Although I am generally loathed to post anything these days from The New York Times this (non Joe Drape) article actually has a positive aura - go figure
NYT 8-25-12: “Summer Nights In Horse Town, Daily Doubles Give Way to Nightly Buzz”
It does capture the bustling night life that downtown Saratoga Springs offers during the weekend nights of the meet.
Photos from Sunday’s Personal Ensign Stakes: Jockey Eddie Castro somehow stayed aboard It’s Tricky as she falls to her knees at the start" - she took 3rd in the race based upon her will and class.
Photo credit - Skip Dickstein/Times Union
The last few days of Saratoga are upon us … I will be out of the country as of Friday so I’ve got to get my DVR ready 
Trainer and Jockey standings, below. It begs the question - what happened to Linda Rice? She took the trainer’s title in 2009 with the most wins and this year? Not even the slightest chance of a threat.
Trainer leaders (by wins) - as of 8-28-12
1.Todd Pletcher 30
Jockey leaders (by wins) as of 8-28-12
Video: NYRA launches both painted Travers canoes in the Spa pond!
Picture still - both in the water
Btw, despite the meet almost concluded, what does the jockey quarters look like at Saratoga? here is a video look, with Richard “The Mig”, giving the tour
“The Big Easy” may have had tons of rains pour down, but the Spa had bombs raining in Wednesday’s 7th race! Fatty returns for those willing to take the risks - R7 8/29/12 $85k Maiden Special Weight for fillies @ 1 1/16 mi Turf - the winner trained by Jonathan Sheppard; the grandsire of which being Storm Cat, trained by Sheppard too 
1st - Hedonemewrongsong (Rosie Napravnik) <> $44.40 // $15.20 // $8.20
2nd - Coarsegold (Jose Lezcano) <> ----- $19.20 // $12.40
3rd - Sandsarita (Cornelio H. Velasquez) <> ---- ----- $10.20
$2 Exacta 3-8 $454.50
$2 Trifecta 3-8-4 $9,686.00
$2 Superfecta 3-8-4-9 $96,961.00
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6520105]
Also there will be two painted jockey statues near the paddock. Traditionally that is painted right after the race in the colors worn by the winning [Travers] horse ;)[/QUOTE]
Photo: aforementioned painted jockey statues bearing the colors of the Travers winner - 1st time ever in 143 years …
Just mentioning the last installment of NBC’s Summer @ the Spa racing on terrestrial television
Saturday, September 1 - 5:00-6:00 PM ET
NBC
Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward. Grade 1, $500,000 Forego
Entries for the Woodward, all with 126-lbs, by post position:
I wouldn’t count out Gourmet Dinner the hard charger who was a solid Derby contender before injury and has bounced back a year+ later.
Entries for the Forego, all with 124-lbs, by post-position:
Zito has said he still might scratch Jackson Bend that Saturday morning if things aren’t to his liking following the collision a week ago.
With Rick Dutrow having 1 horse in the Woodward and 2 horses in the Forego one has to wonder if he’ll make a showing at Saratoga or remain at the Chinese eatery in Roslyn , NY on longuyland to watch
NBC sadly will not air live (nor likely on delay) the Bernard Baruch H. (Grade II-Turf) which is the 8th race.
One to watch …
Running today - hopefully - is a trainee that almost has shades of The Green Monkey with aborted attempts to actually have his maiden: Long awaited debut for Pletcher youngster is Thursday:
Perhaps the most anticipated [of Pletcher’s 2-yr olds] comes out on Thursday when Archwarrior is scheduled to run in the third race. Archwarrior, a son of Arch, has been entered twice already on the season, but hasn’t gotten to the gate. He was scratched once and then did get in off the also eligible list. He was purchased for $375,000.
Archwarrior has been called the second coming of Seattle Slew. He is said to have outworked some of the older horses in Pletcher’s barn, including Stay Thirsty, who won the Travers last year and is scheduled to run in the Woodward here on Saturday.
“He worked with (Stay Thirsty), but I would say he outworked him,” Pletcher said outside his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track Wednesday.
The entry was made the 4-5 morning line favorite for the third race, which will be run at six furlongs.
Worth noting in that same race Archwarrior isn’t the most expensive by any means Also running in the 3rd race are:
Darley Stable and Kiaran McLaughlin send out the Bernardini colt Transparent, who was a $725,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale.
Trainer Bruce Levine entered Buddy’s Tiz and Buddy’s Smart, both first-time starters, for Kingfield Stables, but only one will run. The Tiznow colt Buddy’s Tiz, a $400,000 purchase at the Keeneland September yearling sale.
