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

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Stakes races (graded takes type listed) this Labor Day (U.S.) holiday weekend:

August 31, 2019

Saratoga (New York): 1, 2, 2, and 3
Colonial Downs (Virginia): 3
Del Mar (California): 1 and 2​

September 1:

Saratoga (New York): 1
Monmouth (New Jersey): 3
Del Mar (California): 2​

September 2:

Saratoga (New York): 1 and 2
Parx (Pennsylvania): 3 and 3
Del Mar (California): 1​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

DEL MAR DEBUTANTE​

What: Grade I.
Where: Del Mar Racecourse, Del Mar, CA
When: Saturday, August 31, 2019, Race 9
Time: 6:14 pm Pacific Time
Who: 2-year-old fillies
Distance: 7 furlongs
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $300,000
Television: TVG (24/7 horse racing channel).
History: Inaugurated in 1951.
​

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Lazy Daisy (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	120	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1
2	Comical (KY)	Norberto Arroyo, Jr.	123	Doug F. O'Neill	12/1
3	Pure Xena (KY)	Aaron T. Gryder	120	Brian J. Koriner	6/1
4	Leucothea (KY)	Abel Cedillo	118	Peter Miller	3/1
5	Bast (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	118	Bob Baffert	7/2
6	Powerfulattraction (AR)	Joseph Talamo	118	Peter Eurton	8/1
7	Inspiressa (FL)	Victor Espinoza	120	John W. Sadler	5/2
8	Stellar Sound (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	Bob Baffert	6/1

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[Preds Partisan]

Some fantastic money could have been made at Kentucky Downs today. As usual.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

August 31, 2019

Saratoga (New York):

• Handle: Over $29.6 million wagered. The last two Saturdays of the meet saw over $82 million bet.
• Race 12: The winner, a second-time starter, had not been out since August 2017. Johnny V./Todd Pletcher the connections.
• Race 11: Preservationist (Junior Alvarado/Jimmy Jerkens) won the $750,000 Grade I Woodward. The 6-year-old is now 10 6-1-2, has won four of his past five races and has officially become a millionaire earner. The horse has never raced outside of New York state. He benefitted from an aggressive ride from Alvarado who found a seam and was relentless. Following the race, track analyst Maggie Wolfendale (from what I heard) asked Alvarado a question which began with "You're not always on top but you are always there...." And that is Junior in a nutshell. From Andy Serling: Great win for @J_JerkensRacing and @Centennial_Farm as @Juniorjockey gives Preservationist a sensational ride to win the Woodward. Congrats all around

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• Race 10: Mrs. Sippy (Joel Rosario/Graham Motion) won despite a poor start but due to a tremendous finish by the rider was victorious in the $250,000 Grade 2 Glens Falls. Rosario is arguably the best closer in the business. This was the first start for the 4-year-old filly in the USA after nine starts in the U.K. The trainer's other starter managed to finish second.

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• Race 9: Arrifana (Julian Pimentel/Kelly Rubley) was the victor. Laurel (Maryland) connections do good on the big stage.
• Race 6: Global Access (John Velazquez/Michael Trombetta) won the $200,000 Grade 3 Saranac.

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• Race 3: Royal Charlotte (Javier Castellano/Chad Brown) caught previously undefeated Break Even -- 6 6-0-0 and wired the field five times - in the stretch and won the Grade 2 $250,000 Prioress.
• Joel Rosario won three times. He won the second race and as the norm when he wins early he repeated.
• Jose Ortiz expanded his lead in the rider's standing to six (57-51) with two wins today. His brother Irad is in second place.
• John Velazquez also rode two winners.
• Chad Brown, who won his first two races but then uncharacteristically failed in his next five, and Todd Pletcher each trained two winners.
• Pick 6 carryover: More than $671,000 will be in the pool for the second-to-last day of racing at the meet.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Paco Lopez had an extraordinary day winning his first four starts and five total. He ended the day 9 5-1-3.
• Nik Juarez's once insurmountable lead in the jockey standings is being challenged. Juarez has 85 wins while Paco Lopez has 80.

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Re-opening day: The track was dark since August 6 but reopened and with new simulcast graphics.

Colonial Downs (Virginia):

• Handle: $1,500,230.
• Purses: Four races with purses $100,000 or more.
• Race 9: English Bee (Jorge Vargas, Jr./Graham Motion) won the $250,000 Virginia Derby.
• Race 8: Carnival Colors (Forest Boyce/Michael Stidham) won the $150,000 Virginia Oaks.
• Race 6: Four Wheel Drive (Jorge Vargas, Jr/Wesley Ward), the lone first-time starter, won. Two things to add: Irad Ortiz, Jr., the winningest rider in North America this year and who rode at Saratoga today, was listed as the rider but replaced and the winner was sent off at 6-t0-5 with an 8-to-1 morning line.
• Michael Stidham had three winners.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Card: Florida Sires day. Eventually four races were taken off the turf. The final four races each had purses $100,000 or more including two at $200,000.
• Rainbow Six: The carryover for Thursday will begin at $1.042 million. Sunday and Monday will dark to Hurricane Dorian. The track is dark on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Kentucky Downs (Kentucky):

• Opening day: The first of five racing dates which extends into mid-September.
• Handle: More than $8.4 million set a record for any card opener and is the third highest total in track history.
• Florent Geroux won three times and almost always had to be considered at this track.
• Michael Maker, who has much success at this meet, was winless in 10 starts though finished second place five times.
• Tyler Gaffalione finished second with his first three mounts, all for Michael Maker, but won his next start.
• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 neared $60,000.
• Race 8: Snapper Sinclair (Julien Leparoux/Steve Asmussen) won the $750,000 Tourist Mile and joined ,millionaire's row with the victory.
• Race 9: Jezebel's Kitten (Florent Geroux/Brad Cox) won the $500,000 Juvenile Fillies Stakes.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 7: Vasilika (Flavien Prat/Jerry Hollendorfer) repeated last year's win in the $200,000 Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes but this time by a whisker. The 5-year-old mare won for the 15th time in her last 18 starts and 18th in 34 all-time.

