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

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Thursday, December 19, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):
  • Canceled due to wind chill.
  • Sunday: First post has been bumped to 12:00 pm ET.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Emisael Jaramillo won four times and took advantage of Paco Lopez's 5-day suspension to bolt to a 3-win lead in the rider's standings. Jaramillo won three times as a front-runner which is his specialty. I mentioned a few days ago that he is tough to catch and he proved it today with authority. Twice today he brought home both ends of doubles.
  • Ralph Nicks had a winner which snapped the deadlock in the trainer's standings. Nicks doesn't have the big name but he has a good reputation as a conditioner. The former jockey whose father was a trainer was an assistant under Bill Mott a few years ago.
  • Nagib Aboughaida is now 19 6-4-3 (32%/68%) after another win. Again, I do not know this trainer. He is in his first year and is unofficially just under 70% in the money.
  • Nik Juarez is 63 1-7-9 at the meet.
  • John Velazquez is 14 0-4-2 at the meet.
  • Edgar Prado won today. He is 29 8-1-3. He is winning at 28%. An incredible figure for the veteran.
  • Joe Bravo won today, his second victory in seven starts this meet. He doesn't ride as much as in the past but he has hit the board with seven of his ten mounts this month.
Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Brian Hernandez, Jr. won a race for the 2,000th time. Hernandez, from a family of jockeys, estimated that he first got on a horse at the age of 2. He had his apprentice in 2004.
  • Colby Hernandez, the brother to Brian Hernandez, leads the meet with 16 victories.
  • James Graham won three times. His first two winners, in consecutive races to start the day, were sent off at 31-to-1 and 14-to-1, both the longest shots in each race.
Colonial Downs (Virginia):
  • 2020: The Virginia Racing Commission on Thursday approved an 18-day 2020 racing meet at Colonial Downs running from July 23 through Aug. 29. Racing will be conducted Thursday through Saturday with first post at 5:30 Eastern, and a press release from Colonial said the track planned to distribute $500,000 per day in purses. The Virginia Derby is scheduled for closing day, Aug. 29. Colonial was shuttered for racing between 2013 and this past summer. (Source: Marcus Hersch, DRF)
Gulfstream Updates:
  • Joel Rosario: Has not ridden since Dec. 8. He is on R-n-R. I am not sure if he will ride both coasts this winter as he did part of last year.
  • Edgard Zayas: Has a broken finger suffered Nov. 21. He is scheduled to ride December 26.
  • Leonel Reyes: Has a broken chin and arm suffered in early November. He was due out 6-to-8 weeks.
  • Miguel Vasquez has not ridden since Oct. 17. Info on his absence seems to be minimal or even non-existent.
  • Victor Barboza, trainer, is suspended six months from November.
Woodbine (Ontario):
  • 2020: Announced its schedule for next year. The meet will run from April 18-Dec. 13
 
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I guess I'm more excited that Colonial Downs coming back for a second year in a row means it's probably coming back for good. I'm supposed to be in that part of Virginia next summer.

Not sure the Woodbine/Turfway series will flip many switches for people. I wonder if TP has given up any hope of getting the Jeff Ruby Stakes back to a G2 with this news?
 
Friday, December 20, 2019
  • Luis Quinones 311 wins and Irad Ortiz, Jr. 310 wins have sewn the seeds. The battle is on for winningest jockey in North America this year. Ortiz has earned about $30 million more than Quinones who rides in the smaller tracks.
Aqueduct (New York):
  • Dylan Davis had three wins and finished 5 3-1-0. One of his best days in quite some times. His sister nearly won the finale. See below. He has hit the board with seven of his past 11 rides. He has the third most wins this meet behind only Jose Lezcano and Junior Alvarado.
  • Race 8: Jose Lezcano won the finale as expected but needed every ounce of energy to beat Katie Davis who rode for her father, former jockey Robbie Davis, in a rare New York ride. Most neutral observers were pulling for the Davises at 21-to-1.
  • Race 5: Joe's Smokin Gun romped for a 5th win in 28 starts. However, the 4-year-old is 6 4-0-0 at the Big A. He obviously likes the track. He won six days ago under first-time trainer Rudy Rodriguez who repeated the trick today. Following the race, Linda Rice claimed the gelding. Two of the biggest trainer names in New York winter racing.
  • Manny Franco is off to a cold start at 29 2-4-12. He is expected to be one of the meet's leaders this time of the year.
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Daniel Centeno and Antonio Gallardo each have 13 wins. Pablo Morales and Samy Camacho both have 12 wins. They were the four leading riders, in different order, at this meet in 2018-19.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Rainbow Six: A $1,000,000 guarantee jackpot tomorrow.
  • Irad Ortiz, Jr. won three times.
  • Race 9: Ete Indian (Luca Panici/Patrick Biancone) upset Toledo (Irad Ortiz.,/Chad Brown) at 14-to-1. It was Panici's first win at the meet in 11 mounts.
  • Race 7: Nonna Madeline (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher) won at 4-to-5 in the rider's only ride of the day and first victory this meet in his 15th start. The filly was off for 14 months. Owned in part by Vinny Viola.
  • Joe Bravo is 8 2-2-2 (25%/75%) at the meet. Strong figures. He finished second with a 13-to-1 shot who lost to a 10-to-1 ridden by the meet's leading rider Emisael Jaramillo.
  • Chalk: Favorites won six straight races, 2 through 7.
Hawthorne (Illinois):
  • Race 4: Stormy Pacific, sent off the favorite despite a 31-race losing streak, won for the 7th time in 67 lifetime starts.
Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Matt Shirer, with under 70 lifetime wins, was the star of the day going 4 3-1-0. He is now 9 6-2-0 at the meet. Wow!
​

