Lanerie ends 0-for-46 skid with 4-length triumph
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two weeks of frustration came pouring out of Corey Lanerie as he gave an enthusiastic wave of his whip after crossing under the wire a winner in the seventh race at Keeneland on Sunday.
“Acting crazy,” Lanerie said early Monday with a laugh.
It was only a maiden race, but winning by four lengths aboard a 2-year-old filly named Martian felt great. It snapped an 0-for-46 streak for Lanerie, who has grown very accustomed to winning with regularity on this circuit. The triumph was the first for Lanerie since he ended the September meet at Churchill on Sept. 30 with a three-win day and yet another riding title at the Louisville track.
“You start thinking you might be doing something wrong,” said Lanerie, who enters Wednesday action with 4,461 career wins. “But the reality is, that’s just the way this game is. A tough streak like that is just going to happen sometimes.
“Maybe now things will start falling into place. Sometimes you do nothing wrong – and even when you do something wrong, it ends up right.”
Handle up 20 percent
With the 17-day fall meet hitting its midpoint Wednesday, all-sources handle on Keeneland racing has averaged $9,868,668 per card, up 20 percent over last fall. Gross wagering totaled more than $78.9 million, up substantially over the numbers from last fall ($65.6 million gross for an average of nearly $8.2 million).
Granted, wagering was down nearly 9 percent for the entirety of the 2017 Keeneland fall meet in comparison to 2016, when a loosely organized boycott was formed as a result of increased takeout rates. Those higher takeouts were rescinded before the 2018 spring meet.
Bob Elliston, vice president of racing and sales at Keeneland, said Monday, “The horsemen have filled the entry box with exceptionally talented, deep fields, and handicappers have responded through our wagering pools, in many cases, at record levels.”
Indeed, wagering is on pace to break the fall-meet records for gross ($143 million) and average ($8.4 million) handle, both set in 2013.
Tie atop rider standings
There’s a logjam atop the Keeneland jockey standings with eight of 17 programs in the books. Seven riders are within two wins of the top rung, shared by Jose Ortiz and apprentice Edgar Morales (six wins each). Julien Leparoux is next with five wins, followed by four more jockeys with four wins and six jockeys with three wins.
Todd Pletcher, with Ginny DePasquale deputizing, has the lead atop the trainer standings with six wins, two ahead of Brad Cox.
◗ One graded stakes will be run on each of the last four cards this week. Those races are the Grade 3 Sycamore on Thursday, the Grade 3 Valley View on Friday, the Grade 2 Raven Run on Saturday, and the Grade 3 Dowager on Sunday.
– additional reporting by David Grening
