Horse Racing: $98.8 million bet on Preakness card; $28.4 million bet on Black-Eyed Susan card; Viewership up 7%

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, February 23, 2024

Meydan Racecourse (Dubai, UAE):

• Manama Gold (Adrie DeVries/Fawzi Nass) won the UAE Oaks in what is a Kentucky Oaks prep race worth a valuable 50 points to the winner. Manama Gold now tops the points board for entry into the Oaks. She was bred in Louisiana.

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Laurel (Maryland):

• Handle: $1.7 million. Laurel puts on a good product but it doesn't always reflect in the handle.
• Raul Mena: The Star of the Day. With four mounts, he won at 14-to-1, 12-1 and 6-1 and placed at 16-1. He entered today with five wins in 2024, he exited with eight.
• Mike Gorham had just one victory this year but today entered two horses and both won. Gorham is generally a good conditioner but he was at only 4% this year. He began his craft in New England in the 1980s.
• Race 1: Marley's Ghost (J.C. Torrealba/Jose Corrales) won by 18 1/12 lengths. An epic thumping.
• Races 1-2-3: The total margin of victories was a combined 32.5 lengths.
• Races 5: Stickwiththecolors (Jevian Toledo/John Salzman) was the lone first-time starter and that angle proved effective at 6-to-1.
• Race 8: Prince of Jericho (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell) gave the hubby-wife tandem a victory with their only starter of the day. It was the first of consecutive races won by a nose.

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• Race 9: His Name Is Sue (Alexander Crispin/Troy Robb) won a second consecutive race on this card by a nose.

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Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: $6.8 million.
• Paco Lopez rode a natural hat trick for a 3-win day.

Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Bombs! Maybe Oaklawn felt disrespected by possibly losing its unofficial title to Turfway (KY) for bombers as mentioned earlier this week. Quite the show today.
• Handle: Exceeded $5 million.
• Race 3: Kykeon (Alberto Pusac/Genaro Garcia) won at 61-to-1 to give the jockey his second win on the card through three races. He won the opener with a horse entering from Presque Isle (PA) off all places. The winner paid $124.40.

• Race 4: Sistersouttachrome (Rocco Bowen/John Haran) won at 57-to-1. The winner paid $116.20. The $.50 Pick 3 paid a remarkable $18,000+. The $1 double paid a staggering $2,414 which could be the biggest I have seen in years.

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• Race 5: The $1 double paid $718.20. The $.50 Pick 3 paid $10,000+.
• Race 7: Jackman (Cristian Torres/Karl Broberg) is a perfect 4 4-0-0 at the meet. How many horses go 4-for-4 at any meet?

Santa Anita (California):

• Race 6 EJ Won the Cup (Mike Smith/Doug O'Neill) wired the field as the favorite and broke his maiden in his seventh try. Named for Erik Johnson who owns horses but this winner.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Today's Highlights:

• Saudi Cup (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) -- $20 million -- 12:40 pm ET post
• Time Zone Difference: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is eight hours ahead of ET (Philly, New York, Miami, etc.). The first race on Saturday is 7:00 am ET. The ninth and final race is the Saudi Cup.
• Free Past Performances for the full card at Saudi Arabia --
  https://production-picks-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/02/Saudi-Cup-2024-PPs.pdf
• Rebel Stakes (Hot Springs, Arkansas) -- $1.25 million (Ky. Derby prep) -- 6:23 pm ET post

Television:

"America's Day at the Races" broadcast of the Saudi Cup​	8 a.m.-1 p.m.​	FS2
"America's Day at the Races" including broadcast of the Rebel Stakes​	2 p.m.-7 p.m.​	FS2

Saudi Cup Entries:

