Horse Racing: Arkansas Derby day recap: $41,000,000 bet, Nadal and Charlatan win Ky. Derby preps

[Preds Partisan]

"As we understand it, we have the wiggle room to have the suspension start some time after the seventh".

Nice. He'll serve it after a big stakes day. Doesn't really bother me, but either it's a reciprocal suspension or it's not. I'm not sure it's up to the tracks to decide what's in their best interest but that's just the way it is.

Wonder about Ortiz? Have you heard anything?

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

"As we understand it, we have the wiggle room to have the suspension start some time after the seventh".

Nice. He'll serve it after a big stakes day. Doesn't really bother me, but either it's a reciprocal suspension or it's not. I'm not sure it's up to the tracks to decide what's in their best interest but that's just the way it is.

Wonder about Ortiz? Have you heard anything?

It seems that the reciprocal arrangement in which tracks honor suspensions is in question. Normally, jockeys are served suspensions which are universally honored but are allowed to ride in stakes races during that period especially if they have made prior commitments. To state a hypothetical, Mike Smith is asked two weeks in advance to ride Horse X on March 9. He agrees. The connections make their arrangements. Smith is then suspended on March 1 by the Saudis for 10 days. California and other tracks in America uphold the suspension but the person/people being unfairly punished are the connections to the horse due to run on March 9 when they made the arrangements two weeks ago. I was surprised to read the quote by the California rep. I would think she would know the exact situation before commenting but again it may have to do with the novice of Saudi Arabia. New York honored England's suspension of Johnny V. last year which I mentioned yesterday and is worded in the article cited below:

Per HorseRacingNation.com:

Ortiz Jr., who it appears was not given days for his scrutinized back-and-forth swerving to block Maximum Security in the stretch, did surpass the whip threshold as well. Per Lees, Ortiz received an eight-day suspension stemming from Friday's King Abdulaziz card and two more days, plus a 10% purse reduction, for going to the whip too much in the Saudi Cup.

Whether the suspensions will be held up upon the jockeys' returns to the United States -- Smith rides in California and Ortiz Jr. in Florida this time of year -- is unknown. Typically, jurisdictions do honor rules decisions made elsewhere, such as in 2019 when John Velazquez was sidelined in New York for whip violations on a trip to the Royal Ascot meeting in England.​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Hope we get a rematch in the Dubai Cup.

Updates today on the $12 million Dubai World Cup to be run on March 29: Maximum Security and Midnight Bisou will not run. Tacitus and Mucho Gusto will run. That accounts for four of the five US horses from the Saudi Cup.

Baffert is unsure with McKinzie.

 

[Preds Partisan]

Updates today on the $12 million Dubai World Cup to be run on March 29: Maximum Security and Midnight Bisou will not run. Tacitus and Mucho Gusto will run. That accounts for four of the five US horses from the Saudi Cup.

Too bad, but completely warranted given their efforts in the race. Those two horses did all they needed to do in the sandbox. Time to head home and plan their domination of the rest of the year's schedule.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

February 29, 2020

• John Velazquez and longtime agent Angel Cordero have separated. Ron Anderson, who books for Joel Rosario and up-and-coming Umberto Rispoli, will represent the Hall of Famer. That is fairly significant news.

I was reminded that agents typically are limited to two clients and today word comes that Rispoli was dropped by Anderson. Just like that! Anderson touted Rispoli, brought him here to America late last year and the rider has done nothing but have successful results. Judging by the jockey's comments, he was caught off guard by this move.

Also, separately, COO Tim Ritvo has departed The Stronach Group (Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Laurel, Golden Gate, and more). He began as a rider at Suffolk Downs I believe and then worked his way up the corporate ladder. His wife famously trained Mucho Macho Man. While he did a bulk of his work in Florida, recently he shifted his tack, so to speak, to California but that experience seemed draining. Plus, the ongoing feud between the Stronach daughter and her father who created the company probably escalated tensions. There were other managerial changes at TSG in recent months including a Breeders' Cup exec switching to TSG. Likely all issues came to a head.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Santa Anita (San Felipe), Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay Derby) and Aqueduct (Gotham) all host Kentucky Derby preps this weekend. Each race is worth 50-20-10-5 for the top four finishers towards entry into the Kentucky Derby.

