Horse Racing: BELMONT dates move to AQUEDUCT; SARATOGA opens July 11

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 23, 2018

Saratoga (New York):

• Over $9,000,000 was wagered including $1.6m on track. Saratoga conducts Monday racing during its entire meet.
• The track was sloppy with only the feature race on turf.
• Javier Castellano won three times in four starts. It is his third straight day in which he has won multiple times. Castellano has eight wins, four more than any other rider. He has finished first or second in 14 of 29 starts, no easy task. He is riding like the Castellano of Eclipse Award fame.
• Manny Franco doubled his win total at the meet by winning twice for Raymond Handal. He entered the day 2-for-20 and is now 4-for-26.
• Florent Geroux won seven times in 93 starts last year. He is 3-for-6 this year.
• Chad Brown (7) and Todd Pletcher (4) have won 11 of the 40 races. The trainers are the only two with more than two wins to date.
• Race 7: Ruby Notion (Florent Geroux/Darrin Miller) shocked the crowd with the stunning win in the $200,000 Caress for older fillies and mares. The trainer has 194 lifetime wins and does a bulk of his work in the Midwest tracks. Chanteline (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen) finished second place at 11-to-1. The two were sent off among the three highest prices in a field of nine. The $1 exacta paid $271. The $.50 tri neared $1,000. Among those who scratched was Bob Baffert.

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• Race 8: The Ortiz Brothers Counter: 2. Second time at the meet the bros. finished first and second.
• Race 9: Dylan Davis snapped his 0-for-18 mark at the meet with an impressive win. The $.50 Pick 5 was over $18,000.

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Race 8: The $.50 Pick 4 paid over $6,300.
• Race 9: The longest and third highest odds on the board helped make a monster $.10 superfecta of $5,400+. The $.50 tri paid over $2,200.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Weston Hamilton won consecutive races for the first time since scoring a natural hat trick on June 2.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Race 8: Moments Notiz is a 10-year-old who entered with a 3-race win streak which ended tonight with a second place finish. Still, a 10-year-old who still runs successfully is rare.
• Race 2: Hero's Wager, an 0-for-17 10-year-old maiden who hadn't been out in five years, tasted victory for the first time in his 18th start. A 20-to-1 morning line, he was sent off at 27-to-1. His last prior was at at Keenland in 2013.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 24, 2018

Mountaineer (Wet Virginia):

• Erik Barbaran had a helluva night He had mounts in every race and finished 9 4-1-3. He rode for eight different trainers.

Fort Erie (Ontatio):

• Race 8: Wonder Gadot (John Velazquez/Mark Casse) romped as the favorite in the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes against five competitors. The race is the second of three Triple Crown races in Canada and Wonder Gadot has won both. The trainer (Canada) and jockey (U.S) are both in halls of fame. The connections may opt to skip the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes over 1 1/2 miles on turf August 18 at Woodbine and instead head to Saratoga for the Alabama Stakes that same day.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The Saturday and Sunday cards have yet to be drawn. NBC will broadcast the Haskell from 5:00 pm-6:00 pm ET on Sunday. There are four Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" races this weekend.

7/28	Del Mar (CA)	Bing Crosby		Sprint
7/28	Ascot (UK)	King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes		Turf
7/29	Del Mar (CA)	Clement Hirsch		Distaff
7/29	Monmouth (NJ)	Haskell Invitational	NBC, 5-6 pm ET	Classic

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[CHRDANHUTCH]

BREAKING

TVG is reporting #Justify was officially retired

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

^ The proper decision was made. An undefeated Triple Crown champion. We witnessed history.

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Byron King‏ @DRFByronKing 9h9 hours ago

Triple Crown Winner Justify Retired From Racing - BloodHorse​

Justify, the undefeated winner of the 2018 Triple Crown, has been retired from racing, according to a press release distributed by his connections July 25.

"Justify had some filling in his ankle, and he is just not responding quick enough for a fall campaign," said trainer Bob Baffert. "We all wanted to see Justify run again, but ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure he is perfect. Without 60-90 days, I can't be definite."​

July 25, 2018

Saratoga (New York):

• Luis Saez rode three winners, two for Joe Sharp. Saez is now tied for second at the meet with 5 wins. Sharp has won three times with five starts this meet.
• Race 10: The $2 Pick 6 paid out over $45,000.
• Race 9: Finley'sluckycharm (BrianHernandez, Jr./Bret Calhoun) improved to 17 11-3-0 with a win in the Grade II $200,000 Honorable Miss Handicap for fillies and mares. The 5-year-old mare ran at Saratoga for the second time (placed in the prior outing). It was Hernandez's first ride at the Spa in 2018, a consistent if not underrated rider.

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• Race 8: Rajiv Maragh finished second at 31-to-1 and paid $19.20 in the middle with the favorite running off the board.
• Race 7: Jose Lezcano finished second at 44-to-1 and paid $32.60 in the middle with the favorite running off the board.
• Race 5: Collegeville Girl (Kendrick Carmouche/Richie Vega) won her debut race at 9-to-1. Carmouche had some close calls but he finally won at the meet in his 11th ride. In the previous 10, he finished second five times. The Philly shipper was sent off with the third highest odds in a field of nine. Vega has over 1,000 wins going back to the early 90s, mostly at Philly/NJ tracks, but was excited in the winner's circle perhaps due to the stage of Saratoga; good to see.
• Race 1: Was a hurdles competition.
• Joe Bravo had a forgettable day. He was scratched from two mounts, including one at the gate, and in the finale broke badly.
• Jose Ortiz, the defending Eclipse Award winner as top jockey in North America, is having a dreadful start to the meet at 30 3-1-3 (10%/23%).
• The track handled over $10,000,000.

Penn National (Pennsylvania):

• Canceled after one race due to the rainy weather. The first post was as scheduled at 6:00 pm ET.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Angel Suarez rode four winners among five starts. He was 5 4-0-1.
• Tim Ritchey won twice with his two starters, both ridden by Angel Suarez. Ritchey entered 1-for-12 in 2018. He is best known for training Afleet Alex to two wins in Triple Crown races in 2005.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Erik Barbaran won twice tonight. That makes six wins in two days.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 5: Hoss Cartwright broke his maiden and is now 2 1-0-1. Bonanza fans rejoice.
• Race 7: Beach View (Rafael Bejarano/Leonard Powell), little-run 5-year-old with just 10 races, won the $100,000 Grade III Cougar II Handicap. At 9-to-1, it was a mild stunner with Hoppertunity (Flavien Prat/Bob Baffert) finishing second as the 3-to-5 favorite. The winning trainer won for the 125th time in his 1,001st start lifetime in North America. The trainer was born in France and trained in Europe.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 26, 2018 Frank Stronach announces the Pegasus Stakes card will be worth $36,000,000.

Dubai World Cup Purse Boosted To $12 Million; $35 Million Now Up For Grabs On World’s Richest Day Of Racing - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report

On March 30, 2019, the Dubai World Cup meeting is set to enhance its status as the world's richest day of horseracing. Total purses for the card, which will feature six Group 1 and three Group 2 fixtures, will increase from US$30 million to US$35 million. Its namesake race, the Group 1 Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline, receives a $2-million boost to $12 million and boasts a $7.2 million purse to the winner; the highest first-place prize in global Thoroughbred racing.

The Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen sponsored by Gulf News receives a $500,000 boost to $2.5 million. At 1,200 meters on dirt (about six furlongs), the truly global affair has been won by horses from the United States, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore among its previous seven victors and becomes the richest dirt sprint in the world.

