For sheer excitement, quality of racing and all kinds of wagering opportunities for the betting public, Gulfstream Park's Claiming Crown is probably second only to Breeders' Cup day. Following are some of the salient points gleaned from last Saturday's program.

    1. There was only one race out of nine - the Jewel Stakes - that had a field of nine, the other eight had 10 to 14. In all, 111 runners left the gate, an average of 12.3 per race. It was a handicapper's dream.

    2. Because of the large fields and all those wagering opportunities, the all-sources handle for the day reached $11,115,864.

    3. Winners came from everywhere - four bred in Kentucky, two in Ontario, one in Florida, one in New York and one in Great Britain.

    4. Ken and Sarah Ramsey were prominent, again. They own and bred the Kitten's Joy who won a maiden special on the first race of the day, before the Claiming Crown began; they bred Defer Heaven, who won the Express Stakes, and they own and bred the winner of the last race, Keystonevictory, who captured the Emerald Stakes.

    5. The bettors got it right on five races, which were won by favorites, although Keystonevictory ($3.30-1) and Defer Heaven ($2.40-1) were just lukewarn choices. 

    6. The race that knocked most out of every exotic pool was the fifth, the Glass Slipper Stakes, which was won by the lone Florida-bred to visit the winner's circle, Tormenta de Oro, who paid $91.80.

    7. Two winners were college graduates, Tormenta de Oro having been bred by the University of Florida Foundation in Zuber, and Distaff Dash winner Spectacular Me by the University of Kentucky.

    8. There was no lack of exciting finishes, with three of the earlier races being settled by a neck and two by one-half length. The final race, the Emerald, featured a major rush to the wire, and the first six horses were separated by one length. In fact, the horse who finished 10th, Andalusite, was just 2 1/2 lengths behind the winner.  

      DOWN TO THE WIRE - Florida's freshman sire race is going to go down to the wire with Woodford Thoroughbreds' Biondetti and Ocala Stud Farms' Overdriven as the only two contenders. Both have nine winners with 23 racing days remaining, and Biondetti leads Overdriven by just over $36,000 in progeny earnings, $345,545 to $309,198.

    Don Ming's Gary D. has just three starters for the year, and all three have won.   

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