Horse Racing: 2020 conclusion: $323,000 (Santa Anita) and $106,000 (Aqueduct) Pick 6 hit on New Year's Eve

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

A couple of interesting comments by the Brooklyn Cowboy on his Twitter page. The ride by Albarado is monumental especially considering how his career seemed lifeless. Albarado is the jockey who rode Curlin among others but not much in recent times. This may be the comeback story of the decade.... or the century.



This comment really stood out to me.



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

Separately, this is a genuine reply from trainer Graham Motion:

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, October 4, 2020 (part 1)

• Todd Pletcher has 4,985 wins and is just 15 away from the 5,000 mark.

Belmont (New York):

• Handle: Over $10,000,000 bet.
• Race 3: Knicks Go (Joel Rosario/Brad Cox) ran the fastest 1 1/16 mile in track history at 1:40.79.
• Race 7: Plum Ali (Jose Ortiz/Christophe Clement) won the $150,000 Grade 2 Miss Grillo Stakes. The 2-year-old filly is 3 3-0-0 lifetime and won at three tracks with three different riders.
• Race 8: Horologist (Junior Alvarado/Bill Mott) won the Grade 2 $150,000 Beldame. The two longest shots on the board finished 1-2 with the winner sent off at 7-to-1. The New Jersey-bred raced at Belmont for the first time.
• Race 9: Wet Your Whistle (Jose Ortiz/Michael Trombetta) won the $150,000 Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint.
• Jose Ortiz rode four winners and took control of the riders' standings with 17 wins.
• Junior Alvarado added three wins. Did Junior read my note three days ago when he was at 3%? Anyway 10 wins the past three days. Just like that, his 11 wins is third most at the meet and he is winning at 20%.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr., the reigning Jockey of the Year in North America, began the meet suspended and during the punishment contracted symptoms related to the C-virus. He has not ridden this meet; however, he is listed on eight rides for Thursday.
• Mike Luzzi placed in the second race. He is 79 1-4-2 in 2020. The second place finish today was his best since finishing second on August 14. He gets mostly inferior horses but today had a shot with one of the horses given to him.
• Chad Brown (11 wins) and Christophe Clement (10 wins) are 1-2 in the trainers' column.
• Rudy Rodriguez, come on down! The trainer won today and ended the day 1-for-29 at the meet.

Meadowlands at Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Jose Ferrer won five times among seven rides. The 56-year-old jockey is 11 6-0-1 at the meet.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Edgard Zayas seems to like this track. He is 15 4-3-2 (27%/60%) after the opening weekend.

Keeneland (Kentucky):

• Card: Three races with Breeders' Cup implications.
• Race 6: Bodenheimer (Brian Hernandez. Jr./Valerie Lund) won the $150,000 Indian Summer Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select Stakes. The Washington-bred won at tracks in Minnesota and Iowa in two of his prior three starts. An invitation to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint was issued.

​

• Race 8: Mutasaabeq (Luis Saez/Todd Pletcher) won the Grade 2 $200,000 Bourbon Stakes. Another Into Mischief baby looked solid. An invitation to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf was issued.

​

• Race 9: Valiance (Luis Saez/Todd Pletcher) won the $400,000 Grade I Juddmonte Spinster Stakes An invitation to the Breeders' Cup Longines Distaff was issued.

​

• Luis Saez is having a phenomenal meet going 22 9-3-3 (41%/68%) to date. He had four wins today and a natural hat trick to conclude the card.
• Ricardo Santana, Jr. is 1-for-19 this meet.
• Dale Romans is scoring at 17% with 2-year-olds. Last year, he was at 9%.

Hawthorne (Illinois):

• Francisco Arrieta-Hugh Robertson have teamed 6 times and sport a record of 6 4-1-0. Robertson, whose son McLean is a Hall of Famer in Minnesota, has trained since 1971 and has a history of accomplishments in Illinois.

