Gulfstream Park: Ramseys, Maker ready for Claiming Crown

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Mike Maker and his principal clients, Ken and Sarah Ramsey, dominated the 2012 Claiming Crown, winning four of the seven stakes, including the featured Jewel with Parent’s Honor. And from the looks of the nominations lists, the potent team stands a good chance of duplicating that success this year.

Maker nominated 27 horses to the eight Claiming Crown races to be decided here Dec. 7, including defending champions Bernie the Maestro (Rapid Transit) and Brother Bird (Iron Horse). Bernie the Maestro is nominated to the Rapid Transit, Emerald, and Jewel, while Brother Bird was made eligible for both the Iron Horse and Rapid Transit.

The Ramseys, who have won more Claiming Crown races than any other owner, 10, have 19 horses nominated this year.

Maker is the winningest trainer in Claiming Crown history with 11 victories.

The 2012 Claiming Crown proved to be such a success in its inaugural appearance at Gulfstream Park that an eighth race and $150,000 in purse money was added for the 2013 edition. Horses who have raced for claiming prices of $35,000 or less since Jan. 1, 2012, are eligible to compete in the Claiming Crown.

Bernie the Maestro and Brother Bird tuned up for their Claiming Crown assignments with breezes Saturday at Palm Meadows. Bernie the Maestro, who has won each of his last two starts, sizzled five furlongs in 59.70 seconds, while Brother Bird covered the same distance in 1:00.55.

DiMauro wins 1,000th race

Steve DiMauro posted the 1,000th victory of his training career when sending out You Never Learn to capture Saturday’s opener under jockey Joe Bravo. DiMauro, who saddled his first winner in 1978, is the son of Steven A. DiMauro, who won 1,159 races during his career and was voted the Eclipse Award-winning trainer in 1975 for his work that season with champions Dearly Precious and Wajima.

“I survived long enough in a game that I love,” was DiMauro’s first reaction to his 1,000th win. “I’ve had good clients and a lot of nice horses, with no single horse or victory really standing out in my mind. I had a good teacher in my father, and I knew if I could be half as good as him, I’d be fine.”

McSweeney qualifies for NHC again

Michelle McSweeney, who has served as an exercise rider and assistant to trainer Tim Hills for the past 19 years, is back on the job at Gulfstream following her seventh-place finish this month at Santa Anita in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. By finishing in the top 12 at Santa Anita, McSweeney qualified for her third trip to the Daily Racing Form /NTRA National Handicapping Championship in January.

“I qualified for the Breeders’ Cup Challenge by winning an online tournament, so I didn’t have to put up any money to be in it,” said McSweeney, who in her spare time serves as a racing analyst during Hialeah’s winter Quarter Horse meeting. “I only had three winners out of the 18 races over Breeders’ Cup weekend, but all paid big prices, including the Arabian race on Friday and Ria Antonia, who luckily was placed first as a result of a disqualification. I had bet her across the board, but the decision to place her first is what helped qualify me for the NHC for a third time.”