  • Race 8: Strike My Fancy (Colby Hernandez/Matt Shirer) had a 20-to-1 morning line. In a field of 14, the 4-year-old filly was sent off at 42-to-1. The leading rider at the meet with a hot trainer. The filly lost 12 of 13 lifetime starts before this victory.
​

  • Race 9: The $2 double was worth over $700. The $.50 Pick 5 returning a whopper at $49,000+.
 
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Saturday, December 21, 2019
  • Irad Ortiz, Jr. ($33m earned) 312 wins, Luis Quinones ($3m earned) 311 wins are the top two riders in 2019 to date based on wins.
Aqueduct (New York):
  • Linda Rice had an enormous day going 5 4-1-0. She had a rare natural hat trick, rare for any conditioner, and teamed with Jose Lezcano to go 4 3-1-0. She has hit the board with 11 of her past 12 starters. Rice is 25 7-7-2 (28%/64%) at the meet
​

  • Jose Lezcano finished 8 3-3-0 and leads the meet with 10 wins.
  • Dylan Davis has the second most wins at the meet with seven after a 2-win day.
  • Race 8: Stan the Man (Dylan Davis/John Terranova) won the feature race. Junior Alvarado, on board the favorite, was unseated coming out of the gate.
​

Parx (Pennsylvania):
  • Canceled: The entire card was canceled due to poor track conditions.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • No turf racing: Racing was off the turf today.
  • Handle: Over $10,000,000.
  • Rainbow 6: The jackpot will start at more than $750,000 after a million dollars was guaranteed today.
  • Race 1: Ralston (Emisael Jaramillo/Nagib Aboughaida) wired the field in his maiden race. Hot connections with a terrific speed jockey.
  • Race 6: Carpe Omnious (Javier Castellano/Todd Pletcher), a $550,000 purchase, won his debut at 6-to-1. He was the most expensive purchase in the race but the bettors didn't believe in him.
  • Race 10: Diamond Oops (Julien Leparoux/Patrick Biancone) topped the $100,000 Grade 3 Mr, Prospector at 7-to-2. Imperial Hint (Javier Castellano/Luis Carvajal), who has earned over $2 million, finished third after failing to hold the lead at even money.
​


Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Card: A very extensive card of 14 races though some were off the turf.
  • Race 12: Pioneer Spirit (David Cohen/Robertino Diodoro) won the Tenacious by a nose. The victory was the 6-year-old horse's 11th win in 28 starts.
pioneerspirit12-21amandahodgesweir-678x381.jpg
Santa Anita (California):
  • Opening day: Was postposed from Thursday to Saturday, Dec. 28 due to expected storms.
 
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
  • Steve Asmussen went 5 3-1-0 at two tracks (Aqueduct and Fair Grounds).
  • Winningest jockeys in North America update: Irad Ortiz, Jr. 313 wins and Luis Quinones 311 wins.
  • Paco Lopez returns from his suspension. He has five racing dates to get 18 wins and join the 300-wins club for 2019. Only two riders have reached that amount.
Aqueduct (New York):
  • Favorites: Bit the dust today losing 8 of 10 races. The favorites to win were ridden by Jose Lezcano.
  • Jose Lezcano was 9 3-2-1. He is 42 13-8-5 (31%/62%) as the meet's winningest rider. Lezcano is 7-5-1 with his past 18 mounts.
  • Race 9: Firenze Fire (Jose Lezcano/Jason Servis), a multiple graded stakes winner who ran unplaced in the 2018 Kentucky Derby, won the $100,000 feature as expected. Servis finished second in the race as well. Firenze Fire, who has earned roughly $1.7 million in 23 starts, was ridden almost exclusively by Irad Ortiz, Jr. who is at Gulfstream.
​


