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, February 10, 2024

• Steve Asmussen entered at three tracks and finished 15 5-2-5.
• Chad Brown's struggles continue as he won only with a heater at Tampa Bay and finished 9 1-2-1 across three tracks.
• Jorge Delgado is at a career best 28% this year and won at both Florida tracks today within 15 minutes of each other. He is 6 3-2-1 since Feb. 3.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Michael Maker is 25 10-2-3 (40%) at the meet. Brad Cox (31%) and Rob Atras (35%) are also having exceptional meets.
• Race 10: The $1 Pick 6 paid over $81,000.
• Race 9: Saddle Up Jessie (Manny Franco/Brittany Russell) won the $150,000 feature in a romp. It was Russell's first win at the meet. She is on vacation but her assistant was gracious post-race. Go get 'em Brit!

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Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 10: Mosler Time (Carlos Lopez/Cal Lynch) gave the trainer his 1,000th lifetime win. Second straight day someone at Laurel won for the 1,000th time. He hails from Northern Ireland and has been a trainer in the U.S. since 2013.

Tampa Bay Downs (Florida):

• Handle: Roughly $11 million.
• Card: Four stakes including one stakes which was a Kentucky Derby prep.
• Race 6: Power Squeeze (Daniel Centeno/Jorge Delgado) won the Sunflower Stakes which is a Kentucky Oaks prep.
• Race 8: Sebelius (Junior Alvarado/Jeremiah O'Dwyer) won the Pelican Stakes by a neck. She has earned over $1.7 million in 24 races.
• Race 9: In what developed as the race of the day, Belle of Rights (Jose Ortiz/Shug McGaughey) and Oversubscribed (Tyler Gaffalione/Chad Brown) finished in a dead-heat in what was a long, long, long time to determine the outcome. The winners were two first time starters.

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• Race 10: No More Time (Paco Lopez/Jose D'Angelo), the lightest raced horse with three races under his belt, won the $250,000 Grade 3 Sam F. Davis which is a Kentucky Derby prep. The Iowa-bred is now 4 2-1-0 and won a stakes for the first time. There was over $2 million bet into the rce.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: $14.4 million.
• John Velazquez rode winners with his first two mounts.
• Race 3: Prevent (John Velazquez/Juan Alvarado) nipped Northshore Drive (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Carlos David) in what eventually was prolonged by a stewards' review. Velazquez's mount appeared destined to win, then got passed by a split second then fought back to victory.

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Golden Gate Fields (California):

• Race 6: Endlessly (Umberto Rispoli/Michael McCarthy) won the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby and with it an invitation to the Preakness Stakes in June.

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Santa Anita (California):

• Handle: Roughly $10 million.
• Race 2: Big City Lights (Flavien Prat/Richard Mandella) won the $100,000 Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes.
• Race 5: Kinza (Juan Hernandez/Bob Baffert) won the $100,000 Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes in gate-to-wire fashion.
• Race 8: Missed the Cut (Joel Rosario/John Sadler) won the $100,000 Grade 3 San Marcos Stakes.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday's Ky. Derby prep at Fair Grounds is setting up to be a doozy.

Kentucky Derby preps this weekend.

Race	Track	Points Distributed
Risen Star (Grade 2)	Fair Grounds (LA)	50-25-15-10-5
Hyacinth	Tokyo Racecourse (Japan)	30-15-9-6-3
Sunland Derby (Grade 3)	Sunland Park (NM)	20-10-6-4-2

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Fair Grounds' (LA) card on Saturday. Race 13 is a prep for the Kentucky Oaks. Race 14 is a prep for the Kentucky Derby. The Risen Star is worth a very valuable 50 points to the winning connections.

Hall of Fame could be a wild card. Out for just the third time, won at the track and is a $1.4 million purchase.

