Mon, 10/16/2023 - 14:00

Jody's Pride will try two turns in Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

Jody's Pride wins the Matron at AQU Oct 8 2023
Barbara D. Livingston
Jody's Pride will go into the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies never having raced beyond six furlongs.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jody’s Pride, winner of the off-the-turf Matron Stakes, is being pointed to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita, trainer Jorge Abreu said Monday.

Abreu has twice tried to run Jody’s Pride on turf, but both races were rained off to the main track and Jody’s Pride won both handily. A daughter of American Pharoah, Jody’s Pride has only run 5 1/2 furlongs and six furlongs. The Juvenile Fillies is run at 1 1/16 miles.

“It’s a concern,” Abreu said of the distance, “but I think she’ll be able to handle it.”

Mon, 10/16/2023 - 14:00

Clapton being pointed to Breeders' Cup Classic

Clapton (left) beats Trademark in Lukas Classic at CD Sept 30 2023
Coady Photography
Clapton (left) wins the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs by a head over Trademark for trainer Chad Summers and RRR Racing.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Clapton, winner of the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Sept. 30, is being trained toward a start in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

Trainer Chad Summers was planning to work Clapton Tuesday at Belmont Park and then ship to Southern California on Saturday so that he can get a work over Santa Anita’s main track the last weekend of October.

Summers has gone as far as to secure a jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, for the Classic.

Mon, 10/16/2023 - 13:55

Del Mar cuts purses for autumn meet

Benoit Photo
Del Mar announced cuts to their purses for their upcoming 13-day autumn meet.

Del Mar has cut overnight purses for its 13-day autumn meeting from Nov. 10 to Dec. 3.

The reductions were expected. The track announced earlier this month that stakes purses for the season would drop $400,000, to $2.05 million. The purses of six stakes were cut.

For overnight purses, some categories have been affected more than others. A maiden special weight will be worth $61,000, down 12.8 percent from $70,000 at the 2022 autumn meeting. A first-condition allowance race will be worth $63,000, a decline of 12.5 percent from last fall’s purse of $72,000.

Mon, 10/16/2023 - 13:55

Arabian Knight leads Baffert workers ahead of Breeders' Cup

Benoit Photo
Arabian Knight bested fellow 3-year-old Geaux Rocket Ride in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic.

Led by Arabian Knight, the winner of the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 2, trainer Bob Baffert gave several prominent horses workouts at Santa Anita on Monday, less than three weeks before the Breeders’ Cup.

“We started picking up the tempo a little bit,” Baffert said.

Arabian Knight, unraced since the Pacific Classic, worked seven furlongs in 1:24. A winner of 3 of 4 starts, Arabian Knight is rated as a leading contender for the $6 million BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles on Nov. 4. Arabian Knight won his first try at 1 1/4 miles in the Pacific Classic.

Fri, 10/13/2023 - 13:47

Santa Anita sees higher handle from $1 pick six

Emily Shields
Santa Anita has replaced the 20-cent Rainbow pick six with a $1 pick six for the current meeting.

The $1 pick six, relaunched at Santa Anita at the start of the current autumn meeting on Sept. 29, generated higher handle for the first seven racing days of the season than the 20-cent Rainbow pick six in the corresponding period in 2022.

After seven days of racing, the $1 pick six had a handle of $1,374,729 compared to $1,257,027 for the Rainbow pick six.

The year-to-year comparison will change in favor of the old 20-cent Rainbow pick six this weekend. Last year on Saturday, Oct. 15, the Rainbow pick six drew a pool of $2,039,220 on a day with a mandatory payout.

Fri, 10/13/2023 - 12:30

Trainer Potts ‘starting over' with return to training

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Trainer Wayne Potts returned to racing this summer and is seeking his first New York win since his return.

After stepping away from the sport of Thoroughbred racing for more than a year, Wayne Potts returned to training horses this summer. Still in the “starting-over” mode, Potts is hoping to work his way back to the success he enjoyed at Aqueduct in the winter of 2021-22.

Fri, 10/13/2023 - 12:25

Lane Luzzi to ride in New York, hopes to follow in dad's footsteps

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York jockey colony will go through a transition over the next few months and one who hopes to make an impact is Lane Luzzi, who will plans to ride full-time at Aqueduct’s winter meet.

Luzzi, the son of veteran rider Mike Luzzi, rode in the Mid-Atlantic region this summer, and rode one race Thursday at Aqueduct, finishing second aboard the 9-year-old Hammerin Aamer in a $12,500 claimer.

“I’m getting my feet wet these next few weeks,” Luzzi, 26, said after that race. “The goal is eventually the winter meet.”

Fri, 10/13/2023 - 11:44

Breeders' Cup: Echo Zulu scheduled for surgery after injury during workout

Barbara D. Livingston
Echo Zulu wins the Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap on Aug. 26 at Saratoga.

Echo Zulu, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2021, sustained a sesamoid injury in a workout Friday at Santa Anita and is scheduled to undergo surgery Saturday, trainer Steve Asmussen said.

Echo Zulu was in training for the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita when she was stricken. She was in the midst of a workout when the injury occurred.

Unbeaten in three starts this year, Echo Zulu was a contender for either the Breeders’ Cup Sprint or Filly and Mare Sprint.

Thu, 10/12/2023 - 16:49

Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging state loan to NYRA for Belmont Park redevelopment

Barbara D. Livingston
Horses train while construction work continues in the Belmont infield.

A New York Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by two New York residents seeking to declare unconstitutional the $455 million loan the state approved in the spring for the New York Racing Association to renovate Belmont Park, meaning the project will be able to move forward.

Judge Peter Lynch issued his ruling just one day after oral arguments were presented in court from both sides.

Thu, 10/12/2023 - 15:08

Final time for Breeders' Futurity changed, Beyer Figure adjusted

Coady Photography
Locked Beyer Speed Figure was adjusted from an 87 to a 92.

The official time of the Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 7 at Keeneland was revised this week from 1:45.06 to 1:44.62 after hand-timing of race video revealed a discrepancy with the 1 1/16-mile race’s initial clocking. 

Locked, who overcame a wide trip to win the Grade 1 race for 2-year-olds, had his Beyer Speed Figure raised from an 87 to a 92. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt, one of the favorites for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, got a 96 Beyer for his maiden win at Saratoga in his start before the Breeders’ Futurity.