Track Times Today

Bernie's Blog

Monday, October 2, 2023
Gulfstream is 6th of 8 venues . . .

    It's been quite a while since we included an update on the success (or failure) of Florida's gambling spots, so here goes. Today's edition includes the eight venues that feature slot machines.

    The amount of cash that flows through the machines at each venue is known as "credits in." The amount of cash that the entity earns is known as "net slot revenue," but that is countered by the onerous 35 percent tax levied by the state of Florida for the privilege of operating the machines, despite the fact that the state does little to earn its share.

    Each entity decides how much to pay out, so the differences in the earnings of the eight vary greatly because of the amount of their "payout percentage." Each venue's payout percentage will be listed in its paragraph.

    The Florida fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30. The state is always way behind in its auditing process and currently only has statistics up to date from July 1 to July 31.   

    The number 1 venue based strictly on "credits in" is called Gretna Racing, DBA as Magic City Casino. In reality it is the old Flagler dog track. For the month of July, $161,943,026 was sent through went the machines and it resulted in "net slot revenue" of $9,918,306. It's the best option for the players because it has the best payout percentage of 93.40; its 35 percent tax came to $3,471,407. 

   The number 2 venue for credits in is The Isle Casino & Racing at Pompano Park, which was the leader in that category for many years before dropping to No. 2. It handled $129,537,791 in July and slot revenue reached $10,759,864, with taxes of $3,765,95. It's blitz of Flagler in the net revenue department was due strictly due to its payout percentage of 90.63, easily highest takeout of the group.

    The number 3 credits in figure goes to Casino Miami, the old Miami Jai Alai Fronton, with $126,138,666, revenue of $7,881,157, fifth best of the eight. Takeout of 91.99 percent. Taxes - $2,758,405.

    Number 4 of credits in is Hialeah Park Casino with $125,485,404 and revenue of $8,971,854, third best money-maker. Taxes of $3,140,409 and takeout of 92.21 percent.

    The old Calder Race Course is No. 5 with credits in of $117,106,375 and revenue of $8,138,699, fourth best money-maker. Calder has the advantage of being pretty far south of Hialeah, and a little north of the cluster around Hallandale Beach. Taxes are $2,848,544 and its takeout is 91.03 percent. 

    Gulfstream Park holds down the No. 6 spot with credits in of $80,399177 and revenue of $4,794,890. It's in a bad spot with Hollywood dogs two minutes to the north, and the Hard Rock Cafe not far to the west. Taxes are $1,678,211, percentager rate is 91.82.

    Seventh in credits in with $70,405,401 and revenue of $3,760,087 is the Casino at Dania Beach, formerly Dania Jai Alai. In the center of a circle of Pompano, Hard Rock, Hollywood and Gulfstream, credits in of $70,405,401, revenue of $3,760,087, taxes $1,316,031.  

    Big Easy Casino, the old Hollywood dog track, is in a worse position than Gulfstream with the horse track right down the road to the south, Hard Rock to the west and Dania Jai Alai not too far north. Plus, when it first opened, the track was in poor physical shape, lost a lot of business because of it, and even though much has been renovated, it's possible many of the former non-attendees never decided to try it. Credits in is $55,751,685, revenue of $3,102,398, taxes $1,085,839, takeout 92.29 percent.

       

      

    

     

 

 

     

     

    

 

 

 

 

Sunday, October 1, 2023
First stakes score for Bucchero colt . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Ironhorse Racing Stable and Harlow Stables’s Mattingly went yard Saturday at Gulfstream Park, scoring a 1 ¾-length victory in the $90,000 Hollywood Beach.

    The 3-2 favorite for the five-furlong stakes for juveniles on Tapeta provided jockey Samy Camacho with his fourth victory on Saturday’s 10-race program.

    Mattingly, twice stakes-placed in his three previous starts, rated off a fast early pace set by Esperon before advancing on the turn into the homestretch and outrunning Okiro in the stretch while completing five furlongs in 56.67 seconds. Esperon held on for third, a length back.

    Mattingly finished second behind multiple-stakes winner No Nay Mets while making his debut in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile on turf at Gulfstream May 13 before scoring an impressive 5 ¾-length victory on Tapeta six weeks later. The son of Bucchero most recently finished second after setting a pressured pace in the Victoria Stakes at Woodbine at 5 ½-furlongs on Tapeta.

    “I learned a lot in that Woodbine race. When it scratched down to four horses, we thought, ‘Just go. He’s fast.’ He got stuck in a speed duel to set it up for the horse coming off of it. I said, ‘That’s not going to happen again,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “I know the ‘one’ is a very fast horse. I used to train his brother. I said, ‘We’ve got to let the ‘one’ and ‘three’ go.’ That was the plan we took, and it worked.”

    Mattingly, whose $64,000 winner’s purse includes a $25,000 bonus available to a registered Florida-bred winner, will race on more time this year, Orseno said. “We think he’s a very talented 2-year-old with a bright future.

    In the co-featured $60,000 Starfish Bay, Baby Steps ($18.20) led throughout the 5 ½ furlongs of the overnight handicap for fillies and mares to score by 1 ¾ lengths.

    The Jorge Delgado-trained 4-year-old daughter of Jimmy Creed provided jockey Samy Camacho his third of four winning rides Saturday afternoon while completing 5 ½ furlongs on Tapeta in 1:03.35. Choose Joy, the 123-pound highweight, finished second, a neck ahead of Sol Hope.

Rainbow 6 Rainbow 6 Pool Guaranteed 

    The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $225.000 on today’s program. The multi-race wager has gone unsolved for nine days following back-to-back jackpot hits.

    The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 3-8, featuring the $65,000 Aventura, a mile stakes for 2-year-olds carded as Race 6.

    Roderick Rodriguez-trained Secret Chat, a homebred son of Union Rags owned by Gelfenstein Farm LLC, has been installed at 8-5 in the morning line. The Florida-bred colt is coming off a sparkling seven-length debut victory, in which he closed from last following a troubled start.


Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Chi Chi scores at Remington . . .

    Mellon Patch’s Lady Radler (Kantharos – Sally Bowles (SAF) saved ground in the early going of the $299,750 Dogwood Stakes (G3) on Saturday night at Churchill Downs, came off the rail on the turn, charged to the lead a furlong from home and drew off to a 2 3/4-length victory.

    It’s the first graded stakes win for the 4-year-old filly by Kantharos, purchased for $37,000 out of the Eddie Woods consignment at the 2022 OBS March Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 2/5 at the Under Tack Show. Trained by Michael B. Campbell, she has earned $371,200 and compiled a 10-5-2-1 career record to date.  

    Ernest C. Frohboese’s Chi Chi (Audible – Simply Confection) was a maiden going into Sunday’s $50,000 E. L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes at Remington Park and a stakes-winner at the finish, coming from just off the pace, chasing down the leaders in the lane and scoring by a length and a quarter. The 2-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Audible, consigned by Stuart Morris, Agent, to the 2022 OBS Winter Mixed Sale, is now 3-1-0-0 for trainer Herman Wilensky, and has earned $36,560.

Monday, September 25, 2023
'Win and You're In' event for BC Filly and Mare Turf . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Graded stakes-winners Caramel Swirl and Maryquitecontrary and R Adios Jersey, a four-time stakes winner in her native Florida, top a dozen horses on the main list for the $200,000 Princess Rooney Invitational (G3) Saturday, Oct. 7 at Gulfstream Park.

    The seven-furlong Princess Rooney for fillies and mares 3 and up is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) Saturday, Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

    Godolphin homebred Caramel Swirl, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, won the 6 ½-furlong Vagrancy (G3) May 14 at Belmont Park in just her second start in nearly nine months. The 5-year-old Union Rags mare won the Raven Run (G2) in 2021 and was second to champion Goodnight Olive in the Ballerina (G1) last summer, a race where she had her most recent start, finishing fourth behind another champion in Echo Zulu Aug. 26.

    Rodney Lundock’s Florida homebred Maryquitecontrary, seventh in the Ballerina, has been right at home at Gulfstream with six wins and a second from seven career tries. The 4-year-old First Dude filly put together a five-race win streak starting last summer that included wins in the one-mile Rampart on the final day of 2022 and the seven-furlong Inside Information (G2) Jan. 28. Her streak was snapped when she ran second to Goodnight Olive in the April 8 Madison (G1) at Keeneland.

    Averill Racing, ATM Racing and Jayson Werth’s R Adios Jersey, also bred in Florida, exits a front-running 6 ½-length triumph in the seven-furlong Sheer Drama Aug. 19 at Gulfstream, where she has a record of 4-2-2 from 10 starts. Fourth in the Inside Information, the 5-year-old Adios Charlie mare has also registered three state-bred stakes wins at Tampa Bay Downs, the most recent coming in the seven-furlong FTBOA City of Ocala last December.

    Also among the main invitees are Beth’s Dream, winner of the one-mile Heavenly Cause April 15 at Laurel Park that is 4-for-7 lifetime at Gulfstream; Flakes, winner of Gulfstream’s 6 ½-furlong Game Face June 17; stakes winner Funny How, second in the April 7 Distaff Handicap (G2) at Aqueduct; Last Leaf, a four-time stakes winner at Gulfstream that is twice Grade 3-placed; and Chilean Group 2 winner Yuki.

    Four horses are on the reserve list of invitations including Flag Woman and Into Happiness, both riding three-race win streaks, and Miss New York, winner of the July 2 Boiling Springs at Monmouth Park.

    The Princess Rooney was won the past two years by Ce Ce, who used her 2021 victory as a springboard to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and the Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter.

    Run at Calder Race Course from 1983 to 2013 before being relocated to Gulfstream, the Princess Rooney honors the 1984 champion older female and 1991 inductee into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame that won 17 of 21 career starts and more than $1.3 million in purses from 1982-84. Five of her wins came in Grade 1 stakes – the 1982 Frizette, 1983 Kentucky Oaks and 1984 Vanity, Spinster and Breeders’ Cup Distaff.


$200,000 Princess Rooney Invitational (G3) List

Beth’s Dream

Bluefield

Caramel Swirl


Dr B

Flakes

Funny How

Last Leaf

Maryquitecontrary


Olivia Darling

Poiema

R Adios Jersey

Yuki 

 


Sunday, September 24, 2023
First Gr. I winner for Always Dreaming . . .

    FMQ Stables’ Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming – New Narration) stamped himself a major player in the 3-year-old division, going right to the front in the $1,000,000, Gr. I Pennsylvania Derby, opening daylight in the stretch and holding off a late run to score by half a length. OBS June Sale graduate Il Miracolo (Gun Runner – Tapit’s World) checked in third.

    After a pair of near misses in graded stakes company, it’s the first stakes win for the lightly raced 3-year-old colt by Always Dreaming, trained by Brad Cox, now 5-3-2-0 with $817,085 earnings. Consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, to the 2022 OBS Spring Sale, he was sold for $240,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. 

    Matt Kwiatkowski, Jason Kaylor and Roger D. Browning’s Nobody Listens (Conveyance – Royalesque) took the lead just after the start of the $250,000, Gr. III Turf Monster Stakes, turned for home in front and waved goodbye from there, drawing away to a three-length victory.

    It’s the fourth straight victory and fifth stakes victory for the 5-year-old son of Conveyance, purchased for $40,000 out of the Southern Chase Farm consignment at the 2020 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Trained by Tim Eggleston, he’s now 26-14-7-1 and has earned $704,230.  

Saturday, September 23, 2023
Due to tropical storm Ophelia . . .
    BALTIMORE – The Maryland Jockey Club has announced that today’s 10-race program at Pimlico Race Course has been cancelled due to deteriorating weather conditions in the mid-Atlantic caused by Tropical Storm Ophelia.

    First race post time for Sunday’s 10-race program is scheduled for 12:55 p. m.
Friday, September 22, 2023
Daughter of Khozan has recovered from fever . . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Having quickly recovered from a fever that knocked her out of the $100,000 Desert Vixen on Sept. 9, R Harper Rose is expected to be heavily favored for today’s feature at Gulfstream Park.

    The 2-year-old daughter of  Khozan, who breezed three furlongs Monday morning at Gulfstream, is rated at 7-5 in the morning line in a deep eight-horse field assembled for Race 6, a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance for juvenile fillies.

    “She’s bounced back well,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Thursday morning. “She’s in good order.”

    R Harper Rose, who is owned by Averill Racing and Twi Eight Racing, was also a heavy morning-line favorite for the Desert Vixen, the first leg of the 2023 Florida Sire Stakes series, based on a brilliant Aug. 5 front-running debut victory.

    Edgard Zayas, who teamed with Joseph-trained Accomplished Girl for a victory in Monday’s Gr. II Presque Isle Masters, has the return mount on R Harper Rose, who won her debut by 6 ¼ lengths.

    “She’s good to go,” Joseph said. “She’s fit enough to hopefully win. There’s a horse on the inside of Dwoskin’s that won nicely first time out, so she’s going to have to improve quite a bit.”

    Owner/trainer Steve Dwoskin’s Fay’s Rhonda Cares, who is rated second at 7-2 in the morning line, made an auspicious debut while graduating with an off-the-pace 5 ¼-length score at 5 ½ furlongs on Tapeta. Luca Panici has the return call on the daughter of Mendelson, who was purchased for $100,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale.

    Marc Casse-trained Demar’s Legacy, a daughter of Enticed who sold for $150,000 at the OBS April sale; and Bobby Dibona-trained Star of Saturn, a Florida-bred daughter of The Big Beast; are also exiting debut victories at Gulfstream.

    Meanwhile, Joseph is busy making next-out arrangements for some of his stable stars, including Skippylongstocking, who captured the $1 million. Gr. II Charles Town Classic last time out. No decision has been made for his next start.

    “He’s probably going to breeze this week. We’re working back from the [Breeders’ Cup] Classic. He might go to the Classic. We’ll see how he does and see how it’s shaping up,” Joseph said. “He’s going to train towards that, at least.”

    Stablemate O’Connor, who closed from last to finish second in the Charles Town Classic, is scheduled to return in either the Gr. II Woodward at Aqueduct or the Gr. II Lukas Classic at Churchill on Sept. 30.

    Joseph-trained West Coast Cowboy, who finished second in the Gr. III West Virginia Derby last time out, is entered in Saturday’s $1 million, Gr. I Pennsylvania Derby at Parx.

Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed  

    The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $100,000 today, after the multi-race wager went unsolved for six days following back-to-back jackpot hits.

    The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, including R Harper Rose’s return in Race 6, which will be followed by a maiden special weight race for juvenile fillies in Race 7. Leading Sunshine Meet trainer Jose D’Angelo is represented by two entrants in the field of nine fillies – Bubbly Champagne, who overcame early trouble while rallying from 11th to third behind highly regarded Fay’s Rhonda Cares in her debut; and Party Shaker, a daughter of Practical Joke who is slated to make her debut in the 5 ½-furlong sprint.

    Trainer Jose Pinchin, who is scheduled to saddle first-time starter Windrush in Race 7, has been reunited with Atomically, who is entered in Race 8, a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares. Atomically won two legs of the 2022 Florida Sire Stakes before being sold to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Michael Bernard and Harry Colburn and transferred to Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. After going 0-for-3 for her new connections, the daughter of Girvin will return from a six-month layoff for Pinchin in Friday’s co-feature.
Monday, September 18, 2023
Wins Gr. I Summer Stakes . . .

    West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey’s Carson’s Run (Cupid – Hot N Hectic) is a Gr. I stakes-winner with a berth in the gate at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita after a 2 1/4-length victory in the $522,500, Gr. I Summer Stakes at Woodbine.

    Trailing going to the turn, the 2-year-old colt by Cupid circled the field to reach contention turning for home, took command on the far outside a furlong out and drew away from there. Fellow OBS Spring graduate Go With Gusto (Medaglia d’Oro – Itsagiantcauseway) rallied wide for third.

    Second last time out in Saratoga’s Gr. III With Anticipation Stakes, Carson’s Run is now 3-2-1-0 for trainer Christophe Clement and has earned $314,529. At the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, he turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 and was purchased for $170,000 out of the Randy Mills consignment.

Friday, September 15, 2023
First SW for Divisidero . . .

    Joseph P. Morey Jr.’s Vote No (Dividisero-Sista's Ready) is two for two and a stakes-winner after a three-quarter length victory in the $500,000 Juvenile Turf Stakes on Wednesday at Kentucky Downs.

    Turning for home in contention, he sustained his run down the stretch, caught the leaders in the final yards and ran by for an emphatic victory. He’s a two-time OBS graduate, sold by KP Sales at the 2022 October Yearling Sale and then purchased for $50,000 out of the de Meric Sales consignment at the 2023 June Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5.

    The first stakes-winner for his sire, he’s trained by William E. Morey and has earned $316,800. 

Thursday, September 14, 2023
$3 million Pegasus set for Jan. 27 . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Gulfstream Park’s Championship Meet – featuring the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) on Jan. 27 and $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) on March 30 – will offer 68 stakes in 2023-2024 with total purses of $14.875 million.

            The Championship Meet, which includes racing over a new turf course, will begin Friday, Dec. 1 and conclude on Sunday, March 31.  

            The Pegasus World Cup Day program, a celebration of World Class racing, entertainment, fashion, food and fun, will feature eight stakes, seven of which have been granted graded status. The Pegasus World Cup, a 1 1/8-mile invitational for 4-year-olds and up, has established itself as the first major target of the new racing season for the classic division. The Pegasus World Cup Turf, a 1 1/8-mile invitational that will be contested by 4-year-olds and up, will be renewed over Gulfstream Park’s newly installed turf course. The $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3), a 1 1/16-mile invitational for fillies and mares 4-years old and up, will also be contested on Jan. 27 on the turf course that is scheduled to host 38 stakes during the Championship Meet.

    The three Pegasus Day invitational races will be supported by the $200,000 Inside Information (G2), a seven-furlong test for older fillies and mares; the $200,000 William L. McKnight (G3), a 1 ½-mile turf stakes for older horses; the $150,000 Fred Hooper (G3), a mile stakes for older horses; the $150,000 La Prevoyante (G3), a 1 ½-mile event for older fillies and mares on turf; and the $100,000 Carousel Club, a mile-and-70-yard overnight handicap on Tapeta for older horses.

    The Curlin Florida Derby, a 1 1/8-mile stakes for 3-year-olds that has established itself as the premier Triple Crown prep with 25 winners going on to victory in the Kentucky Derby, will headline the March 30 program that will offer 10 stakes, five graded. The $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies, will also be featured on the Curlin Florida Derby undercard that will include the $200,000 Pan American (G2), a 1 ½-mile turf stakes for older horses; and the $150,000 Orchid (G3), a 1 ½-mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares.

    The $150,000 Ghostzapper (G3), a 1 1/16-mile race for older horses, will round out the graded-stakes action on the Curlin Florida Derby program, which will be supported by the $150,000 Appleton, a mile turf event for older horses; $150,000 Sand Springs, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for older fillies and mares; the $125,000 Sir Shackleton, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses; the $125,000 Cutler Bay, a 7 ½-furlong turf stakes for 3-year-olds; and the $125,000 Sanibel Island, a 7 ½-furlong race on turf for 3-year-old fillies.

    The $150,000 Mucho Macho Man, a mile stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds, will kick off the Road to the 73rd running of the Curlin Florida Derby on the New Year’s Day program Jan. 1, followed by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) on Feb. 3 and the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) on March 2.

    The Holy Bull, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds, will headline the Feb. 1 program that will also offer the $150,000 Kitten’s Joy (G3), a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds; the $150,000 Sweetest Chant (G3), a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for sophomore fillies; the $125,000 Claiborne Swale (G3), a seven-furlong test for 3-year-olds; and the $125,000 Forward Gal (G3), at seven furlongs for 3-year-old fillies.

    The Fountain of Youth, the 1 1/16-mile key prep for the Curlin Florida Derby, will top a blockbuster program that will feature nine stakes, eight of which are graded, including the $200,000 Davona Dale (G2), a mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies that serves as the major prep for the Gulfstream Park Oaks. The $200,000 WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile (G2), an historic mile event for older horses, and the $200,000 Mac Diarmida (G2), a 1 3/8-mile turf stakes for older horses, will round out the Grade 2-stakes action on the program.

    The Fountain of Youth Day undercard will also offer the $150,000 Canadian Turf (G3), a 1 1/16-mile grass stakes for older horses; the $150,000 Honey Fox (G3), a mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares; the $150,000 The Very One (G3), a 1 3/8-mile turf race for older fillies and mares; the $175,000 Herecomesthebride (G3), a mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies; and the $175,000 Colonel Liam, a mile turf race for 3-year-olds.

    The $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2), the $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3) and the $150,000 Suwannee River (G3) will be renewed on the Dec. 30 program, on which many entrants will be auditioning for invitations to the Pegasus World Cup, Pegasus World Cup Turf and Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf, respectively.

    The 2023-2024 Championship Meet stakes schedule will be kicked off Dec. 2 by the finals of the Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by nominated Florida stallions – the $300,000 In Reality and the $300,000 My Dear Girl for fillies, both at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.
Sunday, September 10, 2023
Poimema pays tribute . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Cipriano Gil celebrated his first victory in the U.S. after guiding Queen Macha to a half-length triumph in today’s second race at Gulfstream Park.

    Carlos Perez-trained Queen Macha ($12.60), who was making her first start in nearly a year in the $35,000 claiming race for fillies and mares on Tapeta, was Gil’s seventh mount since venturing to Gulfstream from Venezuela. “I thank everyone who has helped me since I came here from Venezuela,” Gil said through a translator. “I’m very happy to get my first winner in the United States.”

    The 24-year-old jockey began riding at the age of 15 and has ridden more than 500 winners in Venezuela.

Poiema Pays Tribute to Late Owner/Trainer in Stormy Embrace

    Poiema, who campaigned for Larry Bates prior to the highly respected owner/trainer’s passing in July, scored a commanding 5 ½-length victory in the $60,000 Stormy Embrace.

    “That …was for Larry,” said new owner/trainer Joe Catanese in the winner’s circle while pointing to the sky.

    Making her second start for Catanese, the 4-year-old daughter of Neolithic took the lead shortly after the start of the 6 ½-furlong overnight handicap for older fillies and mares and drew away to a comfortable victory under Edgar Perez.

    “She’s been training very well. I was looking for her to run a good race,” said Catanese, who saddled Poiema for a second-place finish Aug. 18.

    Poiema, the 1-2 favorite in a field of seven, ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:18.09. She’s Outta Here, a 31-1 long shot who chased Poiema right out of the rate to no avail, finished second, a half-length ahead of Sophia’s Storm
.

Sunday, September 10, 2023
Wins Desert Vixen, then adds Dr. Fager . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - After Welcome Back barely prevailed in the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, Bentornato proved much the best in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, giving trainer Jose D’Angelo a sweep of Saturday’s Florida Sire Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

    In the first leg of the series 
for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions, Soldi Stable’s Welcome Back eked out victory by a nose following a troubled trip, while Leon King Stable Corp.’s Bentornato never gave D’Angelo an anxious moment while scoring by 7 ½ lengths.

  “I’m very happy,” D’Angelo said. “Last year, it was my goal to pick up and train horses for the Florida Sire Stakes. We worked hard at the sales. Thank God, we won both races.” Bentornato, it should be noted, is Italian for WelcomeBack. Bentornato, who was purchased for $170,000 at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training, remained undefeated in three starts while following up a 4 ¼-length triumph in the six-furlong Proud Man at Gulfstream on Aug. 12.

    “I was very confident in him today. In his last stake he wasn’t really ready because he had a fever before the race and missed a couple of very important workouts,” D’Angelo said. “For this race, I just worked him two times, easy for him, without company. Last race I had to push him to get ready.”

    The son of Valiant Minister, the 2-5 favorite in a field of nine, broke alertly from his outside post position and advanced along the backstretch to hook up with Dickens approaching the far turn without pressure from jockey Emisael Jaramillo. Asked to pick up the pace on the far turn, Bentornato quickly opened up a clear lead on the turn into the homestretch and drew off with authority. Bentornato ran six furlongs in 1:11. 44 off half-mile fractions of :22.33 and :45.51 seconds.

    Dickens, who was coming off a third-place finish in the Gr. III Sanford at Saratoga, held gamely to finish second, 1 ½ lengths ahead of Jive.

    Bentornato will be pointed toward the next two legs of the Florida Sire Stakes, the $200,000 Affirmed at seven furlongs on Oct. 21 and the $300,000 In Reality at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 2. “I think he will go longer, because of the way he trains,” D’Angelo said.

    Welcome Back, who inherited the role of favorite when 7-5 morning-line favorite R Harper Rose was scratched Saturday morning due to a fever, was coming off an impressive debut victory that came against winners on Tapeta in a July 29 optional claiming allowance.

    The strapping, long-striding daughter of Adios Charlie, got away from the gate well to chase pacesetter Field of Greens along the backstretch with Epona’s Hope to her outside. Jockey Edwin Gonzalez was forced to check Welcome Back on the far turn when Epona’s Hope made an outside move to the lead, allowing Mist to get the jump on her with an outside move of her own. Gonzalez made a four-wide move on the turn into the homestretch as Mist set her sights on Epona’s Hope. It took Welcome Back time to get untracked and employ her huge stride, but she was able to prevail over Mist by a nose at the wire.

    “My filly was a little green, between horses, she’d never run between horses. So today she was between horses and she’s so big, so I have to check a little when the 8 [Epona’s Hope] comes down. She almost clipped heels,” Gonzalez said. “When I take her out, she grabbed her spot, and she came running.”

    Welcome Back ($3.60) ran six furlongs in 1:14.28 after fractions of :23.46 and :46.68 seconds. Mist finished second under Emisael Jaramillo, a half-length ahead of Epona’s Hope and jockey Edgar Perez.

    The Soldi Stable homebred sported an equipment change that may well have meant the difference between victory and defeat.

    “We put on her today a new bit. She looked much better today because when Edwin wants to move her, she responds very well,” D’Angelo said. “I’m very happy with the race.”

            Welcome Back will be pointed toward the $200,000 Susan’s Girl, the seven-furlong second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series on Oct.21. The $300,000 My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile series final, is scheduled for Dec. 2.

    “I think the hard race for her is going to be this one because she’s perfect to go long,” D’Angelo said. “I was afraid this race was going to be too short for her, so I’m happy she won the race.
"

Thursday, September 7, 2023
Won Proud Man in last . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Trainer Jose D’Angelo couldn’t be happier with Bentornato leading up to Saturday’s $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream Park, where the undefeated son of Valiant Nature will face nine rivals in the first leg of the 2023 Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions.

    “He’s in peak of condition,” D’Angelo said.

    That was not the case, however, leading up to the first two starts of his career, a late-rallying debut victory July 1 and a runaway triumph in the Proud Man Stakes Aug. 12. Minor issues interrupted his training while preparing for his debut, while a fever left the strapping colt a workout short for the six-furlong Proud Man.

    “From the start, we knew we had a very nice horse,” D’Angelo said. “He was a little green the first time out.  For the second race, the stake, he got a fever three weeks before the race, so he had only two workouts. He won the stake on just two workouts. That’s why I know we have a very nice horse.”

    Bentornato, who has been installed at 2-1 in the morning line, may have been short of conditioning in his five-furlong debut, but his wide rally didn’t come up short. He defeated next-out winner Big Effect by a neck. Distant third-place finisher Dewy’s Beast also won his next start at Colonial Downs.

    Despite less-than-ideal preparation, the D’Angelo trainee looked sharp in the Proud Man, in which he overcame early bumping to show the way into the stretch and draw off to win by 4 ¼ lengths. Emisael Jaramillo, who was aboard for both victories, has the return mount.

    Trainer Juan Alvarado is represented by three entrants that were all first-out winners who raced at Saratoga in their second starts. BC Racing’s Dickens, who won his 4 ½-furlong debut June 10 by two lengths, finished third in the July 15 Gr. III Sanford after setting a pressured pace. BC Racing’s Jive, finished seventh in the Sanford after winning his five-furlong debut on May 19. Arindel’s Lasso, who rallied from well back to capture his June 3 debut by 3 ½ lengths, raced evenly while finishing fourth in the Aug. 12 Gr. II Saratoga Special.

    Dickens, a son of Adios Charlie who is rated second on the morning line at 4-1, turned in a bullet workout in his final preparation while breezing a half-mile in 47 seconds from the gate. “Dickens is fast out of the gate, but I don’t think he needs the lead. Ideally, he’s stalking some speed, but if he’s up there it won’t be a problem for him,” BC Racing’s Brian Cohen said.

    Dickens and Lasso had been workmates while preparing for their respective debuts. “Lasso, he’s a green horse with a lot of ability. We’ll put blinkers on him coming back here and I think it will move him forward and put him in the game,” said Cohen, Arindel’s stable manager.

    Edgard Zayas, who has ridden both Dickens and Lasso in all of their races, has been named on Dickens; Hector Diaz Jr. has the mount on Lasso. Edwin Gonzalez, who rode Jive for his debut score, returns aboard the son of St. Patrick’s Day.

    Stonehedge’s Gentle Breeze, who finished second in the Proud Man, will seek to turn the tables on Bentornato Saturday. The Ralph Nicks-trained son of Cajun Breeze overcame bumping at the start of the Proud Man to rally for second. He previously graduated in a $25,000 maiden claiming race by 12 ¾ lengths over a muddy track. Leonel Reyes has the return call.

    Nicks is also scheduled to saddle Northshore Drive. He is a son of Fort Loudon, who swept the 2011 FSS series, and is owned by Jacks or Better Farm, the FSS series’ leading owner.

    Donald Ming’s Ninja Star is scheduled to make his first start at Gulfstream Park after breaking his maiden at first asking at 5 ½ furlongs and finishing second in a six-furlong allowance over Presque Isle Downs’ all-weather surface. Sonny Leon has the call on Ninja Star, who will be saddled for the first time by Scott Acker.

    Donald Mensh and Laurie Plesa’s Raging Fury, a son of Ami’s Flatter who rallied to win his debut by a neck Aug. 5; Lawson Racing Stables’ Sound of the Beast, a son of The Big Beast, who graduated Aug. 12 in his second start; and Cammarota Racing ’s Secret Lover, a son of Khozan who finished third in a maiden special weight race at Saratoga in his second start, round out the field.

 


Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Series goes later than usual . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The Florida Sire Stakes will be featured on Saturday’s program at Gulfstream Park, where the tradition-rich annual series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions will get under way a little later than usual.

    Traditionally scheduled for the last Saturday of July or first Saturday in August, the $100,000 Dr. Fager and the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies will launch a revamped schedule that is designed to benefit horses, owners and breeders by a later start and more time between races.

    “We thought as a horseman’s group that it was important, and the breeders got on board,” said trainer Joe Orseno, president of the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “I think we’ll see in the long run that horses will stay sounder and compete longer in life.”

    The six-furlong Dr. Fager and Desert Vixen will be followed on the new spread-out schedule by the $200,000 Affirmed and the $200,000 Susan’s Girl for fillies at seven furlongs on Oct. 21 and the $300,000 In Reality and the $300,000 My Dear Girl for fillies at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 2.

    The new FSS schedule provides greater opportunity for late-developing 2-year-olds.

     “The horses that were bought out of the June sale, those horses had no chance to compete in the first leg. Now, they have the opportunity just like the March and April babies,” Orseno said.

    The revamped schedule is expected to make the long-standing juvenile series even better.