The fields for each will be drawn on Wednesday. Here is HorseRacingNation's guess at entrants for each:

Kentucky Derby 2020 Radar: Next round of prep probables line up

Update: the Gotham draw was just held. More info will be posted eventually.

1 Celtic Striker
2 Informative
3 War Stopper
4 Attachment Rate
5 Necker Island
6 Mischevious Alex
7 Sixto
8 Montauk Traffic
9 Flap Jack
10 Untitled
11 First Deputy.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Update with Mike Smith and the suspension. I hope he does appeal and wins. The punishment is excessive and I mentioned there is a different between racing days and day. Smith points out the California equal of the suspension but if chooses to ride elsewhere, he could be on a horse in much less time. How about Gulfstream?

BTW, the comment about "This will be the biggest penalty against a jockey in the history of horse racing.” is frustration talking. Riders have had much longer suspensions and though perhaps not fined, lost income due to the punishment. But that point won't be belabored by me.

Mike Smith: Punishment Does Not Fit Crime

“I was extremely surprised,” Smith said. “It was so severe. I understand that if you go over that number you’re going to get some sort of suspension. By the time they were done, they wound up suspending me nine days and that’s about a month in California since we only race three days a week. Then to add in a 60% penalty as well, that’s absurd. That’s going way too far. A whole month off and then a quarter-million dollar fine, it’s too much. This will be the biggest penalty against a jockey in the history of horse racing.”

Smith’s suspension, which is recognized by U.S. racing authorities, is set to start Friday. In a statement on Twitter, the California Horse Racing Board said it is “reciprocating with the ruling(s) in Saudi Arabia suspending Mike Smith. We are seeking clarification on the precise dates of their suspension(s). The first date of their suspension, Mar. 6, is clear, so Smith is not named as a rider on the Friday program at Santa Anita.”

Smith said he is considering his options and may file an appeal. Before he does so, he said, he wanted to confer with Santa Anita racing officials to see if he would be allowed to ride in designated stakes races while otherwise suspended. He added that it has been difficult to communicate with Saudi racing officials because of the time difference between Riyadh and California.​

 

[Preds Partisan]

Still no news on Ortiz? Kind of weird that it's all Smith news and radio silence on Ortiz.

Edit: Love watching/betting Irad, so don't misinterpret my various questions and comments. Hopefully my comments don't come off in the wrong way about him.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Still no news on Ortiz? Kind of weird that it's all Smith news and radio silence on Ortiz.

Edit: Love watching/betting Irad, so don't misinterpret my various questions and comments. Hopefully my comments don't come off in the wrong way about him.

No need to apologize. Irad's agent said today he (the agent) is gathering info and did not have a statement as yet.

EDIT: Something else, I could be mistaken but Mike Smith could be self-represented. I know Irad has an agent named Steve Rushing. Maybe without a designated legal rep, Smith was available more readily.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Well now, David Grening at the DRF -- he covers New York -- tweeted that Kiaran McLaughlin is retiring from training in order to become an agent and represent Luis Saez. That is unexpected news. McLaughlin was having financial disagreements with the state of New York and how compensation with wages to employees is administered. Stated a few months ago he may take his horses elsewhere (New Jersey was one possibility) and would leave the state of New York. He has been active as a trainer for decades and is known for a solid reputation

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The latest Ky. Derby future (#3 of 4) was released today.

Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 3 (with trainer and morning-line odds)
Horse	Trainer	Morning-Line Odds
Authentic	Bob Baffert	12-1
Basin	Steve Asmussen	30-1
Chance It	Saffie Joseph Jr.	30-1
Charlatan	Bob Baffert	12-1
Enforceable	Mark Casse	30-1
Ete Indien	Patrick Biancone	10-1
Gouverneur Morris	Todd Pletcher	20-1
Honor A. P.	John Shirreffs	20-1
Independence Hall	Mike Trombetta	20-1
Major Fed	Greg Foley	50-1
Max Player	Linda Rice	30-1
Maxfield	Brendan Walsh	15-1
Modernist	Bill Mott	20-1
Nadal	Bob Baffert	10-1
Royal Act	Peter Eurton	30-1
Silver Prospector	Steve Asmussen	20-1
Sole Volante	Patrick Biancone	12-1
Spa City	Kiaran McLaughlin	50-1
Storm the Court	Peter Eurton	30-1
Thousand Words	Bob Baffert	15-1
Three Technique	Jeremiah Englehart	50-1
Tiz the Law	Barclay Tagg	8-1
Wells Bayou	Brad Cox	30-1
All Other 3-Year-Olds	--	9-2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (with trainer and morning-line odds)
Horse	Trainer	Morning-Line Odds
Alta’s Award	Steve Asmussen	50-1
Auberge	Bob Baffert	20-1
British Idiom	Brad Cox	12-1
Donna Veloce	Simon Callaghan	10-1
Edgeway	John Sadler	15-1
Finite	Steve Asmussen	10-1
Frank’s Rockette	Bill Mott	12-1
Gingham	Bob Baffert	20-1
Harvey’s Lil Goil	Bill Mott	30-1
Ice Princess	Danny Gargan	30-1
Lake Avenue	Bill Mott	15-1
Lucrezia	Arnaud Delacour	30-1
Maedean	Mark Hennig	30-1
Magic Dance	Steve Asmussen	30-1
Mo City	Michael Stidham	30-1
Motu	Ken McPeek	30-1
O Seraphina	Joe Sharp	50-1
Spice Is Nice	Todd Pletcher	15-1
Swiss Skydiver	Ken McPeek	50-1
Tonalist’s Shape	Saffie Joseph Jr.	10-1
Turtle Trax	Ian Wilkes	50-1
Venetian Harbor	Richard Baltas	8-1
Wicked Whisper	Steve Asmussen	15-1
All Other 3-Year-Old Fillies	--	6-1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Tampa Bay (Florida):

• Race 6: Leon McKanas, the winning trainer, tasted victory for the first time since August. He has a small stable and ran in places such as Massachusetts and Virginia in 2019. He has somewhat of a non-traditional background having played college football at Northeastern University in Boston, where he is a member of the Hall of Fame, and was also a contestant on the TV show Survivor.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Tyler Gaffalione had a brilliant day with four victories. The south Florida native is among the ten winningest riders in North America this year. His final victory was on a 12-to-1 shot.

​

• Irad Ortiz, Jr., North America's winningest jockey in 2020, won with his second start since returning from Saudi Arabia where he was suspended. At last check, his agent Steve Rushing said that he (the agent) was looking into the matter. The dates of the suspension have yet to be administered.
• Tyler Gaffalione (4) Irad Ortiz, Jr. (2) and Luis Saez (2) combined to win eight of the 10 races.

Mike Smith

• Mike Smith was also suspended for separate issues (two days involving a weigh-in and nine days for excessive use of the whip) following races in Saudi Arabia. The suspensions will be upheld in California though Smith is addressing a possible appeal. As of now, the two suspensions and a total of 11 days will be handed individually. Currently, Smith will be suspended the next two Fridays. The remaining nine days of his suspensions is what could be appealed. As mentioned earlier, jockeys usually can ride in graded stakes during suspensions since those agreements are handled oftentimes well in advance of the infractions. Since he was suspended on consecutive Fridays and not on a Saturday tells me he may be available to ride in those big races.

