Archives » Saratoga
In the Books
Curlin entering the winner's circle following the Woodward. - Onward to the fall championship meet at Belmont, opening Friday, and the upcoming Breeders' Cup, but first a farewell to the 2008 Saratoga season, which passed too quickly. This was the first summer I stayed the meet without working in the barns, which was a pleasant change (even if I did still begin each day before dawn). The six weeks passed with a feeling of dreamy sojourn, hard to shake even now back in real world Brooklyn. I've already forgotten the rain that dominated the first three weeks; what sticks...
Posted by JC, Sep 3, 2008 08:30 PM
Closing Weekend
Saddling jumpers before the Thursday NY Turf Writers Cup. Six weeks have nearly passed and Saratoga comes to an end on Monday, despite my fervent wishes that the meet go on and on. In honor of Curlin Day (and the other, official holiday being celebrated), I'm taking the weekend off from posting (but will still be on Twitter). Railbird returns Tuesday Wednesday, with a Spa wrap-up from Brooklyn....
Posted by JC, Aug 29, 2008 09:57 PM
Noticing
Ran into Alan of Left at the Gate near the paddock before the seventh, which was won by 7-2 Easy Ashley for Wesley Ward. Barely had the filly crossed the wire and Alan was pointing out that the trainer now had a Saratoga record of 20-8-1-3, a quietly successful meet in which he'd won with 40% of his starters, a stat I hadn't even noticed. The oversight had me wondering what else I might have missed and reminded me of this interesting conversation on noticing, and how the better designers, writers, filmmakers, etc. are good at "super-noticing." That also seems...
Posted by JC, Aug 28, 2008 10:55 PM
Leading Pair
Alan Garcia aboard Kiaran McLaughlin-trained Stream of Gold in the winner's circle after the sixth. - Alan Garcia surged to the lead in the rider standings with three wins on Wednesday, bringing his total to 33. Two of those wins were for Kiaran McLaughlin, now leading the trainer standings with 15 wins. The pair hook up for three races on Thursday: In the first, with Caesar Beware (scratched out of a race August 4 after flipping on his way to the paddock); in the ninth, with second time starter Justwhistledixie, third as the favorite in her debut earlier in...
Posted by JC, Aug 28, 2008 11:30 AM
(Not) Winding Down
Front office window at the Saratoga Downtowner Motel. - Dark days are always subdued, and the last Tuesday before the final week is especially so. This morning felt autumnal, a little melancholy, the air chilly and daubs of fall color bright in the trees. It was possible to enter a local coffee shop on Broadway and get immediate service, and even though the barns still looked full on the backstretch, there was a feeling of packing up and moving on as conversations were filled with mentions of the upcoming Belmont meet and the Keeneland yearling sale. Despite all that,...
Posted by JC, Aug 26, 2008 10:30 AM
Lucky John
Colonel John leaving the paddock for the Travers. - Count me among those confident Mambo in Seattle had the photo; during Travers eve dinner at Hattie's, I predicted the improving colt would win on Saturday, and watching the race at the wire was pretty sure I had the head bob to crow and cash. Not quite, although I did have a saver $86.50 exacta (as noted by Ernie in his daily Facebook Quirkycap), and so was hardly disappointed by the posted results. The same can't be said for trainer Neil Howard and jockey Robby Albarado, edged out of a...
Posted by JC, Aug 25, 2008 09:50 AM
Travers Weekend
- And posting here will be light through Sunday while I spend most of the next two days on the backstretch and at the racetrack, which means little time online, but lots of time on Twitter, to which I plan to post observations and results frequently throughout Saturday via mobile device. I'm not sure if my fun experiment this summer with the micro-blogging service is what Steve Crist had in mind when he so graciously included Railbird among examples of "the most interesting racing journalism [outside DRF] being practiced anywhere" (thanks, Steve!), but without a place on track to put...
Posted by JC, Aug 22, 2008 12:00 PM
That's Obvious
Michael Iavarone, on deciding to run Big Brown in an ungraded turf stakes at Monmouth next month, as a prep for the Breeders' Cup Classic: "This is a race we're looking to make as easy on Big Brown as it could possibly ... For us to get to Jersey is a piece of cake." Aside: Cake is fine for dessert, but lousy for the sport ... Big Brown breezed four furlongs in :50.20 over the Aqueduct main track this morning, his first work since winning the Haskell three weeks ago. On Thursday, during an OTB channel appearance, Iavarone (an LATG...
Posted by JC, Aug 22, 2008 11:25 AM
Schooling
Curlin (left) and Pyro (right) school in the paddock Thursday. Along with stablemates Pyro and J Be K, Curlin schooled in the paddock this afternoon before the third in preparation for the Woodward and the most notable aspects of the scene had to do with the people gathered to see the Horse of the Year, who was a vision of glowing copper in the sunshine and perfectly behaved. NYRA security guards were slow to close the horsepath to walking traffic, causing several in the crowd to call out at the sight of the big chestnut bearing down on backyard...
Posted by JC, Aug 21, 2008 10:00 PM
Travers Day Entries
... are up, and it's a crackerjack 12-race card, with four graded stakes and only two state-bred events. Not to knock New York horses. Much conversation this evening at the Belmont Child Care Association Western Round-Up was about undefeated Finger Lakes gelding Tin Cup Chalice, winner of the Big Apple Triple Crown Challenge and a bonus of $250,000 when he gamely hung on by a head to capture the Albany Stakes this afternoon. Tin Cup Chalice went wire-to-wire, running the final eighth in :12.19 (and the final third in :36 flat) after a first half in :50.88 (not the sort...