Laurel (Maryland):
  • Sheldon Russell (45 wins), Alex Cintron (43) and Trevor McCarthy (43) are in a close battle as top jockey this meet.
  • Claudio Gonzalez, a fair instance in front of his competitors as leading trainer, won with his first three starters. His past two racing days, he was 9 5-3-0. .
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Canceled: Today's card was canceled due to rain.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Race 11: One of the best races of the day, one in which an objection was dismissed despite some bumping in the stretch involving Nik Juarez and Rajiv Maragh. Juarez won for the second time on board his 73rd mount this meet.
​

  • Race 9: One of the best races of the day as two of the top jockeys in North America dueled. Luis Saez nipped Irad Ortiz, Jr.
​

  • Emisael Jaramillo won twice and now leads the meet with 28 wins. He won the opener gate-to-wire on board an 8-to-1 shot and in the day's penultimate race won on board an 18-to-1 shot. There is an early battle for second place between Luis Saez (23 wins), Irad Ortiz, Jr. (22 wins) and Paco Lopez (21 wins).
  • Rainbow Six: The carryover will be $874,000+ after all winners today got about $14,000 for every successful $.50 bet.
Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Ricardo Santana, Jr.-Steve Asmussen won twice. Santana is 28%/67% at the meet. Asmussen has tied Ron Faucheux for the meet lead with 10 wins.
 
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Tough news for Ralph Nicks. It is part of the business to go with the higher profiled trainers but I was hoping this horse would develop under Nicks' conditioning.

Promising 2-year-old maiden winner Untitled sold privately

Untitled, who won his career debut by 11 lengths while posting a 98 Beyer Speed Figure last Saturday at Gulfstream Park, has been sold privately trainer Ralph Nicks confirmed today.

Nicks said Untitled, a son of Khozan, will be transfered to trainer Mark Casse while adding the name of the buyer is undisclosed at the present time. Untitled, a son of Khozan, was owned by his breeders Brent Fernung and Michael Sebastian.

"Obviously it's disappointing losing a horse like this, he's definitely one of the most talented horses I've ever been around," said Nicks, who worked with Cigar during his 14-year tenure with trainer Bill Mott and also developed Eclipse Award winning filly Caledonia Road. "It's tough to replace a horse like this one in your barn."

Source: Mike Welsch, DRF​
 
MALIBU STAKES
What: Grade 1. Opening day at Santa Anita (postponed from Dec. 26 due to expected storms).
Where: Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA
When: Saturday, December 28, 2019, Race 9
Time: 3:00 pm Pacific Time
Who: 3-year-olds
Distance: 7 furlongs
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $300,000
TV: TVG
History: Inaugurated in 1952. Bob Baffert has won this race three times since 2011 and considering the field size, his total entries and his talented runners he could very easily add to that figure. Omaha Beach is a formidable threat, however.

[TR][TH]PPHorseJockeyWgtTrainerM/L
1Much Better (KY)Flavien Prat120Bob Baffert-
2Complexity (KY)Javier Castellano120Chad C. Brown-
3Manny Wah (KY)Channing Hill120Bob Baffert-
4Roadster (KY)Joel Rosario122Bob Baffert-
5Omaha Beach (KY)Mike E. Smith124Richard E. Mandella-
[TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY][/TH][/TR][/TBODY]
[TBODY][TR][TH]SANTA ANITA (Opening day card)[/TH][/TR][/TBODY]​
[TBODY][TR][TH]
[TR][TH]Race #PurseRace TypeDistanceSurfaceStartersEst. Post (Pac. Time)
Race 1$55,000 Maiden Special Weight 6 FurlongsDirt711:00 AM
Race 2$75,000 Lady of Shamrock S. 1 MileTurf811:30 AM
Race 3$23,000 Maiden Claiming 6 FurlongsDirt912:00 PM
Race 4$34,000 Maiden Claiming 1 MileTurf1112:30 PM
Race 5$200,000 San Antonio S. 1 1/16 MilesDirt71:00 PM
Race 6$300,000 American Oaks 1 1/4 MilesDownhill turf81:30 PM
Race 7$300,000 La Brea S. 7 FurlongsDirt92:00 PM
Race 8$100,000 Robert J. Frankel S. 1 1/8 MilesTurf82:30 PM
Race 9$300,000 Malibu S. 7 FurlongsDirt53:00 PM
Race 10$200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile S. 1 MileTurf113:30 PM
Race 11$32,000 Maiden Claiming 6 FurlongsDirt114:00 PM
[TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY][/TH][/TR][/TBODY]
[/TH][/TR][/TBODY]
 