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$65,000	Allowance	6 F	Dirt	10	12:00 PM CT
2	$65,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 M	Turf	13	12:29 PM CT
3	$65,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 M	Dirt	7	12:58 PM CT
4	$65,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	16	1:27 PM CT
5	$65,000	Allowance	1 1/16 M	Dirt	8	1:56 PM CT
6	$65,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	11	2:25 PM CT
7	$65,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	12	2:54 PM CT
8	$100,000	Colonel Power S.	5 1/2 F	Turf	9	3:23 PM CT
9	$65,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	Dirt	10	3:52 PM CT
10	$100,000	Albert M. Stall Memorial S.	1 1/16 M	Turf	13	4:21 PM CT
11	$250,000	Mineshaft S. Presented by Relyne GI By Hagyard	1 1/16 M	Dirt	9	4:50 PM CT
12	$175,000	Fair Grounds S. Presented by Horse Racing Nation	1 1/8 M	Turf	12	5:19 PM CT
13	$300,000	Rachel Alexandra S. presented by Fasig-Tipton	1 1/16 M	Dirt	7	5:48 PM CT
14	$400,000	Risen Star S.	1 1/8 M	Dirt	12	6:17 PM CT

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, February 11, 2024

• Brittany Russell entered horses in Gulfstream (FL) and Laurel (MD) and won at both tracks within a span of 17 minutes. She won yesterday at Aqueduct (NY). She is 10 4-1-2 the past three days.
• Chad Brown is 11% this year, by far his lowest mark of any year since he took out his license in 2007. That is well below his lifetime mark of 25%. Even his ITM mark is a telltale sign of his woes this year, 42% in 2024 with a career average of 58%.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 9: Stone Silent (Junior Alvarado/Brian Lynch) won the $1200,000 Ladies Turf Sprint. Alvarado rode three horses, two to victories. Lynch is now 58 17-6-7 (29%) after a win today. The native Australian is tied for fourth most wins among all trainers this meet.
• Race 6: Amor Fati (Luis Saez/Brittany Russell), a $375,000 Liam's Map 3-year-old filly, debuted to a confident win under the skillful hands of Saez.

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Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Weather and Track Conditions: Sloppy, dreary and 43 degrees.
• Race 9: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $81,000.

Santa Anita (California):

• Hector Berrios had three mounts including two winners at 10-to-1 and 12-to-1.
• Race 8: Disobey (Tiago Pereira/Sam Scolamieri) gave the trainer his first win since October 2022. The small-stable trainer was winless with 13 starters last year.
• Race 6: Maymun (Juan Hernandez/Bob Baffert) beat stablemate Imagination (Flavien Prat/Bob Baffert) in a dramatic race in which the winner recovered after falling a step back in what appeared to be defeat. There was $1.2 million bet into the race even with the prospect of a cheap exacta somewhat obvious.

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Stamp of Approval (Manny Franco/Chad Brown) is entered in race 6 on Friday at Aqueduct (NY). The $250,000 Nyquist filly made her debut five days ago. Short rest to say the least if the horse does actually run.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Laurel's (MD) card for Saturday includes two graded stakes.

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$16,500	Claiming	1 1/16 M	Dirt	7	12:25 PM ET
2	$37,000	Starter Optional Claiming	1 M	Dirt	8	12:56 PM ET
3	$53,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 M	Dirt	8	1:27 PM ET
4	$48,000	Allowance	7 F	Dirt	7	1:58 PM ET
5	$22,000	Claiming	1 M	Dirt	11	2:29 PM ET
6	$100,000	John B. Campbell S.	1 1/8 M	Dirt	9	3:00 PM ET
7	$100,000	Nellie Morse S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	7	3:31 PM ET
8	$200,000	Barbara Fritchie S.	7 F	Dirt	9	4:02 PM ET
9	$200,000	General George S.	7 F	Dirt	7	4:33 PM ET
10	$23,000	Maiden Claiming	1 1/16 M	Dirt	7	5:05 PM ET

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

It is just one person's ranking but here is Byron King's (Bloodhorse.com) Kentucky Derby Dozen from a few days ago. It is offered for some to get to know the top contenders.

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	Currently in Japan
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	Ran Feb. 3 at Oaklawn (AR)
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)

 

[GKJ]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

A latest collection of Derby odds...