Saudi Cup 2024	Post	Trainer	Jockey	Odds (source:Racing Post)
1. Carmel Road	14	Abdullah Albadah	Camilo Ospina	25-1
2. Crown Pride	6	Koichi Shintani	João Moreira	33-1
3. Defunded	9	Abdulaziz Khalid	Luis Sáez	25-1
4. Derma Sotogake	13	Hidetaka Otonashi	Christophe Lemaire	6-1
5. Hoist the Gold	8	Dallas Stewart	John Velázquez	40-1
6. Isolate	2	Doug Watson	Joel Rosario	20-1
7. Lemon Pop	3	Hiroyasu Tanaka	Ryusei Sakai	5-1
8. Meisho Hario	scratched	Inao Okada	Suguru Hamanaka	40-1
9. National Treasure	7	Bob Baffert	Flavien Prat	8-1
10. Power in Numbers	10	Ahmed Mohamoud	Adel AlFouraidi	50-1
11. Saudi Crown	5	Brad Cox	Florent Géroux	14-1
12. Señor Buscador	4	Todd Fincher	Júnior Alvarado	16-1
13. Ushba Tesoro	11	Noburu Takagi	Yuga Kawada	8-1
14. White Abarrio	1	Rick Dutrow	Irad Ortiz Jr.	3-1
15. Scotland Yard - ae	12 Drew in	Moutaib Almulawah	Luis Morales	40-1
ae - also eligible

The nine races in Saudi Arabia:

• Race 1: Ministry of Culture Jockey Club Local H. | About 1 1/8 Miles | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up | G STAKES | PURSE: $1,500,000
• Race 2: Diriyah Gate Development Authority Obaiyah Arabian Classic S. |About 1 1/4 Miles | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up | G1 STAKES | PURSE: $2,000,000
• Race 3: NHC Saudi International H. |About 1 5/16 Miles | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up | G STAKES | PURSE: $500,000
• Race 4: Boutique Saudi Derby |About 1 Mile | Open | 3 Year Olds | G3 STAKES | PURSE: $1,500,000
• Race 5; Sports Boulevard Riyadh Dirt Sprint S .|A bout 6 Furlongs | Open | 3 Year Olds And Up | G3 STAKES | PURSE: $1,500,000
• Race 6: 6 3/4 furlongs | STAKES | PURSE: $2,000,000
• Race 7: Howden Neom Turf Cup S . |About 1 5/16 Miles | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up | G2 STAKES | PURSE: $2,000,000
• Race 8: Longines Red Sea Turf H. |About 1 7/8 Miles | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up | G3 STAKES | PURSE: $2,500,000
• Race 9: Saudi Cup S. |About 1 1/8 Miles | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up | G1 STAKES | PURSE: $20,000,000

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Oaklawn's (AR) Card:

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$150,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	1 1/16 M	Dirt	7	12:00 PM CT
2	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	12	12:31 PM CT
3	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	8	1:01 PM CT
4	$150,000	Allowance	6 F	Dirt	12	1:31 PM CT
5	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	Dirt	11	2:02 PM CT
6	$150,000	Allowance	1 M	Dirt	14	2:33 PM CT
7	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	14	3:04 PM CT
8	$150,000	Carousel S.	6 F	Dirt	9	3:35 PM CT
9	$400,000	Honeybee S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	10	4:10 PM CT
10	$600,000	Razorback H.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	13	4:45 PM CT
11	$1,250,000	Rebel S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	13	5:23 PM CT
12	$120,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/16 M	Dirt	13	5:53 PM CT

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

And we're off in the Saudi opener.

A $77 winner in the opener and a $1 exacta that paid roughly $1,350. Good times for some fortunate handicappers.

Back to normalcy. In race 2, the $1 exacta paid $9.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Per the broadcast in Saudi Arabia, "a significant delay" due to "late arriving royals.". I assume not George Brett. The fourth race is about 25 minutes (and counting) off post time.

Race 5 stars superstar Forever Young from Japan.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wow. What a race. Too close to call

What guts on Forever Young. A win by a nose. Great race.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The tri in race 7 is going to be astronomical.

$11,000+ for a $1 tri.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Junior, my boy!

Cody's Wish and now this. What a journey for this solid rider.

For all those who mock tracks in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, and such places, Senor Buscador!

