95 Graded Races in July and August: What Did We Learn?

[Wandering Eyes]

During July and August–the height of the summer racing season–graded races happen at a fast and furious rate. With 44 graded events at Saratoga alone added to another 13 tracks conducting at least one graded race during the two-month span, it's a dizzying time to follow top racing on the continent. We break down the main takeaways from the season.

• Two dozen of the 95 graded races in July and August were contested at the top level, or Grade I. Seventeen of those Grade Is were at Saratoga (or nearly 71%), proving in black and white why it consistently features the toughest racing on the continent. Another 34 races were at the Grade II level in North America, with 37 run as Grade III events. With an additional 27 of the Grade II and III races run at Saratoga, that makes 46% of all graded races run in North America during July and August concentrated at the Spa.
• More graded races were run on the turf than on the dirt: 46 on the grass, 44 on the main track, and another five on Woodbine's all-weather surface.
• Five horses were able to pull off graded doubles during the two months: Book'em Danno (Bucchero), Formidable Man (City of Light), Sovereignty (Into Mischief), Surface to Air (Midshipman), and Sweet Azteca (Sharp Azteca).
• Into Mischief had five individual graded winners, while Twirling Candy had four. In addition, Curlin, Ghostzapper, Not This Time, Nyquist, Quality Road, and Uncle Mo each had three.
• While several father and son duos each landed graded winners over the summer, a remarkable three generations of one sire line all sired graded winners: Volatile, his sire Violence, and his grandsire Medaglia d'Oro. In addition, the ageless Medaglia d'Oro also had another four sons sire graded winners over the span.
• Bernardini continues to knock it out of the park as a broodmare sire, with six individual graded winners. Smart Strike had four, while Galileo (Ire), More Than Ready, and Uncle Mo each had three. There were a number of stallions who doubled up as both the sire and broodmare sire of graded winners in July and August: Curlin, Ghostzapper, Hard Spun, Into Mischief, Midshipman, More Than Ready, Tapit, Uncle Mo, and War Front.
• Juvenile racing has kicked off in earnest, with seven graded races for 2-year-olds contested over the two months. One freshman sire, Knicks Go, has already landed his first graded winner.
• The trainer with the most graded wins over the two-month span is Mark Casse with seven, while Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher each have six. Pletcher leads by Grade I wins with three. Young trainer Panagiotis “Peter” Synnefias, just 26, got his first graded winner, as did Riley Mott and Gustavo Rodriguez. Another trainer, Dan McFarlane, got his first graded win in 20 years.
• Godolphin bred five individual graded winners, while Brereton C. Jones and Don Alberto Corporation were each listed as the breeder of three. Twenty-six individual graded winners were homebreds, several with partners taken on. The most remarkable homebred feat was probably the GI Ballerina Stakes win by Hope Road (Quality Road), a Cicero Farms homebred, whose dam, Marley's Freedom (Blame), won the same race seven years prior while also carrying the Cicero Farms colors.
• The graded winners who commanded top prices at public sales included Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), a $2.3-million yearling at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga, and Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief), a $1.15-million purchase at Keeneland September. The biggest bargain was Chunk of Gold (Preservationist), who fetched just $2,500 at Fasig-Tipton October. Twenty-four of the 90 individual graded winners went through a public North American auction at some point in their lives for under six figures, while 33 went for six figures or more. Eleven went through a European auction.

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