Enhancing its status as one of the top turf sprints in the world, the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint sponsored by Azizi Developments will see its purse double to $2 million. The 1,200-meter grass dash will now be among the richest in the world of its kind.

While the Group 1 $6-million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (2,400 meters, turf), Group 1 $6-million Dubai Turf sponsored by DP World (1,800 meters, turf) and Group 1 $1-million Dubai Kahayla Classic (2,000 meters, dirt, Purebred Arabians) all maintain their impressive credentials, the remaining three races – all Group 2 events – will receive $500,000 purse hikes.

The UAE Derby sponsored by The Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group will become the richest dirt “Derby” in the world with a purse of $2.5 million, consequently raising it to be the second-richest race in the world for 3-year-olds on any surface.

In a similar vein, the Godolphin Mile sponsored by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City – District One will increase to $1.5 million, moving it into the second-richest dirt mile in the world.

The Dubai Gold Cup sponsored by Al Tayer Motors, which has been won for three consecutive years by French superstar Vazirabad, will now be worth $1.5 million, making the 3,200-meter turf test of stamina one of the richest marathon events in global horseracing.​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 26, 23018

Saratoga (New York):

• Race 10: Some things are too predictable. After a long delay, John Velazquez was put up after filing an objection against unofficial winner Ricardo Santana, Jr. The chances of Johnny V. being on the losing end of an inquiry/objection is minimal despite the fact that this decision was elongated. Guacamole, trained by Todd Pletcher, was officially elevated to the win. Santana was placed second behind Velazquez.

​

• Race 9: Weekend Hideaway (Luis Saez/Philip Serpe), a million dollar earner, won in his 48th race and at 10-to-1 ($23.40) in the $100,000 feature race. A photo for second in what was a close call. Add to that a very contentious debate on a possible DQ. This was disturbing in that my top three picks -- 10-to-1, 3-to-1 and 14-to-1, finished 1-2-3 and yet a successful exacta box wasn't fulfilling ($104.50), with the favorite missing the board, and a tri ($159.50 for $.50) stared me right in the kisser.

`
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• Race 8: Kendrick Carmouche rode this race like a pro. His 5 broke bad, he waited, gazed the field, determined to pause and be patient, stalk, chase and finish with a rally to win after being as much as 10 lengths behind. Was that Carmouche or Junior Alvarado riding? This is a race that needs to be viewed: Race Replays
• Race 7: Joe Bravo went gate-to-wire in his first race of the day. Joe Bravo: Have Whip, Will Travel!
• Race 6: Alberobello (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher) won for the China Horse Club.
• Race 5: Irad Ortiz, Jr. was victorious and withstood an inquiry. Many questioned this decision by the stewards.
• Race 4: Joel Rosario and Junior Alvarado, 9-to-2 and 7-to-1, respectively, combined for an exacta of $51.50, a short price with the 1-to-5 favorite running off the board.
• Race 3: Junior Alvarado picked up his second win at the meet.
• Race 2: Javier Castellano won for the meet-leading 9th time.
• Race 1: A hurdle race was canceled well in advance.
• Chad Brown (8), Todd Pletcher (6) and Joe Sharp (3) are the only trainers with more than two wins.
• Jose Ortiz is 35 3-2-5.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Race 7: The Man, trained by John Servis and owned by Bob Baffert's wife Natalie, won. The Man, who was a perfect 6-for-6 last year, improved to 14 9-1-2 lifetime.
• Race 8: Eight of the 13 entered were scratched.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Many scratches due to the inclement weather.
• Maybe Weston Hamilton is regaining the form that made him a early candidate for bug rider of 2018. He was 6 3-1-1 today. He has also won five of his last 10 starts.
• Race 2: Shug McGaughey shipped to Laurel, a rarity in my recollection, and won.
• Race 1: Lacey Gaudet, with her only starter, won the opener. Nine of the 14 horses were scratched.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Tyler Gaffalione moved ahead of Emisael Jaramillo with 18 wins at the meet. Gaffalione had two wins today including the opener with a fine and perfectly timed ride.

Gulfstream Park Race 1 | July 26, 2018​

Canterbury (Minnesota):

• He's back!!!!! McLean Robertson won the first two races in which he entered tonight and now is on a roll which he has won six of the last seven races in which he had starters. As mentioned a few days ago, he had too many races in which he hit the board but was having difficulty finding a more consistent method of winning as has become expected. No more. He is 109 25-27-19 at the meet at last check. He ended the night with two more place finishes, his numbers are now 111 25-29-19; in the money 66% of the time.

Del Mar (California):

• Trainer Peter Miller was the only jockey or trainer with multiple wins today.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

HASKELL INVITATIONAL STAKES

What: Grade I. The winner gets invited to the Breeders' Cup Classic as part of the Win and You're In series.
Where: Monmouth Park Racetrack, Oceanport, NJ
When: Sunday, July 29, 2018
Post Time: 5:45 pm ET, Race 12.
Distance:1 1/8 miles
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $1,000,000
Age: 3-year-olds
History: Inaugurated in 1968, American Pharoah, Lookin at Lucky, Rachel Alexandra, Big Brown, Point Given, Touch Gold, Serena's Song, Holy Bull, War Emblem and many other notable runners have won this race. Bob Baffert has been victorious eight times.
Television: NBC from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm ET.​

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Lone Sailor (KY)	Joe Bravo	118	Thomas M. Amoss	5/1
2	Navy Commander (PA)	Angel S. Arroyo	118	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	12/1
3	Roaming Union (KY)	Albin Jimenez	118	Kelly J. Breen	10/1
4	Core Beliefs (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	Peter Eurton	4/1
5	Bravazo (KY)	Luis Saez	118	D. Wayne Lukas	3/1
6	Good Magic (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Chad C. Brown	6/5
7	Golden Brown (NJ)	Jairo Rendon	118	Patrick B. McBurney	15/1

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[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
Race 1	$36,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	10	12:00 PM
Race 2	$40,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	6 Furlongs	Dirt	7	12:26 PM
Race 3	$40,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	12	12:53 PM
Race 4	$45,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 Furlongs	Dirt	9	1:22 PM
Race 5	$40,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	13	1:54 PM
Race 6	$50,000	Allowance	6 Furlongs	Dirt	11	2:23 PM
Race 7	$100,000	Oceanport S.	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	7	2:56 PM
Race 8	$150,000	Monmouth Cup S.	1 1/8 Miles	Dirt	6	3:28 PM
Race 9	$100,000	WinStar Matchmaker S.	1 1/8 Miles	Turf	8	4:05 PM
Race 10	$100,000	Molly Pitcher S.	1 1/16 Miles	Dirt	8	4:36 PM
Race 11	$75,000	Wolf Hill S.	5 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	12	5:12 PM
Race 12	$1,000,000	betfair.com Haskell Invitational S.	1 1/8 Miles	Dirt	7	5:45 PM
Race 13	$50,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	12	6:20 PM
Race 14	$18,000	Claiming	6 Furlongs	Dirt	8	6:48 PM

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

BING CROSBY STAKES

What: Grade I. The winner gets invited to the Breeders' Cup Sprint as part of the Win and You're In series.
Where: Del Mar Racetrack, Del Mar, CA
When: Saturday, July 28, 2018
Post Time: 6:00 pm PT, Race 9.
Distance: 6 furlongs
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $300,000
Age: 3-year-olds and up
History: Inaugurated in 1946.
Television: TVG​

