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

[Preds Partisan]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

September 6, 2019

Belmont (New York):

• Meet: The first post was 3:00 pm ET. With few early options today, the handle likely would have been higher with an earlier post; however, non-weekend start times will be at 3:00 pm (Sat-Sun at 1:00 pm) due to construction involving the hockey arena and associated activity. The meet (through Oct., 6 at Belmont) is expected to relocate to Aqueduct next month (Oct 11-27).
• Opening day: $6.3 million bet.
• Weather: It was an unpleasant day in New York with gloomy skies and periodic rain showers. All turf races were canceled except the 4th and 7th which played on a yielding surface.
• Joel Rosario and Jose Lezcano rode multiple winners (two apiece).
• Race 7: Turf War (Joel Rosario/Chad Brown) caught Junior Alvarado's mount in the stretch to win the $100,000 feature race and one of two run on turf. Rosario in my view could be the best closer in North America. Not too many can do this:

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• Javier Castellano pitched a shutout with five starters. That will change.
• Ortiz brothers: The top two riders at Saratoga in wins and amongst the top riders in the nation, Irad is suspended and Jose is appealing a suspension but riding at Kentucky Downs.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Opening day. Laurel reopened after a brief hiatus due to the fair at Timonium. Laurel is the primary race track in Maryland until the Preakness Stakes and Pimlico in May.
• Race 1: Benny Havens (Wes Hamilton/Anthony Aguirre, Jr.) won the opener. The trainer won for the first time and is a former foreman to Jeremiah Englehart.
• Race 4: Mead Avenue (Brittany Scampton/Cesar Nambo) won at 32-to-1, the second longest price on the board. The Maryland-born jockey has less than 15 lifetime wins and picked up the mount (the riders had changed from what was listed) which happened at least three times the last two days with bombs. The $1 super paid $32,000+.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Weather: A bright, sunny beauty of a day.
• Race 9: Bombs away. Channeledslongshot (Ademar Santos/Larry Bates) was just that in winning the finale. The long shot at 69-to-1 paid $141.40/$44.80/$26.00. The $2 exacta was a staggering $1,758.20. The $2 tri was a monumental $17,131.60. The $1 super was a jolting $81,577.10. The $2 Pick 4 returned over $13,000. The $2 Pick 5 was a bewildering $224,256.40. The rider picked up the mount, at least the third bomb in two days by riders who got the mount by replacement.

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• Edgard Zayas boosted his meet lead by 10 with two more wins which gave him 51 total.
• Victor Barboza, Jr. is having an excellent meet to lead all trainers with 21 wins (32% winning pct.).
• Meet: The meet ends in less than a month Gulfstream Park West (formerly Calder) runs its annual show from 10/2/2019-11/24/2019 before Gulfstream is the lone game in town through September 2020. Many indications point towards 2020 being the final year of the GPW meet as Churchill Downs' ownership had a desire to turn the facility into a jai alai fronton if permitted. The 5-year lease with Gulfstream (Stronach) expires in 2020. As always stay tuned.
• Rainbow Six for Saturday: $1,131,914 will be the starting figure.

Arlington (Illinois):

• Mitchell Murrill rode the card and won the first two races. It is his third consecutive 2-win day. He is the second winningest rider at the meet with 83 victories.

Canterbury (Minnesota):

• Meet: Down to three more days (Sept. 7, 13 and 14.).
• Leading jockey: Francisco Arrieta has a one-win lead 70-to-69 over Orlando Mojica in the rider's standings.
• Leading trainers: McLean Robertson and Robertino Diodoro each has 62 wins. It is virtually impossible to get a closer race than this:

Trainer	Starts	Wins	Place	Show	Win %	Top 3
McLean Robertson	248	62	53	42	25%	157
Robertino Diodoro	243	62	54	38	26%	154

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Los Alamitos (California):

• Opening day. This is the southern Cal track in between the meets at Del Mar and Santa Anita.
  • Los Alamitos from 9/6/2019-9/22/2019
  • Santa Anita from 9/27/2019-11/3/2019 [Breeders' Cup]
  • Del Mar from 11/6/2019-12/3/2019
  • Los Alamitos from 12/5/2019-12/15/2019
  • Santa Anita from 12/26/2019-4/5/2020
• Race 1: The longest shot on the board won at 13-to-1.
• Race 5: Bob Baffert sent out two starters. One won, the other finished last.
• Race 7: The longest shot on the board won at 21-to-1.
• Joe Talamo rode two winners, the only jockey or trainer with more than one win on the opening day's card.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

September 7, 2019

Belmont (New York):

• Handle: Over $13,000,000 bet.
• Euros: Won the two biggest races including a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" special.
• Chalk: The biggest winner paid under $7.50. Eight of the 11 races were won by favorites.
• Jose Lezcano leads riders this meet win four wins.
• Todd Pletcher shined brightly going 5 3-1-0 and those three wins lead the trainer's category.
• Race 10: Spanish Mission (Jamie Spencer/David Simcock) won the $1,000,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational and received an invitation to the Breeders' Cup Longines Turf. The jockey's base is the U.K. He lost the reins and still managed to win a fantastic ending. The 3-year-old colt is 7 3-1-2 and ran outside the UK for the first time.

