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

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Updated info on Woodbine (Ontario):

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Since 2020 is coming close to an end and the thread has exceeded the suggested max of 1,000 posts, a new sticky is available for comments. This thread will remain open for a few more days.

A new thread is available here: Horse Racing: - Horse Racing 2020-2021 | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League (mandatory.com)

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Parx (Pennsylvania):

• Jamie Ness is walloping the competition with a 57-win lead in the trainers' standings. He has 103 wins. If there was such a thing as Comeback of the Year for trainers, it could be Ness. He is at 26% in 2020, his highest figure since 2012.

Tampa Bay (Florida):

• Purses: The track announced that all non-stakes races will have a 10% increase. Simulcast business has been booming for the smaller Florida track as evidenced by a 29% increase which has led to a $3.7 million daily intake since re-opening in late November. Tampa is a good track and one of the favorites of horse players around the country.
• Handle: Roughly $2.8 million.
• Samy Camacho added two wins to his meet lead for riders which now stands at 13.
• Gerald Bennett is an annual local powerhouse. The trainer leads the meet with eight victories from 25 horses he has sent out.
• Jon Arnett, shipping here from Iowa for the first time, is currently third at the meet with four wins. He was second at the Prairie Meadows meet earlier this year.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. won the final four races on the card. While none was a price, only one was the favorite.
• Race 9: War Stopper (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher) received a 91 Beyer following a 9-month layoff. He finished 10th in the Grade 3 Gotham back in March. The 3-year-old colt wired the field in his Gulf debut at 5-to-2. First time out with Pletcher who finished 1-2 in the race. Maybe one to follow in his 4-year-old campaign.

​

• Complete replay show:

​

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Harness Racing track update:

Century Mile Track and Casino in Alberta will have a 23 race card Saturday afternoon/evening starting at 4:15 EDT; following this card the track will suspend or pause racing for at least 1 month

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Well, here we are. Race 9 at Gulfstream on Saturday. The horse that floored me almost instantly back in 2017 with his imposing composure for a yearling, ears pricked, making eye contact in the ring, an eventual $2.5 million sale, is now making his stakes debut. Unraced until his 4-year-old campaign. Tatweej finished third in his much delayed first start in June but has since won three straight races with a schedule running once a month. Now, after much preparation and with a mini-layoff, it is time to step up. A stakes race! The video never gets old.



From Bloodhorse:

• His first stakes start has been a long time coming. Though he recorded 24 works as a 2-year-old and 3-year-old, he never made it to the races. He didn't start until the summer of his 4-year-old year, finishing third in a one-mile maiden race at Gulfstream Park June 21.
• "It took a little while to kind of get to the races, but he's been ultra-consistent since he has," Pletcher said. "This is kind of his coming-out party, so to speak, if he's able to handle this step up."
• The third-most expensive horse at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, he is out of the grade 1-winning Tiznow mare Tiz Miz Sue, a millionaire who won or placed in 17 stakes. Her three foals to race are winners.

Tatweej Seeks Return on Investment in Harlan's Holiday - BloodHorse

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Gulfstream is considering adding a synthetic surface to its two current surfaces. With GPW closing as a T-bred option, Gulf will likely add dates to its yearly schedule. This would alleviate a burden on its current courses especially turf . If turf racing is called off due to wet conditions, synthetic would be in play rather than multiple scratches and a change to dirt.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

TURF Paradise isn't scheduled until early January 2021, from what I've seen listed there.

A meeting today could be a determing factor for Arizona. The dispute regarding simulcast that was heated then simmered may arise again and that could be something extensive for the track operators and horsemen. Let's see what develops but the two tracks in the state, the governing bodies and the signal operators are all involved.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

TURF Paradise isn't scheduled until early January 2021, from what I've seen listed there.

This is related to the situations in New Mexico and Arizona.

Separately, though intermingled at the same time, no resolution today on what is ongoing with the simulcast issues involving Arizona but meetings are ongoing. Live racing will be a go and some tracks will be shown via simulcast but anything that Monarch controls -- an arm to the Stronach Group -- will not be aired within the state of Arizona and that includes non-owned tracks of Stronach controlled via broadcast such as Del Mar and Tampa Bay in addition to Santa Anita, Laurel, Gulfstream, GGF and more that the company does own.