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer
1	Annie's Candy (KY)	Evin A. Roman	119	Ari Herbertson
2	American Pastime (KY)	Corey S. Nakatani	119	Robert B. Hess, Jr.
3	Roy H (KY)	Kent J. Desormeaux	121	Peter Miller
4	American Anthem (KY)	Mike E. Smith	121	Bob Baffert
5	Ransom the Moon (ON)	Flavien Prat	121	Philip D'Amato
6	Tribal Storm (CA)	Irving Orozco	119	Ari Herbertson
7	Stone Hands (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	119	Doug F. O'Neill
8	St. Joe Bay (FL)	Tyler Baze	119	John W. Sadler
9	Edwards Going Left (CA)	Drayden Van Dyke	119	John W. Sadler
10	Touching Rainbows (CA)	Gary L. Stevens	119	Philip D'Amato
11	Stallwalkin' Dude (FL)	Martin A. Pedroza	119	David Jacobson

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Johnny V. has a recent history of getting the benefit of the doubt from NYRA. He is a skilled rider and has an internal clock that is as good as any rider. He gets exceptionally talented horses and rides for top trainers such as Todd Pletcher for a reason. Yesterday's decision in the finale did not sit well with many handicappers even those who didn't have a dog in the fight. I made some feelings known in the above daily review. The article below was written in the DRF and sentiments preceded and followed it. The article written by Mike Watchmaker:

My opinionated comments on the unjustifiable dq in Saratoga's 10th race

This needs to go on the record.

The disqualification in Saratoga's 10th and final race today of first place finisher Super Simple for alleged interference with runner-up Guacamole was, frankly, a shocking and indefensible call by the NYRA stewards.

Head on video shots showed Super Simple barely coming out late in the stretch drive and barely brushing Guacamole, and that was only because the badly tiring pacesetter was drifting out, leaving Super Simple no other option but to take the course she did.

In a vacuum, the disqualification of Super Simple would have been an extremely controversial call that would have been extremely difficult to defend.

However, these matters do not take place in a vacuum. In today's fifth race at Saratoga, Brimstone drifted out five, six or seven paths through the stretch run (depending on your definition on what a path is), herding Top of the Page. Top of the Page was challenging for the lead at the time he was carried out by Brimstone, but his efforts fell short and he eventually and narrowly lost second money.

The NYRA stewards let the result in the fifth race stand. That was controversial enough, but it wound up making their decision in the 10th race all the more mystifying.

These decisions - allowing the more egregious infraction in the fifth race stand, yet disqualifying the far weaker incident in the 10th race - are the definition of stewards's inconsistency, which is more than merely maddening to the horseplayer, the game's most critical customer base.

As a horseplayer myself, radically inconsistent decisions from the stewards's stand like this one make me question whether I'm getting a fair shake battling a game that is tough enough as it is. Imagine how less inveterate horseplayers than I feel.

Stuff like this can literally drive people right out of the game. And that's bad. Really bad.​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 27, 2018...more to come

Saratoga (New York):

• Luis Saez (3) and Irad Ortiz, Jr. (2), jockeys, and trainer Danny Gargan (2) each won multiple times.
• Leader board for jockeys: Luis Saez (9), Javier Castellano (9), Irad Ortiz, Jr. (8) and John Velazquez (8). At the other end of the spectrum, figuratively, Jose Ortiz is 42 3-4-6. That is beyond comprehension.
• Leader board for trainers: Chad Brown (8) and Todd Pletcher (6).
• Race 9: Hofburg (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Bill Mott) won as expected and cruised to victory at 1-to-5 in the $100,000 feature race. Basically a tune up for the Travers Stakes.

​

• Race 3: Heavy rains preceded the start. Following the race, many additional scratches were announced for the balance of the card.
• Race 1: Ricardo Santana, Jr. won the opener.
• Over $13,000,000 was wagered on the card.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Jorge Navarro won with both his starters. The trainer's record at all tracks -- mostly Monmouth -- since July 15 is a remarkable 20 11-5-2.
• Trevor McCarthy won three times.
• Race 1: A victory for a 1-to-9 shot.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 10: Lacey Gaudet, with her only starter, was sent off the prohibitive favorite and won in a romp. She won the opener yesterday and the finale today, her only two horses who ran.
• Race 3: A lengthy inquiry resulted in no change to the original order of finish.

Belterra (Ohio):

• Race 2: Yuri Yaranga, who was 3-for-125 at the meet, won and helped create a double worth $346.

Ellis Park (Kentucky):

• Race 3: The $1 tri was over $2,500. Corey Lanerie topped the ticket.
• Race 4: Corey Lanerie won again.
• Race 8: Calvin Borel won.

Prairie Meadows (Iowa):

• Ramon Vazquez, who won three times, and Karl Broberg teamed to win two of three starts. Broberg is the leading trainer in North America with 325 wins, 101 more than second place Steve Asmussen. Broberg has led North American trainers in wins in every year from 2014-2017.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 10: The $.20 Pick 6 Jackpot paid $12,000 to all winners. The carryover for tomorrow's card will exceed a half million dollars. The $.50 tri was over $1,000. The 3rd to last place finisher went off at 205-to-1.
• Race 6: The Duke of Miami won but what caught attention was a 90-to-1 bomber ridden by jockey Janio Cruz who finished second. Not only the odds made news but it was the rider's first start since 2012. The place finisher paid $72.40/$23,40.
• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 was over $70,000.
• Miguel Vasquez was the only jockey to repeat with wins today. He is third at the meet in total victories. No trainer won more than once.

Del Mar (California):

• Giovanni Franco won three times including the opener and finale.
• Race 6: Take the One O One (Joe Talamo/Brian Koriner) won as the favorite in the $150,000 feature race for California breds.
• Mike Smith, who finished off the board in race 6, is 6 1-1-0 in July. Since winning the Triple Crown, he is 22 4-4-4 (18%/55%).
• Each person who won the $2 Pick 6 received over $19,000.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Eurico da Silva began the day with a natural hat trick. He was 7 4-0-1.

Hastings (British Columbia):

• Race 4: The $1 Pick 4 paid over $29,000.
• Only one favorite won during the 7-race card.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

CLEMENT L. HIRSCH STAKES

What: Grade I. The winner gets invited to the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Where: Del Mar Racetrack, Del Mar, CA
When: Sunday, July 29, 2018
Post Time: 4:00 pm PT (Race 5)
Purse: $300,000
Who: 3-years-old and up, fillies and mares
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Surface: Dirt
Television:TVG
History: Inaugurated in 1973, Stellar Wind, Beholder and Zenyatta have won in the last 10 years.​

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer
1	Bernina Star (KY)	Kent J. Desormeaux	119	James M. Cassidy
2	Unique Bella (PA)	Mike E. Smith	123	Jerry Hollendorfer
3	La Force (GER)	Drayden Van Dyke	119	Patrick Gallagher
4	Turkish Tabby (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	119	Jerry Hollendorfer
5	Shenandoah Queen (KY)	Joseph Talamo	119	John W. Sadler
6	Yuvetsi (KY)	Tyler Baze	119	John W. Sadler

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 28, 2018

Saratoga (New York):

• Over $23,000,000 was handled from all-sources.
• Maybe the horse racing gods shined on Ricardo Santana, Jr. today following the controversy in Thursday's finale. He won three times, all for Steve Asmussen.
• Luis Saez won twice, both for Dale Romans, and has now overtaken Javier Castellano for the leading rider at the meet. Saez has 11 wins, one more than Castellano.
• David Cohen won twice, both for Robertino Diodoro. Each win was by more than five lengths.
• John Velazquez has dropped his last nine starts since being put up in the controversial decision on Thursday.
• Jose Ortiz is a shocking 49 3-6-9 at the meet following another winless day.
• Joe Bravo (27%) and Florent Geroux (23%) have the highest winning percentages at the meet based on three wins minimum.
• Race 7: Promises Fulfilled (Luis Saez/Dale Romans) won the $200,000 Grade 3 Amsterdam for three-year-olds.
• Race 8: Imperial Hint (Javier Castllano;Luis Carvajal) romped $350,000 Grade I Vanderbilt for three-year-olds and upward. Castellano eased in the stretch in a fantastic performance that impressed even track announcer Larry Collmus.