Kentucky Derby 2024	Caesars	Circa	*KDFW
All other 3-year-olds +			2-1
Dornoch	+850	+975	15-1
Fierceness	10-1	15-1	12-1
Sierra Leone	+950	18-1	15-1
Hall of Fame	18-1	14-1	20-1
Track Phantom	12-1	15-1	20-1
Conquest Warrior	22-1	22-1	20-1
Locked	15-1	25-1	10-1
Snead	28-1	28-1
Forever Young		25-1	30-1
Nash	30-1	30-1	30-1
Timberlake	25-1	28-1	30-1
Honor Marie	30-1	40-1	25-1
Agate Road	45-1	28-1	50-1
Knightsbridge	22-1	50-1	30-1
Speak Easy	55-1	25-1	30-1
Book’em Danno (g)	25-1	60-1
Born Noble	60-1	60-1	40-1
Epic Ride		35-1	60-1
Just a Touch	45-1	25-1	60-1
Hades (g)	65-1	45-1	30-1
Catching Freedom	50-1	70-1	25-1
Air of Defiance	75-1
Carbone	75-1	75-1
Parchment Party	75-1
Tuscan Gold		75-1	50-1
Victory Avenue		75-1
Dimatic			80-1
The Wine Steward	40-1	80-1
Liberal Arts	75-1	85-1	60-1
Mystik Dan	85-1	55-1	20-1
Rhyme Schemes	85-1
Amante Bianco		85-1	90-1
Domestic Product	90-1	90-1	60-1
No More Time	90-1	30-1	40-1
Resilience	40-1	25-1	99-1
Stronghold	90-1	60-1	99-1
Change of Command	100-1	45-1
Imperial Gun	100-1	90-1	80-1
Just Steel	75-1	100-1	80-1
Lat Long		100-1	90-1
Otello	75-1	100-1
Pirate	100-1
Real Macho		100-1
Stretch Ride	85-1	100-1
Real Men Violin	100-1	110-1	90-1
Capital Idea	125-1	100-1	80-1
El Grande O	125-1	125-1	80-1
Ethan Energy	75-1	125-1
General Partner	125-1
Molly’s Town (g)	125-1
Nutella Fella	125-1
Pass the Hat	125-1
Tuscan Sky	80-1	125-1	80-1
Uncle Heavy	125-1	75-1	40-1
Coulditbemajic	150-1
Crushed It	100-1	150-1
Deterministic	150-1	125-1	99-1
Fifth Avenue	150-1
Frankie’s Empire	150-1
Glengarry	150-1
Gold Sweep	150-1
Lucky Jeremy	150-1	60-1	90-1
Noted	150-1	150-1
Otto the Conqueror	150-1	150-1
Rathmore	150-1
Risk It	150-1
Secret Chat	150-1
Seize the Grey	100-1	150-1
Self Sufficient	150-1
The Big Torpedo	150-1
Union Roll	150-1
West Saratoga	150-1	100-1	99-1
Wilson Q	150-1
Alder (g)	175-1
Balta	175-1
Cardinale		175-1
Catire Vizcaya	175-1
Edified	175-1
Elysian Meadows		175-1
Informed Patriot	100-1	175-1
Tireless		175-1
Ari’s Magic		200-1
Bergen	100-1	200-1
Commissioner Dan	200-1
Divieto	200-1
General Ledger	200-1
Go Otto Go	200-1
Going Mobile	200-1
Kitty Hawk (g)		200-1
Le Dom Bro	200-1
Mary’s Boy Bolt	200-1
Maycocks Bay		200-1
Merit	150-1	200-1
My Boy Prince		200-1
Private Desire	200-1
Roar Ready	200-1
Rocketeer	125-1	200-1
Scatify	125-1	200-1
The Process	200-1
Turn Up the Trees		200-1
Valentine Candy	125-1	200-1
Wind Rider		200-1
Beeline		225-1
Common Defense	175-1	225-1
Doncho (g)	125-1	225-1
First World War	125-1	225-1
American Rascal	250-1
Be You	150-1	250-1
Bonne Chance (g)	250-1
Booth	150-1	250-1
Call Me Andy	250-1
Can Group		250-1
Encino		250-1
Inveigled	200-1	250-1
Lightline	100-1	250-1
Next Level		250-1
Orange Diablo	150-1	250-1
Patriot Spirit	250-1	80-1
Slider		250-1
Tennessee		250-1
Time for Truth	150-1	250-1
Twenty to Park		250-1
Awesome Road	150-1	275-1
Crimson Light		275-1
Better Than Gold	200-1	300-1
Catalytic	150-1	300-1
Crazy Mason	300-1	150-1
Endlessly		300-1
Hawks Creek		300-1
Heart Headed		300-1
Heartened		300-1
Hop Sing		300-1
Khanate		300-1
Legalize	150-1	300-1
Moonlight	100-1	300-1
Moonlit Sonata	200-1	300-1
Normandy Hero	150-1	300-1
Northern Flame	125-1	300-1
Raging Torrent	200-1	300-1
Ridgewood Runner		300-1
Stay Hot (r)		300-1
Stolen Magic	200-1	300-1
Vitement		300-1
West Omaha (f)		300-1
Footprint		350-1
Gettysburg Address		350-1
Goldbrick	125-1	350-1
Good Money	150-1	350-1
Ignite the Light		350-1
Iridescent	200-1	350-1
Justifreak		350-1
Karlwithanarl		350-1
Lagynos		350-1
Pandagate (r)	150-1	350-1
Raguel		350-1
Refocus		350-1
Run Jalen Run		350-1
Searcy (g)		350-1
Ship to Shore (g)		350-1
Speed Runner		350-1
Tapalo		350-1
Tejon Pass	150-1	350-1
Texas Town		350-1
The Donegal Clan		350-1
Top Gun Rocket		350-1
Vote No		350-1
Wecallemfuncoupons (g)		350-1
Who Dey	125-1	350-1
Works for Me		350-1
Abrumar		400-1
Aggelos the Great		400-1
Agoo	250-1	400-1
Antonio of Venice		400-1
Assurbanipal		400-1
Bentornato	125-1	400-1
Billal	200-1	400-1
Blown Cover		400-1
Boltage		400-1
Bonus Move		400-1
Crafted	200-1	400-1
Dancing Groom	200-1	400-1
Django		400-1
El Dinero (g)		400-1
El Magnifico (r)		400-1
Eliminate		400-1
Eusebius		400-1
Give Me a Reason		400-1
Mikealicious		400-1
Mischief Joke		400-1
Mission Beach		400-1
Mosaico Man		400-1
Move to Gold		400-1
Regalo	200-1	400-1
* Morning line
+ KDFW only
f - filly
g - gelding
r - ridgling