Arizona could -- will -- be getting additional horses from New Mexico.

Turf Paradise Getting Horse Influx From Pandemic Affected Tracks (thoroughbreddailynews.com)

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

By the time Turf Paradise opens Jan. 4 for Arizona’s first live Thoroughbred racing since March 14, track management projects the horse population could top 1,200 for the five-day weekly, 84-date meet that runs through May 1.

Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia said during the Dec. 10 Arizona Racing Commission meeting that 664 horses are currently stabled on the grounds, adding that “I expect by the end of the month that that figure is probably going to double.”
---------​

Chiefly, he said, interest has been sparked from outfits at Golden Gate Fields (which is currently closed for racing until at least Dec. 26) and from tracks in New Mexico (where Zia Park just resumed racing after a health-related shutdown and the Dec. 26 start date at Sunland Park has been pushed back at least 30 days because of pandemic-related uncertainty).

“So in the good news department, we’re getting an influx of horses,” Francia said. “And the not-so-good news [is] both of those areas have been hit pretty hard with by the virus.

“So we’re having to revise and amp up how we’re going to handle people coming into the backside and the track,” Francia continued. “And by that I mean we’re looking at making sure [licensees] have a negative coronavirus test before they come on [to the backstretch]. And once they get here and get their horses in, then they get [another] test. We’re taking that extra step…and we need to keep everyone here at Turf safe if we are going to get through this race meet.”​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, December 10, 2020

• Indiana: Indiana Grand's 2021 schedule was revealed today. There will be 120 days of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing beginning Tuesday, April 13 and running through Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021.
• Todd Pletcher has earned $397,327,009 as a trainer, the most in North America history. He should get to $400 million earned in 2021. His $10 million+ earned in 2020 is his lowest since 2002.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Opening day: Day number one of New York's winter meet. The track will run into late March.
• Chalk city -- Seven of the nine races were won by favorites and the exceptions include an even money winner. The lone price was in race 8.
• Jose Lezcano continued his torrid ending at the Fall meet with a 4-win day today. Two wins were for Linda Rice.
• Kendrick Carmouche, who won his first NYRA title in the Fall meet, had a 2-win day.
• Handle: Close to $6 million.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Brittany Russell was 2 1-0-1 and neither starter was ridden by her husband. She is 37 19-7-6 (51%/86%) and won the opener in a romp. As the track announcer stated "The Russell train keeps rolling..." She is redefining hotness.
  STOP BETTING HER!

​

• Claudio Gonzalez won twice and leads all trainers with 21 wins though he has sent out 62 more starters than Brittany Russell.

Charles Town (West Virginia):

• Race 8: The $1 Pick 6 paid $125,000+.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Joe Bravo, Tyler Gaffalione and Paco Lopez all had two winners apiece. Gaffalione was 1-for-25 as the day began. Lopez leads the meet with 12 victories.
• J. Kent Sweezey, who is in his fourth year after tutoring under trainers including Jimmy Jerkens, won twice. His four wins is tops at the early stages of the meet.
• Handle: More than $5.2 million.
• Race 5: Moonlite Strike (Edgard Zayas/Saffie Joseph) was sent off the favorite and won by a head in his third race. He will be pointed towards bigger races with the Florida Derby among them.

​

Fair Grounds (Louisiana):

• "Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust...": Louisiana calling as seven of the nine favorites failed in their roles today.

Delta Downs (Louisiana):

• Timothy Thornton rode a natural hat trick and finished the day 7 3-3-0.

Los Alamitos (California):

• Race 1: Galwalksintoabar (Jessica Pyfer/Faith Taylor) won the opener by a nose. The jockey rides with a 7-pound bug and is 22 years of age. The trainer is based at Golden Gate.