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• Race 9: Edisa (Flavien Prat/Alain de Royer-Dupre) won the $750,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational. The 3-year-old filly is 7 3-2-1 and ran outside France for the first time.

TVG on Twitter​

• Race 8: Marconi (Jose Lezcano/Todd Pletcher) won the $300,000 race.
• Race 5: Alpha Sixty Six (John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher), a first-time starter, got the benefit of a perfectly timed ride and narrowly defeated Hemlock (Junior Alvarado/Bill Mott). The winner was purchased for $400,000 in the September 2018 yearling sale. That was the second time in two days Alvarado was caught just before the wire.

• Mark Hennig trained winners in the first two races.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Race 6: Eye of a Soldier (Chris DeCarlo/Timothy Hills) won by more than 15 lengths in her second start The win had little to do with the rider except for getting the horse where she needed to be. But the New Jersey-born DeCarlo, as mentioned, is a personal favorite who has won 10 of his last 29 starts. He needed time to recoup from his injury late last year.
• Nik Juarez-Gregory Sacco won both times they were entered as a tandem. The rider now has a semi-comfortable 12-win lead over Paco Lopez for champion jockey at the meet.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Julio Correa, the bug who won the recently closed Laurel summer meet, leads this meet with four wins through two days. Correa, along with Cristian Torres at Gulfstream, will be among the heavily considered finalists for Eclipse Award's Apprentice of the Year.

Colonial Downs (Virginia):

• Closing day: The track's 15-day meet which began in August and was the first to be held since 2013, closed successfully. Next year a larger meet is expected with purses buoyed from gaming in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• Summary: Total handle exceeded $17.58 million for the 144 races that were conducted from August 8 through today. Over the 15 days of racing, there were a total of 1,229 starters representing 17 states.
• Trevor McCarthy won the rider's title with 15 wins. Three other riders had 13 wins.
• Michael Stidham and Jamie Ness shared the trainer's crown with 10 wins apiece.
• Race 1: Gostisbehere has turned hurdler and ran second for the second straight time and third time in five starts this year. Bred by a Flyers' fan and named after Shayne Gostisbehere, the 5-year-old is 21 3-5-5.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 12: The $.20 Pick 6 Jackpot paid $51,000+ . The carryover for Sunday's card will be a hair under $1.2 million.
• Race 11: Wildwood's Beauty (Samy Camacho/Scott Becker) won the $100,000 feature race at 20-to-1 and paid $43.80.
• Race 9: Two Step Slew (Gaddiel Martinez/Mario Maver) pulled the stunner of the day with a 70-to-1 winner, the longest shot of nine, that paid $142.40. The trainer has 29 lifetime wins.
• Race 4: Elizabeth Dobles won for just the second time with her last 34 starters.
• Jairo Rendon won three times including bringing home the early daily double.

Kentucky Downs (Kentucky):

• Record handle: $11,322,270 set an all-time record for any card held at the track.
• Card: Ten races of which five were $500,000 or more.
• Summary: Day three of five. Huge days for some high-profiled personnel but none more than Jose Ortiz and Tyler Gaffalione amongst the riders.
• Race 6: Cambria (Tyler Gaffalione/Wesley Ward) was sent off 8-to-1 and won the $500,000 Juvenile Turf Sprint. She is a perfect 3 3-0-0 with the prior two wins at Presque Isle (Erie, PA). Quite the leap but she was prepared.
• Race 7: Totally Boss (Florent Geroux/Rusty Arnold) won the Grade 3 $700,000 Turf Sprint and with it an invitation to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. The 4-year-old gelding is 16 6-1-1 lifetime.

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• Race 8: Ms Bad Behavior (Jose Ortiz/Richard Baltas) was sent off 7-to-1 and won the $500,000 Grade 3 Ladies Turf. Mike Smith rode the Ontario-bred filly the prior three races.
• Race 9: Morticia (Tyler Gaffalione/Rusty Arnold) was sent off 5-to-1 and won the $500,000 Grade 3 Ladies Sprint.
• Race 10: Zulu Alpha (Jose Ortiz/Michael Maker) won the $1,000,000 Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup.