    “It’s a very important program. No 1, for the stallions. It gives them a chance to showcase their babies while running against the offspring of other Florida stallions,” Orseno said. “It’s a good program for people who want to race Florida-breds and run them in South Florida.”

    The FSS series has produced national stars in the past, including two Jacks or Better Farm home-breds -- Awesome Feather, who swept the 2010 FSS series before winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and an Eclipse Award, and Jackson Bend, who swept the FSS series in 2009 before going on to become a Gr. 1 stakes-winning millionaire. Harold Queen’s Big Drama, who swept the 2008 FSS series, went on to capture the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and an Eclipse Award as North America’s champion sprinter.

    A field of 10 colts and geldings has been assembled for the Dr. Fager, including Leon King Stable Corp.’s undefeated Bentornato, who is coming off a sparkling 4 ½-length victory in the six-furlong Proud Man at Gulfstream, and BC Racing’s Dickens, a first-out winner who finished third in the Gr. III Sanford at Saratoga after setting a pressured pace.

    Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing’s R Harper Rose, who produced a dazzling a 6 ¼-length debut victory, will need to outrun seven other talented fillies to capture her stakes debut in the Desert Vixen.

Sunday, September 3, 2023
2 days in a row . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The 20-cent Rainbow 6 was solved for the second day in a row at Gulfstream Park Sunday. The multi-race wager, which yielded a $102,221 jackpot payoff Saturday after going unsolved for five days following a mandatory payout, paid $20,244 today without the benefit of a carryover.

    The Rainbow 6 jackpot is 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 goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

    The winning combination on the single unique tickets with all six winners was 4-5-6-5-6-3 for the sequence that spanned Races 3-8.

    The Rainbow 6 will start anew Friday.
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Hit for more than $100,000 . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot was hit for a $102,221 payoff Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
The multi-race wager had gone unsolved for five days following a mandatory payout.

    The winning combination on the single unique ticket with all six winners was 1-6-6-3-4-10.

     The Rainbow 6 will start anew today, when the sequence will span Races 3-8, including a pair of well-stocked maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds in Races 5 and 7.

     Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Next On Stage, a daughter of Liam’s Map who finished third and second in his first two starts, and Jose D’Angelo-trained Ale’s Gift, a daughter of Girvin who has finished third, second and fourth in three starts, bring experience into Race 5, a six-furlong test for Florida-bred fillies. Juan Alvarado-trained Dreamy, a daughter of Brethren who has been working sharply, and David Fawkes-trained Unrelentless, a son of The Big Beast whose three siblings are all multi-race winners, will debut today.


    Mark Casse-trained Seat At the Table is one of several first-time starters in Race 7, a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight race for fillies on Tapeta. The daughter of The Factor is a half-sister to Casse-trained Dear Dad, a 3-year-old son of Khozan who broke his maiden and finished second twice in optional claiming allowance company in his last three starts during the Royal Palm Meet. Trainer Jose D’Angelo has two entrants, Classic Ballad, a debuting daughter of Classic Empire, and Iron Shield, who finished second last time out.

Sunday, September 3, 2023
He's the latest OBS millionaire . . .

    Zedan Racing Stables’ Arabian Knight went straight to the lead in Del Mar’s $1,000,000, Gr. I Pacific Classic Stakes, set the pace, then turned back a late bid by Haskell winner Geaux Rocket Ride to score by a neck. It’s the second graded stakes win for the 3-year-old colt by Uncle Mo and assures him a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

    He was purchased by Gary Young on behalf of Zedan Racing for a sale-topping $2.3 million out of the Top Line Sales consignment at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5. Trained by Bob Baffert, he’s now 4-3-0-1 and the newest OBS millionaire with $1,244,275 in earnings.  

Monday, August 28, 2023
Reyes rides 93 winners, wins by 18 . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Leonel Reyes collected his first riding title in the U.S. and Saffie Joseph Jr. captured his seventh consecutive training championship at Gulfstream Park, where the Royal Palm Meet came to a close Sunday.

    Reyes had ridden more than 1,400 winners in Venezuela before venturing to South Florida in 2016 and steadily gaining the respect of trainers and racing fans with each passing year. The 37-year-old riding veteran got off to a quick start for the meet that kicked off April 4 and never looked back, finishing with 93 victories, 18 more than runner-up Edwin Gonzalez.

    “It’s amazing. It’s been a lot of hard work,” Reyes said. “I’ve been riding new horses every day. I work hard every morning. I’m very happy for this.”

    Reyes, who rode 30 winners during the Championship Meet, has surpassed the 100-win mark in 2023 for the second year in a row.

    After being locked in a tight race with Jose D’Angelo for much of the meet, Joseph finished strongly to add another title at Gulfstream, where he has won the Championship Meet title the past two years. Joseph sent out 66 winners, 11 
more than D’Angelo.

    “This meet means a lot after what we went through in May and having to go through that experience,” Joseph said. “To keep the ball rolling and having our name cleared, which should have been done in the beginning, it means a lot. The title means a lot. They all mean something but this one is right up there with the Championship Meet ones.

    Michael Yates-trained Dean Delivers was the equine star of the Royal Palm Meet, during which he scored a 2 ¾-length triumph in the $100,000 Smile Sprint (G3) July 1 before going on to finish third in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga. Smile Sprint runner-up Big and Classy was the winningest for the meeting that kicked off April 4 with five victories for trainer Bobby Dibona.

    The Sunshine Meet gets under way Friday and will run through Nov. 26 leading up to the Championship Meet opener Dec. 1.

    The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $75,000 Friday after the multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the fourth consecutive racing day following a mandatory payout. The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 3-8, featuring a first-level optional claiming allowance for 2-year-olds going 5 ½ furlongs on Tapeta. Victor Barboza Jr.-trained Grand Mo the First, a son of Uncle Mo, returns after graduating at first asking by 2 ¼ lengths on Tapeta. Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Big Effect, who finished off the board in the Proud Man on the main track last time out, is also entered. The son of The Big Beast lost a photo finish to highly regarded Bentornato in his debut on Tapeta before graduating by nearly seven lengths on dir
t.

Monday, August 28, 2023
3 at the Spa . . .

    From the Charles Town Classic (G2) on Friday through Del Mar’s Rancho Bernardo (G3) on Sunday, OBS graduates scored seven stakes victories.

    Baoma Corporation’s Eda (Munnings – Show Me) rolled a seven in the $125,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) at Del Mar on Sunday, pressing the pace, taking the lead turning for home and easing away down the stretch to score by a length and a half. That’s seven straight wins for the 4-year-old grade one stakes winning daughter of Munnings. Trained by Bob Baffert, she’s a four-time graded stakes winner, has compiled a 10-8-1-0 career record and earned $667,600. At the 2021 OBS March Sale, she was purchased by Donato Lanni, Agent, for $550,000 out of the Eddie Woods consignment after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat.  

    Daniel Alonso’s Skippylongstocking is the newest member of the OBS Million Club after his frontrunning five-length victory in the $1,000,000 Charles Town Classic (G2) on Friday night. That’s three graded stakes wins for the 3-year-old colt by Exaggerator, now 19-6-2-3 with $1,507,185 in earnings for trainer Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.  At the 2021 OBS Spring Sale, he was purchased for $37,000 out of the Top Line Sales consignment after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5.  

OBS graduates captured a trio of stakes on Sunday at Saratoga.

    Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Peter Searles and Patty Searles’ City Man (Mucho Macho Man – City Scamper) was rated off the pace in the $194,000 West Point Stakes, swung outside to go after the leaders in the lane, reached the front in deep stretch and was best by a length and a quarter at the wire. It’s the tenth stakes victory for the 6-year-old multiple graded stakes winning son of Mucho Macho Man, sold to Reeves Thoroughbreds for $185,000 by Off the Hook LLC, Agent, at the 2019 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 1/5 at the Under Tack Show. Trained by Christophe Clement, he’s now 30-11-5-4 and has earned $1,189,870.  watch his under tack video

    Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s unbeaten The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso – Call  to Service) is three for three with two stakes wins after overcoming a stumbling start in the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes. The 2-year son of Vino Rosso circled horses to reach contention after turning for home and was best by a head after a long stretch drive. Sold by Sequel Bloodstock, Agent, for $340,000 at the 2023 OBS March Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5, he’s trained by Mike Maker and has earned $274,010. watch his under tack video   March Sale walking video

    Robert S. Evans’ New Ginya (Tonalist – Rapid Rhythm) stepped into stakes company for the first time in the $200,000 Yaddo Stakes. Last early, she surged to the lead at the three-sixteenth pole, opened a big lead in the stretch and coasted home a winner by 3-3/4 lengths. Christophe Clement trains the 4-year-old daughter of Tonalist, now 12-4-4-2 with      $334,110 in earnings. Consigned by Six K’s Training & Sales LLC, Agent, she was sold for $250,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. 

    Richard Rennie’s Jamies Inheritance (Carpe Diem – Beth Ann’s Kitten) saved ground on the early going of Century Mile’s $99,000 Century Casino Oaks on Saturday, swung out for the drive, took over in the stretch and drew off to win by three lengths. That’s two straight stakes victories for the 3-year-old daughter of OBS graduate Carpe Diem, purchased for $40,00 out of the Azpurua Stables consignment at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 1/5 at the Under Tack Show. Now 11-3-2-2 for trainer Charles Essex, she has earned $109,461. 

    Men’s Grille Racing’s Response Time (Mosler – Dominus Effect) pressed the pace in Saturday’s $75,000 Timonium Distaff Stakes, took the lead in the turn and went on from there to score by a length and a quarter. It’s the first stakes victory for the 5-year-old mare by Mosler, trained by Hamilton Smith, now 30-8-8-2 with $445,658 in earnings. Consigned by Sennebec South Farm to the 2019 OBS October Sale, she was sold for $75,000.
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Forte and Mage will be tough . . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - When the gates open for the 154th running of the Travers Stakes today, five of the seven starters will have started their 3-year-old seasons at Gulfstream Park during its Championship Meet.

    Champion Forte, 7-5 in the morning line, started his 2023 season at Gulfstream with victories in the Curlin Florida Derby  and the Fountain of Youth. Kentucky Derby winner Mage won his debut at Gulfstream in January before finishing fourth in the Fountain of Youth and second in the Florida Derby.

    In the same barn as Mage was Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo, who made his first three starts at Gulfstream for trainer Jena Antonucci. The colt raced in December and January before breaking his maiden in March.

   Two other starters in the Travers, Tapit Trice and Scotland, also started their 3-year-old seasons at Gulfstream. Tapit Trice won his 2023 debut in February, while Scotland won his debut in March.

    Previous Florida Derby winners who have gone on to win the Travers include Tiz the Law, Thunder Gulch and Holy Bull.

Big and Classy Stretches Out for Edwin T. Broome Memorial

    Big and Classy, the winner of seven of his last eight races, all coming at distances between 5 ½ furlongs and seven furlongs, will seek to continue his impressive run while stretching out to a mile for the first time in the $60,000 Edwin T. Broome Memorial.

    The Bobby Dibona-trained 4-year-old gelding is a son of The Big Beast, who never ran beyond seven furlongs during a nine-race career that included a victory in the 2014 King’s Bishop, a seven-furlong stakes for 3-year-olds that will be renewed as the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on the Travers undercard.

    “I think we found another good spot for him. We have to stretch out a little bit further, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem,” Dibona said.

    Big and Classy was claimed for $20,000 in March after winning his second straight race. The Florida-bred gelding went on to win his next four starts for Dibona and new owners Keith Johnston and Chris Aulds. He came up short while trying graded stakes company for the first time, finishing second behind Dean Delivers in the July 1 Smile Sprint. Returning in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance last time out, Big and Classy recovered from a troubled start to rally from off the pace to win going away by 2 ¾ lengths under Leonel Reyes.

    “I don’t know what he was doing in the gate, but he certainly wasn’t paying attention,” Dibona said. “They sprung it and he broke poorly, and I said, ‘Aw, geez.’” But, professionally, he settled down. Reyes knows him, and when he called upon him, he had a lot of horse, and he just drew away.”

    Big and Classy will be the co-highweight with Victor Barboza Jr.-trained Long Range Toddy at 123 pounds in the overnight handicap named in memory of trainer Eddie Broome, who passed away last fall.

    Long Range Toddy, who was on the 2019 Triple Crown trail after winning the Rebel at Oaklawn, returned to winning form in a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream on July 16 in his first start for Barboza. The 7-year-old son of Take Charge Indy has two victories in two-turn mile races.
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Mage goes in Travers Saturday . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH – Kentucky Derby hero and Curlin Florida Derby runner-up Mage will carry the hopes of OGMA investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH in Saturday’s Travers Stakes at Saratoga. The 3-year-old son of Good Magic will also help champion the cause to find a cure for pediatric cancer while clashing with Curlin Florida Derby winner Forte, Preakness victor National Treasure and Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo.

    Earlier in the summer, Restrepo pledged to donate a portion of his share of Mage’s winnings for the rest of the 2023 racing season to the Dwoskin Children’s Cancer Research Fund at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, which was named to honor Steven Dwoskin, the Gulfstream Park-based owner and trainer who has donated many, many millions of dollars to the university’s cancer research.

    There is no doubt Dwoskin will be rooting for Mage, who finished second in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park following Restrepo’s pledge.

    “Absolutely,” Dwoskin said Wednesday morning. “The owner [Restrepo] went to the University of Miami and saw that I was a big contributor there to cancer research. He got in touch, and we had lunch. He wanted to give part of the horse’s earnings. Mage came in second after we met, and he donated part of his earnings to children’s cancer. Beautiful!”

    The 80-year-old horseman and auto parts businessman feels fortunate to be able to help fund the fight against pediatric cancer.

    “It’s very rewarding. It’s a beautiful thing. I’ve worked my butt off all my life,” said Dwoskin, whom the University of Miami had previously honored with the naming of the Dwoskin Proton Therapy Building. “God’s been good to me by giving me gifts to earn some money. It’s pay back time.”

    Dwoskin went on to describe a very special motivation for his dedication to find a cure for pediatric cancer.

     “I had this calling, when I saw this lady on TV who had a son who died of cancer. She started a place called Heroes Hangout,” he said. “We went to visit her and saw that she let all the kids go to her place to play games and take home little gifts. When I saw that, I got very moved and said, ‘We’ve got to cure children’s cancer.’”

    Dwoskin has somehow found the time between his philanthropy and business obligations to train the winners of 934 races, including Fay’s Rhonda Cares, a 2-year-old daughter of Mendelssohn who scored an impressive off-the-pace 5 ¼-length debut victory at Gulfstream Park last Sunday. Dwoskin had intended to pinhook the $100,000 yearling purchase at the OBS April sale, but the Kentucky-bred filly failed to meet her reserve.

    “Nobody wanted her. We raced her Sunday and now the phone is ringing off the hook,” Dwoskin said. “Her dam produced Flameaway, so the breeding is very good. We’ll run in her in a non-winners-of-a-race [other-than] and see what she does and then decide what to do in the futu
re.”
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Il Miracolo wins Gr. III Smarty Jones . . .
    Eduardo Soto’s Il Miracolo (Gun Runner – Tapit’s World) led a 1-2-3 OBS sweep of the $300,000, Gr. III Smarty Jones Stakes. Taking the lead on the turn, the 3-year-old colt by Gun Runner drew off down the stretch and was a three-length winner at the wire. OBS Spring Sale graduate Cagliostro (Upstart – A Rosefor Isabelle) finished second; June Sale grad Daydreaming Boy (Goldencents – Denali Dreamscape) checked in third. It was Il Miracolo's first stakes victory, leaving him with a 13-3-4-0 record with $311,625 in earnings for trainer Antonio Sano. At the 2022 OBS June Sale, he turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 3/5 and was purchased for $70,000 out of the de Meric Sales consignment. 

    Pine Brook Farm’s Foggy Night (Khozan – Settling Seas) saved ground early in the $200,000 Cathryn Sophia Stakes, found room on the rail to take command a furlong from home and drew away late to score by 2 1/4 lengths.  It’s the second stakes victory for the 3-year-old Florida-bred filly by Khozan, now 10-4-5-0 with $443,750 in earnings for trainer Robert E. Reid Jr. Consigned by Journeyman Bloodstock Services to the 2022 OBS Spring Sale, she breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 3/5 and was purchased by Pine Brook for $20,000. 

    Matt Kwiatkowski, Jason Kaylor and Roger D. Browning’s Nobody Listens (Conveyance – Royalesque) rated just behind the pace in the $100,000 Parx Dash Stakes, wore down the leaders in a long stretch drive and was best by half a length at the wire. OBS June graduate Yes I Am Free (Uncaptured – Yes It’s Valid) finished third but was moved up to second by disqualification. That’s three straight wins and the fourth stakes victory for the 5-year-old son of Conveyance, trained by Tim Eggleston, now 25-13-7-1 with $572,230 in earnings. At the 2020 OBS Spring Sale, he breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 before being purchased for $40,000 out of the Southern Chase Farm consignment. 

Saturday, August 19, 2023
R Adios Jersey wins Sheer Drama . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool yielded multiple $11,351 payoffs today at Gulfstream Park, after the popular multi-race wager had gone unsolved for 20 consecutive programs.

    There was a Rainbow 6 jackpot pool carryover of $338,577 heading into the wagering on the six-race sequence that spanned Races 5-10. A total of $1,804,569 was wagered into the Rainbow 6 pool.

    War Cross (4) kicked off the sequence with an 18-1 upset victory in Race 5, followed by an impressive debut romp for juvenile Secret Chat (1) at 7-2 in Race 6.  Flag Woman (7) pull off a mild upset over even-money favorite Trust Me at 5-2 in Race 7. Volcanic (3) became the first favorite to succeed in the Rainbow 6 sequence in Race 8, scoring at 9-5.  The Sheer Drama Stakes went to even-money favorite R Adios Jersey (3) in the Race 9 feature. Macassa (1) closed out the sequence while scoring at 9-1 in Race 10.

    The Rainbow 6 will start anew Sunday, when the sequence will span Races 4-9, featuring a mile optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares on Tapeta in Race 8. Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Time Passage, who came up less than a length short of victory after being caught up in traffic last time out, is rated as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in a well-balanced field of nine.

R Adios Jersey Returns to Winning Form 

    Multiple stakes-winner R Adios Jersey returned to winning form while scoring a dominant front-running victory in the $65,000 Sheer Drama.

    In addition to her winner’s share of the base purse, the 5-year-old daughter of Adios Charlie earned a $25,000 win-only bonus offered to a Florida Sires Stakes-eligible winner of the seven-furlong stakes for Florida-bred fillies and mares.

    Winless in four starts since capturing a seven-furlong Florida-bred stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in December, the Georgina Baxter-trained R Adios Jersey looked like a winner from the start of the feature. The even-money favorite jumped to a clear early lead and was never threatened thereafter, scoring by 6 ½ lengths. She completed seven furlongs in 1:23.28 and gave jockey Edwin Gonzalez his third winning ride of the afternoon while racing without blinkers for the first time.

    “She was more like her old self today. I couldn’t be more proud,” said Baxter, who trains R Adios Jersey for Averill Racing, ATM Racing and Jayson Werth. “She has a big heart. Seven furlongs, blinkers off, and Edwin gave her a great ride.”

    Charlies Wish, a daughter of First Dude, finished second, 5 ½ lengths ahead of Race Day Speed
.

Monday, August 14, 2023
22-year-old Puerto Rican prepped in Ocala . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH – Jon Rivera celebrated the first win of his riding career after guiding Pesky to a 1 ¼-length victory in Race 2 of Sunday’s program at Gulfstream Park.

    The 22-year-old native of Puerto Rico got away from the gate sharply aboard the Arindel homebred 2-year-old colt to chase pacesetter Dudewithaname during the backstretch run of the 5 ½-furlong maiden claiming race. The 10-pound apprentice asked Pesky on the turn into the homestretch, and the Florida-bred son of Union Jackson responded to pass the tiring pacesetter and draw off to a comfortable victory.

    “I feel great. It’s a dream come true to be winning races out here and having fun,” said Rivera, whose family has been involved in racing in Puerto Rico for generations.

    Rivera ventured from Puerto Rico to Ocala to prepare for his riding career.

    “When I came here, I went to Ocala. I want to thank Abracadabra Farms for always giving me a chance,” said Rivera, who also worked for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse for a few years.

    Pesky ($9.20), Rivera’s fifth career mount, followed Juan Alvarado-trained stablemate Dot ($5.60) into the winner’s circle to complete an Arindel Daily Double ($31.60) to kick off Sunday’s card.
Monday, August 14, 2023
Florida-bred is 2-for-2 . . .

   HALLANDALE BEACH – Case Chambers’ Let Them Watch put on a show Sunday at Gulfstream Park while scoring a dominating victory in the $65,000 Sharp Susan.

    While remaining undefeated and unchallenged in her second career start, the Michael Maker trainee picked up a $25,000 win-only bonus available to a registered Florida-bred winner in the six-furlong race for juvenile fillies. Although the 4-5 favorite is a registered Florida-bred, the daughter of red-hot Kentucky stallion Maximus Mischief is not eligible for the upcoming $100,000 Desert Vixen, the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes for juvenile fillies at Gulfstream Park Sept. 9.

    Jockey Hector Diaz, who was aboard for Let Them Watch’s 6 ¼-length debut victory at Gulfstream on July 7, positioned his mount outside early pacesetter Avellino along the backstretch during a 21.90-second first quarter of a mile. Heading into the far turn, Let Them Watch kicked past the early pacesetter to quickly open a clear lead on the turn into the homestretch to virtually clinch the victory while well clear of her rivals. She shortened stride late but was never in danger of being caught and crossed the finish line 2 ¾ lengths in front.

    “When I was working her, I thought she didn’t need to be on the lead.  But she has so much speed, that she gets it. She got a little tired late because we moved a little early,” Diaz said. “I think she’s going to keep improving."

    Let Them Watch ran six furlongs in 1:12.73, Kiss rallied to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Epona’s Hope.

    Diaz has made an impression since relocating to Gulfstream for the Royal Palm Meet while maintaining a 20-percent strike rate. “I wanted to try something new,” Diaz said. “I love it so far. I don’t mind the hot when I win."   

 

Monday, August 14, 2023
Dreamfyre scores by 3 1/2 . . .
    Danny A. Eplin’s Dreamfyre (Flameaway – Appreciating) took the lead at the start of the $201,000, Gr. III Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday, set the pace, the drew away to score by 3 1/2 lengths over OBS 2023 March graduate Benedetta (City of Light – Tessie Flip), who rallied to be second. O. J. Jauregui trains the 2-year-old filly by Flameaway, a stakes-winner in her debut and now 2-for-2 with $165,000 in earnings. Consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds LLC (Steven Venosa), Agent to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale, she was sold for $140,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5. 

    Leon King Stable Corp.’s Bentornato (Valiant Minister – Her Special Way) is 2-f-r2 and a stakes-winner after leading from wire-to-wire and taking the $90,000 Proud Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park by 4 1/4 lengths. A two-time OBS graduate, the 2-year-old Florida-bred son of Valiant Minister was sold by Stuart Morris at the 2022 October Yearling Sale and then purchased for $170,000 out of the Golden Rock Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2023 March Sale. Trained by Jose Francisco D’Angelo he has earned $98,830. 

    Orpen Horses, Jack Hardin Towell Jr., and Alan Griffin’s Grannys Connection (Connect – Granny’s Drink) got the weekend off to a good start, going right to the lead in Friday’s $215,000 Union Avenue Handicap at Saratoga and never looking back en route to a 1 1/2 length victory. It’s the first stakes win for the 4-year-old daughter of Connect, trained by Thomas Morley, now 7-5-2-0 with $268,050 in earnings. At the 2021 OBS March Sale, she was purchased for $57,000 out of the Eddie Woods consignment after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. 




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Sunday, August 13, 2023
Earnings surpass $2.4 million . . .

    LRE Racing and JEH Racing’s ageless Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed – Achalaya) captured Saratoga’s $500,000, Gr. I Fourstardave Handicap for the second straight year on Saturday and earned a berth in the gate for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Mile.

    Rating off the pace on the outside, Casa Creed went after the leaders turning for home, caught familiar foe Annapolis a sixteenth from home, and was best by three-quarters of a length at the wire. The 7-year-old son of Jimmy Creed, trained by Bill Mott, is a six-time Gr. I stakes-winner. He has compiled a 33-9-5-5 career record and earned $2,460,308 since his purchase for $15,000 out of the Janie Roper consignment at the 2017 OBS Winter Mixed Sale. 

Friday, August 11, 2023
Both 2yo stakes are worth $65,000 . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Saturday’s Proud Man and Sunday’s Sharp Susan, although open stakes for 2-year-olds, will serve as unofficial preview races for the upcoming Florida Sire Stakes series at Gulfstream Park.

    Seven of the eight entrants in the $65,000 Proud Man are FSS eligible, while five of the seven fillies entered in the $65,000 Sharp Susan are FSS-eligible.

    The $100,000 Dr. Fager and the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies will kick off the 2023 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series Sept. 9. The Proud Man and Sharp Susan will be contested at six furlongs, the distance of the first-leg races of the FSS series.

    Arindel’s Reaper, a FSS-eligible son of Brethren, enters the Proud Man as the only stakes winner in the field, having ventured to Prairie Meadows to capture the July 8 Prairie Gold Juvenile. The homebred colt dueled between horses before prevailing by a neck in the 5 ½-furlong sprint.

    Reaper is out of Horah for Bailey, whose 12 foals that have raced have all been winners, including Turbo, who finished second in both the Dr. Fager and Affirmed in last year’s FTBOA FSS series after winning first-time out.

    “Reaper’s been doing well. He came back right after he ran. He spent a week on the farm and then came down here. He’s had a couple of nice works and he’s acting like himself. I expect him to run another good race,” Arindel’s stable manager Brian Cohen said.

   “He’s got a lot of heart. There seems like they’ll be a lot of speed in the race, but we’ll let the jock decide what he wants to do,” he added. “This will probably be the toughest race he’s run. There are a couple other nice ones in there.”

    Hector Diaz Jr. is named to ride Reaper for the first time.

    Prevent, a son of Neolithic who is FSS-eligible, will run in the Proud Man for Cohen’s BC Racing LLC after graduating in his second career start.

    Arindel’s Lasso, a FSS-eligible son of Brethren who graduated by 3 ½ lengths going away in his June 3 debut, is entered in Saturday’s Saratoga Special (G2) at Saratoga.

    “He’s running on Saturday up there. He wants to run longer. Saratoga is 6 ½ [furlongs]. To me, he’s the best of all of them,” Cohen said. “He’s training outstanding for this race. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s [Dr. Fager] not out of the question, but we’re probably going to look at the second and third legs for him.”

   BC Racing LLC’s Dickens, who finished third in the Sanford (G3) at Saratoga after winning his debut at Gulfstream, is also an FSS candidate.

   Arindel will be represented in the Sharp Susan, by Kiss, a daughter of Army Mule who graduated at Ellis Park before finishing off the board in the Prairie Gold Lassie.

  Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr., who has celebrated many FSS successes during the past 25 years, will be well-represented this weekend at Gulfstream Park by Big Effect in the Proud Man and Epona’s Hope in the Sharp Susan.

   Big Effect, a son of The Big Beast owned by Leon Ellman, Glassman Racing LLC and Laurie Plesa, came up just short of winning his July 1 debut but came back to graduate impressively with a front-running 6 ¾-length romp at six furlongs July 22.

   “He showed a lot in the mornings, so I was expecting him to run good that day (July 1). I think he got out there all by himself and didn’t know what to do. For 2-year-olds, every race is an experience. He got out there and got nailed on the money. I think the horse that nailed him is a nice horse, but for my horse, part of it was just a case of experience,” Plesa said.

    In his second start, I made a point [to jockey Edgar Perez], ‘you don’t have to be on the lead.’ He broke sharp and another horse looked like he wanted the lead, so he eased him around that other horse and asked him about the quarter-pole. He ran the way I would have expected,” he added. “The first race was a lesson taught to him and he learned from it for his second start.”

    Epona’s Hope, who is also owned by Leon Ellman, Glassman Racing LLC and Laurie Plesa, enters the Sharp Susan off a late-rallying victory in a 4 ½-furlong Florida-bred maiden special weight race June 9.

    “She broke OK and got shuffled back. She didn’t save any ground by any means. She came running at the end, so I think the longer the better,” Plesa said. “She’s been away for a while only because of her early success, but she’s been training really good coming into the race.”

   Plesa-trained Raging Fury, a son of Ami’s Flatter who graduated at first asking Saturday at Gulfstream Park, is also a Dr. Fager candidate.

    “We have some exciting 2-year-olds,” Plesa said. “For me anyways, when the young horses show promise this time of year, it’s a lot easier to get up in the morning. We’re right on target with these three horses.”

    Leon King Stable Corp.’s Bentornato, who rallied to register a debut victory over Plesa-trained Big Effect, is slated to return in the Proud Man. The Jose D’Angelo-trained son of Valiant Minister is FSS eligible.

    “He’s a very nice horse we think wants to go long. We’re running him to get him ready for the Florida Sire stakes,” D’Angelo said. “He ran so good, and beat Big Effect, who will run in the race too. In his second race, Big Effect ran big. Bentornato is one of my best babies.”

    Jacks or Better Farm, Inc., which holds the FSS record with 19 series wins, will be represented in the Proud Man by Northshore Drive, who graduated last time out after finishing an even fifth in the Royal Palm Juvenile on turf. The Ralph Nicks trainee is a son of Fort Loudon, who swept the open division 2011 FFS series.

    Nicks will also saddle Stonehedge LLC’s Gentle Breeze, a 12 ¾-length debut winner in a $25,000 maiden claiming race June 25, for the Proud Man, as well as sending Stonehedge LLC’s Kitty’s Pretty into the Sharp Susan off a 5 ¾-length debut victory June 16.

   Stonehedge LLC will also be represented in the Proud Man by Keep On Coming, a Michael Yates-trained Khozan gelding who is coming off a May 3 debut victory by 5 ½ lengths.

    The only Proud Man entrant not FSS-eligible is Magic Stables LLC and Cairoli Racing Stable and Midnight Racing LLC’s highly promising Divieto, a son of Dialed In who turned in an i9mpressive 4 ½-length debut victory July 21. Divieto is trained by Antonio Sana, who trained another talented son of Dialed In, $5.5 million earner Gunnevera.

   All seven of the Proud Man entrants that are FSS eligible will also qualify for the $25,000 FTBOA bonus offered to a registered Florida-bred winner of Saturday’s six-furlong sprint. Four FSS-eligible fillies in the Sharp Susan are qualified for the $25,000 FTBOA bonus offered to a registered Florida-bred winner of Sunday’s six-furlong sprint for fillies.

    Case Chambers’ Let Them Watch is a registered Florida-bred that is eligible for the FTBOA bonus in the Sharp Susan, but the daughter of Maximus Mischief is not FSS-eligible. Michael Maker-trained Let Them Watch was a most impressive 6 ½-length debut winner at Gulfstream July 7. Christian Cruz’s She has Class, a daughter of Khozan, is FSS-eligible but is not a registered Florida-bred.

