Horse Racing: Baffert's $3.2 million colt wins debut at Churchill; Laurel, Churchill and Gulfstream Park's opener with late morning posts on Thanksgiving

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, January 27, 2024

• California Crown: September 28 will be the inaugural edition of what is teased to be a Pegasus style day of racing at Santa Anita. Much depends on how the simulcast money in California, a complex issue as to how it pertains to the north and south. Details have yet to be finalized but with Stronach opting to close Golden Gate in order to strengthen Santa Anita, then this announcement in the past 24 hours had to be part of the conceived result. Northern Cal dates have yet to be finalized for a portion of 2024 once GGF is shut which could happen in June.

“Pegasus is here in Miami. It’s very Miami-centric. It’s part of the cultural fabric of Miami now and a must-attend event,” Stronach said. “We want to do the same thing at Santa Anita. We have the most gorgeous venue built in 1934, and it doesn’t have a marquee, special-event date. So we are launching California Crown. It’ll be the richest day of racing in California, and we’re doing it with amazing partners.”​

Aqueduct (New York):

• Kendrick Carmouche rode four winners including the final three races.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• PEGASUS CARD HANDLE: Record $47.3 million wagered.
• Card: Seven of the 13 races were graded stakes.
• Race 13: National Treasure (Flavien Prat/Bob Baffert) was sent off the favorite and won the Grade I $3,000,000 Pegasus World Cup Invitational by a neck over hard-charging Senor Buscador (Junior Alvarado/Todd Fincher) who was bet down from a 20-to-1 m/l to 8-to-1.

​

• Race 12: Warm Heart (Ryan Moore/Aidan O'Brien) set a course record in winning the Grade I $1,000,000 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. The lone filly in the race was out for the second time in the US in 11 lifetime starts. European connections succeeded.

​

• Race 11: Tumbarumba (Luis Saez/Brian Lynch) won the Grade 3 $150,000 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at 8-to-1 by a nose. Among the defeated was fourth place finisher Hejazi (Flavien Prat/Bob Baffert), a $3.5 million purchase who has earned approximately $300,000 in nine starts. The New York foal was the highest purchase price in the state of Maryland when bought at public auction.

​

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. rode five winners. He was named 2023 Eclipse award winning jockey of the year at ceremonies earlier this week. Too early to give him 2024 Jockey of the Year?

Sam Houston (Texas):

• Race 11: Dynadrive (Reylu Gutierrez/Michael Maker) won the Grade 3 $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup.
• Race 10: Bellamore (Stewart Elliott/Steve Asmussen) won the Grade 3 $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic by a neck over Free Like a Girl (Freddy Manrique/Chasey Pomier) who is a past winner as Louisiana-bred Horse of the Year.

​

Santa Anita (California):

• Race 8: Newgrange (Victor Espinoza/Phil D'Amato) won the Grade 2 $200,000 San Pasqual.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The weather is regressing in New York. Sloppy conditions. A 3-to-4 shot win under a hand ride.

Otherwise, welcome to Gulfstream where millions await later in the day..

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Still tabulating but the Pick 6 paid over $1.9 million. A Pick 5 in six figures. Fun weekend and high energy in Miami.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 10: Lonesome Boy (Adam Bowman/Ernesto Padilla-Preciado) won the finale in a rare ride for the Philly-based jockey. Bowman is one of the smallish riders in North America, too. Good for him. Opposing rider Kendrick Carmouche, who had much success through the years in Philadelphia, walked to greet the winning team prior to the winner's circle. A true sign of appreciation. The horse was foaled in Washington state where he raced once at Emerald Downs in addition to his six starts at Parx (PA). This was his eighth race. Has Bowman or a Washington-state foal ever won at a NYRA track?

​

• Race 7: Mel's Baby Sister (Dylan Davis/Meanie Giddings) broke her maiden in her fourth try. Owned by Bill Parcells' August Dawn Farms, the horse is a sibling to Maple Leaf Mel.
• Race 3: The $1 Pick 3 paid $5.30. Chalk ruled early.
• Michael Maker sent out two horses and both won the two stake races offered today.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 9: Post Time (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) may be my favorite current horse (excluding the Cody's Wish story). The 4-year-old Frosted colt is now 7 6-0-1 after roaring from back-of-the-pack to win by more than six lengths in a confident ride in the $75,000 Jennings Stakes. The aptly named It's.... Post Time..

