For the sixth year in a row, America’s Best Racing is challenging some of the brightest minds in horse betting to come up with their top three picks for key races every weekend leading up to the 2022 Triple Crown and then continuing through the 2022 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call the “Big Race Showdown.”
Month: August 2022
The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Andrew Cohen On HISA Litigation
With no fewer than four lawsuits filed by opponents of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, not to mention an injunction, a stay of the injunction, and three of the cases already heading to the Court of Appeals, we called on legal analyst and Standardbred horseman Andrew Cohen to help us understand what is driving the litigation and what we can expect going forward.
Cohen, senior editor of the Marshall Project and formerly with CBS News and the Atlantic, joins Ray Paulick in this week's Friday Show in a wide-ranging conversation touching on the status of the four lawsuits – two filed in Texas, one in Kentucky, and one in Louisiana – and how politics may play into an issue that Cohen says is not political.
For now, Cohen says, a Court of Appeals stay blocking an injunction against HISA in Louisiana and West Virginia means the Authority can enforce its regulations. But that stay, he added, may only be good for a few days.
Conversely, the industry might as well get used to ongoing litigation against HISA for months or years to come, Cohen said, and it may not be resolved until the Supreme Court hears one of the cases.
Watch this week's episode of the Friday Show below:
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Shedaresthedevil Bids For Repeat In Win And You’re In Del Mar’s Clement L. Hirsch
A sparkling field of seven fillies and mares – topped by the multi-millionaire and defending champ in the headliner, Shedaresthedevil — will compete for a $400,000 prize and Grade 1 status Saturday at Del Mar in the 52nd edition of the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile crucible that will go as Race 9 on the day's 11-race card.
The Hirsch, which is run on the main track, will be followed by the $150,000 California Dreamin' Stakes, also at 1 1/16 miles, but this one held on the turf course and limited to California-bred or sired runners aged 3 and up. Part II of the stakes doubleheader has lured a field of 11 runners along with two also-eligibles.
Besides its money and prestige attraction, the Hirsch is also a “Win and You're In” Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race that gives the winner an automatic entrée, with all fees paid, into the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, which will be run at Keeneland in Kentucky this November.
Shedaresthedevil currently sports a bankroll that reads $2,729,458, which goes a long way in telling the tale of an exceptional racemare. The 5-year-old daughter of Daredevil, owned by Flurry Racing Stables and partners, has won 10 of her 20 starts, including nine graded stakes, among them last year's Hirsch in which she scored smartly by more than three lengths. She'll be ridden Saturday by her regular guy, Florent Geroux, who has set up shop this summer at Del Mar. The mare was shipped from Kentucky Wednesday for the race by trainer Brad Cox.
Chief threat to the top one appears to be the double-quick filly Private Mission, who can be expected to set the pace in the Hirsch. Owned by the Baoma Corporation and trained by Bob Baffert, Private Mission currently shows $397,300 in earnings and comes into the race off a good tally in the Santa Maria Stakes at Santa Anita on June 18. She'll be handled by Del Mar's leading rider, Juan Hernandez.
The California Dreamin' is a wide-open affair with a possible favorite in the 4-year-old gelding The Chosen Vron, a son of Vronsky who has won five of his seven career starts. The chestnut hasn't started since a score at Turf Paradise in Arizona last November but has been training well for trainer Eric Kruljac and will have the saddle services of top turf rider Umberto Rispoli.
The Clement L. Hirsch, named after an exceptional California horseman and one of the founders of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, had its purse boosted this year from $300,000 to $400,000. Among previous winners of the race are champions like Beholder, Zenyatta (three times), Azeri, Tranquility Lake, Paseana and Bayakoa.
Here's the full field for the Hirsch from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:
Bass, Dilschneider or Hancock, et al's Soothsay (Mike Smith, 5-1); Sones or Sones' Lisette (Victor Espinoza, 30-1); H & E Ranch's Desert Dawn (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Private Mission (5/2); Shedaresthedevil (8/5); Downstream Racing's Samurai Charm (Ramon Vazquez, 12-1), and Pozo de Luna's Blue Stripe (Hector Berrios, 4-1).
Here's the full field for the California Dreamin' from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:
Mr./Mrs. T.A. Shapiro's Bang for Your Buck (Espinoza, 30-1); Larry or Ann Jett's Carmelita's Man (Hernandez, 5-1); Janet or Michael Dante's Irish Heatwave (Joe Bravo, 12-1); Bran Jam Stable and partners' Tom's Surprise (Armando Ayuso, 10-1); Larry Odbert's Freeport Joe (Asa Espinoza, 10-1); Tomasic, Bassett or Knapp's Fly the Sky (Tyler Baze, 15-1); Bruno, Gezon or Jones' Jimmy Blue Jeans (Kyle Frey, 5-1); Downstream Racing's None Above the Law (Geroux, 4-1); Reddam Racing's Hockey Dad (Mario Gutierrez, 5-1); The Chosen Vron (7/2), and Dupuis, Dupuis or Neumann's Luvluv (Edwin Maldonado, 20-1). The two also-eligibles are Rockingham Ranch or KRK Investments and partners' Coast of Roan (Smith, 8-1) and John And Diane Fradkin's Cono (Abel Cedillo, 12-1).