    Trainer Jena Antonucci, who saddled Arcangelo for a victory in this year’s Belmont Stakes (G1), will be represented in the Sharp Susan by John Grossi’s Racing Corp.’s Avellino, a front-running eight-length debut winner May 18. The daughter of Adios Charlie is FSS eligible.
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Wins by 6 1/2 . . .
   HALLANDALE BEACH  – Averill Racing LLC and Two Eight Racing LLC’s R Harper Rose stamped herself as a hot prospect for the upcoming FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series with a sizzling front-running debut victory Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

    R Harper Rose, who sported an eye-catching worktab heading into the 5 ½-furlong dash for 2-year-old fillies, set fractions of 21.84 and 44.57 for the first half-mile over a sealed muddy track on her way to a final clocking in 1:04.11. The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained daughter of Khozan finished 6 ¼ lengths clear of Haunted under jockey Edgard Zayas.

    “I worked her last week out of the gate, and she was fast,” Zayas said. “I wasn’t expecting anything less than that. I was hoping she would win like that – pulling away – and she did. She’s Florida-bred by a Florida stallion, so hopefully we have a good one for those races.”

    The FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series kicks off at Gulfstream Sept. 9 with the $100,000 Desert Vixen (fillies) and $100,000 Dr. Fager (open), a pair of six-furlong sprints for 2-year-olds sired by a nominated stallion standing in Florida. The series continues Oct. 21 with the $200,000 Susan’ Girl (Fillies) and $200,000 Affirmed (open), both at seven furlongs) and Dec. 2 with the $300,000 My Dear Girl (fillies) and $300,000 In Reality (open), both at 1 1/16 miles.

    BC Racing LLC’s Haunted, a FSS-eligible daughter of Khozan, rallied to finish second over Corinne and William Heiligbrodt’s Etrurian, a daughter of Bucchero who is also eligible for the FSS series.

    Zayas returned in Race 6 to guide Laurie Plesa and Donald Mensh’s Raging Fury to a debut victory in a 5 ½ furlong maiden special weight race for Florida-bred 2-year-olds. The Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained son of Ami’s Flatter rallied from several lengths back to catch Love Unlimited Thoroughbreds Ltd.’s Arrogancy by a neck. Raging Fury is not eligible for the FSS series.

    Raging Fury, the 4-5 favorite, was the seventh of eight winners in the last two days for Zayas, who won four races each day. In addition to his successes aboard R Harper Rose and Raging Fury, he also visited the winner’s circle Saturday with the Joseph-trained Preemption in Race 3 and Plesa-trained Rockin Roller in Race 7.

    “Thankfully, I’ve been doing good. I’ve been getting a lot of good opportunities,” said Zayas, who has a 26-percent strike rate during the Royal Palm Meet. “I haven’t been traveling much lately. I’ll be around for the next several weeks, so hopefully we can keep rolling.”

        

       

        
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Nearing $2 million in earnings . . .

  C Two Racing Stable and Antonio Pagnano’s White Abarrio (Race Day – Catching Diamonds) sat just off the lead in Saturday’s $1-million, Gr. I Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, moved to take command at the quarter pole and drew away in the stretch to score by 6 1/4 lengths.

    It’s the second Gr. I stakes victory for the 4-year-old colt, winner of the Florida Derby at three. A two-time OBS graduate, he was sold by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), Agent, at the 2020 Winter Mixed Sale and then purchased for $40,000 out of the Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2021 March Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. Now trained by Richard E. Dutrow Jr., he has compiled a 14-6-1-3 career record and earned $1,826,350.
   

    Earlier in the Whitney undercard, Clark O. Brewster, L. William Heiligbrodt and Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Cogburn (Not This Time – In A Jif) overcame a stumbling start in the $300,000, Gr. III Troy Stakes, rallied down the lane and was up in deep stretch by win by three-quarters of a length. Coming in on the heels of consecutive stakes victories at Lone Star, the 4-year-old colt by Not This Time is now 11-6-2-0 with earnings $591,710 for trainer Steve Asmussen. Consigned to the 2021 OBS Spring Sale by Pick View LLC, Agent, he was sold for $150,000 after turning in an Under Tack quarter in :20 3/5. 





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Sunday, August 6, 2023
4 more grads score . . .

    Michael Lund Petersen’s Adare Manor (Uncle Mo – Brooklynsway) earned a starting berth in the in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Distaff , leading a 1-2-3 OBS sweep of the $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar with October ’20 graduate Desert Dawn (Cupid – Ashley’s Glory) a length back in second and pacesetting two-time graduate (March ’21, October ’20) Elm Drive (Mohaymen – Lets Dance Charlie) checking in third.

    It’s the fourth straight victory and first grade one win for the 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, trained by Bob Baffert, now 12-6-4-0 with earnings of $861,600. At the 2021 OBS June Sale, she was purchased for $375,000 out of the Julie Davies consignment by Donato Lanni, Agent, after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. 

    Bridlewood Farm’s Bay Storm (Kantharos – Stormy Regatta) rated off the pace while saving ground in Saturday’s $200,000 KY Downs Preview Mint Ladies Turf Sprint Stakes at Ellis Park, found room on the on the rail in the stretch, took over inside the eighth pole and was best by a neck at the wire. It’s the third stakes win for the graded stakes-placed 5-year-old daughter of Kantharos, purchased for $400,000 out of the Woodford Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2020 OBS Spring Sale after turning in an Under Tack quarter in :20 4/5. Trained by Jonathan Thomas, she has compiled a 16-5-6-3 career record and earned $708,755. 

    Bassett Stables’ Swirvin (Girvin – Cara Sorella) led a 1-2-3 OBS sweep of the $106,000 Jersey Shore Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park. The 3-year-old colt by Girvin rallied three wide into the stretch, took command at the sixteenth pole and drew away to score his first stakes victory by 2-3/4 lengths. OBS 2022 Spring Sale graduate Super Chow (Lord Nelson – Bonita Mia) was second; two-time graduate (April ’22, January ’21) Recruiter (Army Mule – Lady Halite) settled for third. Now 4-3-0-0 for trainer Saffie A. Joseph, Jr., Swirvin has earned $126,075 to date.

    A two-time OBS graduate, he was sold by Colin Brennan Bloodstock, Agent, at the 2021 October Yearling Sale, then purchased for $60,000 out of the and Hoppel’s Horse & Cattle Co. consignment at the 2022 Spring Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. 

    R. A. Hill Stable and SGV Thoroughbreds’ Outlaw Kid (Violence – Calling Rhy Rhy) captured his first stakes in Woodbine’s $150,000 Vice Regent Stakes on Saturday, charging down the stretch on the inside and getting up late to win by a neck. The 4-year-old gelding by Violence was consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds LLC (Steven Venosa), Agent, to the 2021 OBS Spring Sale and sold for $220,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. Trained by George Weaver, he’s now 10-4-1-1 and has earned $281,944. 




Friday, August 4, 2023
Gone Astray 8-year-old has won 10 times . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Owner/trainer David Fawkes’ Noble Drama will seek to continue carrying on a family tradition Saturday at Gulfstream Park when the fan-favorite gelding returns to action in a stakes-quality allowance feature. 


    Bred and formerly owned by Harold Queen, Noble Drama has admirably faced a huge challenge while racing in the shadows of a couple of older family members, but the 8-year-old son of Gone Astray has managed to earn $821,582 during a 40-race career that has produced 10 victories, including seven wins in stakes and overnight handicaps.


    Not too shabby, but hardly up to the standards set by his Gr. 1 stakes-winning kin.

    The Florida-bred gelding is out of Queen Drama, a stakes-winning half-sister to champion Big Drama and a full sister to multiple Gr. 1 stakes-winning Sheer Drama, both trained by Fawkes for owner/breeder Queen. Riveting Drama, an unraced daughter of Notebook whom Queen purchased for $36,000 at the 1996 OBS March sale, produced Queen Drama, Big Drama and Sheer Drama.

    “When Mr. Queen bought Riveting Drama from the sale, he intended on running her. She bucked her shins, and he brought her home, never sent her back, and just bred her,” Fawkes said, “I would call her a blue hen mare.”

    Noble Drama, a son of Montbrook who earned nearly $2.75 million, was honored with the 2010 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Sprinter after capturing the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs. His talent was obvious right from the start when he swept the 2008 Florida Sire Stakes Series before capturing the $750,000 Delta Jackpot.

    Sheer Drama earned nearly $1.7 million during a 24-race career that included Gr. 1 successes in the 2015 Personal Ensign at Belmont, 2015 Delaware Handicap and the 2016 Madison at Keeneland, excelling at distances from seven furlongs to 1 ¼ miles.

    Noble Drama, whose favorite distance has been a one-turn mile, will cut back to seven furlongs for Saturday’s Race 9 feature for 3-year-olds and up, which drew a deep field of nine. Bobby DiBona-trained Big and Classy, whose six-race winning streak was broken in a second-place finish in the Gr. III Smile Sprint on July 1, is rated at 2-1 in the morning line.

    Ny Traffic and Mish, rated second and third on the morning line, were entered in Saturday’s race, but trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. doesn’t expect either horse will run.

    Noble Drama will seek revenge on Michael Yates-trained Cajun’s Magic, against whom he came up a half-length short in a one-turn mile allowance two starts back.

    “It’s not the right distance for him, really, but the horse is training good and doing good,” Fawkes said. “There seems to be plenty of speed to set it up for him.”

  Emisael Jaramillo has the call on Noble Drama.

Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Florida colt has won three straight stakes . . .
    LAUREL, MD – Lea Farms’ Lightening Larry, the Florida-bred by Uncaptured who ran his stakes win streak to three with a half-length victory over fellow Gr. III winner Wondrwherecraigis in the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Saturday at Laurel Park, returned to Monmouth Park where trainer Jorge Delgado reported he is ‘doing fine.’

    Lightening Larry came from off the pace on a main track where speed had been holding to run down pacesetting Wondrwherecraigis and prevail in the prestigious six-furlong sprint, adding his name to the likes of Hall of Famer Housebuster and champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor’s Echo and Benny the Bull as De Francis winners.

    “I’ll tell you what, I won a Grade 2 [July 28] in Saratoga, but I think it is way tougher to beat Brittany Russell in Maryland,” Delgado said of Wondrwherecraigis’ Laurel-based trainer, the state’s overall leader in wins (72) and purse earnings ($3.143 million) this year that earned a fourth career individual title during the Preakness Meet in May at Pimlico Race Course.

    “[Lightening Larry] always shows heart,” he added. “He’s a very straightforward, honest horse. He’s been magnificent in his career. He doesn’t care where he runs or who he runs against, he just tries every time. He’s had a beautiful career. He’s got a strong win percentage. He’s been doing really good for us, thankfully.”

    Lightening Larry had galloped out and was jogging back to the winner’s circle following the De Francis when jockey Daniel Centeno stopped and dismounted in upper stretch. The 4-year-old colt stood patiently while being hosed off and walked calmly on to a waiting horse van to be taken off the track.

    “He came back in good shape,” Delgado said. “I was a little concerned because they vanned him off and when I spoke to the state vets there they were just doing the precautionary things they have to do. He came back last night. I saw him walking this morning and we checked him with the vet and he’s doing fine. He’ll be all right, so that was a big relief.

    “As far as his mood and desire, he’s a straightforward horse and he’s always playing and biting and stuff like that. Nothing has changed,” he added. “He ate all his feed last night and he was just enjoying the morning. It was a beautiful morning in New Jersey, and he was out enjoying the weather and everything.”

    Centeno settled Lightening Larry in third behind Wondrwherecraigis, who posted fractions of 21.84, 44.65 and 56.75 seconds in his third straight De Francis after being second each of the prior two years. Lightening Larry was able to collar the leader in the final furlong and prevail in 1:09.29.

    “He loves to win, and yesterday he showed it. I don’t think it was an ideal race for him. There wasn’t too much pace in the race, and he was closing from a little outside even if it was a five-horse field,” Delgado said. “I thought [Wondrwherecraigis] had a little advantage over him because he was the only sort of speed and he was on the inside. In the stretch and by the eighth pole, he targeted that horse and said, ‘I’m going to win,’ and he passed the horse. He’s a pretty cool horse. He knows where the wire is, and he enjoys what he does.”

    Lightening Larry has eight wins, six in stakes, and $607,080 in purse earnings from 18 starts. Delgado took over his training last March and together they have been third or better in nine of 11 races including prior stakes wins in the 2022 Chick Lang (G3) and this year’s Sunshine Millions Sprint at Gulfstream Park, Mr. Prospector at Monmouth and Delaware Park’s Alapocas Run.

    The Chick Lang at Pimlico marked the first graded triumph for both horse and trainer, who since added the 2022 Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream Park with Willy Boi, also owned by Lea Farms, and Saratoga’s Amsterdam (G2) with AMO Racing USA’s New York Thunder.

    “He’s the kind of horse that always makes you look good. It doesn’t matter what track it is, or what day or what stake. Nothing matters to him,” Delgado said. “He just goes to the race and he’s a true warrior. He has a heart that a majority of horses don’t have. I have a really good chemistry with him. He likes to run and for the barn he’s a very special horse.”

    Delgado, based primarily in South Florida with a summer string at Monmouth, has not plotted out a next start for Lightening Larry. “Thankfully there are plenty of options,” he said. “I will try to look for something in five to seven weeks. He runs basically every four weeks, maybe less days this time, and he responds. I think between this race and the next race I would like to give him an extra couple of weeks and bring him back in 100 percent shape.”
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Sequence hasn't hit for 13 days . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The 20-cent Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Pool will be guaranteed at $300,000 Friday at Gulfstream Park, where the multi-race wager went unsolved today for the 13th day following a mandatory payout.

    Friday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 3-8, featuring a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance for Florida-bred older fillies and mares on Tapeta in Race 7. Fernando Abreu-trained Gitana holds a wide edge on experience over her seven rivals in the race for non-winners of a race other than maiden, claiming or starter and for horses entered for a claiming price of $20,000. The 6-year-old mare has been first or second in 15 of her 33 career starts.


     A mile-and-70-yard maiden special weight event for older fillies and mares on Tapeta precedes the feature. The seven-horse field includes a Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained first-time starter, Applause. The 3-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, bred and owned by Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, has been training forwardly at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. Kara and Colleen, a Joseph stablemate, enters the race after finishing second and third on Tapeta in her two most recent starts. Christopher Duncan-trained To Thyself B True is expected to receive attention at the betting windows off her third-place finish in the Powder Break Stakes in her last start.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Raced in South Florida for 30 years . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Larry Bates, who spent more than 60 years as an equestrian in North America and Europe, has passed away in South Florida.

            “A wonderful person who helped a lot of people,” friend Ed Kelly said of Bates.

            “An excellent horseman and generous to a fault,” said veterinarian and former jockey Ben Bealmear of Bates.

    A popular and well-respected horsemen the past 30 years in South Florida, Bates won 454 races. He enjoyed stakes success with Regal Joy, winner of the 1995 Joe Namath (G3), and Black Diamond Cat, who won the Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint and Major Moran in 2011 and Housebuster and Montbrook in 2013. Bates saddled the filly Cher Ami to five stakes victories in 2007.

    Bates also helped prepare Mistical Plan for the 2008 Princess Rooney (G1) when shipped to Calder by trainer Doug O’Neill. The filly would win by 5 ¾ lengths.

    A native of Virginia, Bates worked and rode in New England before switching to steeplechase. He rode in Europe for Daniel Wildenstein and in the U.S. for Paul Fout. Bates was also a fiery competitor when riding.

    In an article in Sports Illustrated in 1971, writer Frank Deford tells of Bates leaping from his mount at Delaware one afternoon to jockey Jerry Fishback’s mount, “as in the cowboy movies…dragging [Fishback] to the ground,” to confront Fishback about his ride.

    “Larry was an extremely accomplished horsemen,” Bealmear said. “He knew a lot about a horse by being on him but also just by looking them in the eye. He and Allen [Jerkens} became really good friends. Larry told me once when he was having a tough time Allen said, ‘Larry, when it comes to training horses, the first 50 years don’t count.’ “

    Bates, born in 1946, was a history buff and an avid reader and fly fisherman. His last victory was on April 6 with Poiema, a daughter of Neolithic who finished second May 28 in an overnight handicap.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Scores at Del Mar, Woodbine and Monmouth . . .

    Larry S. Buckendorf, Jeffrey Lambert, Lawrence A. Rodriguez, Paul G. Schneider, Peter Stotland and Matthew. D. White’s Order and Law (Violence – Poetic Kid) rated off the pace in the early going of the $126,000, Gr. III Cougar II Stakes at Del Mar, rallied on the turn, took command passing the eighth pole and drew off to win by 2 1/4 lengths.

   It’s the second stakes win for the 7-year-old ridgling trained by Robert B. Hess Jr., who has compiled a 42-8-6-2 career record and earned $456,804. At the 2018 OBS Spring Sale, he sped an Under Tack quarter in :21 2/5 and was purchased for $30,000 out of the Eddie Woods consignment.

    Omar Aldabbagh and Jeff Ganje’s Shotgun Hottie (Gun Runner – Re Entry) stalked the leaders from the outside in the $500,000, Gr. III Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park, circled horses on the turn, took the lead a sixteenth out and eased away to win by half a length. It’s the first graded stakes win and third stakes victory for the 4-year-old filly, consigned to the 2021 OBS Spring Sale by Gene Recio, Agent, and sold for $45,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 3/5.  Trained by Cherie DeVaux, she’s now 15-5-4-2 and has earned $770,607.  

    Exline-Border Racing LLC, Peter Eurton, Richard Hausman and Stonestreet Stables LLC’s Dream Shake (Twirling Candy – Even Song) picked a nice spot for his first stakes victory, capturing the $179,000, Gr. II Connaught Cup Stakes by a length at Woodbine, with fellow OBS graduate Lucky Score (Lookin At Lucky – Miss Matzo) (June ‘20) checking in third. 

    Michael Stidham trains the 5-year-old gelding, now 12-4-1-2 with $469,265 in earnings. Consigned by Cary Frommer, Agent, to the 2020 OBS Spring Sale, he was purchased for $75,000 by Marette Farrell, Agent for Exline-Border Racing, after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. 

    Jill Baffert and Debbie Lanni’s Du Jour (Temple City – Guiltless) scored his second stakes victory in the $134,000 Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar, rallying from far back, finding room late and getting up in the final yards to win by half a length. The 5-year-old gelding was purchased for $280,000 by Donato Lanni, Agent, out of the Off the Hook consignment at the 2020 OBS Spring Sale after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Trained by Bob Baffert, he’s now 14-4-3-2 and has earned $738,220. 

    Team Valor International and Gary Barber’s Elysian Field, (Hard Spun – Elysian) off the pace early in the $503,000 Woodbine Oaks, swung out for the drive, took charge a furlong from home and eased away to score by 2 1/4 lengths. It’s the first stakes victory for the 3-year-old filly, trained by Mark Casse, now 6-2-2-0 with $306,692 in earnings. After breezing an Under Tack quarter in :21 3/5 at the 2020 OBS June Sale, she was purchased for $70,000 by Bruce Brown, Agent, out of the Ocala Stud consignment. 

Sunday, July 23, 2023
First Dude nearing $25 million in progeny earnings . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Royalight Racing’s Charlie’s Wish, who came up just short of earning stakes credentials in the Game Face while finishing second behind Flakes last time out, rallied to take the lead in the Gulfstream Park stretch Saturday and kept on going this time to impressively capture the $75,000 Azalea Stakes.

    In addition to earning her first stakes victory with a 4 ¾-length decision over Flakes in the seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds, the David Fawkes-trained daughter of First Dude collected a $25,000 FTBOA bonus available to a Florida-bred winner. With the victory, First Due passed the $24.9 million mark in lifetime earnings. 

    Charlie’s Wish ($6) settled off the pace set by her Fawkes-trained stablemate Trust Me, the 6-5 favorite, and pressed by Flakes and Kikilove along the backstretch and around the far turn. As Edgard Zayas challenged Trust Me aboard Flakes entering the stretch, Charlie’s Wish loomed suddenly to their outside with a wide sweep under Leonel Reyes. Flakes kicked away from the tiring Trust Me, but was not a match for Charlie’s Wish, who drew off with authority.

   “She’s just getting better and better. The older she gets, the better she gets,” Fawkes said.

    Charlie’s Wish, whose only off-the-board finish in her eight prior starts came around two turns, ran seven furlongs in 1:24.01. Flakes finished second, 4 ¼  lengths clear of Trust Me.

    In the race before the Azalea, Gentry Farms’ Second I D remained undefeated with a gutsy 2 ¼-length victory in a 6 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds. The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained son of Maclean’s Music, who graduated with ease while winning his June 9 debut by 7 ¾ lengths, had to dig deep to prevail over runner-up Slim Slow Slower. 
Friday, July 21, 2023
Jackpot guaranteed at $200,000 . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The 20-cent Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Pool will be guaranteed at $200,000 for Saturday’s program at Gulfstream Park, as the multi-race wager went unsolved today for the eighth racing day following a mandatory payout.

    The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-10, featuring the $75,000 Azalea in Race 9. BC Racing’s Flakes, a determined winner of the June 17 Game Face, is rated at the 2-1 in the morning line for the seven-furlong stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Trainer David Fawkes will be represented by two contenders in Trust Me, an impressive optional claiming allowance winner last time out, and Charlie’s Wish, who fell a neck shy of catching Flakes in the Game Face.

    Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Second I. D. is slated to make his return from an ultra-impressive debut victory in Race 8, a first-level 6 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance. The 3-year-old son of Maclean’s Music romped by 7 ¾ lengths in a June 9 maiden special weight race. Distant third-place finisher Maptitude came back to comfortably graduate in his subsequent start.
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Charlie's Wish is a First Dude . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Royalight Racing’s Charlie’s Wish and Alex and JoAnn Lieblong’s Trust Me are scheduled to team up for Saturday’s $75,000 Azalea at Gulfstream Park, where the David Fawkes-trained duo will take on likely favorite Flakes in the seven-furlong stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

    Charlie’s Wish will seek to turn the tables on Flakes Saturday after falling a neck shy of catching BC Racing’s daughter of Frosted last time out in the 6 ½-furlong Game Face on June 17. The 3-year-old daughter of First Dude rated in mid-pack before making a five-wide sweep to loom as a danger at the top of the stretch. She continued her drive in the stretch but was unable to overtake Flakes over a muddy track.


    “That filly beat us fair and square,” Fawkes said. “The track was muddy. She was kind of climbing on the turn. She didn’t really level off until turning for home and she just kind of ran out of racetrack.”

    Prior to her Game Face effort, Charlie’s Wish stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in a Churchill Downs optional claiming allowance on May 5, rallying into the stretch to finish second by a neck.

    “She ran so big at Churchill. It was so disappointing,” Fawkes said. “The last couple of jumps she got just a little flat on me, but I thought she ran great.”

    Charlie’s Wish easily captured a six-furlong optional claiming race during Gulfstream’s Championship Meet before shipping to Churchill Downs.


    Trust Me made an auspicious 2023 debut while capturing a June 16 optional claiming allowance at six furlongs by 7 ¼ lengths. “She ran a huge race,” Fawkes said.

    The homebred daughter of The Big Beast had demonstrated talent during her three-race juvenile campaign, finishing second in her debut before graduating by three lengths and finishing third in the Florida Sire Stakes Desert Vixen. “The Big Beasts have been a lot better as they get older,” Fawkes said. 

    Leonel Reyes has the return call on the ultra consistent Charlies Wish, who has been in the money in all but one of her eight career starts. Trust Me will be ridden back by Miguel Vasquez. Both Charlie’s Wish and Trust Me are eligible for the $25,000 FTBA bonus available to a registered Florida-bred winner, as is Flakes.

    Prior to holding off Charlie’s Wish in the Game Face, Flakes set the pace in a mile optional claiming allowance before finishing second to Imonra, who went on to finish second in the Gr. III Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows. Edgard Zayas has the return mount aboard Flakes, who previously finished third in the Gr. II Gulfstream Park Oaks.

    Daniel Walters, Dennis Smith, Anthony Smith and trainer Rohan Crichton’s Kikilove, who finished a distant third behind Imonra and Flakes while stretching out to a mile, should appreciate a cutback in distance Saturday. The daughter of The Big Beast, who won two starter allowances during the Championship Meet, captured a seven-furlong Florida-bred allowance in her previous start. Edwin Gonzalez is scheduled to ride Kikilove for the first time Saturday.

    Red Diamond Stable’s Jellicle Katz, Champion Equine’s One of One, Pep Stables’ Just Mercy, and trainer Diley Dakin’s Principia round out the field.

    Kikilove, Just Mercy, and Principia are also eligible for the FTBOA bonus.

Sunday, July 16, 2023
Rider gets a fat lip, besides . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH – With main stable rider Edgard Zayas at Saratoga Saturday, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. had to look for a replacement jockey for Transient for the $75,000 Powder Break at Gulfstream Park.

    The Royal Palm Meet’s leading trainer looked as far as Penn National, calling on Tyler Conner to guide the 6-5 favorite in the mile and 70-yard stakes for fillies and mares on Tapeta.

    What did the 29-year-old Pennsylvania native get for his efforts aboard e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ daughter of Sea the Stars? A thrilling victory and a fat lip.


    Conner, a winner of more than 1,100 races, showed why Joseph has such confidence in his riding skills, crafting a brilliant journey aboard the 5-year-old mare. After tossing her head leaving the gate and splitting her jockey’s lip, Transient settled nicely for Conner far off the early pace set by Empress Ellie. Conner elected to save ground along the backstretch before finding room along the rail on the far turn. Transient advanced quickly to loom boldly at the top of the stretch, where her jockey eased her to the outside for the stretch run. The multiple graded stakes-winner exerted her class while splitting horses in mid-stretch to score by two lengths.

     "It was a top-class ride. She’s very difficult to rate. Right out of the gate she raised her head and split Tyler’s lip. But he gave her some ride, because she’s not easy to switch off. Her hardest thing is to relax,” Joseph said. “This was a great steppingstone for her, hopefully back to graded stakes.”

    Transient ran a mile and 70 yards on the all-weather surface in 1:41.40 to win her first career stakes following three graded stakes-placings during the Championship Meet.

    “She settled really nice. I was a little worried I was that far back but when I asked her to do anything, she responded really well. The trip opened up really great,” Conner said.

    Joseph had called on Conner in the past. Last June, Conner finished second aboard Joseph-trained Treasure King in the Not Surprising Stakes at Gulfstream, where he won a race for Joseph earlier on the card.

    “I really appreciate it. It doesn’t happen to me a lot where I come from. For a guy like him to call me out of the blue when he needs a rider, it means a lot,” said Conner, who also rode Joseph-trained Mish to victory in Saturday’s Race 3. Race-long stalker Chick’s Shadow finished second, 1 ¾ lengths ahead of To Thyself B True.

Apprentice Rides First U.S. Winner

    Kenedy Berrugate notched his first success in the U.S. Saturday, guiding Pluma Roja ($38.60) to an upset victory in Race 4. The 22-year-old Panama native is a 5-pound apprentice, having won 43 races, including stakes, in his homeland before venturing to South Florida in June.


    Berrugate had several close calls on his first 33 mounts before breaking through aboard Pluma Roja in the 1 1/16-mile $8,000 claiming race on Tapeta for owner/trainer Frank Santillana.


    Berrugate graduated at the top of his class at the Laffit Pincay Jr. Technical Jockey Training Academy in Panama and was highly recommended to agent Cliff Hopmans by the Hall of Fame jockey.

Friday, July 14, 2023
2yo filly purchased for $75,000 at OBS March . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - A month after Shirl’s Bee finished second in the 2023, Gr. III UAE Two Thousand Guineas at Meydan, trainer Patrick Biancone and longtime partner Diamond 100 Racing Club purchased his full sister for $75,000 at the OBS March 2-year-olds-in-training sale.

    New Diamond, a 2-year-old daughter of Bee Jersey, made that winning bid look like a bargain with a dazzling 2 ½-length going-away debut victory today at Gulfstream Park. The Charles Fipke-bred filly and Shirl’s Bee are out of Shirl’s Soul, who is a daughter of multiple graded stakes-winner Lady Shirl and who also produced Spike’s Shirl and More Than Shirl, both 10-race winners.

    “She was a good buy. Her full brother won first time out very easily in Dubai and then he finished second in the Dubai Guineas. He was one of the favorites for the [UAE] Derby but he got an injury and I think didn’t run again.” Biancone said.


    New Diamond brushed the starting gate while breaking from the rail position before settling well off the pace in Race 2, a $65,000 maiden special weight race for juvenile fillies. Jockey Skylar Spanabel continued to save ground aboard the Kentucky-bred filly into the stretch before swinging to the outside at the eighth pole. New Diamond kicked in powerfully to storm past favored pacesetter Mist on her way to a convincing score.


    “When they run for the first time, I want a ride like that. A good jump, no rush, and stay on the rail and come out in the stretch,” said Biancone of Spanabel’s ride.” That’s what she did,” She’s very talented.”


    New Diamond ($5.60), who ran six furlongs in 1:13.06, was Spanabel’s first winner in 24 mounts this year since returning from injuries sustained at Delaware Park last year.

    New Diamond may have earned a cross-country trip for her next start.
   
    “We’ll see how she comes out of the race. She’s nominated to the Debutante at Del Mar. We may send her there,” Biancone said. The $300,000, Gr. I Debutante is scheduled for Sept. 9.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Pool Guaranteed 

    The 20-cent Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Pool will be guaranteed at $150,000 Saturday, after the multi-race wager went unsolved for the sixth day following a mandatory payout. The sequence will span Races 5-10, headlined by the $75,000 Powder Break in Race 8. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Transient, who was graded stakes-placed three times during the
Championship Meet, is rated at 5-2 in the morning-line for the mile-and-70-yard stakes for fillies and mares on Tapeta.
Monday, July 10, 2023
4 more stakes added to growing list . . .

    Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s Me and Mr. C captured the $100,000 Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes on Saturday, coming from off the pace and getting up in the final strides to win by a nose. The 6-year-old Florida-bred son of Khozan, trained by Mike Maker, is now 32-9-6-5, with three stakes victories and earnings of $457,619. Consigned by Paul Sharp, Agent, to the 2019 OBS March Sale, he went through the ring after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5.  

    Lael Stables’ Love and Money was best by a head in Friday’s $100,000 Clarksville Handicap, swinging out for the drive and getting up in the final yards. It’s the first stakes win for the 5-year-old mare by More Than Ready, consigned by McKee Bloodstock, Agent, to the 2020 OBS June Stakes where she went through the ring after an Under Tack in eighth :10 flat. Trained by Cherie DeVaux, she has compiled a 10-4-2-0 record and earned $220,430. 

    Matt Kwiatkowski, Jason Kaylor and Roger D. Browning’s Nobody Listens successfully defended his title in the $100,000 Brickyard Stakes on Wednesday, setting the pace, opening daylight in the stretch and holding on gamely to win by a head. That’s three stakes victories for the 6-year-old son of Conveyance, purchased for $40,000 out of the Southern Chase Farm consignment at the 2020 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Now 23-11-7-1 for trainer Tim Eggleston, he has earned $490,630. 


    Brian Lynch’s Hot Little Thing picked up her second stakes win in Wednesday’s $100,000 Checkered Flag Handicap, charging on the outside down the stretch and proving best by a neck at the wire. Trained by her owner, she’s now 8-5-1-1 with $225,730 in earnings. Consigned to the 2022 OBS March Sale by Bold Arrow Thoroughbreds, the 3-year-old daughter of Army Mule was sold for $80,000 after working an eighth in :10 flat at the Under Tack Show.  