​

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: $18 million. Gulf handled over $66 million the past two days.
• Rainbow Six: More than $5.6 million was added to the pool that began the day a hair under $1,000,000. There were 194 tickets alive, no singles, entering the finale. Per the track:

The mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool Sunday at Gulfstream Park yielded $1,804,431.20 payoffs to three bettors holding tickets with all six winners.​

​

Unsolved for 20 consecutive programs following a mandatory payout, the pool stood at $921,255.94 heading into Sunday’s Rainbow 6 wagering. A total of $5,615,409 was bet into the popular multi-race wager Sunday to increase the pool to $6,536,665.​

• Race 11: The $.10 super paid more than $6,300. The $.50 Pick 3 more than $2,700. The $.50 Pick 4 more than $38,000. The $.50 Pick 5 returned more than $330,000. The $.20 Pick 6 more than $1.8 million.

​

• Race 5: The exotics were outrageous all day but, in this race, the $2 Pick 5 returned over $411,000. The $2 Pick 4 more than $75,000. The $2 Pick 3 over $5,000. The $2 double more than $1,200. The smaller base-bets would be the truer payoffs.
• Race 3: Ninetyfourexpos (Javier Castellano/Martin Drexler), bred in Ontario, wired the field at 4-to-1. Maybe there is a horse named Eightyonereds that I missed.

• Paco Lopez, the second-winningest rider at the meet, failed to hit the board with his first six mounts then proceeded to kill the hopes of many but not all in the finale with a 25-to-1 bomber.
• Oisin Murphy finished a successful day 3 2-1-0. He is a top rider in Europe and elsewhere and is scheduled to ride in Dubai later this week.
• Brian Lynch's four horses failed to hit the board but he is having an exceptional meet with 15 wins and a resplendent 33%. His win total is behind only Saffie Joseph, Jr., Todd Pletcher and Mark Casse.

• Chad Brown: It is tough not to notice he is 42 2-6-3 (5%) at this meet.
• Ron Nicoletti: Returned to his host duties this weekend. He had been absent for what seemed like a year or maybe longer. Nicoletti is a south Florida staple via New York whose passion for the sport is boundless and matched perhaps by his affinity of attire. His voice seemed a bit strained and though there was no specific reason for his absence. I seem to recall he said on X back when that he mentioned a health issue. All the best.
• Full Day Recap:

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, February 3 Kentucky Derby preps.

Race	Track	Points System
Southwest (Grade 3)	Oaklawn (AR)	20-10-6-4-2
Withers (Grade 3)	Aqueduct (NY)	20-10-6-4-2
Robert B. Lewis (Grade 3)	Santa Anita (CA)	20-10-6-4-2
Holy Bull (Grade 3)	Gulfstream (FL)	20-10-6-4-2

Oaklawn Park, Saturday, February 03, 2024, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $800,000
• 3 yo
• 4:50 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer
1	Maycocks Bay (KY)	Francisco Arrieta	119	Michael Stidham
2	Charleston (KY)	Harry Hernandez	117	William H. Fires
3	Magic Grant (KY)	Chris Landeros	117	Eddie Milligan, Jr.
4	Otto the Conqueror (KY)	Joel Rosario	119	Steven M. Asmussen
5	Wynstock (NY)	Kyle Frey	119	Bob Baffert
6	Liberal Arts (KY)	Cristian A. Torres	119	Robert Medina
7	Carbone (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	119	Steven M. Asmussen
8	Common Defense (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	117	Kenneth G. McPeek
9	Linebacker (KY)	Emmanuel Esquivel	117	Jordan Blair
10	Mystik Dan (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	117	Kenneth G. McPeek
11	Just Steel (KY)	Ramon A. Vazquez	117	D. Wayne Lukas
12	Awesome Road (KY)	Florent Geroux	117	Brad H. Cox

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 03, 2024, Race 12

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo
• 5:48 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer
1	Hades (FL)	Paco Lopez	118	Joseph F. Orseno
2	Inveigled (IN)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Jane Cibelli
3	Otello (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Christophe Clement
4	Dancing Groom (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Antonio Sano
5	No More Time (IA)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Jose Francisco D'Angelo
6	Domestic Product (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Chad C. Brown
7	Fierceness (KY)	John R. Velazquez	124	Todd A. Pletcher
8	Sea Streak (NJ)	Luca Panici	118	Eddie Owens, Jr

 

[GKJ]

Pick 6 at Gulfstream yesterday goes for $1.8m

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

As of this moment, no owner has reported a shift of stables from Bob Baffert in order to comply with Churchill Downs' deadline which is today. Any horse that is trained by Baffert can run in Derby preps outside of Churchill Downs, Turfway and Fair Grounds which are all owned by CD but will not gain any points needed to receive admission to the Derby. Baffert's horses are not permitted in CD-owned tracks at all.

If Baffert's horse finishes within the designated receipt of points scale, the connections get zero. For instance, the Southwest on Saturday at Oaklawn has a 20-10-6-4-2 point scale -- Baffert could finish in the top five but will not be rewarded with any points. Owners were told that today's deadline was solid and any horse not transferred to a different barn would be barred from the race in May.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Super Saturday (Feb. 3) awaits. Ky. Derby preps at Gulfstream (FL), Oaklawn (AR), Aqueduct (NY) and Santa Anita (CA).