​

• Race 4: The $2 double was $1,512. Wow! The $1 Pick 3 with 16-1, 17-1 and 26-1 returned $128.50 as it paid out to those who hit two of three legs (no one hit all three legs).
• Race 5: The $1 Pick 3 paid over $1,900. The $1 Pick 4 paid over $34,000. The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $54,000.
• Tiago Pereira rode three winners.
• Abel Cedillo, who has turned into a top rider in the state, was injured after falling during a race. Knee, arm and hip among the injuries but he was alert and talking.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Gulfstream's Saturday card has four graded stakes. The Fort Lauderdale Stakes looks enjoyable to handicap. It could be a Pegasus World Cup turf preview. John Velazquez must be vacationing as he has no entries listed through the weekend. He last rode on Saturday in New York and was headed south for the winter.

Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (ET)
Race 1	$19,000	Claiming	1 Mile	Dirt	13	12:05 PM
Race 2	$50,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 Furlongs	Dirt	9	12:35 PM
Race 3	$47,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 Mile	Turf	10	1:05 PM
Race 4	$100,000	Rampart S.	1 Mile	Dirt	6	1:35 PM
Race 5	$40,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	9	2:05 PM
Race 6	$100,000	Sugar Swirl S.	6 Furlongs	Dirt	6	2:38 PM
Race 7	$50,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 Mile	Dirt	9	3:08 PM
Race 8	$75,000	My Charmer S.	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	8	3:38 PM
Race 9	$100,000	Harlan's Holiday S.	1 1/16 Miles	Dirt	7	4:09 PM
Race 10	$200,000	Ft. Lauderdale S.	1 1/8 Miles	Turf	10	4:40 PM
Race 11	$39,000	Maiden Claiming	1 1/16 Miles	Turf	12	5:11 PM

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

FORT LAUDERDALE STAKES

What: Grade 2. An unofficial prep for the $1,000,000 Pegasus World Cup Turf January 23. As Todd Pletcher said, "This is a prep with some real teeth to it." This should be a fantastic race and there are some heavy hitters in the trainers' column.
Where: Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, FL
When: Saturday, December 12, 2020, Race 10
Time: 4:40 pm ET
Who: 3-year-olds and up
Distance: 1 1/8 mile
Surface: Turf
Purse: $200,000
TV: TVG (all-day coverage of racing)
Free live stream: Live Stream | World-Class Thoroughbred Horse Racing | Gulfstream Park
History: Inaugurated in 1947
Note: One of racing's oldest adages is "pace makes the race." Many of the horses like to be on the lead and two of them are in polar opposite posts: the inside and outside,. Who will blink? ​

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Somelikeithotbrown (NY)	Tyler Gaffalione	125	Michael J. Maker	4/1
2	Delaware (GB)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Chad C. Brown	5/1
3	Doswell (KY)	Junior Alvarado	120	Barclay Tagg	20/1
4	Breaking the Rules (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	120	Claude R. McGaughey III	8/1
5	Channel Cat (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	120	Jack Sisterson	15/1
6	Largent (VA)	Paco Lopez	120	Todd A. Pletcher	20/1
7	Tide of the Sea (KY)	Joe Bravo	120	Michael J. Maker	15/1
8	Spooky Channel (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	123	Brian A. Lynch	12/1
9	Factor This (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	125	Brad H. Cox	5/2
10	Halladay (KY)	Luis Saez	125	Todd A. Pletcher	7/2

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

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Race 1: Stop betting Brittany!

Sheldon Russell for his wife, comfy win in the Laurel opener on Friday.

Wins are now down to $3.

Craftiness needed with her these days. The train keeps rollin'.

============================
Race 3: Stop betting Brittany, part 2.

She went 2-for-2 today after winning races 1 and 3.

The hottest thing in racing...no, sports!

Her hubby won the first three races.
==============================

The full replay show of Laurel's Friday card.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, December 11, 2020

Aqueduct (New York):