Thursday, July 6, 2023
Card was originally scheduled for June 30 . . .
    LAUREL, MD – The balance of today’s 10-race program at Laurel Park was cancelled due to prolonged lightning in the area.

    Thunder and lightning were first reported approaching post time for the fourth race. Following a 30-minute delay, during which the main track was sealed and the rain began, steady lightning persisted and the decision was made to cancel out of safety concerns for Laurel’s horses, horsemen, fans and employees.

    The program was originally carded for June 30 but was postponed due to poor air quality stemming from wildfires in eastern Canada.

 

            Live action is scheduled to resume with a nine-race program Friday starting at 12:25 p.m. There will be carryovers of $16,427.18 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) and $11,237.43 in the $1 Jackpot Super High Five (Race 6).
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
8 SW over the weekend . . .

   Lucky Score was last after a poor start in Woodbine’s $240,900 Gr. II Highlander Stakes, but rallied on the outside down the stretch and was best by half a length at the wire. It’s the second graded stakes victory for the 5-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky, trained by Mark Casse, leaving him with a 15-6-3-2 career record and $430,079 in earnings. Consigned by All In Sales (Tony Bowling), Agent, to the 2020 OBS June Sale, he was sold for $35,000 after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. 

   Wise Racing’s Turf King (IRE) charged from off the pace in the $180,000, Gr. III Marine Stakes at Woodbine, overcoming a rough stretch run and proving best by half a length at the wire. It’s the first stakes win for the 3-year-old colt by Kingman (GB), purchased for $180,000 out of the Niall Brennan Stables consignment at the 2022 OBS March Sale after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Now 4-3-0-1 for trainer Chad Brown, he has earned $161,805. 

    Kazuo Kato’s Jasper Krone scored his first graded stakes win on Sunday with a front-running half-ength victory in the $538,000, Gr. III CBC Cho Stakes at Chukyo Racecourse. It’s the second stakes win for the 4-year-old colt by Frosted, trained by Hideyuki Mori, now 13-5-1-2 with $769,955 in earnings. Consigned by Kings Equine, Agent, to the 2021 OBS March Sale, he was purchased for $90,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in:10 1/5. 

    Foggy Night sat just off the pace in Saturday’s $300,000, Gr. III Delaware Oaks, came around the leaders into the stretch, took charge a furlong out and eased away late to score by a length and three quarters. It’s the first stakes win for the 3-year-old Florida-bred filly by Khozan, now 8-3-4-0 for trainer Robert E. Reid, Jr. with $278,550 in earnings. Consigned by Journeyman Bloodstock Services to the 2022 OBS Spring Sale, she breezed and Under Tack eighth in :10 35 and was purchased by Pine Brook for $20,000.

    Lea Farms’ Lightening Larry sat just off the pace set by fellow OBS graduate Sir Wellington (October ’19) in Saturday’s $100,150 Alopocas Run Stakes at Delaware Park, took over in the stretch and beat him to the wire by a length and a half. It’s the fifth stakes win for the 4-year-old graded stakes-winning Florida-bred colt by Uncaptured, purchased for $50,000 out of the Pick View consignment at the 2021 March Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 flat at the Under Tack Show. Trained by Jorge Delgado, he’s now 17-7-5-2 and has earned $517,080.  

    Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s The Wine Steward is two for two and a stakes-winner after coming from off the pace and drawing off to a 2 3/4-length victory in Sunday’s $225,000 Bashford Manor Stakes at Ellis Park. The first stakes-winner for sire Vino Rosso, the 2-year-old colt was sold by Sequel Bloodstock, Agent, for $340,000 at the 2023 OBS March Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. Trained by Mike Maker, he has earned $164,010. 
   

    Indigo Racing’s Texas Ascot Queen posted her first stakes victory in Lone Star’s $81,375 Valor Farm Stakes on Saturday, tracking the leader, taking charge after turning for home and scoring by half a length. The 4-year-old daughter of Fast Anna, trained by J. R. Caldwell, is now 18-7-3-0 and has earned $190,100. A two-time OBS graduate, she was sold by KP Sales at the 2020 October Yearling Sale and brought $30,000 when purchased out of the Fabian Sales consignment at the 2021 Spring Sale after an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. 

    Pocket Aces Racing and S B Stables LLC’s Takntothecleaners captured her first stakes win in the Opelousas Stakes on Saturday at Evangeline Downs, coming from behind and romping to a 4 1/2-length victory. Consigned by Fabian Sales to the 2020 OBS June Sale, she was sold for $15,000 after speeding a quarter in :21 2/5 aa the Under Tack Show. Trained by Ethan W. West, the 5-year-old mare by OBS graduate Secret Circle is now 14-6-1-3 and has earned $84,195.

Sunday, July 2, 2023
Wins 2 races on track's first program . . .
    OLDSMAR - History has a funny way of repeating itself on the racetrack. Just ask trainer Brian Lusk. 

    Two years ago on the second day of the Summer Festival of Racing at Tampa Bay Downs, Lusk sent out two winners. Since the July 1 card is officially the first day of the subsequent meet, Lusk was the Oldsmar oval’s leading trainer (tied with Earl Robinson, for super-serious historians) until late November of 2021. 

    Lusk saddled two winners Saturday, taking the top spot in the standings by himself until at least Nov. 22, when the 2023-2024 meet is expected to resume. And while his 4-year-old Florida-bred colt Sociallongdistance was 2-5 to win the fourth race, a 1-mile turf allowance, few among a festive July 4 weekend gathering foresaw Commander Keith’s victory in the seventh race at odds of 45-1 – except, perhaps, Lusk, who risked a $5 across-the-board wager on his horse. 

    “He always runs good off a layoff. When he won here in January (at odds of 67-1) it was his first race in almost seven months,” Lusk said. “And his last race before today was May 5, so he seems to run better when he doesn’t race that frequently.” 


    The 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding’s win payoff of $137.80 last winter was the largest of the 2022-2023 meet, and who knows how long it will take for a horse to surpass today’s $92.80 bonanza when the thoroughbreds return. Commander Keith is owned by Lusk’s mother Colleen Lusk, who took possession from his previous owner after a deal to sell him as a show horse fell through. 

    Jockey Mario Fuentes took Commander Keith back off a blistering pace set by Luis Two Guns and Fly Fly Away, and while those two faded, Commander Keith grabbed the lead in the stretch and held off a determined charge by Chess’s Dream by a nose. “(Fuentes) did a great job. He realized the pace was way too fast, and that was the difference,” Lusk said. 

    Commander Keith’s time for the 1-mile on the turf was 1:34.62, only .38 seconds off Sociallongdistance’s winning time. That winner was ridden by Jose L. Alonso and is owned by his breeder, Ricardo De Anda. 


    While Alonso rode two winners to take the top spot in the track jockey standings until Thanksgiving time, Marcos Meneses scored a victory and a second to nail down the $5,000 Jockeys’ Challenge title. Meneses rode three winners Friday, posting a lead too large for any of his rivals to mount a major threat. 

    Meneses accumulated 75 points over the two-day competition, 14 more than the runner-up, apprentice Laureano Sosa. Alonso, who won on 4-year-old filly Double Cosmo Girl in the eighth and final race on the turf, finished third with 58 points. 

    Meneses took home top prize of $2,500, with Sosa earning $1,500 and Alonso $1,000. 

“I’m very happy. That’s what I was looking for,” said Meneses, who had tied for second in last year’s Jockeys’ Challenge, a point behind Ademar Santos. “I’m grateful to Tampa Bay Downs for these two days and to the owners, trainers and people from Ocala who gave me all the opportunities.” 

    A victory in the third race on Luscious Dancer – the 3-year-old Florida-bred colt’s first in 15 career starts – gave Meneses the impetus to keep his closest pursuers resigned to a futile chase throughout the day.  

    The 11th annual Summer Festival of Racing also featured “all-you-can-eat” barbecue prepared by six of the top barbecue chefs in the Tamp
a Bay area. Patrons enjoyed brisket, chicken, pulled pork and ribs and a variety of side items during the Paddock Pitmasters competition throughout the afternoon while viewing the races. 

    As mentioned, Saturday day’s card was the first of the 2023-2024 meet, which is scheduled to resume on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving. The Summer Festival of Racing was begun in 2013 to enable Tampa Bay Downs to gain control of its summer simulcasting revenue.
Saturday, July 1, 2023
Breaks out of long slump . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Trainer Peter Walder collected his 1,000th career victory Friday at Gulfstream Park when Big Daddy Dave captured the Race 7 feature, a mile optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up on the main track.

    Walder, watching from New York, hardly had to sweat out No. 1,000, as Big Daddy Dave romped to an 11 ½-length victory under Miguel Vasquez as the 1-2 favorite.

    “It feels awesome. We were 0-for-6 weeks when we were stuck on 997. Everyone knows I’m as streaky as all heck. We went 0-for-6 weeks and then we win three in a row,” Walder said. “I didn’t think it was a big deal, then as it got closer, I started getting nervous. Like [Gulfstream announcer] Pete Aiello said, it’s hard to win one let alone 1,000. Now we’ll have to work on 2,000.”

    Walder, a Montreal native, attended Niagara University on a baseball scholarship but went on to work as a groom for Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield at Woodbine upon sustaining an injury that derailed his pitching career. After obtaining his training license, Walder notched his first victory with his fifth starter, Irish Gal, at Woodbine on Nov. 30, 1994.

    The 54-year-old trainer, who has campaigned in the Mid-Atlantic and South Florida for many years, is currently splitting his time between South Florida, New York and the Mid-Atlantic.

    “It was really nice to do it at Gulfstream. Gulfstream’s my home track. It’s forever in my heart,” Walder said. “I’ve supported that place as long as I’ve been training. I’m glad I got it there. It means a lot to me.”

    Walder has distinguished himself as an astute claiming trainer, who has achieved considerable success in improving the performances of horses acquired via the claiming route. Perhaps more impressive than his career win total is the 22-percent winning percentage he has compiled from his 4,468 starters.

    Note: Nader Moubarak notched his first career training victory with Harrington ($9.20) in Friday’s Race 2. Harrington was the 12th starter for Moubarak, the son of trainer Mohamed Moubarak.
Saturday, July 1, 2023
He has 3 winners in $5,000 competition . . .

    OLDSMAR - Three weeks ago, jockey Marcos Meneses entered a world reserved for a handful of members of his profession when he rode long shot Il Miracolo in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, the third leg of the Triple Crown. 

    Meneses’s 3-year-old colt finished seventh in the nine-horse field, more than 15 lengths behind winner Arcangelo, trained by Jena Antonucci. But losing did nothing to diminish the experience and the memories of riding in one of the world’s most famous races against some of the best jockeys on the planet. 

    “I’ve never felt something like that. It was the best experience of my career,” Meneses said. 


    The 37-year-old Venezuela product had a performance he’ll remember for a while Friday at Tampa Bay Downs, riding three winners on the first day of the 11th annual Summer Festival of Racing to take a commanding lead in the $5,000 Jockeys’ Challenge. 

    With six mounts on today’s card, which begins at 11:30 a.m., Meneses is well-positioned to take home the $2,500 first prize. He has 40 points, leading runner-up Jose L. Alonso with 30 and third-place Richard Bracho with 28. Today’s three-bagger came on the official final day of the 2022-2023 Oldsmar meeting, giving Meneses 48 victories and a sixth-place finish in the standings. 

    The nature of the sport provides jockeys little time to bask in their accomplishments, at least until they’re retired and leafing through scrapbooks with the grandkids. But Meneses, 37, is unlikely to forget the atmosphere surrounding the Belmont, which marked the first Triple Crown victory by a female trainer. 

    First came his walk to the paddock with luminaries such as Hall of Famers Javier Castellano (the winner) and John Velazquez; the Ortiz brothers, Irad and Jose; and four other guys much better known to the average fan than Meneses. 

    He really started to grasp the magnitude of the occasion during the post parade. “The noise in the grandstand was freakin’ crazy. Everyone was so excited, and I never felt something like that,” he said. “It was such a pleasure to ride in that race. I was a little nervous, but I tried to enjoy the moment. My horse didn’t do much, but it was OK.” 

    Il Miracolo was entered in the Belmont after winning an allowance/optional claiming race on May 11 at Gulfstream under Meneses for trainer Antonio Sano. 

    No one can forecast when such an opportunity will come again, but Meneses’s career seems to be on the upswing. His ambition is to ride regularly at some of the biggest tracks in the country within the next few years. 

    Bottom line: “I love my job. I love being a jockey, and I try to do my best every time at every track every day I ride.” 

    Meneses won Friday’s second race on 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding Runaway Tom for owner Tage Boohit and trainer Karyn Philipp. He added the fifth on the turf on 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding Hasn’t Had Enough for owners Del Sol Farm and Louis Clarizio, III and trainer Moises Yanez and the sixth on 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding Poseidon’s Son for owner Sya’s Farm and trainer Wlaimar Suarez. 

    Bracho rode two winners, both for breeder-owner-trainer Dennis Manning. They won the first on the turf with Verifiable, a 3-year-old Florida-bred filly, and the fourth, also on the grass, with 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding Street Glide.
 

    Paddock Pitmasters feast set for today.

    By mid-afternoon Friday, expert barbecue chefs will have begun cooking for the inaugural Paddock Pitmasters competition on Saturday, featuring the mouth-watering brisket, chicken, pulled pork and ribs to be offered throughout the second and final day of the Summer Festival of Racing. 

    Tickets are $25 ($10 for children 12-and-under) and entitle buyers to taste the best barbecue seven chefs have to offer. Fans will have an opportunity to vote for the best in each category, a “Grand Champion” and a “People’s Choice” winner. 


    Tickets may be purchased at the site (in the Cabanas on the first floor of the Grandstand) or online at www.eventbrite.com . Food should be available soon after 11 a.m.

Saturday, July 1, 2023
More than $1.4 million bet Friday . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 pool Friday at Gulfstream Park yielded multiple $3,061 payoffs.

    The multi-race wager had gone unsolved for nine consecutive days, producing a carryover jackpot of $149,053 heading into Friday’s mandatory payout. A total of S1,448,892 was wagered into the Rainbow 6 pool Friday.

    The Rainbow 6 sequence spanned Races 3-8. The winning combination was 5-2-7-1-7-1.

    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.


    The Rainbow 6 will start anew on today’s 11-race program. The Rainbow 6 sequence will span races 6-11, headlined by the $100,000, Gr. II Smile Sprint in Race 10.

Friday, June 30, 2023
Oldsmar track in action today and Saturday . . .
    OLDSMAR - Racing fans can get their Fourth of July weekend off to an exciting start by attending the 11th annual of Summer Festival Racing at Tampa Bay Downs today and Saturday.  

    Both cards consist of eight races, with six on the track’s vaunted turf course today and five on the turf Saturday. Post time for the first race both days is 11:30 a.m. 

    Admission is free and, as always, fans will be able to wager on simulcast racing action from around the nation in addition to the Tampa Bay Downs races. On Saturday, the track will host its inaugural “Paddock Pitmasters” competition, with ticket-holders for the event invited to judge the offerings of many of the area’s leading barbecue chefs serving delicious brisket, chicken, pulled pork and rib plates. 

    Tickets for Saturday’s “Paddock Pitmasters” offerings are $25 ($10 for children 12-and-under) and are available online at www.eventbrite.com or on Saturday in the Grandstand Cabanas area, where the barbecue will be served. Customer voting will determine the “People’s Choice Award,” the “Grand Champion” and other winners, who will receive trophies and cash prizes.  

    On the racetrack, riders will compete throughout the two days in the $5,000 Jockeys’ Challenge, with the winner receiving $2,500, the runner-up earning $1,500 and the third-place finisher collecting $1,000. Ademar Santos will be vying for his fifth Jockeys’ Challenge title, but is named to ride only nine races, putting him at a distinct disadvantage against those jockeys with 10 or more assignments since the competition is a cumulative points affair, with 8 points awarded to the winner of each race, 7 for second, 6 for third and down to 1 for eighth. 

    The “post-time favorite” is Marcos Meneses, whose 45 victories at last season’s meet – good for sixth place – were the most of any Jockeys’ Challenge participant. Meneses, who is based at Gulfstream Park, competed in the Belmont Stakes on June 10, riding Il Miracolo to a seventh-place finish. 

    Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s both days, and spectators are urged to keep themselves well-hydrated throughout. Some relief is expected by midday Saturday, but track officials are stressing thorough preparation for the unseasonable weather. Trainers, jockeys and handlers will be on full alert for signs of heat stress among their horses. 

    The Summer Festival of Racing originated in 2013 as a means to give Tampa Bay Downs greater control over its summer simulcast revenue. For record-keeping purposes, today’s card counts as the final day of the 2022-2023 meet, with Saturday’s races comprising the first day of the 2023-2024 season. 

    Tampa Bay Downs plans to then resume its 98th anniversary season on Wednesday, Nov. 22. 
Monday, June 26, 2023
Trainer has 999 victories . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - A mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 pool is scheduled for Friday’s program at Gulfstream Park, where the multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the seventh day following a jackpot hit for $263,655 on June 4.

    The carryover jackpot pool stands a $149,053.69 heading into Friday’s card.

    The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 3-8, featuring an optional claiming allowance with a likely favorite that may well be a popular ‘single’ in Race 5. Terri Pompay-trained Smart Striker will make his first start since finishing second in the Not Surprising Stakes in Friday’s mile-and-70-yard race on Tapeta for Florida-bred 3-year-olds.

    Trainer Peter Walder, who notched his 999th career victory with Royal Kitten in Sunday’s Race 6, will have his next shot at the 1,000-win milestone with two entries in Friday’s Race 7, a mile optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up on the main track. Slim Slow Slider, a winner two starts back in a mile optional claiming allowance, and Big Daddy Dave, who finished second at a mile in his most recent start, will represent Walder in an eight-horse field.

Sunday, June 25, 2023
Bucchero headed for Tyro at Monmouth . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Mattingly followed up a promising runner-up finish in the May 13 Royal Palm Juvenile Turf with a thoroughly professional and dominating victory Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

    The Joe Orseno-trained son of Bucchero broke alertly from the rail post position, a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight test for 2-year-olds on Tapeta, shook off early pressure applied by 2-1 second choice Zingales King, before drawing away to a 5 ¾ -length victory under Edgar Perez.

    Mattingly was sent to post as the 2-5 favorite on the strength of his most promising debut, in which he pressed the early pace set by eventual winner No Nay Mets before settling for a solid second-place finish in the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile Turf.


     “He’s a nice horse. I waited for this race. I could have run him against Florida-breds earlier, but I’m glad I waited,” Orseno said. “I’m very happy with his race today.”

    Mattingly, who is owned by Ironhorse Stable and Harlow Stables, ran 5 ½ furlongs in 1:04.38. Titan finished second, 6 ¾ lengths ahead of Zingales King.

  Orseno’s next target for Mattingly is the July 30 Tyro, a five-furlong turf dash, at Monmouth Park. “We know he likes turf,” Orseno said. “It looks like a good race for him.”

    Orseno also saddled Hot Foot Susie for a victory in Race 5 to close within eight wins of the 1,000-win milestone.

Lightning Tones Rallies from Last to win Carry Back

   Trainer Dan Hurtak’s Lightning Tones had nearly lost contact with the field along the backstretch before launching a furious rally in deep stretch to pull off a 28-1 upset victory in the $75,000 Carry Back.

    The son of Tonalist dropped back right out of the starting gate as multiple stakes-winner Super Chow, the even-money favorite ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, shot to lead in the backstretch run of the seven-furlong stakes for 3-year-olds.

    Super Chow set fractions of :21.81 and :44.27 and held a clear lead into the stretch, pursued by Khozeiress, Zydeceaux, and Swirvin, with Lightning Tones still seemingly well out of contention. Super Chow began to shorten stride in mid-stretch as Khozeiress loomed as the likely winner approaching the finish, only to have Lightning Tones suddenly appear on the far outside just in the nick of time to score an unlikely victory by a nose.

     “I had no expectations, but I never gave up,” jockey Marco Meneses said. “There was so much speed, I just relaxed my horse and at the three-eighths [pole] he just flew.”

    Claimed for $12,500 two starts back, Lightning Tones ran seven furlongs in 1:23.18 for his third victory in 10 career starts. Khozeiress finished three-quarters of a length ahead of third-place finisher Super Chow.

Saturday, June 24, 2023
Hall of Fame rider retired on Tuesday . . .

    LAUREL, MD – In the days since announcing his retirement earlier this week, Edgar Prado has spent time reading, listening and answering a seemingly endless number of texts, phone calls and social media posts and tributes to his long and successful Hall of Fame riding career.

    The thanks and well wishes came, and are still coming, from around the racing world including Maryland, where the recently turned 56-year-old native of Peru rose to national prominence in the 1990s and still considers home.

    “It really touched my heart. I have a lot of friends still in Maryland. The phone was ringing off the hook. I’m sorry that I couldn’t answer everyone,” Prado said. “It was a great feeling that I had some people that took the time to wish me happy retirement. I really enjoy the good memories together, either as a fan, as a trainer, groom, hotwalker. They still text me, so that was a great feeling. It’s not only the cream of the crop, it was all the way from top to bottom. That makes me feel good.”

Though Prado launched his career in South Florida, debuting in April 1986 at Hialeah and bagging his first U.S. winner that June at Calder Race Course, then spent a short but successful time at Suffolk Downs in Boston, it was Maryland where his career took off and catapulted him to stardom.

Riding first call for trainer Bob Klesaris, who initially brought him from Florida to Massachusetts, Prado scored his first Maryland victory aboard $42 long shot Long Allure May 14, 1989 at Laurel Park. Equibase statistics show he would go on to win 2,098 more races at Laurel, another 1,241 at historic Pimlico Race Course and three at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

His 3,343 Maryland wins account for 46.9 percent of his career total of 7,119, which ranks him eighth all-time among North American riders and makes him one of just 10 to reach the 7,000 mark. He is ninth overall in purse earnings at $272,008,849, with $58,808,451 (21.6 percent) earned in Maryland, according to Equibase.

“Definitely, Maryland was my starting ground. It launched my career forward. The people received me so well over there and I was able to accomplish a lot and get to win a lot of races and put my name on the map,” Prado said. “It wasn’t only one year or two years. I did it for 10 years, 11 years, and I’m proud of that.

“I’ll always be so thankful that Maryland opened the door and gave me the opportunity. They made me their adopted son from Peru, and I was able to do my job and we did it great,” he added. “It was very sad to leave Maryland to test the waters and try something different, but by the same token if I wanted to go to the next level I had to do it when I did. This sport is getting younger and younger so I decided to try and see if I could do it in New York.”

    Prado won 33 graded stakes in Maryland including his first of 83 lifetime Grade 1s in the 1991 Washington D.C. International at Laurel aboard Leariva. He would add another Grade 1 Maryland triumph in the 2007 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash, also at Laurel, on 2008 male sprint champion Benny the Bull.

    In addition, Prado won multiple editions of races such as the Dixie (G2), General George (G2), Selima (G3), Laurel Turf Cup (G3), Gallorette (G3), Carousel (G3), Laurel Futurity (G3) and Martha Washington (G3), and also captured the 2007 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) with Panty Raid and 2005 Barbara Fritchie (G2) on Cativa.

    During his time in Maryland, Prado led the state in wins six times and topped all North American jockeys in wins from 1997-99, recording more than 400 victories each year including an incredible 535 in 1997. He captured 14 riding titles at Pimlico and another 10 at Laurel before moving his tack to New York starting in the summer of 1999 at Saratoga.

    A winner of 343 career graded stakes, Prado is best known for his success with 2006 Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Barbaro, chronicling their journey together in the best-selling book My Guy Barbaro. Prado won five Breeders’ Cup races and two other Triple Crown events, ending the Triple Crown bids of War Emblem on 70-1 long shot Sarava in 2002 and Smarty Jones with 24-1 Birdstone in 2004.

    The Eclipse Award champion jockey of 2006, when he earned a career-best $19.76 million in purses, Prado was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2008, choosing Klesaris to present him his plaque. He was also selected for the George Woolf (2003) and Mike Venezia (2006) memorial awards in voting by his peers.

    “I think the biggest day or the highlight of my career is winning the Kentucky Derby with Barbaro. I’ve known [trainer] Michael Matz for a long time. I had been riding for him. I think every jockey’s dream is winning the Derby. The Kentucky Derby is global. It’s an international race. If you’re from Peru and you don’t have a chance to travel everywhere, that’s going to be your dream.

    “It’s the same thing for jockeys all over the world. It was a blessing. It was one of the greatest experiences of my career, to ride that kind of horse in front of so many people and be so impressive. I had part of my family there,” he added. “And the things that he horse went through after that, it shows you that this game can take you to the highest level and make you humble the next day. I had to continue and make the best out of that. You can’t let the lows keep you low. The sun is bright out there.”

    Prado returned to the Mid-Atlantic circuit with Maryland as his home base in May 2016, winning the Laurel Dash and Safely Kept that year. In 2018, he became the all-time winningest jockey in Maryland Million history with his 18th victory, breaking a tie with fellow Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez in the Classic aboard Saratoga Bob.

    Nearly two decades after he left, Prado was touched by the reception he received from everyone upon his return to Maryland.

    “Especially the fans,” he said. “All the trainers and owners, they give me the opportunity. Sometimes you’re feeling great, you want to do great things and you’re working hard, but a lot of the owners and trainers that I used to ride were gone, so you have to prove yourself. You have to be on top of that every day. I was lucky to win a couple stakes for [trainers John] Salzman and Katy Voss in the Maryland Million. It’s my record for now, until someone else breaks it.”

    Ultimately, Prado ended his career where it began, in South Florida. He had fewer than 100 mounts for the first time in 2022 and only two starts this year, finishing seventh on maiden Miss McBride Jan. 6 in his final mount.

    “It was a tough decision to make in the beginning. My son just graduated from school, that’s another accomplishment in my career as a father and a family. He’s the last one out of three. I turned 56 June 12, so that was two reasons,” Prado said. “The older I get the less chance I will have to ride. If I go down, I have more of a chance to get hurt, too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid to ride, but my kids are afraid I’ll get hurt.

    “I plan to spend some time with my wife, the grandkids. The family’s getting big. Take care of the things I couldn’t do when I was riding,” he added. “I see my family come for my birthday and we have fun and laugh and all that. I said, ‘Look at all these things that I missed because I was trying to accomplish something.’ That’s the price you have to pay to be successful, I guess. The territory is not easy. It comes with ups and downs, and you have to just continue to go.”

    Prado is on the go this weekend, taking part in Saturday’s Jockeys and Jeans, a fundraiser for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund in its ninth year and first in Las Vegas. After that he plans to head to California to visit his son, and he’s been getting inquiries about visiting Old Friends in Kentucky.

    “It’s where Sarava and Birdstone are. I went to see them last year,” Prado said. “Sarava’s getting old; they’re both getting up there. They want to make it a big retirement party.”

    As for the future, Prado plans to sit back and enjoy the ride – for now.

    “I’m trying to take it easy, travel a little bit, me and my wife, go see my kids here and there, and I’ll go from there. We’ll see what happens,” he said. “Maybe something will show up. Maybe a steward or a bloodstock agent or a jockey agent. It’s a very competitive world out there now.”

Thursday, June 22, 2023
Son of Bucchero was 2nd in Royal Palm . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Mattingly, who finished a promising second behind No Nay Mets in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes on May 13, will make his anxiously awaited return to action Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

    The Joe Orseno-trained son of Bucchero has been installed at 4-5 in the morning line  in Race 3, a $65,000 maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds at 5 ½ furlongs on Tapeta.

    “It was testing my patience to wait for this race, but this was my plan. I could have run in a Florida-bred race [on dirt], but I decided to stick to my guns and wait for the race that I picked out,” Orseno said. “He’s ready. I can’t wait to run him.”

    Mattingly put pressure on the front-running No Nay Mets into the stretch before settling for second while making his debut in the Royal Palm Juvenile, a five-furlong turf stakes that offered the winner a berth in one of six races at the June 20-24 Royal Ascot meet.

    “The bottom line is that he was nowhere near ready, but we were trying to get that ‘win-and-you’re-in’ at Royal Ascot. I figured the rest of the horses were as ready as him. In the perfect world, I wasn’t able to do half the things I normally do before a horse’s first start,” Orseno said. “He overcame all of it. I think if he was fitter that day, he might have won the race.”

    No Nay Mets, who won the Royal Ascot qualifying race, was sold Monday for more than $1 million at the Goff’s London sale before finishing off the board in Thursday’s Gr. II Norfolk at Ascot Racecourse.

    Mattingly will be making his debut on Gulfstream’s all-weather surface while facing six rivals.

    “I have quite a few by that sire, Bucchero, and they seem to be Tapeta/turf specialists,” Orseno said. “I’m not saying they can’t run on dirt, but they handle the Tapeta well. I’m expecting a big effort from him.”

    Edgar Perez has the return mount aboard Mattingly, who was purchased for $75,000 at the OBS March sale for 2-year-olds in training.

    “I bought him in Ocala. When I saw him and watched his under-tack video, when I went and looked at him and saw how well-balanced he was and his confirmation, everything about him just struck me,” Orseno said. “I wasn’t supposed to go as high as I did. I had to have him. Everybody was OK with that.”

Defending Champion Willy Boi Tops G3 Smile Sprint Nominations

    Lea Farms’s Willy Boi tops a list of 11 nominations for the $100,000, Gr. III Smile Sprint, which the Jorge Delgado-trained gelding captured by a length last year.

    The July 1 Smile, a six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up, headlines Gulfstream’s Summit of Speed Weekend, which will also include the $75,000 Bob Umphrey Sprint on July 2.

    Willy Boi, a Gr. 1 stakes-placed son of Uncaptured, is still looking for his first victory this season. The Florida-bred 5-year-old is accompanied on the Smile nominations list by Lea Farms' Lightening Larry, a 4-year-old son of Uncaptured also trained by Delgado.

    Stud Vendeval Inc. and trainer Amador Sanchez’s Todo Fino, who has won his last five starts in Chile and the U.S., is also prominent among the Smile nominees. The Chilean-bred 6-year-old son of Verrazano has won 11 of 16 career starts, including a pair of allowance victories at Del Mar and Santa Anita last season in his two most recent races.

    Keith Johnston’s Big and Classy is nominated to make his stakes debut in the Smile after winning six races in a row. The Bobby DiBona-trained 4-year-old gelding has advanced from the $20,000 claiming ranks to dominate optional claiming allowance company in recent starts.

    Zenith Racing’s Long Range Toddy, a Gr. 2-winning millionaire recently transferred to trainer Victor Barboza Jr., is also a Smile nominee.

    The Bob Umphrey Sprint, a 5 ½-furlong dash on Tapeta, drew 13 nominations.

Thursday, June 22, 2023
Nyquist filly was a $100,000 OBS purchase . . .

    R. A.Hill/Swinbank/Black Ridge/Black Type’s Crimson Advocate made the most of the trip to Ascot she earned by winning Gulfstream’s Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes in May.

    The 2-year-old daughter of Nyquist used her early speed to good advantage, then held on to win the Gr. II Queen Mary Stakes by a nose. Now 3-2-0-1 with earnings of $138,047 for trainer George Weaver, she was purchased for $100,000 out of the Beth Bayer consignment at the 2022 October Selected Yearling Sale

Monday, June 19, 2023
Muth became a Rising 'Star' . . .
    Zedan Racing Stables’ 2023 OBS March sale topper, Muth, earned TDN Rising Star status with an impressive performance in his debut in a maiden special test on Sunday at Santa Anita. The 2-year-old colt by Good Magic, trained by Bob Baffert, bounced right to the lead, set a rapid pace, opened a big lead on the turn and coasted under wraps to an 8 3/4-length victory. Consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, he was purchased by Donato Lanni, Agent, for a sale record-equaling $2 million after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :9 3/5. 

