Monday, September 1, 2025
Wins 3 on closing program . . .
     HALLANDALE BEACH - It came down to Sunday’s closing day program, but Saffie Joseph Jr. edged Jose D’Angelo with a three-win day to earn leading trainer honors for the 13th consecutive race meeting at Gulfstream Park.

    Joseph, a 38-year-old native of Barbados, entered Sunday with a one-win lead, 55-54, and clinched the title with 4-5 favorite Drama ($3.80) in Race 3 following a victory with Genuine Gomo ($4.40) in the opener. Dandona, a $1.05 million OBS April purchase, gave Joseph his third winner for the day with a victory in Race 10. Joseph finished with 58 winners and more than $1.9 million in purse earnings during the five-month Royal Palm Meet, which began April 3. D’Angelo added one to his win total in Race 9 with Sigan Viendo ($12.80).

    It was the 14th multi-win day of the meet for Joseph, including three-win days on May 31, June 1 and June 28. His streak began in 2021 with the Royal Palm Meet, which he has now won five straight years. Joseph will attempt to match that feat during the Sunshine Meet, set to open Sept. 5.

    Seven of Joseph’s wins came in stakes, including Lorenz in the Mr. Steele, Luvumorgan in the Game Face, Haulin Ice in the Musical Romance, Implementation in the Smile Sprint and Andrea in the Azalea. He also won the Golden Beach (Mrs. Gambolini) and Mo Green (Claret Beret) overnight handicaps.

    Joseph’s streak also includes four consecutive titles at Gulfstream’s Championship Meet, the country’s premiere winter racing destination. Approaching 1,400 career wins, his top horses include Grade 1 winners White Abarrio, Be Your Best, Drain the Clock, Math Wizard and champion female sprinter Soul of an Angel as well as multi-millionaire Skippylongstocking.

    Twenty-seven of Joseph’s wins came with jockey Edgard Zayas, who had long since clinched the riding title and finished with 93 wins and nearly $3.1 million in purse earnings. Zayas rode three winners Saturday at Saratoga and was aboard White Abarrio in Sunday’s $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup.

    Ken Ramsey finished as leading owner at the Royal Palm Meet with 13 wins, two more than Jose Castro’s JC Racing Stable and Dennis Amaty’s Amaty Racing Stables. Castro won his first career stakes with Lightning Tones in Saturday’s $70,000 Black Diamond Cat overnight handicap.

Sunshine Meet opens with a nine-race program Friday, Sept. 5. Post time is 12:50 p.m.

    The 36-day Sunshine Meet stakes schedule will be kicked off Saturday by the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions. The $100,000 Dr. Fager and the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies will co-headline Saturday’s 11-race program.

    The $200,000, Gr. III Princess Rooney, a ‘Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In’ stakes that awards the winner a fees-paid berth in the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint on Nov.1 at Del Mar, will be renewed Sept. 20. Last year’s winner of the seven-furlong stakes for fillies and mares was won by Joseph-trained Soul of an Angel, who went on to capture the Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar.

    Note: Robert Contran’s Rezasrolex ($3.80) captured his fifth straight race Sunday, the 4-year-old son of Bucchero winning Race 6, a five-furlong starter allowance on Tapeta. The Joe Orseno trained gelding’s winning streak has spanned 14 months, starting with a 2 ¾-length victory at five furlongs on Tapeta last June 21. The son of Bucchero went on to win back-to-back starter allowances before heading to the sidelines in August. Rezasrolex made a victorious return in a 5 ½-furlong starter on May 29. He came off a two-month hiatus Sunday to win by 2 ½ lengths in :55.92 seconds under Edwin Gonzalez
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Tuesday, August 26, 2025
OBS grad Wins Gr. II Lake Placid at the Spa . . .
    KatieRich Stables’ May Day Ready (Tapit-Nemoralia, by More Than Ready) got back into the win column when she led every point of call in the Gr. II, $400,000 Lake Placid at Saratoga Race Course, leading the slate of stakes-winning OBS grads for the week.

    Trained by Joe Lee, the daughter of Tapit posted a half-length score over fellow OBS grad Play With Fire to earn her first win since taking the Grade 2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland last fall. “I knew she'd be fresh. I knew if she got a clean break, with the horses that were in there, should someone not decide to go, she may just be on the lead,” Lee said.

     Bred in Kentucky by White Birch Farm, May Day Ready was purchased by her owners for $325,000 out of the de Meric Sales consignment at the 2024 OBS April Sale after breezing in :10 flat.