• Race 8: American Theorem (Tiago Pereira/George Papaprodromou) won the $61,000 MSW in his debut run. He is a 2-year-old son to American Pharoah.
• Race 9: Bast (Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert) won the Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Debutante. Baffert won this race for the eighth time. The 2-year-old filly by Uncle Mo was out for the second time. She was purchased at the 2018 Saratoga sale for $500,000 by Charles Chu of Baoma Corp whose company manufactured the global positioning systems (GPS) device. Del Mar Racetrack on Twitter

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

A productive presser from Hastings.

‘The Nuge’: NHL Co-Owner Celebrates Stakes Win At Hastings - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report

Infinite Patience and her connections in the Hastings winner's circle

It was another CTHS Sales Stakes 'game day' under the lights Friday at Hastings Racecourse and for a short time Ryan Nugent-Hopkins appeared to be on his way to first star status, something hardly new to him as a key player with the NHL Edmonton Oilers.

The Burnaby-born Nugent-Hopkins was the center of attention in the winner's circle after another convincing victory by Infinite Patience in the $50,000 CTHS Sales Stakes for two-year-old fillies. The Nuge and co-owner/breeder Bill DeCoursey have now watched Infinite Patience go undefeated in three starts, all with jockey Antonio Reyes under the talented and watchful eye of trainer Barbara Heads.

“There just doesn't seem to be any slowing her down,” Heads said of the overwhelming favorite who paid $2.10 across the board with a gate-to-wire four-and-three-quarter length victory in a final time of 1:18.05. It was the second stakes win in a row for Infinite Patience, having won the BC Cup Debutante by just over 11 lengths.

Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall NHL draft pick in 2011, will soon be driving to Edmonton for the opening of the Oilers' camp. He will be accompanied by recent bride, Breanne, his teenage sweetheart from his days as a Red Deer Rebel.

The Nuge stepped out of the spotlight Friday night to make room for Phil Hall, who continued his masterful run in the Leading Trainer standings with four more wins including the co-feature $50,000 CTHS Sales Stakes in the colts and geldings division for two-year-olds.

Hall and owner Peter Redekop had two horses entered, fully expecting BC Cup Nursery winner At Attention to dominate things only to have their 13-1 longshot Above the Moon go wire-to-wire in a final time of 1:18.78, paying $29.70, $4.90, $2.60. “He was supposed to run second but he didn't know it,” Redekop joked.

Hall, capably assisted by daughter Sara, now has 44 wins on the season as he firmly locks up his third consecutive

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

September 1, 2019

• Michael Stidham trained winners at three tracks (Arlington, Woodbine and Monmouth) and won all four races he entered. He finished the day 5 4-0-0 and his only loss was in a race he won.
• Jose Ortiz enters Monday with 199 wins this year. He stands a good chance of becoming the fourth rider this year to reach 200 wins.
• Oddity: One oddity in that at similar times the 5 beat the 2 at both Saratoga and Canterbury, the 2 lodged objections, and both were nullified. At the same times.

Saratoga (New York):

• Handle: $24.1 million bet. A very strong meet for the Spa. The meet concludes tomorrow and the track is dark to live T-bred racing until July 2020. UPDATE: $679,798,119 bet at the Spa this meet which eclipses the previous record set in 2017. The total for 2019 should surpass $700 million with ease.
• Jose Ortiz won two more times to build his lead in the standings to six.
• Race 2: Mike Luzzi won for the first time this meet with his 21st starter. He doesn't get many chances with the few rides offered at this stage of his career. But he rode lights out and controlled the 11-to-1 horse in the stretch where Irad Ortiz, Jr, -- the winningest rider this year in North America -- fell victim to the greatness of Luzzi.
• Race 4: Manny Franco's losing skid ended at 28. Though he was hitting the board with some large prices in recent days, he needed a win and finally got one.
• Race 5: Wayne Lukas, Hall of Fame trainer who will turn 84 tomorrow, won at 23-to-1 ridden nicely by Luis Reyes who won for the second time at the meet in his 43rd start.
• Race 7: Two late scratches including one owned by former football coach Bill Parcells.
• Race 8: Alandra (Joel Rosario/Shug McGaughey) looked solid in winning as a first-time starter at 7-to-1. Rosario is at 22% with 2-year-olds this year, a good figure.
• Race 11: Perfect Alibi (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Mark Casse) $250,000 Grade I Spinaway at 5-to-1, The 2-year-old filly is 4 3-1-0. Mark her down.