    Lugamo Racing Stable’s Petulante tried stakes company for the first time in Saturday’s $155,000, Gr. III Salvator Mile Stakes at Monmouth. He saved ground early, swung out for the drive, wore down the leaders and scored by half a length. It’s the third straight win for the 4-year-old colt by Arrogate, sold for $40,000 at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale by Old South Farm, Agent, after breezing an eighth in :10 2/5 at the Under Tack Show. Trained by Victor Barboza, Jr., he’s now 8-4-2-0 and has earned $236,555. 

    BC Racing’s Flakes sat just off the leaders in Gulfstream’s $75,000 Game Face Stakes, took command in the stretch and gamely held off a late charge to win by a neck. It’s the first stakes victory for the 4-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Frosted, trained by Juan Alvarado, now 6-3-1-1 with $173,330 in earnings. After breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5, she was purchased for $50,000 out of the Arindel consignment at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale.
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Daughter of Brethren wins by a neck . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Flakes, who set the pace before finishing third in the April 1 Gr. II Gulfstream Park Oaks, captured her first stakes victory Saturday in the $75,000 Game Face while cutting back in distance.

    The daughter of Brethren, who earned a $25,000 bonus offered for a Florida-bred winner in addition to the winner’s share of the purse, rated off the pace in the 6 ½-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies before taking over the lead at the top of the stretch and holding off a tenacious Charlie’s Wish to win by a neck.

    Flakes was coming off a second-place finish in a mile optional claiming race in her return from a game runner-up finish in the 1 1/16-mile Gulfstream Park Oaks.

    Juan Alvarado-trained Flakes, the 9-5 second choice ridden by Edgard Zayas, ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:17.26 over Gulfstream’s sealed muddy track for Brian Cohen’s BC Racing.

  “We always thought seven-eighths would be her best distance, but she was training well, and we just figured we’d try [the Gulfstream Park Oaks],” Cohen said. “I think 6 ½ or seven furlongs, especially if she gets an outside post so she can stalk the pace, is nice for her.”

    Royalight Racing’s Charlie’s Wish, by First Dude, the 8-5 favorite, finished 4 ¾ lengths clear of Pachuca.


In Race 10, the $60,000 Biscayne Park, Talkin Tipsy took full advantage of sitting behind a four-abreast pace duel to capture the 5 ½-furlong overnight handicap for fillies and mares on Tapeta with a late stretch rally. The James Gulick-trained 4-year-old filly ($14.40) raced the distance in 1:03.51 under Edgar Perez while receiving seven pounds from 125-pound high-weight and favorite Choose Joy, who faded to finish off the board after contesting the pace between horses. Moor Strength also rallied to finish second, 2 ¼ lengths behind Talkin Tipsy and a half-length ahead of Sassy Beast.

Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed 

  The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved Saturday for the fourth day following a jackpot hit for $263,655, producing a $100,000 gross jackpot guarantee for today's Father’s Day program.

The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4- 9, featuring a highly competitive starter allowance for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and 70 yards on Tapeta in Race 8. Marc Casse-trained Volcanic, who romped to a 4 ½-length victory in his first start on Tapeta last time out, is rated as the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Jose D’Angelo-trained Mo Vanishing, who graduated by 3 ½ lengths in a two-turn maiden special weight race on Tapeta last out; and the Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained duo of Stride, who scored on turf in his first start for the Royal Palm Meet’s leading trainer, and Empire Attraction, who finished second in his last two starts against tougher; are also prominent entrants.

Gabriel Maldonado Notches First Win 

    Gabriel Maldonado registered the first victory of his career Saturday while guiding Sir Kahn, a 29-1 outsider, to a last-to-first win.
    The 10-pound  apprentice saved ground aboard Sir Kahn in Race 4, a seven-furlong claiming race that was contested on a sloppy track, sending the Daniel Pita inside leader Moped Dennis on the turn into the homestretch on his way to victory. The 24-year-old native of Puerto Rico had 14 previous mounts, all this year at Gulfstream.


Friday, June 16, 2023
$475,000 2yo tops final session . . .

    HIP No. 1074, a son of Into Mischief consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, went to John Fahey for $475,000 to top the third and final session of the 2023 OBS June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age. The bay colt, who breezed a quarter in :21 flat at Saturday’s Under Tack session, is out of champion OBS graduate Delightful Mary, by Limehouse, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Delightful Kiss.

    Hip No. 868, Victory Avenue, a son of Arrogate consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent, was sold to Marquee Bloodstock, Agent, for $375,000. The dark bay or brown colt, whose Under Tack eighth on Friday was the session’s co-fastest, is out of Epic Scataway, by Scat Daddy, from the family of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Caller One, a two-time winner of the Gr. I. Golden Shaheen.

   HIP  No. 1066, a daughter of Flameaway consigned by Julie Davies, Agent, went to Justin Casse for $370,000. The gray or roan filly, who breezed an eighth in :9 4/5 on Saturday, is out of Tomato Bisque, by Macho Uno, a full sister to graded stakes winner Macho Macho.    

  Three Amigos went to $300,000 for Hip No. 1072, a son of Vino Rosso consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales, Agent. The chestnut colt, whose quarter in :20 4/5 was the fastest at the distance on Saturday, is out of Deanaallen’skitten, by Kitten’s Joy, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Darling Daughter.

    Donato Lanni, Agent for Baoma Corp., went to $160,000 for Hip No. 901, a daughter of Constitution, consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent. The dark bay or brown filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat at Saturday’s Under Tack session, is out of stakes-winner Five Star Rampage, by Quality Road, from the family of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Cabo Spirit.

    HIP No. 1046, Dauf Time, a daughter of Not This Time consigned by Classic Bloodstock, Agent, was purchased by Robert Lambe for $190,000. The chestnut filly, who worked an eighth in :10 1/5 on Saturday, is out of Paradise Bird, by Summer B a half-sister to stakes-winner Come Fly Away.

    Hip No. 1068, a son of Good Magic consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales, Agent, went to Luis Gavignano for $160,000. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth on Saturday in :10 1/5, is out of Annathela, by Elusive Quality, from the family of graded stakes-winner Glowing Honor.

    Hip No. 726, a son of Candy Ride (ARG) consigned by Caliente Thoroughbreds, was sold to Eddie Kenneally, Agent, for $140,000. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Friday, is out of Catch the Magic, by Animal Kingdom, a half-sister to Gr. I stakes winner Smooth Roller.

    Legion Bloodstock, Agent, paid $135,000 for Hip No. 1079, a daughter of Tapiture consigned by Grade One Investments, Agent. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth on Saturday in :9 4/5, is a half-sister to stakes-winning OBS graduate Howdyoumakeurmoney out of Exclusively Yours, by Elusive Quality.

    Hip No. 920, a daughter of Constitution consigned by Paul Sharp, Agent, was sold for $130,000 to Marquee Bloodstock, Agent. The dark bay or brown filly, who breezed an eighth on Saturday in :10 flat, is out of OBS graduate Fugacious Dancer, by Afleet Alex, from the family of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Overture.

    For the third session, 200 2-year-olds brought $8,455,800, compared with 214 selling for  $9,714,400 at last year’s third session. The average price was $42,279, compared with $45,394 in 2022 while the median price was $25,000 compared with $24,500 a year ago. The buyback percentage 17.7%; it was 17.4% last year.

     On Thursday, five older horses sold for $59,000, averaging $11,800 with an $8,000 median figure.

    For the entire sale, 646 horses brought $24,109,900 compared with 671 selling for $27,137,000 last year.  The average price was $37,322, compared with $40,443 in 2022 while the median price was $20,000 compared with $23,000 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 16.1%; it was 17.2% last year.

Thursday, June 15, 2023
Clay Scherer pays $485,000 . . .

     Hip No. 430, a son of Blame consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was sold to Clay Scherer, Agent, for $485,000 to top session two of the 2023 OBS June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age. The dark bay or brown colt, whose quarter in :20 3/5 was the co-fastest at the distance at Wednesday’s Under Tack session, is out of Soul Spirit, by A. P. Indy, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Journey Home.

    Robert B. Hess Jr. went to $250,000 for Hip No. 519, a son of Nyquist consigned by Britton Peak, Agent. Out of stakes- placed Tough Irma, by Stormy Atlantic, a half-sister to Gr. I stakes-winning OBS graduate Turbo Compressor, the dark bay or brown colt turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 on Wednesday.

    Hip No. 494, Morethantaleclass, a daughter of More Than Ready consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent, was purchased for $220,000 by Boardshorts Racing Stables. The dark bay or brown filly, who turned in an Under Tack quarter on Wednesday in :20 4/5, is out of Tale of Class, by Tale of Ekati, from the family of champion Sky Classic.

    Hip No. 570, a son of City of Light also consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was sold to Mike Maker for $200,000. The bay colt, whose eighth in :9 4/5 was the fastest at the distance at Thursday’s Under Tack Session, is a half brother to graded stakes placed stakes winner Jessica Krupnick out of Wear Red, by Henny Hughes, a half sister to grade one stakes winner Eskendereya.

    Hip No. 554, a daughter of Gun Runner consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, was sold to Ben Gase for $180,000. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Thursday, is out of Vickie Wins, by Unbridled’s Song, a daughter of Gr. I stakes- winner Mistical Plan.

    Hip No. 462, a son of Demarchelier (GB) consigned by Woodside Ranch, Agent, was purchased by 30 Year Farm & Team Hanley for $140,000. The dark bay or brown colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Wednesday, is a half- brother to stakes-placed Circle Back Jack out of Sucat, by Medaglia d’Oro, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winning OBS graduate The Reds.

    Repole Stable Inc. paid $140,000 for Hip No. 564, a son of Arrogate who turned in an Under Tack eighth on Thursday in :10 2/5. Consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, the bay colt is out of graded stakes-placed Wall of Compassion, by Jimmy Creed, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Ladyecho.

    Hip No 571, a son of Midshipman consigned by McKathan Bros. Sales, Agent, was purchased by J. R. Boyd, Agent for Equine Breeders, for $140,000. The chestnut colt, who worked a quarter in :21 1/5 on Thursday, is a half-brother to stakes- placed Weekend Rags out of Weekend, by Henny Hughes, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Winchester.

    Hip No. 394, a son of OBS graduate Collected consigned by Really and Truly Thoroughbreds, was sold to Madaket Stables for $120,000. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Wednesday, is a half-brother to stakes- placed Night Time out of Silent Joy, by Kitten’s Joy, a full sister to graded stakes-winner Emotional Kitten.

    The buyback percentage 21.9%; it was 13.6% last year. For the session, 200 horses brought $7,207,700 compared with 234 sellins for $9,831,600 at last year’s second session. The average price was $36,039, compared with $42,015 in 2022 while the median price was $20,000 compared with $25,000 a year ago.






Sunday, June 11, 2023
Adare Manor sold for $375,000 . . .

    Michael Lund Petersen’s OBS June graduate Adare Manor bumped with fellow OBS graduate Desert Dawn (October ’20) at the start of Saturday’s $200,000, Gr. II Santa Margarita Stakes at Santa Anita, but she went to the front, opened a long lead in the stretch and coasted to a 4 1/2-length victory, with Desert Dawn checking in third.

    It’s the second straight graded stakes win for the 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, purchased for $375,000 out of the Julie Davies consignment at the 2001 OBS June Sale by Donato Lanni, Agent, after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Trained by Bob Baffert, she has compiled an 11-5-4-0 career record and earned $621,000.  

    Omar Aldabbagh and Jeff Ganje’s Shotgun Hottie battled for the lead in the early going of Monmouth’s $100,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes, took command in the stretch and drew away in hand to win by 5 1/2-lengths. It’s the second stakes victory for the 4-year-old graded stakes-placed filly by Gun Runner, trained by Cherie DeVaux, now 14-4-4-2 with $470,607 in earnings. Consigned to the 2021 OBS Spring Sale by Gene Recio, Agent, she was sold for $45,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 3/5.  

Saturday, June 10, 2023
Quarters in :20 3/5 at fifth OBS session . . .

    Fillies by Bucchero and Street Boss breezed quarters in :20 3/5, sharing honors for the fastest work at the distance at the fifth session of the 2023 OBS June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age.

    Hip No. 785, Bucchero Lady, a chestnut filly by OBS June graduate Bucchero consigned by Blue River Bloodstock, Agent, is out of Corfu Lady, by Corfu, from the familyded of gra stakes-winner Halo’s Image. 

 Hip No. 817, a chestnut filly by Street Boss consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, Agent, is out of Desperate Chick, by Tribal Rule, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Native Bombshell.

Eight horses breezed an eighth in :10 flat, sharing honors for the session’s fastest at the distance

    HIP 733, a gray or roan filly by Twirling Candy out of Cauy’s Humor by Distorted Humor, is consigned by Grassroots Training & Sales.

    Hip 745, a dark bay or brown colt by Solomini out of Cheyenne Autumn by Indian Charlie, is consigned by Britton Peak,  Agent.

    Hip 787, a bay colt by OBS graduate The Big Beast out of Countess Martine by Treasure Beach (GB), is consigned by AVP Training and Sales, Agent. 

    Hip 806, a chestnut colt by OBS graduate Klimt out of Dark Channel by English Channel, is consigned by Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds.

    Hip 853, a bay filly by Redesdale out of Elba’s First by Tiz Wonderful, is consigned by Harris Training Center LLC, Agent.

    Hip 868, a dark bay or brown colt by Arrogate out of Epic Scataway by Scat Daddy consigned by Hartley / DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent. 

    Hip 878, a bay colt by St Patrick’s Day out of Eye of Ra by Leroidesanimaux (BRZ), is consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, Agent.

     HIP 900, a gray or roan colt by Yoshida (JPN) out of First U Make Aroux by Due Date, is consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, Agent. 

    HIP No. 813, a dark bay or brown colt by Justify consigned by Golden Rock Thoroughbreds, Agent, turned in a quarter in :21 flat. He’s a half-brother to stakes-winner Green Destiny out of stakes-inner Defy Gravity, by Bandini. 

Three horses breezed quarters in :21 1/5.

    Hip No. 739, Matching Hats, a chestnut colt by Gormley consigned by S B M Training and Sales, Agent, is out of Charming Emmy, by Sky Mesa, a full sister to stakes-winner Sapphire Sky. 

    Hip No. 721, a dark bay or brown colt by Vino Rosso consigned by Ocala Stud, is out of Caragh Queen, by Hard Spun, a half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. 

   Hip No. 775 , a bay filly by Tale of the Cat consigned by Coastal Equine LLC (Jesse Hoppel), Agent, is a three-quarter sister to Gr. I stakes-placed Luminance out of Commentary, by The Factor.

   HIP No. 871, a son of millionaire OBS graduate Carpe Diem consigned by Skie Thoroughbreds, breezed three eighths in :33 4/5. The dark bay brown colt is out of Essentia, by Hat Trick (JPN), a half-sister to champion Big Brown.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Esperon turns in :20 1/5 quarter . . .

    Hip No. 347, Esperon, a son of OBS graduate Chitu consigned by Silvestre Chavez Thoroughbreds, Agent, sped a quarter in a track record-equaling :20 1/5, posting the fastest work at the distance at the second session of the Under Tack Show for Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 June Sale of 2-Year Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age. The bay colt is out of stakes-placed Satan’s Mistress, by Songandaprayer, a daughter of stakes-winner ShezaNasty Lady.

Two youngsters shared honors for the session’s fastest eighth, clocked in :9 4/5.

    Hip No. 346, a dark bay or brown colt by Mo Town consigned by GOP Racing Stable Corp., Agent, is out of Sassy Redhead, by Henny Hughes, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Dubai Escapade.

    Hip No. 356, consigned by Gene Recio, Agent, is a bay colt by Malibu Moon out of Scion Power, by Wildcat Heir, a full sister to graded stakes-winner Derwin’s Star.  

    HIP No.208, a chestnut colt by Catalina Cruiser consigned by All Dreams Equine, turnedin a quarter in :20 2/5. He's out of One for London, by Eskendereya, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Nicole H.  

    Hip No. 325, a chestnut colt by OBS graduate Kantharos breezed a quarter in :20 3/5. Consigned by Golden Rock Thoroughbreds, Agent, he’s out of stakes-winner Rose to Fame, by Gemologist, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes- winner Dazzling Gem.  

    Hip No. 201, a dark bay or brown filly by Mr Speaker consigned by Gene Recio, Agent, worked a quarter in :20 4/5. He’s out of champion Off the Road (BRZ), by Quick Road, a full sister to Gr. I stakes-winner On the Road. 

There were two quarters clocked in :21 flat.

    Hip No. 261, consigned by All Dreams Equine, is a dark bay or brown colt by Demarchelier (GB) out of Prehistory, by Palace Malice, a half-sister to Gr. I stakes-placed Wonder Gal, dam of champion Wonder Wheel. 

    Hip No. 270, a dark bay or brown filly by Always Dreaming consigned by New Hope AB, is out of Private Offering, by Pulpit, from the family of graded stakes-winner War Thief.

There were a pair of quarters clocked in :21 1/5.

    Hip No. 259, consigned by GOP Racing Stable Corp., Agent, is a bay colt by Lookin At Lucky out of Powder N Blush, by War Chant, from the family of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Green Mask. 

    Hip No. 282, a dark bay or brown colt by Solomini consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, Agent, is a half-brother to stakes-placed Fix Me a Sandwich out of Queen Frostine, by Giant’s Causeway, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winning OBS graduate Traitor. 

Five horses breezed quarters clocked in :21 2/5.

    Hip No. 188, a bay colt by Noble Bird consigned by New Way, Agent, is out of Navigatorsdaughter, by Henrythenavigator, a half-sister to stakes-winner Holiday Mischief. 

    Hip No. 198, consigned by Mis Top Racing Stable LLC, is a dark bay or brown filly by Twirling Candy out of Oasis Party, by Desert Party, a half-sister to the dam of Exaulted, winner of Santa Anita’s Shoemaker Mile (G1) on May 29. 

    Hip No. 228, consigned by Goldencents Thoroughbreds, is a dark bay or brown filly by Cloud Computing out of Pea, by Nobiz Like Shobiz, a half-sister to stakes-winner Score Classy.

    Hip No. 241, a chestnut filly by Awesome Slew consigned by Hawk’s Rest LLC, is out of Pillow Case, by Drosselmeyer, a half-sister to stakes-placed One for Jim from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Jersey Girl. 

    Hip No. 308, a bay colt by Constitution consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent, is out of graded stakes-placed Remedy, by Creative Cause, from the family of champion Beholder and OBS graduate Into Mischief, North America’s leading sire. 

Sixteen horses breezed eighths in :10 flat.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Sunday, June 4, 2023
More than half a million one day before closing . . .
    BALTIMORE – One lucky bettor solved the 20-cent Rainbow 6 for a life-changing jackpot payout of $547,686 Saturday at Pimlico Race Course on the penultimate day of the Preakness Meet.

    Freeze the Fire ($30.40) sprung a front-running 14-1 upset of 1-2 favorite Dillinger in the Race 9 finale to complete the winning 1-6-4-6-9-3 combination. Other winners in the sequence were God Is Love ($18.80) in Race 4, Admit Nothing ($6.60) in Race 5, Community Adjusted ($8.40) in Race 6, Wudi ($6.20) in Race 7 and Linny Kate ($13.20) in Race 8.

    Saturday’s bonanza came one day before a scheduled mandatory payout in the Rainbow 6, Jackpot Super High Five and Late Pick 5 wagers. The Rainbow 6 had gone unsolved for 13 days since a $364.74 mandatory return on May 7, closing day of Laurel Park’s spring meet.

    The Rainbow 6 will begin anew on today’s eight-race closing day program that begins at 12:25 p.m. The sequence spans Races 3-8 and includes a maiden special weight for fillies and mares ages 3, 4 and 5 scheduled for five furlongs on the grass in Race 6 and an optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting six furlongs in Race 7.

    Introduced in Maryland on April 2, 2015, opening day of Pimlico’s spring meet, the state-record Rainbow 6 carryover reached $1,435,080.75 over 27 racing programs before a mandatory payout of $31,028 to multiple ticketholders on July 4, 2021.

    There will be a carryover of $490,727 in the Jackpot Super High Five for today, which takes place in Race 6. The Jackpot Super High Five went unsolved for a ninth straight racing day Saturday, producing multiple winning tickets worth $1,233 after $36,484 was wagered on top of a $475,656.86 carryover from Friday.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Making racehorse ownership possible . . .

    Lexington, KY - Experiential Squared (E2), parent company to the popular global racehorse ownership platform, MyRacehorse, today announced a $7 million funding round.

    The funding round is comprised of several investors led by 1/ST, North America’s dominant thoroughbred racing and gaming company, through its 1/ST RACING & GAMING and 1/ST TECHNOLOGY business divisions. 1/ST RACING & GAMING operates many of the premier racetracks in the United States including Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Golden Gate Fields and Pimlico Race Course. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is horse racing’s largest technology company with a portfolio of products and services encompassing 1/ST BET, Xpressbet and AmTote International, world leaders in pari-mutuel and ADW technologies.

    Launched in Los Angeles in 2018, MyRacehorse has operated on the simple premise of making racehorse ownership easy to try and accessible to a broader audience. Racehorse ownership is an aspiration for millions, but due to high barriers to entry, antiquated securities laws and lack of technology, ownership was previously unattainable for the vast majority.

    Using the MyRacehorse app, prospective owners can review, analyze and purchase a fractional share in their desired racehorse for a single one-time payment of as little as $100. The app serves as the primary platform to follow the journey of racehorse ownership via updates from the trainer, jockey and analysts, with direct and instant payouts of prize money.

    The platform currently boasts more than 50,000 active owners and 100 active horses who have won over 160 races worldwide with earnings in excess of $20 million. MyRacehorse is predominantly focused on the United States and Australia and has recently expanded to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    “This is the ultimate strategic partnership; having 1/ST RACING & GAMING and 1/ST TECHNOLOGY as the lead investors not only provides us the capital to accelerate growth, but the strategic assets and access to enhance the ownership experience for our 50,000 plus racehorse owners,” said Michael Behrens, Founder and CEO of Experiential Squared and MyRacehorse. “1/ST RACING & GAMING and 1/ST TECHNOLOGY are progressive leaders in all aspects of thoroughbred racing and have been supportive of MyRacehorse since the beginning. The partnership affirms 1/ST’s commitment to growing ownership and further immersing fans in our sport.”

    “1/ST’s mission to introduce and engage the next generation of fans and owners in innovative and entertaining new ways aligns perfectly with the MyRacehorse concept,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST RACING & GAMING. “The ability to become an owner of a thoroughbred racehorse and to be part of an ownership experience that until now has been inaccessible for many, is truly exciting. We have seen firsthand the success of MyRacehorse and we look forward to helping scale this platform across racing, wagering and beyond.”

    The core of the E2 business is a proprietary technology platform that manages compliance, owner experience, content, investing, and financial and tax reporting. E2 operates within global securities regulations to securitize its racehorses, enabling the development of the first truly legal and compliant global racehorse ownership platform serving both accredited and non-accredited investors. Over the last four years, E2 has built a robust and scalable platform to handle scale, and now is focused on feature development, including a move to the blockchain and the launch of a secondary market so owners can trade their shares. This will bring newfound liquidity to a previously highly illiquid industry.

    Both MyRacehorse and 1/ST are deeply committed to the well-being of thoroughbreds after racing, contributing charitable donations to several aftercare organizations and actively participating in the safe transition and long-term placement of retired Thoroughbreds globally.

    Legendary businessman B. Wayne Hughes recognized the early opportunity in the platform investing in seed round funding to become an active partner with his stallion and breeding operation, Spendthrift Farm. “Without the partnership of Mr. Hughes and Spendthrift Farm, we would have never achieved the rapid success that we have,” said Behrens.

    Recently, E2 began the process of seeking strategic investors to help the business accelerate its growth with a focus on diversifying into other sports and assets.

Saturday, May 27, 2023
    (Editor's note: From his first day as a steward in 1993 to this past season, I can't...

    (Editor's note: From his first day as a steward in 1993 to this past season, I can't count the number of times I entered the track through the west gate near the horsemen's parking lot and Dennis would be there holding court with one or more patrons. Every time, he would wind it up and we would end up getting up to date on various subjects. He was as low-key as someone in his position could be - an absolute gentleman. Over the years, I went to the steward's room on various occasions to get their take on a disqualification - or the lack of one - and he always took the time to explain the call. "He will be missed" is a cliche often used for those we lose, and for Dennis, it goes double). 

By Mike Henry, Tampa Bay Downs

    Dennis Lima wore a variety of hats during his 30 years as an Association Steward at Tampa Bay Downs – mentor, friend and confidant foremost among them.

    “He was somebody you could always talk to, and you could trust him to give you good advice,” said Tampa Bay Downs racing official Jenn Moore. “And he treated everybody equally. He was so down to earth and never got riled up.

  “It (his passing) is just a huge loss for everybody.”

    Lima, who died Wednesday at age 77 after a brief illness, judged the races from the stewards' office atop the Oldsmar grandstand next to the announcer's booth. He and former Tampa Bay Downs announcer Richard Grunder formed a lasting friendship based on numerous shared interests and a deep respect for each other's knowledge and professionalism.

    “He was a very even-tempered guy who handled himself the same with all types of people, from grooms to Hall of Fame trainers,” Grunder said. “He had the perfect personality to be a steward. He read the films really good, knew the job inside-out and any tough situations that came up, he would take the reins and make the call. I've been in press boxes from the Pacific Northwest to Florida, and he was one of the best I've ever worked with.

    “Plus, he was just a fun guy to be around. He was a witty, old New England son of a gun.”


    Lima gained respect from horsemen, jockeys, other track officials and even fans for his thorough knowledge of the sport's rules and regulations and his ability to apply them without bias. “You could ask him a rules question and he would rattle the answer off the top of his head,” Moore said.

    As much as Moore, Grunder and so many others at Tampa Bay Downs came to feel like family around Lima, their knowledge of his background in racing was primarily limited to working with him here on a daily basis. About a lifetime ago – actually, closer to 60 years – Lima rode a train from Rhode Island to Florida with a shipment of horses bound for the Tampa Bay Downs (then Sunshine Park) barn of trainer Doc Canzano.

    Lima took off soon after graduating from Pawtucket West High School in Rhode Island, not far from Narragansett Park, where his older brother Eddie had turned him on to racing a few years earlier and helped him get work as a groom and hotwalker.

    After returning north in 1964, Lima trained his own horses in New England, was an assistant trainer to Ned Allard and worked as a jockey's agent.

    Believing his future to be in the racing office, Lima served with the Massachusetts fair-racing circuit and at Suffolk Downs in Massachusetts and Rockingham Park in New Hampshire as a placing judge, paddock judge and entry clerk. He was named an alternate steward at those tracks in 1987, becoming a full-time steward three years later. He worked in that role at Rockingham from 1990 until the track closed in 2002.

    By then, he was well-established at Tampa Bay Downs, having been hired in 1993 as an Association Steward by then-General Manager John Grady. Lima also worked from 2003-2021 as a State Steward at Delaware Park.

    Lima's credo as a steward was straightforward, as he outlined 10 years ago to a reporter. “The most important thing is to be as fair and consistent as possible with our rulings and our judgment calls during the races. For me, the most rewarding aspect of this job is when you finish a meet knowing you have done your part to keep it as safe as you can for the horses and the jockeys.”

    He was also attuned to the importance of maintaining the public trust, saying during that same interview the one major change he would make to racing would be to “establish more uniformity in medication rules and penalties, especially with so many trainers shipping horses from state to state.”

    Lima is survived by his wife, Celeste; their children, Monique and Shaun; several grandchildren; and a son, Dennis E. Lima. He was pre-deceased by a daughter, Melissa. Per his wishes, no service will be held.

    In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Suncoast Hospice Foundation, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760.

Monday, May 22, 2023
Jive scores at Gulfstream and collects $43,000 . . .

    The honor of getting the first 2023 winner by a Florida freshman stallion goes to Journeyman Stud's St. Patrick's Day, a son of Pioneerof the Nile and a full brother to 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. 

    Jive, a 2-year-old colt bred by Jennifer A. & Gillian K. Johnson, won a $65,000 maiden special at Gulfstream Park and collected a healthy check for $43,000. He was a $23,000 OBS Winter purchase by Brian Cohen out of Richard Kent's Kaizan Sales consignment. 

    With Edwin Gonzalez aboard, Jive rushed up to contest the pace in the two path at the first quarter, battled head-and-head around the turn, and proved best at the wire by three-quarters of a length. He was clocked in 1:00.20 for the five furlongs and received an Equibase 'E' speed rating of 80.

    Journeyman Stud's Khozan was easily Florida's leading freshman sire in 2019 with 18 winners and progeny earnings of $1,258,512, and has been the state's leading general sire every year since.

 

Sunday, May 21, 2023
Favored Mage disappoints in 3rd . . .
    BALTIMORE – National Treasure led from the start and held off a game Blazing Sevens the length of the stretch to win the 148th Preakness Stakes, Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, by a head Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

    The 1 3/16-mile Preakness was the centerpiece of a spectacular 14-race program featuring 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million in purses. The Preakness Day celebration included InfieldFest headlined by popular music and recording artists Bruno Mars and Sofi Tukker.

    Owned by the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, National Treasure ($7.80) completed 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.12 over a fast main track to earn his second career win from six starts and first in a stakes.

    The wire-to-wire victory by National Treasure came on a day in which his Hall of Fame trainer felt a full range of emotions. Baffert saddled Arabian Lion for a victory in the Sir Barton Stakes to lead off the stakes line-up, but the celebration came to an abrupt halt when heavily favored Havnameltdown sustain a fatal injury two races later in the Gr. III Chick Lang.

    Baffert had been tied with 19th century trainer R. Wyndham Walden for the most Preakness victories before National Treasure joined Triple Crown champions Justify (2018) and American Pharoah (2015) as well as Lookin at Lucky (2010), War Emblem (2002), Point Given (2001), Real Quiet (1998) and Silver Charm (1997) as a Preakness winner.

    Meanwhile, it was the first Preakness triumph in 13 tries for Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who ran second with Kentucky Derby winners Animal Kingdom in 2011, Baffert-trained Authentic in 2020, and Itsmyluckday in 2013.

    In all, Velazquez won four races on the Preakness program, including stakes victories in the $100,000 Sir Barton with Arabian Lion, also trained by Baffert, and $100,000, Gr. III Maryland Sprint aboard Straight No Chaser.

    Breaking from the rail against six rivals, the smallest Preakness field since Snow Chief topped a field of seven in 1986, National Treasure made the lead easily on his own and settled into a rhythm while going a quarter of a mile in :23.95 seconds and a half in :48.92 while racing slightly off the rail ahead of Maryland-bred multiple stakes-winner Coffeewithchris, a son of former Pleasant Acres Stallion Ride On Curlin.