​

• Race 9: Channel Maker (Joel Rosario/Bill Mott) and Glorious Empire (Julien Leparoux/James Lawrence) finished in an exciting dead heat in the $250,000 Grade 2 Bowling Green for four-year-olds and upward on turf. Leparoux, who entered the race with zero wins in 19 starts at the meet, had a 3 1/2 length lead in the stretch with his 22-to-1 shot.

​

• Race 10: Tenfold (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen) won the $600,000 Grade 2 Jim Dandy for three-year-olds in what wasn't exactly the prettiest finish on record after drifting. Tenfold was the lightest raced in a short field of five. Vino Rosso, who will forever get that asterisk with the Wood Memorial win from earlier this year, finished third in a field of five.

​

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Trevor McCarthy was 6 3-0-2 today. McCarthy, who won three races for the second consecutive day, is 11 6-0-3 in that period.
• Jorge Navarro won twice in six starts. The trainer's record at all tracks -- mostly Monmouth -- since July 15 is 26 13-6-2. He is 44% winning and 75% in the money at the meet.
• Jason Servis won with both starters. He is 46 23-5-7 (50%/76%) at the meet.

Laurel Park (Maryland):

• Race 5: Still There (Jevian Toldeo/Dane Kobiskie) won comfortably in the $75,000 feature race. The trainer entered the day without having saddled a horse at Laurel since 2015.
• Race 10: If people don't know about Kelly Rubley, they do know. Oft-mentioned in this forum, she is the former school teacher who is a relative newcomer to training. I follow her starters from her limited stable. She has a wonderful mark at the meet -- 24 8-6-2 (33%/67%) -- and sent out a 33-to-1 in her only start of the day. Carteret, ridden by Julian Pimental, was a $69.40 winner!
• Race 11: The $.20 Pick 6 Jackpot paid over $26,000. The winning ticket of 1,2,9,10,13/1,3,7/5,6,7,9,10,13,14/1,2,3,4/2,3,4,5,6,7/3,4,8,9,10 cost $2,520 and was purchased through the Lewiston, Maine hub (source: Laurel’s Rainbow 6 Pays Out $26,786 Saturday To Maine Bettor - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report )
• The track was $916 shy of handling $3,000,000.

Ellis Park (Kentucky):

• Steve Asmussen, second winningest trainer this year in North America, failed to win with six starters and has dropped his last 16 starts at this track.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Jonathan Gonzalez won three times.
• Race 11: Bella Vincenza (Luca Panici/Kathleen O'Connell) won the $75,000 feature race. The 4-year-old filly is now 8 5-3-0 in 2018 and won for the 7th time in 25 starts.
• Race 10: Lilli Kurtinecz, a trainer I follow with a small stable, sent out one of her two starters on the day and the horse finished with a furious rush to get third at....130-to-1 in the $60,000 black-type race. Keep an eye on the #1:

Gulfstream Park Race 10 | July 28, 2018​

• Race 6: A 74-to-1 beat a 28-to-1 for third place by mere inches.
• Race 3: Tyler Gaffalione won for the meet leading 19th time. Owners e5 Racing (Edwards family of five) which have been discussed, they own Good Magic and others.
• Race 1: The win was by more than 10 lengths.
• The $.20 Pick Six Jackpot will carryover to Sunday's card in excess of $550,000.

Canterbury (Minnesota):

• Ry Eikleberry, who is approaching 2,000 career wins, had four victories tonight.

Emerald Downs (Washington):

• Race 8: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $14,000.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 1: Chasing Yesterday (Mike Smith/Bob Baffert), the half-sister to American Pharoah, made her debut and prevailed with all eyes upon her. She won at 1-to-5.

Del Mar Racetrack on Twitter​

• Race 7: When Picks of the Day win and pay $11.20, that is rewarding. When Picks of the Day win and break track records, that is exceptional! It happened here with Fly to Mars (Flavien Prat/Peter Miller) who $150,000 California Dreamin'. Fly to Mars ran 1 1/16 miles on turf in 1:39.50. Think about that for a moment. The former record was 1:39.52 by Sidney's Candy in August 2010

Del Mar Racetrack on Twitter​

• Race 9: Ransom the Moon (Flavien Prat/Phil D'Amato) received an invitation to the Breeders' Cup after winning the 73rd running of the $300,000 Grade I Bing Crosby. Prat won the race for the 4th straight time, second time with this 6-year-old horse who is now 24 6-7-1. Prat won this stakes race for a fourth consecutive time. The only other riders to have won four consecutive stakes races in track history are Bill Shoemaker and Chris McCarron, the latter who did it three times.

Del Mar Racetrack on Twitter​

• Race 10: The $2 Pick 6 paid over $73,000.
• The track handle neared $19,000,000.
• Peter Miller won three times. The trainer is 7-1-0 with his last 12 starters and leads all trainers with 10 wins at the meet. Jerry Hollendorfer is second with eight.
• Flavien Prat leads all jockeys with 10 wins at the meet. Drayden Van Dyke is second with eight.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Eurico Da Silva won four times. He finished 7 4-2-0 this day. The last two days, he is 14 8-2-1.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

GOOD MAGIC wins Haskell

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 29, 2018.

Saratoga (New York):

• John Velazquez, Irad Ortiz, Jr. (jockeys), Bill Mott and Michael Maker (trainers) each won twice. Mott won on his birthday for the 17th time in the last 24 years and that includes dark days.
• Race 10: The $2 Pick 6 in the finale paid $16,000+ to all winners. The 2nd highest price in a field of 12 came in second place at 48-to-1.
• Race 9: Farrell (Channing Hill/Wayne Catalano) improved to 17 8-2-0 and became a $1,000,000+ earner after winning the $200,000 Grade 3 Shuvee. Hill is the son-in-law to Catalano. I don't know how many times either has won at the Spa but it can't be too many. They are based in the Midwest. The win is a professional enhancer to both. The field was reduced to four runners after a scratch at the gate.

​

• Race 1: Ricardo Santana, Jr. won the opener for the third straight day. He rode for seven trainers.
• Chad Brown was 6 0-1-1 and Todd Pletcher 3 0-0-0. The top trainers at the meet were 9 0-1-1.
• Favorites won just three times. Three straight winners, mid-card, were sent off at double digit odds.
• The track handled over $16,000,000.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• It was a battle of top riders: Jose Ortiz (4), Joe Bravo (3) and Paco Lopez (3) won 10 of the 14 races in the extensive card.

