Vic Zast Saratoga Diary : Saratoga

Stuffing Moolah through the Mutuels

rmitchell — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:46:00 GMT

Veteran racegoers sensed a lack of excitement in the air as Saratoga opened its doors for the start of its 141^st season. It may have been the high humidity and subsequent rain or the realization that better racing was ahead on the weekend that dragged people down. But the July and September days of the meet are never as enthusiastically received as the August days and July 29 seemed to underscore that.

Regardless, let it never be said that glee is a requirement for gambling. Before the action stopped, horseplayers stuffed beaucoup moolah through the pari-mutuels, topping last year's storm-plagued opener by 30%. All-source handle jumped 25%, causing track officials to experience delirium.

It took an electrifying victory by Gold Trippi in the $73,500 James Marvin Stakes, run as the third of 10 races, to wake people up. Riley Tucker was bet down to 4-5 and took the lead as though he deserved it. But when the field hit the stretch and a resurgent Pyro, making his first start in nine months, slipped through the pack, started to open up and appeared a sure winner, Gold Trippi finished stronger and caught him.

In the fourth race, Alexandros broke down and had to be euthanized. Bill Mott chose the fifth race to celebrate his 56^th birthday. The Hall of Fame trainer kept tradition alive by meeting a front-running colt by the ill-suited name of Come From Behind in the winner's circle. Later, Trappe Shot, an $850,000 colt bred by Hobeau Farm, finished fifth in the seventh. Watch for this one next out.

Highlight of the day, of course, was Hot Dixie Chick's six and a quarter length victory in the grade III, $111,000 Schuylerville Stakes. Jockey Cornelio Velasquez permitted the daughter of Dixie Union, owned by the Grace Stables of Barbara Banke, to run one back of the pace until the fillies came out of the turn and then showed the crowd of 25,444 what his mount was made of.

Hot Dixie Chick set the five furlong record at Churchill Downs in her second career start. Her two-for-two resume coming into the Schuylerville was achieved running so fast that the competition couldn't catch her. This time around, she did the catching. Trainer Steve Asmussen thinks that's a good sign.

Today might begin slowly also. The first race is a $70,000 steeplechase stakes and the next four are for claiming horses. The best of these beasts can be purchased for a measly $35,000, the least for just $20,000. But there are big fields again - good for betting, and a contentious grade II, $150,000 Sanford Stakes that has lured nine speedy juveniles postward.

Closing Out

cdawahare — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:52:00 GMT

Six television cameras, lined up in a row like the cannons at Fort Ticonderoga, were pointed at NYRA's communications director John Lee as he began an 11:00 am press gathering in the Saratoga winner's circle. Lee was sublime as the emcee, bringing up one politician after another with gracious aplomb, until finally it got down to the racing news.

Then Charlie Hayward reminded everyone of the effect NYRA expects from having Curlin in the Woodward Stakes on Saturday. Everything Hayward had to say, assistant trainer Scott Blasi expanded upon. It was one of those moments reminiscent of when racehorses could turn a crowd on.

As required of a star who can impact the box office, the 2007 Horse of the Year served as a convenient excuse for NYRA officials to remind people that there's one more week of Saratoga racing. Wednesday is military day, Thursday there's something else, Friday brings twilight post times, and on and on. To end things, Sunday's the last giveaway and Monday the grandstand is free.

The presenters' set featured a lectern and microphone, a sample of the Curlin banners that will hang on Broadway this week, and an easel that displayed the commemorative poster by the Daily Racing Form's cartoonist Peb that are to be given away to the first 20,000 patrons on Saturday. A new Woodward Stakes logo that Gavin Landry's boys in the back room whipped up was also on display.

Before the final week of racing can begin, however, the fifth week had to end, and Monday's card, while not flush with quality, was acceptable. Take the second race, a maiden special weights affair for 2-year-old colts. Darley Stable's Regal Ransom, a dark bay son of Distorted Humor, won. Alan Garcia, back from Del Mar, was the rider.

Art Gropper advised readers of the Daily Racing Form that the even-money favorite might not win. The inside post, which is where Regal Ransom started, doesn't produce many winners in seven furlong dashes, he wrote. Gropper was dead wrong, of course. More than 25 percent of the 50-odd seven furlong sprints at the meet have been taken by horses that broke on the rail.