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, February 24, 2024

• Steve Asmussen had a 6-win day. He entered 23 horses in 10 races across three tracks including winning the Carousel Stakes at Oaklawn (AR) for the eighth time.
• Jamie Ness is 23 14-3-0 since February 20. He remains #2 in North America among all training victories. He had a 3-win day today.
• Stronach Tracks: Laurel (MD), Santa Anita (CA) and Gulfstream (FL) are among the best tracks in showing race replays with ease in navigating. Too bad this isn't universal.

King Abdulaziz Racetrack (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia):

• Race 4: Forever Young (Sakai Ryusei/Yahagi Yoshito) nosed Book'em Danno (Irad Ortiz, Jr./Derek Ryan) in a rally for the ages. Forever Young is a superstar in Japan and may be headed to the Kentucky Derby.

​

​

• Race 7: The $1 tri paid $11,000+.
• Race 9: Senor Buscador (Junior Alvarado/Todd Fincher) won the world's largest purse -- the $20 million Saudi Cup closing stoutly to win in a thriller. The 6-year-old son of Mineshaft won for the 7th time in 18 starts and ended a 5-race skid. Alvarado, who rode Cody's Wish to multiple emotional wins, is a sensation if not a god especially in Venezuela. Good for him. Always a personal favorite, I recall Alvarado's skills in Florida and Illinois before he moved to New York but now he has matured to be among the elites. This was also a great training job by southwest-based Fincher and let's not forget this horse who won in such spots as Sunland (NM), Remington (OK) and Lone Star (TX) but also Del Mar (CA) and Churchill (KY). Senor Buscador was my pick to win the Pegasus at Gulfstream (FL) in January but finished second. Today was their day.

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Aqueduct (New York):

• Kendrick Carmouche rode four times with three victories. He finished 6 4-0-0 the past two days.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Jamie Rodriguez rode three winners including both stakes.
• Race 8: Speedyness (Jaime Rodrguez/Jamie Ness) won the $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes.
• Race 7: Miss Harriett (Jaime Rodriguez/Brandon McFarlane) won the $100,000 Wide Country Stakes. McFarlane has just 30 lifetime wins but sports a record of 8 4-1-0 (50%) in 2024.

Tampa Bay Downs (Florida):

​

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Emisael Jaramillo had a 3-win day.
• Race 4: Corporate Power (Javier Castellano/Shug McGaughey) broke his maiden in his second try. The $925,000 son of Curlin was sent off the favorite and won by a neck splitting horses on both sides in a dramatic 1-2-3 finish.

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Oaklawn (Arkansas):

• Handle/Card: The star attraction in North America for this day. Beautiful weather, excellent card and the bettors responded with more than $19.9 million pumped into the track.
• Race 9: Lemon Muffin (Keith Asmussen/Wayne Lukas) won the $400,000 Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes and with it earned 50 points towards entry into the Kentucky Oaks. The horse was a maiden and won in her sixth try at 28-to-1. The young jockey is the son to Steve Asmussen and won his biggest race of his career. The Hall-of-Fame trainer is 88 years of age. What a story. What a track! The $.50 Pick 5 paid $66,127.15

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• Race 10: Octane (Julien Leparoux/Juan Alvarado) won the $600,000 Grade 3 Razorback Handicap. Alan Cohen, former owner of the Florida Panthers, owns.

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• Race 11: Timberlake (Cristian Torres/Brad Cox) won the $1,250,000 Grade 2 Rebel Stakes and with it earned 50 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. Timberlake, a $350,000 son to Into Mischief, continued his pattern of wins following losses and is now 6 3-1-0. He is to some among the leading contenders for the Ky. Derby.

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Santa Anita (California):

• Race 8: Judge Miller (Frankie Dettori/Mark Glatt) demolished the field by 11 lengths. The $550,000 Curlin colt was out for the third time and looked like a future star. The Judge received a 105 Beyer which is the highest figure earned this year.

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• Race 7: Linda's Gift (Tiago Pereira/Richard Mandella) won convincingly the $100,000 Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes. Nice performance.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Next Saturday doesn't have a $20 million race but it is loaded with four Ky. Derby preps at Aqueduct (NY), Gulfstream (FL) and Santa Anita (CA) where the winners receive 50 points and also Turfway (KY) with that winner receiving 20 points.