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• Jose Ortiz, who won four times today and is now 15 5-2-2 at the meet, and Florent Geroux, who is 25 5-3-3 at the meet, are tied for most wins with five apiece.
• Tyler Gaffalione was rapping, tapping at the chamber door but knocked it down today with aplomb as he won three wins. He is 22 4-6-2 at the meet.
• Joe Sharp is the leading trainer with three wins among 10 starters.
• Michael Maker, the winningest trainer in the track's history, snapped his unthinkable winless start to this meet with two wins. He is now 24 2-8-4.

Louisiana Downs (Louisiana):

• Race 11: Rotation (Richard Eramia/Steve Asmussen) won the $300,000 Grade 3 Super Derby from the inside post. It was the second win in nine lifetime starts for the 3-year-old colt. It was somewhat of a lackluster field and the favorite failed to hit the board when Knicks Go (Colby Hernandez/Ben Colebrook) finished fourth at 4-to-5.

Arlington (Illinois):

• Race 8: Flap Jack (Sophie Doyle/Jack Sisterson) won the $75,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity. The trainer was a perfect 2 2-0-0 today and in his two years of minimal training has 19 lifetime wins many of which are high-quality purses. The two longest odds finished 1-2.

• Sophie Doyle won three times.

Canterbury (Minnesota):

• McLean Robertson won three consecutive races to pull ahead in the tight trainer's standings. He finished the day winning three of six races he entered for a total of 10 3-1-1. Robertson has 65 wins. His closest challenger is Robertino Diodoro with 62 victories but winless on Saturday. Robertson, who played college football in Nebraska, will likely ship to Oaklawn (Arkansas) though he may have horses at Keeneland (Kentucky).

• Francisco Arrieta (72 wins), who won twice today, has a 3-win lead over Orlando Mojica (69 wins) in the rider's standings.

Emerald Downs (Washington):

• Frank Lucarelli won the first five races on the card and the trainer ended his night winning five of eight races. He finished 9 5-2-1. En route, he established the record for most wins by a trainer at any Emerald Downs meet with 67. He became the first trainer in state history to win five straight races and tied the Washington mark for most wins on one card.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Race 8: Dun Drum (Emma-Jayne Wilson/Ian Black), dead last at the 3/4 pole, won the $100,000 feature race.

Marquis Downs (Saskatchewan):

• Race 8 Rox Star Believeit (Garfield Gordon/Judy Hunter) won the 59th running of the $20,000 Saskatchewan Derby. At 16-to-1, he was the third highest shot on the board and paid $35.10.

Hastings (British Columbia):

• Race 8: Five Star General (Mario Gutierrez/Glen Todd) was sent off the second choice behind Explode (Amadeo Perez/Mark Cloutier) and the pair hooked up ala Affirmed-Alydar in the $250,000 Grade 3 British Columbia Derby. Five Star General, a 3-year-old colt, improved to 9 4-1-0 after the narrow victory including 2-for-2 since being shipped to Hastings. The winning rider, who won the 2012 and 2016 Kentucky Derby and Preakness among other victories, broke his maiden at Hastings in 2006. Replay: Five Star General outgames Explode in B.C. Derby

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

This is the fourth of five racing days in which Kentucky Downs will conduct live racing in 2019. The track is interested in adding two more dates to the 2020 racing season due in part to surplus revenue. The unique surface makes for a handicapper's challenge, the large fields add to the opportunities and the miniscule take out is desirous for the bettor. The all-turf racing is another plus for many. Sunday's purses are all $100,000+.

KENTUCKY DOWNS
Sunday, September 8, 2019 (day 4 of 5)
KY Downs' annual 5-day meet (Aug. 31, Sept 5-7-8-12)​

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (CT)
Race 1	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 Mile	Turf	16	12:15 PM
Race 2	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 Mile	Turf	15	12:48 PM
Race 3	$150,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 Mile 70 Yards	Turf	13	1:24 PM
Race 4	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 Mile	Turf	14	1:58 PM
Race 5	$100,000	Starter Allowance	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	15	2:34 PM
Race 6	$100,000	Starter Allowance	1 Mile 70 Yards	Turf	11	3:06 PM
Race 7	$100,000	Starter Allowance	1 Mile 70 Yards	Turf	12	3:39 PM
Race 8	$350,000	Fifth Third Insurance Dueling Grounds Oaks	1 5/16 Miles	Turf	10	4:12 PM
Race 9	$600,000	Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Derby	1 5/16 Miles	Turf	10	4:48 PM
Race 10	$145,000	Allowance	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	5:22 PM

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BREEDERS CUP Challenge Series (Sept. 14-15):

There are ten (10) Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races this upcoming weekend:

Sept. 14
3 - Leopardstown (Ireland)
2 - Churchill Downs (Kentucky, USA)
1 - Woodbine (Ontario, Canada)

Sept. 15
2- The Curraugh (Ireland)
2 -- Woodbine (Ontario, Canada)[/TH][/TR][/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I don't know where this will head but Churchill's ownership has been getting socked due to their decision in Illinois with Arlington. I wonder if this is some sort of activity to deflect any damage not only with that decision but those in the past with Calder and Hollywood. Turfway's ownership is in the midst of a transfer from Jack (who among other properties owns Thistledown and sports teams including the NBA Cavaliers) to Hard Rock

Whether the new ownerships adds historical racing games similar to the other KY race tracks could be an option down the road.