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Big Boys: Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz, Jr. John Velazquez each won twice and Tyler Gaffalione, Junior Alvarado and Javier Castellano each won once. A day for the big-named riders to shine.
• William Therranos sent out two horses and both returned winners. He was 1-for-15 entering this year entering today's card.
• Race 5: Porquerolles (John Velazquez/Graham Motion) gave owners Wertheimer and Frere (brothers Alain and Gerard), a debut win. The duo is amongst the richest owners in the world as they run House of Chanel in Paris.

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• Race 2 Jabran (John Velazquez/Lauren Robson) gave the trainer her first lifetime win with her 10th starter. Among her prior roles was an exercise rider for Todd Pletcher and that is possibly how she got a Hall of Famer with the most purse money earned in racing history to ride for her.

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Following the euphemistically criminal act of destroying this beautiful landmark comes word today that the plans to put the Bears' football team in the historic racing spot may not materialize after all.

https://paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/dispute-over-arlington-park-tax-assessment-puts-nfl-stadium-in-doubt

Dispute Over Arlington Park Tax Assessment Puts NFL Stadium In Doubt​

The horses are long gone and so is the gleaming grandstand the late Richard Duchossois built after Arlington Park in suburban Chicago burned to the ground in a 1985 fire. The former racetrack property, sold by Churchill Downs Inc. in 2021 to the Chicago Bears, was designated as the future home for the NFL team.

But one year after closing on the 326-acre plot in Arlington Heights, Ill., the stadium project is stalled, and time may be running out. According to multiple published reports, the Cook County Board of Review has assessed the property for tax purposes at $192 million. That means an annual tax bill of about $15 million, the reports said.

The Bears proposed an appraisal of no more than $71 million. The higher tax bill could be a deal breaker, especially if the team negotiates with the city of Chicago to build a new stadium adjacent to where the Bears currently play, Soldier Field, alongside Lake Michigan just south of the downtown area. Crain's Chicago Business reported Feb. 2 that the Bears would prefer a new lakefront stadium.