• Handle: Over $7 million.
• Fields: Deep so far. Keep it up!
• Race 2: Bardolino (Nik Juarez/James Bond) wired the field at 59-to-1. The first-time starter paid $120.00 to win.
• Race 5: Saluki, a 2-year-old filly, has a very unique color pattern. Mixed brown and white, almost spotted. She has the exterior of something not seen in quite some time, and rarely.
• Race 6: One of the strangest results I have seen in a while. There were multiple deadheats for third place and fifth place and to make matters more complicated, following a very lengthy review, was the inclusion of an entry. Thus, the actual finish was 1A, 6, 1/3, 2/5, 4. The superfecta paid out to winners who held 1-6-3-2 and 1-6-3-5. An argument could be made that the sixth place horse completed a superfecta. Those who scoop tickets were likely in seventh heaven.
• Race 7: Jack the Cat (Dylan Davis/Ray Handal) was sixth in the stretch but finished strongly to win at 15-to-1. Soulmate (Sebastian Saez/John Pregman) placed at 77-to-1 and paid a staggering $64.50 in the middle and $34.50 for third. The $1 exacta paid $821. The $.50 tri paid just under $1,900. The $.10 super was over $2,700.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Sheldon Russell had a natural hat trick by the third race including riding Chloe Rose and Maythehorsebwithu to victories for his significant other. The $.50 Pick 3 paid a resounding $4.65. Yikes. But that is the price of success.
• Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell teamed twice and won both races. Sheldon is now 138 39-20-16 (28%/54%) and Brittany is 39 21-7-6 (54%/87%) and is the meet's co-leader with Claudio Gonzalez (21 wins apiece) despite sending out 63 less starters. The husband-wife team remains around 40% at the meet as a tandem. Dazzling marks. “We have a great work ethic together. I know what she wants and she knows what she's doing. She keeps me busy in the morning and feel like we both understand her horses,” Sheldon Russell said. “We're both on the same page and we've got a great team behind us. You can just see the horses are well-spotted and they're running really well right now.”

• Race 4: Gary Capuano, one year younger than his brother Dale, defeated the sibling in a close finish in which the latter nearly wired the field. The trainers have been around Maryland for decades and Gary is best known for Captain Bodgit who won the Wood Memorial and Florida Derby and placed in the 1997 Kentucky Derby. Sibling rivalry on full display.

Mahoning Valley (Ohio):

• Race 8: The $.20 Pick 6 payoff was $266,563.
• Race 6: The longest shot on the board was DQ'd from victory at 42-to-1.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: Over $7.5 million. Expect a huge handle at Gulf tomorrow especially if the weather plays unfavorably in New York on Saturday.
• Tyler Gaffalione rode four winners. That is six winners the past two days after a 1-for-25 start to the meet. The south Florida native is magically tied for fourth in the standings with 7 winners. He needs to be a finalist for the Eclipse Award.

​

• Paco Lopez rode two winners and leads the meet with 14 victories.
• Race 10: Pay Any Price (Paco Lopez/Georgina Baxter), a 10-year-old gelding, was out for just the 34th time and sports a fantastic 34 19-4-3 ($727k earned) after finishing as the runner up. He was out for nearly two years including all of 2015 and was unraced until being 4-years-old. Not too many 10-year-olds have only 34 starts. The finale had a field of 12 including 10 horses coming in from different tracks.
• Rainbow Six (Saturday): The jackpot will be at least $650,000 for a typically good Saturday card.
  
• The complete replay show:

​

Turfway (Kentucky):

• Race 6: The $.10 super paid over $3,100.
• Gerardo Corrales has won a third of his races and leads the meet with nine wins.
• Wesley Ward, Mark Casse and Brad Cox are the only trainers with more than two wins in the early stages of the meet.

Fair Grounds (Louisiana):

• Marcelino Pedroza and Florent Geroux rode three winners and accounted for six straight victories. Pedroza began the day 1-for-46 at the meet but ended 4-for-53.
• Race 5: Liken It (Marcelino Pedroza/Ronnie Ward) won the $50,000 Magic City Classic Stakes, which was limited to horses registered as Alabama breds, at 26-to-1 and paid over $55. There are not many active Alabama breds.
• Michael Stidham and Brad Cox are having exceptional meets. Both trainers have seven wins and high percentages in the early stages.

Los Alamitos (California):

• Abel Cedillo, injured yesterday and hospitalized, not only rode today but won three times. He was the leading rider at Del Mar's Autumn meet.
• Race 6: Medina Spirit (Abel Cedillo/Bob Baffert), a $35,000 Florida-bred -- yes, Baffert had a $35,000 horse -- won his debut. Baffert's other starter, Democrat (Drayden Van Dyke), another Florida-bred but who was purchased for $200,000 was substandard as the 5-to-2 favorite. He made his debut following being a vet's scratch the same race Life is Good elevated his standing as a potential Kentucky Derby favorite (Nov. 22 at Del Mar).