Kentucky Derby preps:

• All three preps this weekend will be drawn today and posted here at some point.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

SAN FELIPE STAKES

What: Grade 2. A Kentucky Derby prep race. The top four finishers will receive, respectively, 50-20-10-5 points.
Where: Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA
When: Saturday, March 7, 2020, Race 8
Time: 3:01 pm Pacific Time (6:01 pm Eastern Time)
Who: 3-year-olds
Distance: 1 1/16 mile
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $400,000
TV: TVG and FS2
History: Inaugurated in 1935. Bob Baffert has won this race six times. Since 2000, only Fusaichi Pegasus and California Chrome have won this race and the Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby prep schedule: Kentucky Derby Prep Races​

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Fort McHenry (KY)	Abel Cedillo	120	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1
2	Honor A. P. (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	John A. Shirreffs	4/1
3	Wrecking Crew (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Peter Miller	12/1
4	Authentic (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	122	Bob Baffert	6/5
5	Thousand Words (FL)	Flavien Prat	124	Bob Baffert	9/5
6	Storm the Court (KY)	Joel Rosario	124	Peter Eurton	5/1
7	Swagsational (WA)	Kassie Guglielmino	122	Heath Lawrence	50/1

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

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

LAMBHOLM SOUTH TAMPA BAY DERBY

What: Grade 2. A Kentucky Derby prep race. The top four finishers will receive, respectively, 50-20-10-5 points.
Where: Tampa Bay Downs, Oldsmar, FL
When: Saturday, March 7, 2020, Race 11
Time: 5:32 pm Eastern Time
Who: 3-year-olds
Distance: 1 1/16 mile
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $400,000
TV: TVG and FS2
History: Inaugurated in 1981. Todd Pletcher has won this race a record 5 times. Street Sense is the last horse to win this race and then the Ky. Derby.
Kentucky Derby prep schedule: Kentucky Derby Prep Races
​

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Texas Swing (KY)	Javier Castellano	117	Todd A. Pletcher	12-1
2	Spa City (KY)	Daniel Centeno	117	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	10-1
3	Relentless Dancer (LA)	Antonio A. Gallardo	117	Michael J. Maker	12-1
4	Chance It (FL)	Paco Lopez	119	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	5-2
5	Market Analysis (KY)	John R. Velazquez	117	Todd A. Pletcher	8-1
6	Mo Mosa (KY)	Pablo Morales	117	Michael J. Maker	30-1
7	Sole Volante (KY)	Florent Geroux	119	Patrick L. Biancone	2-1
8	Letmeno (KY)	Chris Landeros	117	Ian R. Wilkes	12-1
9	Unrighteous (KY)	Joe Bravo	117	Todd A. Pletcher	20-1
10	Bye Bye Melvin (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	117	H. Graham Motion	20-1
11	King Guillermo (KY)	Samy Camacho	117	Juan Carlos Avila	15-1
12	Tons of Gold (KY)	Angel Suarez	117	Alexis Delgado	30-1

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

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

GOTHAM STAKES

What: Grade 3. A Kentucky Derby prep race. The top four finishers will receive, respectively, 50-20-10-5 points.
Where: Aqueduct Racetrack, Queens, NY
When: Saturday, March 7, 2020, Race 10
Time: 5:42 pm Eastern Time
Who: 3-year-olds
Distance: 1 mile
Surface: Dirt
Purse: $300,000
TV: TVG and FS2
History: Inaugurated in 1953. The last winner of this race to go onto victory in the Ky. Derby was Secretariat in 1973.
Kentucky Derby prep schedule: Kentucky Derby Prep Races​

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Celtic Striker (KY)	Romero Ramsay Maragh	118	Raymond Handal	30-1
2	Informative (KY)	John Bisono	118	Uriah St. Lewis	15-1
3	War Stopper (KY)	Jorge A. Vargas, Jr.	118	Rudy R. Rodriguez	5-1
4	Attachment Rate (VA)	Luis Saez	118	Dale L. Romans	9-2
5	Necker Island (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	Stanley M. Hough	12-1
6	Mischevious Alex (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	123	John C. Servis	3-1
7	Sixto (KY)	Eric Cancel	118	Eric J. Guillot	8-1
8	Montauk Traffic (KY)	Jose Lezcano	120	Linda Rice	6-1
9	Flap Jack (KY)	Declan Carroll	120	Jack Sisterson	30-1
10	Untitled (FL)	Junior Alvarado	118	Mark E. Casse	4-1
11	First Deputy (NY)	Dylan Davis	118	Linda Rice	30-1

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

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Irad's agent is mysteriously void of comment in this article.