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Thursday, December 26, 2019
  • 2019 winningest jockeys: Irad Ortiz, Jr. (314 wins) and Luis Quinones (312 wins).
Laurel (Maryland):
  • Trevor McCarthy rode a natural hat trick beginning with the fifth race.
  • Xavier Perez-John Robb teamed for two wins.
  • Rider standings: Trevor McCarthy (46 wins), Sheldon Russell (45 wins) and Alex Cintron (43 wins).
  • Closing day: The meet ends Sunday, December 29. The winter/spring meet starts January 1. Racing continues at Laurel until May 3, 2020 and then Pimlico's annual brief mid-May schedule returns with the Preakness Stakes the highlight.
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Samy Camacho scored a natural hat trick beginning with the second race. He leads the meet with 16 victories, one more than Antonio Gallardo and Daniel Centeno.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Luis Saez was 9 5-1-1 today. He scored a natural hat trick beginning with the third race and had consecutive wins for Kathy Ritvo. The two times he failed to hit the board were on his two starts for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. Saez is probably under consideration as one of the three finalists for Jockey of the Year in North America but likely behind the Ortizes, Javier Castellano and maybe Joel Rosario.
​

  • Kathy Ritvo finished 4 2-1-0, one of her best days in quite some time. In the fourth race, she finished 1-2 with Luca Panici riding at 25-to-1 to a place spot. The $1 all-Ritvo exacta paid close to $75.
  • Luis Saez-Jorge Navarro were an impressive 4 3-1-0 today as a team.
  • Emisael Jaramillo (29 wins), who won the second race, has a one win lead over Luis Saez (28 wins) at the meet.
  • Race 1: Edgard Zayas, who was injured, rode for the first time in about five weeks and scored a win in the opener at 43-to-1. It paid $90.50.
​

Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Florent Geroux-Brad Cox teamed for two wins.
  • Race 11: Saracosa (Shaun Bridgmohan/Brendan Walsh), by far the longest shot on the board at 31-to-1, won the $75,000 feature race. It was her second lifetime win, first in 16 months, and ended an 8-race skid.
​
 
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Friday, December 27, 2019
  • Aqueduct: Aqueduct was dark today. A schedule adjustment due to the holidays.
  • Santa Anita: Santa Anita announced a few days ago that today's card would be postponed and the meet will commence tomorrow.
Laurel (Maryland):
  • Race 4: Rock the Comet (Victor Rosales/Gary Capuano) was knocked around at the gate and his rider, a 5-pound bug who won his first career race earlier this year, lost the whip; however, despite being fourth in the stretch he won by more than a length at 14-to-1.
  • Race 6: Three horses were sent off at 5-to-2 and each finished in the top three. The favorite finished third.
  • Rider standings: Trevor McCarthy (47 wins), Sheldon Russell (45) and Alex Cintron (43) are the top three in terms of wins. The meet concludes in two days.
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Race 4: Merango Tango (Dean Butler/Tim Padilla) was 2-for-2 lifetime. One concern: the horse was eight years old and coming in off a 5-year-layoff from Remington in Oklahoma (or is that more than one concern?). No problem! Make that 3 3-0-0 lifetime. The trainer, under 10% this year nationally, is finding Tampa to his liking at 10 3-2-0 (30%/50%).
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Handle: Over $11,000,000 bet. One of the best and most popular meets in North America annually.
  • Race 4: Irad Ortiz, Jr., the winningest rider in North America this year and defending Eclipse Award winner for Jockey of the Year, had a brilliant 8 5-2-1 afternoon. He won four straight races and each of his five victories came between races 5 and 10 [he had a second place finish in the 9th], inclusive. His five wins came one day after Luis Saez performed the trick. Ortiz, Jr. hit the board with all eight mounts and that includes 4 3-1-0 for trainer Michael Maker. Luis Saez rode five winners the prior day in Thursday.
  • Race 8: Salambo (Edgard Zayas/Elizabeth Dobles), 10th in the stretch, finished second determinedly at 44-to-1. Exactly what bettors want when a 1-to-2 wins. The show finisher went off at 55-to-1. Exactly was tri bettors want.
​

  • Luis Saez won the first two races of the day. At one point spanning yesterday and today, he had the astonishing numbers of 10 7-1-1 (70%/90%) before cooling off.
  • Michael Maker was 4 3-1-0 today with each starter ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.
  • Jorge Navarro went 5 2-2-0. He leads the trainers with 10 wins, one more than Todd Pletcher. The sometimes controversial trainer was wearing his New York Yankees' cap as is the norm.
  • Elizabeth Dobles claimed two beaten favorites today. She does well off the claim. Certainly worth another look. And yes both were for Imaginary Stables.
  • Rider standings: Luis Saez (30 wins), Emisael Jaramillo (29) and Irad Ortiz, Jr. (28) are the three winningest riders. Saez and Irad are expected to be there when all is said and done.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles said:
@Preds Partisan

Any thoughts?