After factoring in the other runners there could be nearly $2M worth of auction purchases running in an $80k race … I doubt Ambrose Clark would recognize this game today from the inverted economics of it all
(pdf) NSA entries for THUR races 1 and 2: 1st is an $65,000, Optional Allowance/Claiming Hurdle. 2nd race is the $75,000 Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords Stakes for Fillies/Mares over hurdles.
(pdf) Thurs 8-30-12 Saratoga Special - with a nice cover shot
From their on-going series with the legendary trainer Allen Jerkens, who has 2 winners at the meet (page 5), Day 32:
[i]“My contention is that the old guys would run 2-year-olds in those short races even though they knew they wanted to go long, so they could get bounced around, get dirt in their faces and get used to racing. Now, they don’t believe in that.
What does a good 2-year-old do now, he breaks on top and it’s just like another workout, he got no dirt in his face, nobody shoved him around and it’s fine. Then he gets another race, and the same thing happens, they get on the lead, and he doesn’t do nothing. Then they get in races before the Derby, it’s altogether a different story. Not only that, the thing that makes it so tough on a 2-year-old in New York is they go from here to Belmont and they’re back around one turn again. …"[/i]
In honor of today’s run by Archwarrior let’s flas back shall we to 1995: video of his dam - Winner’s Edge - breaking her maiden at Saratoga!
Minutes away from seeing if there is indeed going to be “the second coming of Slew” with Archwarrior. He’s going off at a crazy 1-9 a the windows so the bettors seem hooked.
You can make up your own mind on the effort …
Video: Race 3 SPA 8-30-12 Archwarrior’s Maiden debut
The DRF’s David Grening on twitter is having a fun time mocking the hype … sample tweets (consolidated)
Even NYRA prez and COO Ellen McClain comes to winner’s circle to see the fastest horse in the world. Archwarrior returned $2.50.
The fastest horse in the world gets it done in 1:10.07 and has earned an automatic berth in Kentucky Derby 2013
Souvenier win tickets on fastest horse in the world selling for $1.90 on E-bay.
Heard they have stopped proceedings at Republican National Convention to watch the fastest horse in the world.
The bell has run signaling 17 MTP for the fastest horse in the world.
How much money was being parked on Archwarrior? (He went off at final odds of 1-5)
Win pool total = $184,240 … portion just on Archwarrior = $121,147
Place pool total = $53,678 … on Archwarrior = $26,663
Show pool total = $133,102 … on Archwarrior = $104,836
Not exactly a surprise on account of the injury in the Travers, but the formal decision made today: Street Life retired
Thanks again for making it easy to find. No, didn’t look like Slew sounded to me in his first race - that he really had the drive to compete right from the beginning - while Archwarrior seemed to need some nudging- (poor quality, but won by 5 easily, also in 1:10 & 1/5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gTBCM2c0jY)
What is funny is the comment after the Youtube video today that if Rick Dutrow had Archwarrior, he could wheel him back in The Hopeful!! :lol:
Yes, so sad to see - really liked him. Another 3yo who had such promise - and surprising to see this happen even with Chad Brown.
A great race - thrill to the finish! Video: $200,000 Grade 2 With Anticipation Stakes (Turf) for 2-yr olds
Expect to see the winner in California with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita in November
Not getting the press it should, but Marylou (& hubby John) still are funding events for the track - along with Saratoga businesses as noted - while many “high roller” stables aren’t exactly doing much more than feeding off the Spa reputation:
Saratoga restaurants, donors feed backstretch workers
For the fifth year, more than 1,000 backstretch workers were treated to special meals each Sunday of the meet in Saratoga. Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson have been the driving force behind these events. With the help of the Backstretch Employee Service Team (“BEST”) and many local donors, the dinners have been a great success.
Local restaurants and florists will participate in the third annual “Saratoga Gives Back” evening Sunday at 6 p.m. The event will take place in the tent adjacent to the rec hall on Union Avenue.
These Sunday dinners make a tremendous difference in the lives of each backstretch worker.
Restaurants and florists to donate (as of Aug. 27): Mexican Connection, The Wishing Well, Augie’s, Circus Café, Sperry’s, Mango 29 Deli, Panza’s, Holiday Inn, Maestro’s at the Van Dam, The Reading Room, The Turf Club, DZ Restaurants (Chianti II Ristorante, Pasta Pane, Forno Bistro, Boca Bistro), Olde Bryan Inn, Longfellows, Hidden Gardens, Dehn’s Flowers, Schrade’s Posie Peddler, and Hannaford supermarkets.
