139th meeting of Saratoga concluded; records fall

[Glimmerglass]

An interesting article - although hardly new subject - from Sunday’s New York Times:

Aug 19 - “Racing Becomes Afterthought as Focus Turns to Breeding and Big Bucks”

I didn’t know that Any Give Saturday was valued as high as the article suggested. He has talent but not $30 million worth of talent in my view.

Steve Asmussen, the trainer of Curlin, was even more blunt. “Realistically, these aren’t racehorses,” he said. “They’re breeding stock, and someone lets you run them for a little while.”

It was not that long ago that top horses ran every few weeks and made 15 or 16 starts a year. Today, they seem unable to stand up to that sort of campaign, and many top trainers say that well-rested horses have an advantage.

And there you have it in a nutshell. The sport slowly ruined by the breeder side and the new money that has poured into the sport at the auction level. We lust over the success of the pinhookers who can make more money ‘flipping’ a purchase at the sales then they would’ve in an IPO for google.com, but all of that just comes back to bite everyone eventually …

Can anyone imagine what it would be like if a Kelso or Exterminator type horse came onto the racing scene? Rock solid, swift, gobs of talent, and could run a 15-race year without so much as a single yawn.

[Glimmerglass]

A question that perhaps others know the answer to:

Rags to Riches is nominated to the Travers and per my prior posting she worked out very well on Sunday morning (five furlongs in 1:00.50) over the Oklahoma track and Wednesday is the draw for position with the race. Todd isn’t saying [her racing] is 100% out of the question if things changed with perhaps a couple of defections plus odd things can happen - heck Street Sense could get a spiked temp out of the blue, etc.

So can they enter her and take a starting position, be on the program, but with the full intent to not run if the field stays as is? Does NYRA/Saratoga penalize Pletcher for scratching a horse say in Friday “just because” they don’t want to race? Is the only loss the forfeiting of the entry fee or does that get returned if you scratch before the day of?

One would assume that having her listed on the program gives a lot more flexibility in case something happens Wed afternoon plus Thur/Fri.

[ravenclaw]

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;2635241]
And there you have it in a nutshell. The sport slowly ruined by the breeder side and the new money that has poured into the sport at the auction level. We lust over the success of the pinhookers who can make more money ‘flipping’ a purchase at the sales then they would’ve in an IPO for google.com, but all of that just comes back to bite everyone eventually …

Can anyone imagine what it would be like if a Kelso or Exterminator type horse came onto the racing scene? Rock solid, swift, gobs of talent, and could run a 15-race year without so much as a single yawn.[/QUOTE]

I understand the breeders’ side of this issue and I know there are risks if horses keep racing. Retiring the current stars as 3-year-olds is good for breeding, but not for racing. A lot of horses become better racehorses as 4-year-olds…look at Lawyer Ron and After Market. Both of them were good racehorses at 3, but I don’t think either of them won a Grade 1 race until they were 4.

I’m old enough to remember when it was expected that the good 3-year-olds ran as 4-year-olds (Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, etc.). It’s sad that now they really don’t have to prove themselves past the first half of their 3-year-old year. What’s next? Retiring them after they win the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile?

[Glimmerglass]

Another day, same “old” results

Rate 2 at Saratoga for Monday Aug 20th: Mine Or Who’s in a 1 1/16 Mile Turf run for 2-yr olds

Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Kent Desormeaux

Who do ya think gets to the wire first?

Race 7 at Saratoga for Monday Aug 20th: War Monger in a 1-mile turf race for 3-yr olds

Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Kent Desormeaux

Who do ya think left the field in their wake with an easy 5-length victory? The spoils going to Chicken Soup for the ___ Lover’s Soul founder Peter Vegso who owns War Monger.

Kent even shared the wealth with another trainer in the 6th race with another turf victory aboard Savasana, but trained by John Kimmel

[Glimmerglass]

Did I mentioned Kent Desormeaux was on fire?

The 8th race - the Union Avenue Stakes - at 6 furlongs for 3yr old and up fillies and mares

Kent Desormeaux aboard Karakorum Starlet takes the lead like a dog with a bone and won’t give it up. I think leading rider title held by Prado for several years will be lost perhaps this year

[Texarkana]

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;2635297]
A question that perhaps others know the answer to:

Rags to Riches is nominated to the Travers and per my prior posting she worked out very well on Sunday morning (five furlongs in 1:00.50) over the Oklahoma track and Wednesday is the draw for position with the race. Todd isn’t saying [her racing] is 100% out of the question if things changed with perhaps a couple of defections plus odd things can happen - heck Street Sense could get a spiked temp out of the blue, etc.

So can they enter her and take a starting position, be on the program, but with the full intent to not run if the field stays as is? Does NYRA/Saratoga penalize Pletcher for scratching a horse say in Friday “just because” they don’t want to race? Is the only loss the forfeiting of the entry fee or does that get returned if you scratch before the day of?

One would assume that having her listed on the program gives a lot more flexibility in case something happens Wed afternoon plus Thur/Fri.[/QUOTE]

I don’t know what the official policy is at Saratoga regarding trainer scratches, but you’re often penalized somehow. Sometimes you can’t race the horse at the track for a set period of time, sometimes you get booted to the bottom of the list next time you enter a race, sometimes there’s no consequence.

I can’t imagine any minor penalty is going to affect R2R/Pletcher… but I think it’s a major faux pas to enter a G1 and scratch only because you don’t like the field.

[Glimmerglass]

This headline is no surprise Times Union (8-21) “Desormeaux takes lead in jockey race” with 31 winners vs. his next reival, Cornelio Velasquez with 29.