Turfway and Woodbine Team to Create All-Weather Series - BloodHorse

Turfway Park and Woodbine have partnered to create the All-Weather Winners Challenge series, with winners of designated stakes at each track earning automatic entry and entry fees paid to designated races at the other racetrack, Turfway announced Dec. 19. The new series begins in 2020 with the first eligible winners coming from Woodbine’s 2019 Grey (G3) and Mazarine (G3) stakes.​
Click to expand...

Not directed at me, but I'm a local with some info.

I spoke with a number of long time employees at Turfway on Thursday night and there is a great deal of optimism about what Churchill Downs is doing. Here's a brief summary:

1) New $150 million casino/racing faciltiy coming shortly after the winter meet ends at Turfway. I was told that it should be ready for the 2019-20 winter racing meet. I'm more than a bit skeptical about the ability to demolish the existing structure and build a quality facility in that short of a time frame.

2) MSW purses now at $46k. Two years ago they may have dipped as low as $14K IIRC.

3) The new facility will feature 2 tracks. A traditional dirt track along with a new Tapeta (same as Golden Gate) synthetic surface. It will certainly be the only North American track with these two types of surfaces and may be the only track worldwide. It will definitely make for some very interesting handicapping plays.

4) Once the meet ends, it's already becoming a bit of a scramble in how to provide OTB (which I assume is a legal obligation for the track) while the new facility is being built. I'd think that the Florence Mall area which extends all the way down Houston Road to Turfway has plenty of empty retail spaces which would suffice for a short term facility.

I'm excited about the future of Turfway Park. The Churchill Downs acquisition saved Northern Kentucky Thoroughbred Racing and with the Woodbine/TP type Challenge which you discussed, it could become a very decent racing venue again-perhaps better than ever before.

The Ruby Steaks G3 deal has 2 more years to run. I am hoping that a race on par with what the Jim Beam Stakes was in its prime is a future possibility.
 
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Saturday, December 28, 2019
  • Graham Motion had seven horses entered at three tracks and won at each for a 3-victory day (Laurel, Tampa Bay and Gulfstream).
Aqueduct (New York):
  • Race 4: Mr. Buff (Junior Alvarado/John Kimmel) surpassed $900,000 in career earnings by winning the $100,000 feature in his 34th race.
Laurel (Maryland):
  • Meet: Today was the penultimate day of the meet and the card featured five stakes.
  • Trevor McCarthy took a strong hold on the jockey title with aan 8 5-0-0 day including three stakes wins. He became the third rider in three days to win five on a card in North America. He enters tomorrow's finale with a 7-win lead. Good night. Laurel resumes with its winter/spring meet on January.
  • Race 3: The $.50 Pick 3 paid $2.05. Oh well, gotta take the bad with the good.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Card: Three races worth $100,000.
  • Handle: $14.5 million bet.
  • Irad Oritz, Jr. (3), Tyler Gaffalione (2, $100k and $75k purses) and John Velazquez (2, one at 20-to-1) won seven of the 11 races.
  • Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Luis Saez both have 31 wins to top the rider standings.
  • Race 11: American Tattoo (Jose Ortiz/Todd Pletcher) wired the field in the $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens, the final race of the day, but not without some debate. There was evidence of bumping between Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Paco Lopez, the latter who was making a move, which led to some chatter about the winning rider getting some help from his brother. The $.20 Pick 6 paid out over $17,000 to all winners.
Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Florent Geroux rode three winners.
  • Brad Cox trained three winners.
  • Rider standings: Colby Hernandez (18 wins), James Graham (18), Adam Beschizza (17) and Florent Geroux (17).
  • Trainer standings: Ron Faucheux (12 wins), Steve Asmussen (11), Thomas Amoss (11) and Brad Cox (11).
  • Thomas Amoss and Matt Shirer are having successful meets based on their records.

