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

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MiamiScreamingEagles

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SANTA ANITA: Opening Day
UPDATED with morning lines.
The highly anticipated and popular 6-month winter/spring meet runs December 26 until June 20.

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FIVE GRADED STAKES (1, 1, 1, 2,2) highlighted by:
  • The Malibu (Gr. 1) will indeed feature Nashville, Charlatan and Thousand Words. :popcorn:
Race #PurseRace TypeDistanceSurfaceStartersEst. Post
PACIFIC TIME
Race 1$63,000Allowance1 1/8 MilesTurf1111:00 AM
Race 2$61,000Maiden Special Weight7 FurlongsDirt711:32 AM
Race 3$24,000Claiming1 MileDirt912:04 PM
Race 4$200,000Mathis Brothers Mile S.1 MileTurf712:36 PM
Race 5$35,000Maiden Claiming6 1/2 FurlongsDirt121:06 PM
Race 6$63,000Allowance6 1/2 FurlongsTurf131:37 PM
Race 7$200,000San Antonio S.1 1/16 MilesDirt82:09 PM
Race 8$300,000La Brea S.7 FurlongsDirt112:43 PM
Race 9$300,000American Oaks1 1/4 MilesDownhill turf103:17 PM
Race 10$300,000RUNHAPPY Malibu S.7 FurlongsDirt63:51 PM
Race 11$75,000Lady of Shamrock S.1 MileTurf104:25 PM
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Woodbine suspends operation due to COVID Lockdown in Ontario
As far as actual racing, that is for the harness track since T-bred racing was stopped and the meet would have since concluded.

Restrictions are in place until Jan. 23 in southern Ontario, northern Ontario is through Jan. 9.

I wonder how many trainers or jockeys will relocate to Oaklawn among other options.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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This could be the difference between Saez and Gaffalione as one of the finalists for Eclipse award nominees. That is if Rosario and Ortiz, Jr. get the other two spots as I see it. Some may put Prat on their lists as well. I have it Irad O., Rosario and Gaffalione with Saez closely behind.

 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Side notes:
  • Jockey of the Week: David Cabrera was chosen Jockey of the Week for three stakes wins at Remington. Among the runners up were Tyler Gaffalione and Luis Saez who had strong weeks at arguably the toughest ongoing meet at Gulfstream and Eric Cancel who led in purse money earned.
  • NYRA bans Lasix: Jurisdictions have different rules but NYRA is banning Lasix beginning Jan. 1 for all stakes races 48 hours prior.. That will be universal for Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct.
  • Racing in New Mexico:
    • Zia Park: The abbreviated meet is scheduled to end today.
    • Sunland Park: Was scheduled to operate December 26, 2020 through March 30, 2021 but will remain dark until further notice due to local government restrictions related to the C-virus. Sunland closed its earlier meet March 15 (April 21 was the scheduled finale).
    • SunRay Park: Lost its 2020 racing season which was supposed to begin April 24.
    • Albuquerque Downs: The meet concluded in October.
    • Ruidoso Downs: The meet concluded in September..
    • Relocations: Several trainers and jockeys will relocate to other tracks including Todd Fincher (24 stalls at Sam Houston in Texas) and Justin Evans (most of his horses will be sent to Arizona). Tracks in Arizona and Texas are the most cited destinations.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Parx (Pennsylvania):
  • Favorites: Chalk was erased throughout the day. Nine of 10 races won by someone other than the post-time favorite.
  • Race 3: The winner was more than 12 lengths the best.
  • Race 5: Favorites were 0-for-5 after a 32-to-1 shot, the longest in a field of 10, earned victory.
  • Race 6: The $1 Pick 3 was worth more than $6,800. Favorites were 0-for-6.
  • Race 7: A favorite finally won. Run Happy Run, sired by who else but Runhappy.
  • Race 8: The $.50 Pick 4 was over $21,000.
  • Race 9: The favorite finished last in a field of four.
  • Race 10: The race day concluded with yet another favorite who failed to win.
  • Handle: $2.5 million.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Parx (Pennsylvania):
  • Handle: $2.7 million.
  • Conditions: Sloppy.
  • Jamie Ness won three times. I repeat if there was an Eclipse Award for Comeback of the Year, Ness would be a winner. Even with his own indiscretions in the recent past, the mid-Atlantic based trainer from South Dakota who began in Minnesota but also has success in Florida (how's that for a map?) is at 25% his best mark since 2012. He won for the 3,000th time earlier this year.
Mountaineer (West Virginia):
  • Trainers' title: Jay Bernardini had consecutive wins to boost his meet lead to three (70-to-67). He entered the night with a 68-to-67 lead of Eddie Clouston, the latter who won the title last year by 43 victories. The meet closes December 28 and yes this is strategic.
Mahoning Valley (Ohio):
  • Erik Barbaran-Jay Bernardini, longtime connections who excelled at Suffolk Downs in Massachusetts and Mountaineer in West Virginia, went 2-for-3 as a team.
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Handle: $3.3 million.
  • Jose Delgado, a former jockey turned trainer, had a natural hat trick beginning with the sixth race. While it isn't uncommon for jockeys to have natural hat tricks, it is rare for a trainer to accomplish the feat. Delgado has a career high in victories this season, his fourth as a trainer. He is 37 11-6-5 (30%/59%) at the meet, the victory total one behind expected meet leader Gerald Bennet.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Handle: $7.7 million.
  • Todd Pletcher's barn is hot. He went 2-for-3 today and leads the meet with 14 victories.
  • Irad Ortiz, Jr. rode three winners, two for Todd Pletcher.
  • Race 7: Colonel Tom (Edgard Zayas/Brittany Russell) won. It was the Maryland-based trainer's first win in the state of Florida. She is 27% lifetime in her third year of training. :naughty:


She is catching the eyes of many:


  • Replay show:
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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ROBERT J. FRANKEL STAKES
What: Grade 3
Where: Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA
When: Sunday, December 27, 2020, Race 9
Time: 3:51 pm Pacific Time; 6:51 Eastern Time
Who: 3 year-olds and up; Fillies and Mares
Distance: 1 1/8 mile
Surface: Turf
Purse: $100,000
TV: TVG (all-day coverage of racing)
History: Inaugurated in 1968, switched to its current name in 2010 for deceased trainer Bobby Frankel who won this race a record eight times. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 68.
Note: The #8 is scratched.


PPHorseJockeyWgtTrainerM/L
1Rideforthecause (ON)Umberto Rispoli125Michael W. McCarthy3/1
2She's Our Charm (KY)Juan J. Hernandez121Ronald L. McAnally12/1
3Never Be Enough (GB)Tiago Josue Pereira123Manuel Badilla12/1
4Miss Teheran (IRE)Joel Rosario121Chad C. Brown5/1
5Altea (FR)Abel Cedillo121Michael W. McCarthy5/1
6Meal Ticket (FL)Tyler Baze121Jeff Mullins8/1
7Colonial Creed (KY)Mario Gutierrez121Richard Baltas12/1
8Posh Holly (IRE)SCRATCHED0UNKNOWN-
9Zee Drop (KY)Flavien Prat121Philip D'Amato8/1
10Mucho Unusual (CA)John R. Velazquez125Tim Yakteen5/2
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Add Remington (OK) to the growing list of tracks that set record handles in 2020. Remington surpassed its 2019 mark by 32% with $101,313,352 in total wagering. The meet concluded earlier this week.

Remington re-opens March 4, 2021.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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ALLAIRE DUPONT STAKES
What: Grade 3. The only graded stakes in North America on Saturday outside of Santa Anita's opening day which features five such events
Where: Laurel Park, Laurel, MD
When: Saturday, December 26, 2020, Race 8
Time: 3:53 pm Eastern Time
Who: 3 year-olds and up; Fillies and Mares
Distance: 1 1/8 mile
Surface: Turf
Purse: $150,000
TV: TVG (all-day coverage of racing) or TVG2 depending on schedules yet released.
History: Inaugurated in 1992. Named after Helena Allaire Crozer (du Pont), the owner of Hall-of-Famer Kelso won who 39 of 63 races. Kelso is often considered in the top ten even top five of T-bred horses of all-time.