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

HONG KONG CUP

Tomorrow is the Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse. Sha Tin boasts the world's longest TV screen which equals to 4,500, 21" TVs piled up, and it's width is equivalent to the length of a Boeing 747 jet (per its website).

That is a unique way to feel the cringe of losing a photo finish or the thrill of a win. Cup half full or half empty?!

The race equates to $3.6 million U.S. and 1 1/4 miles. The 7:30 pm post time in Australia (from the excerpt below) is 3:30 am ET Sunday (correction). That is, if I did the transfer correctly.

2020 Hong Kong Cup Preview | RACING.COM

HK$28m (A$4.9m) G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup (2000m)
Race 8, 7:30pm (AEDT) at Sha Tin on Sunday

1	SKALLETI	(4)	Jerome Reynier	Pierre-Charles Boudot	57	$8
2	DANON PREMIUM	(6)	Mitsumasa Nakauchida	William Buick	57	$4.40
3	WIN BRIGHT	(8)	Hatakeyama Yoshihiro	Masami Matsuoka	57	$8
4	FURORE	(5)	Tony Cruz	Joao Moreira	57	$3.60
5	TIME WARP	(2)	Tony Cruz	Karis Teetan	57	$71
6	DANCES WITH DRAGON	(7)	Caspar Fownes	Vincent Ho	57	$31
7	MAGICAL	(1)	Aidan O'Brien	Ryan Moore	55	$2.90*
8	NORMCORE	(3)	Kiyoshi Hagiwara	Zac Purton	55	$14

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Major league bombs at Gulf to open things on what should be an appealing card today. Luca Panici tops a $2 exacta that paid an astounding $2,090.80. The .50 tri was over $4,200. If this is any indication, strap yourself in for a fun and bumpy ride

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

This has to be among the foggiest days ever on Long Island.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

This has to be among the foggiest days ever on Long Island.

Aqueduct, correct, might be due to impending weather on the Island

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Aqueduct, correct, might be due to impending weather on the Island

And Carmouche won in the heavy fog. There is a legendary and infamous story involving his father, a jockey, in the fog in Louisiana from many years ago.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Ouch, that was disappointing at Gulf. Back to the drawing board with Tatweej.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

And that is why I thought the Fort Lauderdale Stakes was an awesome betting race. I would never have come up with that combo. 16-1, 15-1, 10-1, 17-1 and 13-1 top five.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, December 12, 2020

• Todd Pletcher had four winners at Gulfstream. He is one of just seven trainers with 5,000 or more wins. He is the all-time money earner and is only $2.4 million shy of $400,000,000 in his Hall of Fame career.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Weather: It was foggy. As foggy as I remember for a New York card. No rain. Track surfaces were good and the two turf races scheduled went off without complication or hindrance. This is representative of the simulcast feed:

​

• Handle: Over $9 million.
• Race 8: Bankit (Jose Lezcano/Steve Asmussen) romped in the $100,000 Alex M. Robb Stakes. The 4-year-old colt won for only the fourth time in 26 starts, ended a 13 race losing streak and won for the first time in 2020 after 11 losses. The colt has won over $800,000, however.
• Race 2: A perfect example of Joel Rosario's ability as a strong closer.
• Jose Lezcano rode three winners and leads the meet with seven victories among only 17 starts (41%). He is an undervalued rider. A good veteran. He could win this meet. Last year, he was second at the meet in total wins and got a boost for his efforts. He had the option to go to Florida but passed.