Santa Anita (California):
  • Opening day: Today started the all-important meet which extends into late June.
  • Handle: Over $19,000,000 bet just a whisker shy of the record for this date set in 2018.
  • Purses: Six races $100,000 or more including five valued at $200,000+.
  • First post: 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
  • Flavien Prat was off his mounts due to illness.
  • Joel Rosario and Mike Smith combined to go 15 7-2-3.
  • Joel Rosario finished 10 3-2-2 in his first race day since December 8. A relaxing vacation will do wonders.
  • ALL-TIME RECORD: Mike Smith snapped Jerry Bailey's all-time Grade I wins mark with 217. Two of his victories were Grade I. He finished 5 4-0-1 including a natural hat trick.
hSV2uKmm
  • Race 2: Brill (Mike Smith/Don Chatlos) got the day off to a good start for the rider who replaced the ill Flavien Prat. Brill made her turf debut a winning one under a hand ride by Smith. The trainer replaced Jerry Hollendorfer who is suspended from the track.
  • Race 3: Cowboys Daughter (Brice Blanc/Thomas Bell) was one of two first-time starters, won at 54-to-1 and paid $110.80. The $2 exacta paid $1,008. The trainer has been active since the 1970s and wins about 10 times a year.
  • Race 5: Gift Box (Joel Rosario/John Sadler) wired the field and has now earned over $1.1 million in winning the $200,000 Grade 2 San Antonio.
  • Race 6: Lady Pracealot (Joe Bravo/Richard Baltas) won the $300,000 Grade I American Oaks.
EM6NuZOUcAE4_Yl.jpg
​
  • Race 7: Hard Not to Love (Mike Smith/John Shirreffs) closed with a furious rally to win the $300,000 Grade I LaBrea. Smith tied Jerry Bailey's 216 Grade I wins, tied for most in North America history. The Ontario-bred, 5 4-0-1 lifetime with every race at Santa Anita, was sent off at 11-to-1 and defeated the much ballyhooed Bellafina (Victor Espinoza/Simon Callaghan) who entered 5 4-1-0 at the track with 11 lifetime starts.
​

  • Race 8: Mirth (Mike Smith/Phil D'Amato) won the $100,000 Grade 3 Frankel by a flared nostril over the trainer's other runner Tiny Tina (Javier Castellano/Phil D'Amato). Exceptional finish in which the Pennsylvania-bred got a narrow victory.


  • Race 9: Omaha Beach (Mike Smith/Richard Mandella) is a monster. Short field but he looked splendid in winning the $200,000 Grade I Malibu. Omaha Breach is now 10 5-4-1, including 7 5-2-0 in 2019, and has earned over $1.2 million. He will point towards January's Pegasus World Cup and in all likelihood retire following the race. With the win, Smith became the winningest rider in graded stakes in North America annals. His 217 total is now one better than Jerry Bailey. An oddity, the race finished 5-4-3-2-1.
​

  • Race 10: Mo Forza (Joel Rosario/Peter Miller) looked like standout and won the $200,000 Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile. He has now won four straight races.
 
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Cyclones Rock said:
Not directed at me, but I'm a local with some info.

I spoke with a number of long time employees at Turfway on Thursday night and there is a great deal of optimism about what Churchill Downs is doing. Here's a brief summary:

1) New $150 million casino/racing faciltiy coming shortly after the winter meet ends at Turfway. I was told that it should be ready for the 2019-20 winter racing meet. I'm more than a bit skeptical about the ability to demolish the existing structure and build a quality facility in that short of a time frame.

2) MSW purses now at $46k. Two years ago they may have dipped as low as $14K IIRC.

3) The new facility will feature 2 tracks. A traditional dirt track along with a new Tapeta (same as Golden Gate) synthetic surface. It will certainly be the only North American track with these two types of surfaces and may be the only track worldwide. It will definitely make for some very interesting handicapping plays.

4) Once the meet ends, it's already becoming a bit of a scramble in how to provide OTB (which I assume is a legal obligation for the track) while the new facility is being built. I'd think that the Florence Mall area which extends all the way down Houston Road to Turfway has plenty of empty retail spaces which would suffice for a short term facility.

I'm excited about the future of Turfway Park. The Churchill Downs acquisition saved Northern Kentucky Thoroughbred Racing and with the Woodbine/TP type Challenge which you discussed, it could become a very decent racing venue again-perhaps better than ever before.

The Ruby Steaks G3 deal has 2 more years to run. I am hoping that a race on par with what the Jim Beam Stakes was in its prime is a future possibility.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I will read this in full at another time.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles said:
A good interview and a genuine reaction by Smith when told the number of wins. He seemed to be taken aback.

Click to expand...


Wonderful interview.

Smith has managed his career so well over the past several years. He accepts the limitations of his body. He can ride at a top level but knows that he can't sustain the number of mounts that he once did. His strategy should be a role model for guys like Oritz(s), Rosario and Prat when they get older.

Never knew about the personal connections with Bailey-that they went to the same high school and Bailey's dad was Smith's dentist.
 