In either event, the fight is in round 1. This October is when dates have to be confirmed for 2020.

 

[Orr Fourever]

Marquis Downs (Saskatchewan):

• Race 8 Rox Star Believeit (Garfield Gordon/Judy Hunter) won the 59th running of the $20,000 Saskatchewan Derby. At 16-to-1, he was the third highest shot on the board and paid $35.10.

Nice turn out for this years edition of the Sask Derby.

Looked like a winner to me.

At the finish line. Sorry about picture quality.

 

[Preds Partisan]

I don't know where this will head but Churchill's ownership has been getting socked due to their decision in Illinois with Arlington. I wonder if this is some sort of activity to deflect any damage not only with that decision but those in the past with Calder and Hollywood. Turfway's ownership is in the midst of a transfer from Jack (who among other properties owns Thistledown and sports teams including the NBA Cavaliers) to Hard Rock

Whether the new ownerships adds historical racing games similar to the other KY race tracks could be an option down the road.

In either event, the fight is in round 1. This October is when dates have to be confirmed for 2020.

I'm finding out some interesting info about this over the last couple days. Let me think about what I want to post publicly...may message you with other items if that's okay. CDI is absolutely working the system to their advantage and doing what they do, if you know what I mean. Nothing shocking, but same strategy as we've talked about on here in the past.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

September 8, 2019

• Jose Ortiz knocked it out of the stadium this weekend and likely won Jockey of the Week honors convincingly due to his percentage but also the purses earned.

​

Belmont (New York):

• Joel Rosario won the opening race which means if he wins early he will win again. And he did and again and again. A 4-win day including bringing home the early double. He won consecutive races twice and for four different trainers.
• Jim Ryerson doesn't send out many starters but he was a perfect 2 2-0-0 today. It was his first 2-win day this year.
• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 5 paid $28.50. That is indicative of how the early meet has transpired.
• Race 4: Junior Alvarado won for the first time this meet.
• Race 3: The gray winner had ears pinned in an uncommonly comfortable way.
• Chalk: Six winners were sent off favorites. The past two days 14 of the 20 races have been won by favorites.
• Late scratches: Just an oddity I suppose but there were at least four races delayed due to scratches at the gate. One included Dylan Davis being tossed as his mount broke through the gate.

Monmouth (New Jersey):

• Paco Lopez won three times.
• Billy Sienkewicz won with both his starters. The former longtime trainer at Suffolk Downs (Mass.) winters at Tampa Bay (Fl.). He is 4-2-1 with his past 10 starters and has put up good numbers this year.
• Race 2: Bridge jumpers alert! The 3-to-5 favorite finished fourth which resulted in show prices for the top three finishers at $18.60/$15.40/$58.00. Yes, the third place horse paid a stunning $58.

Laurel (Maryland):

• No repeat winners: 10 races, 10 winning riders and 10 winning trainers.
• Closers: Much of the day appeared to be favoring closers.
• Race 1: Ashley Castrenze won with her only mount of the day. She wired the field after being bumped at the start. When Ashley Castrenze wins, Pepsi and Coke praise the other, donuts are healthy and long lines at supermarkets are painless.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Miguel Vazquez won three times.
• Trainers: No trainer won more than once.
• The Rainbow Six carryover for Thursday's card will be $1.26 million.
• Chalk: Favorites won six of the 11 races.
• Race 2: The longest shot on the board won at 34-to-1.

Kentucky Downs (Kentucky):

• Handle: After $7 million+ was bet today, the track set an all-time mark through four days of racing. The final day of the annual 5-day meet is Thursday. The popular event with everyone from handicappers to insiders could be increased to seven days in 2020 if the track gets its wish.
• Card: Ten races, each with a purse of $100,000 or more including one at $350,000 and another at $600,000.
• Race 4: Witez (Calvin Borel/Ian Wilkes) topped a $.50 tri that paid $1,467.
• Race 5: The $.50 Pick 4 paid over $3,500. The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $10,000.
• Race 8: Princesa Carolina (Jose Ortiz/Kenny McPeek) won the $350,000 race for 3-year-old fillies. Princesa Carolina is the correct spelling not what is on the TVG Twitter replay.