Santa Anita (California):

• Flavien Prat was 9 4-3-0. He has hit the board with 28 of the past 32 mounts spanning the last four race days.
• Juan Hernandez added three wins. He is doing a solid job since moving his tack from northern to southern California.
• Race 8: Madone (Flavien Prat/Simon Callaghan) is making nice progress with a 3 3-0-0 lifetime mark. She won the $100,000 Surfer Girl. The 2-year-old filly sired by Vancouver was purchased for $125,000. She could be a hit in the California circuit heading into the next year.
• Handle: $7.3 million bet.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Justin Stein and Rafael Hernandez each have 93 wins to lead all riders.
• Rafael Hernandez-Mark Casse teamed for three wins.
• Mark Casse entered 10 horses in six races and came out victorious four times. He entered single horses in three races and won all three.
• Race 6: The $.20 Pick 5 paid over $26,000.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, October 4, 2020 (part 2)

Longchamp (Paris, France):

• Card: Five races with Breeders' Cup implications.
• Race 1: Sealiway (Mickael Barzalona/Frederic Rossi) won the Grade I $281,170 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. The victory provided the connections with 10 points towards entry into the 2021 Kentucky Derby and also an invitation to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X9Jt6mhA4I​

• Race 2: Tiger Tanaka (Jessica Marcialis/Charley Rossi) won the Grade I $281,170 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac and with it a trip to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The winning rider is married to the trainer and recently became a mother. She became the first female jockey to ride a Grade I winner on the flats in France.

​

• Race 4: Sottsass (Cristian Demuro/Jean-Claude Rouget) won the $3,514,622 Qatar Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe, the nation's largest and with it an invitation to the Breeders' Cup Longines Turf. The French-bred is 6-for-10 lifetime. The jockey enjoyed his biggest career win to date. The winner went off at roughly 9-to-1.

​

• Race 5: Tarnawa (Christophe Soumillon/Dermot K. Weld) won the Grade I $351,462 Prix de L'Opera Longines and with it was invited to the Breeders' Cup Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf.

​

• Race 6: Wooded (Pierre-Charles Boudot/Francis Graffard) won the Grade I $246,024 Prix de L'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines and with it an invitation to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ0ANsQYPCI​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Handle (money wagered) at United States' race tracks:

• September 2020: $1.04 billion
• September 2019: $802.0 million
• Third quarter figures [July through September 2020]: $3.29 billion (up 12.7% from 2019).

Average purses remained near identical: $35,515 in 2019 and $35,553 in 2020.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Monday, October 5, 2020

• Sottsass: One day after winning the Arc in France for $3,000,000 and getting invited to the Breeders' Cup, Sottsass has been retired by his connections led by well-established owner Peter Brant.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Roberto Alvarado, Jr. opened the day with a natural hat trick and has four wins on four rides (card ongoing). The rider of nearly 30 years has led the track's meet on multiple occasions.

Belterra (Ohio):

• Perry Ouzts won for the 7,136th time which is five away from Hall of Famer Chris McCarron and sixth place all-time.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Ruling regarding 2017 Jockey Change on Forever Unbridled! To add another element of intrigue, Joel Rosario and John Velazquez are now represented by the same agent as of earlier this year. A change of riders is not an uncommon practice but I wonder what super agent Ron Anderson, who did not represent Velazquez at the time, thinks about this and how it could affect his clients in the future.

Looking back at the race, F.U., my favorite filly just had a size advantage that was obvious. The owner's comment post-race "better luck with a more consistent person..." didn't go unnoticed by many and if anything Rosario has been on his A-game since.

Court Rules Fipke Doesn't Need to Pay Double Jockey Fee - BloodHorse

California court of appeal overturned a superior court's decision Oct. 5 when it ruled that Thoroughbred owner Charles Fipke doesn't need to pay a double jockey fee tied to his homebred, Forever Unbridled, winning the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) in 2017 at Del Mar.

California stewards ruled that because a decision to replace jockey Joel Rosario with John Velazquez wasn't announced until the day of the draw for the Distaff, Fipke would be subject to a California Horse Racing Board rule that requires owners to pay two jockey fees in such situations. The stewards said then that Rosario had an agreement in place to ride Forever Unbridled and was not allowed enough time to find an alternate mount.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

One of the most anticipated annual meets is Gulfstream in the winter.