PPHorseJockeyWgtTrainerM/L
1Alittlelesstalk (WA)Carol Cedeno121Roddina A. Barrett15/1
2Another Broad (MD)Johan Rosado123Steven M. Asmussen7/2
3Landing Zone (KY)Angel Cruz120Claudio A. Gonzalez6/1
4Eres Tu (KY)Trevor McCarthy123Arnaud Delacour2/1
5Ice Princess (NY)Victor R. Carrasco120Danny Gargan3/1
6Wicked Awesome (KY)Horacio Karamanos123A. Ferris Allen, III6/1
7Needs Supervision (KY)Sheldon Russell125Jeremiah O'Dwyer12/1
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Thursday, December 24
Christmas Eve

horsehat.jpg
  • Florida is open for business: The two Florida tracks operated on Christmas Eve. Nothing else ran in the States.
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Race 6: Diamond Ore (Samy Camacho/Barbara Minshall) won at 1-to-2. The 2-year-old filly broke her maiden in her fourth try. She is a $750,000 purchase and a daughter to Tapit. Minshall, from Quebec, has been training in smaller volume since the 1990s and has had at least seven graded stakes winners. She may have a prize here. Purtiz (Wilmer Garcia/Timothy Hamm), the lone first-time starter in the race, placed at 21-to-1.
  • Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $28,000.
  • Handle: $5.3 million. Yes, it is Christmas Eve but that is a fine figure for Tampa Bay.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Edgard Zayas had four wins. He is in a 3rd-place tie for wins among all jockeys with 22.
  • Race 7: An inquiry-objection led to a fairly obvious removal of Irad Ortiz from the win in favor of Leonel Reyes.

  • Handle: $9.2 million bet.
  • Jockeys: Five have reached 20 or more wins led by Luis Saez's 25.
  • Trainers: Todd Pletcher's barn is searing at 30% and 14 wins. Kathleen O'Connell, from Michigan and a solid trainer, ended the day 3-for-25 at the meet after a 2-win day.
  • Replay show:
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Two major horse racing web sites have penned wonderful articles on the Sheldon-Brittany Russell husband-wife team in the last 48 hours. Sheldon probably has had as many broken bones as any rider and perhaps athlete in North America. Brittany is younger in her craft and certainly deserves the accolades. She is skilled at conditioning and is well-spoken and humble as are others such as Tyler Gaffalione.

Too bad the national sports networks don't pick up on the good of this sport and the people behind it. They would rather recycle the same tired babble but that is part of their failings. Brittany has been a sensation.

She won't be able to maintain a 27% winning percentage but no one can. Right now, she is enjoying the pleasures of life and work and hopefully it continues throughout the new year and into the next. I have mentioned what as been ongoing since last year but 2020 is the Year of the Russells.

Source: Horse Racing Nation
Keeping up with the Russells: Laurel Park’s first couple

Sheldon and Brittany were married on Aug. 26, 2018. Their daughter, Edy, was born on Aug. 25, 2019. They have their home in Ellicott City, Md., but some might argue that they live at the barn while overseeing a rapidly growing outfit of 40 horses.

Brittany started her own operation three years ago after soaking up all of the knowledge that she could while working for such well-respected trainers as Brad Cox and Jimmy Jerkens.

“We’re so determined,” she said. “If it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out. But I wouldn’t be happy unless we tried it.”

Brittany refers to Sheldon as her “secret weapon.” His ability to read horses means as much during training hours in the morning as it does when the starting gate snaps open in the afternoon.

“He’s in the barn, and he’s giving me feedback I wouldn’t get anywhere else, and I think it shows,” Brittany said. “He’s not just sitting on horses. He’s coming back and giving me things a lot of people couldn’t.”​

Source: Paulick Report

“It's funny, because a lot of people ask us about it. We're just trying to stay humble. We're trying to focus on the horses and walk them over there ready to go,” Russell, 31, said. “Each individual getting a win is more the goal as opposed to winning a meet. Yeah, it would be fantastic to win the meet and a huge feat for me from a career standpoint, but we're just trying to stay humble and focus on each horse.”