​

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Race 9: Divisidero (Julian Pimentel/Kelly Rubley), the jockey/trainer combo who won yesterday at Saratoga in their lone teaming, won the Grade 3 $150,000 Red Bank Stakes again in their only pairing. Laurel connections do good. The 7-year-old horse last won in July 2018, ended an 8-race losing skid but has earned over $1.6 million. The trainer is a former school teacher.

​

• Race 10: Big City Bob (Christopher DeCarlo/Jose Duarte) won the $100,000 Sapling Stakes and paid $54.20. The exacta return $224.10 with two of the highest odds finishing 1-2.
• Chris DeCarlo's resurgence: The New Jersey-born jockey was sidelined for a portion late last year into this year and it likely took time for get timing issues straightened. Honestly, he looked shaky in his return and the question of whether he could get back to his steady abilities lingered. He is 50 years of age. But DeCarlo, always a favorite with me, is 7-4-4 with his last 20 starters and it helps that he rides sparingly. He has returned to at least riding in a quality way again.
• Paco Lopez was 0-for-9 one day after winning five times.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Race 1: An incredible place payout of $105.60 for a horse sent off at 105-to-1 who finished second.

Timonium (Maryland):

• Race 6: Lonely Drifter (Ashley Castrenze/Anthony Farrior) improved to 10 8-1-1 this year and 21 12-3-4 lifetime. One of the best South Carolina breds in recent years. When Ashley Castrenze wins, hurricanes opt to go out to sea, bears play with salmon and bobcats give rabbits free reign. She is now tied for the meet lead with five wins.
• Anthony Farrior leads the trainer standings with six wins at 12 6-1-1 (50%/67%).
• Brooks Robinson, Hall of Fame baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles, was interviewed during the race day.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Cancelled: Sunday and Monday cards were canceled due to the expected arrival of Hurricane Dorian.

Ellis Park (Kentucky):

• Closing day: The meet's closing day is tomorrow.
• Rider standings: Corey Lanerie (25 wins), Tyler Baze (24) and James Graham (24) are in a 3-way battle for rider supremacy this meet. Lanerie and Graham both won consecutive races late on today's card.

Canterbury (Minnesota):

• Card: Six of the 12 races held purses of $100,000. All entered were Minnesota breds.
• Crowd: The exterior of the track was active, reported attendance surpassed 9.300.
• McLean Robertson, who I have mentioned often as an under-the-radar top trainer, won five of the nine races he entered. He finished 13 5-4-1. Three of the wins came in $100,000 races. He also finished 1st-2nd in race 9 with a $2 exacta that paid $57.80. A fantastic day!
• Orlando Mojica rode three winners, all for McLean Robertson, and finished 9 3-4-0.
• Robertino Diodoro leads the trainer standings with 59 victories, now just one more than McLean Robertson. They have nearly identical figures in other categories, too.
• Schedule: There are five live racing dates remaining before the track closes for the autumn/winter. The race for top trainer should be most competitive.

• Simulcast feed: The purple separates it from most tracks and that is to be lauded but other info is too scrunched making reading arduous.

Emerald Downs (Washington):

• Gary Wales won four more times. The former east coast jockey, who was often seen at Suffolk Downs (Massachusetts) and Tampa Bay (Florida), is owning this meet with 89 victories, 31 more than his closest challenger. He is from the U.K. originally.
• Race 5: Mike Man's Gold (Gary Wales/Joe Toye) broke the track record for most wins by a horse with his 22nd victory. The 9-year-old gelding is 62 22-6-8 all-time and that includes 22 wins, the track record, in 51 starts at Emerald.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 9: Nolde (Victor Espinoza/John Shirreffs) won the $250,000 Grade 2 Del Mar Derby by a neck. The 3-year-old colt improved to 8 3-2-1.

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• Race 8: Quality Response (Joe Talamo/Bob Baffert) paid $12.00 in winning the $61,000 MSW for 2-year-old fillies. She won this race by more than 7 lengths in her first start. Secret Lips (Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert) was sent off the favorite and finished second.
• Race 5: Erik Johnson of the Colorado Avalanche was the winning owner.
• Doug O'Neill won consecutive races -- 5 and 6 -- and finished 1st and 2nd in the latter.
• Closing day and Pick 6: Monday (tomorrow) is closing day at the meet and the Pick 6 jackpot will start with $307,148.27.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

PARX (Pennsylvania)​

Among the big races tomorrow is the Hopeful at the Spa. Green Light Go and Gozilla (spelled correctly) appear to be the heavyweights.

Among the cards tomorrow with plentiful activity is Parx (Philly).

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (ET)
Race 1	$60,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 Furlongs	Dirt	10	12:25 PM
Race 2	$45,000	Starter Allowance	6 1/2 Furlongs	Dirt	9	12:54 PM
Race 3	$60,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 Furlongs	Dirt	13	1:23 PM
Race 4	$45,000	Starter Allowance	7 Furlongs	Dirt	13	1:52 PM
Race 5	$100,000	Neshaminy S.	7 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	11	2:25 PM
Race 6	$100,000	Bensalem S.	6 Furlongs	Dirt	9	2:59 PM
Race 7	$100,000	Roamin Rachel S.	6 Furlongs	Dirt	8	3:33 PM
Race 8	$100,000	Salvatore M. Debunda PTHA President's Cup S.	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	11	4:07 PM
Race 9	$150,000	Cathryn Sophia S.	1 Mile 70 Yards	Dirt	10	4:35 PM
Race 10	$300,000	Turf Monster S.	5 Furlongs	Turf	12	5:05 PM
Race 11	$300,000	Smarty Jones S.	1 1/16 Miles	Dirt	8	5:45 PM
Race 12	$40,000	Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Dirt	11	6:14 PM