Posted by JC, Aug 20, 2008 11:00 PM
A Stand-Up Guy
That's how agent Jeff Smith remembers rider Parker Buckley, who died Tuesday afternoon following a training accident, to the Saratogian: "I'm in disbelief," said Jeff Smith, Buckley's former agent. "I had him his last two years at Finger Lakes and at Tampa Bay Downs. We lived together in Florida. He was a stand-up guy, clean cut, never drank. He took care of himself. He'd do anything for the horses. Something like this, it's terrible." A former jockey with 947 wins and more than $9.2 million in earnings, Buckley, 40, was an exercise rider for trainer Steve Asmussen; Pyro was one...
Posted by JC, Aug 19, 2008 11:28 PM
And She Didn't Even Bet
- Linda Rice accomplished the improbable on Monday, sweeping the superfecta in the Mechanicsville: "I kind of joked about it, but I thought it was wishful thinking we could be 1-2-3-4," Rice said. "But it sure feels good." There's a nice little twist to the story, as well, in line with all the other distaff news of late. Three of Rice's starters were fillies, including the winner, 9-1 Ahvee's Destiny (PDF). - Curlin put in his final serious work for the Woodward on Monday (he'll have a maintenance breeze next week) and will school in the paddock on Thursday. Fans...
Posted by JC, Aug 19, 2008 11:30 AM
Day After
- Final time for the Alabama was 2:04.08, the final quarter went in a reasonable :25.09, and both Proud Spell and Music Note earned a career-top Beyer speed figure of 101 for their game efforts. But while Music Note ran essentially the same race she did winning the Coaching Club American Oaks, Proud Spell progressed considerably from her hard-fought win in the Delaware Oaks last month. No question she showed greater tractability and gutsiness, but I do wonder how much Javier Castellano taking Music Note back early and then wide around the final turn affected the finish, given the "deliberate"...
Posted by JC, Aug 17, 2008 08:30 PM
Proud Day
Proud Spell entering the winner's circle after the Alabama. It was something to see trainer Larry Jones, waiting for Proud Spell to gallop out, with a quiver in his jaw, blinking back tears threatening to break. Photographers pressed and congratulations flowed; he paced in the Saratoga dirt and tried to smile. He couldn't stand still, he couldn't speak, his filly had won the Alabama and done so tenaciously, digging in to get to the wire first by a head over favored Music Note. "If Eight Belles were here," said a reporter leaning against the rail, his back to the...
Posted by JC, Aug 16, 2008 11:00 PM
Saturday Notes
- Nice way to start a career: Former Dale Romans assistant Elizabeth Gray earned her first win as a trainer in race two this afternoon with 7-1 Obsequious, her second starter to date. The 2-year-old Fusaichi Pegasus filly making her debut was most admirable, snatching the lead early and dueling down the stretch with second-place finisher Abundantia. Final time for the 5 1/2 furlong MSW was 1:05.78. - Honorable Miss winner Any Limit is out of next Sunday's Ballerina, due to a flare-up of an old injury. Trainer Allen Jerkens said the mare might be start next in the Gallant...
Posted by JC, Aug 16, 2008 01:35 PM
Catching Up
- Bit of an omnibus post this morning as I attempt to catch up on recent Saratoga racing, to which I have been paying much attention, but about which I have written woefully little. I blame the Spa. As I was saying to someone the other day, Saratoga takes you back 100 years in more ways than one. Internet what? But where actually being at the racetrack and lacking wireless access inhibits, technology finds a way: I'm sending out Spa updates daily via Twitter. (The news that Curlin was going to the Woodward and that last Friday's card was canceled...
Posted by JC, Aug 15, 2008 07:50 AM
The First Round
... of Self Appointed Fan Committee reports, now available....
Posted by JC, Aug 14, 2008 11:00 PM
Saratoga, Part II
Funny Cide, the most famous stable pony in racing. Mid-meet stats: Riders John Velazquez and Cornelio Velasquez are tied at 19 wins apiece, Eibar Coa follows with 14 wins. Edgar Prado has the distinction of being the rider with the most seconds, with 22 placings to 13 wins. On the trainer side, Todd Pletcher leads with 10 wins from 41 starters, Gary Contessa is second with 7 wins from 65 starters. By percentage, though, Tony Dutrow leads with his 87% ITM rate, thanks to a 16-6-3-5 record through the first three weeks, and Dave Duggan (as LATG pointed out)...
Posted by JC, Aug 13, 2008 12:45 PM
Go, Jackson
Oh, impetuous Dutrow, you trash talked the wrong guy: LEXINGTON, KY (August 13, 2008) - Jess Jackson, majority owner of Curlin, 2007 Horse of the Year, invites Big Brown to race Curlin in the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York on Saturday, August 30, 2008. Jackson has committed to donate $50,000 from the Jackson Curlin for Kids Fund to the non-profit Belmont Child Care Association, Anna House, if Big Brown, winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Haskell and Florida Derby, accepts the invitation. "Big Brown's camp recent remarks about Curlin inspired...
Posted by JC, Aug 13, 2008 10:40 AM
On Track
Ventured to the backstretch earlier than usual this morning, arriving around 5:30 a.m., between rainstorms, to watch Curlin train, only to hear that the expected move had been canceled due to the weather and sloppy track condition. "I'm not going to work him," said trainer Steve Asmussen. "It's too wet." Turns out, the exercise was merely delayed, with the big chestnut working six furlongs in 1:14.62, in company with stablemate Hawaii Calls, over the muddy Oklahoma surface after the break. Curlin's final serious Woodward work is scheduled for next Monday, over the main track. Also on the work tab was...