    At Woodbine Aug., Gary Barber and Team Valor International’s Elysian Field (Hard Spun -Elysian, by Smart Strike) returned to winning form with a gritty score in the $150,000 Seaway Stakes (G3). Trained by Mark Casse, Elysian Field arrived at the wire a one-length winner. She was supplemented to the Seaway and was making her second start off an eight-month layoff. Elysian Field was a $70,000 purchase at the 2022 OBS June Sale? by Bruce Brown, Agent, out of the Ocala Stud consignment after breezing in :21 3/5.

    At Charles Town, the 2024 Florida-bred Horse of the Year, Mystic Lake (Mo Town – Salty Soul, by Itsmyluckyday) earned her third straight stakes win when she took the $250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon Stakes under the lights. The victory marked ninth stakes win for the filly trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. for C Two Racing Stables, Stefania Farms, and BAG Racing.

    An earner of $1,360,042, Mystic Lake is a two-time OBS graduate, sold by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent, at the 2022 October Yearling Sale and then purchased for $130,000 out of the Tom McCrocklin consignment at the 2023 March Sale after breezing in :20 4/5.

    At Saratoga, Edward Childs and R. A. Hill Stable’s Iron Orchard (Authentic- Onebrethatatime, by Brethren) made every pole a winning one en route to prevailing in the $150,000 Seeking the Ante for New York-bred 2-year-old fillies. Trained by Danny Gargan, the daughter of Authentic won at first asking in a restricted 5 1/2-furlong maiden test and replicated that effort in her stakes debut, scoring by 6 3/4-lengths. Gargan indicated Iron Orchard is likely to stretch out next in the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette Oct. 4 at Aqueduct.

    Iron Orchard was purchased by Bill Childs and Mark Stanton for $500,000 from the Grassroots Training and Sales consignment at the 2025 OBS April Sale where she worked in :9 4/5.

    At Century Mile, last year’s Century Oaks winner Avana (Vino Rosso- Revealing Moment, by After Market) took the $75,000 Northlands Distaff Handicap. Owned by Peter Redekop and trained by Barbara Heads, the daughter of Vino Rosso was purchased by Mike Ryan, agent for $150,000 out of the consignment of Cary Frommer at the 2023 OBS March Sale after breezing in :10 2/5.

 At Horseshoe Indianapolis, West Point Thoroughbreds and James Nichols’s Run Away Rojo (Run Away and Hide - Aunt Sherri, by Stephen Got Even) turned in a fast-closing effort to win the $100,000 Bucchero Handicap after the race – named for OBS grad, multiple graded stakes-winner, and sire Bucchero - was taken off the turf.

    Run Away Rojo, who was making his second start for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, was purchased by West Point Thoroughbreds for $120,000 at the 2022 OBS April Sale from the Mayberry Farm consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.

    At Parx, Happy Tenth Stables’ Buccherino (Bucchero – Bellimbusto, by First Dude) pulled away at the top of the stretch to win the $75,000 State Representative’s Sprint. Trained by Alfredo Velazquez, Buccherino earned his third stakes victory. He was purchased for $75,000 from the Blue River Bloodstock, Inc. consignment at the 2023 OBS April Sale after breezing in :10 flat.
Sunday, August 24, 2025
A tribute to Jimmy Powers . . .

    In days gone by, the late great Jimmy Powers penned his well-read column "Nobody asked me but . ." in the New York Post and Daily News for decades. With apologies to Jimmy, here's my current version.

    The NYRA betting platform uses 'Trackman' as its handicapper, with selections under every race at every track. The moron who masquerades as 'Trackman' writes 'a' whenever he's supposed to write 'an,' and 'an' whenever he's supposed to write 'a.' When he wants to say something like 'This filly is among the fastest out of the gate,' he writes 'with among.' Every time. And nobody edits his stuff.

    The person who writes the graphics on the Major League Baseball telecasts always writes 'The Mets are 4 1/2 games behind 'Of' the Phillies. Of? Hard to believe.

    Without a doubt, the TV graphics on the LIV Golf telecasts are the worst in sports history. Too small, confusing . . . whomever invented them should be demoted. Whomever approved them should be fired.

    Without Tiger Woods, and the defection of so many popular players to LIV, the game just isn't the same. I have a hunch Tiger's getting ready to join the Champions. Turns 50 on Dec. 30.

    The rectangles that show balls and strikes, and reveal how many pitches the umpires blow, should be used as the real McCoy, with the men upstairs in the booth making the correct calls, as they do with calls on the field. A bad 3 and 2 call as a strike instead of ball 4 has changed the complexion of too many games.