GULFSTREAM (FL) has a terrific show:

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$89,000	Maiden Special Weight	1 1/8 M	Turf	15	11:15 AM ET
2	$89,000	Maiden Special Weight	7 F	Dirt	9	11:44 AM ET
3	$200,000	Colonel Liam S.	1 M	Turf	9	12:13 PM ET
4	$100,000	Handicap	1 1/8 M	All Weather	10	12:43 PM ET
5	$92,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	7 1/2 F	Turf	15	1:14 PM ET
6	$92,000	Allowance Optional Claiming	7 F	Dirt	9	1:44 PM ET
7	$200,000	Mac Diarmida S. presented by Corniche	1 3/8 M	Turf	10	2:15 PM ET
8	$200,000	Herecomesthebride S.	1 M	Turf	11	2:45 PM ET
9	$200,000	Davona Dale S. presented by FanDuel TV	1 M	Dirt	8	3:17 PM ET
10	$150,000	The Very One S.	1 3/8 M	Turf	10	3:49 PM ET
11	$200,000	Gulfstream Park Mile S. presented by Jack Christopher	1 M	Dirt	8	4:20 PM ET
12	$150,000	Canadian Turf S.	1 1/16 M	Turf	10	4:53 PM ET
13	$150,000	Honey Fox S.	1 M	Turf	11	5:23 PM ET
14	$400,000	Coolmore Fountain of Youth S.	1 1/16 M	Dirt	9	6:10 PM ET

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Race 7 at Gulfstream (FL) on Friday could be one which elevates Conquest Warrior who was purchased for $1,000,000 by Texas-born Florida businessman Donald Adam. Same sire, trainer and owner as Corporate Power who won at Gulf on Saturday.

Shug McGaughey, a Hall-of-Famer, is at 24% this year which is his highest total since 1994. His first starter won a graded stakes in 1978 at Oaklawn (AR).

RACE 7 POST TIME - 4:08 PM ET​

PP	Horse	A/S	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer
1	Merit (KY)	3/C	E J Zayas	120	S A Joseph, Jr.
2	Nomos (KY)	3/C	L Saez	120	T A Pletcher
3	Speak Easy (KY)	3/C	I Ortiz, Jr.	120	T A Pletcher
4	Secret Lover (FL)	3/C	J Alvarado	118	A Sano
5	Raguel (KY)	3/C	T Gaffalione	120	B P Walsh
6	Conquest Warrior (KY)	3/C	J L Ortiz	120	C R McGaughey III
7	Tapit Three Times (KY)	3/C	P Lopez	120	J F Orseno

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

There are four Kentucky Derby preps on Saturday, three of those significant but the Kentucky Oaks has major preps as well this weekend.

Track	Race	Points Distributed	Date
Turfway Park ​	Cincinnati Trophy​	20-10-6-4-2	SAT. March 2, 2024
Gulfstream Park	Davona Dale​	50-25-15-10-5	SAT. March 2, 2024
Aqueduct	Busher​	50-25-15-10-5	SAT. March 2, 2024
Santa Anita Park	Santa Ysabel​	50-25-15-10-5	SUN. March 3, 2024

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- If the fifth running of the Saudi Cup program proved anything, it served as a reminder that Japan and the United States seem to have locked up in a latter-day arms race involving the world's top dirt races.

Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup itself and the $1.5 million Saudi Derby followed directly in the mold of November's Breeders' Cup Classic, with a Japanese horse and an American runner slugging it out for the victory.
The fallout from those classic battles is sure to reverberate through the year, from the Kentucky Derby all the way to the 2024 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar,

The Saudi Cup came down to which of the two deep, deep closers could get a nose on the wire before the other. The answer was Senor Buscador, who just nipped reigning Dubai World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro for the win.

Third and fourth were two more Americans, Saudi Crown and National Treasure, followed by another from Japan, Derma Sotogake.

Senor Buscador, a 6-year-old son of Mineshaft trained by long-time New Mexican Todd Fincher, became the de facto leader of the American Classic division, especially as Breeders' Cup Classic champ White Abarrio finished 10th in the Saudi Cup.