@Preds Partisan

Smith, Ortiz Jr. to Have Appeals Heard in Saudi March 8 - BloodHorse

Jockeys Mike Smith and Irad Ortiz Jr., each issued lengthy suspensions for riding infractions at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Saudi Arabia Feb. 29, mostly due to the use of the whip, will have appeals heard before Saudi racing officials there March 8, according to Luis Jauregui, a California Horse Racing Board steward at Santa Anita Park.

Jauregui said he and the other stewards at Santa Anita, Grant Baker and Kim Sawyer, have been in contact with Phil Tuck, stipendiary steward for the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. Tuck informed them that an update on the jockeys' riding status is expected to be delivered to them by the morning of March 9.

According to the Racing Post, Smith was suspended nine days and fined more than $200,000 for what officials there deemed was excessive use of the whip aboard Midnight Bisou as she rallied to finish second behind Maximum Security in the $20 million Saudi Cup. The Racing Post also reported he received an additional two-day suspension after failing to weigh in properly following the fifth race that evening.

Ortiz was issued an eight-day suspension for excessive use of the whip in the eighth race and was handed another two days for the same offense in the Saudi Cup, where he was aboard fourth-place finisher Mucho Gusto, the Racing Post reported. The jockey, who rides in Florida most often during the winter, was also fined 10% of the prize money he earned.​

 

[Preds Partisan]

Are we getting close to a "screw it, it's a Saudi suspension"? Kind of feels like it gets reduced or they just figure out random weekdays to enforce it.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Are we getting close to a "screw it, it's a Saudi suspension"? Kind of feels like it gets reduced or they just figure out random weekdays to enforce it.

It wouldn't surprise me if we see a similar pattern in which the riders are allowed to ride on graded stakes cards and the dates suspended are amended around that. Smith is complaining about lost wages in addition to the time and he seems heated to fight that. Understandable as that is a large chuck of change.

However, as this is a $20,000,000 race, the riders likely don't want to jeopardize future mounts in Saudi Arabia. Maybe they aren't hurting financially but winning $10,000,000 in a 2-minute race is something incomparable. I doubt anyone wants to make a mockery of the matter.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The more I look at the San Felipe, the more attractive of a race it becomes. First and foremost, Bob Baffert's duo but more so Authentic as the unknown commodity who could enhance his stature mightily. Nadal, not in this race, I believe wants shorter distances than what the Ky. Derby offers which tells me Baffert will have both of these horses sparkling. But don't overlook the others.

As an aside, Kassie Guglielmino rides a 50-to-1 shot. She is from rural Washington state and rode at tracks including the now shuttered Portland Meadows in Oregon. She is only in her mid-20s but to be on the same platform as Smith and Rosario, among others, has to be a thrill.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

A very odd week in racing.

Kiaran McLaughlin and now Gary Contessa have retired from training, both in the industry many, many, years. The reasons are similar and differing. Some include wages, insurances, etc. but also in the case of Contessa, smaller trainer finding it difficult to compete. David Jacobsen
mentioned that within the last couple of years as a reason why he stepped aside.

One of the biggest names in the sport, McLaughlin's horses with Shadwell have been transferred to Todd Pletcher but his Godolphin stock has yet to be moved. I am not sure about any remaining horses, though assistant trainers may get those.

Contessa's horses apparently are going to an assistant trainer named Amira Chichakly. If you see her name, she is an associate to Contessa who has been training since the 1980s beginning at Monmouth (New Jersey).