Laurel (Maryland);

• Weather: Bright and sunny.
• Alexander Crispin won two of his three rides and found the winners' circle with half of his last 10 rides. He maintains a 5-pound bug with 95 career wins. Eventually he will lose the privilege but he could be a finalist for Apprentice Jockey of the Year.
• Race 5: Manor House (Victor Carrasco/Michael Stidham) romped by more than 12 lengths in his debut. Dream Big Dreams (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) finished a well-beaten second in his debut. Sheldon is 144 40-21-16 (28%/53%) and Brittany is 40 21-8-6 (53%/88%) at the meet and she is the meet's co-leader with Claudio Gonzalez (21 wins apiece) despite sending out 63 less starters. She was 8 5-2-1 (63%/100%) this week (Dec 5-12) at her home track.
• Race 3: Grace Isabella (Jonathan Joyce/Robin Graham) gave the jockey his first win of 2020. The rider was idle since 2014 but had not won with his first 49 mounts in 2020. He was exercising horses in the middle and following the win stated of his absence “Just finding myself again, visiting family, still stuck with horses and continued my passion. I just needed a little break to get my thoughts together and figure it all out again." He won the riders' title at Timonium in 2006 at the age of 21. Afterwards, he said he would be riding horses at 5:30 a.m. Sunday per the norm. The life of a journeyman rider.

Tampa Bay Downs (Florida):

• Gerald Bennett had three winners. He leads the meet with 11 victories and is the favorite to win the trainers' title here once again.
• Race 3: Shivaree (Roberto Alvarado. Jr./Ralph Nicks) won the $100,000 Marion County Florida Sire Stakes. Shivaree began 2020 with a win but had lost his last seven starts. It was his first race at Tampa Bay. The 3-year-old had raced at Gulfstream mainly.
• Race 7: Heiressall (Antonio Gallardo/Teresa Pompay) won the $100,000 City of Ocala Florida Sire Stakes. The 5-year-old mare raced for the 20th time but first chance at Tampa Bay. Of her prior 19 starts, 15 were at Gulfstream.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: More than $13,500,000 bet.
• Card: Four graded stakes highlighted a typically strong Saturday card.
• Race 11: Mira Mission (Edgard Zayas/Thomas Bush) won the finale at 5-1.
• Race 10: Largent (Paco Lopez/Todd Pletcher) rallied strongly and the Virginia-bred seized control to win the $200,000 Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at 16-to-1. Largent is 9 6-3-0 and was involved in a graded stakes for the first time. The Into Mischief gelding is an impressive 5 4-1-0 on the Gulfstream turf. Pletcher basically indicated that the Pegasus World Cup turf is next. The top six horses finished at 16-to-1, 15-1, 10-1, 17-1, 13-1 and 38-1. The $.10 super was over $1,700. There was much speed in this race and it was a very difficult race to prognosticate. Eight of the ten horses won stakes and six of them graded. The four horses with the lowest odds all finished in the last four spots. Very odd!

​

• Race 9: Tax (Luis Saez/Danny Gargan) concluded a comfortable victory in the Grade 3 $100,000 Harlan's Holiday. Tax, who ran in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, won for the 4th time in 13 lifetime starts and has earned over $957,000. He will probably run next in the Pegasus World Cup (dirt). Among the defeated was a well-beaten Tatweej who was lightly race coming into his first graded stakes but looked outmatched.
• Race 8: Niko's Dream (Junior Alvarado/Barclay Tagg) won the $75,000 My Charmer Stakes at 13-to-1, the second largest odds on the board. Same ownership as Tiz the Law and Funny Cide.
• Race 7: Donegal Bay (Luis Saez/Todd Pletcher), out for the second time and first since a 6th place finish at Saratoga in August, defeated the field. The $90,000 purchase was up against some heavy hitters including a $2.1 million purchase by Godolphin named Alexander Valley (Junior Alvarado/Bill Mott) who was a flop in his debut yet is among chatter for Kentucky Derby preps.
• Race 6: Lady's Island (Emisael Jaramillo/Georgina Baxter) wired the field and held on by a head to win the $100,000 Grade 3 Sugar Swirl Stakes.
• Race 5: What a Beaut (Jose Ortiz/Mark Casse) won by a neck and gave the Hall of Fame trainer his first win at the meet.
• Race 4: Letruska (Emisael Jaramillo/Fausto Gutierrez) wired the field and won by more than six lengths in winning the $100,000 Grade 3 Rampart Stakes. Jaramillo is usually dependable on favorites.
• Race 3: Con Lima (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher) wired the field and won by more than five lengths. The 2-year-old filly was on the doorstep knocking but burst through today. She is now 5 2-3-0.
• Race 2: Prime Factor (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher) dominated the field and won by more than 8 lengths in his debut. The $900,000 purchase at Keeneland in 2017 is perhaps Pletcher's Kentucky Derby frontrunner. The Ortiz brothers finished 1-2, Pletcher trained both horses.