After a reassessment, some will go on from Riyadh to Dubai for the World Cup program. Others may meet again through the year.

SOURCE: UPI

Saudi Cup, Dubai World Cup, Kentucky Derby brew U.S. versus Japan storylines - UPI.com

American racing went on the road during the weekend with events in Saudi Arabia and Dubai pinpointing the inroads Japan has made into worldwide dirt stakes.

www.upi.com

===========================

Senor Buscador has made the journey to Dubai.

Saudi Crown, my pick in Saudi Arabia at 17-to-1 but who finished third, is now in Dubai where the UAE has a massive day of racing March 30 highlighted by the $12,000,000 (US) Dubai World Cup.



================

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Nine racehorses, six trainers, and two jockeys account for the 17 finalists to the Hall of Fame announced today with Gun Runner, Justify and Joel Rosario the first-timers eligible.

Gun Runner is a lock.

​

Justify was a Triple Crown winner who never lost in six lifetime races but detractors will say his career lasted six months (all as a 3-year-old).

Joel Rosario? I don't think he makes it first-time-out.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

This is the real deal. Junior Alvarado's family enjoying the Saudi Cup win. Once again, too bad the scripts the supposed "all-sports" networks follow due to their limited experiences.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The Gotham is one of four Ky. Derby preps scheduled for Saturday.

Race	Purse	Race Type	Distance	Surface	Starters	Est. Post
1	$70,000	Maiden Special Weight	6 F	Dirt	7	12:50 PM ET
2	$55,000	Starter Allowance	1 1/8 M	Dirt	6	1:22 PM ET
3	$36,000	Maiden Claiming	6 1/2 F	Dirt	9	1:56 PM ET
4	$72,000	Allowance	6 1/2 F	Dirt	8	2:26 PM ET
5	$39,000	Claiming	1 M	Dirt	10	3:01 PM ET
6	$82,000	Allowance	7 F	Dirt	12	3:31 PM ET
7	$200,000	Busher S.	1 M	Dirt	7	4:01 PM ET
8	$150,000	Stymie S.	1 M	Dirt	8	4:34 PM ET
9	$175,000	Tom Fool H.	6 F	Dirt	8	5:06 PM ET
10	$300,000	Gotham S.	1 M	Dirt	13	5:36 PM ET

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Santa Anita has curiously not released its card yet for Saturday's enormous day. California has a unique approach and racing can be canceled in advance based on weather forecasts. Currently, there is chatter that Saturday's card can be delayed to Sunday while Sunday's scheduled card would be postponed to Monday which is presently an off-day.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Santa Anita has canceled Saturday's racing.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Aqueduct (New York):

• Race 1: It was a cheap race by New York standards at $36,000 but the opener was a fun time as three horses were separated by heads. Gokhan Kocakaya, the winner rider, hails from Turkey and is having a noticeable meet in his first tour of America.

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Penn National (Pennsylvania):

• Race 1: Integrated (Jevian Toledo/Brittany Russell), a $150,000 purchase, debuted to a victory. Russell is 3-for-6 under the lights at Penn National. The lone first time starter in the race, too. Russell had two big wins at Penn this week.

​

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Friday, March 1, 2024

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 6: Crusader Rabbit (Sheldon Russell/Brittany Russell), the lone first-time starter in the race, debuted a win. A $385,000 purchase by Mike Repole. The trainer had two in the race. She won three of four races she entered in less than 24 hours.

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Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 7: Conquest Warrior (Jose Ortiz/Shug McGaughey) is likely Florida Derby bound and then perhaps Kentucky Derby material following a5-length win in this $91,000 AOC race. Speak Easy, trained by Todd Pletcher and a 3-to-5 morning line, was scratched for tomorrow's Fountain of Youth. The eyes of the racing world today were on this race.

'​

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Turfway Park (Kentucky):

• Race 6: Maxisuperfly (Walter Rodriguez/Eric Foster), sent off at 23-to-1, wired the field to win the $150,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes and with it earned 20 points towards entry in to May's Kentucky Oaks. The winner cost $18,000 at sale but has already earned $120,000 in just five starts. The rider is from El Salvador and has been riding in the States for three years; I know of no other rider from his homeland.