​

• Race 9: Social Paranoia (Jose Ortiz/Todd Pletcher) won the $600,000 race for 3-year olds. It was the 2-year-old colt's second win in 11 starts.

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• Jose Ortiz added three more wins, each sent off the favorite, and suddenly is running away with the meet's title with 8 victories and a remarkable 33%, too. He is likely to be a finalist for the Eclipse Award Jockey of the Year. Florent Geroux, Julien Leparoux and Adam Beschizza each have 5 wins.
• Winless: Riders with 10+ starts yet no wins are Declan Cannon (19 starts), Corey Lanerie (16), Tyler Baze (12), Joel Rosario (11) and Rafael Bejarano (10).
• Joe Sharp leads all trainers with four wins. Michael Maker is among trainers with three wins but he is 38 3-11-5 and that winning percentage of 8% is subpar.
• Ian Wilkes, who is from Australia and once assisted the awesome Carl Nafzger, was the only trainer with multiple wins (2).

Los Alamitos (California):

• Bob Baffert won with both starters. He leads all trainers at the meet with 4 wins, 8 4-0-1.
• Asa Espinoza is off to a hot start at 7 4-0-0.

Woodbine (Ontario):

• Race 2: The longest shot won at 32-to-1.
• Jockeys: Eurico Da Silva (92) has a 2-win lead over Rafael Hernandez (90) in the rider's standings.
• Trainers: Mark Casse (57) has a 6-win lead over Norm McKnight (51) in the trainer's standings.
• Meet: The meet concludes in mid-December.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Nice turn out for this years edition of the Sask Derby.

The pics are awesome. The images give a personal flair that is truly unique to the sport. I hope you had a good time and celebrated appropriately.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

CANTERBURY (Minnesota):​

It's on!

Canterbury was dark today. The track hosts two more days of live racing (Fri. + Sat.) before snoozing until some point in 2020 -- May or so, live dates have not been settled.

That said, if I counted correctly McLean Robertson has as many as 41 starters for those two remaining dates.

Equibase's website has been sluggish this evening. I will confirm when the site loads properly.

UPDATE: It appears that he has 37 starters (19+18) those two dates upon scanning Equibase. Robertino Diodoro has 34 starters (21+13) those two dates.

Orlando Mojica could ride 22 times those two dates while Francisco Arrieta is listed on board 26 starters. This should be a fun closing weekend especially since both riders have mounts with each trainer.

From my Saturday review:

McLean Robertson won three consecutive races to pull ahead in the tight trainer's standings. He finished the day winning three of six races he entered for a total of 10 3-1-1. Robertson has 65 wins. His closest challenger is Robertino Diodoro with 62 victories but winless on Saturday. Robertson, who played college football in Nebraska, will likely ship to Oaklawn (Arkansas) though he may have horses at Keeneland (Kentucky).
​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Monday's racing includes stakes at both Finger Lakes (Farmington, NY) and Presque Isle Downs (Erie, PA).

Finger Lakes:

Race 2: $108,000 race for 2-year-old fillies.
Race 8: $114,000 race for 2-year-old colts.​

Among the visiting riders are Manny Franco, Dylan Davis and Eric Cancel.

Presque Isle Downs:

Race 5: $100,000 race for 3-year-old fillies.
Race 6: $200,000 race for 3-year-olds-and-up in a field of 14.​

Among the visiting riders are Joel Rosario and Tyler Gaffalione and Daniel Centeno.

PRESQUE ISLE MILE STAKES​

What: Stakes, not graded
Where: Presque Isle Downs, Erie, PA
When: Monday, September 9, 2019, Race 6
Time: 7:30 pm Eastern Time
Who: 3-year-olds-and-up
Distance: 1 1/16 miles
Surface: All weather track
Purse: $200,000
TV: TVG (24/7 racing channel)
Note: The #2 is giving away as much as 10 pounds.

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Dabo (IL)	Jose Valdivia, Jr.	119	Dale L. Romans	15/1
2	Ohio (BRZ)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Michael W. McCarthy	4/1
3	More Than Good (KY)	Fernando Salazar Becerra	117	Jeffrey Skerrett	20/1
4	Lookin to Strike (KY)	Gary Boulanger	114	Mark E. Casse	15/1
5	What's Up Dude (IL)	Jose E. Lopez	114	Mark J. Cristel	15/1
6	Lanier (KY)	Inoel Beato	120	Brett T. Santangelo	8/1
7	Mr Ritz (GB)	Patrick Husbands	120	Josie Carroll	9/2
8	Dubby Dubbie (KY)	Scott Spieth	114	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	15/1
9	English Minister (MD)	Ronald Dale Allen, Jr.	123	Michael J. Trombetta	6/1
10	High North (KY)	Joel Rosario	114	Claude R. McGaughey III	8/1
11	Special Forces (KY)	Alan Garcia	120	Kevin Attard	5/1
12	Knights Key (KY)	Willie Martinez	117	Brett T. Santangelo	15/1
13	Pass the Butter (KY)	Andrew R. Ramgeet	114	Michelle Winters	30/1
14	Less Than Perfect (FL)	Nathan Vickers	114	Kevin Rice	30/1

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The Keeneland yearling sale begins today. Early indications show millions spent. Not surprisingly, Larry Best is among those dropping large money.