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Sunday, December 29, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):
  • Eric Cancel was 5 3-1-0 today, one of his best days in quite some time.
  • Mike Luzzi is recuperating from hernia surgery. The veteran was injured earlier this month as he pulled a horse that was in potential distress. Good job despite the injury to the well-liked rider.
  • Race 9: Manny Franco won the finale which was his eighth mount. Prior to the win, he was in unfamiliar territory with a sluggish 5-for-80 (6%) mark in December.
  • Race 8: Mrs. Orb (Dylan Davis/Michael Miceli) won a thrilling conclusion to the $100,000 Bay Ridge feature race. It was the trainer's first stakes race win since 2010. Mrs. Orb improved to 5-3-3 from 16 starts. The photo finish:
AQU_20191229_8_1.jpg
`
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Laurel (Maryland):
  • Closing day: The meet ended today, The winter/spring meet begins January 1.
  • Trevor McCarthy (jockey) and Claudio Gonzalez (trainer) won their divisions. The 25-year-old McCarthy won a rider's title in Maryland for the 11th time. Gonzalez won or shared a title at Laurel for the 11th time.
  • Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $16,000.
  • Race 7: The $2 Pick 4 paid over $22,000. The $2 double -- 15-to-1 and 13-to-1 shots -- returned $1,294, a large sum for any track but it has been... well... memory escapes me the last time I saw one that big at Laurel.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Marcos Meneses had three wins. His best day in quite some time.
  • Tyler Gaffalione and Irad Ortiz, Jr. won twice.
  • Race 1: Won by Joe Bravo who won in California yesterday. Bravo goes coast-to-coast, literally.
  • Race 2: This is what I thought was the race of the day. Luca Panici somehow was the victor. Every sport claims to be "a game if inches" but match this [the 3 won]...
EM-QNWrWoAEKPNK.jpg

​

Santa Anita (California):
  • Joel Rosario is awesome. I have him nominated as a finalist for Eclipse Award, others don't. I think he deserves recognition though it is tough to crack the top three which is the max. He went 5 3-1-0 today and is 16 6-3-2 (38%/69%) through two days at the meet.
  • Mike Smith is 10 4-0-1 at the meet.
  • Umberto Rispoli, who I mentioned a few days ago as someone who has won Grade I races in five nations but is coming to the US for the first time, has had three mounts in stakes races the past two days and each finished second. That is a pretty nice start to an unfamiliar territory. In total, the Italian-born jockey is 5 0-3-0.
  • Race 6: A $75,000 purse. For the second time in two days, the top jockeys were Joel Rosario and Umberto Rispoli and both have Ron Anderson as an agent. If he bets his riders, he got $161 for every $2 wagered. The #7 had a bad break but rallied strongly for a place spot.
​

  • Race 7: Venetian Harbor (Joel Rosario/Richard Baltas) wired the field at even money and won by over 10 lengths. She earned a 94 Beyer, second-highest figure of 2019 by a 2-year-old filly in North America. It was her second start.
  • Race 8: Laura's Light (Abel Cedillo/Peter Miller) won the $75,000 turf race for 2-year-old fillies. Cedillo followed with a win the next race.
  • Peter Miller is off to a hot start at 5 3-0-1. He is the lone trainer with three victories this meet.
 
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JEROME STAKES

Race 7 at Aqueduct
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Kentucky Derby prep race, the first of the calendar year.
All entered are 2-year-old colts. And as is the rule, all will become 3-years-old on January 1.
Preview: Independence Hall Returns For Wednesday’s Jerome Stakes At Aqueduct - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report​

[TR][TH]ProgramPPHorseMed/EqA/SJockeyWGTTrainerML
11 Prince of Pharoahs
New York		L2/CKendrick Carmouche 118 Linda Rice
22 Inside Risk
Kentucky		L2/CReylu Gutierrez 118 Thomas Morley
33 Independence Hall
Kentucky		L2/CJose L. Ortiz 123 Michael J. Trombetta
44 Dubai Bobby
Kentucky		L2/CLuis A. Rodriguez Castro 118 Chad Summers
55 Polar Bear Pete
Kentucky		L2/CDylan Davis 118 Edward R. Barker
66 Celtic Striker
Kentucky		L2/CManuel Franco 118 Raymond Handal
77 Bourbon Bay
New York		L2/CJose Lezcano 118 Mark A. Hennig
[TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY][/TH][/TR][/TBODY]
[TBODY][TR][TH]Next Kentucky Derby prep: The Sham, January 4 at Santa Anita, a 10-4-2-1 point scale.[/TH][/TR][/TBODY]
[TBODY][TR][TH]
Link: Kentucky Derby Prep Races[/TH][/TR][/TBODY]
 
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Monday, December 30, 2019
  • Holiday racing: Aqueduct is among the tracks normally dark on a Monday and/or Tuesday to operate today and tomorrow. Due to the mid-week holidays, schedules were adjusted.
Aqueduct (New York):
  • Card: A rare Monday card. Racing resumes tomorrow.
  • Manny Franco had three wins. Prior to a win in yesterday's finale, he was 5-for-80 (6%) in December. He has since won four of his past seven rides.
  • Races 3 and 4: Manny Franco rode consecutive winners.
  • Race 7: Sicilia Mike (Junior Alvarado/Gary Sciacca) won at 15-to-1. Second win today for Junior. The 5-year-old gelding won for the second time in 16 starts this year and fourth time in 47 lifetime starts. He is now 47 4-16-9. I mentioned after his prior race how the horse had the propensity to hit the board but without victories. That wasn't an issue today.
Parx (Pennsylvania):
  • Race 4: The $.50 tri paid over $2,400.
  • Races 4 and 5: 27-to-1 and 11-to-1 shots, respectively, brought home a daily double of $968.
  • Race 6: The $2 Pick 3 paid over $3,300.
 
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Cyclones Rock said:
Not directed at me, but I'm a local with some info.

I spoke with a number of long time employees at Turfway on Thursday night and there is a great deal of optimism about what Churchill Downs is doing. Here's a brief summary:

1) New $150 million casino/racing faciltiy coming shortly after the winter meet ends at Turfway. I was told that it should be ready for the 2019-20 winter racing meet. I'm more than a bit skeptical about the ability to demolish the existing structure and build a quality facility in that short of a time frame.

2) MSW purses now at $46k. Two years ago they may have dipped as low as $14K IIRC.

3) The new facility will feature 2 tracks. A traditional dirt track along with a new Tapeta (same as Golden Gate) synthetic surface. It will certainly be the only North American track with these two types of surfaces and may be the only track worldwide. It will definitely make for some very interesting handicapping plays.

4) Once the meet ends, it's already becoming a bit of a scramble in how to provide OTB (which I assume is a legal obligation for the track) while the new facility is being built. I'd think that the Florence Mall area which extends all the way down Houston Road to Turfway has plenty of empty retail spaces which would suffice for a short term facility.

I'm excited about the future of Turfway Park. The Churchill Downs acquisition saved Northern Kentucky Thoroughbred Racing and with the Woodbine/TP type Challenge which you discussed, it could become a very decent racing venue again-perhaps better than ever before.

The Ruby Steaks G3 deal has 2 more years to run. I am hoping that a race on par with what the Jim Beam Stakes was in its prime is a future possibility.
Click to expand...

This is a wonderful perspective. Thanks for the input. I have no dog in the fight but do wish all tracks to operate successfully. It is good for the sport. And to see track employees react positively as you describe is also a step in the right direction. Churchill has developed a reputation as a piranha in some circles and if their actions hurt the sport then that is not acceptable. Normally it takes two to tango and there can be exceptions but I hope everyone can figure out how to save the sport in Illinois (Arlington) and hope it doesn't come another Calder or Hollywood.
 
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@Preds Partisan

Any opinions?

I mentioned this in Saturday's summary. Jose Ortiz wired the field but some bumping occurred between Paco Lopez and perhaps initiated by Irad Ortiz, Jr. Brothers helping brothers? Irad has an aggressive reputation, too, not perhaps along the line of Lopez but there has been all sorts of discussion on the matter...

Video can be found at the link.

Commentary: ‘Uncalled For’ Jockeys’ Actions At Gulfstream ‘A Bad Look’ For Racing - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report

And Junior Alvarado commented on Twitter. The "drop u" resonates. Junior can be outspoken but the rivalries persist.

 
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On one hand, replace those three with random Joe's and nobody talking about it. But I would imagine they get dragged into the Stew's office afterwards, which I assume didn't happen in this case or we would have heard about it.

On the other hand, knowing who these guys are it sure looks intentional to me. That's a dangerous move in my opinion by Irad. I don't think he was protecting his brother's lead or anything like that, but it was outside the norms from what I want to see on the track.
 
Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Aqueduct (New York):
  • Card: A rare Tuesday card for any NYRA track.
  • Jose Lezcano rode the winner in each of the first four races and upped his meet lead after a 7 4-2-0 day. The first three wins were favorites and the last victory was at 2-to-1. Chalk prevailed. Lezcano has an 8-win lead over Eric Cancel who won twice today.
  • Race 8: Rightdowngentlemen (Eric Cancel/Bruce Brown) won the finale at 10-to-1, the only first-time starter in the race. Cancel does well in finales, he also won the prior race.
  • Race 6: Silver Seeker (Declan Carroll/Gene LaCroix) wired the field at 9-to-1. I don't know how many starters the trainer has had in New York but I don't recall seeing his name. He is based in the Midwest. The New York-bred is a 3-year-old gelding who ran at Indiana and came out of a win at Turfway. He is now 4 3-0-0.
  • 2019: Manny Franco rode the most winners at the three NYRA tracks this year with 212. Jose Lezcano was second at 208. Junior Alvarado (161), Irad Ortiz Jr. (152) and Jose Ortiz (137) completed the top five. Chad Brown and Linda Rice were the only trainers to win 100+ times on an NYRA track this year.
Parx (Pennsylvania):
  • Closing day: The meet closed today. Opening day of the winter/spring meet is tomorrow (Jan. 1).
  • Frankie Pennington and Mychel Sanchez tied for most wins among riders.
​
 
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