Jose Ortiz won races 8, 9, 11 and 12. Ortiz won more times today than the entire meet at Saratoga to date. Ortiz was 9 4-1-1 today. At one point into the card, he had lost 26 straight races. He is the defending Eclipse Award winner for Jockey of the Year. On Tuesday, it was announced that Ortiz was named Jockey of the Week in North America.
Joe Bravo won races 3, 7 and 10. Bravo was 7 3-3-0 today.
Paco Lopez won races 1, 2 and 5. Lopez finished 7 3-0-1 today. Lopez is one of two riders (Jose Ferrer also) with 40+ wins at the meet.​

• Race 1: Paco Lopez topped a $1 super that paid over $6,000.
• Race 7: Synchrony (Joe Bravo/Michael Stidham) won as the favorite in the $100,000 Grade 3 Oceanport Stakes. Bravo hugged the rail and with a driving ride in the stretch won at 3-to-5. The 5-year-old horse is 5 3-0-2 under Bravo this year.
• Race 8: Name Changer (Jose Ortiz/Alan Goldberg) won the $150,000 Grade 3 Monmouth Cup. The 5-year-old horse won for the 7th time in his 15th race. Runner up Zanotti is 6-8-0 in his last 15 starts. Page McKenney, one of horse racing's best stories of the last few years, finished third and the 8-year-old former claimer is now 58 22-16-5.
• Race 9: Elysea's World (Jose Ortiz/Chad Brown), rallied wide and finished with a late surge in winning the $100,000 Grade 3 Matchmaker Stakes. The 5-year-old Irish-bred mare won for the 5th time in her 20th start. the finish of the race was an exciting battle between Ortiz and Joe Bravo. Chad Brown trained both horses.
• Race 10: Berned (Joe Bravo/Graham Motion) won the $100,000 Grade 3 Molly Pitcher.

MONMOUTH PARK 7-29-18 RACE 10 - THE MOLLY PITCHER​

• Race 11: Imprimis (Jose Ortiz/Joseph Orseno) won the $75,000 non-graded stakes race. The 4-year-old Florida-bred won for the 4th time in five starts and came in off his lone defeat.
• Race 12: Good Magic (Jose Ortiz/Chad Brown) won the Haskell and advances to the Breeders' Cup Classic. Good Magic is 8 3-3-1 and has earned over $2.9 million.

​

• Chad Brown was 7 4-1-0. He won both graded stakes races in which he entered. He is 43 16-10-7 (37%/77%) at the meet.
• Jorge Navarro was a miserable 6 0-1-0 today. He is the leading trainer at the meet at 120 50-15-21 (42%/72%).
• Jason Servis was 4 1-1-1. He is 50 24-6-8 (48%/76%) at the meet.
• The track handled over $13,300,000, the highest since 2015.. Attendance was 37,186, the second highest since 2011. It is the second highest Haskell attendance since 2011 (60,983 in 2015, American Pharoah).

Laurel (Maryland):

• Six of the nine races were won by favorites.
• Jevian Toledo won three times.
• Dane Kobiskie, who hadn't saddled in Laurel since 2015 prior to yesterday, won twice. He went 5 3-1-0 the last two days.
• Race 6: Yesterday it was a bomb, today it was a 4-to-5 favorite and Kelly Rubley prevailed again.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• The combo of Erik Barbaran/Jay Bernardini won two of three and are 4-1-0 in their last six starts together.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Jena Antonucci had the rare double win as a trainer in the first two races and then had the rest of the day off. Antonucci has nine wins in all of 2018.
• Tyler Gaffalione had just two rides and became the first rider at the meet to reach 20 wins when he was victorious in the 10th.

Ellis Park (Kentucky):

• Calvin Borel, Brian Hernandez, Jr. and the team of Corey Lanerie/Steve Asmussen won twice

Emerald Downs (Washington):

• Rocco Bowen, the meet's leading rider, won four times.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 5: Unique Bella (Mike Smith/Jerry Hollendrofer) won the $300,000 Grade I Clement Hirsch and received a ticket to the Breeders' Cup Distaff. She is now 12 9-2-0 and has earned over $1.2 million. With the exception of her horrible outing in last year's Breeders Cup, she has never been worse than second place. Smith fought off a determined challenger for the victory.

​

• Race 6: Roadster (Mike Smith/Bob Baffert) won his debut race. He was sent off as the 4-to-5 favorite. A 61-to-1 bomb, ninth of 10 in odds, came in second. The sire of the winner is Quality Road who won many graded stakes races including the Donn, Woodward, Florida Derby and Met Mile.

Del Mar Racetrack on Twitter​

• The track handled over $16 million.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Pink Lloyd (Eurico Da Silva/Robert Tiller) returned to the winner's circle in the $125,000 Grade 3 Vigil Stakes. He entered after having an 11-race win streak stopped in his most recent outing. Pink Lloyd is 18 15-1-1.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

July 30, 2018

Saratoga (New York):

• Track handled over $12,000,000 for a Monday card.
• Race 10: Following the finale, the $2 Pick 6 paid out over $57,000 to all winners.
• Race 9: Jose Ortiz, who won four times yesterday at Monmouth (NJ), broke his New York losing streak at 23. His last prior win was July 23 in race 8. That is unimaginable even for the talent at the Spa. That said, he has won 5 of his last 16 rides (both Monmouth and Saratoga included).
• Race 7: Broadway Run (Luis Saez/John Terranova) won the $100,000 Coronation Cup at 5-to-1. The cold favorite in the 10-horse field finished sixth at 7-to-2.
• Race 2: Ricardo Santana, Jr. won the opener (hurdles are excluded) for the fourth straight card.
• Race 1: A $175,000 for hurdles and the 2nd highest set of odds on the board, at 14-to-1, was victorious.
• Luis Saez (13), Irad Ortiz, Jr. (12) and John Velazquez (10), Javier Castellano (10) and Ricardo Santana, Jr. (10) are the five winningest riders at the meet. Only Santana is not a regular rider at New York though he is at the Spa. The others do the Florida-New York drill.
• Ricardo Santana Jr./Steve Asmussen teamed for two more wins. Luis Saez also rode two winners.

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Trainer Michael Pino won three times with four starters. He is one of four trainers with 30+ wins at the meet.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Trevor McCarthy won two of his three rides. McCarthy is 15 5-3-4 his last three days of riding (two at Monmouth).
• Race 7: Dr. Blarney (Tammi Piermarini/Karl Grusmark) won for the 15th time in 21 starts including a perfect 4-for-4 in 2018. Dr. Blarney is one of the few Massachusetts-breds still running and even rarer one of success. Piermarini is one of the most successful Mass-born jockeys of all-time. She is in her 50s and rides mostly, sparingly, at Finger Lakes (New York). Look for her this upcoming weekend at Suffolk Downs (Massachusetts) in what could be the final weekend of racing at the short boutique meet.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Race 2: The longest shot on the board at 73-to-1 paid $149.60 for the win.
• Erik Barbaran won three times, each for a different trainer. He has won three or more races on four straight cards, a fantastic achievement. In his last 29 rides, Barbaran is 13-5-3 (45%/72%).

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

With the imminent demise of Suffolk Downs (Boston), there is an opening in the state. Ultimately, like almost any other state, sports betting is something potential track operators see as prosperous. The Stronach group has done wonders in Maryland and of course dominate the sport in California and Florida. This is a different setting but a clean parcel can be intriguing to the most successful artist. The breeding industry in Massachusetts is nil but that can change. Tim Ritvo is from the area and that could be a plus.