    National Treasure went six furlongs in 1:13.49 when he was eased out by Velazquez and met by a challenge from Blazing Sevens, winner of the 2022 Champagne that was following a similar blueprint for trainer Chad Brown of skipping the Derby to point for the Preakness, a strategy that proved successful with Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting last year.

    Blazing Sevens and National Treasure hooked up at the top of the stretch and battled side-by-side down the lane, brushing near the sixteenth pole and again approaching the wire, before Velazquez coaxed one more jump out of National Treasure. It was 2 ¼ lengths back to Kentucky Derby winner Mage in third. Mage, the race favorite, loomed up behind the first at the top of the stretch but hung late while racing a little erraticly. 

    Red Route One, Chase the Chaos, Perform and Coffeewithchris completed the order of finish. First Mission was scratched.

    National Treasure fetched $500,000 as a yearling at Saratoga in August 2021 and graduated at first asking last September in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight test at Del Mar. The bay Quality Road colt ran second to stablemate Cave Rock in the American Pharoah at Santa Anita and third behind 2022 juvenile champion Forte in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to end his 2-year-old season.

    This year, National Treasure finished third by a length in the one-mile Sham on Jan. 8 and then ran fourth for former Baffert assistant Tim Yakteen in the April 8 Santa Anita Derby  before being returned to Baffert for the lead-up to the Preakness.

    National Treasure is the 12th horse since 1909 to win the Preakness from Post 1, including American Pharoah, and the first since War of Will in 2019.

    The 2023 Triple Crown series concludes in the June 10 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. Baffert was non-committal following the Preakness on whether he would bring National Treasure back in the 1 ½-mile ‘Test of the Champion.’
Saturday, May 20, 2023
She sold for $105,000 at OBS March . . .

    Richard Bahde’s Taxed was overlooked at 11-1 in Pimlico’s Gr. II, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, but moved to contention on the turn, took command a sixteenth from home and drew off to win by 3 3/4 lengths.

    It was the first stakes victory for the 3-year-old filly by OBS graduate Collected, consigned by GOP Racing Stable Corp., Agent, to the 2022 OBS March Sale, and sold for $105,000 after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Trained by Randy Morse, she’s now 8-2-2-0 and has earned $379,644.

Friday, May 19, 2023
Stonestreet colt has left hind ankle problem . . .
    BALTIMORE - First Mission, Keeneland’s Gr. III Stonestreet Lexington winner, was declared out of Saturday’s 148th Preakness Stakes early this morning with an unspecified left hind ankle issue, owner Godolphin announced.

    First Mission, who is trained by Brad Cox, was the second choice in the morning line for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

    “There was just a little concern by the 1/ST racing veterinarian team,” Michael Banahan, Godolphin USA’s Director of Bloodstock said, referencing the owner of the Maryland Jockey Club’s Pimlico Race Course. “They thought maybe it was a minor issue with the left hind ankle. You just really couldn’t do proper diagnostics onsite, on the track. So we decided collaboratively that the best thing to do was to bring him down to Rood & Riddle (equine hospital in Lexington) and let Dr. (Larry) Bramlage do a full exam. He was doing great at Pimlico. But that’s the way it goes.

     “It’s unfortunate, but we know he’s a very talented horse and I’m sure we’ll have big days down the road with him.”
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Tuesday gallop winds up preparations . . .

    BALTIMORE - Kentucky Derby winner Mage galloped Tuesday morning at Pimlico Race Course, where the Gustavo Delgado-trained colt finished his 1 ½-mile preparation for Saturday’s Preakness with good energy without prompting from exercise rider J. J. Delgado. 

    “He’s so smart. I can’t overstate that. He’s a really intelligent horse. Not only does he take care of himself during his races, but he knows when to commence,” said Ramiro Restrepo, who owns the 3-year-old son of Good Magic with OGMA Investments, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH. “He responds to the cues from the rider so well. He’s learned Gustavo’s program and you can see it how he picks up the rhythm on his own.”

    Mage has demonstrated an unusual level of maturity for a lightly raced colt who was able to outrun 17 more experienced rivals while capturing the May 6 Kentucky Derby in only his fourth career start.

    “The races are developing him race by race. We’re just waiting to see how much he has in the well of talent. Every day, he’s showing more and more signs of maturation and understanding his job as a racehorse.,” Restrepo said. “It’s great to see it happening.”

    Mage went through his morning routine like a veteran racehorse while striding smoothly across the Pimlico racing surface. Later, he barely turning a hair during his bath upon his return to the Pimlico Stakes Barn, where he was the sole focus of many photographers and TV camera crews.

    “Professional, that’s the best way to describe it,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., his father’s assistant. “Very quiet. The track being so quiet with only a few horses at the same time, that helps too.”

    Mage has instilled confidence in his owners and trainers heading into the Preakness.

    “It’s the greatest feeling just bringing the Derby winner. It gives you confidence,” Delgado Jr. said. “We’re just go day by day, race by race, but it does give you confidence. He’s competitive – 8-5 – not 50-1, 25-1.”

Cox Expects First Mission to ‘Take a Step Forward’  

    Trainer Brad Cox said Tuesday morning that he is happy with the way Godolphin’s homebred First Mission has settled in at Pimlico Race Course since arriving from Churchill Downs Monday evening.

    First Mission, winner of the April 15 Gr. III Lexington at Keeneland, will step into the Triple Crown series Saturday in the 148th Preakness Stakes. He drew the outside post in the field of eight. He will be ridden by Luis Saez, who was up for the Lexington. 

    “I’m super-pleased with how he shipped in last night,” Cox said. “He jumped right into the feed tub. It was kind of late when he got here, but I thought it made the most sense in regards to travel time and when to send him.”

    This will be Cox’s second Preakness and First Mission will be his third runner in the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. In 2019 he entered a pair: Owendale, who was third and Warrior’s Charge, who was fourth.

    Cox sent the lightly raced son of Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense out to the track at Pimlico during training hours Tuesday.

    “I’m happy with what we’ve done so far,” Cox said. ‘He had a really good morning and just galloped an easy mile. He’s a kind horse. He’s easy on himself. He doesn’t over-train. He doesn’t pull too much. He has settled in well. So far, so good.”

    First Mission did not race as a 2-year-old and debuted on Feb. 18 with a second by three-quarters of a length at Fair Grounds. Cox said the timing of the Preakness fits nicely with the colt’s schedule.


    “He’s getting five weeks since the Lexington,” Cox said. “He ran in February, then he was back in four weeks. Then he was back again in four weeks in the Lexington. So, he’s getting five weeks. He has never regressed, based off his numbers, the figures I use. He’s been very steady with his figures.

    “I think he’s got to take a step forward. I think he will take a step forward,” he added. “He’s given me every reason to be super-confident with what he’s done in the mornings at Churchill. His three works since the Lexington have been really good. His first was just a maintenance half-mile by himself. Super easy in 49 (seconds). His last two works have been really, really good. So, we’ll see.”

          









                  



            







  


                     













    




Saturday, May 13, 2023
2 Juvenile Stakes on tap . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - A mandatory payout of the 20-Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is set for today’s 10-race Gulfstream Park program that will be co-headlined by the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile and the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies.

    Each of the two five-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds on turf will provide its winner with an automatic berth in one of six races for 2-year-olds during the June 20-24 Royal Ascot meeting, as well as a $25,000 equine travel stipend for shipping from the U.S. to England, in addition to the winner’s share of today’s purse.

    The Rainbow 6 has gone unsolved for 19 days following a jackpot hit, producing a $408,800.72 carryover heading into today’s mandatory payout. The Rainbow 6 pool is expected to grow to $1.5 million or higher.

    The Royal Palm Juvenile is carded as Race 6. Wesley Ward, a 12-time Royal Ascot winning trainer, is represented in the field of 10 by Steve Cauthen’s Holding the Line, an unraced Irish-bred son of Soldier’s Call. Hall of Famer John Velazquez has the mount on the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Dew Sweepers’ Blast Furnace, who finished second behind highly regarded Ward-trained Fandom at Keeneland in his debut, is rated second at 3-1 on the morning line. The son of The Factor, who will be equipped with blinkers for the first time, is trained by George Weaver, who is also represented in the field by Bregman Family Racing LLC’s No Nay Mets, a debuting son of No Nay Never. Arindel’s Reaper, who debuted at Gulfstream with an impressive 5 ¾-length score April 21, is scheduled to make his turf debut for trainer Juan Alvarado.
Friday, May 12, 2023
Derby winner will train Saturday at Churchill . . .
    BALTIMORE - Kentucky Derby winner Mage was officially confirmed this morning for a start in the May 20 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.

    After trainer Gustavo Delgado and his son and assistant Gustavo Delgado Jr. were satisfied with how Mage galloped and cooled out at Churchill Downs, they had their two partners on hand to share the news with media members.


    “We’re thrilled to announce that Mage is headed to the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes,” said Chase Chamberlin, the Cincinnati-based co-founder and director of racing for the CMNWLTH micro-shares partnership that owns 25 percent of the Kentucky Derby winner. 

    “We’re very excited. He’s had a magnificent week of training,” said Ramiro Restrepo, who also owns 25 percent and put the ownership group together after he and Delgado Jr. purchased Mage at Fasig-Tipton’s Timonium 2-year-old sale just days following last year’s Preakness. “Gustavo is really pleased and over the moon with how he’s come back. He’s shown all the positive signs, so it’s on to Baltimore — and crab cakes here we come.”


    Restrepo said exercise rider J. J. Delgado, who is no relation though from the same Venezuelan town as the father-son training team, was extremely pleased with how Mage has come out of his Derby score.


    “He said he hasn’t lost any luster from his pre-Kentucky Derby training. He feels a lot of horse under him. The horse is just thriving right now. J. J. – who we trust so much because he’s the F1 practice driver; he’s in the cockpit – feels the horse is just full of himself. He hasn’t missed any meals. He hasn’t missed any shredded carrots or mints. Everything you could ask for he’s given us all the green lights.” 

    Mage is scheduled to train again early Saturday morning at Churchill Downs before vanning that afternoon to Baltimore with his stablemates, the filly Isabel Alexandra, who is scheduled to run in a Pimlico allowance race Sunday, and O Captain, who ran fifth in an allowance race Thursday evening at Churchill Downs. Restrepo said the horses should arrive early Sunday morning at Old Hilltop, with Mage likely to train Monday.

    “You’re curious and cautious until you see how they come out of it,” Restrepo said of waiting to make a final pronouncement on Mage’s status for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown. “That’s why you don’t want to jump to conclusions. You have to let Mage talk. Unfortunately, he speaks horse and not English. So, it’s up to us to be his stewards, and you leave it up to the horsemanship of Gustavo Sr. and Jr. and J.J., who rides him; and (groom) Moises Morales, who is with him; Candido Salcedo, who cares for him; and lean on them. They are the ones who are fluent in the Thoroughbred. We don’t take that lightly. It’s super important that Mage is the one who gives us the indication that he wants to go run.

    “We’ve been just monitoring that situation with all the love that he’s shown us on the racetrack,” he added. “We’re trying to bestow that upon him and give him the time to show us what’s up. Everything he did prior to the Derby has continued all the way through. That type of consistency merits a shot at the Preakness.”

    Restrepo said that the owners do feel a responsibility as the Derby winners “to be stewards of horse racing and to open ourselves up for questions and comments about our horse and his performance.

    “But we owe the horse himself before anything else,” the Miami and Lexington-based bloodstock agent said. “The horse comes first. While our selfish dreams might be Preakness and all these things, he’s the one doing the running. We’re not. There’s a ton of tradition, and we respect the game so much, but you always have to take this day by day. I know it sounds cliche, but it’s reality. If he wouldn’t have been up to par, then what are we doing? Sacrificing a potential positive, top-of-the-line effort just for the sake of us having fun in Baltimore? But that’s not the case…. It’s been green light from all the eyes and ears in the barn, and Mage is showing it, so we’re over the moon.”


    The rest of Mage’s ownership group is composed of the Delgados’ OGMA Investments LLC and Sam Herzberg’s Sterling Racing, each with 25 percent.

    Mage joined 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify as the only unraced 2-year-olds to win the Derby since Apollo in 1882. He also joined Justify and 2008 Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown as the only horses to capture the Derby off only three lifetime starts since the filly Regret in 1915.

    “Just because of the fact that he has only four starts, and usually (horses) tend to get better with races, especially after the third, fourth, I think he has good momentum,” Delgado Jr. said. “That gives us confidence. But every day is crucial.”
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Last hit 17 days ago . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $475,000 Thursday at Gulfstream Park after the multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the 17th day following a jackpot hit.

    The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 3-8, highlighted by an extremely competitive mile optional claiming allowance on the main track in Race 7. Todd Pletcher-trained Cuvier, a debut winner at Gulfstream during the Championship Meet, will make his return off a third-place optional claiming allowance at Tampa Bay Downs, won by stablemate Kingsbarns, who went on to win the Louisiana Derby (G2) and ran in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Il Miracolo is slated to make his first start since finishing sixth in the Curlin Florida Derby, in which Kentucky Derby winner Mage finished second behind Forte.




Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Forte appears to be set for Pimlico, too . . .
    BALTIMORE - Gustavo Delgado Jr., son of and assistant to trainer Gustavo Delgado, said Mage has shown all the right signs following his thrilling victory in Saturday’s first leg of the Triple Crown and will run in the 148th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 20 as long as everything continues to go well.

    OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH’s Derby hero walked around the shedrow at Churchill Downs Monday morning, two days after the chestnut colt won the Kentucky Derby by a length over Two Phil’s.

    The Good Magic colt is expected to jog around the racetrack this morning shortly after the Churchill Downs track opens at 5:30 a.m. ET.

    “He ate up everything, his feed, he’s feeling good,” Delgado Jr. said. 

    Mage finished a close second in Gulfstream Park’s Curlin Florida Derby in his third career start, five weeks before taking the 149th Kentucky Derby.

    “It’s amazing. We’re still digesting it,” Delgado Jr. said. “I’m still playing text messages from two days ago. It’s a very good feeling.” 

Forte ‘Looked Very Good’ in Monday Morning Gallop

    Forte, last year’s 2-year-old champion who beat Mage in the Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth, galloped at Churchill Downs Monday morning for an anticipated run in Preakness. Forte was scratched the morning of the Derby, for which he was favored, with the remnants of a foot bruise sustained earlier in the week.

    “He looked very good,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He galloped a mile and three-eighths very comfortably. Seemed happy like he normally is. He’ll work probably Friday or Saturday.”

    Asked if there was any sign left of the bruise, Pletcher said, “No, I think that’s completely subsided now. Right now, I’d say we’re looking good to breeze for the Preakness. If we’re happy with that, that’s what we’re thinking.”

    Of being scratched from the Derby, “I’m mostly disappointed for the Violas and the Repoles and the horse himself,” Pletcher said, referencing owners Vinnie Viola and Mike Repole and their families. “As we know, you’ve got to be good on the one particular day, and there are no makeups. We’ve just got to adjust, move on and focus on trying to prepare him the best we can for the Preakness.”

    Pletcher, who has won the Kentucky Derby twice and the Belmont Stakes four times, will be seeking his first success in the Preakness should Forte be entered.

Rivelli: Two Phil’s ‘Back at Home Chilling’

    Trainer Larry Rivelli said Monday afternoon that Derby runner-up Two Phil’s has exited his strong performance in good order.

    “He’s back home and chilling,” reported Rivelli from his home base at Hawthorne Park.

    A firm decision has yet to me made about a Preakness start.
Monday, May 8, 2023
Webslinger Captures $500,000 American Turf . . .

    D. J. Stable’s June Sale graduate Webslinger rated kindly between horses in the early going of Churchill’s $500,000, Gr. II American Turf Stakes, swung out after turning for home and outfought a pair of rivals to win a three-horse photo by a nose. It’s the first graded stakes victory for the 3-year-old colt by Constitution, a two-time OBS graduate.

    After going through the ring at the 2022 Spring Sale, he was purchased for $50,000 out of the Blue River Bloodstock consignment at the June Sale after breezing three eighths in :33 1/5. Trained by Mark Casse, he’s now 8-3-2-1 and has earned $723,800.  

    Ashbrook Farm and Upland Flats Racing’s Red Carpet Ready got the Derby weekend off to a rousing start on Friday, taking Churchill’s $500,000, Gr. II Eight Belles Stakes.  Tracking the leaders down the backstretch, the 3-year-old daughter of Oscar Performance ran past odds-on favorite Munnys Gold turning for home, then gamely held off a late run by the favorite and was best by a head.

    To date, she has captured a pair of graded stakes, compiled a 5-4-0-1 record and earned $588,670 for trainer by Rusty Arnold. Consigned by Mayberry Farm, Agent, to the 2022 OBS Spring Sale, she went through the ring after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5.  

    Gary Barber’s Join the Dance went straight to the lead in Sunday’s $75,000 Monroe Stakes at Gulfstream and was never headed en route to a 1 1/2-length victory. It’s the first stakes win for the 4-year-old daughter of Shackleford, trained by Mark Casse, now 13-3-2-3 with $170,544 in earnings. She was purchased for $70,000 out of the Navas Equine consignment at the 2021 OBS June Sale after turning in an Under Tack quarter in :20 3/5.

Friday, May 5, 2023
7 entered in third race maiden special . . .
    LAUREL, MD – Seven fillies, including two each from trainers Claudio Gonzalez and Jerry Robb, are entered to line up in Maryland’s first 2-year-old race of the season Friday at Laurel Park.

    The 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight in Race 3 serves as the feature of a nine-race program that gets under way at 12:25 p.m.

    Gonzalez’s MCA Racing Stable will send out a pair of Maryland homebreds in She’s Fantastic and Family Gal. Both are daughters of Biblical, an $800,000 yearling of 2016 who won three of 11 starts for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and ran third in the 2019 Champions Day Marathon.

    She’s Fantastic and Family Gal have been working together for their debut, first appearing on the work tab with a three-furlong move in :37.60 seconds on April 8 at Laurel. Most recently, they breezed five furlongs in 1:03.20 on April 27, both from the gate. They will break alongside each other from Post 5 and 6 with Jean Alvelo and Yomar Ortiz, respectively.

    Gonzalez connects with 22 percent of his first-time starters and 21 percent of his 2-year-olds. Maryland’s annual leading trainer since 2017, he had two wins from his first 13 starters at Laurel’s spring meet. Both She’s Fantastic and Family Gal are rated at 6-1 on the morning line.

    Robb will counter with William Bayne Jr. and Super C Racing Inc.’s Buckin’ Lucky and Super C Racing’s Buckin’ Great, who also drew adjacent stalls respectively in Post 3 and 4. Both fillies were purchased at Fasig-Tipton’s Eastern Fall yearling sale last October at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Buckin’ Lucky for $28,000 and Buckin’ Great for $55,000.

    Buckin’ Lucky is by multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Madefromlucky out of the Eskendereya mare Rimanisempreforte. Buckin’ Great is a Virginia-bred daughter of Great Notion out of the Point Given mare Naseem, who captured the 2006 Lindsay Frolic at Calder, a one-mile dirt stakes, in her first career start.

    Jaime Rodriguez is named on Buckin’ Lucky, co-third choice at 9-2, while Xavier Perez will be aboard 5-2 program favorite Buckin’ Great.

    Brothers John Salzman Jr. and Tim Salzman will also be represented. Salzman Jr. has Bird Mobberley and Grady Griffin’s Virginia-bred Low Mileage (9-2), a bay daughter of Mineshaft who fired a bullet three-furlong work in :35.80 seconds on April 15 at Laurel and will break from the rail with Jevian Toledo.

    Tim Salzman will send out Dam Sires Dreams Racing Stable’s Pennsylvania-bred Divine Magic (10-1). By Divining Rod, who ran third to subsequent Triple Crown champion American Pharoah in the 2015 Preakness, she also has a bullet three-eighths work on her tab of 36 seconds April 8. Angel Cruz rides from Post 2.

    Completing the field is R. Larry Johnson’s Maryland homebred Call the Question (7-2), a daughter of Midshipman who is based at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. with Mike Trombetta. Call the Question has been working steadily since late March for her debut, tuning up with a three-furlong breeze in :36.40 seconds over the all-weather surface on April 29, fastest of 16 horses.

Forte Remains Top Choice in Inaugural Preakness Future Wager

    Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s four-time Gr. 1-winning champion Forte, the 3-1 program favorite in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, remains the top choice in the Maryland Jockey Club’s inaugural Preakness Future Wager.

    At the close of live racing Thursday at Laurel, this year’s Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth winner Forte was sitting at 7-2 odds for the 148th Preakness Stakes, Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, to be run Saturday, May 20 at Pimlico Race Course.

    Second choice in the Preakness Future Wager was Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire (9-1), followed by Lexington  winner First Mission (10-1) and Forte’s Blue Grass-winning stablemate Tapit Trice (11-1), both trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. The field entry of “all other 3-year-olds” was ninth choice of 28 betting interests at 19-1.

    A total of $215,487 was in the win pool after Thursday’s eighth race was made official.


 

 

Thursday, May 4, 2023
He's in the process of winning eighth straight Tampa title . . .

    OLDSMAR - By 7 Wednesday morning, Gerald Bennett was on the road again. He and his wife Mary and a blacksmith friend were hauling nine horses in two vans to New Jersey as he prepares for opening day at Monmouth Park on May 13.

    Bennett still has another 22 or so horses to drive north from the Tampa Bay Downs backside before launching his effort to improve on last year’s 22-victory performance, which was good for fourth in the Monmouth standings. “We’ve got seven ‘babies’ that have been training pretty good,” he said. “We’ll stop on a couple of them for about a month, and hopefully they’ll keep moving forward this summer and we’ll have them ready for (Tampa Bay Downs) next year.”

    Bennett’s ability to balance his focus on the present with the future, both near and long-term, is a major factor in his career-long success. He has trained 4,114 winners, more than all but 13 trainers in North American history.

    Tampa Bay Downs has been a huge part of that story. About six or seven weeks ago, it became crystal-clear no one was going to catch Bennett in the Leading Trainers competition. Now with 49 winners, he is 20 ahead of runner-up Jon Arnett. Bennett is also the top Oldsmar conditioner by earnings, his $1,045,262 total more than $400,000 ahead of second-place Todd Pletcher.

    More noteworthy is that this is Bennett’s eighth consecutive title, one shy of the track record set by Jamie Ness from 2006-2007 through 2014-2015. Bennett, who tied Ness for the 2010-2011 title with 61 winners, has won nine overall, tied with Ness for the most ever locally.

    Bennett will be honored as the track’s top trainer in a winner’s-circle ceremony Saturday.

    “It’s always an achievement to be on top. You know that whatever happens, sometime years from now someone is going to be looking at the list and saying ‘Oh, yeah, this is the guy who set the record,’ ” Bennett said.

    “Mary wants me to retire, but I think we’ll have to come back next fall and get one more (title) and be on top.”

    The Springhill, Nova Scotia product neither claims to be smarter nor harder-working than other trainers, but much of his day seems to revolve around the horses. He is one of the first trainers on the track each morning for workouts, and he pays rapt attention to the racing action from his Grandstand box seat. He plays the claiming game as well as any Oldsmar trainer, moving his horses up and down the price ladder in his efforts to keep his rivals guessing.

    “I might claim a horse for $25,000 and drop him to $16,000 next time and lose him, but he’ll win the race. Then (the new connections) will put him in for $20,000 and I’ll claim him right back. So even with the taxes, I’ll make money,” he said.

    “You have to enter them where they belong and are comfortable competing. Plus, you have to have the stock and the owners,” added Bennett, who said he is fortunate to have good owners who trust him with their good horses.

    Bennett’s 2022-2023 list of Tampa Bay Downs winners is headed by Dreaming of Snow. The 3-year-old filly, owned by Bennett’s Winning Stables in partnership with Team Equistaff, registered the biggest upset of the meet when she won the Suncoast Stakes on Feb. 11 by a neck from Wonder Wheel, last year’s NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and 2022 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly. Dreaming of Snow paid $78.

    Dreaming of Snow, who will miss some time after having a chip removed from an ankle, also finished second in the Florida Cup Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies Stakes behind Munnys Gold, who set a 7-furlong track record.

    Other Bennett-trained stakes-winners this season include 5-year-old mare R Adios Jersey, who won the City of Ocala Florida Sire Stakes in December; 5-year-old mare Tap Dance Fever, who won the Wayward Lass Stakes on Jan. 14; and Magical Warrior, a 4-year-old gelding who won the Florida Cup NYRABETS Sprint on March 26.

Monday, May 1, 2023
Book closes prior to Derby Saturday . . .
    BALTIMORE – Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s champion Forte remains a strong favorite in the inaugural Preakness Future Wager following the close of Sunday’s live racing in Maryland.

    A total of $84,651 was in the win pool at the conclusion of Sunday’s eight-race program from Laurel Park. The Preakness Future Bet opened at noon Friday, April 28 and will close at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday, May 6, about an hour prior to the running of the Kentucky Derby.

    A winner of five straight races starting with the Hopeful (G1), Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at 2 and Fountain of Youth (G2) and Florida Derby (G1) this year, Forte sits atop a list of 27 individual horses and a field entry of “all other 3-year-olds” at Preakness Future Wager odds of 3-1 heading into the Derby.

    Angel of Empire, who enters the Derby off wins in the Risen Star (G2) and Arkansas Derby (G1), is second choice in the Preakness Future Wager at 9-1, ahead of Lexington (G3) winner First Mission (11-1) and Forte’s Todd Pletcher-trained stablemate Tapit Trice (12-1), winner of the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and Blue Grass (G1). Both Angel of Empire and First Mission are trained by Brad Cox.

    Japanese horse Derma Sotogake, winner of the UAE Derby (G2), and Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Practical Move were each 14-1. The field entry of “all other 3-year-olds” stood at 15-1, while automatic Preakness qualifiers Red Route One and Chase the Chaos were at 22-1 and 70-1, respectively.

    The Preakness Future Wager was unanimously approved by the Maryland Racing Commission at its April 4 meeting. Similar to that of future wagers for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks (G1), bettors are not refunded if their selection does not run in the Preakness, which is limited to a maximum of 14 starters.

    The 148th Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, will be run Saturday, May 20 at historic Pimlico Race Course. Entries will be taken and post positions drawn Monday, May 15.

Horse                                            Current Odds                    M-L

Angel of Empire                                  9-1                               12-1
Blazing Sevens                                   20-1                              50-1
Chase the Chaos                                 70-1                             99-1

Confidence Game                               30-1                             50-1
Continuar (JPN)                                  60-1                            70-1
Cyclone Mischief                                60-1                             50-1
Derma Sotogake (JPN)                       14-1                            10-1
Disarm                                                 45-1                             35-1
First Mission                                       11-1                             15-1
Forte                                                   3-1                               4-1

Hit Show                                            45-1                             30-1
Instant Coffee                                    45-1                             50-1
Jace’s Road                                        60-1                             60-1
Kingsbarns                                         19-1                             15-1
Lord Miles                                          60-1                             60-1
Mage                                                  23-1                             30-1
Mandarin Hero (JPN)                        18-1                             20-1
Practical Move                                   14-1                             10-1

Raise Cain                                          70-1                             60-1
Red Route One                                  22-1                             50-1
Reincarnate                                        60-1                             50-1
Rocket Can                                        60-1                             50-1
Skinner                                               40-1                             20-1
Sun Thunder                                      99-1                             60-1

Tapit Trice                                          12-1                             6-1
Two Phil’s                                          25-1                             40-1
Verifying                                            25-1                             15-1
All Other Three-Year-Olds                15-1                             8-1

 
*-$84,651 in pool

*-ML odds set by MJC linemaker Keith Feustle
Monday, May 1, 2023
Jose has ridden five straight winners, four on Sunday . . .

    OLDSMAR - After winning Saturday’s fourth race on Textpectation, jockey Jose Ferrer expressed a desire to finish second in the 2022-2023 Tampa Bay Downs standings.

  Mission accomplished – and then some.

    The 59-year-old rider went 4-for-4 Sunday's card, vaulting over injured Pablo Morales with 55 victories for the meet set to wrap up Saturday.

    Ferrer concluded his tour de force in the eighth and final race with an 8-length victory on Feuilleton, a 5-year-old gelding making his first start in almost two years.

    Counting Saturday’s victory, Ferrer has ridden five straight winners.

    “It feels unbelievable. There is no comparison to winning four at Tampa Bay Downs, because this is my hometown. And to win (the seventh race, on Sir Robert Hall) for my buddy (owner) Joe DiBello, makes it more special. He’s like my brother.


    “Everything worked out perfect. God is great and he gives me the strength to keep going on my journey. And my family (wife Steffi and sons Derek and Joseph) is here today and they’re always supporting me. I can’t do it without them – they give me the energy to keep going.”

    Samy Camacho leads the Oldsmar standings with 112 winners. Morales has 53, with Antonio Gallardo fourth with 52.


    Both Ferrer and Camacho are represented by agent Mike Moran.

    Everything seemed to go Ferrer’s way Sunday, as it so often has in a career that has seen him ride 4,720 winners. He won the second race by rallying from last place aboard 4-year-old filly Pearlintherough for a half-length victory for owner Amaty Racing Stables and trainer Sandino Hernandez, Jr.

    In the fifth race, for maiden 3-year-olds, Ferrer again came from behind to post a 4 ¼-length triumph on Florida-bred Neolithic gelding Big Bucksalot for owner Pirate Racing and trainer Christos Gatis. The seventh, a maiden special weight, was the Cody’s Original Roadhouse Race of the Week, and Ferrer feasted on the competition, guiding 9-1 shot Sir Robert Hall to victory for DiBello Racing and trainer Kathleen O’Connell.

    There seemed to be little doubt about the eighth after Ferrer hustled Feuilleton, owned and trained by Pearl Chain, to the lead in the mile-and-40-yard contest. They could have gone around again and the outcome wouldn’t have changed, although Ferrer would not have been credited with a fifth victory.

    Cynics might ask for a check of his birth certificate, but it was uplifting to see him perform at this level so close to the end of the meet.

    Huge week upcoming. The post position draws for the $3-million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the $1.25-million Longines Kentucky Oaks will be held from 2-3 p.m. today in the Aristides Lounge on the second floor of the Churchill Downs Clubhouse.

    Post positions for both races will be determined by a traditional “pill pull,” in which a horse’s entry blank is pulled simultaneously with a numbered pill corresponding to the horse’s starting position.

    The Kentucky Derby Draw will be streamed live on www.KentuckyDerby.com . The field for the mile-and-a-quarter Derby, to be run Saturday, is limited to 20 3-year-old horses, while the field for the mile-and-an-eighth Oaks on Friday is limited to 14 3-year-old fillies.

    Thus begins the buildup to two days of racing excitement rivaled only by the Breeders’ Cup, but carrying far more history and tradition. Both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby were first run in 1875, a year in which the electric dental drill was patented and Billy the Kid escaped his jail cell by climbing out of a chimney.

    Adding to the weeklong atmosphere of “Derby Fever,” Tampa Bay Downs will present full cards of Thoroughbred racing Wednesday, Friday and Saturday as its 2022-2023 meet wraps up (racing will then return to the Oldsmar oval June 30 and July 1 for the annual two-day Summer Festival of Racing).

    Wednesday’s eight-race card will begin at 12:28 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs will open the gates at 10 a.m. to allow fans to wager on all the action from Churchill Downs, which begins racing at 10:30 a.m. both days. Admission is $3 Friday and $10 Saturday.