https://twitter.com/jasonblewitt30/status/1337817360879775746​

• Race 1: Swing West (Luca Panici/Robert Hess, Jr.), who had an outstanding 2020 at Ohio tracks more so Belterra, shocked the locals at 36-to-1. The runner-up was 34-to-1. The $1 exacta was $1,045.40. The $.50 tri was over $4,200. The $.10 super was $6,500+.
• Todd Pletcher had one of his best days of 2020. He won four of the six races he entered and finished 9 4-1-1. He is approximately $2.5 million shy of earning $400,000,000 in his career which includes over 5,000 wins. An amazing career. One of the all-time greats.
• Paco Lopez, Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Emisael Jaramillo each won twice.
• Junior Alvarado is trying the Gulfstream winter meet for the first time. He has ridden there many times but this is the first time he moved his tack to the track for the winter. He went 7 1-1-1 today.
• Leading jockeys: Paco Lopez (15 wins) and Luis Saez (13 wins).
• Leading trainer: Todd Pletcher (6 wins) rebounded from his uncharacteristic bad start.
• Rainbow Six (Sunday): The jackpot is guaranteed to hit $800,000.
• Replay show:

​

Hawthorne (Illinois):

• Track conditions: Sloppy, sloppy and sloppy.
• Race 6: The place horse paid $43.80. Not a bad ticket for a loser.

Fair Grounds (Louisiana):

• Card: 10 of the 13 races held purses of $100,000 or more with state-breds the focus. The first three races were quarterhorses.
• Race 12: Grand Luwegee (Colby Hernandez/Gerard Perron), winless in 2020, won the $150,000 feature race at 52-to-1 and paid $107.00
• Race 13: The $1 double was $658.20 with the winning jockeys brothers Colby and Brian Hernandez.

Los Alamitos (California):

• Race 8: Sensible Cat (Juan Hernandez/Carla Gaines) won the $100,000 Soviet Problem Stakes. Hernandez's 8 wins is tops at the meet which ends December 20.
• Jessica Pyfer had perhaps the best day of her young career. She finished 5 3-1-0. The three wins raises her career total to 14 victories. She currently rides with a 7-pound bug.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday at Remington (Oklahoma) includes a Kentucky Derby prep race. The field for the Springboard Mile is as follows:

Derby Prep: Remington’s Springboard Mile Draws Field Of 11 Juveniles - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report

The field for the Springboard Mile, by program and post-position order, with trainer, jockey and morning-line odds:
1. Senor Buscador: Todd Fincher --- Luis Quinonez, 15-1
2. Number One Dude: Kari Craddock --- Ezequiel Lara, 6-1
3. Vim And Vigor: Larry Stroope ---- Walter De La Cruz, 20-1
4. Gushing Oil: Danny Pish ---- Lane Luzzi, 15-1
5. Red N Wild: Terry Eoff ---- Sophie Doyle, 12-1
6. Game Day Play: Bret Calhoun ---- Lindey Wade, 10-1
7. Saffa's Day: Steve Asmussen ---- Iram Diego, 10-1
8. Cowan: Steve Asmussen ---- Stewart Elliott, 4-1
9. Outadore: Wesley Ward ---- David Cabrera, 3-1 (morning-line favorite)
10. Joe Frazer: Brad Cox ---- Richard Eramia, 5-1
11. Flash Of Mischief: Karl Broberg ---- Ramon Vazquez, 15-1

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

TVG's schedule for Sunday:

Laurel free stream -- Streaming Video | Laurel Park
Gulfstream free stream -- Live Stream | World-Class Thoroughbred Horse Racing | Gulfstream Park

correction:

Gulfstream Park	1-11	12:05
Aqueduct	1-9	12:20 PM
Laurel Park	1-4	12:25 PM
Hawthorne	8-9	1:55 PM
Fair Grounds	1-9	2:00 PM
Los Alamitos TBred	1-9	3:30 PM
Mountaineer	1-9	7:00 PM
Rosecroft Raceway	10-14	7:15 PM
Pompano Park	2-11	7:20 PM
Los Alamitos	1-8	8:30 PM
AUB – Orange	4	10:05 PM

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

December 13, 2020

Sha Tin, Hong Kong

• The Hong Kong Cup, roughly $3.6 million U.S. and otherwise known as the richest race in Hong Kong, was won by Normcore (Zac Purton/Kiyoshi Hagiwara). The winning jockey has a history of success in Hong Kong with over 1,200 wins in the land, second best ever. The 5-year-old mare finished 16th in her most recent race in November, a Grade I in Japan. She is 7-for-17 lifetime with well over $4 million earned.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, December 13, 2020

• Michael Maker won six of the seven races he entered. He won four times at Gulfstream and two at Aqueduct. His only defeats was early at Fair Grounds and a race at Gulf in which he entered two. He is the third winningest trainer in North America this year.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Handle: Over $7,000,000.
• Kendrick Carmouche won four times.
• Michael Maker went 2-for-2 today and 3-for-3 at the Big A the past two days. He won six times today including four at Gulfstream.
• Race 1: Wings of Fire (Luis Cardenas/Jeremiah Englehart) was the only first time starter on the entire card. She won.
• Race 4: Risk Taking (Jose Lezcano/Chad Brown) broke his maiden in his third try. Owners: Eclipse-Award winning Klaravich Stables. That is a good notch for Lezcano to be riding for those connections. The winning 2-year-old colt sold for $240,000. This could be Brown's leading contender for the Kentucky Derby
• Race 9: The $.20 Pick 6 paid over $15,000 to each winner.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 8: With exotics from exactas, to Pick 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s riding on this finish... "wait for the picture," per Dave Rodman.

​

• Race 7: Hello Hot Rod (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) won going away after fending off a challenger from a 3-to-1 shot. Nice, disciplined ride. It helps to have the horse but knowing who you are battling early, not getting trapped in a speed dual, and then settling in for the primary challenger often leads to success. The hubby-wife duo do it again! Sheldon is 148 41-22-17 (28%/54%) and Brittany is 42 22-9-6 (52%/88%) at the meet. The trainer ended a lengthy 2-race losing streak. She finished 10 6-3-1 (60%/100%) this week+ (Dec 5-13) at her home track.

​

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: More than $9.6 million bet today.
• Paco Lopez and Irad Ortiz, Jr. won three times.
  
• Race 1: Malraux (Tyler Gaffalione/Jena Antonucci) wired the field. He ended a 10-race losing in his second start at the track. He has raced mostly at Arlington.
• Race 7: A 9-to-2 post time favorite led track announcer Pete Aiello to say "Wide open board...the bettors are quite confused..." Seven horses sent off between 4-to-1 and 7-to-1. A 6-to-1 shot was the winner.
  
• Race 9: Frosted Grace (Luca Panici/Kathy Ritvo) snapped an 11-race losing streak and won for the 3rd time in 21 starts. The 4-year-old colt hits the board with frequency as evidenced by a 2-7-3 mark in his past 13 starts.

Los Alamitos (California):

• Race 3: As Time Goes By (Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert), a 3-year-old daughter to American Pharoah, won at 3-to-5. The filly has improved on each of her three starts with a career mark of 3 1-1-1. Today she broke her maiden. Baffert had three of the seven horses who were entered and finished 1st-3rd and 5th. The winner was sold privately to major Irish-based owners Tabor, Magnier and Smith who have earned over $28 million racing as a unit.
• Race 5: Frosteria (Abel Cedillo/Bob Baffert), a homebred owned by Godolphin, finished third again. The 2-year-old filly is 3 0-3-0 lifetime.
• Race 9: A massive $20,000 $1 Pick 4 to all who hit. The biggest winner paid $36.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

What a disciplined ride by Sheldon Russell. It helps to have the horse but knowing who you are battling early, not getting trapped in a speed dual, and then settling in for the primary challenger often leads to success. Hello Hot Rod. They do it again.