Oaklawn and Gulf cannot put Derby preps within two minutes of each other. For the sake of the sport on such an enormous day, someone needs to modify, delay at the gate, whatever.

Saturday, February 3 Kentucky Derby preps.

Race	Track	Points System	Time
Withers (Grade 3)	Aqueduct (NY)	20-10-6-4-2	3:55 pm ET
Robert B. Lewis (Grade 3)	Santa Anita (CA)	20-10-6-4-2	5:15 pm ET
Holy Bull (Grade 3)	Gulfstream (FL)	20-10-6-4-2	5:48 pm ET
Southwest (Grade 3)	Oaklawn (AR)	20-10-6-4-2	5:50 pm ET

GULFSTREAM

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$50,000	Maiden Optional Claiming	6 1/2 F	Dirt	8	12:10 PM ET
2	$91,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	7 1/2 F	Turf	9	12:39 PM ET
3	$59,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	6 1/2 F	Dirt	6	1:08 PM ET
4	$89,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	All Weather	7	1:37 PM ET
5	$91,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	7 1/2 F	Turf	9	2:07 PM ET
6	$91,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 M	Dirt	8	2:37 PM ET
7	$89,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	All Weather	10	3:08 PM ET
8	$175,000	Sweetest Chant S.	1 1/16 M	Turf	8	3:38 PM ET
9	$125,000	Swale S.	7 F	Dirt	9	4:08 PM ET
10	$125,000	Forward Gal S.	7 F	Dirt	7	4:38 PM ET
11	$175,000	Kitten's Joy S.	1 1/16 M	Turf	9	5:08 PM ET
12	$250,000	Holy Bull S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	8	5:48 PM ET

OAKLAWN

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$115,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	14	11:30 AM CT
2	$140,000	Allowance	6 F	Dirt	12	12:00 PM CT
3	$140,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	6 F	Dirt	14	12:30 PM CT
4	$115,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	14	1:00 PM CT
5	$65,000	Starter Allowance	6 F	Dirt	12	1:31 PM CT
6	$115,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	Dirt	12	2:04 PM CT
7	$141,000	Allowance	6 F	Dirt	11	2:34 PM CT
8	$150,000	King Cotton S.	6 F	Dirt	8	3:04 PM CT
9	$250,000	Martha Washington S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	9	3:40 PM CT
10	$150,000	American Beauty S.	6 F	Dirt	9	4:14 PM CT
11	$800,000	Southwest S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	12	4:50 PM CT
12	$140,000	Allowance	1 1/16 M	Dirt	12	5:24 PM CT

AQUEDUCT

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$44,000	Claiming	7 F	Dirt	6	11:50 AM ET
2	$36,000	Maiden Claiming	6 1/2 F	Dirt	10	12:20 PM ET
3	$74,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	6 F	Dirt	6	12:50 PM ET
4	$37,000	Claiming	6 1/2 F	Dirt	7	1:20 PM ET
5	$84,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 3/16 M	Dirt	6	1:50 PM ET
6	$70,000	Maiden Special Weight	7 F	Dirt	10	2:20 PM ET
7	$28,000	Claiming	7 F	Dirt	12	2:51 PM ET
8	$175,000	Toboggan S.	7 F	Dirt	7	3:24 PM ET
9	$250,000	Withers S.	1 1/8 M	Dirt	9	3:55 PM ET
10	$34,000	Maiden Claiming	6 1/2 F	Dirt	13	4:26 PM ET

SANTA ANITA

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$67,000	Allowance	About 6 1/2 F	Downhill turf	8	12:15 PM PT
2	$65,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 F	Turf	7	12:45 PM PT
3	$25,000	Claiming	1 M	Dirt	7	1:15 PM PT
4	$100,000	Megahertz S.	1 M	Turf	7	1:45 PM PT
5	$200,000	Robert B. Lewis S.	1 M	Dirt	9	2:15 PM PT
6	$67,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	6 F	Turf	10	2:45 PM PT
7	$25,000	Claiming	1 M	Dirt	7	3:15 PM PT
8	$100,000	Thunder Road S.	1 M	Turf	8	3:45 PM PT
9	$200,000	Santa Monica S.	7 F	Dirt	6	4:15 PM PT
10	$67,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 M	Turf	14	4:45 PM PT

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Some of the leading contenders for the Ky. Derby based on odds at two books.