The Board of Review has given the Bears until Feb. 17 to negotiate a lower assessment with three beneficiary school districts in Palatine and Arlington Heights. If the parties can't come to terms, the Board of Review will make their final decision next week. The Bears would then have 30 days to file an appeal with the state's property tax appeal board.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, February 16, 2024

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 8: The $1 Pick 6 returned $101,000+.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: $7.3 million bet.
• Saffie Joseph is the runaway leader at the meet with 39 training wins. Chad Brown is now 58 5-9-5 (9%).
• Luis Saez didn't ride his last two mounts. Perhaps he had a flight to New Orleans for tomorrow's big day at Fair Grounds (LA).
• Elizabeth Dobles is now winless this year with 18 starters. She is just 17-for-187 since the start of last year (9%). Tough to see since she had established herself as an up-and-coming trainer winning at roughly an 18% clip in her seven prior years. I am not sure if her stock has fallen or she lost her main owners but hopefully she rebounds.
• Race 3: Paynted Blue (Edgard Zayas/William Grainger) gave the trainer his first win since 2003 and his second in 21 lifetime starts.

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• Race 5: Platinum Rocker (Miguel Vasquez/David Fawkes) won at 47-to-1 and topped a $.50 tri that returned more than $2,400. Vasquez won this race with the longest shot on the board and then followed with a win in the next race by nine lengths aboard the favorite. Sizzle (Jose Ortiz/Juan Alvarado) sizzled in his debut to pay $15.00 for third -- the only first-time starter in the race; oftentimes stated, a good betting angle.
• Race 8: Lady Madonna (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher) won second-time-out to break her maiden. She switched from synth to turf and won by a neck.

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Turfway (Kentucky):

• Snowfall at nighttime: Very attractive but alas cancellations.

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Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Keith Asmussen had a 4-win day. His dad is the all-time winningest trainer in North America history but the son, who had his bug waived due to height/weight issues back when he started in 2021, is now tied for second in wins at the meet. He finished 7 4-0-2 today. All wins were for his father. Incredible story!

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• Steve Asmussen trained four winners. He has unofficially 10,400 career wins (depending on the most recent update). His son Keith has under 100 victories.

Santa Anita (California):

• Antonio Fresu had the Midas Touch today with a brilliant 6 4-1-1
• Peter Eurton trained three winners.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, Sunday and Monday TV schedules:

Feb. 17	"America's Day at the Races"	1:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.	FS2
Feb. 17	Live coverage of horse racing including the Risen Star Stakes	post time varies	FanDuel TV
Feb. 17	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	Racetrack Television Network
Feb. 18	"America's Day at the Races"	3 p.m.-6 p.m.	FS2
Feb. 18	Live coverage of horse racing including the Sunland Park Derby	post time varies	FanDuel TV
Feb. 18	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	Racetrack Television Network
Feb. 19	"America's Day at the Races"	3 p.m.-4:30 p.m. on FS2, 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. on FS1	FS2 and FS1
Feb. 19	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	FanDuel TV
Feb. 19	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	Racetrack Television Network

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

New Orleans weather has Fair Grounds listed as sloppy on dirt and soft on turf. Many early scratches but none after race 9. The 14-race card is loaded especially late.

 

[GKJ]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, February 17, 2024

• Chad Brown had wins at Gulfstream (FL) and Fair Grounds (LA) with horses that cost a combined $3.3 million.
• Steve Asmussen had an off-day going 17 1-1-4.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Dylan Davis, the leading rider at the meet, had a triple.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Sheldon Russell, jockey, and Brittany Russell, trainer, combined to win both graded stakes on the card. The hubby and wife team are a wonderful story. Brittany is now one win behind Jamie Ness for the meet's top trainer.
• Race 2: Maybe the race of the day across America:

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• Race 8: Apple Picker (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) won the $200,000 Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie Stakes at 5-to-1. Typical of Brittany, she credited and thanked others (post-race).

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• Race 9: Post Time (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) won the $200,000 Grade 3 General George Stakes at 2-to-5. Post Time is now a remarkable 8 7-0-1 --including a perfect 7 7-0-0 in Maryland (a loss in Kentucky) -- and has earned over $400,000, a high sum for an $85,000 purchase.