I have my eyes on a Tapit colt out of an Unbridled's Song mare. Hip 172.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

KEENELAND SALES: Day One​

The Keeneland yearling sale begins today. Early indications show millions spent. Not surprisingly, Larry Best is among those dropping large money.

I have my eyes on a Tapit colt out of an Unbridled's Song mare. Hip 172.

I know how to pick them. The horse was just sold for $1.5 million. My new best friend is Yuji Hasegawa. He bought the horse.

http://apps.keeneland.com/sales/Sep19/pdfs/172.pdf

And the lead story on Bloodhorse is.... THIS purchase. I am shaking my head as I type.

Japanese Connections Strike for Brother to Unique Bella - BloodHorse

The full brother to champion Unique Bella consigned by Timber Town as Hip 172 will be shipped to Japan as the second member of a two-horse stable owned by Yuji Hasegawa, a new player on the Thoroughbred scene in Japan. Hasegawa bought his first horse in July at the Japan Racing Horse Association's Select Sale yearling session.

"This horse had the best pedigree of all the horses we looked at today," agent Hiroyasu Takeuchi said through translator Kate Hunter Monday afternoon. "So the plan is to take him back to Japan and hopefully run in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and bring him back over here as a Derby horse."

Bred in Kentucky by Whisper Hill Farm, the gray/roan son of Tapit is out of the Unbridled's Song mare Unrivaled Belle, winner of the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (G1). His sister Unique Bella won eight graded stakes—three of them grade 1s—and was named champion female sprinter in 2017 and champion older dirt female in 2018.​

The Keeneland numbers have been tabulated for day one. This is annually a huge day for the industry.

The biggest figure was $2.5 million for Godolphin Stables. Tapit "Having another outstanding year."

• Sold/available: 107 of the 190 horses available were sold.
• Total sales: $46,231,000
• Highest figure: $2.5 million [a Tapit colt] and $2.15 million [Medaglia d'Oro colt].
• Million+: Seven horses sold at $1,000,000 or more.
• Average price: $432,065
• Median price: $325,000
• Vinnie Viola, owner of the Florida Panthers, was partly involved in two purchases ($1.5 million and $725,000).
• Carlo Vaccarezza, restaurant owner and trainer in south Florida, dropped $250,000 on an Empire Maker colt.
• Larry Best, former exec at Boston Scientific who spends large sums the past couple or so years, purchased three horses under OXO Equine for over $2.2 million.

Day two is tomorrow.

Follow along... Sales | Keeneland

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

September 9, 2019

• Monday: Typical light day of racing for a Monday.
• Keeneland Yearling Sale: The big news was the start of the popular Keeneland (KY) yearling sale. The numbers are still being tabulated but multiple yearlings were purchased for $1,000,000 and others deep into six figures. It was a vigorous if not entertaining day. Yuji needs to call me.
• Jockey of the Week: Jose Ortiz was officially named Jockey of the Week in North America for his robust weekend at Kentucky Downs. He personally made over $1,000,000 in less than two days. He is currently appealing a suspension handed down by stewards in New York.

Finger Lakes (New York):

• Race 8: Listentoyourheart (Manny Franco/Christophe Clement) won the $114,000 Aspirant Stakes and paid $3,60 as the 4-to-5 favorite. The 2-year-old colt won for the second time in four lifetime starts, all in the state of New York where the connections are based. This race was limited to New York breds.

​

• Race 6: The $.50 tri paid over $1,400.
• Race 2: My Italian Rabbi (Jaime Rodriguez/Jeremiah Englehart) was the prohibitive favorite at 1-to-9 and won the $108,000 Lady Finger Stakes by more than six lengths in a field of five.
• Race 1: Limited to Massachusetts breds which occurs occasionally at the track.