------------------------------------------

A few months back, Bill Lagorio, president of the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, contacted the Capital Group to ask whether it would consider having a one-mile thoroughbred racetrack as part of the development. Also discussed was the possibility of teaming up with The Stronach Group, one of the world’s leading horse racetrack owners and operators.

Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer, racing division, for The Stronach Group, gave an overview of their horse racing and breeding facilities throughout the country, as well as the Massachusetts thoroughbred racing industry.

For the Lancaster project, Stronach Group would need a special state legislative process.

Mr. Ritvo said the Stronach Group contributes $4 million combined in annual tax revenue to the communities its racetracks are in, and also helps fund police and fire services and pays state taxes.

In addition, “thousands of thousands of jobs” are created at the Stronach Group-owned facilities, Mr. Ritvo said.

Calling it a “great opportunity” for the town of Lancaster, Mr. Ritvo said Stronach Group is proposing 30 days of racing during an eight- to 10-week run. If successful, racing might be extended to 45 to 60 days.​

Lancaster hears pitch for horse racetrack

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

M O U N T A I N E E R
W E S T V I R G I N I A​

In addition to the obvious choices, Mountaineer in West Virginia has its signature race card this Saturday highlighted by the West Virginia Derby. Entries were posted well in anticipation.

The Whitney (Saratoga, NY), which should be revealed by Wednesday, will be on NBC with a broadcast window that begins at 5:00 pm ET Saturday.

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (ET)
Race 1	$25,100	Allowance	6 Furlongs	Dirt	7	2:00 PM
Race 2	$75,000	West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker's Cup S.	1 Mile 70 Yards	Turf	9	2:25 PM
Race 3	$75,000	West Virginia Secretary of State S.	6 Furlongs	Dirt	8	2:55 PM
Race 4	$75,000	West Virginia Legislature Chairman's Cup S.	4 1/2 Furlongs	Dirt	9	3:25 PM
Race 5	$75,000	West Virginia Senate President's Cup S.	1 Mile 70 Yards	Turf	9	3:55 PM
Race 6	$75,000	Senator Robert C. Byrd Memorial S.	6 Furlongs	Dirt	11	4:25 PM
Race 7	$200,000	West Virginia Governor's S.	1 1/16 Miles	Dirt	9	4:55 PM
Race 8	$500,000	West Virginia Derby	1 1/8 Miles	Dirt	9	5:35 PM
Race 9	$25,100	Allowance	6 Furlongs	Dirt	7	6:00 PM

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[TBODY][TR][TH]WEST VIRGINIA DERBY

What: Grade III.
Where: Mountaineer Casino Racetrack, New Cumberland, WV
When: Saturday, August 4, 2018,
Post Time: 5:35 pm ET (Race 8)
Purse: $500,000
Who: 3-years-old
Distance: 1 1/8 miles
Surface: Dirt
Television: TVG
History: Inaugurated in 1923.
Preview: Baffert aims for fourth West Virginia Derby with Once On Whiskey - Brisnet
​

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Lionite (KY)	David Cabrera	118	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1
2	Draft Pick (KY)	Joseph Talamo	120	Peter Eurton	3/1
3	Caloric (KY)	Ricardo Mejias	118	Odin J. Londono, Jr.	50/1
4	King Cause (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	Doug F. O'Neill	15/1
5	Once On Whiskey (KY)	Flavien Prat	120	Bob Baffert	5/2
6	Rugbyman (KY)	Jorge A. Vargas, Jr.	118	H. Graham Motion	8/1
7	Pamir (KY)	Luis M. Quinones	118	Pavel Vashchenko	30/1
8	Mr Freeze (KY)	Robby Albarado	118	Dale L. Romans	9/2
9	High North (KY)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	4/1

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The full card for Saturday's Saratoga card should be revealed today. Until that is published, here is the Whitney which is a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" race.

The Whitney
What: A 1 ⅛-mile race for 3-year-olds and up on the main track.
When: Saturday.
TV: NBCSN, 5-6 p.m.

PP Horse; Jockey; Trainer; Odds
1 Tapwrit; J.Velazquez; T.Pletcher; 6-1
2 Backyard Heaven; J.Castellano; C.Brown; 9-2
3 Dalmore; R.Santana; R.Hess; 30-1
4 Mind Your Biscuits; J.Rosario; C.Summers; 2-1
5 Discreet Lover; M.Franco; U.St. Lewis; 30-1
6 Diversify; I.Ortiz; R.Violette; 7-5
7 Good Samaritan; J.Ortiz; W.Mott; 12-1
8 McCraken ;B.Hernandez; I.Wilkes; 15-1

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

August 1, 2018

Saratoga (New York):

• Trainer Steve Asmussen won both of his starts. He has won his last four races at the Spa, a difficult task. He is 7-0-0 in his last 12 races at Saratoga. At the meet, Asmussen is a prodigious 27 10-5-3 (37%/67%).
• Luis Saez won once and leads the meet among all riders with 14 wins.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr., who won once, is second with 13 wins.
• Javier Castellano won twice and has 12 victories. One of his visits to the winner's circle was for Chad Brown, the leading trainer in wins at the meet, in the $100,000 feature race.
• The track handled over $13,000,000.

Del Mar (California):

• The $2 Pick 6 paid out over $13,000.
• Race 7: Naughty Tiger (Ruben Fuentes/Edward Freeman) won the $100,000 feature for Cal breds. The rider has 63 lifetime wins and this was his first stakes victory.

Goodwood Racecourse (West Sussex, England):

• Lightning Spear will advance to the Breeders' Cup Mile, Grade I turf.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

WHITNEY STAKES

What: Grade I. The winner gets invited to the Breeders' Cup Classic. A very significant mid-summer race.
Where: Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, NY
When: Saturday, August 4, 2018
Post Time: 5:46 pm ET (Race 9)
Purse: $1,200,000
Who: 3-years-old and up
Distance: 1 1/8 miles
Surface: Dirt
Television: NBCSN beginning at 5:00 pm ET
History: First run in 1928, the dazzling Gun Runner won this race last year. Among the historical winners are Dr. Fager, Kelso, Alydar, Easy Goer, Tom Fool, Carry Back, Stymie and Blame among other true greats.
Note: As recently as July 16, the only horse besides Justify to get a first place vote in the recent NTRA poll for best North American horse was Mind Your Biscuits.​

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Tapwrit (KY)	John R. Velazquez	124	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
2	Backyard Heaven (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	Chad C. Brown	9/2
3	Dalmore (FL)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	117	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	30/1
4	Mind Your Biscuits (NY)	Joel Rosario	117	Chad Summers	2/1
5	Discreet Lover (FL)	Manuel Franco	119	Uriah St. Lewis	30/1
6	Diversify (NY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	124	Richard A. Violette, Jr.	7/5
7	Good Samaritan (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	121	William I. Mott	12/1
8	McCraken (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	117	Ian R. Wilkes	15/1

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Saratoga's full card is below. The NBCSN broadcast lasts an hour beginning at 5:00 pm ET. Fox Sports 2 has coverage from 1:30 pm until 5:00 pm ET.