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Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 11: Honor D Lady (Jose Ortiz/Saffie Joseph) won the $150,000 Grade 3 Royal Delta.

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• Race 8: Top Conor (Jose Ortiz/Chad Brown), a $1,000,000 Twirling Candy colt, debuted to victory.

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• Paco Lopez rode four winners.
• Jose Ortiz rode three winners.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr. rode the card but finished 12 1-3-2.

Fair Grounds (Louisiana):

• Handle: Churchill Downs usually does not disclose handles at its properties but from what I am told Fair Grounds raked over $15 million on its extensive card and that was with a sloppy track and much racing off-the-turf.
• Tyler Gaffalione rode winners in two of the four graded stakes.
• Does Brad Cox consider this a good day or not? He went 8 1-4-2.
• Race 11: Money Supply (Tyler Gaffalione/Joe Sharp) won the $250,000 Grade 3 Mineshaft Stakes.
• Race 12: Beatbox (Joel Rosario/Cherie DeVaux) won the $175,000 Grade 3 Fair Grounds Stakes.
• Race 13: Tarifa (Flavien Prat/Brad Cox) won the $300,000 Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra
• Race 14: Sierra Leone (Tyler Gaffalione/Chad Brown) won the Grade 2 $400,000 Risen Star Stakes which is a Kentucky Derby prep worth 50-25-15-10-5 points to the top five finishers, respectively. The Gun Runner colt won for the second time in three starts. He was purchased for $2.3 million by a conglomerate,

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Next up for a Ky. Derby prep, New Mexico today (Sunday):

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$11,500	Claiming	5 1/2 F	Dirt	6	12:25 PM MT
2	$17,500	Claiming	6 F	Dirt	6	12:51 PM MT
3	$100,000	Red Hedeman Mile S.	1 M	Dirt	6	1:18 PM MT
4	$51,800	Allowance	1 M	Dirt	6	1:45 PM MT
5	$100,000	Harry Henson H.	1 M	Dirt	6	2:13 PM MT
6	$100,000	Bill Thomas Memorial S.	6 1/2 F	Dirt	6	2:43 PM MT
7	$250,000	Sunland Park Oaks	1 M	Dirt	6	3:13 PM MT
8	$100,000	Enchantress S.	1 M	Dirt	8	3:44 PM MT
9	$400,000	Sunland Park Derby	1 1/16 M	Dirt	8	4:17 PM MT
10	$42,100	Allowance	6 1/2 F	Dirt	9	4:50 PM MT

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, February 18, 2024

• Joel Rosario at one point today was on a 15 7-1-2 streak. Some riders don't get the opportunity to win seven times in 150 races never mind 15.
• Steve Asmussen had a 4-win day spread across four tracks. His horses were was at tracks in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and New Mexico.
• Monday Racing: The Presidents' Day holiday has racing at Oaklawn (AR), Aqueduct (NY), Parx (PA), Mahoning Valley (OH) and Turf Paradise (AZ) for starters. Santa Anita (CA) has canceled.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Gothan Kocakaya, who came to the US from his native Turkey late last year and was winless with 11 mounts, is a fantastic 20 5-5-2 (25%) in 2024.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Jaime Rodriguez, the leading rider at the meet, won three times on four mounts.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Weather: Rains throughout Florida.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr. rode three winners.

Sunland (New Mexico):

• Joel Rosario rode winners in races 5 through 8: The 4-bagger was snapped in the $400,000 feature race, his fifth and final ride.
• Race 9: Stronghold (Antonio Fresu/Phil D'Amato) was sent off the favorite and didn't disappoint his backers with a professional victory in the $400,000 Sunland Park Derby which is worth 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top five finishers, respectively, for entry into the Kentucky Derby.

​

• Race 8: Payingoffmymarker (Joel Rosario/Todd Fincher) won the $100,000 Enchantress Stakes.
• Race 7: Recharge (Joel Rosario/Steve Asmussen) won the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks. The slight-of-frame Gun Runner filly is 3 3-0-0 lifetime with wins at Remington (OK), Sam Houston (TX) and Sunland (NM). One of the best races of the day and a very energetic call by the track announcer. "Recharge won it in a thrilling display of courage."