Presque Isle (Pennsylvania):

• Race 5: Ledecka (Daniel Centeno/Arnaud Delacour) won the $100,000 Malvern Rose Stakes for Pennsylvania bred fillies.
• Race 6: Mr. Ritz (Patrick Husbands/Josie Carroll) was sent off the favorite and improved to 10 5-2-1 in winning the $200,000 Presque Isle Mile in the track's record-setting time. The race was run on synthetic and Mr. Ritz has never missed the board with six tries on the surface. The winner was bred in Great Britain and paid $6.60. The 4-year-old colt won his last prior race at Woodbine (Ontario) where his connections are based. The three shortest odds topped the trifecta.

​

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Hot connections: Jeremy Rose-Anthony Pecoraro went a perfect 2 2-0-0 today. They have both had successful meets especially as a pairing.
• Rider standings: Alex Cintron (52 wins) leads Carol Cedeno by one victory. Jeremy Rose rides sporadically but is 58 21-11-2 (36%/59%).
• Trainer standings: Jamie Ness (33 wins) leads Anthony Pecoraro by 11 victories. However, Pecoraro has 83 less starters and is a superb 43%.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Race 3: A 71-to-1 shot, and not the longest odds in the race, won and paid $145. The $2 perfecta paid over $1,300.
• Race 5: Even though the favorite won, the $2 Pick 3 returned more than $6,300.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Until this time next year...Kentucky Downs' finale is Thursday, Here is the full card:

KENTUCKY DOWNS
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Day 5 of 5​

[TR][TH]Race #	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post (CT)
Race 1	$55,000	Claiming	1 Mile 70 Yards	Turf	11	12:15 PM
Race 2	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	12:46 PM
Race 3	$145,000	Allowance	1 Mile	Turf	13	1:17 PM
Race 4	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	1:48 PM
Race 5	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	2:19 PM
Race 6	$150,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	7 Furlongs	Turf	16	2:50 PM
Race 7	$130,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 Mile	Turf	16	3:21 PM
Race 8	$500,000	Ramsey Farm S.	1 5/16 Miles	Turf	12	3:53 PM
Race 9	$500,000	Nevada State Bank Franklin-Simpson S.	6 1/2 Furlongs	Turf	16	4:25 PM
Race 10	$50,000	Starter Allowance	1 1/2 Miles	Turf	16	4:57 PM

[TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY][/TH][/TR][/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

KEENELAND SALES: Day Two​

Running account...

The summary to yesterday is in post #188.

Day two of the Keeneland sale is underway.

Someone just spent over $600,000 on a Pioneerof the Nile baby to begin the proceedings.

First million dollar purchase goes to a Union Rags filly for Godolphin.

Hip 206, another Tapit baby, was chestnut with a blond mane. Very striking. Bought for $625,000.

Union Rags colt goes for $750,000. Add that to the million spent on the filly earlier today. Union Rags stepping it up.

A War Front colt went to Godolphin for $2.9 million. That will make headlines. Godolphin's total spent in two days is about $9.1 million at last check for five purchases including two today.

​

Larry Best, ex-Boston Scientific, has purchased four yearlings for $3.17 million into two days.

Godolphin just rocked the house with a $4.1 million purchase of a Curlin colt. All of a sudden the $2.9 million purchase was somehow secondary. Make that over $13 for six horses for Godolphin. And there us more to come.

Through two days, the totals at the annual September Keeneland Yearling Sale:

Sold: 216
Total $95,381,000
Highest Price: $4,100,000
Average: $441,579
Median Price: $350,000
Leading Sires: American Pharoah (19), Curlin (16) and Into Mischief (16)
Leading Gross Sire: Curlin (16 sold) at $12.6 million.
Leading Buyer: Godolphin at $13.25 million.
Million Dollar Sellers: Twelve horses sold at $1,000,000 or more. Sires of those dozen:

Curlin (3)
Medaglia d' Oro (2)
Tapit (2)
Pioneerof the Nile (2)
War Front (2)
Union Rags (1)​

 

[Preds Partisan]

It must be nice to be a gazillionaire, but $4.1 seems a little steep for what I guess will be a sprinter? I'm not a gazillionaire, so what do I know.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

It must be nice to be a gazillionaire, but $4.1 seems a little steep for what I guess will be a sprinter? I'm not a gazillionaire, so what do I know.

These highly publicized purchases don't always show results on the track. Future breeding is a consideration. My guess is Godolphin will run their horses in the U.K. but there is always that underlying interest of owning a Ky. Derby contender, something the outfit has lacked-- remember Thunder Snow a couple of years ago? All the money and that showing.

The Green Monkey is among the biggest recognized flops in history bought for more than $16 million... what 13 years ago (?). He will go down in infamy unfortunately but his owners are Ireland's biggest conglomerate and they have made a name as a powerhouse. Not every swing of the bat is a hit and certainly not all are home runs.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

KEENELAND SALES: Day Three​

Keeneland sales on day three: Two more horses sold at more than a million each. An American Pharoah colt and a Medaglia d'Oro filly crack the top eight for prices paid.

