Horse Racing: Sat. Belmont's card (post #1134), NBC coverage begins at 4:30 pm ET

[bukwas]

Alright. who is your longshot play of the day?

I might throw a few bucks on Om in the Mile, he's winless this year but in the 2 races i saw he had a legitimate shot.

 

[Cody Webster]

Caledonia Road with the first win, and decent long shot, of the day

 

[kducks]

They keep showing the aerial view, they made everyone park in the dirt across the street but the main parking lot is empty. Takes hours to get out of that stupid dirt lot.

 

[kducks]

Wow...60-1?!

 

[bukwas]

Wow...60-1?!

Wish i had it.

 

[kducks]

Wish i had it.

That exacta would have been nice.

 

[Cody Webster]

What was the payout?

 

[kducks]

What was the payout?

1k

Superfecta was 176k

 

[kducks]

There you go 'Meaux!! So happy for Kent!!

 

[kducks]

What a day for upsets! First horse to break their maiden at the Breeder's Cup!

 

[GKJ]

Someone's going to hit it big on the exacta if Highland Reel doesn't show up.

 

[GKJ]

Horses who "skip the Arc" shouldn't be 14/1. Nice job.

 

[GKJ]

Gun Runner finally gets his crown. Stared down Collected and had just a little but more. Congrats to Steve Asmussen and his hair. And Florent Geroux, biggest win of his life.

Arrogate had a bad start and didn't fire. Horse is cooked.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

November 4, 2017 BREEDERS' CUP REVIEW

Del Mar (California):

• The event was magnificent. Another stellar production. Beautiful weather matched only by tremendous athletic horses. Next up: 2018 Churchill Downs.
• Handle figures:
  • On-track for Saturday: $15,900,813 (up 18% from 2016), highest since 2006.
  • On-track for the weekend: $25,181,317 (up 21.4% from 2016)
  • All-sources for Saturday: $113,803,603 (up 6% from 2016)
  • All-sources for the weekend: $166,077,486 (up 5.9% from 2016), highest since 2010.
• Attendance figures:
  • Capped at 37,500+ and that was reached for Saturday.
  • Two day total exceeded 70,000.
• Dramatic payouts resulted in the four highest payouts in North America for Saturday:
  • The $2 Pick 6 paid over $380,000.
  • A $2 Pick 4 paid over $280,000..
  • A superfecta paid over $176,000.
  • A Pick 5 paid over $2 Pick 4 paid over $61,000.
• Race 12: The Classic was basically how Bob Baffert was going to try to defeat Gun Runner. The way to bet, even with the advantage of knowledge of finish, was either Baffert's four horses over Gun Runner, an all-Baffert exacta or Gun Runner on top of a Baffert runner. Arrogate was a wonderful horse but as I said from the outset people rushed to judgment in claiming he was the best horse since Secretariat. Affirmed, Bid and Slew remain ahead. I felt then and now that Gun Runner was the better horse with the one blemish being head-to-head. That is now history. Steve Asmussen/Florent Geroux have teamed exceptionally. Following the race, Gun Runner received a 117 Beyer Figure.
  
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• Race 4: Caledonia Road (Mike Smith/Ralph Nicks) won at 12-to-1. The horse was ridden by Junior Alvarado in the filly's two other races. She was under-the-radar. Nice pickup for anyone who had it. I am not sure how many Grade I wins Nicks has had. Good for him.
  
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• Race 5: Joel Rosario, in his first ride since post-Forever Unbridled and the ballyhooed rider switch, had something to prove and so he did on Stormy Liberal trained by Peter Miller who was the only trainer to win two Breeders' Cup races today. The winner paid $62.50, $2600+ for the tri, $934 for the double, $12,364 for the $2 pick 3, $33,328 for the Pick 4, $246,482 for the $2 pick 5. Shocking.
  