Post position also played no negative role in the third race. The California-based filly Goodday, leaving the gate furthest out, won the 6-furlong $80,000 Vichy Stakes. Once on the lead, Goodday drifted out in the homestretch, thus causing the stewards to scan film. A true bargain for her owners, the Good and Ready miss cost them only $22,000.

One more 2-year-old race produced yet another horse starting in what handicappers might call a bad spot. Pioneerof the Nile, trained by Bill Mott, won at second asking from the far outside post. Kent Desormeaux guided the Zayat Stables' son of Empire Maker to victory. Once the fear that the colt would be pushed wide on the first turn of the 1 1/16 mile turf race was abandoned, you could see it coming.

Against All Odds

Blood-Horse Staff — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:06:00 GMT

There is a guy named Don who sits alone in a clubhouse box and charts the odds with each click of the tote board. His is a lost art, as much a throwback as anything else to the bygone days when bookmakers set the line on a blackboard with chalk.

But this is Saratoga, and not everything needs to make sense or fit into a logical paradigm. That’s the charm of it. What might work for Don may not work for you, and if so, does that make him unusual? Even a person who picks horses by colors or names has a chance here.

Handicappers such as Don, who watch the betting intently, must have figured that Casual Drive would have upset the odd-on favorite in the fifth race. At least, the money was moving in the colt’s direction. With Edgar Prado named to ride by Rick Dutrow, Casual Drive’s odds opened at 14-1, quickly settled at 6-1, and ended up at 5-1 when the bell sounded. Instead, the 2-5 Rollers, trained by Barclay Tagg, won as widely suspected.

Trainer Michael Hushion, who was operating with three new stents in his arteries, saddled Oniyome to triumph by a nose in the third. Because the fourth was a five-furlong dash, trainer Linda Rice was victorious with Saturdaynitesandy. In the seventh, Fancy Diamond held Loving Vindication safe by the slimmest of margins. The width of a nostril kept the Lael Stables’ 3-year-old colt from getting place money. The winner paid $2.90, $2.40 and $2.10. At prices like these, the margin should have been bigger.

Next time out for Rosa Grace, please remember how gallant she ran in the $150,000 Lake Placid Stakes (gr.II). Backseat Rhythm, ridden by Javier Castellano, cleared the field comfortably. But the British-born filly, only five days on these shores having come here from Ireland, appeared more accomplished than her 12-1 odds while ending second.

In the final race, the Ken McPeek-trained Tar Beach, ridden by Robby Albarado, out-gamed Take the Points trained by Todd Pletcher with J.R. Velasquez, the meet’s leading rider. It’s not the last that you’ll hear from these 2-year-old colts. Ditto for Toby the Coal Man. Making his first start, trainer Nick Zito’s protégé of Mineshaft, finished a respectable third.

A day of such splendid competition would not be complete without a little unscheduled excitement. Another runaway horse treated the fans to the fun of a merry chase. A.P. Light ran clockwise at top speed for a half-mile with Sebastian Morales hanging on. Who knows where she might have gotten in the fourth had she entered the starting gate and ran in the right direction?

In the race for taste supremacy (Soup Division), Mouzon House’s seafood gumbo, available on Restaurant Row, is becoming a threat to unseat the racetrack’s clam chowder as “best in house.” No ifs, ands or odds about it.

I'm So Lucky, Susan Lucci, Sam the Bugler

Blood-Horse Staff — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 10:00:00 GMT

The trusting souls, who didn’t let the threat of inclement weather keep them away from the racetrack, were treated to a grand day of Thoroughbred sport.

This does not mean that the competition was spectacular. It was first class; not incomparable. What was proved in the end was that there is no need for NYRA to pool its best stakes on one day to prove anything.

The program got off to a rousing start with a $17.60 winner. “You’ve got to bet this horse,” said trainer Chuck Simon, observing the odds board while wishing he had a horse of his own entered.

“How often do you find a race in which the second choice is 7-1?” asked the soft-spoken Saratoga native. After 17 maiden starts, Cabazon seems to have finally hit his best stride, winning thrice in his latest five outings.

In the second race, one more number eight horse – a hot number all meet long - won when the Rick Dutrow-trained Precious Package shook off Spaniard easily. Tab the show horse named Viscount to win next time. He moved so swiftly through the lane that he looked far more impressive than the first and third finishers.

John Oxley and trainer John Ward Jr. have a King’s Bishop Stakes (gr.I) contender in I’m So Lucky, the winner of the next contest. Then in the following event, Irish Smoke’s lead on the turn was inhaled by a trio of mind-their-time horses, the winner Porte Bonheur included.

