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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Before this year, the last time Victor Espinoza rode at Saratoga was the summer of 2015, the year of American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). “That was not a great memory,” Espinoza said, recalling when the Triple Crown winner was upset in the Travers by Keen Ice (Curlin). The 53-year-old Hall of Fame jockey is hoping to make a better impression 10 years later as he is spending the summer at the Spa for the first ever. Espinoza, who owns 3,520 career victories, has been working the Saratoga backstretch daily, looking for a professional rejuvenation. He has spent the majority of his jockey life riding in California, but recently decided to take some time off. After a three-month respite, it was time to go back to work and also have a change of scenery. About three weeks ago, he was visiting Saratoga and liked what he saw. “When I was here, I saw many trainers and so many horses,” Espinoza said on the Saratoga backstretch. “I have never seen so many horses. I think I will have more opportunities here than I would in California.” Things out west had pretty much dried up for Espinoza, who had ridden two horses–California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) in 2014 and War Emblem (Our Emblem) in 2002–to victories in the first two legs of the Triple Crown only to lose in the GI Belmont Stakes. In 35 mounts this year, he had three wins, four seconds and six thirds. It was time for a move. “I still have the fire, 100 percent,” Espinoza said. “When I came here, it was like heaven. I feel like I can get more opportunities. In California, there are like three or four trainers that dominate the circuit and if you don't ride for them, what's the point in staying?” Espinoza's agent here is Jose Santos Jr., the son of Hall of Fame jockey Jose Santos. Santos Jr. picked up Espinoza after the first Saratoga condition book was out, so it has been hard to get business. He expects that will pick up as the meet goes on. “What we are focusing on is finding some quality,” Santos Jr. said. “Showing up as late as we did, well, people have been coming up here to start getting ready for the meet since mid-May. Starting with book two, I think things will pick up.” Espinoza has had three mounts thus far at the meet and finished third on two of them. “I am going to hustle every morning,” he said. “Hopefully, I can do good around here.” Trainer Abreu Chasing First Spa Grade I With Scottish Lassie Scottish Lassie | Sarah Andrew There will always be a spot in trainer Jorge Abreu's heart for Scottish Lassie (McKinzie). She gave the 44-year-old trainer his first Grade I win when she won the Frizette Stakes last October. That spot will get bigger if the 3-year-old filly can find a way to win the GI Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on Saturday. That would be the first Grade I Saratoga win for Abreu. “I think I am knocking on the door,” Abreu said outside his barn at the Annex across the street from the Oklahoma Training Track. Abreu, 44, a former assistant to Chad Brown, has been training on his own since 2016. Scottish Lassie was last seen finishing third in the GI Acorn Stakes at Saratoga on June 6. She was beat just a head for second by Look Forward (Bolt d'Oro). La Cara (Street Sense) was a three-length winner in the Acorn, which was run over a sloppy track. Scottish Lassie tuned up for the CCA Oaks Sunday, working four furlongs in 48.87 (55/143) with Hall of Fame jockey Joel Rosario on board. He will ride her for the first time on Saturday. “She is coming into this race at 100 percent,” Abreu said. “I think she is coming into this race the same way she went into the Frizette.” Scottish Lassie romped to a nine-length win in that race, one race after she started her career with a third-place finish in a maiden last September at Saratoga. She was third in an allowance race before her Acorn effort. That was her first start since finishing fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies race at Del Mar in November “I thought she was going to be second in the Acorn,” Abreu said. “She got a little tired. She was stretching out from a mile to a 1 1/8 miles with a different caliber of horses. I really think she fits with these horses. It's not like she is going to embarrass herself.” A field of six was entered for the CCA Oaks on Sunday. Scottish Lassie drew post No. 3. The field, in post-position order with trainer: Immersive (Nyquist), Brad Cox; Sweet Seraphine (Quality Road), Cherie DeVaux; Scottish Lassie; Take Charge Milady (Take Charge Indy), Kenny McPeek; Dry Powder (Gun Runner), Chad Summers; La Cara (Street Sense), Mark Casse. Jose Ortiz Off To Fast Start At Saratoga Jose Ortiz enjoyed a four-win day at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew Jockey Jose Ortiz knows how to win a riding championship at Saratoga. Here's the proof: he's done it three times. The 31-year-old also knows how to win four races in one day at the Spa. On Saturday, he did it for the third time in his career. With the four-bagger, Ortiz took the early lead in the annual competition between the best jockey colony in the country. Going into Sunday's card, Ortiz had eight wins. “It's not easy to win one race, let alone four,” Ortiz said on the Saratoga backstretch Sunday morning. “I have a pretty good business, and we are coming here thinking about winning the meet. We think we are good enough. It's early, but I love the start we've had.” Ortiz is represented by agent Steve Rushing, who also works with Ortiz's brother, Irad Ortiz Jr. Irad Ortiz Jr. has won the Saratoga meet six times and is the three-time defending champion. Jose Ortiz has already had a good year after winning the winter riding title at Fair Grounds (97 wins”) and then the spring meet at Churchill Downs (63 wins). He was the champ at Saratoga in 2016, 2017 and 2019. “I had good momentum going from Fair Grounds to Churchill and good momentum from Churchill coming here,” he said. “I built up a nice business with the Kentucky people and I have had plenty of business here with the New York people because I have ridden here for 12 years. The combination is paying off.” Jose Ortiz also won four races at Saratoga Aug. 15, 2016, and July 17, 2022. The post Saratoga Notebook, Presented by NYRA Bets: Espinoza Making Saratoga His Summer Home for First Time appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The New York Racing Association announced July 13 that the mandatory quarantine covering horses previously stabled in Barn 66 at Saratoga Race Course has been lifted by the New York State Department of Agriculture effective immediately.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The mandatory quarantine covering horses previously stabled in Barn 66 at Saratoga Race Course has been lifted by the New York State Department of Agriculture (NYSDA) effective immediately, announced the New York Racing Association (NYRA) via press release. To minimize any impact on the general horse population at Saratoga, and to allow for Barn 66 to be cleaned and disinfected under NYSDA protocols, the group of horses completed the mandatory quarantine at Aqueduct Racetrack. As a result, horses previously stabled in Barn 66 are permitted to return to Saratoga and train with the general horse population beginning Monday, July 14. Horses stabled in Barn 66 were placed under a mandatory quarantine June 25 when a 2-year-old filly [Tenacious Child] returned a positive test for strangles. There are currently two horses that remain under quarantine at a private facility–a 2-year-old colt [Tranquil Sea] and a 2-year-old gelding [Mo Curls]. Per NYSDA protocols, they will be permitted to return to NYRA property upon presenting a negative PCR test for strangles. The post Mandatory Quarantine for Horses Previously Stabled in Barn 66 at Saratoga Lifted appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Monday, Vichy, France, post time: 16:25, PRIX FREDERIC DE LAGRANGE-Listed, €50,300, 3yo, 12fT Field: Quinteplus (Fr) (Telecaster {Ire}), Tommy Boy (Fr) (Intello {Ger}), Zarakchic (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), Starnberg (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}), Marchemalo (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}), Espoir Avenir (Fr) (Montmartre {Fr}), Yellow Jersey (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), Master Cath (Fr) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Zingara (Fr) (Kingman {GB}). TDN Verdict: While the Tour de France wends its way through the nearby mountains, Qatar Racing's Yellow Jersey is favoured to follow up an impressive debut performance over this distance at Saint-Cloud and makes his first black-type start here. The Andre Fabre trainee was value for more than the official winning margin of four lengths and will bid to become the maestro's first winner since Doha Dream prevailed in 2016. Jerome Reynier, who annexed this in 2022 and 2023, relies on G3 Prix Hocquart third Zarakchic, sporting a maillot jaune of his own, and G2 Derby Italiano fifth Starnberg. Christophe Ferland's two contenders are Swiss Derby hero Espoir Avenir and ParisLongchamp handicap winner Zingaro. Both Quinteplus, who is three-from-four, and Master Cath, who is five-from-nine, merit respect. [Sean Cronin]. Click here for the complete field. The post Black-Type Analysis: Yellow Jersey Fancied in Listed Feature at Vichy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The Saratoga meet has just gotten started and it's already appears that Mother Nature is ready for a nasty fight, one NYRA is going to have a hard time winning. On paper, Saturday's