Horse Racing:Weekend highlights: Franco wins 7x on Sat.; I. Ortiz wins 5x on Sun.; Ky. Downs handled $34 million total; Baffert wins two Grade I at Del Mar
Seize the Grey retains favorite status at 7-2 heading into the Belmont or as it is nicknamed Beltoga Stakes..... Mystik Dan remains third choice entering the weekend;
Frank Stronach news just breaking. Another of these stories in which the legal process will play out.
Saratoga (New York):
Day Two: Four-day meet from June 6-9.
Card: 12 races of which four were graded stakes.
Handle: $38.5 million bringing the total for the first two days to above $56 million.
Attendance: 27,000+
Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was hospitalized after a starting gate injury yesterday, won four times today.
Todd Pletcher is the only trainer to win more than twice through two days.
Race 12: Thorpedo Anna (Brian Hernandez, Jr./Kenny McPeek) won the third leg of the Triple Tiara in winning the $500,000 Grade I Acorn Stakes. Sent off at less than even-money, the winner of the Kentucky Oaks has won five of six races lifetime including both Triple Tiara races in which she entered. She was purchased for $40,000 and has earned over $1.7 million. That profit and the excitement related to winning graded stakes is the dream of almost ever horse owner.
Race 11: Didia (Jose Ortiz/Ignacio Correas IV) was sent off at 9-to-1 yet won the $750,000 Grade 1 New York Stakes. The trainer won a Grade 1 for just the second time (also a Breeders' Cup race).
Race 10: Chili Flag (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Chad Brown) was sent off 4-to-1 and won the Grade I $500,000 Just a Game Stakes. The trainer sent out an exorbitant five horses in a field of seven and finished 1-2. Chili Flag, bred in France where she spent about half of racing career, passed the $1,000,000 mark in career earnings.
Race 9: Future Is Now (Paco Lopez/Mike Trombetta) won the Grade I $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes by a head in a fierce dual against Roses for Debra (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Christophe Clement) who was sent off the 1-to-2 favorite.
I don't think I have ever seen a winner's circle picture with the trainer so far left as Todd Pletcher was in that victory. Usually a trainer is best the horse's rear. Mike Repole and company had a large presence. Many people in it.
Makes me wonder if this can become an annual event (different week, once Aqueduct closes). The novelty of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga highlighting this four-day meet has been electric.
Some explanations await regarding the horse that veered and why.
Sierra Leone wasn't made for that distance. Longer, yes
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.