By the way, between these two races, Sam the Bugler left his usual spot at the rail to play a selection of songs for a visually-impaired friend in the clubhouse. Carol Cohen, wife of Albany, New York horse owner Henry Cohen, got to hear “Fly Me to the Moon” and “There Will Never Be another You,” in a 15-minute one-on-one concert.

Jasper Alexander, the chef at Hattie’s, presented the trophy to Storm on the Track’s owners in the fifth. Susan Lucci, the actress, did the same for the owners of Pano’s Love, once the sixth went in the record books.

Regrettably, Storm on the Track’s photo was somewhat compromised. Richie Migliore, back with his first win after a long stint in California, wore generic silks while riding.

Ramon Dominguez, Edgar Prado, Cornelio Velasquez and J.R.Velasquez, each had two winners.

Indian Blessing won the Test.Stakes (gr. I). But the patrons, not the Bob Baffert-trained filly, passed the true test.

Ear Plugs

Blood-Horse Staff — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:06:00 GMT

There’s been an uptick in sales of ear plugs at the CVS drug store. The yearlings have returned to the Fasig-Tipton grounds on Madison and East, and sleep-deprived residents of nearby Fifth Avenue are being awakened by their whinnying at 4 a.m.

On the other hand, Phyllis Crocker has heard the early call of Thoroughbreds for nearly 44 Augusts, and despite sleepless dawns, she still enjoys the preemptory alarm. “It’s only for a short time,” the native of Saratoga Springs said. “This wouldn’t be Saratoga without horses.”

Michael Amo, the founder of Thorofan, the latest left-brained group to emerge in a sport that requires right-brained thinking, sees things differently. “Without the fan, there wouldn’t be horses; without horses, there wouldn’t be a sport,” Amo said. “Unlike football, baseball, basketball or NASCAR, the fans participate. They’re the sport’s most important component.”

Amo has set up camp under the covering of the Carousel restaurant, trying to lure people into joining his ranks. Thorofan’s mission is to give fans an organized voice beyond the pari-mutuels system, something Amo believes could be used to influence the establishment. As everyone knows, the chances of changing the status quo are nil without “skin in the game.” So far, Thorofan has 120 members.

Like Crocker and Amo, the sixth and seventh races produced opposite, albeit complementary, conclusions. Inattentive fans might have thought the back-to-back events were a déjà vu experience, but they weren’t. In the sixth race, the gray filly Jibboom, wearing the number four saddle cloth, appeared to have the field at her mercy, until the chestnut filly Final Refrain, wearing number eight, caught her. In the seventh race, the chestnut colt Clemens, wearing number eight, couldn’t catch the gray colt Holla Bend, wearing number four.

Another number eight horse, Luck Money (IRE), was as easy a horse pick as one can get. He won the co-featured Majestic Light Stakes, having run before in England against Henrythenavigator, New Approach and Raven’s Pass. In the following contest, Miss Macy Sue, visiting the Spa for the second time from Iowa, should have captured the Honorable Miss Handicap (gr. II). But the 5-year-old Trippi mare fell prey to a slow break from the inside post and Any Limit triumphed.

After the races, a decent Saratoga Race Course crowd of 19,435, flush with first-of-the- month paychecks, dispersed in various directions. The Police with Sting and Elvis Costello and the Imposters played before a sold-out delirious house at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The Audiostars, formerly Burners UK, rocked the Horseshoe. A society orchestra crooned the night away at Marylou’s costume ball in the Canfield Casino. Ear plugs were advisable for one of these three venues.

Late Start Good for Some, Bad for Others

Blood-Horse Staff — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:59:00 GMT

By Vic Zast

Finally, the breakfast brigade had a morning on which it could enjoy bacon and eggs railside. The day was crisp in the manner required for those photos on postcards of horses emerging from the mist, their nostrils flaring with steam like locomotives. But the rain had stopped, and everyone let out with a sigh.

On a dawn such as this, with the sky a spooky shade of violet, the light turns bright quickly, casting all that it strikes with the brilliance of summer. Saratoga was back to its beautiful self. Old friends ran into each other unexpectedly. They reserved catty remarks such as “She looks good for her age, doesn’t she?” for later.