Posted by JC, Aug 11, 2008 11:55 AM
Odds & Ends
Above All Odds and connections await the sixth on Saturday. - Caught this intriguing tidbit in a Times Union piece on the Saturday card, otherwise known as the Going to Hell in a Handbasket Without a Graded Stakes day: The first Saturday of the meet was top heavy with stakes races.... That won't happen next year. Hayward said the Breeders' Cup people already have told him there will be no Win and You're In here. "We were told they aren't going to do any races at Saratoga or Arlington in the summer," Hayward said. That sounds like a potentially...
Posted by JC, Aug 10, 2008 11:00 PM
All Clear
Training over the repaired main track on Saturday morning. The sky is blue, clouds are few, and any rain predicted is expected to pass to the north. After yesterday's early afternoon wash out, the main track is restored to normal, the turf listed as yielding. So far, the weather is perfect for an 11-race Saratoga card featuring four overnight stakes for NY-breds. Complaints about the line-up can be found here and there, but I prefer to think NYRA is doing horseplayers a courtesy, freeing fans from any distracting local graded stakes that might take away from Arlington Million day...
Posted by JC, Aug 9, 2008 12:15 PM
Unexpected Dark Day
- A summer squall complete with thunder, lightning, and hail forced cancellation of the Saratoga card after the second race due to portions of the racetrack washing out. "There are big holes in there from the middle of the track all the way down to the rail -- I mean huge," jockey John Velazquez told DRF. (Apparently, the area of the track most affected has been trouble before: "Every time it rains hard like that, we have the same problems around the five-sixteenths pole," said Edgar Prado.) Repairs were expected to take at least an hour, and even then, "there...
Posted by JC, Aug 8, 2008 10:45 PM
Duck, Duck
- I think we all knew it was an unlikely August meeting, but a Blood-Horse report confirms. Big Brown will not race against Curlin at Saratoga: "The Woodward isn't in our thinking right now," said Pompa, a 25% owner of Big Brown. "The timing isn't right for the horse. Mike Iavarone (of co-owner IEAH Stables) and I discussed it, and we're not going to Saratoga. There is no reason to rush him back. He's coming off a tough race." The Jockey Club Gold Cup isn't in their thinking either, but Pompa did say they hoped to meet Curlin in the...
Posted by JC, Aug 6, 2008 10:00 PM
Restored
- Big Brown wins the Haskell, Brash Dutrow returns: Curlin couldn't win the Derby, we could," Dutrow said. "Curlin couldn't win this race, we could. Curlin got beat [by] a filly. We haven't. Our horse is undefeated on the grass. Curlin isn't. I don't know why people think Curlin is such a good horse. We're way better than Curlin." In his favor, Big Brown won off an eight-week layoff after the worst race of his career, digging deep to get past Coal Play -- loose on the lead from the start and running the best race of his career --...
Posted by JC, Aug 4, 2008 07:30 PM
In the Second
... at Saratoga today, Spaniard makes his second start for trainer Bob Baffert. The 2-year-old Candy Ride colt, a half to certain Test Stakes favorite Indian Blessing, comes to the Spa off a sixth-place finish in a June maiden special at Hollywood that has yielded three next out winners (one at Hollywood, with a BSF of 80, two at Del Mar, with BSFs of 73 and 80), and gets leading rider John Velazquez. Sure to be sent to post at better odds, however, is Nowhere to Hide, a Vindication colt with a bullet work on July 12 debuting for trainer...
Posted by JC, Aug 2, 2008 09:55 AM
Quite the Spectacle
Saratoga doyenne Marylou Whitney and soap star Susan Lucci enter Congress Park in a rickshaw ... Preceded by dragon dancers ... While a golden blow-up Buddha welcomes guests to the annual Whitney Gala at the Canfield Casino ......
Posted by JC, Aug 1, 2008 11:30 PM
'Note Possible for Travers?
Reports Ed Fountaine in the New York Post this morning: Godolphin Stables is considering a run in the "Midsummer Derby" for Music Note, coming off an 11-length romp in the July 19 Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont Park, when she ran the mile-and-a-quarter, the distance of the Travers, in a sparkling 2:01.66. Now, this is an interesting possibility. As much as I'd like to see a rematch between Music Note and Proud Spell in the historic Alabama (and agree with commenter Ed that it could well be the race that determines year-end 3YO filly honors), the Travers does have...
Posted by JC, Aug 1, 2008 07:30 AM
Slow Thursday
Prominent (2nd) gallops out after the fourth on Thursday. - Maybe it was the stifling heat and humidity that began early, but everything about Saratoga on Thursday felt slow and muted, from training hours on through the card. The eighth felt especially so, perhaps because pace for the 1 1/8 mile N1X was :47.48 and the final furlong :14.28. This was the first race of the meet run under the new bonus conditions for routes, and it drew 10 starters, swelling the purse to $100,000, but it also highlighted the problem the scheme aims to correct, with early leader...
Posted by JC, Jul 31, 2008 10:00 PM
That's Racing
Edgar Prado on Carriage Trail before the De La Rose Stakes. - A bad beat for Trouble Maker, on the inside and barely edged out in the De La Rose by 3-1 Carriage Trail. Her Majesty the Queen's horse, Medley, finished a length back in third. "She ran a winning race," said trainer Tom Albertrani of the mare, winless since July 2007 and sent to post at 10-1. "It's a tough photo, but that's racing." - It's not quite like the good old days when every Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez 2-year-old starter looked live, but the pair did...