Kentucky Derby 2024	Caesars	Circa	Trainer
Fierceness	8-1	9-1	Todd Pletcher
Dornoch	10-1	13-1	Danny Gargan
Locked	15-1	17-1	Todd Pletcher
Sierra Leone	15-1	20-1	Chad Brown
El Capi	22-1		Rick Dutrow
Track Phantom	15-1	25-1	Steve Asmussen
Knightsbridge	22-1	27-1	Bill Mott
Snead	28-1	25-1	Brendan Walsh
Forever Young		30-1	Yoshito Yahagi
Timberlake	25-1	32-1	Brad Cox
Hall of Fame	30-1	35-1	Steve Asmussen
Book’em Danno (g)	25-1	40-1	Derek Ryan
Carbone	40-1	30-1	Steve Asmussen
Conquest Warrior	30-1	40-1	Shug McGaughey
Resilience	40-1	40-1	Bill Mott
Born Noble	45-1	30-1	Todd Pletcher
Nash	30-1	45-1	Brad Cox
Catching Freedom	50-1	50-1	Brad Cox
Honor Marie	50-1	30-1	Whit Beckman
The Wine Steward	40-1	50-1	Mike Maker
Just a Touch	60-1	30-1	Brad Cox
Otello	50-1	60-1	Christophe Clément
Air of Defiance	75-1		Brad Cox
Parchment Party	75-1		Bill Mott
Ethan Energy	75-1	80-1	Brad Cox
Tuscan Sky	80-1	90-1	Todd Pletcher
Ari’s Magic		100-1	Christophe Clément
Bergen	100-1	85-1	Brad Cox
Cardinale		100-1	Todd Pletcher
Crushed It	100-1	100-1	Brad Cox
Imperial Gun	100-1	100-1	Steve Asmussen
Just Steel	100-1	85-1	D. Wayne Lukas
Liberal Arts	100-1	100-1	Robbie Medina
Pirate	100-1		Todd Pletcher
Risk It	100-1	75-1	Steve Asmussen
Stronghold	90-1	100-1	Phil D’Amato

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The American Horse Council released it's detailed summary into racing's role in the US economy and a substantial figure of $177 billion was the figure. That extends from categories across the spectrum including veterinary services to breeding to nutritionists to recreational usages.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Mahoning Valley (Ohio):

• Race 5: The exotics were incredible as 29-to-1, 62-to-1 and 16-to-1 finished 1-2-3 leading to a $.50 tri worth more than $13,000. The $.10 super returned more than $6,600. The $2 exact paid out more than $1,700. The $2 double paid $30.20 in a pool that had roughly $4,000.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 9:

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, February 2, 2024

Aqueduct (New York):

• Lane Luzzi wired the field in the opener and finale and finished a profitable day going 4 2-0-2. Luzzi wired the field with 11-to-1 and 7-to-1 shots and finished third with 8-to-1 and 5-to- shots. Mike, his dad, retired a few weeks ago to become Lane's agent. Hopefully, Mike can lay some inroads because his son can ride.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Jean Aguilar, an 18-year-old jockey from Puerto Rico riding with a 10-pound bug, finished 4 2-1-1. The victories were his first two in the domestic US after riding briefly at Camarero (PR).

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Jose D'Angelo had a most impressive afternoon. Only in his 30s, D'Angelo is probably best known for Jesus' Team. Today he won four of six races entered and ended the day 7 4-2-0. He nearly completed a phenomenal day with a fifth win but lost by inches in a thriller.

​

​

Santa Anita (California):

• Canceled: Sunday's card has been canceled due to expected inclement weather.
• Payouts: Some of the lowest I recall for Pick 5 and Pick 6.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Despite the inordinate number of cancellations in January, racing handle was up more than 10% from January 2023. With $773,509,147, bet on U.S. races, that is a 10.1 percent increase on a per-race basis. With 12% of scheduled races canceled, that is the highest figure since 2018. Weather hurt U.S. racing in 2023 but mostly in the warmer months.

Fair Grounds was up a significant 35%. Turfway at 22% is also a high gainer. Both tracks are operated by Churchill Downs.

Tampa Bay Downs' handle was up 10.6%.

Gulfstream was down 4.4% but its handle accounted for 27% of money wagered, a rise of 2%.