    Putting a man on second to start extra-inning games is absurd. So is making a pitcher throw before he is ready. People paying $100 for a ticket on a Sunday afternoon aren't interested in leaving the park 20 minutes earlier.

    Letting the TV announcers interview ballplayers who are out in the field during play is also absurd. Why any manager would allow it is hard to understand. 

    Subjecting Marion County viewers who buy Spectrum (and others) and are forced to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars every weekend is criminal. For the prices we pay, we should have Sunday Ticket for nothing, or at least a minimal fee. 

    If the Marion County police and sheriffs departments would station cars along highway 27 west of I-75, they would nab enough auto and motorcycle speeders to fund the city and county for years, along with saving many lives, and hospital visits. Too many 80-to-90 speeders, too many accidents. 

  

Friday, August 22, 2025
Racing resumes tomorrow . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Out of an abundance of caution for horses, horsemen and fans, the balance of today’s live racing program at Gulfstream Park was cancelled following a powerful thunderstorm that swept through the area bringing heavy rain and lightning.

    The decision was made following a lengthy delay prior to Race 6 of a scheduled nine-race program, after consultation with riders, track maintenance and management.

    Daily double and Pick 3 wagering that ended with Race 6 were designated as ‘all’ races. The 20-cent Rainbow 6 and 50-cent Late Pick 5 wagers that began in Races 4 and 5, respectively, were refunded.
Thursday, August 21, 2025
Four nominated to lucrative series . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - It has been a productive summer for trainer Michael Yates, whose eight wins during Gulfstream Park’s Royal Palm Meet include five 2-year-olds, four of them nominated to the lucrative Florida Sire Stakes Series which kicks off early next month.

    The latest is LNJ Foxwoods and Church Street Stable’s Finding Strength, a juvenile daughter of Khozan out of the To Honor and Serve mare Strength in Unity bred in Florida by Elizabeth LaPierre and Jennifer Given.

    Finding Strength made it look easy graduating by 4 ½ lengths on Aug. 17 in her second start, a 5 ½-furlong state-bred maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies. It was the second juvenile winner of the day for Yates following the colt Garretts On the Go in a 7 ½-furlong maiden claimer on the grass. Both are FSS nominated.

    “I thought [Finding Strength] really moved forward off her first race,” Yates said. “Her first race was a good race, but she left herself with a lot of work to do. She was pretty wide, but she really moved forward off the race. We were thrilled with her.”

    Third, beaten a neck for second behind top choice Tessellate in her debut July 19, Finding Strength settled in third behind another heavily favored Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee Mystical, as the opening quarter-mile went in :22.02 seconds. Jockey Jesus Rios – who rode three winners on the card – moved his filly up to challenge midway around the far turn, forged a short lead after a half in :46.05 and opened up once straightened for home to win in 1:04.80 over a fast main track.

    “She had trained really well since her last race and we were looking forward to a big effort,” Yates said. “You never know with these young horses. Looking at the race going in, the filly that was on the lead had worked very well so I looked for her to be forwardly placed. The way that Finding Street ran the first time, I didn’t feel like there was a need to kind of rush her off her feet. Just let her break well and let her get herself gathered up and try to finish well.”

    The $1.2 million Florida Sire Stakes Series for 2-year-olds by accredited Florida stallions begins Sept. 6 with the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies and $100,000 Dr. Fager, both sprinting six furlongs, on opening weekend of Gulfstream’s Sunshine Meet.

    FSS action resumes Oct. 18 with the $200,000 Susan’s Girl for fillies and $200,000 Affirmed, each going seven furlongs, and concludes on Nov. 29 with the $300,000 My Dear Girl for fillies and $300,000 In Reality, both during Gulfstream’s 2025-2026 Championship Meet.

    Yates swept last year’s colt division with St. Elias Stable’s undefeated homebred Rated by Merit. After being sidelined by bone bruising and missing the Triple Crown, Rated by Merit resumed training in early August at Saratoga.

    Previously, Yates won the Desert Vixen with Go Jo Jo Go in 2020 and the Dr. Fager with Cajun’s Magic in 2021 and Cajun Firecracker in 2018. He has yet to settle on a next spot for Finding Strength. “We have not thought much past [Sunday],” he said. “We wanted to see what happened [Sunday] and we’ll make a game plan and go from there.”

    Other 2-year-old winners for Yates at the Royal Palm Meet have been the gelding Fourth and Central, filly Ifyousaidso and colt Wine Candy. Like Finding Strength and Garretts On the Go, Fourth and Central and Ifyousaidso are FSS nominate
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