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

DEL MAR FUTURITY
​

What: Grade I. Future Kentucky Derby stars have been known to make a breakout appearance in this race.
Where: Del Mar Racecourse, Del Mar, CA
When: Monday, September 2, 2019, Race 9
Time: 6:08 pm Pacific Time
Who: 2-year-olds
Distance: 7 furlongs
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $300,000
Television: TVG (24/7 horse racing channel).
History: Inaugurated in 1948. In the last 10 years, babies named Game Winner, Nyquist, American Pharaoh and Lookin at Lucky won this race. Bob Baffert has won this race a staggering 14 times including seven years in succession beginning with Silver Charm in 1996.

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Storm the Court (KY)	Flavien Prat	120	Peter Eurton	5/1
2	Eight Rings (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	120	Bob Baffert	5/2
3	Defense Wins (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	118	Doug F. O'Neill	12/1
4	Ginobili (KY)	Florent Geroux	120	Richard Baltas	6/1
5	Garth (KY)	Mike E. Smith	118	Bob Baffert	5/1
6	Fore Left (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	123	Doug F. O'Neill	8/1
7	Nucky (KY)	Norberto Arroyo, Jr.	118	Peter Miller	8/1
8	Wrecking Crew (KY)	Abel Cedillo	120	Peter Miller	7/2

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DEL MAR JUVENILE FILLIES TURF STAKES​

What: Non-graded stakes.
Where: Del Mar Racecourse, Del Mar, CA
When: Monday, September 2, 2019, Race 6
Time: 4:38 pm Pacific Time
Who: 2-year-old fillies
Distance: 1 mile
Surface: Turf
Purse: $100,000
Television: TVG (24/7 horse racing channel).

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Convoluted (KY)	Geovanni Franco	118	Peter Miller	8/1
2	Awesome Drive (KY)	Ruben Fuentes	118	Andrew Lerner	20/1
3	Applecross (IRE)	Florent Geroux	118	Richard Baltas	10/1
4	A Thousand Dreams (IL)	Rafael Bejarano	120	Doug F. O'Neill	15/1
5	Croughavouke (IRE)	Drayden Van Dyke	118	Jeff Mullins	4/1
6	Flamigo Bay (IRE)	Joseph Talamo	118	Anna Meah	30/1
7	Acai (CA)	Mario Gutierrez	123	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1
8	Warren's Showtime (CA)	Jorge I. Velez	120	Craig Anthony Lewis	8/1
9	Yesterdayoncemore (IRE)	Victor Espinoza	118	James A. Stack	12/1
10	Shedaresthedevil (KY)	Flavien Prat	123	Simon Callaghan	9/5
11	Overjoyed (KY)	Mike E. Smith	118	Neil D. Drysdale	10/1
--	Mean Sophia (KY)	SCRATCHED	--	--------------	-----
12	Text Dont Call (KY)	Abel Cedillo	118	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Part 1 September 2, 2019

• Labor Day: Monday holiday in the U.S.
• Steve Asmussen entered horses at five tracks and won at four. He ended a skid of 13 straight defeats at Ellis but won the trainer's title at that track.
• Claudio Gonzalez is 8 5-1-1 the last three days at various mid-Atlantic tracks. He usually trains out of Maryland.

Saratoga (New York):

• Handle: More than $25.5 million was bet on the final day of a spectacular meet in which the all-time handle was broken at $705,343,949. Saratoga has operated for 156 years.
• Attendance: 1,056,053, the fifth straight year over a million people attended the mid-July to early-September meet.
• TV ratings:

​

• Card: Off the turf except the 9th race. The final day of the meet was dinged with a few scratches due to inclement weather which made dirt racing sloppy. However, the souls were plentiful and hearty.
• Joel Rosario had a great day going 7 3-3-0. He finished 1st and 2nd in the two biggest races.
• Race 6: Gouverneur Morris (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher) was sent off at 1-to-2 and broke his maiden in his first try which was a $90,000 MSW. Let's see how he develops.
• Race 9: Qurbaan (Joel Rosario/Kiaran McLaughlin) won the $250,000 Grade 2 Bernard Baruch Handicap. The 6-year-old horse is 22 7-3-6 lifetime. This was the lone turf race of the day.
• Race 10: Basin (Jose Ortiz/Steve Asmussen) pulled a mild stunner at 3-to-1 in winning the $350,000 Grade I Runhappy Hopeful. The 2-year-old colt is 3 2-1-0. Asmussen finished 1-2-3 in this race. Runner up was Shoplifted (Joel Rosario). Gozilla, the trainer's other runner, was disappointing in finishing third. Green Light Go, considered by many as the top contender, was scratched.