John Velazquez splitting with longtime agent Angel Cordero. Ron Anderson dumping protégé Umberto Rispoli to pick up Johnny V.'s book. McLaughlin leaving training to become Luis Saez's agent who retired. Trainers are limited to two books from what I understand.

Mike Smith, Irad Ortiz, Jr. and the 10+ days suspensions from each at Saudi Arabia.

Rafael Bejarano leaves California for Kentucky.

COO Tim Ritvo leaving The Stronach Group.

Coronavirus in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai). Racing will be held at the track on Saturday, however, without any spectators who will be banned.

Laurel and Pimlico possibly receiving $400 million to improve the track while Pimlico potentially being sold to Maryland interests. ( Bill introduced to fund Pimlico, Laurel revamps * The Racing Biz ). Old news by comparison, last month.

A very impactful few days on the industry.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

@Preds Partisan.

This is what I mean in earlier posts about how suspensions are meted.

David Cohen was given 60 days last year by Oaklawn stewards. I had a complex time figuring out this one as the punishment seemed excessive. Because Arkansas's meet is short and the incident came late in last year's schedule, the eventual appeal by Cohen interrupted the normal discipline. Stewards gather only during the racing calendar, at least that is what I was told.

Today, almost a year later, Cohen's suspension was reduced to five days and those five days will not be consecutive so he can ride in the stakes races.

Arkansas Reduces Cohen Suspension from 60 to Five Days - BloodHorse

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, March 6,. 2020

Aqueduct (New York):

• Romero Maragh, who recently moved his tack here from Gulfstream, won three times including both ends of the early daily double. He rides as a 5-pound bug.
• Race 9: Eric Cancel won for the second time on the day. Three horses went off at 5-to-2 and each finished 1-2-3.

Tampa Bay (Florida):

• Victor Carrasco, Jr. sent out three horses and each won. He had one victory with 14 starters prior this year.
• Gary Contessa, based out of New York mostly and who announced his retirement today, was the winning trainer in the finale. He won for the third time in 60 starts this year.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Tyler Gaffalione, Paco Lopez and Luis Saez each won twice. All three are among the 10 winningest riders in North America this year.
• Chris Landeros is winless in 70 starts this year, 0-for-98 this meet and has not won with his past 107 rides. He last won on December 1 at Churchill Downs.

Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Race 7: The $1 double paid $732.60.

Golden Gate (California):

• Juan Hernandez keeps racking up victories. He was 5 3-2-0 today and is second only to Irad Ortiz, Jr. among all riders in North America this year.

Santa Anita (California):

• Rafael Bejarano announced in the morning he was leaving California and will ride at Keeneland (Kentucky) beginning in April. He won the finale today.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Today's racing is loaded with 13 graded stakes including three North American Ky. Derby preps. Santa Anita should get a focus of attention with Tampa Bay and Aqueduct offering good cards as well. Oaklawn will see plenty of action and Gulfstream, while inarguably not one of the track's strongest cards, provides deep fields. There are 73 trainers who entered horses at Gulf.

In race 6 at Santa Anita, Bob Baffert sends out two of the four starters. One of the pair is Gamine who will make her debut. The 3-year-old filly was purchased for $1.8 million in May 2019. This should be a good day of racing across America but Santa Anita may have its best card of 2020 to date.

Gulfstream (FLA) begins the day at 12:00 pm ET.
Tampa Bay (FLA) and Mahoning Valley (Ohio) have 12:15 pm ET post times.
Laurel (MD) is next at 12:25 pm ET.
The day kicks in with Parx (PA), Aqueduct (NY), Fair Grounds (LA) and Oaklawn (AR)
Reminder: An 11:30 am Pacific Time (2:30 pm ET) first post at Santa Anita (CA).​

Graded stakes are at:

Aqueduct (3, 3)
Oaklawn (3)
Santa Anita (1, 1, 2, 2)
Tampa Bay (2, 2, 3, 3)
Japan (2, 3)​