	January 2024					January 2023					Handle	Purse	Averages by race
	Track	Races	Handle	Purses		Track	Races	Handle	Purses		2024-2023	2024-2023	Handle	Purses
	GP	206	$209,003,104	$15,703,000		GP	206	$218,682,645	$15,241,000		-4.4%	3.0%.	-4.4%	3.0%
	SA	123	$99,299,066	$7,282,000		SA	108	$97,386,267	$7,132,000		2.0%	2.1%	-10.5%	-10.3%
	AQU	121	$80,680,222	$7,282,000		AQU	147	$91,011,135	$8,383,000		-11.4%	-13.1%	7.7%	5.5%
	TAM	154	$68,868,876	$4,456,000		TAM	155	$62,288,578	$3,222,150		10.6%	38.3%	11.3%	39.2%
	FG	156	$54,342,636	$6,513,000		FG	155	$40,190,682	$6,151,000		35.2%	5.9%	34.3%	5.2%
	TP	135	$51,932,350	$5,178,000		TP	138	$42,553,931	$6,064,000		22.0%	-14.6%	24.8%	-12.7%
	OP	78	$49,146,156	$6,691,000		OP	122	$82,487,325	$8,382,500		-40.4%	-20.2%	-6.8%	24.8%
	GG	110	$36,192,391	$1,587,500		GG	127	$36,951,727	$2,543,600		-2.1%	-37.6%	13.1%	-27.9%
	PRX	100	$27,445,769	$2,678,000		PRX	152	$42,383,894	$4,989,500		-35.2%	-46.3%	-1.6%	-18.4%
	MVR	131	$22,548,968	$2,737,700		MVR	145	$19,788,142	$3,045,100		14.0%	-10.1%	26.1%	-0.5%
	CT	108	$20,777,332	$1,994,300		CT	133	$29,210,390	$3,091,300		-28.9%	-35.5%	-12.4%	-20.6%
	LRL	75	$16,502,452	$2,843,685		LRL	123	$28,431,625	$4,997,100		-42.0%	-43.1%	-4.8%	-6.7%
	DED	95	$15,665,962	$2,283,000		DED	144	$22,649,616	$3,321,000		-30.8%	-31.3%	4.8%	4.2%
	PEN	64	$7,828,569	$1,385,000		PEN	63	$6,013,077	$1,118,400		30.2%	23.8%	28.2%	21.9%
	SUN	63	$5,132,741	$1,876,800		SUN	90	$7,248,939	$2,795,500		-29.2%	-32.9%	1.2%	-4.1%
	TUP	22	$4,893,697	$483,000		TUP	155	$33,663,030	$2,689,300		-85.5%	-82.0%	2.4%	26.5%
	HOU	101	$2,000,792	$3,265,000		HOU	103	$1,996,182	$3,269,880		0.2%	-0.1%	2.2%	1.8%
	LA	11	$1,248,064	$96,500		LA	14	$1,410,699	$136,000		-11.5%	-29.0%	12.6%	-9.7%
		1,853	$773,509,147	$74,335,485			2,280	$864,347,884	$86,572,330		-10.5%	-14.1%	10.1%	5.7%
			$417,436	$40,116				$379,100	$37,970		10.1%	5.7%

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, February 3, 2024

• Todd Pletcher had a 3-win day but two of his biggest Kentucky Derby possibilities were disappointments today.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 8: Super Chow (Madison Olver/Jorge Delgado) won the $175,000 Grade 3 Toboggan Stakes. Olver won a graded stakes for the first time. Olver, in her mid-20s, comes from Fort Collins, Colorado, an uncommon spot for a jockey.

​

• Race 9: Uncle Heavy (Mychel Sanchez/Butch Reid) won the Grade 3 $250,000 Withers by a nose at 9-to-1. The Pennsylvania-bred won for the third time in four lifetime starts in his first race outside Parx (PA). He is a son to Social Inclusion whose most famous effort came in a record-setting race at Gulfstream, second-time-out, in 2014. The victory earned the Philadelphia-based connections 20 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby.

​

Tampa Bay Downs (Florida):

• Race 10: Never Explain (Vincent Cheminaud/Shug McGaughey) won the $175,000 Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. McGaughey is 14 7-2-3 (50% winning) at the meet.

​

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: $18.8 million.
• Race 6: Real Macho (Tyler Gaffalione/Rohan Crichton) got up at 26-to-1 to beat a fatigued Born Noble (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher) who was getting some buzz as a Ky. Derby hopeful.
• Race 8: Life's an Audible (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher) got up in time to win the Sweetest Chant Stakes by a neck in a three-way thriller.

​

• Race 10: R Harper Rose (Edgard Zayas/Saffie Joseph, Jr.) was put on the lead and won the $125,000 Grade 3 Forward Gal Stakes.

​

• Race 11: First World War (Tyler Gaffalione/Brendan Walsh) won the $175,000 Grade 3 Kitten's Joy Stakes.

​

• Race 12: Hades (Paco Lopez/Joe Orseno) won the $150,000 Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes named after one of the greatest Florida-breds of all-time who won 13 of 16 lifetime races. Hades, a Florida-bred by Awesome Slew, is a perfect 3 3-0-0. He was cold on the board, sent off at 9-to-1. Fierceness (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher), in the eyes of some the top Kentucky Derby horse entering today, was a flop at 1-to-5. The winners received 20 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby.