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• Race 6: Bar of Gold (Irad Ortiz, Jr./John Kimmel) continued the parade of stunning results with a $135.40 win. The exacta was $2,060.40. The tri returned $27,707. The $1 super paid $176,369.50. The 42 Pick 3 paid $58,680. The double was $2,546. Those prices are legendary. The finish was sensational. As handicappers, we may not enjoy the results. As fans, we should love these finishes. Big time run for the runner up, too.
  
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• Race 7: Wuheida (William Buick/Charlie Appleby), a European, won at 11-to-1.The $2 Pick 3 paid over $50,000. The double was $2,456.
  
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• Race 8: Roy H. (Kent Desormeaux/Peter Miller) makes California his home. It was the second win of the day for both the rider and the trainer. The $.50 Pick 3 paid over $9,000. The $50 Pick 5 paid more than $289,000.
  
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• Race 9: Finally, the tumult was lessened for some of us. World Approval (John Velazquez/Mark Casse) was my pick of the day but the way events unfolded earlier this was nothing certain. At 5-to-2, a short price but comforting.
  
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• Race 10: Good Magic (Jose Ortiz/Chad Brown) was my early Kentucky Derby pick weeks ago. He had two races and finished second in both at New York tracks. This was a must win to continue being my top Derby pick. He played the part perfectly. There is lots of work to do the next few months but he will get a closer eye from me. And at 12-to-1, $25.00 win, this was a gift.
  
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• Race 11: Tallismanic (Mickael Barzalona/Andre Fabre), another European runner, was nowhere on my radar. He beat my pick, Highland Reel, who finished second. The winner paid $30.20. Bred in Great Britain, the 4-year-old colt ran in France.
  
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• Recap of my "win" picks covering the 13 races: 5 wins and 2 second places. Significantly better than last year's 0-for-13 when even some insiders did no better than two wins. But this year was an unqualified success.
  
• The DRF polled 15 writers for their picks and Jay Privman led the way with four winners. A couple or so had zero.
  
• Of the 13 races run, only trainers Peter Miller, who hails from southern Caifornia and had never won a Breeders' Cup race, and Chad Brown repeated with victories (two each). Bob Baffert was among those with zero wins. Baffert had three favorites among the 11 who ran.
  
• The only rider with multiple wins was John Velazquez with two. Seven of the winning riders are based on the East coast. Ten of the 13 races were won by U.S.-based jockeys.
  
• Locations where the winners were bred: Kentucky (8), Florida (2), Great Britain (2, both turf races) and New York (1).
  
• Seven races were run on dirt and six races run on turf.

Belmont (New York):

• Eric Cancel had three wins.
• Tyler Gaffalione visited while other star riders went to California and won twice.
• Nik Juarez won twice including the Grade III Long Island.
• Chris DeCarlo rode for Todd Pletcher in a race for 2-year-olds and won with class.

Laurel (Maryland):

• It has been a while since Ashley Castrenze had a successful day. She was 2-0-1 on 3 mounts. She now has 37 lifetime wins which means she is approaching losing her bug status.
• In race 11, the winner paid $54. The tri was more than $6,000. The $.20 Pick 6 paid over $35,000. The $2 Pick 5 paid over $16,000.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• The $2 pick 5 returned $99,080 following the 10th race.

Woodbine (Toronto, Canada):

• Race 11: $70 for the win. The $1 tri returned more than $5,400. The $1 Pick 4 paid over $5,300.
• Race 6: The $1 Pick 5 paid over $72,000.
• Race 3: $60 for the win. The $1 Pick 3 paid over $21,000. The $2 double paid $2,314.
• Race 2: $52.40 for the win. $46.80 place for the runner up. The $1 tri paid over $2,800. The double paid $1,310. The exacta was $1,048.
• Race 1: $52.00 for the win.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I did cursory research on Charles Fipke, the owner of Forever Unbridled. Interesting person who hails from western Canada and maintains residence there. He is a member of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame and has authored two books on the subject of mining and geological exploration. Diamond exploration has been his main vocation. Apparently, he has a stammering problem since his early days and perhaps that is why his response to the replacement of Joel Rosario for John Velazquez came across the way it did.