What looks good for the first time in many seasons is the racetrack, its prettiness unobserved on the first two days of racing because of the priority of finding shelter. A new coat of paint on the façade of the grandstand, some new awnings to replace those that had turned pink and white, and generally improved housekeeping have worked in harmony to the property’s advantage.

A maitre d’ named Manny, one of several with the same moniker, ushered a mish-mash of guests to the Porch. Some were dressed in “Saratoga Trunk” finery; some in tee-shirts and shorts. All were there to honor the tradition of watching the horses train.

Unlike other days, there was a long spell between breakfast and the first post, this being one of two “Twilight Racing Days” scheduled for the meet. Lefty and Patti McClellan from Plano, Texas, used the time to eat lunch at the Circus Café. “We wouldn’t have considered being downtown for lunch if the first race was at 1:05,” Lefty McClellan said. “But the late start allows us to do more in a day than we could with the normal start time. We’ll be at the Parting Glass tonight.”

Rob Sullivan of Boston, Massachusetts and Jason Bronfeldt of Princeton, New Jersey were concluding a two-day visit. “The late start isn’t good for us, seeing that we’re leaving tonight,” Sullivan said. “But I can see how it would be popular with people in Albany or for people arriving for the weekend who want to catch a race before settling in.”

Sullivan and Bronfeldt left Saratoga much richer than they arrived. “We went all in on Desert Party yesterday, and then gave a little back when the one beat our six by a nose in the sixth,” explained Sullivan. In the day’s closest finish, Real Estate followed by Aquino and Visible Truth were heads apart.

In the Lake George Stakes (gr. 2), won by My Princess Jess, highly-regarded Mousse Au Chocolat, here from France, must have thought that the late start meant breaking slowly from the gate, not the post time.

Out with the Up-and-Overs

cdawahare — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:09:00 GMT

By Vic Zast

Inclement weather is wreaking havoc with Saratoga. Yesterday, two men in tights from the New York City Ballet called off their trophy presentation to the winners of the third race because the rain would have ruined their costumes. Tonight, the trainers opted out of their softball game against the Saratoga Springs police force because the field was too waterlogged to play. Horseplayers are hating it.

Even the information booth outside of the main entrance is an island surrounded by a 15 foot moat. You have to shout your questions to the guy manning it from a distance or get your shins soaked. Capital OTB must be reaping a real bonanza. Who wants to sit in the mud with the rain falling down?

Obviously, some people do. A crowd of more than 10,000 people believed that the rain clouds would pass and by the third race they did. But the third race was the second and the second was the first - that's the kind of day it was. Nevertheless, almost $2 million was bet at the track. It would have been more had there not been only nine races to wager on.

NYRA cards a steeplechase race as the first race each Thursday. This Thursday, there was no "up-and-over" for anyone. The rain-soaked sod, although safe for the horses and jockeys, required relief from the beating it would take from the animal's sinking hooves.

"We're 30 feet off the rail, so we'd cause no damage to the regular course, and yes, it's very unusual to get called off," said William Gallo, director of racing for the National Steeplechase Association. "But we understand that NYRA must protect its turf courses. We're delighted to have the race rescheduled for next Wednesday," he said.

Rescheduling is what several horses that were entered but not raced on Thursday must do. In particular, it was a big disappointment to have three horses in the seven horse field for the 94^th Sanford Stakes (gr. 2) scratch. The $150,000 race for two-year-olds lost Notonthesamepage, its pre-race favorite. Desert Party, a $2.1 million yearling purchase by Darley, won. Desert Party has now triumphed on two tracks - one synthetic, one sloppy. Next, the Hopeful?

By the way, Notonthesamepage is trained by Wesley Ward and was going to be ridden by Elvis Trujillo. This duo appeared headed for a banner day with winners in the second (really the first) and fourth (really the third) races, and a close second in the sixth (really the fifth). They then finished last in the eighth (make that seventh) and second last in the tenth (make that ninth).

Prepping for the Travers, Visionaire, closing inside the leaders under Allan Garcia, won a sprint. Kent Desormeaux had three losing mounts. In the twilight of Friday, the Big Brown man should lift his 4,999 career win total to 5000.

Rainmaker

cdawahare — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:28:00 GMT

Nothing ruins a day at the races more than rain, and at Saratoga, where people huddle under the trees in the backyard to picnic, the effect can be worse than ants in the potato salad.

Nevertheless, a happy crowd of 18,127 people ventured into the dreary weather to welcome the Thoroughbreds back. Umbrella-toting fans wagered $2.8 million, and most of them slid dry money out of their wallets.