Is there anyplace I can get live-streaming of Saratoga race card tomorrow?
As usual, thanks for the Archwarrior links Glimmer. I did get to settle in on the couch and see the dead heat last week and yesterdays Woodward…missed Shackleford though. And wonder about the wisdom of starting Jacksons Bend-admittedly hindsight and I know he was thoroughly checked out…but I wonder about the pressure on the (very careful) trainer to start him after getting cold cocked 2 week ago.
I dunno, we have this running discussion (pardon the pun:lol:) about pushing too hard too young and here it is August and we are watching, what? 27 to 30 month olds here with all the prep that goes into getting them to the track???
Archwarrior ran a nice race but is just a young 2 year old in a field of babies that haven’t figured out what to they are supposed to do yet…:no: Being touted as a The Next Big Thing for breaking his maiden in a field of first timers.
Jeesh, I always though Santa Anitas Oak Tree meet was even a little early for some of them. But I guess the Breeders Cup Juvenile gets them rolling ever earlier these days???
While I was away the meet concluded but there are always some bits and pieces to cite:
2012 was, despite the economic woes, exceedingly good for the swan song of NYRA as a private entity:
Total average daily handle for the 40-day meet was $14,708,799, up 9 percent from the 2011 daily average of $13,493,636. Last year, Saratoga conducted only 39 cards, canceling the Aug. 28 card - the day after the Travers - due to Tropical Storm Irene.
Daily average ontrack handle for this year’s meet was $3,207,356, a 3.3 percent increase over last year’s average daily handle figure of $3,105,171.
Average daily attendance was basically flat, 22,256 in 2012 compared with 22,353 in 2011.
There were 197 races run on the turf and only 27 taken off in 2012, compared with 158 run on the turf with 41 taken off last year. Average betting interests were 8.4 in 2012 compared with 8.2 in 2012.
On the track, jockey Ramon Dominguez and trainer Todd Pletcher were the two most dominant figures, winning the jockey and trainer titles, respectively.
Mike Repole, who went 0 for 36 here in 2009, won his third consecutive owners’ title. He had 13 wins entering the final card.
Some of the last few day’s big races in replay:
Video: Grade 1 Woodward Stakes for $750k; September 1, 2012
Video: Grade 2 Hopeful Stakes for $400k; September 3, 2012
It was a Grade 1 race until this year when it had been down graded. Interesting point Shanghai Bobby likely won’t be seen at the BC JV because his owners, based in the Albany area, are steadfast lasix supporters and are angry about the ban.
Video: Grade 1, $294,000 Spinaway Stakes; September 2, 2012
Video: Grade 1 Forego Stakes for $500k; September 1, 2012
Video: Grade 2 turf Bernard Baruch Handicap for $250k; September 1, 2012
And a “smoke’m big time” effort by a filly in her maiden run - whoa:
Video: ungraded race 1, August 31, 2012, $80,000 maiden for fillies - My Happy Face is still running I think
Interesting she made her first start at Saratoga July 25th finishing 2nd against Teen Pauline, cited on this thread because she set the new track record. Then My Happy Face came back a month later with that absolute romp. Per the official race chart her victory was 21 1/4 lengths.
How about that Steeplechase Festival after the Spa meet? What festival you ask? Exactly. It was cancelled due to a lack of sufficient pre-order ticket sales which bites. They’re hoping with 2013 being Saratoga’s 150th Anniversary they can regroup.
Video - NYRA just put up this Saratoga Race Course Summer 2012 Recap
A bit of sad news however - this year’s winner of the Saratoga Special by 5-lengths on August 12 - Spurious Precision - was euthanized after a training injury incurred 9/17 at the Big A 
[he] had to be euthanized Tuesday morning after fracturing a knee during a workout Monday at Aqueduct, trainer Rick Violette said in a press release.
Spurious Precision had just completed a mile workout in 1:43.66 at Aqueduct, but was pulled up by exercise rider Rodney Payne soon after completing the move.
“He went a mile and looked super,” Violette said. “But Rodney felt his stride change as they finished the work, and he pulled him up right away.”
The horse was vanned back to Violette’s barn and then shipped to the Hogan Equine Clinic, where it was initially believed that the injury could be repaired surgically. But, according to Dr. Patty Hogan, Spurious Precision “shattered two major weight-bearing bones of his knee, as well as incurring other smaller fractures of the lesser-supporting bones, thus rendering the knee unstable and unable to support his frame.”
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