    The Longines Kentucky Oaks will be the 11th race Friday, with an expected post time of 5:51 p.m. The Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve is the 12th race Saturday, with a 6:57 p.m. post time.

    Advance wagering on the entire Derby card from Louisville will be offered throughout Friday, providing fans desiring to move at a more relaxed pace and soak up the sights and sounds of a Tampa Bay Downs Derby Day party the opportunity to savor the spectacle.

    On Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs will offer the traditional Kentucky Derby Day drink, a mint julep, in the official Derby souvenir glass for $13. Each glass lists all 148 Run for the Roses winners, from Aristides in 1875 through Rich Strike in 2022. The glasses are available for $10. Refills and mint juleps in a non-Derby souvenir cup are $9 apiece.

    Also on Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs will conduct a unique twist on the traditional “best-looking hat” contest. Tampa Bay Downs employees will roam the stands throughout the day, selecting patrons wearing the most attractive headgear. Fans chosen as winners will receive a mutuel voucher.

    While Forte is expected to be the wagering favorite for the Derby, three horses to have competed at Tampa Bay Downs this season – Gr. III Tampa Bay Derby winner Tapit Trice, Gr. II Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns and Lord Miles – are expected to compete. Forte, Tapit Trice and Kingsbarns are all trained by Todd Pletcher, whose two Kentucky Derby winners, Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017, had raced at Tampa Bay Downs.

    Lord Miles, who is trained by Saffie A. Joseph Jr., was fifth in the Tampa Bay Derby before winning the Gr. II Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct.

Sunday, April 30, 2023
$375,000 OBS grad wins by 4 1/2 . . .

    In a reprise of their March 31 meeting, Michael Lund Petersen’s Adare Manor and fellow OBS graduate Bellamore (April ’20) finished one-two in the $200,000, Gr. II Santa Maria Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita. The 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo went right to the lead at the start, set a measured pace, then drew off in the final sixteenth to score by 4 1/2 lengths. A graded stakes-winner at three, the 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, trained by Bob Baffert, is now 10-4-4-0 and has earned $501,600.     

    At the 2021 OBS June Sale, she breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 and was purchased for $375,000 out of the Julie Davies consignment by Donato Lanni, Agent.

    George Krikorian’s War Like Goddess rated in hand just off the pace in Keeneland’s $297,500, Gr. III Bewitch Stakes, took command turning for home and was best by a length and a half at the wire. It’s her eighth graded stakes win and third straight score in the Bewitch, leaving her with a 14-10-1-2 record and earnings of $2,158,184 for trainer Bill Mott. 

    The 6-year-old daughter of English Channel was consigned to the 2019 OBS June Sale by Hemingway Racing and Training Stables, and sold for $30,000 after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. 

Saturday, April 29, 2023
Four-day sale brings in more than $90 million . . .

    Hip No. 967, a son of OBS graduate and leading sire Into Mischief consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, went to More Play for $1,300,000 to top the fourth and final session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The bay colt, whose eighth in :9 3/5 at Friday’s Under Tack session was the sale’s co-fastest at the distance, is out of graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Singing Kitty, by Ministers Wild Cat, from the family of graded stakes-winner Montjoy.

    Hip No. 1024, a daughter of Nyquist consigned by Wavertree Stables Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was purchased by Speedway Stables, LLC for $900,000. The dark bay or brown filly, whose quarter in :20 2/5 on Friday was the session’s fastest work at the distance, is a half-sister to OBS graduate Affirmative Lady, winner of the recent Gr. II Gulfstream Park Oaks, out of graded stakes-placed Stiffed, by Stephen Got Even.

    Rich Schermerhorn & Jay Hanley & 30 Year Farm went to $725,000 for Hip No. 1036, a daughter of OBS graduate and leading sire Into Mischief, consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent. The bay filly, who sped an eighth in :9 4/5 Friday, is out of Succeeding, by Smart Strike, a daughter of stakes-winner Cascading.

    Hip No. 1109, a son of Solomini whose eighth in :9 4/5 was Saturday’s co-fastest, went to Donato Lanni, Agent for Dr. Ed Allred & Liebau, for $700,000. Consigned by Caliente Thoroughbreds, the chestnut colt is out of Timberlea, by Flatter, a half-sister to graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Untrapped, from the family of graded stakes winner Tale of the Cat.

    Hip No. 1219, a son of Nyquist consigned by Best A Luck Farm LLC, Agent, was sold to Donato Lanni, Agent for Baoma Corp. for $550,000. The bay colt, whose eighth on Saturday in :9 4/5 was the day’s co-fastest, is out of Zetta Z, by Bernardini, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Unbridled Elaine.

    Hip No. 928, a son of Nyquist consigned by Lucan Bloodstock (Karl Keegan), Agent, was sold to Schermerhorn/Drown for $535,000. The bay colt, who breezed a quarter on Friday in :20 4/5, is out of Seize the Ring, by Tiznow, a daughter of champion Catch the Ring.

    Hip No. 1093, a daughter of Audible consigned by Richardson Bloodstock, Agent, was sold to Rich Schermerhorn & Jay Hanley & 30 Year Farm for $535,000. The gray or roan filly, who worked an eighth on Saturday in :10 flat, is out of The Girl Factor, by The Factor, a half-sister to Gr. I stakes-placed stakes-winner Catch My Drift.

    MyRacehorse & Partners went to $525,000 for Hip No. 1068, a daughter of Gun Runner consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent. The dark bay or brown filly, who breezed an eighth on Saturday in :10 2/5, is out of Tamboz, by Tapit, a full sister to Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tapizar.

    Hip No. 942, a son of Lookin At Lucky who breezed an eighth in :10 flat on Friday, went to West Point Thoroughbreds, LEB Agent, for $500,000. The bay colt, consigned by Crane Thoroughbred Services, Agent, is a full brother to graded stakes-placed OBS graduate Giuseppe the Great out of Shawnee Moon, by Forestry.

    Hip No. 995, a daughter of Distorted Humor consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds LLC (Steven Venosa), Agent, was sold to Alistair Roden Bloodstock, Agent for MKW Racing & Breeding, for $485,000. The dark bay or brown filly, who turned in an eighth in :9 4/5 on Friday, is a half-sister to graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Speed Boat Beach out of Sophia Mia, by Pioneerof the Nile.

    Hip No. 1012, a daughter of Speightstown consigned by Scanlon Training & Sales, Agent for Excel Bloodstock (Bruno DeBerdt), went to Bradley Thoroughbreds, Agent, for $485,000. The chestnut filly is out of graded stakes- placed Spooky Woods, by Ghostzapper, from the family of graded stakes-winning 3-year-old OBS graduate Arabian Knight.

    Hip No. 1157, a son of Take Charge Indy consigned by S B M Training and Sales, Agent, was sold for $410,000 to Cherie De Vaux, Agent. The dark bay or brown colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat on Saturday, is a half-brother to stakes-placed La Palina out of Upstager, by Distorted Humor, a daughter of Gr. I stakes-placed stakes-winner Stage Luck.

    Cherie De Vaux, Agent, went to $400,000 for Hip No. 979, a daughter of Arrogate consigned by Eisaman Equine, Agent. The gray or roan filly, who breezed an eighth on Friday in :10 2/5, is out of Smooth Path, by Scat Daddy, a half sister to stakes winner Taraz.

    Hip No. 1045, a son of Catalina Cruiser consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, was sold to R. Brisset, Agent for September Farm & Storrytener for $400,000. The bay colt, who worked an eighth in :10 flat on Friday, is a half-brother to stakes-placed Bernabreezy out of stakes-winner Super Allison, by Super Saver.

    Hip No. 1112, a daughter of Good Magic consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, sped an Under Tack quarter in :20 3/5, Saturday’s fastest at the distance. The chestnut filly is out of Tiz Heavenly, by Tiznow, a daughter of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Tasha’s Miracle, and was purchased for $400,000 by Olivia Perkins-Mackey, Agent.

    For the day, 166 horses brought a total of $22,659,000 compared with 158 selling for a total of $18,070,000 last year. The average price was $136,500, compared to $114,367 in 2022, while the median price was $65,000 compared to $53,500 a year ago. The buyback percentage was14%; it was 21% in 2022.

    For the entire sale, 699 horses sold for a Spring Sale record total of $90,805,000 compared with 705 horses bringing the previous record $90,723,000 last year. The average price was a record $129,907 compared with last year’s record $128,685, while the median was $65,000, identical to last year’s record $65,000. The buyback percentage was 16.8%; it was 15.8% a year ago.

Friday, April 28, 2023
Consigned by DeMeric Sales . . .

    Hip No. 782, a son of Gun Runner consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, went to Donato Lanni, Agent, for $2,200,000 to top the third session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 at Thursday’s Under Tack session, is a full brother to graded stakes-placed Runaway Wife, out of stakes-winning Perfect Wife, by graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Majesticperfection.

    Hip No. 786, I’lltaketheblame, a son of Blame consigned by Coastal Equine (Jesse Hoppel), Agent, was purchased by West Bloodstock, Agent for Repole Stable, Inc., for $700,000. The bay colt, whose quarter in :21 flat was co-fastest at the distance at Thursday’s Under Tack session, is a half-brother to graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Jalen Journey out of Petunia Face, by Congrats.

    Hip No. 682, a son of Uncle Mo consigned by Gene Recio, Agent, was sold to Benjamin Gase for $675,000. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Wednesday, is out of Mezinka, by Bodemeister, a half-sister to Gr. I stakes- winner and major sire Pioneerof the Nile.

    Hip No. 777, a daughter of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate and leading sire Into Mischief, consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was sold for $575,000 to Fergus Galvin, Agent. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Thursday, is out of Pearl River, by Quality Road, from the family of champion Sweet Catomine.

    Hip No. 617, Hard Knox, a son of Omaha Beach consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, went to Woodslane Farm for $550,000. The bay colt, who turned in an Under Tack quarter on Wednesday in :20 3/5, is out of stakes-placed Lantiz, by Tizway, from the family of champion Plugged Nickle.

    Hip No. 883, a daughter of Blame consigned by Hidden Brook, Agent, went to C R K Stable, LLC for $550,000. The bay filly who turned in a quarter on Friday in :21 1/5, is a half-sister to stakes-placed OBS graduate Bode’s Maker out of Romantic Frolic, by Vindication, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Lindsay Frolic.

    Hoby Kight, Agent, paid $500,000 for Hip No. 793, a son of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate and leading sire Into Mischief, consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent. The bay colt, whose eighth in :9 4/5 was Thursday’s co-fastest, is out of Pisa No Tiffany, by Fusaichi Pegasus, a half-sister to Gr. I stakes-winner and successful sire Tapit.

    Hip No. 686, a son of Candy Ride (ARG) consigned by Pick View, Agent, was purchased by Spendthrift Farm LLC and West Point Thoroughbreds for $485,000. The bay colt, who worked an eighth in :10 1/5 on Wednesday, is a half-brother to graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Faypien out of stakes-winning OBS graduate Mighty Eros, by Freud.

    Hip No. 742, a son of Vino Rosso consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, was sold to FMQ Stables for $475,000. The chestnut colt, who breezed a quarter on Thursday in :21 1/5, is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Three Technique out of graded stakes-placed Nite in Rome, by Harlan’s Holiday.

    Hip No. 662, a daughter of Liam’s Map consigned by Ocala Stud, was purchased by Mansfield Racing for $440,000. The dark bay or brown filly, who worked a quarter in :20 4/5 on Wednesday, is out of Magnolias in Bloom, by Flatter, a half-sister to stakes-winner Quinoa Tifah.

    Cherie De Vaux, Agent, went to $400,000 for Hip No. 722, a son of Uncle Mo consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Thursday, is out of Multi Strategy, by Scat Daddy, a daughter of graded stakes- winner Freefourracing.

    Hip No. 843, a son of Nyquist consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, went to Slugo Racing for $400,000. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat on Thursday, is out of stakes-placed Radish, by Square Eddie, a full sister to stakes-winner Sprouts.

    For the day, 158 horses brought a total of $21,001,000 compared with 176 selling for a total of $23,745,500 at last year’s third session. The average price was $132,918, compared to $134,918 in 2022 while the median price was $66,000 compared with $61,000 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 26.2%; it was 14.6% last year.

Thursday, April 27, 2023
Paul Sharp sells Justify colt for $$750,000 . . .

    Hip No. 449, a son of Frosted consigned by Longoria Training & Sales, Agent, went to Donato Lanni, Agent, for $900,000 to top the second session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The bay colt, whose eighth in :9 3/5 was co-fastest at the distance at Tuesday’s Under Tack session, is out of Handwoven, by Indian Charlie, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Flatter Than Me.

    Hip No. 510, a son of Justify consigned by Paul Sharp, Agent, was sold to Mick Wallace, Agent for Gandharvi Stable, for $750,000. The bay colt, who sped an eighth in :10 flat on Tuesday, is out of Iadorakid, by Lemon Drop Kid, a half-sister to champion El Tormenta.

    Hip No. 320, a colt by Bolt d’Oro consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, was sold to K. Radcliffe for Lady Sheila Stable & Partners for $700,000. The gray or roan colt, who breezed an eighth on Monday in :10 1/5, is out of Elusive Wave, by Mizzen Mast, a full sister to Gr. I stakes-winner Mizdirection.

    Clay Scherer, Agent, paid $700,000 for Hip No. 532, a daughter of Omaha Beach consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth on Wednesday in :9 4/5, the day’s co-fastest at the distance, is a half-sister to stakes-placed Count Alexander out of Intelyhente, by Smart Strike, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Bel Air Beauty.

    Hip No. 570, a son of Lookin At Lucky consigned by Cortez Racing & Sales, Agent, went to West Bloodstock, Agent for Repole Stable, Inc. for $700,000. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat on Wednesday, is out of stakes-winner Joffe’s Run, by Giant’s Causeway, a daughter of graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Laguna Seca.

    Hip No. 466, a son of Omaha Beach who breezed an eighth in :9 4/5 on Tuesday, was purchased for $650,000 by Spendthrift Farm & Nice Guys Stables. Consigned by Mayberry Farm, Agent, the chestnut colt is out of graded stakes-placed Heavenly Hill, by City Zip, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Pleasant Hill.

    Muir Hut Stables went to $575,000 for Hip No. 450, a son of Ghostzapper consigned by Paul Sharp, Agent. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Tuesday, is out of Hannahanna, by Malibu Moon, a half-sister to graded stakes- winner Silent Bird.

    West Bloodstock, Agent for Robert & Lawana Low, paid $475,000 for Hip No. 328, a son of Twirling Candy, consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent. The bay colt, who worked a quarter on Monday in :21 1/5, is out of Equilateral, by Arch, a half- sister to graded stakes-winner Itsaknockout.

    Hip No. 519, Last Minute, a son of The Factor consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, went to Carolyn Wilson for $475,000. The bay colt, who worked an eighth in :9 4/5 on Tuesday, is out of graded stakes-placed Improv, by Distorted Humor, a daughter of graded stakes-winner One Caroline.

    Hip No. 323, a son of Good Magic consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds LLC (Steven Venosa), Agent, went to More Play for $450,000. The chestnut colt, who breezed a quarter in :21 1/5 on Monday, is a half-brother to graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Sarah Sis, out of Emerald Gal, by champion OBS graduate Gilded Time.

    Hip No. 559, a son of Uncle Mo consigned by Eisaman Equine, Agent, was purchased by Almasoud Naif Abdullah/ Abdulrahman Alsayed for $450,000. The gray or roan colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 2/5 on Wednesday, is out of Jade Princess, by Tapit, a daughter of Gr. I stakes-placed Jade Queen.

    Hip No. 513, a son of Arrogate consigned by Cesar Loya Training & Sales, Agent, was sold to B S W / Crow Colts Group, Ghandarvi, Spendthrift, Schwartz for $410,000. The gray or roan colt, who worked a quarter in :21 1/5 on Tuesday, is out of Ifurhappynuknowit, by Bernardini, a daughter of Gr. I stakes-winner Mushka.

    Hip No. 350, a son of Uncle Mo consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds LLC (Steven Venosa), Agent, was sold to K. Radcliffe for Vekoma Thoroughbreds LLC & Partners for $400,000. The bay colt, who turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5 on Monday, is out of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Fantastic Style, by Harlan’s Holiday.

    Hip No. 399, a daughter of champion OBS graduate Mitole consigned by Julie Davies, Agent, went to Gentry for $400,000. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth on Tuesday in :9 4/5, is out of Gemini R N, by Mineshaft, a daughter of graded stakes- winner Sapphire N'Silk.

    C R K Stable went to $400,000 for Hip No. 417, a daughter of Into Mischief consigned by Hidden Brook, Agent for Bonne Chance Farm LLC. The bay filly, who worked an eighth in :10 flat on Tuesday, is out of Goiaba, by Speightstown, a full sister to Gr. I stakes-winner Mozu Superflare.

    For the day, 180 horses brought $23,468,000, compared with 191 selling for $26,114,500 at last year’s second session. The average price was $130,378 compared to $136,725 in 2022, while the median price was $65,000 compared with $75,000 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 20.7%; it was 12.8% last year.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Tampa Bay Downs owner will be enshrined on Aug. 4 . . .
    OLDSMAR - Tampa native Stella F. Thayer, whose keen-sighted guidance has elevated Tampa Bay Downs to a position of prominence within the thoroughbred racing industry, has been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as a Pillar of the Turf.

    Along with seven other members of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023, Thayer will be enshrined on Friday, Aug. 4 at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga at 10:30 a.m. The event is open to the public free of charge.

    “I take the Pillar of the Turf recognition as much a tribute to all of those who have worked with me to improve Tampa Bay Downs and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame,” said Thayer, the first woman to hold the position of president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame from 2005-2014. “It’s something I greatly appreciate.”

    A 1962 graduate from Hollins College in Virginia who earned her law degree in 1965 at Columbia Law School, Thayer is a member of the Florida, New Jersey and New York bars. She is an attorney and shareholder in the Tampa-based law firm of Macfarlane, Ferguson and McMullen, where she is engaged in the practice of Estate Planning, Probate, and Corporate Law.

    Thayer’s efforts to upgrade Tampa Bay Downs after she and her brother Howell Ferguson purchased the racetrack in 1986 have had a major impact not only in the area, but throughout the sport of thoroughbred racing. Soon after buying the track, she named Controller Lorraine M. King as General Manager, marking the first time in racing history a thoroughbred track had separate female ownership and top management.

    One of their first initiatives was the introduction of Sunday racing that December. A crowd of 5,893 proved to Florida lawmakers the viability of horse racing as a family activity, and two years later the state legislature permitted children to attend the races.

    In 1990, Tampa Bay Downs became the first track in Florida to accept a simulcast signal, giving the “Oldsmar oval” a year-round presence in the area and fueling the growth of its popular stakes program. The Gr. III Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby quickly became a major prep race for the Kentucky Derby, producing winners of the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in 2007 (Street Sense) and 2010 (Super Saver).

    In May of 1997, Thayer, King, other track officials and City of Oldsmar representatives broke ground on a new turf course. The layout opened the following spring and has continued to draw wide acclaim from horsemen and jockeys while becoming the annual venue for four graded stakes races.

    Horses have long been a part of Thayer’s life. She started riding when she was 5, and her father, Chester Ferguson, was part of an ownership group that in 1965 acquired the track, long known as Sunshine Park and renamed Florida Downs and Turf Club.

    Thayer was elected to The Jockey Club in 2004 and named a steward for the organization in 2012. She is also a past president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, which plays a leading role in the establishment of programs beneficial to the industry’s welfare, security and integrity.

    As a thoroughbred owner, Thayer achieved a major milestone in 2018 when her 2-year-old Wonderment became the first filly in 14 years to win the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in France.

    Thayer has given back to her community through her involvement as a member of the board of trustees of the Tampa General Hospital Foundation; a member of the board of trustees of the University of South Florida Foundation; chairman of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (the governing board of Tampa International Airport); and chairman of the Hillsborough County Hospital Authority.

    Before it was acquired by British Aerospace, Thayer was the chairman of the board and a director of Reflectone, a manufacturer of full-flight simulators.

    Thayer will be enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame along with fellow Pillars of the Turf John W. Hanes II and Leonard W. Jerome; jockeys Corey Nakatani and Fernando Toro; and racehorses Arrogate, California Chrome and Songbird.
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Sale up 7.9 percent over Last year . . .

    Hip No. 253, a colt by Arrogate consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent, went to Donato Lanni, Agent, for $1,450,000 to top the first session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 flat at Monday’s Under Tack session, is a half-brother to stakes-placed Sunset Promise out of Destine, by War Front from the family of champion Smoke Glacken.

    Hip No. 215, a daughter of Bolt d’Oro consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, was sold to Lael Stable for $850,000. The dark bay or brown filly, who turned in an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat on Monday, is out of Creative Contessa, by Creative Cause, a half- sister to stakes-winner Amiable Grace.

    Hip No. 192, a son of Twirling Candy consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds (Steven Venosa), Agent, went to Oliver St. Lawrence Bloodstock for $800,000. The dark bay or brown colt, whose eighth on Monday in :9 4/5 was the day’s co-fastest at the distance, is out of graded stakes-placed Conquest Babayaga, by Uncle Mo, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winning OBS graduate Negligee.

    Hip No. 229, a daughter of Uncle Mo consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent, was purchased by D. J. Stable /Gary Barber for $675,000. The dark bay or brown filly, who breezed an eighth on Monday in :10 1/5, is out of graded stakes-winner Customer Base, by Lemon Drop Kid.

    Hip No. 19, a son of Constitution consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, was purchased by Cherie De Vaux, Agent for Belladonna Racing V for $500,000. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 on Sunday, is a half-brother to stakes- winner Workaholic out of graded stakes-placed Allez Marie.

    Hip No. 103 a son of Violence consigned by Richardson Bloodstock, Agent, was sold to MyRacehorse & Edge Racing for $400,000. The gray or roan colt, who breezed an eighth on Sunday in :10 flat, is out of Blues Corner, by Bluegrass Cat, a half- sister to graded stakes-winner San Pablo.

    Hip No. 299, a son of Justify consigned by Navas Equine, was sold to Jay Em Ess Stable for $400,000. The chestnut colt, whose eighth in :9 4/5 was Monday’s co-fastest at the distance, is a half-brother to Gr. I stakes-winner Lady Aurelia out of graded stakes-winner D’ Wildcat Speed, by OBS graduate Forest Wildcat.

    Hip No. 141, a daughter of Mendelssohn consigned by Off the Hook, Agent, went to CSLR Racing Partners for $385,000. The bay filly, whose eighth on Sunday in :9 3/5 was the sale’s co-fastest at the distance, is out of Caroline Victoria, by Lonhro (AUS), a daughter of graded stakes-winner Mighty Caroline.

    Hip No. 176, a daughter of More Than Ready consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, went to Town & Country Racing for $380,000. The bay filly, who breezed a quarter on Sunday in :21 3/5, is a half-sister to graded stakes- winner Horologist out of Cinderella Time, by Stephen Got Even.

    Hip No. 77, a daughter of Omaha Beach consigned by Off the Hook, Agent, was sold to Maverick Racing & Siena Farms LLC for $375,000. The chestnut filly, who breezed an eighth on Sunday in :10 flat, is out of Belatrix, by Giant’s Causeway, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Dogtag.

    Hip No. 249, a daughter of Bolt d’Oro consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, went to November Hill, Inc. for $375,000. The bay filly, who sped a quarter in :21 flat, is out of graded stakes-placed Del Mar May, from the family of stakes-winner Stone Carver.

    Hip No. 4, a daughter of Audible consigned by Eisaman Equine, Agent, went to Full of Run Racing II & Ten Strike Racing for $350,000. The bay filly, who breezed an eighth in :10 2/5 on Sunday, is a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Elsa, out of Abtasaamah, by Distorted Humor.

    Hip No. 156, a daughter of Uncle Mo consigned by Pick View, Agent, was sold to Skara Glen Stables, for $350,000. The dark bay or brown filly, who worked a quarter in :21 1/5 on Sunday, is out of Cersei, by Malibu Moon, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Oh What a Windfall.

    C R K Stable went to $350,000 for Hip No. 178, a son of Good Magic consigned by Eisaman Equine, Agent. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 2/5 on Monday, is out of City Siren by OBS graduate City Zip, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Cloud Computing.

    Hip No. 193, a son of Good Samaritan consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent, was purchased for $340,00 by Klaravich Stable, Inc. The dark bay or brown colt, whose eighth in :9 4/5 was the day’s co-fastest, is out of OBS graduate Conquest Bad Uncle by Uncle Mo, a daughter of graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Worstcasescenario.

    Cherie De Vaux, Agent for Belladonna Racing V, paid $330,000 for Hip No. 64, a son of Oscar Performance who breezed an eighth on Sunday in :10 2/5. Consigned by Eisaman Equine, Agent, the bay colt is out of Gr. I stakes-winner Balance, by Thunder Gulch, a half-sister to Horse of the Year Zenyatta.

    Hip No. 81, a son of Curlin consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, went to Winchell Thoroughbreds for $310,000. The chestnut colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 2/5 on Sunday, is out of graded stakes-winner Bellavais, by Tapit, a daughter of graded stakes-winner La Cloche, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Memories of Silver.

    Hip No. 228, a son of Into Mischief consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, went to Mike Ryan, Agent for Peter Redekop BC Ltd., for $310,000. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth on Monday in :10 1/5, is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed Sine Wave out of graded stakes-placed Curlina, by Cuvee.

    For the session, 161 horses brought $22,003,000, compared with 180 selling for a total of $22,793,000 at last year’s opening session. The average price was $136,665, up 7.9% compared to $126,628 in 2022, while the median price was $75,000, up 20% compared with $62,500 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 21.8%; it was 15.1% last year.

Saturday, April 22, 2023
Recent injuries to be studied . . .

    The Maryland Jockey Club announced that after consultation with the Maryland Racing Commission, racing has been canceled this weekend at Laurel Park while MJC works with the Maryland Racing Commission to understand and address any issues of concern raised relating to recent injuries. 

    MJC will also be discussing plans for implementation of updated safety and veterinary protocols similar to those that have been in place in California since 2019 and have proven to significantly reduce the number of equine fatalities during racing and training. 

Friday, April 21, 2023
3 colts and a filly . . .

  Colts by Blame, Cable Bay, No Nay Never and a Hard Spun filly worked quarters in :21 flat to post the fastest works at the distance at the fifth session of the Under Tack Show for the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

    Hip No. 786, I’lltaketheblame, a bay colt by Blame consigned by Coastal Equine (Jesse Hoppel), Agent, is a half-brother to graded stakes-winning OBS graduate Jalen Journey, out of Petunia Face, by Congrats. 

    Hip No. 814, consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is a chestnut filly by Hard Spun out of stakes-winner Princessof the Nyl, by Pioneerof the Nile, from the family of champion Althea. 

    Hip No. 847, a bay colt by Cable Bay also consigned by Tom McCrocklin, is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Prince Lancelot out of Rainbow Vale, by Moss Vale, a daughter of graded stakes -winner Rainbows For All (IRE). 

    Hip No. 868, a dark bay or brown colt by No Nay Never consigned by Lucan Bloodstock (Karl Keegan), Agent, is a half- brother to graded stakes-winner Commemorative (GB) out of Revered, by Oasis Dream (GB). 

Six youngsters shared honors for the day’s fastest eighth, clocked in :9 4/5.

    Hip No. 710, consigned by New Horizons Bloodstock, is a dark bay or brown filly by Enticed out of Mooji’s Empire, by Empire Maker, a daughter of graded stakes-placed stakes-winner OBS graduate Mooji Moo. 

    Hip No. 719, a bay filly by Race Day consigned by Randy Miles, Agent, is out of Morning Memo, by Morning Line, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Memorette. 

    Hip No. 728, a bay filly by Maximus Mischief also consigned by Randy Miles, Agent, is a half-sister to stakes-winner It’s High Time out of My Rolex, by Proud Accolade, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Black Seventeen. 

    Hip No. 785, consigned by Two Oaks Equine, is a dark bay or brown filly by Bolt d’Oro out of Petunia, by OBS graduate Into Mischief, a half-sister to stakes-placed Farolero. 

    Hip No. 793, a bay colt by OBS graduate Into Mischief consigned by Hartley / DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, Agent, is out of Pisa No Tiffany, by Fusaichi Pegasus, a half-sister to Gr. I stakes-winner and leading sire Tapit. 

    Hip No. 845, a chestnut colt by Army Mule consigned by Pick View, Agent, is out of Raging Atlantic, by Stormy Atlantic, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winning OBS graduate Seven Trumpets. 

There were six quarters in :21 1/5.

    Hip No. 742, a chestnut colt by Vino Rosso consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Three Technique out of graded stakes-placed Nite in Rome, by Harlan’s Holiday. 


    Hip No. 763, a bay colt by Force the Pass also consigned by Tom McCrocklin, is out of Our Treasure, by Repent, a half-sister to stakes-winning two-time OBS graduate Straight Faced. 

    Hip No. 824, consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is a dark bay or brown filly by Jess’s Dream out of Prove Me, by Big Drama, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winning two-time OBS graduate Pudding. 

    Hip No. 848, consigned by Ocala Stud, is a bay colt by Khozan out of Rainfall, by Blame, from the family of Gr. I stakes- winner Indian Charlie. 

    Hip No. 865, a bay colt by Maximus Mischief consigned by Golden Rock Thoroughbreds, Agent, is out of Resolana, by Put It Back, a half-sister to graded stakes-winning two-time OBS graduate Coppa.

    Hip No. 875, consigned by Blue River Bloodstock, Inc., Agent, is a chestnut colt by OBS graduate World of Trouble out of Risk Premium, by Take Charge Indy, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Melmich.




Thursday, April 20, 2023
Hip No. 618 consigned by All Dreams Equine . . .

    Hip No. 618, a daughter of Speightstown consigned by All Dreams Equine, Agent, sped a quarter in a track record-equaling :20 1/5 to post the session’s fastest work at the distance at the fourth session of the Under Tack Show for the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The bay filly is a half-sister to recent stakes-winner Lady Lowery and a three-quarter sister to graded stakes-winner Speightster, out of Last Dance, by Revolutionary.

There was one quarter mile breeze in :20 3/5.

    Hip No. 617, Hard Knox, a bay colt by Omaha Beach consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is out of stakes-laced Lantiz, by Tizway, from the family of champion Plugged Nickle.

Six youngsters shared honors for the day’s fastest eighth, clocked in :9 4/5.

    Hip No. 532, a bay filly by Omaha Beach consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is a half- sister to stakes-placed OBS graduate Count Alexander out of Intelyhente, by Smart Strike, a full sister to graded stakes-winner Bel Air Beauty. 

    Hip No. 544, a dark bay or brown filly by Divining Rod consigned by Best A Luck Farm LLC, Agent, is a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Aloha West, out of graded stakes-winner Island Bound, by Speightstown. 

    Hip No. 632, consigned by Kings Equine, Agent, is a bay colt by Maximus Mischief out of Lilly Marie, by Bernardini, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Winning Cause. 

    Hip No. 634, Afternoon Surprise, a gray or roan colt by Tapwrit consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed OBS graduate Dream Marie out of Lin Marie, by Curlin. 

    Hip No. 667, also consigned by Wavertree, is a chestnut filly by Omaha Beach out of Malibu Pride, by Malibu Moon, a full sister to stakes-winner By the Light. 

