Trainer Rice wins five races on Saratoga card, ties record

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Linda Rice became the second trainer this meet to win five races on a single card, going 5 for 6 on Saturday’s 12-race card to equal a Saratoga record.

On Aug. 1, Todd Pletcher won five races at Saratoga, something he also did in 2004. In between, Chad Brown won five races on Aug. 2, 2021 and Sept. 2, 2024.

This was the second time this year and third time in her career that Rice won five races on a New York Racing Association card. She won five races at Aqueduct on Jan. 22 and went 5 for 5 at Aqueduct on April 4, 2024.

On Saturday, after watching 3-5 Salming finish last in the first race, Rice won the next five races in which she had starters. It began in race 2 with the first-time-starting 2-year-old Scramjet ($18.96) Two races later, she won a New York-bred allowance with the 3-year-old filly Lady Rose ($4.24). In race 7, in an open allowance scheduled for the turf but run on the dirt, Rice sent out Bite and Strike ($10.60) and Vettriano to a one-two finish.

Rice completed her record-tying day taking races 11 and 12 with Calling Card ($5.66) and Maximum Heat ($3.50), the latter in another off-the-turf race.

Rice’s five wins give her 21 for the meet, putting her in second place in the trainer standings, four behind Chad Brown through 28 days of racing.

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