​

Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Handle: $13.8 million bet, an estimated crowd of 25,000.
• Beyer Figures:

​

• Race 8: Skelly (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen) was sent off the favorite and wired the field to win the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes.
• Race 9: Band of Gold (Brian Hernandez, Jr./Kenny McPeek) won the $250,000 Martha Washington Stakes at 24-to-1, the second highest odds in a field of nine.
• Race 10: Alva Starr (Cristian Torres/Brett Brinkman) won the $150,000 American Beauty Stakes.
• Race 11: Mystik Dan (Brian Hernandez, Jr./Kenny McPeek) obliterated the field to win the $800,000 Grade 3 Southwest Stakes. With the victory, 20 points was earned towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. The winner was sent off at 11-to-1. The son to Goldencents won for the second time in five lifetime starts with his prior win coming at Churchill Downs. Carbone (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen) was sent off the favorite but tired into oblivion.

​

• Brian Hernandez, Jr. and Kenny McPeek combined to win two stakes.
• Steve Asmussen scored a natural hat trick. He sent out 14 horses across various tracks and settled for those three winners.

Santa Anita (California):

• Handle: $12 million.
• Beyer Figures:

​

• Flavien Prat had a 3-win day, all graded stakes.
• Race 4: Bellabel (Flavien Prat/Phil D'Amato) won the $100,000 Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes.

​

• Race 5: Nysos (Flavien Prat/Bob Baffert) won the $200,000 Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes in a 7-length trouncing. Nysos, a son to Nyquist, is a perfect 3 3-0-0. He was sent off at the extreme odds of 1-to-10 and didn't disappoint. Though he won this Kentucky Derby prep, the connections receive zero points (20 was to be awarded to the winner) towards entry because Churchill Downs has continued its self-imposed suspension of Baffert from all of its properties and that includes receiving points to the Derby at any other track. Baffert won this race for the sixth straight year and a record 11th time. Owners had the option to switch to another trainer but decided to stick with Baffert.

​

• Race 8: Goliad (Kazushi Kimura/Richard Mandella) won the Grade 3 $100,000 Thunder Road Stakes. The 7-year-old War Front gelding won for the fourth time in 16 starts with each start at either Del Mar (one win) or Santa Anita (three wins).

​

• Race 9: Three Witches (Flavien Prat/Michael McCarthy) won the Grade 2 $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, February 4, 2024

• Steve Asmussen had a 6-win day winning twice at Sam Houston (TX), Oaklawn (AR) and Fair Grounds (LA). He had a hit-or-miss day going 15 6-1-0. His sons Keith (two wins at Oaklawn) and Erik (one win at Sam Houston), who made his debut in November, accounted for half the victories.
• Chad Brown is 4-for-8 (8%) at Gulfstream but 4-for-16 (25%) at Tampa Bay.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Michael Maker sent out three starters and two returned winners. His fantastic meet now stands at 23 10-2-3 (43% winning).
• Dylan Davis rode four winners for four trainers. His 21 wins tops the meet leader board.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 3: A 17-to-1 shot finished third yet paid $18.20. A lofty payout considering a 9-2 and 6-5 finished ahead.
• Race 4: Overmuch (Jevian Toledo/Brittany Russell) romped in a field of four by more than 10 lengths. The $250,000 Curlin filly was out for the second time and broke her maiden today following a fourth place finish at Parx in November. If today was any indication, this three-year-old is destined for bigger things.

​

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 7: The $1 double returned $544.30.
• Race 9: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $39,000.

Fair Grounds (Louisiana):

• Steve Asmussen sent out two horses and both returned winners.

Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Keith Asmussen rode two winners for his father Steve who has a North America record 10,377 wins as a trainer.

Santa Anita (California):

• Canceled: Heavy rain in southern Cal.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Though this isn't horse racing, a look into each state and how much money was wagered into sports betting:

The following information is accurate as of February 05, 2024, but this page is in the process of being updated. Figures do not account for certain administrative and other fees.