    Hip No. 692, a chestnut colt by Solomini consigned by Randy Miles, Agent, is a half-brother to graded stakes-winning two-time OBS graduate Lookin to Strike out of Miss Bonnie, by Officer. 

There were three quarters timed in :20 4/5

    Hip No. 599, consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is a bay colt by Gormley out of K K’s Buckeye, by Alcindor, a half- sister to stakes-winner Dirt Monster. 

    Hip No. 662, consigned by Ocala Stud, is a dark bay or brown filly by Liam’s Map out of Magnolias in Bloom, a half-sister to stakes-winner Quinoa Tifah. 

    Hip No. 671, a bay filly by OBS graduate The Big Beast consigned by Silvestre Chavez Thoroughbreds, Agent, is a half-sister to stakes-placed Marathon Queen out of graded stakes-placed OBS graduate Marathon Lady, by Graeme Hall. 

There was a single quarter clocked in :21 flat.

    Hip No. 526, consigned by Blue River Bloodstock Inc., Agent, is a chestnut colt by OBS graduate Kantharos out of stakes-winner Indigo Gin, by Lemon Drop Kid, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Sharp Lisa. 

One horse worked a quarter in :25.1 

    Hip No. 629, consigned by Coastal Equine LLC (Jesse Hoppel), Agent, is a gray or roan filly by Funtastic out of stakes-winner Light Cat, by Indygo Shiner, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner Una Chiquitita (CHI).

 



Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Ademar will be heading for Canterbury next . . .
    OLDSMAR - Ademar Santos has had his share of injuries during a 14-year riding career. So after fracturing both shoulder blades, breaking four ribs and suffering a bruised neck on Jan. 29 in a morning training accident, he knew what the road to returning looked like.

    “I’ve been training hard. It takes a lot of dedication,” said Santos, who had ridden seven winners at Tampa Bay Downs at the time of his accident. “I’ve got an Equicizer (mechanical horse) at home and I get on it every day, even on days when I breeze a bunch of horses.”


    Weeks before he started exercising horses around the start of April, Santos had begun extensive therapy and gym workouts to prepare for his return. After having his comeback delayed three days when his only scheduled mount on Sunday was scratched, Santos was more than eager to compete.

    “This meet is almost over, and it’s time to get going,” said Santos, who finished unplaced on both Tapsolute in the second race and Moonshine Now in the eighth. “You have to start from somewhere. I’ve lost a lot of business, but I’m going to build it back and get back on the same path and do what I love.”

    The 47-year-old product of Brazil, who has 698 career victories, finished 10th at Tampa Bay Downs last year with 33 winners despite being stuck in Toronto from Dec. 6-Jan. 27 after Woodbine’s racing season ended because of Canada’s Omicron COVID-19 restrictions. He competed primarily in the mid-Atlantic region after the 2021-2022 Oldsmar meet ended.

    Santos has found momentum hard to come by since last spring. He’s hoping a move to Canterbury Park in Minnesota, which launches a new season May 27, will help get it back.

    “There is never a good time to get hurt, of course,” he said, “but I feel good where I’m at. I just need the horses now to start winning again. I’ve worked hard to get back and make it happen.”

    Santos has been overwhelmed by the tremendous support and encouragement he has received throughout his down time from racing, not only from family, friends and horsemen but the public. “It’s something I greatly appreciate,” he said.

Around the oval - Trainer Kathleen O’Connell won both halves of the early daily double today. She won the first race with Sassy Charlee, a 4-year-old Florida-bred filly winning her third in a row at the $8,000 claiming level. Sassy Charlee is owned by Endsley Oaks Farm and was ridden by Jose Batista.

   O’Connell added the second race with Lord Berrier, a 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by DiBello Racing and ridden by Jose Ferrer. Lord Berrier was claimed from the victory for $6,250 by trainer Gregg Sacco for new owner Karla M. De Jesus.

    


Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Breezes in 9 3/5 . . .

    Hip No. 449, a son of Frosted consigned by Longoria Training & Sales, Agent, breezed an eighth in :9 3/5 to post the fastest work at the distance at the third session of the Under Tack Show for the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The bay colt is out of Handwoven, by Indian Charlie, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Flatter Than Me. 

     Hip No. 484, a daughter of Nyquist consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, turned in the day’s fastest quarter, stopping the timer in :20 3/5. The bay filly is out of stakes-winning OBS graduate Hi Holiday, by Harlan’s Holiday, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Dr B.

There were two quarters timed in :20 4/5

    Hip No. 364, consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is a bay filly by champion OBS graduate Mitole out of Fiercely, by Hard Spun, a half-sister to stakes-winner Ex Pirate. 

    Hip No. 518, a gray or roan filly by Liam’s Map consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, is out of Imprint, by Quality Road, from the family of grade one stakes winner Heart of Darkness. breeze video
Six youngsters turned in eighths clocked in :9 4/5.

    Hip No. 381, a chestnut colt by Tapiture consigned by Global Thoroughbreds LLC, Agent, is a half-brother to stakes- placed Jumeirah out of Foxbeau, by Bluegrass Cat. 

    Hip No. 399, a bay filly by champion OBS graduate Mitole consigned by Julie Davies LLC, Agent, is out of Gemini R N. by Mineshaft, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Sapphire N’ Silk.


    Hip No. 466, consigned by Mayberry Farm, Agent, is a chestnut colt by Omaha Beach out of graded stakes-placed Heavenly Hill, by City Zip, a daughter of graded stakes-winner Pleasant Hill. 

    Hip No. 490, a chestnut filly by Malibu Moon consigned by Centofani Thoroughbreds, Agent, is a half brother to graded stakes placed stakes winner Above Fashion out of stakes winner Holy Fashion, by Holy Bull. 

    Hip No. 519, Last Minute, a bay colt by The Factor consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is out of graded stakes-placed Improv, by Distorted Humor, a daughter of graded stakes-winner One Caroline. 

    Hip No. 520, consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, is a bay filly by Twirling Candy out of I’m So Fancy, by Unbridled’s Song, a daughter of graded stakes-placed Real Fancy Runner. 

There were five quarters clocked in :21 flat.

    Hip No. 435, a dark bay or brown colt by Munnings consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is out of graded stakes-placed Grateful, by Hard Spun, a full sister to stakes-winner Integrity. 

    Hip No. 439, consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is a dark bay or brown colt by Omaha Beach out of stakes- winner Green Destiny, by Super Saver, a daughter of stakes-winner Defy Gravity. 

    Hip No. 464, also consigned by Wavertree, is a bay filly by St. Patrick’s Day out of stakes-placed OBS graduate Heat Transfer, by Latent Heat, from the family of graded stakes-winner Perfect Officer. 

    Hip No. 488, a dark bay or brown colt by OBS graduate The Big Beast consigned by Ocala Stud, is a half-brother to stakes-placed OBS graduate Restofthestory out of Holiday Flare, by Harlan’s Holiday. 

    Hip No. 508, consigned by Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, Agent, is a bay filly by Algorithms out of Hug Doc, by Medaglia d’Oro, a daughter of champion Ipitombe (ZIM). 

One horse worked a quarter in :21 1/5.

    Hip No. 513, consigned by Cesar Loya Training & Sales, Agent, is a gray or roan colt by Arrogate out of Ifurhappynuknowit, by Bernardini, a daughter of Gr. I stakes-winner Mushka. 




Monday, April 17, 2023
Red-hot Tom McCrocklin's group are speedy . . .

    Hip No. 332, a son of No Nay Never, sped a quarter in :20 4/5 to post the fastest work at the distance at the second session of the Under Tack Show for the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The dark bay or brown colt, consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is out of graded stakes-winner Etoile, by War Front, a full sister to graded stakes-winner Ancient Rome.  

Four horses shared honors for the session’s fastest eighth, clocked in :9 4/5.

    Hip No. 177, Julia’s Dream, a chestnut filly by Flameaway consigned by Grassroots Training & Sales, Agent, is a half-sister to stakes-placed OBS graduate Livin Peace out of Cinnamon Girl, by Meadowlake. 

    Hip No. 192, consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds (StevenVenosa), Agent, is a dark bay or brown colt by Twirling Candy out of graded stakes-placed Conquest Babayaga, by Uncle Mo, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winning OBS graduate Negligee.

    Hip No. 239, Slider, a bay colt by Jimmy Creed consigned by Marcial Galan, Agent, is a half-brother to stakes- placed Pete Marwick out of stakes-placed Days Like This, by Congrats, a half-sister to stakes-winning OBS graduate Babaganush. 

    Hip No. 299, a chestnut colt by Justify consigned by Navas Equine, is a half-brother to Gr. I stakes-winner Lady Aurelia out of graded stakes-winning two-time OBS graduate Wildcat Speed, by OBS graduate Forest Wildcat. 

    Hip No. 249, a daughter of Bolt d’Oro consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, turned in the session’s only quarter in :21 flat. The bay filly is out of graded stakes-placed Del Mar May, by Jimmy Creed, from the family of stakes-winner Stone Carver. 

There were five quarters clocked in :21 1/5.

    Hip No. 232, consigned by Gene Recio, Agent, is a dark bay or brown colt by Army Mule out of Dance for Daddy, by Scat
Daddy, from the family of champion Dance Smartly. 

    Hip No. 240, a dark bay or brown filly by Palace Malice consigned by Thorostock, Agent, is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Dazzling Gem out of Dazzler, by Vindication. 

    Hip No. 285, consigned by Azpurua Stables, Agent, is a dark bay or brown colt by First Dude out of Dramamina, by Big Drama, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Wall Street Wonder. 

    Hip No. 319, a bay colt by Omaha Beach consigned by Lucan Bloodstock (Karl Keegan), Agent, is a half-brother to graded stakes-placed On The Warpath (GB) out of stakes-winner Elusive Pearl, by Medaglia d’Oro. 

    Hip No. 328, consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is a bay colt by Twirling Candy out of Equilateral, by Arch, a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Itsaknockout, from the family of graded stakes-winner Rush Bay. 

There were four quarters timed in :21 2/5.

    Hip No. 263, consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is a bay colt by Maximus Mischief out of stakes-placed Dis Smart Cat, by Square Eddie, from the family of stakes-winner Stuttering. 

    Hip No. 315, a chestnut colt by Lord Nelson consigned by Little Farm Equine, Agent, is a half-brother to graded stakes-winner Hopeful Treasure out of Elle Special, by Giant’s Causeway. 

    Hip No. 340, a bay colt by Maximus Mischief also consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is a half-brother to stakes- winner Excellent Timing out of Explicable, by Pioneerof the Nile.

     Hip No. 343, consigned by Coastal Equine (Jesse Hoppel), Agent, is a bay filly by Enticed out of Eye Candy Annie, by Candy Ride (ARG), a daughter of stakes-winner Annie’s Apple. 

Monday, April 17, 2023
Colt has only raced three times . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Mage, beaten a length by early Kentucky Derby favorite Forte in the April 1 Curlin Florida Derby, returned to the Gulfstream Park worktab Sunday morning, breezing an easy five furlongs in 1:01.09.

    The lightly-raced son of Good Magic, trained by Gustavo Delgado and owned by OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH, galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.27 and seven furlongs in 1:28.40 while running in the middle of the track.

    “What we usually do after a big race like we had, we try to go nice and easy. That seems to be what he did today,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father.

    Making only his third career start in the Florida Derby, Mage made a sweeping move from 12th to take the lead at the top of the stretch, appearing as though he may have gotten a good enough jump to hold off Forte, but the Todd Pletcher trainee strode out through the stretch to pull out the victory.

    Mage turned in an eye-catching debut at Gulfstream Jan. 28 while romping to a 3 ¾-length victory in a seven-furlong maiden special weight race. He subsequently showed a lot of grit while finishing fourth behind Forte in the Gr. II Fountain of Youth, in which he experienced gate trouble, bumping and a wide trip. He went about his Sunday morning workout with a lot of energy.

     “You might have thought he was going slower, but 1:01 is still cruising,” Delgado Jr. said. “He’s full of himself. He continues to give you another kind of personality, maybe because he’s maturing and everything seems to be in a momentum.”

    Mage, who collected 40 points for his runner-up Florida Derby finish and 10 points for his game effort in the Fountain of Youth, sits 16th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, assuring the Kentucky-bred colt a stall in the starting gate for the first leg of the 2023 Triple Crown at Churchill Downs May 6.


    The $290,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale may remain at Gulfstream for another breeze before shipping to Kentucky.

    “If the weather stays like this here, he may have another work here,” said Delgado Jr. on a sunny Sunday morning. “It will all depend on how he behaves. We already know what we have.”
Monday, April 17, 2023
Best OBS work Sunday at an eighth of a mile . . .

    Hip No. 141, a daughter of Mendelssohn consigned by Off the Hook, Agent, sped an eighth in :9 3/5 to post the fastest work at the distance at the opening session of the Under Tack Show for the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, a session marked by increasing headwinds throughout the day. The bay filly is out of Caroline Victoria, by Lonhro (AUS), from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner American Theorem

    Hip No. 3, a daughter of Bolt d’Oro consigned by RiceHorse Stable (Brandon & Ali Rice), breezed the day’s fastest quarter, stopping the timer in :20 3/5. The dark bay or brown filly is out of graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Above Fashion, by Paddy O’Prado.

Three horses breezed eighths in :9 4/5.

    Hip No. 1, a dark bay or brown filly by Bee Jersey consigned by Hoppel’s Horse & Cattle Co., Inc. is a half-sister to stakes- placed Perfect Sr., out of graded stakes-placed Aaroness, by Distorted Humor. 

    Hip No. 37, a dark bay or brown filly by Flameaway consigned by S G V Thoroughbreds (Steven Venosa), Agent, is a half- sister to Gr. I stakes-placed Nasreddine, out of graded stakes-placed Appreciating, by Sky Mesa.

    Hip No. 71, consigned by Top Line Sales, Agent, is a bay filly by Vino Rosso out of Beautissimo, by Uncle Mo, a half- sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winning OBS graduate Two Thirty Five. 

    Two horses worked quarters in :20 4/5.

    Hip No. 27, a chestnut colt by OBS graduate Kantharos consigned by Tom McCrocklin, Agent, is out of Always Right, by Arch, from the family of Gr. I stakes-winner McKinzie. 

    Hip No. 57, consigned by J V C Training and Sales, is a chestnut filly by Midshipman out of Avoree Noel, by Lion Tamer, a half-sister to stakes-winner Country Diva. 

A pair of horses worked quarters in :21 flat.

    Hip No. 39, a bay filly by West Coast consigned by Harris Training Center, Agent, is a half-sister to stakes-placed Jerry the Nipper out of graded stakes-placed Aqua Regia, by Pollard’s Vision. 

    Hip No. 90, consigned by CM Thoroughbreds, is a gray or roan colt by Cairo Prince out of Canadian Horse of the Year Biofuel, by Stormin Fever, a half-sister to champion Tu Endie Wei. 

Four horses worked quarters in :21 1/5.

    Hip No. 6, consigned by Ocala Stud, is a bay filly by Girvin out of Adios Annie, by OBS graduate Adios Charlie, a daughter of stakes-winner Burn Brightly. 

    Hip No. 156, a dark bay or brown filly by Uncle Mo consigned by Pick View, Agent, is out of Cersei, by Malibu Moon, a daughter of Gr. I stakes-winner Oh What a Windfall. 

    Hip No. 158, Tap the Champagne, a gray or roan filly by Tapit consigned by Eddie Woods, Agent, is a half-sister to grade one stakes winner Majestic Harbor out of stakes placed Champagne Royale, by French Deputy.  

    Hip No. 167, a bay filly by Preservationist consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, is a half-sister to graded stakes-winner Great Escape out of Chickasaw Gal, by Indian Charlie.

A trio of horses worked quarters in :21 2/5.

    Hip No. 16, a bay filly by Twirling Candy consigned by Oak Creek Thoroughbreds, Agent, is out of Ain’t She Sweet, by Storm Cat, a full sister to champion Sweet Catomine. 

    Hip No. 41, consigned by Global Thoroughbreds LLC, Agent, is a bay filly by Practical Joke out of Arbitress, by Tiznow, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed stakes-winner Tempus Fugit.

    Hip No. 53, a chestnut colt by Mor Spirit consigned by Lucan Bloodstock (Karl Keegan), Agent, is out of Auntie’s the One, by Exchange Rate, from the family of graded stakes-winner Real Courage. 

There were 23 eighths in :10 flat.

    Hip 10, Hip 20, Hip 38, Hip 50, Hip 51, Hip 77, Hip 78, Hip 83, Hip 89, Hip 94, Hip 95, Hip 103, Hip 117, Hip 123, Hip 125, Hip 129, Hip 140, Hip 151, Hip 157, Hip 164, Hip 165, Hip 171, Hip 173.

Monday, April 17, 2023
OBS horses on a roll . . .

    Flurry Racing Stables and Hoffman Family Racing’s Key of Life went right to the front at the start of Keeneland’s $400,000, Gr. II Beaumont Stakes and was never headed, holding off a late charge to score by a neck.

    It’s the third stakes victory for the 3-year-old daughter of Mo Town, a two-time OBS graduate, sold by K P Sales, Agent, at the 2021 October Selected Yearling Sale, and then purchased for $350,000 out of the Top Line Sales consignment at the 2022 Spring Sale after breezing an eighth in :9 4/5. Trained by Brad Cox, she has compiled an 8-5-0-3 career record and earned $633,275. 

    Paradise Farms Corp., David Staudacher, Skychai Racing and Angelo Carlesimo’s Gaslight Dancer saved ground early in Sunday’s $246,269 Palisades Stakes at Keeneland, then swung out for the drive, took over a furlong out and was best by a length and a half at the wire. Fellow OBS graduate Chiringo (March ’22) checked in third.

    It’s the first stakes win for the graded stakes placed 3-year-old colt by City of Light, purchased for $260,000 out of the Julie Davies consignment at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 2/5. He’s now 5-2-1-0 for trainer Mike Maker and has earned $282,554. 

Friday, April 14, 2023
Simulcasting will be available . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Gulfstream Park announced it has canceled live racing again today, April 14, to allow horsemen, backstretch workers, employees and the public to recover from an unprecedented storm that swept through South Florida Wednesday afternoon and evening.

    The storm, which caused the track to cancel racing Thursday, resulted in tornado warnings, flooded streets, and the closing of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as well as schools and businesses throughout the area.

    Gulfstream will be open for simulcasting today.
Thursday, April 13, 2023
56-year-old veteran busy helping with his wife's training . . .
    OLDSMAR - As he continues his pursuit of 5,000 career victories, jockey Scott Spieth is determined to do things his way.

    Spieth collected his fourth victory of the current Tampa Bay Downs meet in Wednesday’s fifth race with a strong front-running performance by 3-year-old Florida-bred filly Immortallove, trained by his wife, Aldana Spieth. The winner was never threatened in the 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight contest, posting a 4 ½-length victory from Pat’schromecompass.

    Immoratllove is owned by Endsley Oaks Farm. It was the second career start for the daughter of Kantharos, who finished in a fine time of 1:04.51 for the 5 ½-furlong distance.

    With 4,973 career winners, Spieth is confident he’ll get to the coveted 5-grand milestone later this year at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa., or JACK Thistledown Racino outside Cleveland, where he excelled while averaging 269 winners a year from 2005-2007.

    But the 56-year-old athlete says fans who think he’s downcast about his paucity of victories in Oldsmar aren’t seeing the big picture. “I should do that easily,” he said. “I haven’t lost a step from where I was 5, 10 years ago. The young horses Aldana is bringing over, they are the work of the two of us, my years of riding experience and her training expertise. So I’m really enjoying it.

    “It will be nice to pass 5,000, but I’ll keep (riding) until either my head or my body tells me I’m done.”

    Aldana Spieth knows Scott is excited about getting to 5,000, but the chase isn’t keeping him up nights.

    “He maybe feels he has already done it, because he won a lot of Quarter Horse races and those don’t count” (in the official Equibase statistics), she said. “He has accomplished so many things in his life, and that would be another big accomplishment. But I don’t think he is going to stop after he gets there. He likes to be around horses, especially the young ones like this filly.”


    The big horse in Aldana Spieth’s barn is Dreaming of Kona, a 3-year-old colt who won the Mucho Macho Man Stakes on Jan. 1 at Gulfstream and had previously finished third here as a 2-year-old in the Inaugural Stakes. He has turned in two sharp 4-furlong breezes since finishing sixth in the Gr. III Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby last month, and they hope to run him in the Gr. II Pat Day Mile on May 6, Kentucky Derby Day, at Churchill Downs.

    Dreaming of Kona is owned by Aldana Gonzalez Racing in partnership with Lisa Ballou and Steve Ballou.




Thursday, April 13, 2023
Casino will be open . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Gulfstream Park has cancelled live racing today due to Wednesday’s severe weather that resulted in tornado warnings, flooded streets, and the closing of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and schools throughout the area.

    The opening of Gulfstream’s casino today has been pushed back from 10 a.m. to noon. Silks will be closed for simulcasting.
Sunday, April 9, 2023
Owned and bred by Ocala veterinarian Rod Lundock . . .
    Dr. Rod Lundock has bred many winners during his decades in the business in Marion County, including such as Didn't Take It ($312,794) and Rage of Aquarius ($211,844), but he has currently hit the jackpot with a 4-year-old filly by First Dude. 

    What makes the daughter of Double Diamond's premier stallion special for the Ocala veterinarian is that he also owns Maryquitecontrary, who ran the race of her short career yesterday, finishing second behind Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Goodnight Olive in the Gr. I Madison Stakes at Keeneland.

    Maryquitecontrary came into the race riding a five-race winning streak with Luca Panici, who made the trip to Lexington from South Florida for the $600,000 test at seven furlongs. Panici had his filly running fourth down the backstretch, swung her out to the four path for the stretch drive, and made up three lengths late only to run out of ground while finishing a length behind Goodnight Olive, who was clocked in 1:23.12 while winning her seventh in a row and paying just $2.74 to win.

    Maryquitecontrary earned a runner-up check of $100,000, raising her total to $438,580 on a record of 6-2-0 in eight starts. She moved up to seventh place on First Dude's list of leading money-winners, and sent the son of Stephen Got Even past the $24 million mark in career progeny earnings. 
Sunday, April 9, 2023
3-year-old colt sold for $230,000 . . .

    Pierre Jean Amestoy, Jr., Leslie A. Amestoy and Roger K. Beasley’s Practical Move is on his way to the Kentucky Derby after capturing an exciting renewal of the Gr. I Santa Anita Derby on Saturday.

    Saving ground just off the lead, the 3-year-old son of Practical Joke slipped through to take command coming to the quarter pole, then held off a stretch run by Japanese invader Mandarin Hero to win by a nose, with fellow OBS graduate Skinner (April ’22) half a length back in third. That’s three straight graded stakes wins for the 2022 OBS Spring Sale graduate, purchased for $230,000 out of the Eisaman Equine consignment after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5. Now 7-4-1-2 for trainer Tim Yakteen, he has earned $884,200.  

    James M. and Donna Daniell’s Offlee Naughty, overlooked at 11-1 in Santa Anita’s $200,500, Gr. II Charles Whittingham Stakes, trailed in the early going but closed with a rush in the stretch and was up late to score by a length. It’s the first stakes win for the 5-year-old son of Flashback, trained by Mike McCarthy, now 16-4-1-1 with $310,645 in earnings. He was sold for $4,000 by J V C Training and Sales (Jorge and Maria Villagomez), Agent, at the 2020 OBS June Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 2/5 at the Under Tack Show. 

    Hoffman Thoroughbreds and Tom McCrocklin’s Promiseher America tracked the leaders in the early going of Aqueduct’s $250,000, Gr. III Gazelle Stakes, took the lead approaching the head of the stretch, and turned back the closers to score by half a length. It’s the first stakes victory for the 3-year-old filly by American Pharoah, trained by Raymond Handal, now 4-2-1-0 with $198,138 in earnings. At the 2022 OBS Spring Sale, she was purchased for $75,000 out of the Tom McCrocklin consignment after turning in an Under Tack quarter in :21 2/5.  

    Winning Move Stable’s Joey Freshwater posted his first stakes win on Saturday in Aqueduct’s Gr. III Bay Shore Stakes, sweeping four-wide to the lead coming off the turn and easing away down the stretch to a 1 1/4-length victory. The 3-year-old colt by Jimmy Creed was purchased for $25,000 out of the Harris Training Center consignment at the 2022 OBS June Sale after breezing an eighth in :10 1/5. Trained by Linda Rice, he’s now 6-3-1-1 and has earned $210,950.  

    Little Red Feather Racing’s Elm Drive didn’t mind a bit when Santa Anita’s $201,000 Monrovia Stakes was moved to the main track. The 4-year-old graded stakes-winning daughter of Mohaymen pressed the pace from the rail, took command after turning for home and cruised to victory by a length and three quarters. She’s a two-time OBS graduate, purchased out of the Summerfield consignment at the 2020 October Yearling Sale then consigned to the 2021 March Sale by Paul Sharp, Agent, where she turned in an Under Tack eighth in :9 4/5 and was purchased for $165,000 by John Dowd on behalf of Little Red Feather Racing. Now 9-4-0-1 for trainer Philip D’Amato, she has earned $348,140.

Saturday, April 8, 2023
There is no denying, he hits for $64 in Oldsmar Cup . . .
    OLDSMAR - There is no denying Mayor Dan Saracki had an outstanding time on Oldsmar Cup Day at Tampa Bay Downs.

    Saracki, who was accompanied by his wife Paula and several city officials, cashed a ticket on Oldsmar Cup race winner Denying, at 31-1 the longest shot in the nine-horse field. Richard Mitchell rode Denying, a 3-year-old Florida-bred gelding who improved to 2-for-5 for owner Mila Mullens and trainer Arnoud Dobber in the 1-mile turf race, contested as the fifth on the card.

    “It’s great to pick the winner. I’m excited. I’m very excited,” Saracki said.

    After lollygagging in last place early, Denying surged to the lead along the inside in the stretch and held off a belated rally from Gods Glory by a half-length.

    On a card laden with long shots, Denying was the biggest, paying $64 to win.

    “He doesn’t have a lot of speed, so I held him until the last quarter-mile,” said Mitchell, Denying’s jockey in each of his five races. “When it was time to go, he just kicked right in. I get on him in the mornings, so I understand him. He’s a nice horse who does what you ask.”

    Mitchell also won the first race on Shanghai Warrior, a 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Eagle View Farm and trained by Derek Ryan.

    The Oldsmar Cup commemorates the longstanding relationship between the city and Tampa Bay Downs, often referred to as the Oldsmar oval. “The greatest thing is that it’s close to our birthday,” Saracki said. “Oldsmar was ‘invented’ by R. E. Olds on April 12, 1916, and this day represents who we are and our community involvement and cooperation and teamwork with Tampa Bay Downs.”

    Also on hand to represent the city were City Clerk Kristin Garcia and Communications Specialist Barbara Schulte.

    Around the oval - With a steady stream of long shots lighting up the tote board, no bettor hit the late Pick-5, so there will be a carryover of $23,431 into Wednesday’s card. That day’s late Pick-5 wager will begin with the fifth race.

    In today’s other co-feature, a $31,500 allowance/optional claiming race for 3-year-olds at 7 furlongs, Galaxy Music pulled off a huge upset, going to the lead at the outset and hanging on for a half-length victory from 6-5 favorite Call Me Ice Man. Bright Forecast finished third. Galaxy Music paid $52.80 to win as the longest shot in the second race on the card. The 3-year-old colt had finished last in his two previous starts, but his most recent race on Feb. 12 here was won by Kingsbarns, the unbeaten (3-for-3) Kentucky Derby prospect who returned six weeks later to win the Gr. II Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. Galaxy Music appeared to be back where he belongs today, competition-wise, and turned in a time of 1:23.36 in his winning effort.


    The son of Keen Ice out of the Oxbow mare Zo Bow is owned by GOP Racing Stable and trained by Gerard Ochoa. Angel Arroyo rode Galaxy Music, just as he had when he broke his maiden on Aug. 17 at Colonial in his career debut.

Leading jockey Samy Camacho rode two winners. He was aboard 3-year-old gelding Cox Canyon in the sixth race for owner Paterpop Racing and trainer Monica McGoey. Camacho added the eighth race with Thunder Buggy, a 5-year-old mare owned by Benjamin Sanchez and trained by Antonio Machado. The victory was the fourth in a row for Thunder Buggy, all with Camacho in the saddle.

    In the ninth and final race, the Lambholm South Race of the Week allowance for older horses at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf, 4-year-old gelding Great Britain moved smartly to the lead on the turn for home and held off a spirited rally by Sociallongdistance by a head. Maddie Rowland, last season’s apprentice sensation, rode Great Britain for owner Larry Gourneau, Jr., and trainer Dennis Ward.

    Rowland, 19, said this was her last race this season at Tampa Bay Downs. She plans to move her business to the mid-Atlantic area.


Saturday, April 8, 2023
9 fillies will race 4 1/2 furlongs . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - The 2023 juvenile racing season at Gulfstream Park will kick off next Thursday with a promising field of nine fillies going 4 ½ furlongs.

    Trainer Juan Alvarado is represented by two Arindel homebreds, Cherokee and Mist, in the field for Race 1. Arindel homebreds have been highly successful in early season races in recent years before going on to win their shares of Florida Sire Stakes events.

    While Arindel’s success with 2-year-olds has come with sons and daughters of Brethren, Cherokee is by Union Jackson but out of a daughter of Brethren. Union Jackson, a multiple stakes-winning son of Curlin and half-brother to millionaire Pauline’s Pearl, stood in New York for four seasons before being recently pensioned.

    Cherokee is out of Florence, a full sister to graded stakes-winner Cookie Dough, the winner of two legs of the 2018 Florida Sire Stakes series and more than $600,000 in earnings.  Cookie Dough, who captured the 2020 Gr. III Royal Delta at Gulfstream, also placed in five other graded stakes.

    Cherokee, who prepped for her debut with a three-furlong ‘bullet’ breeze, is not Florida Sire Stakes eligible. Mist, a daughter of Brethren, is FSS eligible.

    Trainer Jose D’Angelo is slated to saddle Sun Azteca, a daughter of Sharp Azteca, for the 2-year-old season opener. The Kentucky-bred $110,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September sale is out of a graded stakes-winning City Zip mare, Northern Netti.

    Briseida, a daughter of Runhappy who was purchased for $80,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale, is scheduled to make her debut for trainer Fausto Gutierrez and St. George Stable.

    Also entered in the first 2-year-old event: Jena Antonucci-trained Avellino (Adios Charlie), Laura Cazares-trained Bucchera (Bucchero), Angel Rodriguez-trained Florindia (Gone Astray), and Javier Gonzalez-trained She Has Class (Khozan).

Notes: The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $50,0000 for today’s 11-race program. The sequence for the popular multi-race wager, which was solved on Thursday’s opening day of the Royal Palm Meet for a $42.893 jackpot payoff, will span Races 6-11.

    Edgard Zayas rode three winners on Friday’s program, scoring aboard Reservenotattained ($4) in Race 3, Cooler King ($9) in Race 4 and Alley Oop Johnny ($3.20) in Race 6… Chantal Sutherland doubled on Disco Queen ($12.80) in Race 2 and Xy Speed ($9.20) in Race 8.