Bucked shins sideline Off the Tracks

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – One horse conspicuous by her absence when entries were drawn for Saturday’s Grade 1 Spinaway was Off the Tracks, whose connections had been pointing her to the race since her 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on opening day.

“She bucked shins, so we’re giving her the rest of the year off,” said Roderick Rodriguez, who trains the undefeated Off the Tracks for J Stables. “She did it coming out of her last work, and she’s just too talented to take a chance going on with her at this point, although obviously off her last race we thought she had a very big shot in the Spinaway.”

Rodriguez, who has 16 horses in training split between Saratoga and Gulfstream Park West, said Off the Tracks is recuperating on a farm in Kentucky and the plan is to send her back to him in south Florida in November.

“We’ll put her back in training down there in December, and I think she should have a very good 3-year-old campaign,” Rodriguez said.