Posted by JC, Jul 30, 2008 09:00 PM
Arrrrr!
- Skipped the track this afternoon to watch the races on Capital OTB while doing homework in advance of the forum on synthetic surfaces scheduled for Tuesday, which begins at 9:00 a.m. and opens with a panel featuring racetrack executives, then moves on to panels with veterinarians, trainers, riders, and researchers, wrapping up at 5:00 p.m., leaving just enough time to grab dinner downtown before heading to the Ride On! exhibit preview at the National Museum of Racing (hosted by Fran of Hoofcare). Fortunately, little was lost hearing this call on TV instead of on-track: What especially amuses me about...
Posted by JC, Jul 28, 2008 09:00 PM
Dandy Upset
Runner-up Pyro walks to the test barn after the Jim Dandy. - The dirt was harrowed before the ninth today, which seemed to make the track deeper and more tiring, a real change from the quick surface seen earlier in the afternoon, and opening up both the ungraded Henry Walton and G2 Jim Dandy to horses coming from off the pace. In the Walton, favored Mambo in Seattle wrapped up the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.98, faster than Macho Again's final time of 1:51.16 at the same distance in the Jim Dandy. Even if the time doesn't inspire much...
Posted by JC, Jul 27, 2008 10:30 PM
Sunday Saratoga Report
Jockey Ramon Dominguez takes a second to sign a program. - Commentator had the Whitney his way, getting clear at first jump and stealing the race gate-to-wire with a half in :47.73, a final time of 1:50.23, and a 4 3/4 length lead. The 7-year-old NY-bred gelding has now won the Whitney twice, the first horse since Kelso to do so, and earned a post in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Asked if Commentator might ship west this fall, owner Tracy Farmer replied, "That's up to Nick. I'm not worried about getting the horse to Santa Anita -- I'm worried...
Posted by JC, Jul 27, 2008 12:00 PM
D. Wayne Lukas
... can't get the New York stewards to explain their decisions to him either: D. Wayne Lukas, the trainer of Stealin' Kisses, called the stewards from the winner's circle to get their version of events, but the stewards declined to give it. "I asked them 'Do you have to go over the fence or go down, what do you got to do?''" Lukas said. "They said we'll talk to you tomorrow if you want to come in. If that's the third race on Wednesday the winner comes down.'' Stealin' Kisses was checked after clipping heels in deep stretch when My...
Posted by JC, Jul 26, 2008 07:15 AM
Sun, Turf, and Chocolat
- The sun is out in Saratoga today and the G2 Lake George will be on the turf, as scheduled. My Princess Jess is the 8-5 morning line favorite making her second start for trainer Barclay Tagg and entering off a win in the G3 Boiling Springs at Monmouth last month, but second choice Mousse Au Chocolat, making her first North American start, is a far more compelling and classy contender, returning from a strong second place finish to Modern Look (who chased a quick pace and finished fourth behind undefeated Zakarva in the French Guineas) in the G2 Prix...
Posted by JC, Jul 25, 2008 12:37 PM
Thursday Notes
- Trainer Steve Asmussen, who won the Schuylerville with 12-1 Jardin, said that favored Ocean Colors tied up in the stretch, which is why she stopped so badly on the final turn. Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan blamed the wet going, reports the Daily Gazette: "If you have a horse that doesn't really handle it, it's a tough situation," he said. "Obviously, we can't do anything about the rain, it's nobody's fault, but it's not very pleasant.... she's a much better filly than she showed." So long as she recovers well, Ocean Colors, already more accomplished than most of her dam's babies,...
Posted by JC, Jul 24, 2008 11:00 AM
A Familiar Scene
Rain today, rain tomorrow. Thursday turf races at Saratoga have already been moved to the main track and the first steeplechase of the season canceled, which means post-time will be at 1:35 p.m., with race two opening the card. If I seem fixated on the forecast, it's because I don't relish the slop, unlike Steve Asmussen runners, who won three races this afternoon, including the feature. Despite my cat-like loathing of rain, I did make it to the track for opening day, arriving in time to wedge myself into a spot on the clubhouse rail from which to watch the...
Posted by JC, Jul 23, 2008 11:00 PM
90% Chance of Slop
Opening day at Saratoga looks wet, with rain, sometimes heavy, and thunderstorms forecast for Wednesday. I'm hoping dark clouds do no more than lurk menacingly until after the second race, which is a maiden special sprint stocked with babies who could be any kind, including Pious David, half to Blue Grass Stakes winner Monba, and Cognito, half to Fountain of Youth winner Cool Coal Man. First crop sire Speightstown is represented by In Speight of It, whose dam, Honest Deceiver, is a half-sister to stakes winner Yes It's True, both 2-year-old debut winners. In Speight of It is 15-1 on...
Posted by JC, Jul 22, 2008 10:20 PM
Biased
From Steve Davidowitz's DRF+ column on Saratoga stats: On dry tracks, pure front-runners won more than 40 percent of all attempts from five to seven furlongs, and stalking types virtually equaled that percentage, leaving deep closers to account for only 16 percent of Saratoga, dry track sprint winners over the same four year sample. In dry-track dirt routes, closers won at a 24 percent rate. Interesting ... imagine the outcry if the Saratoga main track were synthetic, not dirt, and the stats skewed the other way, towards horses rallying from off the pace....