​

• Race 11: Dr. Devera's Way (Benjamin Hernandez, Jr./Mertkan Kantamaci) won the last race at the 2019 Spa meet at 22-to-1. Not too many entries go off 22-to-1 but they finished 1st and 4th. The $.50 Pick 4 paid over $4,000. The $.50 Pick 5 paid a stunning $65,000. The $.20 Pick 6 Jackpot paid over $23,000 of which over $5,379,911 was added to the existing pool of $793,000+.
• Jockey's title: Jose Ortiz (60 wins) won the jockey's title. It is his third title at the Spa in the last four years which is a mighty résumé enhancer. Of the riders with 5+ wins, Javier Castellano had the best winning percentage (22%) with 39 wins.
• Trainer's title: Chad Brown (41 wins) won the trainer's title handily though he lost with his last 13 starters.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Race 2: Candy Cane Lane (Jomar Torres/Charley D'Amodio) won the opener as the longest shot on the board at 27-to-1. It was the trainer's first win in her six start. She is a former assistant to the recently deceased Joe Zoppi.

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Card: 12 races, seven of which were $100,000+ purses including a pair at $300,000.
• Paco Lopez rode three winners. He ended a skid of 14 straight losses with a win in race 7. Lopez is based at Monmouth but his mark at Philly is 36 14-5-3 (39%/61%) at this meet.
• Race 3: Hockey Puck (Ty Connor/Erin McClellan), a Pennsylvania-bred, broke his maiden in his third start. With a name like Hockey Puck, he had to be played.
• Race 6: Engage (Joe Bravo/Steve Asmussen) was bet down to 9-to-2 off a 10-to-1 morning line. Second race off a year-long layoff. A well-established betting angle.
• Race 8: Dynatail (Chris DeCarlo/Mike Dini) went off 10-to-1 won the $100,000 race. as mentioned yesterday, DeCarlo is hot, he is 8-4-4 with his last 21 mounts. This was his lone ride today.
• Race 10: Pure Sensation (Paco Lopez/Christophe Clement) was sent off 3-to-5 and was a virtual lock win winning the Grade 3 $300,000 Turf Monster. The 8-year-old gelding is 35 14-5-7 and has earned over $1.9 million. He is an incredible 8 7-0-1 at Parx including winning this race four times!

• Race 11: Spun to Run (Paco Lopez/Juan Carlos Guerrero) won the Grade 3 $300,000 Smarty Jones. The 3-year-old colt fought tooth-and nail with Gray Magician (Corey Lanerie/Peter Miller).

​

Timonium (Maryland):

• Closing day: Today was the last day at the fair. Laurel returns on Friday.
• Jockey title: Kevin Gomez, who had three wins today including the finale, came out of the clouds to win the rider's title with 7 wins. Ashley Castrenze and Xavier Perez each had six.
• Trainer's title: Anthony Farrior had seven wins which edged Hugh McMahon (six wins). Cathal Lynch was a fantastic 7 5-0-0.
• Race 8: He's Meant to Be (Ashley Castrenze/Anthony Farrior) won the penultimate race at the meet. It temporarily gave Castrenze a 3-way tie at the top of the rider standings until Kevin Gomez won the finale.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Canceled: Due to the expected impact of Hurricane Dorian.

Ellis (Kentucky):

• Closing day: The meet closed today.
• Rider's title: James Graham (26 wins) narrowly edged Corey Lanerie (25) and Tyler Baze (25). Graham entered the day tied for second place with Baze (24 wins each) while Lanerie, who led the meet, was riding at Parx (PA). It was Graham's first riding title at any Kentucky track and he last won a title at Fair Grounds (Louisiana) in 2014-15. He is from the U.K.
• Trainer's title: Steve Asmussen (25 wins) won the trainer's title comfortably but he had 89 more starters than runner up Brad Cox who had 18 wins and a much superior percentage.
• Race 1: Calvin Borel rode the winner trained by his brother Cecil.
• Kentucky racing for the rest of 2019:
  
  • Kentucky Downs until 9/12/2019;
  • Churchill Downs from 9/13/2019-9/29/2019;
  • Keeneland from 10/4/2019-10/26/2019;
  • Churchill Downs from 10/27/2019-12/1/2019;
  • Turfway Park from 12/4/2019-12/31/2019.

Canterbury (Minnesota):

• McLean Robertson went a perfect 3 3-0-0. He is 10-5-4 with his last 22 starters and has won nine of his last 13 races.
• McLean Robertson (61 wins) now leads the meet by one victory over Robertino Diodoro. They have the same win percentage (25%) and in-the money figure (63%).

Part 2....

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Part 2: September 2, 2019

Del Mar (California):

• Closing day: The meet concluded.
• Southern California racing in 2019:
  • Los Alamitos from 9/6/2019-9/22/2019
  • Santa Anita from 9/27/2019-11/3/2019 [Breeders' Cup]
  • Del Mar from 11/6/2019-12/3/2019
  • Los Alamitos from 12/5/2019-12/15/2019
  • Santa Anita from 12/26/2019-4/5/2020
• Summary: Many eyes were on Del Mar considering the ugly incidents at the concluded Santa Anita meet. Del Mar had zero racing fatalities. Whatever oddities befell Santa Anita hopefully have been abolished. This is a wonderful sport with dedicated personnel and to have multiple black eyes in what happened at Santa Anita 2019 is hurtful to everyone from handicappers to backside employees to owners. Average daily handle was down from 2018 at $12,003,807.
• Rider's title: Flavien Prat had the most wins with 42 which included the finale.
• Trainer's title: Doug O'Neill had the most wins with 24.
• Handle: More than $19,100,000 was bet on the card.
• Drayden Van Dyke had three wins on today's card before being unseated in the feature race.
• Race 10: The $2 Pick paid over $53,000 to each winner. More than $2.3 million was added to the existing pool of $307,000+. More than $1,000,000 was added to the Pick 5 jackpot.
• Race 9: Nucky (Norberto Arroyo, Jr./Peter Miller) won the $300,000 Grade I Runhappy Del Mar Futurity, went off the longest shot on the board and paid $72.00 in the shocker of the day. Miller also came in second place with Wrecking Crew (jockey Abel Cedillo). Arroyo attracts controversy perhaps like no other current rider but his ability isn't an issue. Nucky won for the second time in five starts and has had five different riders. Bob Baffert owns this race with 14 prior wins but...not today! One of his horses, Eight Rings (ridden by Drayden Van Dyke) who was the pick of many, unseated his rider along with the #1.