Event	Date	Purse
Opening Day	December 2, 2020	---------
75 stakes/41 graded stakes	December 2, 2020 - March 28, 2021	$13 million+
Pegasus World Cup	January 23, 2021	$3,000,000
Florida Derby	March 27, 2021	$800,000

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Television schedule (Wed-Sun) and Graded Stakes for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday:

Belmont: 1-1-1-1-2
Keeneland: 1-2
Monmouth: 3​

Sunday:

Belmont: 3-3
Woodbine: 3​

Date	Program	Time	Network/Social Media
WED Oct. 7	Live coverage of horse racing including the Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland	post time varies	TVG
THURS Oct. 8	"America's Day at the Races"	12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.	FS2
Oct. 8	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	TVG
FRI Oct. 9	"America's Day at the Races"	12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.	FS2
Oct. 9	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	TVG
Oct. 9	"La Trifecta"	7 p.m.	Facebook Live and YouTube
SAT Oct. 10	"America's Day at the Races" featuring four Breeders' Cup preps at Belmont Park	12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. on FS1; 4 p.m.-6 p.m. on FS2	FS1 and FS2
Oct. 10	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	TVG
SUN Oct. 11	"America's Day at the Races" featuring one Breeders' Cup prep at Belmont Park	12:30 p.m.-1 p.m. on FS2; 1 p.m.-3 p.m. on FS1; 3 p.m.-4 p.m.on FS2; 4 p.m.-6 p.m. on FS1	FS2
Oct. 11	Live coverage of horse racing	post time varies	TVG
MON Oct. 12	"America's Day at the Races"	12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.	FS2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Breeders' Cup preps

JPMorgan Chase Jessamine		Oct 7	Juvenile Fillies Turf
Jockey Club Gold Cup		Oct 10	Longines Classic
The Champagne		Oct 10	TVG Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance
The Flower Bowl		Oct 10	Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf
The Frizette		Oct 10	Juvenile Fillies
The Futurity		Oct 11	Juvenile Turf Sprint

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

JESSAMINE STAKES

What: Grade 2. An annually important stepping stone for baby females on turf.
Where: Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, KY
When: Wednesday, October 07, 2020, Race 7
Time: 4:24 pm ET
Who: 2-year-old fillies
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Surface: Turf
Purse: $150,000
TV: TVG (all-day coverage of racing)
History: Inaugurated in 1991. Todd Pletcher won this race last year for the first time in 14 years but for a rec-tying fourth time. Kenny McPeek could regain the all-time lead if his bomber wins from the outside.
Preview: Jessamine Stakes 2020 Entries & Race Preview | HorseRacing.net​

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Batyah (KY)	David Cohen	118	H. Graham Motion	6/1
2	Momentous Miss (KY)	James Graham	118	Byron G. Hughes	20/1
3	Taylor's Tourist (KY)	Robby Albarado	118	Scott Gelner	6/1
4	Beautiful Star (KY)	Adam Beschizza	118	Steven M. Asmussen	20/1
5	Ingrassia (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Chad C. Brown	6/1
6	Arm Candy (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	15/1
7	Aunt Pearl (IRE)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	3/1
8	Navratilova (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	George R. Arnold, II	10/1
9	Gambling Cat (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	Michael J. Maker	8/1
10	Spanish Loveaffair (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Mark E. Casse	7/2
11	Lazy Summer Day (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	Kenneth G. McPeek	15/1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Into Mischief's stud fee will be $225,000 for 2021. Based on 2020 prices, that would be second only to War Front's $250,000. Mischief babies were in high demand in 2020 especially after siring the Ky Derby winner.

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

Robbie Albarado and Luis Saez tied for Jockey of the Week. Saez had a strong week at Keeneland but Albarado's ride will be remembered for the ages. Quantity vs. quality in a sense.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

• Michael Maker trained three wins.

Meadowlands at Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Race 8: Nonna Madeline (Nik Juarez/Todd Pletcher) won the $100,000 Lady Secret Stakes. Pletcher sandwiched a Chad Brown runner. Not a typical Wednesday in New Jersey. It was Pletcher's 4,986 (14 from 5,000) victory.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Angel Arroyo won with his first three mounts.
• Race 8: The $.10 super paid over $12,000.

Belterra (Ohio):

• Perry Ouzts is now two wins away from tying Chris McCarron and sixth place on the all-time wins list.

Keeneland (Kentucky):

• Race 8: Groovy Lemon Pie (Florent Geroux/Robert Hess, Jr.) won at 26-to-1. Not the usual for a top talent such as Geroux. The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $42,000.
• Race 7: Aunt Pearl (Florent Geroux/Brad Cox), an Irish-bred bought for $358,000 last year, won the $150,000 Grade 2 Jessamine Stakes in record-setting time.. She is now 2 2-0-0 after the 2-year-old daughter of Lope de Vega shattered the old record of 1:42.21 in 1:40.86.

