The Grade 1, $1 million Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes is always a highly anticipated fixture as the Northern Hemisphere transitions from summer to fall and this year’s edition is no exception.
Month: September 2020
NYRA Partners With Woodbine, Monmouth For Cross Country Pick 5 On Saturday
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host the first Cross Country Pick 5 of the Belmont Park fall meet on Saturday, teaming with Monmouth Park and Woodbine Racetrack, which will be hosting its lucrative Woodbine Mile Day card.
Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.
A full field of maiden 2-year-old fillies will start the action with Belmont's Race 7 at 4:08 p.m. Eastern. Stone Town, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, ran twice during the just-concluded summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, including a second on debut on July 19. The daughter of Tapizar was a $130,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Other contenders in the one-mile turf contest include the French-bred Frankel At Ascot, who was purchased for nearly $600,000 in 2019 and is now owned by Gary Barber. The daughter of Frankel, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, made her debut at Belmont on July 9, running third. The Irish-bred Amortization, conditioned by Chad Brown, will make her first career start in a field that has 12 entrants and four also-eligibles, while Brynbella will go for trainer Todd Pletcher.
International flavor – and the first stakes on the card – will be added to the wager with Race 7 from Woodbine at 4:27 p.m. for 3-year-olds and up. A field of 10 will contest in the Grade 3, $125,000 Singspiel going 1 1/4 miles on the turf. Tiz a Slam will look to repeat after capturing last year's edition en route to a 2019 that saw the son of Tiznow win three straight stakes, starting with the Grade 3 Louisville at Churchill Downs. After winning the Singspiel, Tiz a Slam won again at Woodbine next out, taking the Grade 2 Nijinsky. Trained by Roger Attfield, Tiz a Slam has six graded stakes wins on his ledger and will be looking to become a winner at that class as a 3, 4, 5 and now 6 year old.
Monmouth will host the third leg with a 1 3/8-mile turf route in Race 10 at 4:41 p.m. A full field of 12, with two also-eligibles on the docket, will compete in a starter handicap for 3-year-olds and up. He Will, trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, won at Monmouth on July 18 and followed with a runner-up effort at the same track on August 22 last out. Duc de Calas, conditioned by Christophe Clement, will be making his first start since March at Gulfstream Park, where he ran second against allowance company. After not racing in 2019, Duc de Calas ran out of the money in his first two starts this year before hitting the board last out.
A seven-furlong turf sprint will mark the return to Belmont for the fourth race in the wager in Race 9 at 5:14 p.m. Ten New York-bred 3-year-old and up contenders, and three main-track only entrant, will vie for supremacy. Noble Emotion, trained by Jonathan Thomas, has won two of his last three starts, including last out against allowance company on August 21 at Saratoga that marked his 2020 debut and first race off a 10-month layoff. The Clement-trained Maxwell Esquire has finished on the board in four of his last five starts.
The Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile will conclude the wager in Race 9 at 5:39 p.m. War of Will, the 2019 Grade 1 Preakness winner for Casse, will now look to win a second Grade 1 on turf in addition to his victory in an American Classic. The Woodbine Mile, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile in November at Keeneland, will also see Casse send out March to the Arch, who is coming off a 2 1/4-length score in the Grade 2 King Edward at Woodbine on August 15. Starship Jubilee, the defending Canadian Horse of the Year, ran fourth last out in the prestigious Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga. The 7-year-old mare will look to best males, and she takes on that class in a stakes for the first time since running sixth in the 2017 Grade 2 Sky Classic. Starship Jubilee, trained by Kevin Attard and bred in Florida, is 18-5-3 in 37 career starts with earnings of more than $1.6 million.
The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.
The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.
Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, September 19:
Leg 1 – Belmont, Race 7: (4:08 p.m.)
Leg 2 – Woodbine, Race 7: G3 Singspiel (4:27 p.m.)
Leg 3 – Monmouth, Race 10: (4:41 p.m.)
Leg 4 – Belmont, Race 9: (5:14 p.m.)
Leg 5 – Woodbine, Race 9: G1 Woodbine Mile (5:39 p.m.)