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Oaklawn (AR) has revealed Saturday's schedule which includes its third (of four) Kentucky Derby preps, the Rebel Stakes.

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$150,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 M	Dirt	7	12:00 PM CT
2	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	12	12:31 PM CT
3	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	8	1:01 PM CT
4	$150,000	Allowance	6 F	Dirt	12	1:31 PM CT
5	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	Dirt	11	2:02 PM CT
6	$150,000	Allowance	1 M	Dirt	14	2:33 PM CT
7	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	14	3:04 PM CT
8	$150,000	Carousel S.	6 F	Dirt	9	3:35 PM CT
9	$400,000	Honeybee S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	10	4:10 PM CT
10	$600,000	Razorback H.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	13	4:45 PM CT
11	$1,250,000	Rebel S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	13	5:23 PM CT
12	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	Dirt	13	5:53 PM CT

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Keeping on an eye on TV info and post position draws, but for now the world's biggest purse at $20 million awaits...

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Latest Kentucky Derby odds... the plentiful stables of Todd Pletcher and Brad Cox account for eight of the 18 shortest prices.

Horses in order of the public’s betting choice (with trainer, Pool 4 odds and $2 Win Will Pays):

#40 “All Other 3-Year-Olds from 2021 Foal Crop” (5-1, $13.38);
#31 Sierra Leone (Chad Brown, Gun Runner, 6-1, $14.28);
#10 Dornoch (Danny Gargan, Good Magic, 9-1, $20.76);
#34 Timberlake (Brad Cox, Into Mischief, 15-1, $32.80);
#24 Locked (Todd Pletcher, Gun Runner, 16-1, $34.22);
#13 Fierceness (Todd Pletcher, City of Light, 16-1, $34.40);
#35 Track Phantom (Steve Asmussen, Quality Road, 20-1, $43.06);
#14 Forever Young (JPN) (Yoshito Yahagi, Real Steel-JPN, 21-1, $44.20);
#26 Mystik Dan (Kenny McPeek, Goldencents, 21-1, $44.70);
#21 Knightsbridge (Bill Mott, Nyquist, 23-1, $48.54);
#20 Just a Touch (Brad Cox, Justify, 27-1, $57.52);
#6 Conquest Warrior (Shug McGaughey III, City of Light, 29-1, $60.90);
#5 Catching Freedom (Brad Cox, Constitution, 31-1, $65.32);
#37 Tuscan Sky (Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso, 31-1, $65.42);
#15 Hades (Joe Orseno, Awesome Slew, 32-1, $66.86);
#16 Hall of Fame (Steve Asmussen, Gun Runner, 33-1, $68.22);
#17 Honor Marie (Whit Beckman, Honor Code, 36-1, $75.34);
#1 Agate Road (Todd Pletcher, Quality Road, 37-1, $77.08);
#32 Speak Easy (Todd Pletcher, Constitution, 41-1, $85.44);
#23 Liberal Arts (Bobby Medina, Arrogate, 57-1, $116.04);
#18 Imperial Gun (Steve Asmussen, Gun Runner, 57-1, $117.08);
#27 Nash (Brad Cox, Medaglia d’Oro, 69-1, $141.50);
#38 Uncle Heavy (Butch Reid Jr., Social Inclusion, 72-1, $146.22);
#19 Just Steel (Wayne Lukas, Justify, 79-1, $160.58);
#3 Born Noble (Todd Pletcher, Constitution, 79-1, $161.32);
#9 Domestic Product (Chad Brown, Practical Joke, 80-1, $162.18);
#30 Resilience (Bill Mott, Into Mischief, 83-1, $168.46);
#36 Tuscan Gold (Chad Brown, Medaglia d’Oro, 92-1, $187.28);
#7 Deterministic (Christophe Clement, Liam’s Map, 93-1, $188);
#33 Stronghold (Phil D’Amato, Ghostzapper, 99-1, $200.72);
#12 Epic Ride (John Ennis, Blame, 105-1, $212.80);
#8 Dimatic (Steve Asmussen, Gun Runner, 120-1, $242.12);
#2 Amante Bianco (JPN) (Keisuke Miyata, Henny Hughes, 121-1, $244.08);
#25 Lucky Jeremy (Bill Morey, Lookin At Lucky, 131-1, $265.48);
#4 Capital Idea (Christophe Clement, Classic Empire, 131-1, $264.54);
#28 No More Time (Jose D’Angelo, Not This Time, 148-1, $299.28);
#29 Real Men Violin (Kenny McPeek, Mendelssohn, 171-1, $344.94);}
#39 West Saratoga (Larry Demeritte, Exaggerator, 207-1, $416.40); and
#11 El Grande O (Linda Rice, Take Charge Indy, 220-1, $442.44);
#22 Lat Long (Kenny McPeek, Liam’s Map, 428-1, $859.48);