He also owns two horse farms in Kentucky.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The location of the 2019 Breeders Cup has yet to be announced. Whatever negotiations are ongoing, something tells me we won't be seeing tracks in Kentucky and California getting both 2019 and 2020. One of those two years, the event will be held in a different state; otherwise, why the delay? Four tracks in those two states will have held the event for eleven consecutive years through 2018 when Churchill Downs hosts the 35th edition.

If they try the east coast again, outside of Florida, weather can be an issue. New York and New Jersey both held the event under terrible weather. Gulfstream (Florida) is a longshot with owner Frank Stronach seemingly not interested in hosting the event due to a popular casino on property and his desire to boost Laurel (Maryland) into the class of elites.

New York has its pitfalls especially with the uncertainty of its venues and the prospect of land acquisition relating to potential development at Belmont (New York). Some would love to see Saratoga (New York) extend its summer meet and that would be an interesting addition to the discussion but changes would have to be made. Aqueduct (New York) isn't a serious option.

Keeneland (Kentucky) and Del Mar (California) had their limitations but those were reshaped in order to play host. Returns to both places seem possible in years to come.

Woodbine (Toronto) could be under consideration but nothing indicates that track has been in discussions.

However, the delay in naming a site is getting more curious as the days advance.

 

[Preds Partisan]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

November 5, 2017

Aqueduct (New York):

• In today's edition of "Have Whip, Will Travel," Jersey Joe Bravo returned to New York for five rides and won three. His mark was 5 3-0-1 including winning the Grade II Nashua for Kiaran McLaughlin.
• In race 4, an 88-to-1 nipped a 2-to-1 and paid $179 for the win. The following race, an 8-to-1 was victorious which resulted in a $905 daily double for $1. The $.50 Pick 4 exceeded $6,300. The $.50 Pick 5 paid out $47,000.
  
  
• In race 6, the $1 Pick 3 for races 4 through 6 paid over $12,000.

Laurel (Maryland):

• In race 5, the $1 PENTA (top five) returned over $21,000.
• In race 9, thr winner returned over $77. The $.50 Pick 4 paid $8,700.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Undrafted, owned by former NFL player Wes Welker, returned to the winner's circle for his 8th win in 34 races. He has earned $1.5 million. Corey Lanerie picked up the mount and earned his 900th lifetime win at Churchill Downs.

Woodbine (Toronto, Canada):

• The last two races combined to have an extraordinary double of $3,338.90. That is as big as I remember in many years.
• Race 10 produced a $72.90 winner.
• Race 11 produced a $59.20 winner. The $1 Pick 3 was $3,035.25. The $1 Pick 4 paid over $47,000.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

According to Steve Anderson who covers horse racing on the West coast for the DRF, Del Mar is interested in becoming a host site for future Breeders' Cups. Santa Anita is expected to bid for 2019 and/or 2020 which isn't surprising. No other host sites were mentioned in his article and there is still no indication as to when 2019 will be announced.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

She is expected to heal 100%. She has had a very interesting career, on the track and off.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Martin Garcia is moving his tack from southern Cal to New York beginning November 15. That is a bit of a shocker. That means he is leaving the attachment to Bob Baffert. Garcia has put up lackluster numbers in recent months.

Many of the NY regulars will be headed to Gulfstream. That meet opens the first weekend of December.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Hot damn! Songbird was sold tonight for $9.5 million, the second highest for any broodmare ever. She continues to make heads turn even in retirement.

The auction is ongoing, is incredible.

Tepin was just sold for $8 million.

=====================================

http://www.drf.com/news/fasig-november-songbird-sells-95-million

Two-time Eclipse Award champion Songbird sold $9.5 million to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm Monday night at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale, ranking her among the highest-priced broodmare prospects of all time.