Posted by JC, Jul 18, 2008 02:48 PM
Then We Came to the End
So another Saratoga season ends. Trainer Bill Mott ran away with the training title (DRF), capping his fine meet with a win in the Hopeful Stakes by Majestic Warrior (Blood-Horse), who went off as the 6-1 third choice in the field of four. The Hopeful was expected to be a match race between trainer Todd Pletcher's talented Ready's Image and Bob Baffert's speedy Maimonides, and it was -- at the quarter pole, before Maimonides began to fade under Ready's Image's pressure after running the first quarter in :22.60 and the half in :45, and Majestic Warrior ran by both on...
Posted by JC, Sep 3, 2007 11:00 PM
No Bounce for Lawyer Ron
So says the Beyer: Lawyer Ron's Woodward speed figure came back as 118 119*, two points higher than the figure he earned winning the Whitney in record time five weeks ago. *Adjusted, and still two points higher than the Whitney, which was upped to 117. Dick Jerardi explains (DRF+)....
Posted by JC, Sep 2, 2007 10:00 AM
Monday Evening Notes
- I'd say the glow is off Saratoga: Fans booed the results of a stewards' inquiry into today's eighth race (Newsday). The race was won by Karelian, scratched from Saturday's record-setting Baruch Stakes (Blood-Horse), who bumped Dreadnaught in the stretch after eventual place horse Heat of the Night richocheted off him. For the sake of my exacta, I was rooting for the stewards to take down Heat of the Night; they declined to change the order of finish. - Nobiz Like Shobiz worked five furlongs handily over the Oklahoma turf course in :58.54. The Tagg trainee is headed to the...
Posted by JC, Aug 27, 2007 11:00 PM
The Street Sense We Got
It wasn't the Street Sense who dominated in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile or the Kentucky Derby. The Street Sense who won the Travers, writes Mike Watchmaker, "was the Street Sense who barely edged Any Given Saturday in the Tampa Bay Derby, who missed in a photo in the bizarrely run Blue Grass, and who was nailed by Curlin in the Preakness when he pulled himself up after opening a clear lead in deep stretch" (DRF+). The great shame of Street Sense's imminent retirement to stud (BRIS) is that he'll never get a chance to overcome this immaturity and fulfill his...
Posted by JC, Aug 27, 2007 09:05 PM
'Cide, Champ, Chicken
- Watching the works at Saratoga is the best way to start each day up here. Get a coffee, sit in the grandstand, watch the horses run by and try to figure out who's who. This morning, I saw two instantly recognizable horses: Discreet Cat, out for a light gallop, and Funny Cide, looking magnificent and dappled, sauntering along the main track in his new role as stable pony. - Wait a While was ultra impressive in yesterday's Ballston Spa Handicap, regaining her brilliant form to win by 2 1/4 lengths over Vacare at 3-1. "She showed today that...
Posted by JC, Aug 24, 2007 11:30 AM
Off to the Spa
In just a few minutes, I'll be on my way north for Travers weekend. Despite the late start, I plan to get to the track in time for today's Ballston Spa Handicap, which drew a field of nine, including smashing Diana winner My Typhoon, in foal Iron Goddess, and Todd Pletcher's Wait a While. I'll surely arrive too late to catch NYRA's 1:30 news conference announcing a new member of the senior management team (Paulick?), but I'm sure one of my fellow bloggers will be all over that story when it breaks. Update: NYRA announced the hiring the Hal Handel...
Posted by JC, Aug 23, 2007 10:30 AM
Street Sense Works
- It seems like Saratoga just started, but Travers week begins Wednesday and the end begins the week after. A couple of years ago, when I worked on the backstretch, this week was the one where everything -- morning tasks, detention barn afternoons, the newspaper lady delivering each day's Times and Form, the produce guy driving slowly past the barns calling, "Fruta! Fruta!" -- settled, became routine. It wasn't dull, though, of course not. Travers Day was approaching and Lost in the Fog was in an Oklahoma barn, First Samurai was all glorious potential, Bellamy Road was making his return....
Posted by JC, Aug 21, 2007 11:00 PM
'Riches Possible for Travers?
We knew Rags to Riches wasn't too likely for the Travers, even though the Belmont winner is nominated for the race, but then trainer Todd Pletcher hinted at the possibility she might start in the mid-summer Derby after Rags to Riches outworked Magna Graduate in 1:00.50 over the Saratoga main track this morning. "I haven't ruled it out completely," Pletcher said. "But it's extremely unlikely. I did not work her this morning with the idea that this was a work for the Travers" (Times Union). The Toddster is such a tease. Is he wavering in his plan to send the...
Posted by JC, Aug 19, 2007 08:30 PM
Still More Happy
Another Vindication baby winner for trainer Bob Baffert at Saratoga: Just like stablemate Maimonides last week in his dazzling debut, favored More Happy went to the lead early and widened her advantage to more than four lengths at the top of the stretch in today's Adirondack Stakes. Unlike Maimonides, she then tired pretty badly (check out the replay and watch for the tail pop indicating she's almost done), staggering to the wire barely three-quarters of a length ahead of A to the Croft to win. Todd Pletcher's Passion finished third after encountering some traffic trouble. Final time for the race...
Posted by JC, Aug 15, 2007 09:30 PM
Curlin Out of Travers
- Trainer Steve Asmussen announced today Curlin would skip the Travers and train up to the September 30 Jockey Club Gold Cup. "After the Belmont, the Classic was the major goal for the second half of the season," Asmussen said. "Running him back in the Travers and keeping him at that level for another 60 days, I think, is unrealistic" (NYRA). Wait ... if Curlin ran in the Travers, he wouldn't start again until the Classic? Surely another race could fit into that 60 day layoff -- like the Gold Cup -- especially for a horse who seemed to thrive...