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[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday at Gulfstream
Guaranteed payout on Sunday but this would mean roughly $900,000 is expected to be added to the Pick 6 pool tomorrow (Saturday) which currently has over $600,000.

https://paulickreport.com/news/horseplayers-category/gulfstream-park-rainbow-6-pool-may-reach-1-5m-saturday-mandatory-payout-sunday

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The 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool is expected to grow to an estimated $1.5 million for Saturday’s Fountain of Youth Day program at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved Friday for the 16th racing day following a Feb. 8 jackpot hit.​

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Saturday’s all-graded-stakes Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 9-14, closed out by the 78th running of the $400,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2), the final prep for the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) March 30.​

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A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 pool has been scheduled for Sunday’s card at Gulfstream.​

On mandatory-payout days, the entire Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is paid out to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the wager’s six-race sequence. The carryover jackpot is usually only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winner, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.​

Saturday at Aqueduct


Saturday at Santa Anita
CANCELED!
BIG 'CAP DAY HAS BEEN MOVED TO SUN/MAR 3 DUE TO INCOMING RAIN ON SATURDAY. SUNDAY'S CARD WILL BE MOVED TO SPECIAL RACING ON MON/MAR 4!

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Woah. The 3-6-8 are all scratched from the Fountain of Youth but Locked among them is a rough step for the connections. Too bad.

The 1 and 12 scratched from the Gotham and that includes the California shipper.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Abel Cedillo is not licensed to ride in New York and as such is off his two mounts including in the Gotham. Replacement riders have been named

 

[GKJ]

Jayson Werth has a derby favorite?

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Aqueduct (New York):

• Handle: $10.1 million.
• Weather: Heavy rains at time, sloppy track conditions.
• Jose Lezcano rode three winners.
• Joel Rosario had just three rides but two were victorious.
• Race 9: Super Chow (Madison Olver/Jorge Delgado) won the $175,000 Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap. Olver, from Colorado, won a graded stakes for the first time. Delgado is an improbable 3 3-0-0 at the big A this meet. He is based in Florida and ships to New York infrequently.

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• Race 10: Deterministic (Joel Rosario/Christophe Clement) won the $300,000 Grade 3 Gotham Stakes and with it earned 50 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. Vinny Viola's St. Elias Stables purchased the Liam's Map colt for $625,000. The colt is unbeaten in two lifetime starts.

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Gulfstream (Florida):

• Handle: $31.77 million bet.
• Card: Eight graded stakes highlighted by the Fountain of Youth.

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• Irad Ortiz, Jr. rode five winners including two graded stakes.
• Tyler Gaffalione rode two winners in graded stakes.
• Todd Pletcher trained four winners three of which were ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. The trainer entered 11 races and finished the card 15 4-2-2. It wasn't all glory however as his two FoY horses were scratched.
• Trainers: Eight trainers won the graded stakes ranging from superstar stables Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher to local guys Bobby Dibona (ex-New Englander) and Michael Yates.
• Race 14: Dornoch (Luis Saez/Danny Gargan), purchased for $325,000 by a group that includes former MLB Jayson Werth, won the Grade 2 $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes in the race's 78th edition. Dornoch, a son of Good Magic, is 5 3-2-0 and sports a 3-race win streak since a switch in riders. He has raced at five tracks. With the win, connections earned 50 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. The race lost much luster with three early scratches and then a fourth horse scratched in the post parade. Arguably, Dornach's two primary competitors were scratched.

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• Race 11: Won by a nose.

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• Race 8: Won by a neck.

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• Race 7: Won by a neck.

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Turfway (Kentucky):

• Race 7: Encino (Abel Concepcion/Brad Cox) won the $150,000 John Battaglia Stakes and with it earned 20 points towards entry into the Kentucky Derby. Encino was out for the third time. Cox sent out 10 horses across three tracks with this being his lone winner.

Santa Anita (California):

• Canceled: Due to forecasted wet weather, this card was postponed. Among the races moved to Sunday is the San Felipe, a Ky. Derby prep.