Looked to me that WTC took off when Saez stopped with the whip…
Holy cow, double dead heat in the fifth! Indian Splendor and Bobby Jo over Bird House and Original Kitten!
Sniff. And Saratoga is all done for the year.
Back from Italy and once again I have to ask WTF is wrong with people?
Times Union, 9-13-13 “Trophies stolen from National Racing Museum”
Five trophies were stolen from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame late Thursday by a thief or thieves who made off with items that commemorate races from more than 100 years ago.
The trophies were taken after intruders smashed their way into the Union Street museum.
Taken were:
• 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy, won by Africander
• 1903 Brighton Cup Trophy, won by Hermis
• 1905 Saratoga Special Trophy, won by Mohawk II
• 1914 Brook Cup Handicap Steeplechase Trophy, won by Compliment
• 1923 Grand National Steeplechase Trophy, won by Sergeant Murphy
DRF 9-13-13, “Trophies stolen in burglary at National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame”
… were stolen late Thursday night from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in a “smash-and-grab” burglary …
The trophies, which are made of gold and silver, had not been recently appraised, but the museum is consulting with its insurers and appraisal experts to determine the value, according to Brian Bouyea, a spokesman for the museum.
The burglary follows a similar theft at the Harness Racing Hall of Fame last December in Goshen, N.Y. In that burglary, 14 trophies worth an estimated $300,000 were stolen. Bouyea said police are attempting to determine if there is a connection between the two crimes.
The Grand National trophy is not the Maryland Race but instead the the Aintree race in England. Sergent Murphy was owned by Stephen Sanford of Amsterdam NY. His son John would continue on very successfully in racing and the Sanford Stakes was created in their honor in 1913, the year of Stephen Sanford’s death.
Compliment (winner of the Brook Cup Handicap Steeplechase Trophy) was owned by the legendary Joseph E. Widener.
Thanks for posting. Didn’t catch this. That’s horrible. :no:
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;7149231]
I don’t usually get excited about, or even pay much attention to, 2yo races… but did anyone see Honor Code in the 3rd race (MSW) at Toga today?[/QUOTE]
Worth bumping this up and giving the video link -
Video replay (here) of that maiden race (R3, Aug 31st) - screaming up along the rail in the slop.
His 2014 Kentucky Derby future wager odds (yes, already started!) dropped to 35-1 down from 45-1.
Also in regards to the claim of cheating with a buzzer in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes (completely utter garbage IMHO) we’ll see a rematch of the 1-2 finishers. Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing on Sat Sep 21 will see Will Take Charge and Moreno again. As for the inquiry:
The New York State Gaming Commission is investigating the accusations and has enlisted the help of the New York State Police due to their expertise in video analysis. It is unclear when the Gaming Commission will announce the results of the investigation.
Honestly I would’ve thought that Eric Guillot would’ve given up pressing the whole buzzer claim and just differed it to the NYS Police to give their final report. Yet he isn’t - New York Daily News - “Trainer sticks to story”.
trainer Eric Guillot believes Moreno will turn the tables on Will Take Charge in Saturday’s $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx in Philadelphia for one simple reason.
“They won’t use the machine on him in back-to-back races,” Guillot told the Daily News by phone from his barn at Santa Anita in Southern California. “We have nothing to worry about.”
“We’re still waiting,” Guillot said of the investigation. “They’re taking their sweet old time but that’s good for us. Otherwise, they would have already made an opinion.”
Former jockey Jerry Bailey, who’s a commentator now for NBC, went over video evidence on the network’s “Summer at Saratoga” program, concluding that it was impossible for the 21-year-old Saez to have held a buzzer.
Guillot also said he would not be in Philadelphia on Saturday but would watch the race in California, while Lukas said he intended to be on hand.
I don’t even care if Will Take Charge wins, as long as he crosses the line in front of Moreno:mad:
What a lack of class - unlike his horse. That’s the problem with racing. They don’t require good character on the licensing applications. :mad:
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;7171115]
Back from Italy and once again I have to ask WTF is wrong with people?
Times Union, 9-13-13 “Trophies stolen from National Racing Museum”
DRF 9-13-13, “Trophies stolen in burglary at National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame”[/QUOTE]
Additional: 9/20/13, Saratogian, “Police: Racing trophy burglar likely struck in Goshen case”
Police now believe the National Racing Museum burglary was done by the same person who broke into the National Harness Racing Hall of Fame & Museum in Goshen last December.
The two crimes have extremely close characteristics, city police Lt. John Catone said.
“We believe it is the same person or persons,” he said Thursday. “It fits to a ‘T.’ Everything that was done there was done here. Right now, we have no reason to believe it was done by other than one person. Will that change? When video comes back from state police, it’s possible.”
In May, someone also broke into and stole artifacts from the U.S. Golf Association Museum in Bernardsville Township, N.J., only several days after a burglary at the upscale Somerset Hills Country Club, just 10 minutes away. Trophies were stolen from the clubhouse in that incident, too.
It’s uncertain if the golf and racing museum burglaries bear close similarities, but police up and down the East Coast have been alerted about museum-type crimes, Catone said.
Not the first significant racing trophy stolen in the Northeast either: back in 1988 in the Four Seasons in Boston, the 1924 Ascot Gold Cup trophy was taken in a smash/grab. two-foot high trophy was made of 98 ounces of 18-karat solid gold and was worth $88k for its gold content alone back then.
The Saratoga Special trophy’s gold content, by comparison, with today’s rates is juts over $100,000. Snatching it was easier and more lucrative than robbing any bank.
Ooh, I love Saratoga! 
I’m 20 minutes from there right now!