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is eight hours ahead of ET (Philly, New York, Miami, etc.). The full card for Saturday has yet to be released but I would assume the Saudi Cup goes off near 12:30 pm ET.


TV coverage for Friday through Sunday this week

​

Date	Program	Time	Network/Social Media
FRIDAY Feb. 23	"America's Day at the Races"	3 p.m.-6:30 p.m.	FS2
Feb. 23	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	FanDuel TV
Feb. 23	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	Racetrack Television Network
SATURDAY Feb. 24	"America's Day at the Races" broadcast of the Saudi Cup	8 a.m.-1 p.m.	FS2
Feb. 24	"America's Day at the Races" including broadcast of the Rebel Stakes	2 p.m.-7 p.m.	FS2
Feb. 24	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	FanDuel TV
Feb. 24	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	Racetrack Television Network
SUNDAY Feb. 25	"America's Day at the Races"	3 p.m.-6 p.m.	FS2
Feb. 25	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	FanDuel TV
Feb. 25	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	Racetrack Television Network

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is eight hours ahead of ET (Philly, New York, Miami, etc.). The first race on Saturday is 7:00 am ET. The ninth and final race is the Saudi Cup.

Saudi Cup goes off 12:40 pm ET.



FREE PAST PERFORMANCES FOR THE FULL CARD --

https://production-picks-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Saudi-Cup-2024-PPs.pdf

Saudi Cup 2024	Post	Trainer	Jockey	Odds (source:Racing Post)
1. Carmel Road	14	Abdullah Albadah	Camilo Ospina	25-1
2. Crown Pride	6	Koichi Shintani	João Moreira	33-1
3. Defunded	9	Abdulaziz Khalid	Luis Sáez	25-1
4. Derma Sotogake	13	Hidetaka Otonashi	Christophe Lemaire	6-1
5. Hoist the Gold	8	Dallas Stewart	John Velázquez	40-1
6. Isolate	2	Doug Watson	Joel Rosario	20-1
7. Lemon Pop	3	Hiroyasu Tanaka	Ryusei Sakai	5-1
8. Meisho Hario	scratched	Inao Okada	Suguru Hamanaka	40-1
9. National Treasure	7	Bob Baffert	Flavien Prat	8-1
10. Power in Numbers	10	Ahmed Mohamoud	Adel AlFouraidi	50-1
11. Saudi Crown	5	Brad Cox	Florent Géroux	14-1
12. Señor Buscador	4	Todd Fincher	Júnior Alvarado	16-1
13. Ushba Tesoro	11	Noburu Takagi	Yuga Kawada	8-1
14. White Abarrio	1	Rick Dutrow	Irad Ortiz Jr.	3-1
15. Scotland Yard - ae	12. Drew in	Moutaib Almulawah	Luis Morales	40-1
ae - also eligible

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Jamie Ness sent out six horses, four returned winners. He began the day as the second-winningest trainer this year in North America.
• Race 6: Catch My Vibe (Richard Mitchell/Clarence King) placed at 110-to-1. He paid $61.20 to place.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 4: Yorkshiremen (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher), a 4-year-old son to Nyquist, made a noticeable debut in winning first-time-out. Not many trainers have the luxury of debuting $500,000 horses on Wednesdays but Pletcher has an embarrassment of riches. Unlimitedpotential (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher), a $750,000 purchase, placed for the third time in three lifetime starts. Vinny Viola's St. Elias Stables owns the winner and is part owner of the runner-up.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Is Turfway about to dismantle Oaklawn as the "anything can happen" track for win bettors?