​

• Tyler Gaffalione had two wins to bring his total at the meet to six. Luis Saez, the leader with nine, heads back to New York.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

One month from today is the $6,000,000 Breeders' Cup Classic [November 7 at Keeneland]

Horseracingnation.com has a list of possible and probable runners:

Horse [TBODY] [/TBODY] Trainer [TBODY] [/TBODY] Status [TBODY] [/TBODY] Jesus' Team J. D'Angelo Possible Higher Power J. Sadler Probable Global Campaign S. Hough Possible Ghaiyyath C. Appleby Possible Benbatl S. Suroor Probable Tacitus W. Mott Probable Code of Honor C. McGaughey III Probable Art Collector T. Drury Jr. Probable By My Standards W. Calhoun Probable Authentic B. Baffert Possible Improbable B. Baffert Probable Tom's d'Etat A. Stall, Jr. Possible Maximum Security B. Baffert Probable Tiz the Law B. Tagg Possible [TBODY] [/TBODY]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, October 8, 2020

• Michael Maker trained four winners for a total of seven victories in two days. He sent out 15 starters.

Belmont (New York):

• Handle: $7 million.
• Race 8: Bears Mafia (Dylan Davis/Jeffrey Englehart) won for the sixth straight time and seventh time in 10 starts this year. It was the 4-year-old gelding's 8th win in 22 starts and he also earned the rare New York grand slam with wins at the four tracks (Saratoga, Aqueduct, Finger Lakes and now Belmont).

​

• Manny Franco and Eric Cancel rode two winners apiece.
• Michelle Nevin, Chad Brown and George Weaver each trained two winners.
• Irad Ortiz, Jr. returns tomorrow to ride for the first time this meet. He was suspended for rides earlier this year and tested positive for C-virus.
• Two legends -- John Velazquez and Todd Pletcher by the numbers:
  • Velazquez
    • Most rider wins in the 115-year history of Belmont with 1,999.
    • Seven Belmont titles.
    • 6,236 career wins which is 17th all-time.
    • 680 graded wins [170 at Belmont] which is the most all-time.
  • Pletcher
    • 4,986 career wins which is 8th all time.
    • 1,819 career wins with Johnny V. riding.
    • 491 career wins with Johnny V. riding at Belmont
      
    • 57 graded wins with Johnny V. riding at Belmont.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Opening day: Today began the fall schedule which ends December 31. The winter meet then commences. Because Laurel rarely sleeps.
• Jevian Toledo rode winners in three of the first four races and was DQ'd from a fourth win in the fifth.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Race 8: Mangrove Mamma (Luca Panici/Larry Bates) won as the second highest odds on the board at 24-to-1 and paid $50.40. It was the rider's first win at the meet with his ninth start

Belterra (Ohio):

• Perry Ouzts won twice today which tied him with Boston-born legend Chris McCarron for sixth place in North America history with 7,141.

​

Keeneland (Kentucky):

• Race 2: Chel-c Bailey rode a winner. She is a former MMA participant who rode for the first time professionally earlier this year.

​

• Race 10: Hall of Famer Nick Zito won for the 7th time in 2020.
• Corey Lanerie, Tyler Gaffalione, Javier Castellano and Florent Geroux each rode two winners.
• Michael Maker (3 wins; 4 total with another in New York) and Wayne Catalano (2 wins) trained multiple victors.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

CHAMPAGNE STAKES

What: Grade 1. An annually important stepping stone for potential Kentucky Derby preps. The top four finishers receive points towards entry into the Derby based on a 10-4-2-1 system.
Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, NY
When: Saturday, October 10, 2020, Race 4
Time: 1:58 pm ET
Who: 2-year-olds
Distance: 1 mile
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $250,000
TV: 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. on FS1; 4 p.m.-6 p.m. on FS2; TVG has all-day coverage from many tracks
History: Inaugurated in 1867. Tiz the Law won this race in 2019. The most recent prior winner of this race and the Kentucky Derby was Sea Hero in 1992. Many members of the Hall of Fame have won this race including equine athletes, trainers and jockeys.
Preview: Undefeated Jackie's Warrior Headlines Champagne Stakes - BloodHorse​