And now there is new show stopper. Mandy Pope bought an American Pharoah filly for more than $8 million. The 23-year-old mare gave birth to her 13th foal.

According to one site, this doubles the record spent on any filly purchased at the September Keeneland sale and ted for the fourth most paid at the session in history. Interesting the world record is converted to $8,450,925:

The price for the strongly-made yet beautifully feminine bay filly almost doubled the previous record for a filly at the Keeneland September sale set nearly two decades ago when Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell operation paid $4.4m for Moon’s Whisper, a Storm Cat filly out of French Classic winner East Of The Moon.

Currency conversion rates show the price fell just short of the world record for a yearling filly, the 5,000,000gns Al Shaqab Racing paid for Galileo’s daughter Al Naamah at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2013.

That amount equalled $8,450,925 at the time, according to the American Jockey Club, and Al Naamah went on to be multiple Group stakes-placed after winning her debut.

Mandy Pope repels superpowers to secure American Pharoah filly for $8.2 million | Bloodstock News | Racing Post

This year's sale goes through Sept. 22.

Sold: 340
Total: $160,463,000 [2018: $377 million final total]
Highest Price: $8,200,000
Average: $471,950
Median Price: $355,000
Leading Sires: Curlin (27), American Pharoah (26), Uncle Mo (26) and Into Mischief (26)
Leading Gross Sire: Curlin (16 sold) at $12.6 million.
Leading Buyer: Godolphin at $16.0 million.
Highest average: Twirling Candy $950,000 (1 sold):
Highest average among those with 20+ sold: Curlin $697,222
Million Dollar Sellers: Twenty horses have sold at $1,000,000 or more. Sires of those 20:

Curlin (5)
Medaglia d' Oro (4)
Pioneerof the Nile (3)
War Front (2)
American Phraoah (2)
Tapit (2)
Empire Maker (1)
Union Rags (1)​

 

[GKJ]

So, this could be interesting:

 

[Preds Partisan]

So, this could be interesting:

I think you're underselling it. Could be one of the bigger sports scandals in recent memory.

 

[GKJ]

I think you're underselling it. Could be one of the bigger sports scandals in recent memory.

I was being slightly facetious. You saw the horse far less celebrated at the time, and there were reasons other than this for that. I just don't think there's enough attention on the sport for it to be a register on a mainstream level.

 

[Preds Partisan]

Coolmore is in for $75 million, at $150,000 a pop. That's big money so I'm sure their attorneys are burning up the phone line right now.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

^ Definitely worth further investigation but that site is behind a paywall.

September 11, 2019

• Light day of Wednesday racing.
• Remember one of Tom Durkin's most memorable calls, the Breeders' Cup Classic at Belmont held in October 2001.

​

Belmont (New York):

• Race 1: Chad Brown had an entry ridden by Jose Ortiz and Javier Castellano but the pair flopped as the favorites. Joel Rosario won the race which naturally means he will generally win again some place and he did. However, first-time starter Forzo Di Oro (Junior Alvarado/Bill Mott) broke poorly, was left in the dust, but rebounded in spectacular fashion and nearly pulled off a miraculous finish. Needless to say, that horse is going on my future watch list.
• Joel Rosario and Jose Ortiz each won twice. Rosario has won 6 of his past 13 starts at the track.
• Handle: Over $5.5 million for a late Wednesday post.

Delaware Park (Delaware):

• Race 7: The longest shot on the board at 24-to-1 decimated the field in a 5-length victory.

Mountaineer (West Virginia):

• Race 4: Baltimore County (Mario Ccamaque/Cally Herrington) won at 50-1, the longest shot on the board, and paid $103. It was the trainer's ninth lifetime win.
• Race 5: An 86-to-1 shot came in second and paid $55.50 in the middle. what would that double have paid?!

Indiana Grand (Indiana):

• Race 4: Akor (Leandro Goncalves/Cherie DeVaux) won from the inside slot as a first-time starter and looked comfortable the entire race. This could be one to follow especially since the inside hole can be awkward for first timers. The trainer, a one-time assistant to Chad Brown, has three lifetime victories.
• Race 5: 14-1, 5-2, 37-1 and 74-1 topped the ticket. The $.10 super paid over $2,500.
• Race 8: 33-1, 12-1, 4-1 and 62-1 topped the ticket. The $.10 super paid over $2,400. The $2 exacta was $1,053.20.
• Race 10: Quarter horse racing. I find it interesting where some QH are bred and not necessarily in the usual T-bred areas. In this race of 12, horses represented eight states including three from Michigan, one from North Dakota and one from Montana.
• Card: Four purses at $100,000.

 

[Preds Partisan]

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