[QUOTE=HunterJumper<3;7180609]
Ooh, I love Saratoga! I’m 20 minutes from there right now![/QUOTE]
Me too! Of course, I live here. What brings you to town? My MIL lives in WA. I hope to visit her there soon.
Dropping this here: 3rd place Travers Stakes finisher Orb put in his last work before the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Monday 9/23) -
Orb will try to become the first Kentucky Derby winner to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup in the same year since Ponder did it in 1949 when he runs in Saturday’s 95th renewal of the $1 million race. Funny Cide and Affirmed are both Derby winners who won the Jockey Club Gold Cup as 4-year-olds.
Insurance company (StarNet Insurance Co.) offers $20,0000 reward in Museum trophy theft
State police are reviewing surveillance video tapes from the Saratoga museum in an attempt to identify the thief. City police Lt. John Catone said Tuesday he’s unsure when that part of the investigation will be complete.
“We haven’t gotten anything back yet,” he said.
Oh come on is this the same NYSP video expert division that STILL is looking into the charges of jockey Luis Saez carrying a battery to victory aboard Will Take Charge in the Travers?? Four weeks + later and still not a peep.
NBC Sports publicly refuted the claim quickly after the allegation was made by Eric Guillot.
Per the DRF not all the trophies belonged to the Museum …
The insurance company has performed an appraisal to determine the value of the trophies, but the company does not want the value to be publicly released because two of the stolen trophies were on loan, including the 1903 Belmont trophy, which is the property of the New York Racing Association, Bouyea said.
From ‘thisishorseracing.com’ f/k/a Steeplechase Times and likely to appear in the next issue of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred -
Joe Clancy - Behind the Trophies: History harmed by museum theft
“Laddie” Sanford became a high-ranked polo player and was just 24 years old when he accepted that Grand National trophy for Sergeant Murphy, a horse purchased to be a foxhunter with the Leicestershire Hunts. The Irish-bred made seven starts in the National between 1918 and 1925 and finished fourth for Sanford in 1922. The next year, at 13, Sergeant Murphy won by 3 lengths under Capt. G.N. “Tuppy” Bennet. George Blackwell, who also won an English Derby, trained the winner.
Fifteen years after the historic win, the Sergeant Murphy story became the (loose) basis for a movie starring future President Ronald Reagan. A painting called “Sergeant Murphy and Things,” by Sir William Orpen, brought $213,000 at a Christie’s auction. A land preservation group in Maryland annually presents the Sergeant Murphy Cup for exceptional efforts toward the preservation of land in northern Baltimore and Harford counties.
And that’s just one trophy.
… history lost to greed and most likely melted down.
Video - TCM trailer for Sergeant Murphy (1938) with a very young Reagan
Several pieces of silver were reported stolen from a Cambridge NY antiques center last week. I imagine that their could be a connection, or possibly a copycat situation since the Museum caper has been all over the news locally. Sadly, it is likely that the pieces were sold for melt value very soon after they were stolen and probably NOT to reputable place.
Finally … as tweeted Oct 4, 2013 by Matt Hegarty/DRF
NY Gaming Comm. has concluded “Luis Saez was not carrying any sort of electrical device” when winning on Will Take Charge in Travers.
Times Union 10-4-13: State: No cheating in Travers
The Gaming Commission, after more than a month of investigation, ruled that Saez was nout carrying any kind of of device. The Commision also ruled that Guillot’s allegation was “wholly unsubstantiated.”
The latter point mixed with the comments by Eric could open the door to a slander lawsuit although the pockets aren’t deep (vs. Miami Herald and the Funny Cide claims a decade ago)
ETA - fascinating documents from the State:
PDF - Gaming Commission: Eric Guillot’s written complaint
What they should do is charge Guillot with the cost of the investigation. :yes:
Of course, perhaps he thought all they needed to do was sit down and watch the replay on his brother’s plasma TV… :rolleyes:
[QUOTE=CVPeg;7199525]
What they should do is charge Guillot with the cost of the investigation. :yes:
Of course, perhaps he thought all they needed to do was sit down and watch the replay on his brother’s plasma TV… :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]
That is a replay on his mobile device that was of taped video on his brother’s plasma. From the NY Daily News, Eric wants this to go away now:
“Oh well, I’ve got to live with the consequences,” Guillot told the Daily News by phone from Santa Anita, where he is now based. “I’m disappointed but I’d do it all over again. . . . It’s been five weeks and I’ve moved on just like everyone else should. They did a thorough investigation for five weeks and I have to live with the fact that nothing was there.”
Guillot made the complaint after his brother Chip saw several replays of the race and thought he saw something.
“I’m not the Lone Ranger,” Guillot said. "“They said there was nothing there. That’s good enough for me. I’ve moved on and everyone else should.”
One can only hope the amount of time and effort poured into this red herring has been a fraction of that invested into the real crime of the stolen trophies across the street.
BloodHorse Oct 29, 2013: “Guillot Apologizes to Lukas, Who Accepts”
Guillot and Lukas were among the trainers that attended a late-afternoon press conference after the second Breeders’ Cup post-position draw at Santa Anita Park. They sat on opposite ends of the table, with trainers Richard Mandella and Kathy Ritvo between them; trainer Bob Baffert arrived a bit late and sat next to Lukas.
“Mr. Lukas, I’d like to formally apologize on national TV,” Guillot said. “My emotions got the best of me. I looked it over; it was a bad video. But I’d do it all over again. I thought that’s what the complaint department was for.”
“I accept (the apology),” Lukas said. “We just need to turn the page.”
Guillot indicated that his complaint was based on the initial video he saw of the stretch run. He credited the NYGC with a thorough investigation, which took into account many other video angles.
Guillot said he reached out to Saez’ agent to apologize, but was rebuffed.