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Ambivalent (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Doug F. O'Neill	15/1
2	Run Casper Run (KY)	Jose Lezcano	122	Juan C. Vazquez	30/1
3	Civil War (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	122	Thomas Albertrani	30/1
4	Jackie's Warrior (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Steven M. Asmussen	3/5
5	Reinvestment Risk (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	122	Chad C. Brown	8/5
6	Midnight Bourbon (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	122	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Saturday's card at Belmont

Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (ET)
Race 1	$55,000	Allowance	1 Mile	Dirt	9	12:20 PM
Race 2	$55,000	Allowance	6 Furlongs	Turf	13	12:54 PM
Race 3	$63,000	Maiden Special Weight	7 Furlongs	Turf	12	1:26 PM
Race 4	$250,000	Champagne S.	1 Mile	Dirt	6	1:58 PM
Race 5	$250,000	Frizette S.	1 Mile	Dirt	7	2:30 PM
Race 6	$63,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 Furlongs	Dirt	8	3:03 PM
Race 7	$63,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	15	3:40 PM
Race 8	$250,000	Flower Bowl S.	1 1/4 Miles	Turf	7	4:14 PM
Race 9	$250,000	Jockey Club Gold Cup S.	1 1/4 Miles	Dirt	5	4:48 PM
Race 10	$150,000	Sands Point S.	1 Mile	Turf	8	5:20 PM
Race 11	$52,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 Furlongs	Turf	14	5:52 PM

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Purple = 2020 Breeders' Cup preps (the Champagne doubles as a 2021 Kentucky Derby prep)

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, October 9, 2020

• Michael Maker trained two winners for a total of nine the past three days. He sent out 21 starters.
• Todd Pletcher added two wins to his career total of what is now 4,988 victories. He is attempting to become the 8th trainer in North America to condition 5,000 winners.

Belmont (New York):

• Race 4: Malathaat (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher), a 2-year-old filly by Curlin purchased for $1,050,000 in 2019, won her debut and gave the rider his 2000th career win at the track which is the most for any jockey in the 115-year history of Belmont.
  • Velazquez
    • Most rider wins in the 115-year history of Belmont with 2,000.
    • Seven Belmont titles.
    • 6,237 career wins which is 17th all-time.
    • 680 graded wins [170 at Belmont] which is the most all-time.
  • Pletcher
    • 4,988 career wins which is 8th all time.
    • 1,820 career wins with Johnny V. riding.
    • 491 career wins with Johnny V. riding at Belmont
    • 57 graded wins with Johnny V. riding at Belmont.
• Race 7: Irad Ortiz, Jr. rode a winner for the first time since September 15. He had been idle since September 16 following two suspensions for rides earlier this year and then testing positive for the C-virus.
• Michelle Nevin (18 6-4-1) and Bruce Brown (14 4-2-0) are having solid meets, perhaps under the radar.
• Handle: Over $9,000,000.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus: Five stakes races for $75,000 all exclusive to Virginia breds.
• Handle: Over $2.3 million.
• Trevor McCarthy won three times and each was a stakes.
• Race 3: Jevian Toledo won for the 1,000th time in mainland USA. He also has 33 wins in Puerto Rico.

Belterra (Ohio):

• Race 6: Perry Ouzts won for the 6,172nd time which pole vaults him into sole possession of sixth place in North American history.
• Closing day: The meet ended with John McKee (90 wins) winning the riders' title with Perry Ouzts (76 wins) coming in second place. Larry Smith's 28 wins led all trainers. Smith's first win came on May 31, 1980.

Keeneland (Kentucky):

• David Cohen rode three winners for Robertino Diodoro and M + M Stables. The connections had a solid Oaklawn meet and ripped it up today in Kentucky. Cohen was 3-for-3 today while Diodoro (9 4-2-3 at the meet) sent out five starters and has not missed the board with nine starters at the meet.
• Race 9: Got Stormy (Tyler Gaffalione/Mark Casse) won the Grade 3 $150,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes by a nose. The 5-year-old mare was out for the 25th time and has earned over $1.99 million. She was purchased for $45,000 in 2017. Good race!

​

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

Race 1: Viking Queen (Ronald Dale Allen, Jr./Elizabeth Dobles) was a 30-to-1 morning line who debuted to an 11-to-1 win.​

Santa Anita (California):

• Race 9: Indy Jones (Jessica Pyfer/Val Brinkerhoff) gave the 22-year old jockey her first lifetime win. The Colorado-native is the step-daughter to trainer Phil D'Amato.