“It's fun, it's satisfying. This is why we all do it. We all work very hard and we try and have the horses as right as we can every time they walk over,” Russell said. “If I enter a horse, we're entering it because it's doing well and we're trying to put it in a spot where we think it can win. It's rewarding for the team. Everybody wants to win. That's' why we show up every day, to try and help this horses win. Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

“I was lucky this year, they just sent me some nice horses. We do have some good stock in the barn,” Russell said. “I'm not the type to try and push a horse to have them ready for when the first 2-year-old races come out. In 2020, with the first 2-year-old races kind of showing up later, they were just kind of all coming around and getting ready when those races were starting to be written anyway.
“It hasn't been anything special, just good horses and they're ready at the right time. I have good clients and they let me take my time,” she added. “When you start getting pressure and feeling anxious about getting a horse to the races that's when you start doing things and I think if you just let the come along the way they want, it just pays off.”​
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Trevor McCarthy, who married fellow jockey Katie Davis a few days ago, and Sheldon Russell, who may be on a Christmas break, are off their mounts today. Both were scheduled on multiple mounts at Laurel today.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Laurel will be loading at scheduled post times, a departure from their norm and similar to the new policy at Gulfstream. Thy heard my roar and likely that of others.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Saturday, December 26, 2020 (part 1 of 2)

Aqueduct (New York):
  • Christmas break: Reopens December 31.
Laurel (Maryland):
  • Handle: $3.6 million.
  • Card: Eight of the nine races held purses of $100,000 or more. A total of $865,000 in purses. The first four races were for two-year-olds.
  • Jevian Toledo rode three winners, two as replacement rides.
  • Sheldon Russell, Trevor McCarthy and Victor Carrasco were off their mounts today.
  • Chalk: Six favorites won and even in the instances of non-favorites winning the prices were low most of the day as evidenced by the Pick 6.
  • Race 1: That had to be the longest look at a potential DQ without making a change in track history. The length of time was one thing but that usually sends a signal that placement is being discussed following the DQ. But it was a long time to determine no change.
  • Race 6: Whereshetoldmetogo (Jevian Toledo/Brittany Russell) win the $100,000 Dave's Friend Stakes. The 5-year-old Maryland-bred has raced at 11 tracks in 10 states, earned over $540,000 and is 24 9-5-2 lifetime including 6 4-0-0 at Laurel. He earned a 99 Beyer which was the highest awarded this card.
  • Race 8: Eres Tu (Jevian Toledo/Arnaud Delacour) won the Grade 3 $150,000 Allaire DuPont. The rider picked up the mount at the absence of Trevor McCarthy who was married a few days ago. This was the lone graded stakes within the USA not on the Santa Anita card.
  • Race 9: The $.20 Pick 6 paid $30.60. The payout was emblematic of the chalky day
  • Leading trainer: Claudio Gonzalez won twice today and now leads Brittany Russell (one winner) 24-to-23 in the race for top trainer.
  • Post times: The track is now following Gulfstream's lead and 0 MTP means 0 MTP. No lag time between that and the actual release from the gate.
  • Race replay show:


Mahoning Valley (Ohio):
  • Canceled: Weather/track conditions.
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Handle: More than $7 million bet.
  • Race 9: The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $30,000.
  • Race 10: Fox Rox (Ricardo Feliciano/Dennis Ward), a 9-year-old New York-bred, was out for the 98th time and won for the 22nd occasion. Not many horses cross the 100-race threshold.
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Handle: More than $15,900,000 bet.
  • Race 1: Danny Gargan's lone starter won to boost the trainer's record at the meet to 12 6-0-1 (58%/67%). He should almost always be considered at this meet.
  • Race 5: Amount (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher) debuted to a win in one of the three $75,000 races on the card. The 2-year-old son to Curlin was purchased for $110,000 and is owned by Mike Repole (Vitamin Water) and Vinny Viola (Florida Panthers).
  • Race 6: Sir Anthony (Julien Leparoux/Anthony Mitchell) won the $75,000 Allen Jerkens at 28-to-1, a rare 2 miles on the turf distance. The Illinois-bred won for the 7th time in 27 starts.
  • Race 7: Greatest Honour (Luis Saez/Shug McGaughey) broke his maiden in his fourth try. He is potentially looking at Kentucky Derby preps. He is a Courtlandt Farms homebred, a 370-acre facility in Ocala, Florida.
  • Race 9: A good, entertaining race with a better finish.
  • Jockeys: Luis Saez and Irad Ortiz, Jr. each won three times. Saez leads the meet with 28 victories followed by Ortiz's 25 and the same total of Paco Lopez.
  • Julien Leparoux rode two winners, both in $75,000 stakes. The three $75,000 purses were the most offered this card.
  • Junior Alvarado is 1-for-47. He is trying south Florida for the first time in quite some time after being mostly successful in New York in recent years.
  • Todd Pletcher and Shug McGaughey each trained two winners.
  • Replay show:


