Tyler Gaffalione to ride Mind Your Biscuits in Lukas Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tyler Gaffalione has picked up the mount on Mind Your Biscuits and will be at Churchill Downs to breeze the heavy favorite for the Sept. 29 Lukas Classic early Friday morning under the lights.

Joel Rosario has ridden Mind Your Biscuits, the all-time leading New York-bred earner with more than $4.1 million, in his last three starts, but is committed Sept. 29 to Accelerate in the Awesome Again at Santa Anita.

Trainer Chad Summers said that Gaffalione, the Florida-based jockey whose national profile has risen steadily in the last couple of years, will have the mount back on Mind Your Biscuits if the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the next race. Summers said the horse’s performance in the 1 1/8-mile Lukas Classic will determine whether the horse goes next in the Classic, Dirt Mile, or Sprint, all to be run Nov. 3 at Churchill.

With entries due Wednesday, a short field appears likely for the Grade 3, $200,000 Lukas Classic, the main event on a night card. Summers said the fact the race will be run under the lights is one reason the horse will breeze before dawn Friday.

Honorable Duty, the 2017 Lukas Classic winner for trainer Brendan Walsh, is among the opposition expected for Mind Your Biscuits.