August, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Wesley Ward Ships Live Chance To Del Mar For Saturday’s Best Pal

When Wesley Ward ships one in – standby. Mr. Ward does not come to play, be it anywhere in the U.S., or Europe, too. The man fires bullets from coast to coast and across the ocean.

Eight times already he's rung the stakes bell at Del Mar and Saturday he's aiming for another gong with a quick 2-year-old colt named Roderick, who ran away and hid from a straight maiden field at Belmont Park in New York on June 21 in his lone outing and – in a lineup that lacks a stakes winner – looks like a solid favorite for the 50th edition of the Best Pal Stakes.

The race, a six-panel spin for juveniles that carries Grade II status and a $150,000 purse, has drawn a field of seven runners and Roderick has drawn post No. 4 and Del Mar's leading rider, Flavien Prat. Ward, the former Eclipse Award winning jockey (top apprentice, 1984), is likely to watch his charge run from his headquarters in Lexington as his west coast guy – trainer Blake Heap – saddles his Into Mischief colt Saturday for his ownership group that goes under the name Breeze Easy.

The local hope with the best chance to outfoot the youthful invader appears to be Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Herd Immunity, a Union Rags offspring who won at first asking in a straight maiden race at Santa Anita in early June, then was shipped to Churchill Downs where he ran third in the Bashford Manor Stakes on June 27. For his go in the Best Pal, the Peter Miller-trained colt will be partnered by Abel Cedillo and break from post No. 5.

Here's the full field (in post position order with riders and morning line odds) for the 2-year-old headliner that is a key prep to the meet's top event for the juvenile set, the Grade I, $250,000 Del Mar Futurity on closing day, Labor Day, September 7:

Strauss, Suarez or Tsukashima's Sonic Brees (Umberto Rispoli, 6-1); Reddam Racing's Ambivalent (Mario Gutierrez, 5-1); Kaleem Shah's Schnell (Ruben Fuentes, 12-1); Roderick; Herd Immunity; Drakos or Hanson's Weston (Drayden Van Dyke, 5-1), and Altamira Racing Stable's Girther (Ricky Gonzalez, 6-1).

Weston, who is trained by Ryan Hanson, broke his maiden in good fashion at Santa Anita on June 21. The Kentucky-bred gelding by the War Front stallion Hit It a Bomb, has had three solid works at Del Mar since and gets his chance to step up a notch Saturday.

Girther, also trained by Peter Miller, scored his initial victory in his second start here at Del Mar on July 11, hanging on for a nose tally at five furlongs. He's a Florida-bred colt by the Giant's Causeway stallion Brody's Cause.

The Best Pal will go as the sixth race on an 11-race card that also features the Grade II, $150,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for fillies and mares. First post Saturday is at 2 p.m.

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Tensions Between Arizona HBPA, Management Of Turf Paradise Continue To Create Uncertainty

Last week, a press release from Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Az. announced that track management would push the start of the meet back from Oct. 17 to Nov. 27, and said that Turf Paradise was working with Bob Hutton, president of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA), on when horses could begin shipping in.

According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, Hutton emailed a list of 17 questions to Turf Paradise Management on behalf of the horsemen, including such things as coronavirus contingency plans and a promise not to shut down the meet early.

Management's responses to the AZHBPA's questions were not comforting, Hutton said. As such, he plans to send his own horses to other tracks for the winter.

“My recommendation (to other horsemen) would be to, based on the track not being able to guarantee that they'll run the entire meet, then you'll probably need to make other plans,” Hutton told the TDN.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post Tensions Between Arizona HBPA, Management Of Turf Paradise Continue To Create Uncertainty appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hamilton Called Off for Friday

Hamilton’s eight-race Friday evening card has been cancelled due to areas of false ground, Clerk of the Course Harriet Graham confirmed on Twitter. Thursday afternoon’s inspection revealed false patches inside the final 400 metres of the course. The area has received 54mm of rain in the last 48 hours.

“Racing abandoned @HamiltonParkRC [because of] areas of false ground we are unable to avoid and with rain forecast again during racing, sadly we have decided to call racing off.,” she tweeted.

The post Hamilton Called Off for Friday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Historic Edition Of Travers To Be Broadcast Live On FOX Network

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and FOX Sports today highlighted television coverage for Saturday's blockbuster Runhappy Travers Day at historic Saratoga Race Course.

For the second consecutive year, the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers will be televised live on the FOX broadcast network as part of a 1 ½ hour telecast from 5:00-6:30 PM ET on Saturday. Post time for the 151st running of the Runhappy Travers is scheduled for 6:15 PM ET.

An expanded Runhappy Travers Day edition of Saratoga Live, presented by America's Best Racing, Runhappy and Claiborne Farm,will air nationally on FS1 beginning at 11:30 AM ET. Coverage and analysis of the day's races then shifts to FS2 beginning at 3:00 PM ET and continues throughout the afternoon on FS1/FS2.

Saturday's Runhappy Travers is headlined by Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law, trained by Barclay Tagg and to be ridden by Manny Franco, who made history in becoming the first New York bred in 138 years to win the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes, capturing the nine-furlong American Classic on June 20 in the first leg of the revised Triple Crown schedule.

“For the first time ever, the Runhappy Travers is a key stop on the road to the Triple Crown,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations & Strategy. “We are thrilled to again present it on FOX and to showcase Belmont champion Tiz the Law as he continues his campaign. In addition, our expanded coverage across FS1 and FS2 gives horseplayers a full day of action.”

With this year's Saratoga summer meet currently closed to spectators, Saturday's Runhappy Travers Day coverage on Saratoga Live will leverage 32 cameras at various locations throughout the property to capture all the action before, during and after each race. For the first time at Saratoga, the broadcasts will include the introduction of the “WinStar Cam”, which will provide in-race aerial coverage throughout the day.

“Thanks to our partners at FOX, this year's Runhappy Travers will be brought to millions of households across the country by the best broadcast team in racing utilizing the latest technology to cover every angle live from Saratoga Race Course, said Tony Allevato, President of NYRA Bets & Executive Producer for NYRA TV. “We look forward to a spectacular day of racing from the sport's most iconic venue.”

The 151st running of the Runhappy Travers will be one of five graded stakes on the day. An enticing undercard includes the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test for sophomore fillies; the Grade 1, $300,000 Ballerina presented by NYRA Bets, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint; the Grade 3, $200,000 Troy for 4-year-olds and up on Mellon turf and the Grade 3, $150,000 Waya for older fillies and mares on the inner turf.

First held in 1864, the Travers is the most prestigious stakes race for 3-year-olds outside of the Triple Crown series and the traditional centerpiece of the annual Saratoga meeting. The race is named for William R. Travers, the first president of Saratoga Race Course who won the inaugural running in 1864 with a horse named Kentucky.

NYRA and FOX Sports began their collaboration during the summer of 2016 with the launch of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning Saratoga Live airing on FS2. In November of 2018, NYRA and FOX Sports announced a new long-term television programming deal to make FOX Sports the year-round national television home for NYRA racing. As a result of this groundbreaking deal, FOX Sports will broadcast 700 hours of thoroughbred racing from NYRA tracks in 2020 including coverage of nearly every race day at Belmont Park and Saratoga.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, NYRA Bets is currently offering a $200 new member bonus in addition to a host of special weekly offers. The NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at NYRABets.com.

For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule and additional programming information, visit NYRA.com/SaratogaLive.

For more information about FOX Sports, visit FOX Sports Press Pass

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