Hawthorne (Illinois):
  • Jareth Loveberry rode the card and had a 4-win day.
  • Handle: Over $3 million bet.
  • Leading riders: Victor Santiago (31) and Jareth Loveberry (28).
  • Leading trainer: Hugh Robertson (23).
  • Closing day: Sunday (tomorrow).
  • Illinois 2021: Hawthorne opens March 6, Arlington opens April 26 and Fairmont opens April 27.
Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Card: Three $75,000 purses of the 12 races held.
  • Race 10: Angel Suarez was tossed from his mount and suffered a broken femur. He underwent surgery the following day. No immediate info was provided regarding a length of time.
  • Jockeys: James Graham has a meet-high 21 wins.
  • Trainers: Brad Cox leads with 10 wins. Seven trainers have 7+ wins.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Saturday, December 26, 2020 (part 2 of 2)

Santa Anita (California):

  • Handle: $23,003,159 was bet which is the all-time record for a Santa Anita opening day handle in its 84 years. Yet another horse racing record is shattered in 2020. The prior mark of $20 million set in 2018 was obliterated today. To see more than 2 and 3 million bet in multiple races set the tone early that this would be a special handle for the southern Cal track. The figure is the 13th largest in 80+ years of track operation for any non-Breeders' Cup Day. The $25,282,789 bet on the 2000 Santa Anita Derby day is the highest figure (again, non-BC events). Roughly $45 million was bet at three tracks -- the two in Florida and one in California -- today.
  • Card: Five graded stakes with purses of $200,000 or more in each.
  • Free live stream: Santa Anita Live Stream - Santa Anita Park . Santa Anita has joined other tracks in offering free online streaming. Laurel and Gulfstream -- two other Stronach Group tracks -- have provided similar links.
  • Mike Smith had two winners in graded stakes, extremes to say the least.
  • Ricky Gonzalez had two stakes wins today included the non-graded finale. Because of his day, he was named North America Jockey of the Week.
  • Juan Hernandez also rode two winners.
  • Winning riders: California jockeys fared nicely. Each race was won by a local rider.
  • John Velazquez, Joel Rosario and Ricardo Santana, Jr., three visitors to the meet, were a combined 22 0-4-3.
  • Race 11: Nasty (Ricky Gonzalez/Richard Baltas) won the finale in a photo finish which concluded an excellent day of racing in the meet opener. All $.20 Pick 6 winners collected over $129,000. It was that kind of a day. Roughly $6 million was bet into the finale of which $1.6 was bet into the Pick 4 and $1.9 was bet into the Pick 5 pools.
  • Race 10: Charlatan (Mike Smith/Bob Baffert) romped in the Grade I $300,000 Malibu Stakes. Charlatan is 4 3-0-0 lifetime and was out for the first time since being DQ'd from victory in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn in May. Baffert has another stud in his barn. Nashville (Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steve Asmussen) entered with a perfect 3 3-0-0 mark and for all intents-and-purposes wired the opposition in each race but was no match here.

  • Race 9: Duopoly (Flavien Prat/Chad Brown) improved to 6 4-0-0 lifetime with a gate-to-wire win in the Grade I $300,000 American Oaks at odds of 6-to-1.