Posted by JC, Aug 13, 2007 09:15 PM
What You Want to See for $4.6M
- Over a good track and under a handride, Maimonides romped in his debut at Saratoga this afternoon, crossing the wire 11 1/2 lengths ahead of place horse Sam's Passion. It was a super performance: Maimonides assumed the lead early, cruised easy into the stretch, then drew off with a shrug when jockey Rafael Bejarano shook him up at the 16th pole, seemingly just for fun. Final time was 1:04.41; Maimonides' Beyer speed figure came back an 89. Trainer Bob Baffert couldn't have been happier with the two-year-old Vindication colt's victory, which was the conditioner's first maiden win at the...
Posted by JC, Aug 8, 2007 09:30 PM
Funny Cide Party Plans Set
Funny Cide's retirement party is all set for next Friday at Saratoga: The Kentucky Derby winner turned stable pony will parade for fans on the racetrack one last time, an oversized card will be available for signing, and NYRA will give away copies of a limited edition PEB poster commemorating the occasion, which will be autographed by members of Sackatoga Stable and jockey Jose Santos (who announced his retirement earlier this week) outside the silks room. "It's going to be a blast," said Jack Knowlton, managing partner for Sackatoga (Times Union)....
Posted by JC, Aug 3, 2007 09:00 AM
Thunder Chicken
- Rags to Riches settles in at the Spa, makes a new friend, deals with paparazzi (NTRA). - Teuflesberg makes his turf debut in the Glow Stakes, Saturday's third race at Saratoga. "He's just doing so well and feeling so good that we wanted to find something to keep him on the level," said trainer Jamie Sanders of the move (ThoroTimes). Nobiz Like Shobiz will try the same on Monday, when he starts in the G2 Hall of Fame Stakes for trainer Barclay Tagg. - After nearly two years off, the bard made a triumphant return to the races on...
Posted by JC, Aug 3, 2007 08:50 AM
Wednesday Evening Notes
- Week two at Saratoga got off to a better start than week one, although favorite Rumspringa was declared a non-starter after unseating rider Ramon Dominguez at the break in the first race. Dominguez was uninjured and all wagers refunded on Rumspringa, who was claimed by owner Michael Repole and trainer Bruce Levine. Winning Move Stable owner Steve Sigler is contesting the claim of the horse from his barn, since Rumspringa lost the jock and was ineligible to run for purse money (DRF). - Trainer Todd Pletcher went 0-for-4 at the Spa today, but both his regular riders scored a...
Posted by JC, Aug 1, 2007 06:00 PM
They Won, They're In
- Did anyone else find Saturday's first Breeders' Cup Challenge day as much a yawn as I did? Three of the four horses who won at Saratoga were probably headed to the Breeders' Cup anyway, although Lawyer Ron was being considered for the Mile, a race perhaps more suited to his running style, and now has a berth in the Classic, a race he finished ninth in last year. Go For Wand winner Ginger Punch will have to be supplemented $180,000 to claim her guaranteed Distaff spot. It was great to see My Typhoon score a well-earned G1 victory following...
Posted by JC, Jul 30, 2007 11:00 PM
Carryover Alert
Thanks to a parade of longshots, there's a one-day pick six carryover of $212,258 at Del Mar today; at the Spa, a one-day pick six carryover of $92,503....
Posted by JC, Jul 30, 2007 07:30 AM
Record, or Teletimer Error?
From the Crist Blog: Lawyer Ron ran a huge race winning the Whitney Saturday afternoon, but his reported track-record time of 1:46.64 is so completely out of whack with the other races on the Saratoga card that there is serious doubt about whether the clocking was accurate. Internal fractions for the Whitney were :23.86, :23.51, :22.91, :24.07, and :12.29. NYRA is looking into the possibility of a Teletimer error, possibly in the third quarter. If the final time is right, Lawyer Ron's Whitney Beyer figure would be 128 -- a number achieved only by Ghostzapper in recent years. Update: Although...
Posted by JC, Jul 29, 2007 09:20 AM
Legitimate Fractions
Lawyer Ron takes the Whitney in a record-setting final time of 1:46.64 on a speed-favoring track, paying $13.00 to win (video). Wanderin Boy set early fractions of :23.86, :47.37, and 1:10.28, and held on for second. Diamond Stripes was third....
Posted by JC, Jul 28, 2007 06:10 PM
Zito, Live at the Spa
Trainer Todd Pletcher may be in a slump with first-time two-year-old starters at Saratoga, but trainer Nick Zito picked up right where he left off last year at the Spa, sending out War Pass in the second to win his maiden debut at 7-1 odds. In 2006, Zito started 17 two-year-old first-timers, winning with six (35%), and finishing in the money eight times (47%), with a median payout of $13.30. The numbers were a stark change from his 2005 record, in which the trainer went 1-for-12. "The owners of today like instant gratification," Zito said of the shift. "They like...
Posted by JC, Jul 28, 2007 02:30 PM
Saturday Spa Stakes
Notes from a quick skim of past performances for the first four Breeders' Cup Challenge races at Saratoga, which have all come up pleasingly competitive ... In the Diana, trainer Patrick Biancone starts three, with Countess Scala running as a rabbit for Mauralakana, although Danzon seems more likely to benefit. The four-year-old filly, a closer, finished third in open company in the G1 Turf Classic on Derby day at Churchill. That stakes was won by Sky Conqueror, who followed up with another score in the Northern Dancer at Woodbine this month. My Typhoon starts off back-to-back wins in the G2...
Posted by JC, Jul 28, 2007 01:30 AM
Saratoga Babies
- Ready's Image Beyer for Thursday's Sanford Stakes came back a big 104, which easily makes the strapping colt trained by Todd Pletcher the two-year-old division leader. As Steven Crist points out on his new blog though, "how far will he go, being by More Than Ready out of a Clever Trick mare?" My question is, how much of a monster is Rated Feisty? The Steve Amussen-trained filly beat Ready's Image by more than seven lengths in the G3 Kentucky Breeders' Cup in May, earning a 102 Beyer for that race. He came back from that third place finish to...
Posted by JC, Jul 27, 2007 05:00 PM
And They're Off at the Spa
Just back from a whirlwind opening day trip to Saratoga. More on that, the Schuylerville and Sanford, the upcoming weekend Breeders' Cup Challenge races, the ADW mess, and Del Mar on Friday ......
Posted by JC, Jul 25, 2007 11:55 PM
Opening Day Entries
For Saratoga are up. And what a card it is, with 10 full fields and the first juvenile stakes of the season. The Schuylerville attracted nine two-year-old fillies, including trainer Barclay Tagg's According to Plan, an impressive debut winner at Belmont last month, and Subtle Aly, one of trainer Steve Asmussen's many winning first-time starters at Churchill this summer, making her first start for Richard Dutrow....
Posted by JC, Jul 22, 2007 11:00 AM
Saratoga Summer
Photos from the meet just ended ... Bellamy Road walks to the paddock before the Travers Horses are loaded in the gate for a seven-furlong race Two railbirds wait for a race on the final Wednesday of the meet A crowd watches the action near the backstretch mutuel booth Horses are given morning baths behind an Oklahoma barn Horse laundry hung to dry A Clare Court barn...
Posted by JC, Sep 9, 2005 04:10 PM
Travers Day
And the crowds are out in Saratoga, both in town and at the track. I'm looking to beat Bellamy Road in the Travers with Reverberate and Andromeda's Hero, but probably will pass on betting the Hopeful or the King's Bishop -- First Samurai and Henny Hughes dominate in the former and unless something freakish occurs (as it did to Ashado in yesterday's Personal Ensign), Lost in the Fog is a lock in the latter. --- It's true. Alan did tell me he liked Shadow Cast when I saw him minutes before the Personal Ensign. I liked Island Sand, thinking the...
Posted by JC, Aug 27, 2005 10:40 AM
Saratoga Saturday
By the numbers ... 5: The number of gawkers visiting First Samurai's stall this morning, including ESPN commentator Randy Moss and noted equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage. The two-year-old First Samurai won his last two races by a combined 11 1/2 lengths and will start in the Hopeful next Saturday. The colt breezed four furlongs in :47.46 on Friday morning, a time jockey Jerry Bailey, aboard for the work, attributes to there being a couple of horses ahead of him. "He had a target for half the work and it made him work a little bit better," said Bailey (Daily...
Posted by JC, Aug 20, 2005 12:45 PM
Thursday Eve Notes
I see via Left at the Gate that congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, is most displeased with the response he's received from the Jockeys' Guild to his request for documents in an investigation into the matter of jockeys' insurance. It seems the Guild has dodged (Thoroughbred Times) providing documents relating to president Wayne Gertmenian's consulting company, Matrix, to which the organization has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in management and real estate fees. In a letter to the Guild, Representative Whitfield asks, among other things, that Gertmenian: Describe in detail the...
Posted by JC, Aug 18, 2005 06:30 PM
The First Half
Monday marked the midpoint of the Saratoga meet; Wednesday kicks off the fourth week of racing. Ahead lies the Alabama (this Saturday) and the Travers (the following). I've had a great time in the past three weeks. The meet got off to a bit of slow start for me -- before last Saturday, I'd made a total of nine bets and cashed only two tickets, one on the Michael Matz-trained Quadrant, who ran an excellent second to Ice Wynnd Fire in the same allowance race on August 6 that Noble Causeway was pulled up in, and another on the Suffolk...
Posted by JC, Aug 16, 2005 08:00 PM
A Belated Note from the Spa
I am chagrined. A little shamefaced that Railbird posting has dwindled to almost nothing in the past three weeks. All this time in Saratoga, and I've barely written a word. The situation is so bad that when I met Alan of Left at the Gate at the track on Saturday, he greeted me with, "What happened? It's like you fell into a black hole." Not quite ... just Saratoga, where racing crowds out all else. Some notes and observations on the meet's first half are coming soon ......
Posted by JC, Aug 15, 2005 08:00 PM
Opening Day
Or, what I saw in the detention barn. A full report on that boondoggle, as well as comments on Monday's Saratoga Preview and the meet's opening days, coming Friday or Saturday. Posting three or four times a week may have been an ambitious plan -- the past week has been a blur of horses and people and I've spent less than, oh, an hour online in that time. Saratoga is fantastic, though, and I hope to write about it as much as I can over the next month....
Posted by JC, Jul 28, 2005 02:35 PM
Railbird Moves to Saratoga
Saratoga opens on Wednesday, and I'm in town for the whole meet starting today. Through August, I'll be posting three or four times a week, and in a different format -- entries will be in more of a column or diary style, and almost exclusively about the Spa. If you're in Saratoga too, send me an email. I'd love to meet you....
Posted by JC, Jul 24, 2005 07:00 AM
Nearing the Start ...
I was in Saratoga this weekend and spent more than an hour wandering over the grandstand and backstretch. The place was buzzing with preparations -- groundskeepers touching up paint, workers moving massive piles of United Tote boxes, newly-hired mutuel tellers training. In the barn area, I saw the new security accomodations. Fencing, screened on the front to block sight of the track, was up around a couple of barns and the tents that will be used to hold horses on race day. When I read about these tents, I was skeptical, but I have to say they looked solid, with...
Posted by JC, Jul 18, 2005 10:25 AM
12 Days and Counting ...
Only 12 days to go until Saratoga opens! In about half an hour, I'll be on the Mass Pike heading west for the weekend on a little exploratory pre-opening trip. I'll be back on Sunday with a report on the track and some thoughts on the upcoming season. For now, check out John Pricci's handicapping tips for the meet (MSNBC) and Paul Daley's guide to betting two-year-olds (Lowell Sun)....
Posted by JC, Jul 15, 2005 11:00 AM
Back to Belmont
More than half the 1800 horses stabled at Saratoga have moved back to Belmont Park, where racing begins on Friday, leaving the backside looking like a ghost town and some trainers feeling blue. "As far as I'm concerned [Saratoga] is the last remaining treasure in racing ... Belmont Park is a thing of beauty but other than days like the Belmont Stakes or a nice fall day of racing, nothing is happening down there. It is always happening up here. Every day is a party," Nick Zito tells the Times Union....
Posted by JC, Sep 8, 2004 05:55 PM
A Cold Season?
"There was a chill in the air Monday morning in the backstretch at Saratoga Race Course, perhaps as much a metaphor of the mood of this meeting as a herald of the change of seasons. People working on the inside and fans alike just didn't seem to warm up to this six-week session as they usually do. I can't put my finger on all of it, but there was a negative buzz surrounding this Saratoga session," writes Matt Graves. Hm ... perhaps it was all the Getnick & Getnick Integrity Hotline signs plastered everywhere. (Times Union)...
Posted by JC, Sep 7, 2004 07:50 AM
The Pair to Beat
With only one day left in the meet, Todd Pletcher has saddled 35 winners at Saratoga; John Velazquez has ridden 34 of those 35. "To their rival trainers and jockeys, the names Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez have been the most discouraging words at Saratoga Race Course this summer." (New York Times) Related: "Training Todd's labor of love" (New York Daily News)...
Posted by JC, Sep 6, 2004 09:00 AM
More Like a Nightmare
Matt Graves imagines opening day at Saratoga, 2007: "Smith: 'We'd also like to introduce you to some of the members of the new team at Saratoga -- Martha Stewart, vice president of food and beverage; Ivan Boesky, chief financial officer; Alfonse D'Amato, general counsel and director of parking; Tom Ridge, head of security; and Bobby Hull, chief of promotions. By the way, Bobby tells me we'll be having 'NHL Day at the Track' every Sunday during the meet. We hope to see you all back here on Labor Day."' (Times Union)...
Posted by JC, Sep 5, 2004 08:15 PM
One Last Trip to Saratoga
My racing companion and I made one last trip to Saratoga for the season on Thursday. We opened the day with a lovely little win in the first race on Fabulous Peak, a gelding shipped in from Suffolk at the start of August who's acquitted himself well at the Spa with two wins at the claiming $25,000 level. Our next win came in the third race, a steeplechase, when Tres Touche won at odds of 8-1. Between me and the RC, we're 3-3 on steeplechases this summer, a record that I must ascribe to dummy god intervention, because neither of...
Posted by JC, Sep 3, 2004 08:00 AM
Wrapping Up at Saratoga
With a week to go, Bill Finley grades this year's meet. Todd Pletcher and Azeri earn As; Purge, no surprise, gets a D. (ESPN) Vans are pulling out of the Saratoga backside loaded with horses bound for Belmont, but trainer Bobby Frankel's barn is still hopping. (New York Daily News)...
Posted by JC, Aug 31, 2004 05:45 PM
He Has Success, But No Stalls
Michael Gill is the leading owner at Saratoga so far this year, with seven wins from 43 horses, but NYRA won't give him stalls at the track: "While Gill's horses are welcome here, Gill believes he is not. As is the case in most jurisdictions, Gill is not allotted stalls in New York. Gill says it's because of his aggressive claiming tactics.... New York Racing Association officials, however, point to Gill's and his trainers' troubled past as to why he is denied stalls." (Daily Racing Form)...
Posted by JC, Aug 26, 2004 09:15 AM
Best First Two Weeks Ever
Saratoga's success this year makes it hard to criticize NYRA: "After one-third of the 2004 meet, on-track attendance is just under 5,000 fans ahead of last year, but the staggering statistic is that on-track handle is up $6.6 million, or roughly 19 percent, when all the doomsayers had NYRA standing on its last legs." (Times Union)...
Posted by JC, Aug 12, 2004 11:15 AM
Saratoga Daytrip
I couldn't stay away. Early Wednesday morning found me making the drive from Boston to Saratoga for the afternoon's races. I was rewarded for the hours in the car with a nice win in the first race and the thrill of watching an upset in the eighth race....
Posted by JC, Aug 5, 2004 05:20 PM
And They're Off at Saratoga
Everything I'd heard about Saratoga was true: The track was beautiful, the racing magnificent, the atmosphere lively. I only wish I could have been there more than three days. No big wins for me, but my racing companion scored in the first race of the second day, a steeplechase, when 15-1 Paradise's Boss won, paying $32.20. Related: Compete DRF Saratoga coverage, and "How to $core at 'Toga Party" (New York Post)...
Posted by JC, Aug 1, 2004 04:10 PM