State	Sports Betting Handle	Online Tax Rate	Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR)	State Revenue	Sports Betting Start Date
Arizona	$13,660,583,883	8.20%	$1,119,646,308	$64,840,391	September 2021
Arkansas	$701,142,375	9.87%	$69,204,462	$9,818,147	July 2019
Colorado	$15,058,842,608	9.36%	$1,029,276,358	$58,059,193	May 2020
Connecticut	$3,619,352,844	9.28%	$338,627,123	$37,236,379	October 2021
Delaware	$607,169,587	20.67%	$125,473,320	$64,304,253	June 2018
District of Columbia	$668,491,934	12.39%	$82,820,808	$8,301,199	May 2020
Illinois	$28,962,341,734	8.01%	$2,248,126,716	$336,179,651	March 2020
Indiana	$14,839,683,747	8.61%	$1,277,154,663	$121,555,320	September 2019
Iowa	$7,597,444,095	7.10%	$539,134,030	$38,592,497	August 2019
Kansas	$2,840,341,997	9.12%	$258,921,362	$12,129,460	September 2022
Louisiana	$5,275,971,499	11.19%	$590,464,284	$78,712,645	November 2021
Maine	$82,091,923	11.55%	$9,479,660	$902,036	November 2023
Maryland	$5,613,460,309	11.88%	$666,731,778	$52,735,707	December 2021
Massachusetts	$4,967,511,977	9.74%	$483,666,398	$93,875,096	January 2023
Michigan	$13,721,662,175	8.83%	$1,210,959,088	$39,926,033	March 2020
Mississippi	$2,482,131,818	11.33%	$281,277,122	$33,760,725	August 2018
Montana	$181,489,160	14.05%	$25,501,709	$25,501,984	March 2020
Nebraska*	N/A	N/A	$1,778,949	$355,891	June 2023
Nevada	$36,883,676,026	5.68%	$2,096,613,000	$141,553,996	1975
New Hampshire	$2,710,249,894	7.88%	$213,617,145	$97,323,590	December 2019
New Jersey	$45,699,992,559	7.39%	$3,377,590,647	$425,704,757	June 2018
New York	$35,847,652,131	8.66%	$3,106,184,680	$1,560,761,146	June 2019
Ohio	$6,842,116,472	12.41%	$849,345,446	$119,314,260	January 2023
Oregon	$1,768,144,085	10.10%	$178,577,644	$178,577,644	August 2019
Pennsylvania	$26,574,851,992	8.18%	$2,173,918,419	$503,916,767	November 2018
Rhode Island	$1,881,945,304	8.88%	$167,085,444	$85,667,791	November 2018
South Dakota	$18,879,008	11.31%	$2,136,023	$194,313	September 2021
Tennessee*	$11,178,993,863	N/A	$863,023,646	$196,594,392	November 2020
Virginia	$13,093,586,969	9.65%	$1,263,724,659	$135,936,646	January 2021
West Virginia	$2,272,347,057	8.67%	$196,979,587	$16,743,266	August 2018
Wyoming	$338,090,427	10.13%	$34,245,122	$1,890,314	September 2021
Total	$306,331,052,573		$25,011,242,092	$4,559,811,931

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

This was released a few days and prior to Fierceness's bad loss at Gulfstream. Fierceness, at 15-to-1, had the lowest odds.

Locked, at 30-to-1, was scheduled to be entered in the Sam Davis this Saturday at Tampa Bay but will be sidelined. The Sam Davis is the lone Ky. Derby prep in North America this weekend.

Lightline and Carbone also fizzled this past weekend.

Domestic Product had a solid second place finish at Gulfstream.


The complete Pool 2 field and morning-line odds:
#1 Awesome Road (80-1)
#2 Bentornato (30-1)
#3 Bergen (80-1)
#4 Billal (99-1)
#5 Booth (50-1)
#6 Carbone (80-1)
#7 Catching Freedom (50-1)
#8 Copper Tax (50-1)
#9 Dancing Groom (99-1)
#10 Domestic Product (80-1)
#11 Dornoch (30-1)
#12 Drum Roll Please (80-1)
#13 Fierceness (15-1)
#14 Glengarry (80-1)
#15 Informed Patriot (80-1)
#16 Kittyhawk (99-1)
#17 Knightsbridge (50-1)
#18 Liberal Arts (30-1)
#19 Lightline (99-1)
#20 Locked (30-1)
#21 Merit (99-1)
#22 Moonlight (99-1)
#23 Mystik Dan (80-1)
#24 Nash (20-1)
#25 Nutella Fella (50-1)
#26 Otto the Conqueror (99-1)
#27 Parchment Party (99-1)
#28 Private Desire (99-1)
#29 Real Men Violin (99-1)
#30 Risk It (50-1)
#31 Sierra Leone (80-1)
#32 Stolen Magic (99-1)
#33 Stretch Ride (80-1)
#34 Stronghold (99-1)
#35 The Wine Steward (60-1)
#36 Timberlake (40-1)
#37 West Saratoga (99-1)
#38 Where's Chris (80-1)
#39 "All Fillies from the 2021 Foal Crop" (80-1)
#40 "All Other Colts and Geldings from the 2021 Foal Crop" (4-5)

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Plenty of praise for Toby Keith from various racing entities.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Tampa Bay Downs hosts the lone North America Ky. Oaks and Derby preps on Saturday. The Suncoast, Oaks prep, is race 5. The Sam F. Davis is race 10. Fox Sports will provide coverage.