​

• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $32,000.
• Juan Hernandez rode three winners.
• Handle: Over $6 million

Emerald Downs (Washington):

Handle for the meet: Through 30 days of live racing, daily betting is averaging $1,871,799 which is up 67% over last year. The meet expires October 29.​

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Justin Stein (95 wins) and Rafael Hernandez (94 wins) are battling it out for the meet's top rider. The meet ends in December.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Much more later but Jackie's Warrior opened it up in the stretch and buried the outmatched competition in the Champagne. He is a factor on the Kentucky Derby trail early.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, October 10, 2020

• Michael Maker entered horses at three tracks and won at each. He has 12 winners the past four days.
• Steve Asmussen won four times spreading three tracks. He has 9,039 in his career (second most).
• Jackie's Warrior, Happy Saver and Nashville were among the equine stars of the day.

Belmont (New York):

• Handle: Over $19.5 million bet on quite an exhaustive day. Awesome entertainment today.
• Joel Rosario rode two Grade I winners today. He has eight such victories this year. His career best is 12 in 2018. He had nine in 2019. He has been exceptional the past three years or so.
• Race 3: High Opinion (Eric Cancel/Tony Dutrow) paid $196.00 to win at 97-to-1 which was one of the biggest payouts in New York in many years. The winner paid $51.50 (somewhere Eddie Van Halen is smiling) in the middle. High Opinion is a 3-year-old daughter to Lemon Drop Kid. The winner caught the lead horse with a final head bob.

https://twitter.com/NYRABets/status/1314982216418635776​

• Race 4: Jackie's Warrior (Joel Rosario/Steve Asmussen) elevated his standing for the 2021 Kentucky Derby leader board with a splendid outing to win the $250,000 Grade I Champagne Stakes which was in its 149th running. He was purchased for the $95,000 in 2019. Jackie's Warrior got 10 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby and also a ticket to the Breeders' Cup. The winner is 4 4-0-0 lifetime and has raced further distances in each outing. As I mentioned a few weeks back, keep an eye on this puppy.

​

• Race 5: Dayoutoftheoffice (Junior Alvarado/Timothy Hamm) improved to 3 3-0-0 in winning the $250,000 Grade I Frizette Stakes for 2-year-old fillies which gave the trainer his first ever Grade I victory. Hamm has been training for roughly 25 years. The 2-year-old filly who is owned in part by Hamm was invited to the Breeders' Cup. Good job by Junior again who is one of two riders at the meet with over $1,000,000 in earnings. The number 7, owned by Paul Pompa who passed away hours prior (see above), was scratched. At the same time the entries for this race was shown at New York, Gulfstream in Florida had an image of the deceased.

​

• Race 8: Civil Union (Joel Rosario/Shug McGaughey) won a thriller in the 43rd edition of the Grade I $250,000 Flower Bowl and received an invitation to the Breeders' Cup. The 5-year-old mare is 8 5-1-1 lifetime and a perfect 3 3-0-0 at Belmont.

​

• Race 9: Happy Saver (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher) improved to a perfect 4 4-0-0 after winning the 102nd running of the $250,000 Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup and received an invitation to the Breeders' Cup. Amazingly, Pletcher had never won this race prior to today (he has never won the Preakness among other rare failures) and afterwards said he has been trying "for 25 years."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lomzLMwtiSo​

• Race 10: Tamahere (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Chad Brown) won the $150,000 Grade II Sands Point. The French-bred made his U.S. debut after six races in Europe

Meadowlands at Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Race 8: Almanaar (Joe Bravo/Chad Brown) won the $150,000 Grade 3 Monmouth. Brown had two entered and placed as well. The all-Brown exacta paid $12.60 for a deuce.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7B95PmrKSk​

• Handle: $2.6 million.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 7: The $1 super returned over $40,000 in one of the highest listed payoffs of the day. The $.50 Pick 4 paid over $10,000.
• Race 2: A 33-to-1 shot was the victor.
• Handle: $2.6 million.

Charles Town (West Virginia):

• Card: Nine races all with purses $70,000 or more.
• Race 7: Bridging the Gap (Reshawn Latchman/John McKee) wired the field at 1-to-5 and romped to a 6+ length victory in the $100,000 West Virginia Cavada Breeders' Classic Stakes.
• Race 8: Awesome Faith (Antonio Lopez/Jeffrey Allen) powered home to victory at 37-to-1 to win the $150,000 West Virginia Breeders' Classic Stakes. The $76.00 beat a 17-to-1 shot that paid the remarkable sum of $43,60 and $23,60 to fill out exotics. The $1 tri was over $1,000.