Give credit to the New York Racing Association for letting the dayhops from the back lot pitch their folding chairs under the grandstand and allowing them to bring their coolers in under cover. Salute the wisdom of the bettors for understanding that drip happens.

By the way, those fans who stuck around witnessed a “Graveyard of Favorites” moment. At 12-1, Jardin, trained by Steve Asmussen, won the opening day’s $100,000 Schuylerville (gr.1). Owned by Padua Stables, the daughter of Montbrook joined with 17-1 Cameron Crazies for an exacta worth $375.Asmussen had three wins on the card.

Despite the upset, handicapping wasn’t really the challenge. It was keeping track of which horse was in and which was out that drove you bananas. The operator in the infield, who was assigned to hoisting signs on the vintage scratch board, was overwhelmed to the point of quitting on his assignment. Wondering why? Well, there were 44 scratches and 72 starters on the 10-race card.

Rick Dutrow Jr., another guy for whom not everything’s gone right lately, had things go superbly. Two horses he listed for the “main track only” got into races and won.

Stormin Normandy benefited from seven scratches in the eighth race, the $80,000 High Rock Stakes for state-breds. Building New Era, previously tried in open company, drew into the seventh, another restricted contest, and crushed his rivals.

A steady downpour continued unabated throughout the afternoon and evening. Here, just south of the bad weather-prone Adirondacks, systems blow in unexpectedly and stay like company that won’t leave until you turn the lights out. Prepare for rain again on Thursday.

Oh, one more thing - Saratoga’s biggest rainmaker is not Mother Nature. It’s former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, and he, too, was at the track for the opener.

For the last couple of years, Bruno, who was no friend to NYRA, seemed to be at the center of the state’s tiring debate about which group should run New York racing. Now that Bruno has left public office and is leading a life in the private sector, how long do you think he can hold on to his clubhouse box?

The huge amounts of money Bruno raised for the area will be missed, but not forgotten. You can say the same for the agita he caused.

Green is the Color of Money

cdawahare — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:49:00 GMT

By Vic Zast

Red and white are the colors of Saratoga Race Course, but green is the color of money.

That’s why this 140-year-old racetrack, recently strapped to the brink of bankruptcy along with the other New York Racing Association tracks, will be opening today with a new, air-conditioned luxury box on the finish line and a “Restaurant Row” located opposite the Nathan’s hot dog stand near the path that the jockeys take to the silks room. It will be more tempting than ever for the lean, hungry athletes to stop walking.

Five local fine-dining establishments have set up an outpost where fans can buy a tasty meal for under $7. In keeping with the green theme, all implements and tableware will be eco-friendly.

“The service is recyclable, bio-degradable or compostable,” said Hillary Van Alstyne, a self-described “go-to gal” at Hattie’s popular chicken emporium. Meanwhile, fry cook Nicole Hamilton had the quote that got down to the nitty-gritty. “Downtown you can’t get Hattie’s until dinner. So if you have a fixin’ for chicken, now you have it,” she said.

NYRA must have gotten lucky by drawing the one guy from Saratoga’s Historical Preservation Society with poor taste, or if not, then the linoleum salesman. “Restaurant Row” isn’t what Martha Stewart would consider picturesque. It has a corrugated metal roof atop a wooden shack that’s supposed to look like a barn at Horse Haven. The worst part of the design is the slabs of plastic sidewalls decorated with faux brick, make-believe subway tiles and Lincoln logs.

On the other hand, the finish line luxury box, which is a 360-degree glass enclosed rectangle, makes the most of unusable space and, without room for the decorators to tinker much, is fine and dandy. What’s green here is the $15,000 tab for a table for four that high rollers will pay for the season. Users will have to watch the races on television, but they’ll have a perfect view of the unsaddling area. At the same time, passersby, snoops and curiosity-seekers will have a perfect view of the users.

Because this is a racetrack, Saratoga will open with the usual grumbling. Some people, even those who sit in the grandstand, are already complaining that NYRA took 38 clubhouse boxes away from locals and others who don’t have the “skin in the game” that some horse owners have.

The weather forecaster is calling for rain, thus creating a possibility that five races scheduled for the turf will be moved to the dirt for the opener. State-breds will race four times out of the ten times the starter flips the switch on the starting gate. Ocean Colors, wearing a red number one saddle cloth, not a green one, is favored in the $100,000 Schuylerville (gr. 1).