Busher Invitational	Aqu	Mar 7	$250k g	3yo f	8f	Dirt
Gotham S (GIII)	Aqu	Mar 7	$300k g	3yo	8f	Dirt
Stymie S	Aqu	Mar 7	$125k g	4&up	8f	Dirt
Tom Fool H (GIII)	Aqu	Mar 7	$200k g	4&up	6f	Dirt
Allen "Black Cat" Lacombe Memorial S	FG	Mar 7	$75k g	3yo f	abt 8f	Turf
Ogataul S	Fon	Mar 7	$20k a	3&up S	6f	Dirt
Captiva Island	GP	Mar 7	$75k g	4&up f/m	5f	Turf
Silks Run S	GP	Mar 7	$75k g	4&up	5f	Turf
Ocean S (JPN-IIIT)	JRA	Mar 7	$815k a	4&up	6f	Turf
Tulip Sho (JPN-IIT)	JRA	Mar 7	$1,042k a	3yo f	8f	Turf
Honeybee S (GIII)	OP	Mar 7	$300k g	3yo f	8.5f	Dirt
Hot Springs S	OP	Mar 7	$150k g	4&up	6f	Dirt
Bert W. Martin Foundation S	Ril	Mar 7	$5,000 a	3&up	5.5f	Dirt
China Doll S	SA	Mar 7	$75k a	3yo f	8f	Turf
Frank E. Kilroe Mile (GIT)	SA	Mar 7	$400k g	4&up	8f	Turf
San Carlos S (GII)	SA	Mar 7	$200k g	3&up	7f	Dirt
San Felipe S (GII)	SA	Mar 7	$400k g	3yo	8.5f	Dirt
Santa Anita H (GI)	SA	Mar 7	$600k g	4&up	10f	Dirt
Challenger S (GIII)	Tam	Mar 7	$100k g	4&up	8.5f	Dirt
Columbia S	Tam	Mar 7	$75k g	3yo	8f	Turf
Florida Oaks (GIIIT)	Tam	Mar 7	#$200k g	3yo f	8.5f	Turf
Hillsborough S (GIIT)	Tam	Mar 7	#$225k g	4&up f/m	9f	Turf
Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (GII)	Tam	Mar 7	#$400k g	3yo	8.5f	Dirt

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, March 7, 2020

• An exhilarating day of racing.

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 8: Mind Control (Junior Alvarado/Gregory Sacco) improved to 12 7-2-1 including 5 4-1-0 at Aqueduct in winning the $200,000 Grade 3 Tom Fool. The victory lifted his earnings to the millionaire's club at $1,003,000.
• Race 9: Water White (Jorge A. Vargas, Jr./Rudy Rodriguez) won the $250,000 Busher with a thrilling finish in the best timed ending of the day, IMO. The race held a 50-20-10-5 award system towards entry into the Kentucky Oaks. Kansas Kis (Eric Cancel/Raymond Handal) was nabbed in the nick of time. What a finish! (below post)
• Race 10: Mischevious Alex (Kendrick Carmouche/John Servis) won the Grade 3 $300,000 Gotham and earned 50 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. He won for the third straight time and is 7 4-1-1 lifetime. Untitled (Junior Alvarado/Mark Casse) was runner up. The trainer had Smarty Jones. The owners had Afleet Alex. Color me intrigued. This was a 50-20-10-5 point system for the top four finishers for entry into the Derby.

​

• Dylan Davis was 6 2-4-0 through six races. Very unique.
• Kendrick Carmouche rode three winners.