Bill Mott is running away with the trainer’s title thus far at almost double his next rival and still a few more bullets left in the holster!

And this news wasn’t unexpected after NYRA has had to cope with angry fans, trainers and financial losses via refunds: Starter ‘retires’ after gate mishaps

There were six incidents in which horses had trouble in the gate in the meet’s first 14 days. Two of them resulted in horses being declared nonstarters, Contessa’s Rumspringa on Aug. 1 and Phone Home on Aug. 6, which cost NYRA more than $1 million in bet refunds.

The news release said Brousseau “will begin retirement” after 31 years with the NYRA starting-gate crew, the past four years as a starter. The timing was unusual with two weeks remaining in the meet.

“Roy (Williamson) is definitely a capable starter, and I’m sorry to see Richie (Brousseau) go because he tried hard and he always worked good with the horses,” Contessa said. “I know there’s been a lot of mishaps, and usually when there’s mishaps, somebody’s got to go. But Richie’s a good guy.”

[Glimmerglass]

I wonder if Calvin Borel being sick on Monday (although putting in a great final workout with Street Sense today) and Tiz Wonderful skipping the Travers would entice Todd Pletcher to enter Rags to Riches?

It appears that seven horses were going to pass the entry box on Wednesday. With riders, they are: Street Sense (Borel), Sightseeing (Edgar Prado), C P West (Cornelio Velasquez), Grasshopper (Robby Albarado), Loose Leaf (Kent Desormeaux), Helsinki (Julien Leparoux), and For You Reppo (Garrett Gomez).

Street Sense, Sightseeing and CP West are significant steps above the others. CP West might just shock everyone

[miss_critic]

Check it out-Borel blogging!
http://www.nyra.com/saratoga/stories/BloggingwithBorel.shtml

[Linny]

In a stakes race a trainer may scatch up to 45 minutes before the race for any reason.

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=Linny;2638733]
In a stakes race a trainer may scatch up to 45 minutes before the race for any reason.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Linny for that answer! We’ll see if Todd does put Rags in for a position just in case

The Leading Trainer for the Saratoga meet still looks to be all Bill Mott with a 3 way tie for 2nd (award is measured strictly by number of wins) as of the start of Wednesday Aug 22nd:

Trainer: … Starts –1st – 2nd – 3rd <> Win % <> Top 3% – Earnings
Bill Mott: …58 starts – 18 --6 – 10 <> 31.03 % <> 58.62% – $1,288,462
Gary Contessa: 102 starts – 9 – 9 – 15 <> 8.82% <> 32.35% – $572,615
Todd Pletcher: …78 starts – 9 – 6 – 12 <>11.54% <> 34.62% – $1,282,453
Richard Dutrow: .33 starts – 9 – 3 – 3 <> 27.27% <> 45.45% – $447,977

From the Times Union Aug 22nd on Street Sense’s stroll to the track:

It took Street Sense a good 15 minutes to travel the couple of hundred yards from Nafzger’s barn to the track. He stopped 10 times – just looking around, nibbling on the grass, posing for the many photographers on hand or just letting the other horses go by.

Calvin Borel, his regular jockey, and assistant trainer Ian Wilkes, patiently led him in the right direction.

“He knows who he is, that’s for sure,” Borel said of the horse that has already earned $3.4 million in purse money.

[Glimmerglass]

138th running of the $1 million Travers Stakes (Grade 1) at Saratoga Race Course

Entries and assigned positions were drawn in the last couple of hours:

Post Position - HORSE - Trainer, Jockey, ML Odds
1 - Helsinki - Nick Zito, Julien Leparoux, 20-1
2 - C P West - Zito, Cornelio Velasquez, 5-1
3 - For You Reppo - Helen Pitts, Garrett Gomez, 20-1
4 - Street Sense - Carl Nafzger, Calvin Borel, 3-5
5 - Grasshopper - Neil Howard, Robby Albarado, 8-1
6 - Loose Leaf - Ken McPeek, Kent Desormeaux, 12-1
7 - Sightseeing - Shug McGaughey, Edgar Prado, 6-1

I’d expect Street Sense by the time they go off to be the even money favorite

[mroades]

Anyone see Michael Matz’s filly smoke the turf race at Saratoga today? She was ummm…very much on her toes in the post parade…not thinking she will end up a hunter…lol

[holmes]

Her name is Tejida. I watched the race from the roof, and she led wire to wire. If you think she was worked up in the post parade, you should have seen her when they school her in the paddock. From what I heard there were six people on the shank, and two holding the tail and she was pulling them on.

[miss_critic]

Anyone hear any comments on what happened with My Typhoon in the Ballston ? I hope she is ok.

[flash1]

We were there. ( at Lady Joanne’s Alabama run)…and even watching the replays on the big screen it was hard to see exactly what happened. There was an inquiry…but nothing came of it. We were staying at the same B&B as one of her owners…he seemed pretty happy with the run.

[holmes]

[QUOTE=miss_critic;2642844]
Anyone hear any comments on what happened with My Typhoon in the Ballston ? I hope she is ok.[/QUOTE]

She is fine, just one of those racing things.

[mroades]

HLAS I cant imagine what it must feel like to sit on something that takes 6 people to keep it on the ground

[CrzyCorgi]

MRoades ~ LOL I was thinking the same thing!!!

~Darci~

PS I don’t know if you remember me, but I was the one at Sam’s that asked you about Sox

Hope your doing well.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Hard Spun finally gets himself a G1, winning the Kings Bishop in style.

Pity there isn’t a Dirt Mile division in US racing, he would own the 7f to 8.5f territory.