Where Nucky measures in potential Kentucky Derby 2020 preps is unknown but here is a list of the last five winners of the Del Mar Futurity. His time was comparatively slow at 1:25.52.

[TR][TH]Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2018	Game Winner	Mario Gutierrez	Bob Baffert	West, Gary and Mary	1:23.18
2017	Bolt d'Oro	Corey Nakatani	Mick Ruis	Ruis Racing	1:22.91
2016	Klimt	Rafael Bejarano	Bob Baffert	Kaleem Shah	1:21.80
2015	Nyquist	Mario Gutierrez	Doug F. O'Neill	Reddam Racing	1:23.28
2014	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	Zayat Stables	1:21.48

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• Race 6: Yesterdayoncemore (Victor Espinoza/James "Fozzy" Stack) won the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Stakes at 11-to-1 and looked confident. The 2-year-old filly entered the race 0-for-5 with all races in Ireland. The trainer raced in the USA for the third time ever and won for the second time.

​

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[Preds Partisan]

Impressive Saratoga $$$.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Impressive Saratoga $$$.

And that was with one Saturday fully canceled. Roughly $25 million more could have been added to this total.

The shift in schedule to accommodate Belmont's hockey arena construction reduced racing from six days a week to five while the start was earlier than normal.

The daily handle was approximately $18 million which is a tremendous figure since that includes Wednesdays and Thursdays. The record $52 million on Travers Day was not surprising to me since that was a brilliant collection of races.

The TV broadcasts from the various outlets also aided the meet.

NYRA not only hit a home run, they hit a grand slam with this meet.

The fall meet at Belmont/Aqueduct will probably be confusing to some with the change in post times (3:00 mid-week and 1:00 pm on weekends) and then AQU picks up some BEL dates due to the construction of the arena.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

KENTUCKY DOWNS
Thursday, September 5, 2019
KY Downs' annual 5-day meet (Aug. 31, Sept 5-7-8-12)​

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (CT)
Race 1	$53,000	Maiden Claiming	1 Mile	Turf	14	12:15 PM
Race 2	$42,000	Starter Allowance	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	12:48 PM
Race 3	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	1:24 PM
Race 4	$145,000	Allowance	1 5/16 Miles	Turf	14	1:58 PM
Race 5	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	2:34 PM
Race 6	$150,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	14	3:06 PM
Race 7	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	3:39 PM
Race 8	$150,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 Mile	Turf	16	4:12 PM
Race 9	$250,000	Old Friends S.	1 Mile 70 Yards	Turf	14	4:48 PM
Race 10	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 5/16 Miles	Turf	16	5:22 PM

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​

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

NBC will air the two Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" races held this weekend as part of the Challenge Series during the 4:30 pm -6:00 pm ET window on Saturday, September 7. The Runhappy Turf Sprint, from Kentucky Downs, is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint Division. The Jockey Club Derby, from Belmont, is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Longines Turf.

Additional races may be broadcast during that window. TVG is the 24/7 racing network in addition to the outlets the NYRA shows New York tracks. On Saturday, in addition to TVG, Belmont can be seen on:

MSG+ - 1-4 pm
FS2 - 1-4:30 pm
NBC - 4:30-6 pm​

The weekend of September 14-15 will see 10 races as part of the Challenge Series. Five races will be held in Ireland, three at Woodbine (Canada) and two in the US (both at Churchill Downs). One of the races at Churchill will also be part of the Kentucky Derby prep races with points distributed to the top four finishers.

BELMONT PARK
Saturday, September 7, 2019​

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (ET)
Race 1	$66,000	Allowance	6 Furlongs	Dirt	7	1:00 PM
Race 2	$41,000	Maiden Claiming	6 Furlongs	Turf	10	1:33 PM
Race 3	$60,000	Claiming	6 1/2 Furlongs	Dirt	6	2:05 PM
Race 4	$41,000	Maiden Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	8	2:37 PM
Race 5	$75,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Dirt	7	3:09 PM
Race 6	$55,000	Starter Allowance	6 Furlongs	Turf	7	3:40 PM
Race 7	$77,000	Allowance	7 Furlongs	Turf	9	4:12 PM
Race 8	$300,000	Grand Prix American Jockey Club Invitational S.	1 1/2 Miles	Dirt	8	4:43 PM
Race 9	$750,000	Jockey Club Oaks Invitational S.	1 3/8 Miles	Turf	8	5:15 PM
Race 10	$1,000,000	Jockey Club Derby Invitational S.	1 1/2 Miles	Turf	9	5:47 PM
Race 11	$33,000	Maiden Claiming	7 Furlongs	Dirt	9	6:20 PM

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KENTUCKY DOWNS
Saturday, September 7, 2019 (day 3 of 5)
KY Downs' annual 5-day meet (Aug. 31, Sept 5-7-8-12)​