Whitney Day, one of the centerpieces of the 2018 meet at Saratoga Race Course, will see 4 ½ hours of live coverage across NBC Sports and FS2 on Saturday. The coverage will kick off on FS2 at 1:30 p.m. ET with a special, expanded edition of Saratoga Live. NBCSN will then air the Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney and the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test as part of a national broadcast from 5-6 p.m. Source: PaulickReport:​

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
Race 1	$92,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	12	1:00 PM
Race 2	$85,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	16	1:35 PM
Race 3	$45,000	Maiden Claiming	6 Furlongs	Dirt	10	2:10 PM
Race 4	$77,000	Allowance	5 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	11	2:46 PM
Race 5	$100,000	Fasig-Tipton De La Rose S.	1 Mile	Turf	9	3:22 PM
Race 6	$85,000	Maiden Special Weight	7 Furlongs	Dirt	8	3:58 PM
Race 7	$85,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 Furlongs	Dirt	11	4:34 PM
Race 8	$500,000	Longines Test S.	7 Furlongs	Dirt	9	5:10 PM
Race 9	$1,200,000	Whitney S.	1 1/8 Miles	Dirt	8	5:46 PM
Race 10	$200,000	Fasig-Tipton Waya S.	1 1/2 Miles	Turf	8	6:22 PM
Race 11	$100,000	Fasig-Tipton Lure S.	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	10	6:56 PM

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

August 2, 2018

Saratoga (New York):

• Race 1: Philly connections won the opener.
• Race 2: Dale Beckner, rider, had one start (2017) since 2012. He was Apprentice of the Year in 1994. I haven't seen his name too often in recent years.
• Race 4: The $100,000 feature race was the rare distance of 1 3/4 miles (14 furlongs) and won by...Velazquez? one of the Ortizes? Castellano? Saez? Rosario? Keep goin;. Lezcano, Geroux, Leparoux, Franco, Alvarado? Nope. Try Chris Landeros who rode without goggles and won a stakes race at the Spa for the first time. He rode for his father-in-law Ian Wilkes. The field was reduced to four runners, not exactly the Spa's best moment, but Big Dollar Bill (Chris Landeros/Ian Wilkes) won at 5-to-1 rallying from last place in the early stages. Hard Study, under John Velazquez, was sent off at 1-to-5 but upset. What else would you expect in a race named for Birdstone but a mild surprise.

• Race 8: Dream Pauline (Javier Castellano/Kiaran McLaughlin) is 2-for-2 lifetime. The 3-year-old filly won her debut eight months ago. Not bad.
• Manny Franco and Javier Castellano (jockeys) and Shug McGaughey (trainer) won twice apiece. The trainer has over 2,000 career wins but two victories on a New York card...I am not sure the last time that happened. He has three wins in 12 starts this meet.
• The leader board among jockeys: Luis Saez (14), Javier Castellano (14) and Irad Ortiz, Jr. (13).
• The leader board among trainers: Chad Brown (12) and Steve Asmussen (10).
• The track handled over $13,000,000.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Race 4: Won by a 30-to- 1 shot. The runner up was DQ'd to eighth place.
• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $15,000. The #4 was declared a non-starter. Trainer Jorge Navarro ended an 8-race Monmouth losing streak which for him this meet is a skid of epic proportions.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Race 4: The top three finishers were 43-1, 7-1, and 72-1. The $.50 tri was over $6,000. The $2 exacta was $1,063. The win paid $88.20.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 4: Weston Hamilton, one of the top bugs in North America, went gate-to-wire on a 1-to-9 shot. He had his first of consecutive wins.
• Race 7: The appropriately named Justa Scoch won a by a hair or officially "a nose."

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 6: Luca!!! Luca Panici delivered with an $84.20 winner which topped an exacta that returned over $239 with Tyler Gaffalione in second place. Bondetti, a first time starter sired by Biondetti and trained by Barry Croft, who is an impressive 5 3-1-1 at the meet, was ridden ideally. Good job by Luca.

​

• Race 7: A thrilling finish:

​

• Race 9: The $.20 Pick 6 Jackpot paid out over $29,000. The $.50 Pick 5 paid out over $18,000. The $.50 Pick 4 paid out over $3,400.
• Romero Maragh, a 7-pound bug, won twice.
• The track handled over $4.5 million.
• The $.20 Rainbow 6 will start in excess of $627,000.

Prairie Meadows (Iowa):

• Race 9: The $.50 Pick 5 Jackpot came tumblin' down with a $344,955.70 winning ticket.

Del Mar (California):

• The track handled over $9 million.
• Races 2 and 3: Asa Espinoza, who may be the top bug rider in North America at this point, won consecutive races.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

August 3, 2018

Saratoga (New York):

• Race 9: Raging Bull (Joel Rosario/Chad Brown), a French-bred, improved to 4 3-1-0 lifetime with a dynamic rush to the wire in the $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes . Brown won the race for the fifth time including the last four years. What Rosario did here only a few riders in North America could achieve and that includes catching Irad Ortiz, Jr. at the wire. It takes skill but this was the physical characteristic of strength that was the primary factor. Just follow the #4 the entire race. As impressive a race by a rider I have seen all summer. Jake LaMotta would be proud.

​

• Gary Contessa was 0-for-26 at the meet prior to this win. The trainer had a good day going 3 1-1-1.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr. won three times and nearly a fourth in the feature race. He leads the meet with 16 wins. Luis Saez (15) and Javier Castellano (14) follow.
• Jose Ortiz, by my count, is 4-13-12 in his last 50 rides at Saratoga. He is the defending Jockey of the Week for his one-day work at Monmouth; however, his Spa numbers are subpar for a rider of his skill and the horses he generally gets.
• Joe Bravo has been non-existent this week at the Spa. Since hitting the board twice on July 26, he has failed to make the top three in his six most recent rides at Saratoga with two fifths his best outings.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Trevor McCarthy rode three winners. He was 5 3-0-1 today. He has won 11 of his last 29 mounts.
• Jason Servis won with his only starter on the card. The trainer is 53 25-6-8 (47%/74%) at the meet.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 9: Angelinthemorning (Ashley Castrenze/Claudio Gonzlaez) was the victor. Gonzalez won three times today with five starters. He leads the meet with 20 victories, eight more than the next highest. Anytime Castrenze wins, angels smile. It was her 90th lifetime win, 6th this year and first at the meet.
• Race 8: Unbridled Juan continues to tease and tantalize. The Ontario-bred is now 23 5-7-8 after this victory. He hit the board in his first 17 starts ad now 20 of 23 lifetime but at one point he seemed to shun from wins. Not today. Edgar Prado won for the 7,011th time.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 9: There were five horses singled in the finale which generally means the chances off the Rainbow Six being hit are enhanced. That happened today. One person collected $734,403. The winning ticket – 3,5-6/1,9-10/1-2,4,7/6-8/2,5,8/2,4-5,7-10 – was played in Las Vegas for $453.60. The S.50 Pick 5 paid over $10,000
• Race 9, part II: I thought this to be among the most peculiar entries in quite some time. I noticed the names of Sarah Nagle and Natalie Fawkes as trainers, neither with a record for 2018. They finished 1-2. Nagle won the second time in 19 lifetime starts and first victory since 2011. Fawkes had a horse in her name for the first time...ever. The prior trainers in each case were Reid Nagle and David Fawkes (relatives likely, perhaps spouses).

​

Canterbury (Minnesota):

• Races 1 through 5 were held but 6 through 10 were canceled due to lightning in the area.

Del Mar (California):

• Heriberto Figueroa, an apprentice, was a perfect 3-for-3. He enters Saturday with four straight wins.
• Peter Miller, who won twice, leads all trainers with 13 wins at the meet.
• Doug O'Neill won twice and now has nine wins at the meet for third best. His win in the opener was his first victory since July 21.
• Race 8: The $1 Pick 5 paid out over $61,000.
• Race 7: In the $75,000 feature, Go On Mary (Rafael Bejarano/Doug O'Neill) pulled an upset at 10-to-1.
• One bettor in Maryland nailed the Pick 6 for $561,865.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wet weather continues to plague the Saratoga meet.