card looked excellent with the GII Bowling Green S. and the GI Diana S., plus three maiden 2-year-old races that included a lot of horse with a lot of potential. But the card was wrecked before it started, thanks to a deluge of rain Saturday morning. It came down hard and heavy for about an hour. They took four races off the grass, choosing to run only the two stakes on a turf course that was listed as “good” by the time the Diana rolled around. The track was listed as yielding for the Bowling Green. The damage to the bottom-line was huge. On the same Saturday in 2024, when it was 85 degrees out and the tracks were fast and firm, the 12-race care card handled $33,225,605. On this Saturday, five races were taken off the grass and there were 46 scratches. Two races, including the Bowling Green went with four-horse fields. The handle was $22,304,942. Friday was also a rainy mess. This year they handed $13,762.784 on the card, a steep drop from the $22,648,941 handled the year before. It was no better Sunday, when five more races came off the grass. There were 13 races taken off the grass during the traditional opening week. There's no track in the world more affected by rain than Saratoga. They rely heavily on grass races, which, when they aren't taken off the turf, tend to be terrific betting races with large fields. They get hammered whenever they have to take races off the grass, which was also the case for the GI Belmont S. festival. Things got so bad on Belmont Day that they had to take every race off the grass. There were two Grade I grass races on the card, the GI Jaipur and the GI Manhattan. Both were postponed and run the following day. The difference between a good meet and a bad meet comes down to how much rain there was and how often they have to take the races off the grass. There's nothing anybody can do about the weather, but that doesn't mean that NYRA can't take some measures that would help with problem. How about: Are they too careful when it comes to shifting races to the dirt? That the Diana was run over a course listed as good, meaning the turf course wasn't in that bad of shape. Yes, they need to keep the courses in top shape to get through a meet where they are used heavily, but running, say, three more turf races on Saturday, would that really have presented such a problem? They have to be more cognizant of the impending weather. Yes, it's unpredictable in Saratoga but there are also plenty of times when you know in advance that rain is likely coming. How about only carding two or three races on the grass on those days? Entries are now taken far in advance of race days. The Saturday July 19 card was drawn Sunday, six days before the actual races. Why are they in such a hurry? If they drew, say, three days out, wouldn't they have more accurate, up-to-date weather forecasts? Install a Tapeta course. To do so would solve most of their problems. But is it feasible? During his recent appearance on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland, NYRA President CEO David O'Rourke said that, with a main track and two turf courses, there isn't enough room to put in a fourth track. He said the subject has come up. “We've looked at it,” he said on the podcast. “It's just difficult with the configuration. So in the near term (will they install a synthetic track), the answer is no. But on the same podcast, O'Rourke threw out an interesting concept. Why not turn the dirt track at Oklahoma into a synthetic track and use that when races come off the turf? “But in terms of the main surfaces now, there's even some ideas out there and you can think of them as sort of crazy as putting one over at Oklahoma and bringing off the turf races over there,” he said. It would be difficult to do, but maybe not impossible. They'd have to do things like build a stewards stand, put in teletimers and erect replay towers. Probably not all the fans would be in love with the idea. They didn't pay good money to come to the races only to have to watch four or so races run across the street at Oklahoma on TV. But put in that track in and you'd no longer have to worry about a bunch of four-horse off-the-turf races. Wagering on the Jockeys race Would love to see NYRA take wagering on who will be the leading rider at Saratoga. It would be a particularly interesting and fun bet this year with Flavien Prat and Jose Ortiz emerging as major threats to topple Irad Ortiz Jr., who has won the last three titles. My money would be on Jose Ortiz. It would be a pari-mutuel wager and they could keep the bet open for the first half of the met. Here's my morning line for the jockey title: Irad Ortiz Jr. (6-5), Jose Ortiz (8-5), Flavien Prat (3-1), All others 12-1. The post Week In Review: Who’ll Stop the Rain? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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