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (CT)
Race 1	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	12:15 PM
Race 2	$145,000	Allowance	1 5/16 Miles	Turf	16	12:50 PM
Race 3	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 Mile	Turf	16	1:25 PM
Race 4	$145,000	Allowance	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	1:57 PM
Race 5	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	2:29 PM
Race 6	$500,000	Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint S.	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	12	3:05 PM
Race 7	$700,000	Runhappy Turf Sprint S.	6 Furlongs	Turf	10	3:53 PM
Race 8	$500,000	Three Chimneys Ladies Turf S.	1 Mile	Turf	9	4:28 PM
Race 9	$500,000	Spendthrift Farm Ladies Sprint S.	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	15	5:01 PM
Race 10	$1,000,000	Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup S.	1 1/2 Miles	Turf	14	5:35 PM

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saskatchewan Derby this coming Saturday...

I would imagine we will know the field later today. But for now:

 

[Preds Partisan]

How many races and at Kentucky Downs, the whole 5 day meet, is Gallery Furniture guy going to sponsor with Runhappy? I already didn't like the guy, but this is getting king of obnoxious. We get it, Runhappy is available for stud.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

How many races and at Kentucky Downs, the whole 5 day meet, is Gallery Furniture guy going to sponsor with Runhappy? I already didn't like the guy, but this is getting king of obnoxious. We get it, Runhappy is available for stud.

The meet itself has been changed to the Runhappy Meet at Kentucky Downs. Some races at Saratoga were designed the Runhappy…whatever.

Any reason why you don't like him? I thought he took a lot of unfair heat with Runhappy when people sided initially with Maria Borell and we know how that turned out.

 

[Preds Partisan]

Del Mar, Aqueduct, Belmont, Monmouth, KD races. Sponsorships for barns, winner circle, bars, photo booths, etc. all Runhappy. He owns a cheap furniture store and it looks like he's pimping out his horse the way he sells cheap mattresses. Pretty much everyone I know who plays the horses thinks the same thing, it's just way too much. A couple would have been okay.

We can agree to disagree, no problem.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Del Mar, Aqueduct, Belmont, Monmouth, KD races. Sponsorships for barns, winner circle, bars, photo booths, etc. all Runhappy. He owns a cheap furniture store and it looks like he's pimping out his horse the way he sells cheap mattresses. Pretty much everyone I know who plays the horses thinks the same thing, it's just way too much. A couple would have been okay.

We can agree to disagree, no problem.

I have no feelings one way or another with the exception of the initial heat he took from people who generally sided with the trainer of Runhappy before the now well-documented allegations of her were made public.

It could be a sign of the times. NHL arenas are no longer named the Spectrum, Forum, Garden(s) or Aud. The sponsorships have permeated sport.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Some jockeys have been suspended for riding infractions earlier this year in New York:

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. will begin a 5-day suspension on Friday. He can return September 13.
• Kendrick Carmouche will be suspended Friday, Sunday and next Wednesday. He will be permitted to ride on Saturday at KY Downs.
• Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be suspended three days. Those dates include Friday and Sunday. He has mounts for Saturday and unless that changes he will ride that day but be suspended a day into next week.
• Jose Ortiz has appealed a 3-day suspension and as such will be allowed to ride this weekend at KY Downs.
• Luis Saez will be suspended three days stemming from a riding infraction in November. Yes, November.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

SUPER DERBY​

What: Grade III.
Where: Louisiana Downs Casino and Racetrack, Bossier City, LA
When: Saturday, September 7, 2019, Race 11
Time: 5:07 pm Central Time
Who: 3-year-old
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $300,000
Television: TVG (24/7 horse racing channel).
History: Inaugurated in 1980.

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Rotation (KY)	Richard E. Eramia	124	Steven M. Asmussen	3/1
2	Cabot (KY)	Marcelino Pedroza	124	Ron Moquett	12/1
3	Pirate's Punch (KY)	Robby Albarado	124	Grant T. Forster	10/1
4	Vangilder (FL)	C.J. McMahon	124	Steven M. Asmussen	8/1
5	Trevilion (LA)	Diego Saenz	124	Victor Arceneaux	8/1
6	Rescind (KY)	Joel Dominguez	124	Albert M. Stall, Jr.	10/1
7	Fredonian (KY)	Carlos Lozada	124	Jason H. Meaux	30/1
8	Knicks Go (MD)	Colby J. Hernandez	124	Ben Colebrook	9/5
9	Leader of Men (KY)	Hector Del-Cid	124	Jodie Hodges	6/1
10	Paynt Battle (KY)	Thomas L. Pompell	124	Lonnie Briley	30/1

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[TBODY][TR][TH]Louisiana Downs' full card:

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (CT)
Race 1	$7,000	Claiming	5 Furlongs	Dirt	6	12:00 PM
Race 2	$60,000	Elge Rasberry S.	1 Mile	Turf	9	12:28 PM
Race 3	$7,000	Claiming	6 Furlongs	Dirt	7	12:57 PM
Race 4	$60,000	A. L. (Red) Erwin S.	1 Mile	Turf	14	1:26 PM
Race 5	$19,000	Allowance	6 1/2 Furlongs	Dirt	9	1:55 PM
Race 6	$60,000	Happy Ticket S.	7 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	11	2:25 PM
Race 7	$19,500	Allowance Optional Claiming	6 Furlongs	Dirt	8	2:55 PM
Race 8	$60,000	Sunday Silence S.	7 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	10	3:26 PM
Race 9	$60,000	River Cities S.	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	11	3:57 PM
Race 10	$60,000	Frank L. Brothers S.	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	14	4:28 PM
Race 11	$300,000	Super Derby	1 1/16 Miles	Dirt	10	5:07 PM
Race 12	$23,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	7 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	8	5:37 PM
Race 13	$7,500	Claiming	7 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	14	6:05 PM