So far, the following changes gave been announced at the Spa which likely means reduced fields:



That said, Gulfstream (FL) has a good card involving Florida breds and Suffolk Downs (MA) should have deep fields in what is the final weekend of scheduled racing though they likely will add two dates in September). Weather for Laurel (MD), Delaware (DE), Philly (PA), Monmouth (NJ) and others and associated changes have yet to be identified. Mountaineer (WV) info is in post #43. Saratoga's (NY) card is in post #46.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

August 4, 2018

Suffolk Downs (Massachusetts):

• Weather played with some of the card.
• Dylan Davis visited from New York and won four times in 9 starts. He was 9 4-1-1 and won aboard three favorites.
• Race 10: The lone scheduled turf race which remained on the surface was the $100,000 Jill Jellison Memorial Dash named for the legendary local rider who passed away in 2015 with cancer. Winning trainer Joe Sharp had two entered in the race and while the favorite faltered the other runner Fiesta (ridden by Luis Ocasio) was the victor.
• The team of Erik Barbaran and Jay Bernardini won two of the four races in which they were entered.
• A non-betting exhibition race opened the day.

Saratoga (New York):

• Weather played with most of the card and a couple of races were canceled.
• Races 10 and 11, both stakes races on turf, were canceled prior to the opening post due to weather conditions. The Grade 3 Waya (race 10 today) will be run August 12 and the Lure (race 11 today) will run on August 11.
• Race 9: Diversify (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Richard Violette), sent off as the favorite, won the $1,200,000 Whitney Stakes by more than three lengths and received an automatic invitation to the Breeders' Cup Classic. The 5-year-old gelding has earned close to $2,000,000 ($1.95m) with today's victory and is 15 10-2-0 lifetime including 13 10-2-0 lifetime at the three major track in New York state. Mind Your Biscuits finished second and is now 23 7-10-3 lifetime. The two New York breds in the race finished 1st and 2nd and were sent off as the shortest prices. The race was delayed due to heavy rain and reports of lightning in the area. Diversify received a 110 Beyer.

​

• Race 8: Separationofpowers (Jose Ortiz/Chad Brown), sent off as the favorite, won the $500,000 Test Stakes by a neck. An entertaining race.

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• Race 5: Uni (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Chad Brown) won the $100,000 De La Rose Stakes by a head.

Uni - 2018 - The Fasig Tipton De La Rose Stakes​

• Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Junior Alvarado each rode two winners.
• Junior Alvarado won the first two races on the card and in each John Velazquez followed. Alvarado was second to David Cohen in the third. Those were his only three starts this day.
• John Velazquez 8 0-2-0 and Javier Castellano 7 0-3-0 had forgettable days.
• Javier Castellano/Chad Brown teamed for an unimpressive 6 0-3-0.
• Bill Mott, Kiaran McLaughlin and Chad Brown each saddled two winners. The first two listed entered three horses, Brown had nine.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr.. (18 wins), Luis Saez (16) and Javier Catellano (14) are the three winningest riders at the meet.
• Chad Brown (10 wins), Steve Asmussen (10), Bill Mott (9) and Todd Pletcher (8) are the four winningest trainers at the meet.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Jorge Navarro, who trained one winner today, is 130 54-17-23 (42%/72%) at the meet.
• Jason Servis, who trained two winners today, is 56 27-7-8 (48%/75%) at the meet.
• Trevor McCarthy won consecutive races late in the day, It was the fourth time in the last six cards he won multiple races. He is 32 10-7-6 in that time.

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Bronx Beauty (Frankie Pennington/Anthony Margotta) won the inaugural Jose Flores Memorial Stakes. Named after deceased 56-year-old rider who died tragically in a race in March.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 1: Lacey Gaudet, with her only starter, won the opener.
• Races 6 and 7: Restricted to Virginia breds.
• Race 9: Claudio Gonzalez, the meet's leading trainer, won with his first starter of the day. He leads the meet by nine.
• There were four races with purses of $75,000.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Seven races of $75,000 or more.
• Brad Cox was 7 3-2-1. Florent Geroux, who rode all six time for Cox, was 6 3-1-1.
• Race 7: Leofric (Florent Geroux/Brad Cox) won the $200,000 Grade 3 West Virginia's Governor's Cup. Cox finished second with Julian Leparoux riding.
• Race 8: Mr. Freeze (Robby Albarado/Dale Romans) won the $500,000 Grade 3 West Virginia Derby in an old-fashioned whoopin'.

​

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Tyler Gaffalione won three times in 10 starts. He won two of the final three races. Gaffalione has a meet-leading 25 wins.
• Race 1: A 10-to-1 defeated a 50-to-1. The $1 super paid over $13,000. Not a bad way to open a card.
• Race 11: Tyler Gaffalione-Elizabeth Dobles won with a 5-to-1 starter that was in the 11 post in a 5 1/2 furlong race. Not impossible but a difficult task to be in the far outside at Gulfstream in a short race. Perfectly done by the rider. It was the trainer's first win since May 31, but she has sent out only 13 starters in between victories.
• Race 12: Cajun Firecracker (Miguel Vazquez/Michael Yates) won the $100,000 Dr. Fager Florida Sire Stakes for two-year-old males at 7-to-1. Cajun Breeze, who sired the winner and had his first black-type winner ever, never won a black-type race in 33 career starts. Yates trained the sire as well as the winner in this race. The unofficial runner-up was DQ'd to third which led to a healthy $1 exacta of $169.70 for anyone who cashed.
• Race 13: Capture Your Dream (Tyler Gaffalione/Mark Casse) was sent off the 3-to-5 favorite in a deep field and delivered in a race for 2-year-old females, the $100,000 Desert Vixen Florida Sire Stakes. Sired by Uncaptured whom I have mentioned a couple of times as a sire to watch. Casse has a potential star in the making and he also trained the sire. Keep an eye on this girl; she is 2-for-2 and won her debut by more than 10 lengths.
• Todd Pletcher managed to hit the board just twice 6 1-0-1. He was also 0-for-5 at Saratoga for a total of 11 1-1-1. A substandard day for him.

Del Mar (California):

• Race 4: Tap the Wire (Drayden Van Dyke/Daniel Dunham) won the $100,000 Graduation Stakes. The Cal-bred 2-year-old colt is 2-for-2 lifetime. The trainer has 60 lifetime wins. His stable was adversely affected by the San Luis Obispo fires last year.
• Race 8: Cambodia (Drayden Van Dyke/Thomas Proctor) won the $200,000 Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap as the favorite. The 6-year-old mare is 18 7-0-6 lifetime. Mike Smith finished last in a field of 11, sent off at 10-to-1.
• Race 10: Hopefully the injuries to Corey Nakatani and Giovanni Franco are not too severe.
• Drayden Van Dyke was 8 3-1-2. Tyler Baze was 8 3-0-0. The riders are second (13) and third (12) at the meet, respectively, in wins behind Flavien Prat's 14. They combined to win six of the nine races.
• Joe Bravo went west for two races. He has had a terrible August with a mark of 7 0-0-0.
• The track handled nearly $17,000,000.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Gary Boulanger had the natural hat trick beginning in race 3. He finished 6 3-0-0.
• Race 7: Breathtaking (Eurico Da Silva/Michael Doyle) won the $125,000 feature as the prohibitive favorite.