Keeneland (Kentucky):

• Race 9: Harvey's Lil Goil (Martin Garcia/Bill Mott) won the Grade 2 $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. About $1.5 million bet in the race (Keeneland doesn't report total handles into Equibase).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUekNlpoOcE​

• Race 8: Mr. Freeze (Javier Castellano/Dale Romans) won the $200,000 Grade 2 Hagyard Fayette Stakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO4WQziJGOE​

• Race 7: Roc's Princess (Jon Court/William Gowan) debuted to a 19-to-1 shot winner in a $70,000 MSW race. The $35,000 purchase was sired by Kentucky Derby runner Ride On Curlin who finished 7th in the 2014 race and is the biggest money earner for this trainer. The jockey had eight wins this year entering today and the trainer was winless with three starters.
• Race 5: Nashville (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen), a 3-year-old Speightstown colt who was purchased for $460,000 in 2018, was remarkable in winning this $71,000 allowance. He is 2 2-0-0 lifetime and is all but assured much success in the future. This colt looks like a beast. The time 1:09.10 is listed as the sixth fastest of 227 races run at Keeneland's fall meets at 6 furlongs on dirt.

https://twitter.com/TVG/status/1315014491269074944​

Hawthorne (Illinois):

• Race 2: A Wisconsin-bred finished third. I am not sure the last time I saw a Wisconsin-bred run. According to the Jockey Club, there were four registered foals in 2018 from Wisconsin compared to leader Kentucky with 8,223.
• Michael Reavis is 7 5-0-2 (71%/100%) at the meet. That is one hot trainer.

Santa Anita (California):

• Race 8: Just Grazed Me (Umberto Rispoli/Phil D'Amato) won the $100,000 California Distaff Handicap.
• Juan Hernandez won a trio of races for the second straight day.
• Handle: $6.5 million.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Race 7: Master Spy (Patrick Husbands/Mark Casse) won the $250,000 Cup and Saucer Stakes.
• Handle: $4.5 million.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Paul Pompa passed away in what was indicated as a heart attack. Pompa is one of the most famous breeders/owners in the sport. At the age of 62, the New Yorker was seemingly well-respected by all. He owned a trucking company in Brooklyn and was famously known as the person who named Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown after the UPS motto. Among the top owners with whom he had professional connections were Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher and Linda Rice. He was also known as a big New York Rangers' fan and whose love of hockey was exceeded only by his interest in horse racing.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

FUTURITY STAKES

What: Grade 3. The final Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" anywhere on the globe.
Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, NY
When: Sunday, October 11, 2020, Race 7
Time: 4:12 pm ET
Who: 2-year-olds
Distance: 6 furlongs
Surface: Turf
Purse: $100,000
TV:

FS2 - 12:30 - 1pm, 3 - 4pm
FS1 - 1 - 3pm, 4 - 6pm
MSG+ - 12:30 - 6pm
FS Regionals - 2 - 6pm​

History: Inaugurated in 1888. A special mention to 2009 winner D'Funnybone who was owned by Paul Pompa who passed this weekend.​

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Sky's Not Falling (MD)	Luis Saez	120	Michael J. Trombetta	10/1
2	After Five (MD)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Wesley A. Ward	3/1
3	Second of July (KY)	Dylan Davis	120	Philip A. Gleaves	12/1
4	Newbomb (KY)	John R. Velazquez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
5	Kentucky Knight (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	118	Amira Chichakly	30/1
6	Nutsie (KY)	Rider TBA	120	David A. Cannizzo	12/1
7	Bright Devil (IRE)	Joel Rosario	120	Mark E. Casse	8/1
8	County Final (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	122	Steven M. Asmussen	6/1
9	Momos (KY)	Manuel Franco	120	Christophe Clement	7/2
10	Trade Deal (KY)	Junior Alvarado	120	Wesley A. Ward	4/1
11	Gypsy King (KY)	Jose Lezcano	120	Wesley A. Ward	12/1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, October 11, 2020

Belmont (New York):

• Race 7: Second of July (Dylan Davis/Phil Gleaves) was the longest shot on the board but rallied to upset the field in the $100,000 Grade 3 Futurity Stakes at 15-to-1. The connections received an invitation to the Breeders' Cup Juvy Turf Sprint. The 2-year-old gelding is 2 2-0-0 lifetime and won his debut at 68-to-1.