Tampa Bay (Florida):

• Race 8: Trophy Chaser (Paco Lopez/Juan Avila) won the Grade 3 $100,000 Challenger as he held off King for a Day (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher) who beat Maximum Security under Joe Bravo at Monmouth in June.
• Race 9: Starship Jubilee (Javier Castellano/Kevin Attard) won the Grade 2 $225,000 race. A winner for the fifth time in six starts and 17th in 35 lifetime starts, the 7-year-old Florida-bred mare has earned over $1.3 million.
• Race 10: Outburst (Javier Castellano/Eddie Kenneally) won the Grade 3 $200,000 Florida Oaks, an important step towards entry into the Kentucky Oaks.
• Race 11: King Guillermo (Samy Camacho/Juan Avila) pulled the shocker of the day winning the Grade 3 $200,000 Tampa Bay Derby and earned 50 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. The winner bolted from the gate and said see ya later to the rest of the field. Shocker indeed! Sole Volante (Florent Geroux/Patrick Biancone) was runner up. Both horses picked up new riders. This was a 50-20-10-5 point system for the top four finishers for entry into the Derby. Over $2.4 million was bet in this race alone.

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• Juan Avila, the Florida-based trainer who has less than 50 lifetime wins, won two graded stakes today. Has to be his best day ever as a trainer without comparison.
• Handle: Over $12,000,000 bet. Big numbers for Tampa Bay.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: Over $16,000,000 bet. As mentioned, this was an average card for known talent but the $16m is a strong figure without any graded stakes.

Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Martin Garcia, David Cohen and Joe Talamo each won three times. Only one other rider won.
• David Cohen-Robertino Diodoro combined to go 5 3-0-2.
• Race 9: Shedaresthedevil (Joe Talamo/Brad Cox) won the Grade 3 $300,000 Honeybee. The race held a 50-20-10-5 award scale towards entry into the Kentucky Oaks.
• Race 8: Whitmore (Joe Talamo/Ron Moquett) won the $150,000 Hot Springs Stakes for the fourth straight year. I do not recall the last time a horse won a specific race four straight times. Whitmore is 33 13-10-3 with $2.9 million earned lifetime. The 7-year-old ran 19th in the 2016 Kentucky Derby.
• Handle: Consistent it seems with attendance over 20,000 and handle in excess of $5 million. Potent numbers.

Santa Anita (California):

• Race 5: River Boyne (Abel Cedillo/Jeff Mullins) won the $400,000 Grade I Frank Kilroe. He won for the 10th time in 24 races but a remarkable 13 8-1-1 at Santa Anita which is what stood out to me and at 5-to-1 a healthy price.
• Race 6: Gamine (Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert) broke her maiden in her debut and in expected style at 1-to-9. She galloped. She was bought for $1,800,000. Look out for her. Reem (Juan Diaz/Bob Baffert) finished second. The field only had four entrants as this was a $55,000 MSW. I would imagine a stakes race is next.
• Race 8: Authentic (Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert) improved to 3 3-0-0 in winning the $400,000 Grade 2 San Felipe and earned 50 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. This was a 50-20-10-5 point system for the top four finishers for entry into the Derby. He set blistering fractions and opened it in the stretch. This was one of my two Derby horses before this race and this is now my top Derby horse. Two races wasn't enough to place #1 but this was a convincing performance. Among the defeated was Thousand Words (Flavien Prat/Bob Baffert), a $1,000,000 purchase, who did not finish well and lost for the first time in four starts.

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• Race 10: Combatant (Joel Rosario/John Sadler) pulled a mild upset at 9-to-1 in winning the $600,000 Grade I Santa Anita Handicap. Combatant, who won a graded stakes for the first time, is a millionaire despite just 4 wins and a record of 24 4-5-4. Gift Box (Joel Rosario/John Sadler), the morning line favorite, was scratched which allowed Rosario to replace Umberto Rispoli on the winning mount. Tough week for Rispoli in how things can be cold, first his agent separates their professional relationship and then he gets yanked from a Grade I hours prior to the race. UPDATE: A good move here: Sadler confirmed that Rispoli would be paid a double-jock mount in the amount of $36,000 (per Thoroughbred Daily News).
• Into Mischief: Sired the winners in races 6 and 8. Did he have more fun than Bob Baffert and Drayden Van Dyke?
• Handle: Over $15.1 million bet.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

This may be the best timed finish of the year at the Big A. What an ending. Hollywood couldn't get this better with a million takes.