The post NYRA Partners With Woodbine, Monmouth For Cross Country Pick 5 On Saturday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Geroux Hoping To Ride Momentum From ‘Amazing’ Derby Week To Churchill Riding Title
It was a monumental Kentucky Derby week for jockey Florent Geroux whose seven victories, including four graded stakes wins, vaulted him to a tie atop the Churchill Downs jockey standings with Tyler Gaffalione as the 14-day meet resumed Thursday.
“This year has been rough for everyone in the world,” said Geroux, who notched five wins on Kentucky Oaks Day. “Just being here to have the Derby, even if it was in September, with no spectators, was amazing. Because at the beginning of the year, when everyone was staying at home, you thought that was pretty much impossible… it turned out to be an amazing week.”
Geroux's swift start to the September Meet included a 15-1 upset victory with Shedaresthedevil in the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI). In the race prior, the $500,000 La Troienne presented by Oak Grove Racing and Gaming (GI), Geroux bested seven rivals aboard champion Monomoy Girl. His day was capped off with a rail-skimming rally aboard Diamond Oops in the $250,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint presented by Sysco (GII).
“It was an amazing day but, at the end of the day, I wasn't pleased knowing Mundaye Call got beat in the Eight Belles as the even-money favorite,” Geroux said.
In total, Geroux's mounts banked $1,843,419 in purse money during the supercharged Kentucky Derby Week of races. Geroux and Gaffalione held a three-win cushion over Ricardo Santana Jr. in the riding standings. September Meet's defending champion, Corey Lanerie, scored a trio of wins on Kentucky Derby week.
In the trainer standings, Brad Cox won six races with 13 starters and held a two-win margin over Mike Maker. Albaugh Family Stables, G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and Lothenbach Stables are tied in the owner's race with two wins each.
Thursday's nine-race card at Churchill Downs had a first post of 12:45 p.m.
The post Geroux Hoping To Ride Momentum From ‘Amazing’ Derby Week To Churchill Riding Title appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Illinois Racing Board Awards 2021 Race Dates; Arlington To Host Million Festival Races Next Year
The Illinois Racing Board on Wednesday awarded 2021 race dates to Arlington Park and Hawthorne Race Course.
Arlington will host 68 live race days, with opening weekend featuring the Kentucky Oaks (April 30, 2021) and the Kentucky Derby (May 1, 2021), and will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021.
Hawthorne will host 50 live race dates, from March 6 through April 25 and from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.
Arlington International Racecourse President, Tony Petrillo, is enthusiastic about continuing Arlington's traditions in 2021.
“This will be our 94th year of operation and Arlington remains committed to fans, guests, bettors, horsemen/horsewomen, and the community,” Petrillo said. “We look forward to showcasing the renowned Arlington Experience in 2021, featuring our beautiful facility and providing race fans with the opportunity to wager on quality races along with a slate of graded stakes races.”
The Arlington meet will host many of the graded stakes races that were placed on hiatus in 2020 and will feature a festival of stakes races for Illinois horses, featuring the Bruce D. Stakes, Beverly D. Stakes, and the newly renamed Arlington Million: “Mister D. Stakes,” in honor of Richard Duchossois, who will be 100 years old next year.
Racing for the 2020 season continues Thursday through Saturday now until Sept. 26.
More specific race date information is available below:
ARLINGTON PARK – 68 Thoroughbred race programs and 220 total host programs.
- January 3 through March 5 – dark host time. No live racing.
- April 26 through May 31, racing 2 days per week on Fridays and Saturdays. Live racing begins on April 30. Dark April 26 through April 29 and May 7, racing on May 9.
- June 1 through June 30, racing 3 days per week on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Racing on June 20.
- July 1 through August 14, racing 4 days per week on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Dark July 1.
- August 15 through August 31, racing 4 days per week on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Dark August 4 and 11, racing on August 1 and 8.
- September 1 through September 30, racing 3 days per week on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Dark September 2, 3 and 26 through 30, racing on September 5.
HAWTHORNE RACE COURSE – 50 Thoroughbred race programs and 145 total host programs.
- January 1 and 2 – dark host time. No live racing.
- March 6 through April 25, racing 2 days per week on Saturdays and Sundays.
- October 1 through November 30, racing 3 days per week on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
- December 1 through December 31, racing 2 days per week on Saturdays and Sundays. Dark December 25
The post Illinois Racing Board Awards 2021 Race Dates; Arlington To Host Million Festival Races Next Year appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