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$18,000	Claiming	6 F	Dirt	12	12:27 PM ET
2	$53,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 mile 40 Y	Dirt	6	12:57 PM ET
3	$53,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	8	1:27 PM ET
4	$25,500	Claiming	1 1/8 M	Turf	14	1:57 PM ET
5	$150,000	Suncoast S.	1 mile 40 Y	Dirt	6	2:27 PM ET
6	$53,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 M	Turf	9	2:59 PM ET
7	$50,000	Minaret S.	6 F	Dirt	9	3:43 PM ET
8	$100,000	Pelican S.	6 F	Dirt	8	4:15 PM ET
9	$53,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	Turf	10	4:45 PM ET
10	$250,000	Sam F. Davis S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	12	5:15 PM ET
11	$53,000	Allowance	1 M	Turf	12	5:45 PM ET

Golden Gate Fields, which is scheduled to shut its doors following this meet in June, is hosting a Preakness prep, the El Camino Real Derby which was once a Ky. Derby prep.

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$10,500	Maiden Claiming	1 M	All Weather	7	1:45 PM PT
2	$10,500	Maiden Claiming	1 M	All Weather	6	2:14 PM PT
3	$11,000	Maiden Claiming	6 F	All Weather	7	2:44 PM PT
4	$23,500	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 M	All Weather	6	3:15 PM PT
5	$20,500	Claiming	5 1/2 F	All Weather	6	3:45 PM PT
6	$23,500	Allowance	5 1/2 F	All Weather	7	4:15 PM PT
7	$100,000	El Camino Real Derby	1 1/8 M	All Weather	8	4:45 PM PT
8	$10,500	Claiming	1 M	All Weather	10	5:15 PM PT

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Santa Anita canceled racing on Friday due to the affects of severe rainfall. Santa Anita will race Feb. 15 instead.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

It is just one person's ranking but here is Byron King's Kentucky Derby Dozen, offered for some to get to know the top contenders.

Rankings Source: Bloodhorse

Rank	Horse	Trainer	Sire	Possible Next Race/Status
1.	Dornoch	Danny Gargan	Good Magic	March 2: Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream (FL)
2.	Fierceness	Todd Pletcher	City of Light	Ran Feb. 3 at Gulfstream (FL)
3.	Locked	Todd Pletcher	Gun Runner	Last ran Nov. 3; Developed a fever a few days ago
4.	Track Phantom	Steve Asmussen	Quality Road	February 17: Risen Star at Fair Grounds (LA)
5.	Sierra Leone	Chad Brown	Gun Runner	February 17: Risen Star at Fair Grounds (LA)
6.	Forever Young	Yoshito Yahagi	Real Steel	Ran Feb. 3 at Oaklawn (AR)
7.	Timberlake	Brad Cox	Into Mischief	February 24: Rebel at Oaklawn (AR)
8.	Nash	Brad Cox	Medaglia d'Oro	February 17: AOC (race 3) at Fair Grounds (LA)
9.	Honor Marie	Whit Beckman	Honor Code	February 17: Risen Star at Fair Grounds (LA)
10.	Mystik Dan	Kenny McPeek	Goldencents
11.	Catching Freedom	Brad Cox	Constitution	February 24: Rebel at Oaklawn (AR)
12.	Hades	Joe Orseno	Awesome Slew	March 2: Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream (FL)

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

ARIZONA: Another meeting of various parties in Arizona today. Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms seems willing to keep the property open beyond the May finale and if he is to be believed he is in conversation with entities willing to maintain racing.

ILLINOIS: Both T-bred tracks FanDuel and Hawthorne, approved to build racinos on their properties in 2020, seem to both be in a quagmire as to construction starts. Both tracks offered reasons for their delays but the word being used most seems to be "standstill."

GET WELL WISHES: Trainer Sarah Delany was kicked in the neck in the paddock at Delta Downs (LA) and transported to a hospital in Houston where she underwent spinal surgery. Word is she is in serious condition but has movement in all extremities.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Mahoning Valley (Ohio):

• Race 5: The $2 daily double was a heart-pounding $1,295 which began with a 3-to-1 winner. That is phenomenal! A 34-to-1 followed.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 9: The $.20 Pick 6 was nailed for over $215,000. The $.50 Pick 5 returned more than $67,000.
• Luis Saez rode three winners.
• Jose D'Angelo won the only race in which he entered, and at 30-to-1. He is behind only Saffie Joesph, Jr., Todd Pletcher and Mark Casse in the trainers' standings this meet. Lofty company.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, February 9, 2024

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 3: Golden Charm (Yomar Ortiz/Linda Albert) is a model of consistency in that the horse likes to place. The 4-year-old filly has a record of 11-0-8-1 and has finished fourth her last four starts and five of her past six races. She was on the lead but lost to Midsummers Eve (Forest Boyce/Tim Keefe), the lone first-time starter in the race, which gave the jockey her 999th lifetime win.
• Race 6: Determined Driver (Forest Boyce/Phil Schoenthal) gave the 39-year-old jockey from Maryland her 1,000th lifetime win.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Chad Brown currently sits at 49 4-8-4 (8%) this meet.

Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Race 1: Six horses were claimed.
• Race 9: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $55,000.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The world's largest purse: