plenty of promotions including ticket giveaways on Saturday to the area's sports teams -- including the Lightning -- and events such as the regional college football bowl game.

Additionally, for interest to racing handicappers is the 10-day Festivus Challenge.: Festivus Challenge

Track website: Horse Racing | Poker | Dining | Group Events | Golf

Tampa Bay Downs has one of the best turf courses in North America.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Jose Lezcano had a natural hat trick to end the day. Add three wins to the meet's second-winningest rider, two of which were on turf his specialty.
• Race 3: Jose Ortiz was elevated to victory via DQ. He suddenly has 10 wins at the meet. You can't keep him down for long.
• Race 1: A 65-to-1 shot came in second place and paid $42.60.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 2: The $2 exacta was a stunning $1,578.20. The $2 trifecta blew up the Tote board, figuratively, with a $36,632 payout. I would imagine that is a top five payout in North America this year.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Paco Lopez won the Monmouth (NJ) meet earlier this year and he is determined to win this title. Controversial at times but he can ride. Four more wins today. He ended the day 6 4-1-0.
• Rider standings as the meet ends on Sunday: Paco Lopez (34), Cristian Torres, a bug (32 wins), Emisael Jaramillo (29) and Edgard Zayas (28).
• Edgard Zayas will be sidelined about a month due to a finger injury. To my knowledge, he is one of at least four riders sidelined by injury or not riding recently: Luca Panici, Leonel Reyes, Miguel Vasquez are the others.
• Rainbow Six: It exceeded $1.1 million and will start tomorrow at more than $982,000.
• Race 5: Fanny Olsson picked up the mount and won. From Sweden, she recently arrived in the USA and it was her fifth win in 20 lifetime starts since the move. She was exuberant.
• Race 1: A 57-to-1 bomber started the day and paid $106.40. The $2 exacta was $901.

​

Del Mar (California):

• Canceled. It was announced last week that today's card would be canceled due to expected rains.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, November 22, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. added two wins to his meet lead.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 6: Amphitrite (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) gave the husband-wife team another win. When they team, they are around 33% winning lifetime. That works! Brittany is a 25% career winner in just her second year of training, mostly with her husband riding.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Race 10: Super Valentine (Sonny Leon/Franklin DeJesus) rocked the house at 64-to-1 to win the finale. The winner paid $131.00. The trainer won for the first time.
• Corey Lanerie added three wins to his meet lead of 26. The meet ends December 1.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Alexis Delgado was a perfect 3 3-0-0. That is a tremendous afternoon for any trainer. Perhaps more so, for someone with 25 lifetime wins. He celebrated his first win in North America in 2017.
• Paco Lopez has a 3-win lead atop the rider standings as the meet heads into the final two days. He is winning at an exceptional 28% rate.
• Rainbow Six: The carryover is officially over $1 million ($1.02m). With a Saturday card and the penultimate date of the meet, look for the figure to near $1.5 million as the day advances. If the bet isn't hit on Saturday, I would expect a pool in excess of $5,000,000 for Sunday's finale.

​

• 2020 meet the finale?: Indications are the former Calder will end horse racing after the 2020 meet.
• The entire card through highlights:

​

Del Mar (California):

• Chalk: Mostly a chalky day with reduced fields.
• Race 4: In a field of four, superfecta betting was accepted. The $.10 super paid $.96.
• Drayden Van Dyke won twice and now has a 2-win lead among riders at the meet.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

JAPAN CUP

Estimated time: 3:40 pm in Tokyo on Sunday. That translates to 1:40 a.m. ET on Sunday morning.
Purse: $5.6 million U.S.
Attendance: Approximately 100,000 patrons.​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, November 23, 2019

• Steve Asmussen trained five winners with twelve starters across five tracks (based in Kentucky, New York, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Ontario) and two countries (U.S. and Canada). An active day for North America's second winningest trainer.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Javier Castellano won three straight mounts. Of the seven jockeys with 10+ wins this meet, his winning pct. of 24% is second highest.
• Race 9: Sadler's Joy (Javier Castellano/Thomas Albertrani) won for the 7th time in 26 starts and has earned over $2.4 million after winning the $200,000 Grade 3 Red Smith.

​

• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $38,000.
• Race 2: A 25-to-1 was victorious.
• Jose Ortiz won twice and all of a sudden his slow start is history. He is now tied for fourth in wins this meet.
• John Velazquez is 41 4-7-5 this meet. Not good.
• Todd Pletcher is 35 2-10-3 this meet. The team of Johnny V.-Pletcher, once one of the best, has slumped this quarter.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Rainbow Six: Will start at $1,094,464 Sunday, the last day of the meet. My estimate of $5 million was surpassed by at least one person from the DRF who said it could reach $7 million. Tomorrow is a mandatory payout due to being the last day of the meet.
• Jockey changes: By my count, there were 12 changes as the card began. A high number representative of the injured including the latest Edgard Zayas.
• Closing day: Tomorrow. Next year could be the last meet ever for this race track. Whether Gulfstream Park increases its lengthy schedule or not is yet to be known. Highly unlikely south Florida goes six weeks without horse racing.
• Leading jockey: Paco Lopez appears to have sewn up the rider's title with a 5-win lead.
• Leading trainer: Saffie Joseph has dominated the meet and has already clinched.
• All the races:

​

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Race 9: Excession (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen) won a $95,000 MSW with a fantastic finish thanks to the head bob. The 2-year-old colt was out for the fourth time.
• Ricardo Santana, Jr. rode four times for Steve Asmussen and the duo had three winners. Two purses exceeded $95,000.
• Florent Geroux won twice, both races were $95,000+. There were five such purses on the card.

Golden Gate (California):

• Juan Hernandez rode five winners and finished in the money six times on seven mounts.

Del Mar (California):

• Flavien Prat, who won the Kentucky Derby via DQ and who just may be the best rider in California these days, had a natural hat trick and won four time including on a 17-to-1 bomber in the fifth race. Prat is 26 8-9-3 (31%/77%) this meet.
• Race 6: Snap Chap (Mike Smith/Don Chatlos) was a $1.2 million purchase by Larry Best (ex-Boston Scientific) of OXO Equine in the 2018 Keeneland Sales but the first time starter fizzled in a $52,000 MSW.
• Race 8 (Midcourt (Victor Espinoza/John Shirreffs) won the Grade 2 $100,000 Native Diver in a short field of four.
• Race 9: The finale produced the completion of the gigantic payout of $182,619.60 to the $2 Pick 6. The ticket purchased cost $1,400. If your numbers are 3-8-1-3-2-1, go cash.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Race 8: Pink Lloyd (Eurico da Silva/Robert Tiller), who has earned the title of a Canadian living legend, held off a challenger to win the $175,000 Grade 2 in fine form. The 7-year-is now 28 22-1-1, including a perfect 6 6-0-0 this year (one additional race was negated by being a non-starter due to a starting gate issue), and has earned over $1.32 million. He ended last year with two consecutive defeats.

​

Tokyo Racecourse (Tokyo):

• Dieu du Vin (Frankie Dettori) won the Cattleya Sho which is a Kentucky Derby prep race.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Two hours away from the Japan Cup. Over 100,000 people expected in the oval.

Meanwhile, at Del Mar, the final race produced a $182,000+ winning ticket for someone.

And TVG is having an online poll to guess the Rainbow Six at Gulfstream Park West's last day of racing for 2019. Looks like my $5,000,000 prediction may be underwhelming.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Tokyo Racecourse (Tokyo, Japan):

• Suave Richard (Oisin Murphy/Yasushi Shono), a five-year-old who was sent off with the third lowest odds and entered off a 7-race losing streak, won the 39th edition of the Japan Cup. Run at 3:40 pm in Japan, 1:40 a.m. ET, the race had a purse of $5,600,000 U.S. to which $2,76 million goes to the winning connections. Every horse entered was a Japan-bred, a first in the race's history, including the winner who was out of an Unbridled's Song mare. Sunday Silence, who is renowned for his offspring in Japan, was the paternal grandfather to the winner. Both ran in past Kentucky Derbies with Sunday Silence winning in 1989. The victorious jockey participated in his first Japan Cup. He is 24 years of age, from Ireland, was recently named the best jockey in Britain and plans to ride in Japan until some point next year. Among the defeated riders were Frankie Dettori, William Buick and Ryan Moore. The crowd was 80,826 (small comparatively speaking) but the handle on the race was approximated at $250,000,000 U.S.

​

=================================================
Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

Some have estimated the Rainbow Six (Pick 6) could reach $7,000,000 today as Gulfstream Park West (GPW), the former Calder Race Course, closes its annual meet. Gulfstream Park resumes racing this upcoming Friday for its traditionally biggest meet of the year which extends into April

For today, the Rainbow Six will start at more than $1,000,000 and has to be paid out. If one person -- exactly one person -- hits the jackpot, that winning ticket will cash whatever is in the pool. If multiple people win, then they will share in the complete jackpot. Today is a mandatory payout, there is no carryover!

Mandatory Payout: Multi-Million Dollar Pool Likely In Sunday’s Rainbow 6 At Gulfstream West - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report

A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool at Gulfstream Park West Sunday opens the possibility that a lucky bettor could walk away with a multi-million-dollar payoff.

The Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 39th racing day in a row during the Fall Turf Festival meet Saturday, producing a carryover jackpot of $1,094,464 for Sunday, when betting on the popular multi-race wager is expected to generate a multi-million-dollar pool.

The carryover jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. However, on mandatory payout days, bettors holding tickets with the most winners will share in the entire pool.

There will also be mandatory payouts for the Late Pick 5, Late Pick 4 and the last-race Super Hi-5.

Multiple Rainbow 6 tickets with all six winners Saturday were each worth $3,251.28.
The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot stood at $1,028,040.19 at the start of Rainbow 6 wagering Saturday, when a total of $276,816 was bet into the multi-race pool.

The Rainbow 6 was solved at Gulfstream Park for a $2.2 million jackpot payoff Sept. 27 after going unsolved for 47 consecutive racing days.

First-race post time for Sunday's card is set for 12:30 p.m.

Sunday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9.​