Songbird, a $400,000 purchase by Porter out of the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale, won the first 11 starts of her career to capture the public imagination. Her unbeaten Eclipse Award championship 2-year-old campaign in 2015 was highlighted by a score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The following season, the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee missed the Kentucky Oaks due to a minor illness, but romped in a pair of historic stakes for the division in summer at Saratoga, winning the Coaching Club American Oaks by 5 1/2 lengths and the Alabama Stakes by seven. She finished second by the barest nose to four-time Eclipse Award champion Beholder in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, but had done enough to lock up her second Eclipse title despite suffering her first defeat. She became the sixth filly in the history of the modern Eclipse Awards to be honored as champion at both 2 and 3, joining Ruffian, Open Mind, Go For Wand, Silverbulletday, and Beholder.

This year, Songbird returned to win the Ogden Phipps and the Delaware Handicap, pushing her number of Grade 1 victories to nine. However, she finished second to Forever Unbridled - who subsequently won the Breeders' Cup Distaff - in the Personal Ensign Stakes, prompting Porter to send her for a complete veterinary workup under the care of Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

It appears that Gun Runner will retire after the Pegasus in January at Gulfstream.

Forever Unbridled finished third in the final NTRA poll of the year. That is an extraordinary finish. Running the Pegasus in January seems a strong possibility. I am not sure if she is up to winning against those standards but the field has yet to be determined.

NEW YORK (AP) — The final Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) covering racing performances through Nov. 5. Rankings based on the votes of sports and thoroughbred racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis with first place votes in parentheses, record, total points and previous rank (Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, H-horse, F-filly, M-mare, R-ridgling):

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

November 8, 2017

Aqueduct (New York):

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. won twice. He leads the national standings by 13 over Tyler Gaffalione.
• In the fourth race, there were nine scratches. The two far outside runners in the shortened field finished 1-2. It was an entertaining stretch duel between legends Javier Castellano, on the 16, and the winner John Velazquez, on the 15. Both were sent off at 6-to-5.
  
  
• Joel Rosario rode a fantastic race in the opener which had a lengthy photo finish. The 3-to-5 favorite was off-the-board. The #6 was declared the victor. Imagine losing that decision?
  
  

Gulfstream West (Florida):

• Tyler Gaffalione won twice. He remains 13 behind Irad Ortiz, Jr. in rider victories this year in North America.
• Tyler Gaffalione nearly had a third victory but was run down by Richard Mitchell who entered today 1-for-36 in 2017. Perfect Slate was 0-for-21 lifetime. Trainer Dolphin Black was 0-for-38 this year.
• Jonathan Thomas has 31 horses that have run in 2017. The former assistant to Todd Pletcher is having a breakout year with a remarkable record of 19-13-4 in 59 starts (32%).
• The turf at the former Calder Race Course appears to be arid.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• In race 5, the winner paid $64.60. The exacta was a stunning $1.252. The tri paid over $7,000. The $1 super paid $24,000+.
• The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $17,000.

Harrah's (Pennsylvania):

• One trotter result had a 15-to-1 winning horse pay $84.20 to show. The runner up paid $15.80 to show. Third place finisher paid $70.60 to show. Wild things can happen when overwhelming favorites run off the board.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

November 9, 2017

Aqueduct (New York):

• The second race had a $58.00 winner.
• The fourth race had a $79.80 winner. The $1 Pick 3 for races 2, 3 and 4 paid $2,400.
• The final race, trainer Phil Serpe collected his 1,000th lifetime victory. Junior Alvarado rode a rare favorite and won.
• Today was uncommon in that no jockey or trainer won multiple times. Nine races, nine winning riders and none victorious trainers.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Corey Lanerie won twice and was the only rider to win multiple times. No trainer accomplished the feat.
• Corey Lanerie has 16 wins this meet which is twice as many as second place Miguel Mena. Lanerie is at 28%.
• The $1 Pick 5 paid $25,000.
• The $,20 Pick 6 paid more than $89,000.

Gulfstream West (Florida):

• The $.20 Rainbow 6 paid over $52,000.

Remington Park (Oklahoma):

• Jockey Ramon Vasquez won three times and is 12-8-2 in his last 310 starts (39%).