June, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Caravel Dazzles In Friday’s Goldwood; Graded Stakes On The Horizon

Owner and trainer Elizabeth Merryman now knows that she has to aim even higher when she decides on the next start for her talented turf sprinting filly Caravel.

The 4-year-old daughter of Mizzen Mast turned in another dazzling – and winning – effort, drawing away with ease to score a 4¼-length victory in Friday night's $75,000 Goldwood Stakes at Monmouth Park.

How good was Caravel in winning for the sixth time in eight career starts? When she flashed across the finish line in a slightly eased-up :54.97 for the five furlongs on the grass she missed the 10-year-old track record by just four-tenths of a second.

“I thought it was brilliant,” Merryman said of the performance by the filly she also bred. “She pulled away like it was nothing. It would be really nice to try graded stakes company with her next. So maybe the (Grade 3) Caress at Saratoga (on July 24). We'll see. With these turf races the weather is everything. She is just a dream. She continues to amaze me every time she races.”

Ridden by Pablo Morales, Caravel broke a tad slow but was able to sit comfortably in fourth early on behind dueling leaders Gotta Go Mo and Victory Kingdom, who ripped off the opening quarter in :20.56. Morales moved Caravel off the rail and outside entering the final turn, with the opening half going in :43.44. He then set her down after Miss Auramet, who was poised to take the lead in mid-stretch over the tiring frontrunners.

But Caravel ran right by Miss Auramet, who was coming off a May 30 victory in the Politely Stakes at Monmouth Park.

“She broke well. I just didn't send her,” said Morales. “I was going to be wherever I was going to be with her because I know she is usually forwardly placed on her own.

“After they sent so hard out of there, showing a ton of speed, I just figured I'd wait a little and get around them and get in the clear because I know how well she finishes. She has a great closing kick.”

Caravel returned $5.80 to win in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies. Miss Auramet held for second, a half-length ahead No Mercy Percy.

Bred in Pennsylvania, Caravel's only two lifetime defeats were third-place finishes on a good and a yielding turf course. She won the Very One Stakes at Pimlico on May 14 in her last start, overcoming traffic issues to do so.

Owner, Breeder and Trainer of Caravel, Elizabeth Merryman gives the thumbs up after winning the Goldwood Stakes at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, NJ on Friday June 25, 2021. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

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Longtime Paddock/Television Host Rich Glazier Passes At Age 73

Rich Glazier, the former paddock and television replay show host at Delaware Park, passed away Tuesday at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He was 73.

The Delaware native started his career at the Stanton-oval as the host of the local replay show on cable in 1987. He also developed and hosted the “Delaware Racing Scene Show” highlighting the best of Delaware Park racing and the sport on the national level. In his more than three decades at Delaware Park, Glazier held numerous positions including paddock handicapper and analyst where he became popular with his insightful and fun interviews with almost every popular personality in Mid-Atlantic racing.

As a lifelong fan of Delaware Park, he took tremendous pride in only missing one Delaware Handicap which was in 1968 while he was serving one of his two tours during his 18 months of service as a veteran in the intelligence division of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

“He was more than I could have ever hoped for when we brought him on board in 1987,” said Executive Director of Racing, John Mooney. “When he first approached me with the idea of working at Delaware Park and hosting a cable show highlighting racing, I was not sure. He was married with two young children and he wanted to give up his job as an accountant to work at a track that at the time was struggling. But he made it work and he did an incredible and professional job. He gained the respect of everyone and made friends throughout the industry. He was as great a representative for Delaware Park as there could be and he will be greatly missed.”

Glazier is survived by his wife of 49 years, Amy; sons David and Michael; daughters-in-law Katie and Julie; grandchildren Sydney, Zachary, Jacob, Samuel, and Nora; brother Brad; sister-in-law Michelle; and niece Jenna.

In lieu of flowers, family suggests donations to St. Jude's Hospital for Children, the Siegel JCC Senior Center, or charity of choice.

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Gulfstream Park: Nicoletti Handicaps Saturday’s Mandatory Payout Rainbow 6

A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 will be held Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., with bettors' hopes of taking down a life-changing score riding high.

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot stands at $464,802.90 going into Saturday's 12-race program that gets under way at 12:20 p.m. The pool is expected to grow to $2.5 million Saturday or more after Rainbow 6 betting.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for the 14 racing days since a lucky ticketholder broke the jackpot May 29 for a $400,000 payoff.

Gulfstream host and analyst Ron Nicoletti gives his Rainbow 6 ticket with a best bet and longshot

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is usually only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. However, on mandatory-payout days, the entire pool is paid out to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the six-race sequence.

The $75,000 Not Surprising, a stakes for 3-year-olds scheduled for a mile on turf, will be featured on Saturday's program, as well as the mandatory payout that is always popular with bettors looking for a big payday.

The search for a 'single' in Saturday's Rainbow 6 sequence (Races 7-12), may prove to be challenge for handicappers. The sequence will be kicked off by a $12,500 maiden claiming race for 3-year-olds and up. The 5 ½-furlong dash that drew a field of 10 will likely be a popular 'spread race.'