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

BRITISH COLUMBIA DERBY​

What: Grade III.
Where: Hastings Racecourse, Vancouver, BC
When: Saturday, September 7, 2019, Race 8
Time: 4:35 pm Pacific Time [7:35 pm Eastern Time]
Who: 3-year-olds
Distance: 1 1/8 miles
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $250,000
Live stream: Live Feed - Hastings Racecourse
History: The 74th running of the British Columbia Derby.

	No.	Horse (Bred)	Age/Sex	Jockey	Weight	Trainer	M/L
	1	Doobiedoobiedoobie (FL)	3/Gelding	J M Asencio	126	R Maybin	30/1
	2	Explode (KY)	3/Gelding	A Perez	126	M Cloutier	2/1
	3	Stay Fantastic (BC)	3/Gelding	A A Reyes	126	C Ammann	20/1
	4	All Good (KY)	3/Colt	R Sarmiento	126	P Hall	6/1
	5	Call It a Wrap (BC)	3/Gelding	W Galviz	126	T Rycroft	15/1
	6	Final Jeopardy (KY)	3/Colt	E A Gonzalez	126	P Hall	3/1
	7	Flatout Winner (KY)	3/Colt	R W Walcott	126	G Tracy	15/1
	8	Five Star General (KY)	3/Colt	M Gutierrez	126	G Todd	5/2
	9	Whiskey Bound (KY)	3/Gelding	S Civaci	126	K Pedersen	15/1

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SASKATCHEWAN DERBY​

What: Grade III.
Where: Marquis Downs, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
When: Saturday, September 7, 2019, Race 8
Time: 9:30 pm Mountain Time [11:30 pm Eastern Time]
Who: 3-year-olds
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $20,000
Live stream: Race Videos
History: The 59th running of the Saskatchewan Derby. The 50th anniversary of the track..

No.	Name (Bred)	Age/Sex	Jockey	Wt.	Trainer	M/L
1	Spire (KY)	3/Gelding	N Stephenson	126	C Ross	4/1
2	Flinch (FL)	3/Gelding	R Ali	126	R Pilon	5/1
3	Exactly (KY)	3/Filly	S Rodrigo	123	B Hodgson	3/1
4	Rox Star Believeit (BC)	3/Gelding	G Gordon	126	J Hunter	6/1
5	Noble Gambler (KY)	3/Colt	Z Meikle	126	S L Neubuhr	5/1
6	Delvecchio (SK)	3/Gelding	N Patrick	126	C Babiy	5/2
7	Triple Double Zero (KY)	3/Colt	S Chadee Jr.	126	J Hartmann	9/1
8	Complicated Times (AB)	3/Gelding	R Mangalee	126	R Gardipy	9/2

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​

 

[Orr Fourever]

^ I plan on being there.

Also the BC Derby goes Saturday as well.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

^ I plan on being there.

Also the BC Derby goes Saturday as well.

Enjoy the event and give us a lowdown on the experience.

Yes, I will add the BC Derby to the post above.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

September 5, 2019

• Adjustments: Tracks from New York to Maryland to California were dark today due to meets ending around the Labor Day holiday on Monday.
• Welcome back: Gulfstream resumed racing following two canceled racing days due to the anticipated impact of Hurricane Dorian.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Race 8: Julian Pimentel/Kelly Rubley combined to win the finale. The duo won three consecutive starts at three different tracks (Saratoga, Monmouth and Delaware) within the week. Going 3-for-3 at three tracks in six days is highly uncommon. Good story as the pair is usually based at Maryland tracks.

Belterra (Ohio):

• Race 6: The winner paid $179.80/$51.80/$23.60 and was the longest shot in a field of 10 at 88-to-1.

Kentucky Downs (Kentucky):

• Meet: Day 2 of 5 in the books (also Sept. 7-8-12). The highly anticipated meet is popular with handicappers, run on a unique configuration and has extraordinarily high purses.
• Race 10: The $.50 Pick 4 was a monster at $65,000+.
• Race 7: Takeitback (Jon Court/Laura Wohlers) pulled the stunner of the day as the first-time starter went off the third highest odds on the board and paid $88 (43-to-1 odds). The jockey picked up the mount. The trainer is the sister-in-law to owner James McIngvale who is the main sponsor of the meet.
• Adam Beschizza-Joe Sharp teamed for two wins.
• Florent Geroux, not unexpectedly, leads all jockeys with 4 wins.
• Tyler Gaffalione has a potent 53% in-the-money mark but has just one win. He is 15 1-6-1.
• Mark Casse, Brad Cox and Joe Sharp are the only trainers with multiple wins (2 each).
• Michael Maker has hit the board 58% of the time but is winless which is inconceivable. He is 19 0-7-4.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Rainbow Six: All winners collected $13,000+. Friday's 'pot will begin at $1,082,321.