Tue, 09/07/2021 - 13:55

Del Mar sets daily average handle record; purses to be boosted for fall meet

Emily Shields
Jockey Tiago Pereira celebrates his Pacific Classic win crossing the finish line aboard Tripoli.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Del Mar averaged a record all-sources daily handle of $18.38 million at the 31-day summer meeting that ended on Monday. Business was strong enough for track officials to state that a significant purse increase is planned for the November autumn meeting.

The average daily handle, which includes ontrack, satellite, and, most importantly, account-wagering sources, surpassed the previous mark of $17.32 million set during a 27-day summer meeting in 2020 conducted without ontrack customers because of the pandemic.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 21:45

Short prices keep Del Mar Rainbow 6 payout to $561

DEL MAR, Calif. -- A largely formful sequence in the Rainbow 6 on closing-day Monday at Del Mar resulted in 8,238 winning tickets, each worth $561.74 for the 20-cent base wager.

Owing to it being closing day, there was a mandatory forceout, and bettors added $5,153,317 to the $694,803 that was carried over from previous days.

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Mon, 09/06/2021 - 20:08

Saratoga closes with $815 million in handle, 15.6 percent higher than previous record

Barbara D. Livingston
Though 174 races were run on the turf during the Saratoga meet, 45 were taken off during an unusually wet summer.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The unexpected shower that fell here shortly before 1 p.m. Monday afternoon was emblematic of the summer it’s been in Saratoga, one in which 45 races scheduled for turf were rained off to the dirt.

The blue skies and sunshine that moved the rain out 20 minutes later also was befitting the type of summer it’s been here with sensational racing resulting in box-office business and bringing Saratoga out of the COVID cloud that forced fans to be prohibited from attending the 2020 meet.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 14:26

Cedillo and Rispoli fined for whip violations

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockeys Abel Cedillo and Umberto Rispoli were fined by Del Mar stewards on Sunday for excessive use of the whip in races on Saturday.

Cedillo was fined $750 for using the whip more than the allowed six times in a race on Augusta Melody, the second-place finisher by a neck in the third race. This was Cedillo’s second such infraction in the last two months.

Rispoli was fined $500 for using his whip in a striking motion above the shoulder aboard Dogtag, who finished second in the Grade 2 John Mabee Stakes.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 14:26

Hot Rod Charlie on course for Pennsylvania Derby

Emily Shields
Hot Rod Charlie trabajando en Del Mar el pasado 21 de agosto

DEL MAR, Calif. – Hot Rod Charlie is on schedule for a start in the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Sept. 25. Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Kentucky Derby on May 1 and second in the Belmont Stakes on June 5, hasn’t raced since finishing first in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 17. He was disqualified for causing interference and placed seventh.

Trainer Doug O’Neill briefly considered running Hot Rod Charlie in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 21, but decided to train him into the Pennsylvania Derby.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 14:20

Grace Adler gives Baffert record 10th win in Del Mar Debutante

Benoit Photo
Grace Adler wins the Del Mar Debutante under Flavien Prat on Sunday.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Grace Adler gave Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record 10th win in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sunday. Going into the race, Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas had each won the race nine times.

Baffert won his first Debutante in 1995 with Batroyale and has won the last three runnings.

History shows that Baffert’s Debutante winners command attention in the Grade 2 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita, a $200,000 race at 1 1/16 miles that will be run on Oct. 1. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies is another matter.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 14:20

Sadler trying to keep a lid on the excitement surrounding Flightline

Benoit Photo
Flightline wins an allowance sprint by 12 3/4 lengths Sunday at Del Mar, earning a 114 Beyer Speed Figure.

DEL MAR, Calif. – One measure of the brilliance of the upstart colt Flightline is that his two wins in as many races have come by a combined 26 lengths. Another is his Beyer Speed Figures of 105 for his debut and 114 for his win in an allowance race at Del Mar on Sunday.

Flightline ($2.40) was prominent throughout the six-furlong race, pulling clear on the turn and winning by 12 3/4 lengths in 1:08.05. Flightline’s Beyer equals the highest of the year in the nation. At Saratoga on Saturday, Baby Yoda earned a 114 for a win in an allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 13:16

Got Stormy's weight assignment lowered to 122 pounds for Turf Sprint

Debra A. Roma
Got Stormy will shorten up from a mile in her Fourstardave victory (above) to six furlongs in the Turf Sprint.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – The weight assignment for Got Stormy in the Turf Sprint on Saturday at Kentucky Downs has been adjusted from 125 pounds to 122 after racing officials credited her with an industry-standard three-pound allowance that goes to a filly or mare facing male rivals. She was listed at 125 on the Saturday overnight.

Got Stormy, fresh off a victory in the Grade 1 Fourstardave at Saratoga for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, will be turning back from a mile to six furlongs.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 13:16

Masqueparade getting a South Carolina vacation

Barbara D. Livingston
Ohio Derby winner Masqueparade is expected to rejoin trainer Al Stall Jr.'s stable at Fair Grounds.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Trainer Al Stall Jr. has sent Masqueparade to Camden, S.C., for several months of rest after the colt finished a well-beaten sixth in the Aug. 28 Travers at Saratoga. The son of Upstart won the Ohio Derby in June.

Mon, 09/06/2021 - 13:10

Rosario has five-win opening day

Emily Shields
Joel Rosario's Kentucy Downs mounts on Sunday earned more than $638,000 in purse money.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Most jockeys would love to have an entire meet as productive as what Joel Rosario enjoyed in just one afternoon. Rosario was in from Saratoga to ride five winners on the Sunday opener at Kentucky Downs, including the Dueling Grounds Oaks on Adventuring, when compiling one-day mount earnings of $638,101.

“It was a great day,” said Rosario. “I give a lot of credit to my agent,” Ron Anderson. “He puts me on great horses and I just go out and do my job.”