​

• Race 9: Royal Approval (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Wesley Ward) won the $100,000 Grade 3 Matron Stakes.
• Jose Ortiz added three wins to his meet lead.
• Handle: $10,000,000+.

Keeneland (Kentucky):

• Race 7: Cousin Larry (Gabriel Saez/Larry Jones) won following a disallowed objection. Is the horse named for the affable trainer? The owner is Brereton Jones who has a long established relationship with the trainer.

Santa Anita (California):

• Mike Smith won the first two races. In the opener, he rode for Phil D'Amato. In the second race, he won for the 5,992nd time and narrowly hung on defeating D'Amato's step-daughter Jessica Pyfer who has one career win.
• Umberto Rispoli finished 6 3-1-1 and won with three consecutive mounts.
• Handle: $6,000,000.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Race 9: Salute With Honors (Patrick Husbands/Mark Casse) won the Grade 3 $125,000 Durham Cup.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Monday, October 12, 2020

• Columbus Day schedules at some tracks where otherwise Mondays would have been idle.
• Rest in peace: Two trainers based in California passed away over the past few days.
  • Barry Abrams who was born in Russia but moved to California in the 1960s and trained harness as well as T-breds. He had battled throat cancer.
  • Gary Jones a Hall of Famer who is probably best known for training Hall of Famer Best Pal. The horse won 18 times in 47 starts and retired in the mid-1990s as California' top all-time money earner with over $5.6 million earned. Others mention Turkoman.

​

• Enable has been retired. The 6-year-old mare, who bred in Great Britain, was a staggering 19 15-2-1 with more than $14 million earned.

Belmont (New York):

• Mertkan Kantarmaci sent out two horses and both won. The 28-year-old native of Turkey doesn't have many multiple win days but he shined here.
• Rob Atras, a native of Manitoba, won twice. He finished 3 2-1-0.

Meadowlands at Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Canceled: Due to high winds and heavy rains.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Race 9: The $2 Pick 5 paid over $42,000.
• Summary: Good money available tonight in perfectas and other exotic wagering.

Gulfstream Park West (Florida):

• Scenery: The track is just a shell of its former zenith. This is expected to be the final year of operation.
• Miguel Vasquez rode three winners. He is third at the meet in wins.

Santa Anita (California):

• Race 4: Astute (Mike Smith/Richard Mandella) wired the field at 4-to-5 in 5 1/2 furlongs on turf. The 2-year-old filly by Speightstown, a $425,000 purchase, looked the part. She defeated among others Evoo (Umberto Rispoli/John Sadler) who was exceptional as she closed with a furious rally. A $150,000 purchase, she may want to run longer and needs to be watched for future races. This may have been the race of the day prior and it set up that way.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

BREEDERS' CUP CLASSIC -- November 7, 2020 at Keeneland

Purse: $6,000,000 which is North America's richest
​

Horse	Last Race	Best Odds
Improbable	1st, Awesome Again (G1)	4-1
Tiz the Law	2nd, Kentucky Derby (G1)	9-2
Authentic	2nd, Preakness (G1)	8-1
Maximum Security	2nd, Awesome Again	8-1
Tom's d'Etat	3rd, Whitney (G1)	10-1
Swiss Skydiver	1st, Preakness	11-1
Global Campaign	1st, Woodward (G1)	20-1
Happy Saver	1st Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1)	25-1
By My Standards	1st, Alysheba (G2)	33-1
Tacitus	3rd, Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1)	33-1
Midcourt	3rd, Awesome Again (G1)	33-1
Higher Power	4th, Pacific Classic (G1)	66-1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Source: Oddschecker, Bovada

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Charlie Marquez is the 17-year-old jockey who was based at Laurel but moved his tack to New York a few days ago under the leadership of agent Angel Cordero. It was initially reported he could miss at least a month.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Fort Erie in Ontario is the latest track to shatter its all-time handle for any year in 2020. The track exceeded $40 million for the first time in its 123 year history. The track had 39 racing days this year. Last year over $28 million was bet.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Karl Broberg, the biggest challenger to Steve Asmussen in win volume among trainers the past handful of years, is trying New York for the first time. This will be a difficult but enlightening endeavor.