Race 8 is a starter optional claiming allowance scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf. Efren Loza Jr.-trained Kartano, who finished a close third in the English Channel last time out, is rated as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in a field of 10. Tellington, who finished second in his first start for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., is likely to be included in many Rainbow 6 tickets. Should the Race be taken off the turf, Gods Promise, the only main-track only entrant, is slated to make his first start for trainer Jorge Delgado, who has been deadly with horses off the claim.

A $16,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs follows in Race 9. Kathern's Joy, who missed earning his diploma by a neck against slightly weaker company, is rated as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a field of nine. Boldness, who had a troubled trip from the rail post in his debut against better, may be viewed as a solid value play for bettors who are fans of trainer David Fawkes.

Saffie Joseph Jr. figures to be well-represented in Race 10 weather the $12,500 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up stays on turf or is moved to the main track. Calabash will be looking to make amends after finishing an even fourth at 3-5 in his first start for Joseph. Berhanu, a main-track-only entrant, rated at 5-2, is slated for a drop from $25,000 company.

Union Gap has shown he knows how to win, having won three in a row but the 5-2 morning-line favorite is slated to jump from the bottom level to the $12,500 claiming level for Race 11, a mile race for 3-year-olds and up.

The Rainbow 6 sequence concludes in Race 12, a $12,500 maiden claimer for 3-year-olds and up that is scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Kick in the Gas, the 8-5 morning-line favorite formerly trained by Christophe Clement, drops from a fourth-place finish in his April 10 debut against $35,000 maiden claimers. With no main-track-entrants, handicapping the race should prove most testing should the race be moved to the main track.

Another Rainbow 6 mandatory payout is scheduled for Wednesday, June 30, on the final program of the fiscal year. A racing card will also be conducted on Thursday, July 1, the first day of the new fiscal year. There will be no live racing next Friday leading up to the Fourth of July Weekend. The holiday weekend will be highlighted by the Summit of Speed program on Saturday, July 3, featuring the $350,000 Princess Rooney Invitational (G2), a seven-furlong Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' sprint for fillies and mares; the $200,000 Smile Sprint Invitational (G3), a six-furlong stakes for 3-year-olds and up; and the $100,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint, a five-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up, Sunday, July 4.

NOTE: Trainer Kathleen O'Connell sent three horses to the track Friday and all three were winners. O'Connell won with Well Defined ($3.20) in the second, World Gone Wild ($9.80) in the sixth and Gingeronmymind ($12) in the ninth.

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Dr. Jeff Blea Takes Over As California Horse Racing Board’s Equine Medical Director

Dr. Jeff Blea will assume the responsibilities of Equine Medical Director for the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on July 1, replacing Dr. Rick Arthur, who retires June 30 after serving 15 years as EMD.

In addition to advising the Board on matters pertaining to equine health and welfare, Dr. Blea will help oversee the CHRB's drug testing program, work with investigators on medication violations, liaise with those peers directing programs at the University of California, Davis, including the Postmortem Program, and work with Official Veterinarians in their oversight of practicing veterinarians.

Dr. Blea is perfectly positioned to assume this vital role. He was a practicing veterinarian on the Southern California thoroughbred circuit for 28 years, and during that time he demonstrated an interest in improving horse racing, focusing primarily on equine health and welfare, as evidenced by his leadership nationally with the American Association of Equine Practitioners and regionally with the Southern California Equine Foundation. He served as a director of the Dolly Green Research Foundation from 1999 to 2015. The list of the organizations and programs he has served is long and admirable.

Originally Dr. Blea hoped to be a jockey, but an accident cut short that career, which led him into veterinary medicine.

“As it turned out, I consider myself a better vet than I would have been a rider,” he said pragmatically. “I studied at Colorado State University. While there, I met people who were interested in organized veterinary medicine. I was mentored by some incredible people who were progressive, not only in what veterinary medicine should, be but also in what horse racing should be.

“When I came to California, I met Dr. Arthur and it really opened my eyes relative to the horse racing industry and the role of veterinary medicine. This led to a greater understanding of what the racing industry was and what it should be…where it needed to be. I realized I could take my practical background and blend it with my scientific knowledge to make a greater impact on improving care of the horse in particular and improving horse racing in general.

“When Rick announced his pending retirement a few years ago, he urged me to apply,” Dr. Blea continued. “Others did as well. Initially I resisted. I was quite happy practicing veterinary medicine. Mostly out of curiosity I applied. During the long interview process, I began to realize that the role of EMD was much more than I had appreciated. This led to a greater understanding of the significance of the EMD, and so by the end of the process I realized this job was something I wanted to do if offered the opportunity.”

Dr. Blea was chosen from a strong field of well-qualified applicants. The EMD position they all sought is significantly different than the one Dr. Arthur found when he accepted the job 15 years ago. Dr. Arthur directed more centralized oversight in a number of areas under the general responsibility of the EMD.

CHRB Chairman Greg Ferraro said during the June meeting, ““During the last 15 years, Dr. Arthur has brought our medical program and our health and safety program light-years ahead of where it was when he started. We truly appreciate what you've done.”

Dr. Arthur expressed full confidence in his replacement. “I know Dr. Blea very well,” said Dr. Arthur. “He understands the challenges going forward and has the background, knowledge, and tenacity to do the job.”

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