  • Race 8: Fair Maiden (Ricky Gonzalez/Eoin Harty), at 20-to-1, won the Grade I $300,000 La Brea Stakes in a mild shocker. It was the jockey's first Grade I victory lifetime. The $.50 Pick 4 paid over $27,000. The Irish-born trainer has worked in the U.S. for 40 years since relocating when he was 17 years of age.

  • Race 7: Kiss Today Goodbye (Mike Smith/Eric Kruljac) won the Grade II $200,000 San Antonio Stakes. The 3-year-old colt won a graded stakes for the first time. He was sent off at 15-to-1 and the longest shot on the board. The trainer attended Arizona State University and was a private detective for many years prior to turning to horse training at Turf Paradise in Arizona in the mid-1980s. He doesn't have many graded stakes winners but he has one today! Among the defeated was Mucho Gusto (John Velazquez/Bob Baffert), the 3-to-5 favorite, who seemed to be out for a workout at best. He last raced in the $20,000,000 Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia.
  • Race 5: Over $1,000,000 was bet into the Pick 5 pool. More than $2 million was bet into the race.
  • Race 4: Smooth Like Strait (Umberto Rispoli/Michael McCarthy) won the Grade II $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile as the 4-to-5 favorite. The 3-year-old colt will rest until March 6 and then May 31 for his next two scheduled races.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Sunday, December 27, 2020
  • Heating up: The past two days, approximately $12 million was bet at Tampa Bay, $27.6 million at Gulfstream and $33.4 million at Santa Anita for a weekend total surpassing $73,000,000.
Laurel (Maryland):
  • Handle: $2.5 million.
  • Closing day of the meet: December 31, the remaining lone scheduled racing day to go. The following day begins the 2021 Winter meet.
  • Jevian Toledo had his second straight 3-win day.
  • Race 3: Little Huntress/Jevian Toledo/Brittany Russell) -- a 2-year-old daughter to Frosted -- broke her maiden in a gate-to-wire 14-length win and received a healthy 76 Beyer.
  • Race 4: Blue Danube (Horacio Karamanos/Jose Corrales) was the second largest odds in a field of 10 but won at 44-to-1.
  • Race 7: Originally from Dot (Alexander Crispin/Claudio Gonzalez) walloped the field by over 17 lengths. The horse was claimed after the win. I would imagine winning by 17 lengths didn't hurt the cause.
  • Top jockeys: Sheldon Russell has 42 wins while Jevian Toledo has 39 wins. The riders share the same agent. Russell has not ridden since December 19. He is listed on multiple rides December 31.
  • Top trainers: Claudio Gonzalez won twice today and will win the meet's title for leading trainer. Gonzalez has 26 victories while Brittany Russell's 24 -- including another win today -- will not increase since she doesn't have any entries the rest of the meet which ends December 31. Gonzalez (21%/50%) sent out 74 more starters than Russell who will end the meet at an absolutely astonishing 49%/82%. They were also 1-2 in money earned. Gonzalez has won 12 of the last 13 meets in Maryland dating to Laurel's 2017 spring stand and owns or shares 15 titles overall.
TrainerStarts1st2nd3rdWin %ITM %Money
Claudio Gonzalez12326221421%50%$964,290
Brittany Russell49249749%82%$789,238
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
  • Replay show:


Mountaineer (West Virginia):
  • Canceled: Track conditions/weather. The meet is scheduled to close December 28.
Tampa Bay (Florida):
  • Handle: $5.03 million
Gulfstream (Florida):
  • Handle: $11.7 million
  • Todd Pletcher added two wins to his massive resume. The Hall of Fame trainer has 5,036 wins -- eighth best in North America history -- and is approximately $1.9 million away from becoming the first trainer in North America annals to record $400,000,000 lifetime. Pletcher is dominating the meet with 18 wins.
  • Gustavo Delgado, trainer, entered the day 0-for-12 at the meet. He won with his two starters today.
  • Edgard Zayas had three winners to bring his total to 25 at the meet (tied for third best).
  • Luis Saez's two wins gave him a meet lead of 30.
  • Junior Alvarado is too good of a jockey to have the ghastly figure at this meet entering today. Alvarado brought home two bombs today at 13-to-1 and 19-to-1. Maybe he is getting in a groove even though he is just 3-for-53.
  • Race 8: Kissing Frogs (Junior Alvarado/Bill Mott) and battling for the lead in the stretch with Paco Lopez who has a long established reputation for being aggressive. Alvarado showed intense mettle here by not being intimidated and passing Lopez in a bold move.
  • Race 4: The $1 double paid $545.40.
  • Replay show:


Hawthorne (Illinois):
  • Closing day: Today ended the meet.
  • Handle: $2.5 million.
  • Leading jockey: Victor Santiago with 32 wins.
  • Leading trainer: Hugh Robertson with 26 wins.
  • Hugh Robertson entered horses in four races and won three times.
  • Race 4: A $460.20 exacta.
  • Race 8: Behind the 2-to-5 shot winner, bombs at 84-to-1 and 92-to-1 completed the $.50 trifecta for $352.50.
  • Illinois 2021:

TrackRacing daysDates
THOROUGHBREDS:
Hawthorne​
50March 6 - April 25;
October 1 - December 31​
Arlington​
68April 26 - September 25
Fairmont​
53April 27 - September 6
HARNESS:
Suburban Downs/Hawthorne​
50 May 7 - September 26
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
Fair Grounds (Louisiana):
  • Race 8: The $.10 superfecta paid over $8,000 in an enormous payout.
Santa Anita (California):
  • Handle: $10.4 million bet. Over $33 million bet in the first two days of the meet.
  • John Velazquez and Flavien Prat each rode three winners.
  • Flavien Prat and Juan Hernadez each rode four winners in the opening weekend.
  • Bob Baffert, Peter Miller and Eric Kruljac all trained two winners in the opening weekend. Kruljac was a perfect 2 2-0-0.
  • Race 9: Mucho Unusual (John Velazquez/Tim Yakteen) won the Grade 3 $100,000 Bobby Frankel Stakes. The 4-year-old filly won for the 6th time in 18 starts and is now a multiple graded stakes winner. The trainer is a former assistant to Bob Baffert.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Jan 17, 2004
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Bob Baffert is leaning towards the $3 million Pegasus at Gulfstream in January but is considering the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia for Charlatan's next race.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Jan 17, 2004
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CALIFORNIA:
Santa Anita's Sunday handle was $150,000 more than the comparable date in 2019. All told, the weekend handle that exceeded $33 million over two days was a 14% improvement from opening weekend 2019.

Saturday's record setting handle was propelled by its fantastic card highlighted by five graded stakes
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Jan 17, 2004
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ILLINOIS:
Hawthorne (Illinois) handled $65 million this meet which closed yesterday. Comparable dates in 2019 saw $44 million wagered. Another jurisdiction with improved figures.

Things are on the rise.
 
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MiamiScreamingEagles

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Jan 17, 2004
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NEW YORK:
Add the NYRA tracks (Belmont, Saratoga and Aqueduct) to the extensive list of tracks which have reported sizeable increase in handles during 2020.

New York tracks from June 3 (re-opening day) to December 20 reported $1,577,528,951 on 117 cards, up 17.4 percent over the same period of 2019 when $1,550,476,918 was handled on 132 cards. The average daily handle was $13,483,153 which is an improvement of 14.8 percent compared to 2019.

Coverage on Fox Sports was a smart move, too, by NYRA.

Aqueduct is up 27% through seven racing days from last year with $53 million bet.

Also, Belmont is considering a major overhaul of its track surfaces including both turf tracks and the dirt oval. The state of New York owns the three race tracks and ultimately the decision will include that body.

Once the hockey arena project is finalized, I would imagine New York changes its direction in desiring to host the Breeders' Cup. While weather in November is potentially dreadful in the region, as evidenced by the abysmal precipitation for the Monmouth Breeders' Cup in addition to a New York host year -- who can forget 1995?! -- added hotels could aid any hope that the event is held outside of Kentucky or California. It is tough to beat those states and though Maryland remains a bit of a longshot and Gulfstream (Florida) doesn't have the pining to host, New York could be waiting but that is a few years away at best.
 
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