First post for Saturday's card is 2 p.m. The Hirsch has a post time of approximately 6:05 p.m. and the California Dreamin' is scheduled to go off at approximately 6:35 p.m.
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Art Collector Geared Down Defeating Four Rivals In Alydar
Bruce Lunsford's Kentucky homebred Art Collector proved to be too much for his four rivals as he successfully defended his title in the $135,000 Alydar, a nine-furlong test for older horses who have not won a stakes other than state-bred in 2022, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Art Collector has been on quite a journey since the last time he won the Alydar, making trips to West Virginia, California and a last out trip to Saudi Arabia in February when off-the-board in the Group 1 Saudi Cup before ultimately returning to the scene of his 3 1/2-length score last year.
Art Collector delivered a similar performance to last year, taking his place at the front of the field and never looking back. Despite two off-the-board finishes in his last two outings, Art Collector returned to run as strong as ever as Luis Saez sat motionless aboard the son of Bernardini down the lane and cruised home to a two-length victory.
Breaking from post 4, Art Collector held a comfortable advantage entering the first turn with Masqueparade being asked to take up second position under Joel Rosario through an opening quarter-mile in 24.60 seconds over the fast main track. Bal Harbour tracked in third along the rail with Chess Chief to his outside and Mystic Night bringing up the rear.
Positions remained unchanged down the backstretch until Reylu Gutierrez asked Chess Chief for more to the outside of rivals and Rosario shook the reins aboard Masqueparade. Meanwhile, Saez remained cool aboard Art Collector as the field moved through the turn with three-quarters elapsed in 1:13.77.
Masqueparade continued to chase to the outside of Art Collector with Chess Chief digging in down the center of the racetrack, but Art Collector maintained his advantage with little urging from Saez as he approached the wire. His margin diminished as Masqueparade made up late ground, but Art Collector was geared down at the finish and was never threatened by his rival's bid, stopping the clock in 1:51.84.
Masqueparade completed the exacta 7 1/2 lengths ahead of Chess Chief with Mystic Night and Bal Harbour rounding out the order of finish. King Fury was scratched.
Mott, who scored his first stakes win of the meet, said the effort was just what he hoped to see.
“He's fine with the distance, he likes the track and it was a good comeback race for him since he hasn't been out since February,” said Mott.
Art Collector has shown versatility in his nine wins and has won from off the pace as well as on the lead. Mott said he was prepared for a potential challenge up front.
“We thought maybe if the outside horse [Masqueparade] wanted to go to the lead, we'd let him go and we'd have a target,” said Mott. “But as it worked out, he was on the lead by himself. It looked like he was going easily enough and it looked like every time that horse ran to him, he just maintained the same advantage.”
Saez echoed Mott's sentiments.
“He's a pretty cool horse to ride. He's pretty smart,” Saez said. “He broke and controlled the pace. He switched leads at the point he's supposed to by himself, and he did everything beautiful. My plan was to break from there and if he took the lead I know he's pretty fast, so if he gets the lead we'll take it. If not, we'll track somebody. He's a horse that you can ride any way you break.”
Art Collector used his previous Alydar win as a springboard to graded stakes success in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic and Grade 1 Woodward later that fall at Belmont Park. Mott said it is likely he will continue on to defend his titles in those races as well on August 26 at Charles Town and October 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack, respectively.
“We might go to Charles Town, back in the Woodward. Short term, we're definitely thinking of going to the Charles Town Classic with him,” said Mott. “That could change, I'll talk to Bruce and see what he wants to do. He was excited to go there last year, he might want to go back.”
Lunsford and Mott have shared some memorable moments together, including a close second in the 1999 Belmont Stakes with his homebred Vision and Verse. Lunsford went on to own and breed a graded stakes-placed half-sister to Vision and Verse named Distorted Legacy, who produced Art Collector.
“He is a special horse. I love the horse. I love his rider,” said Lunsford. “Luis and I go way back with his ex-agent [Richard DePass] and his current agent Kiaran [McLaughlin]. It's just a great thrill for me to have a horse of this quality and the brothers and sisters and the mother.
“Bill and I go way back. We were together in the Belmont Stakes. I'm watching it with him, and I said, 'We're going to win, we're going to win.' But he barely got beat, it was a lot of fun,” Lunsford added as he recalled Vision and Verse.
Art Collector increased his total purse earnings to $1,729,555 and improved his record to 18-9-1-0. He returned $3.60 for a $2 win wager as the 4-5 post time favorite.
Rosario said Masqueparade did his best behind the slow fractions set by Art Collector.
“The trip was good. It was a little on the slow side at the beginning and I had to get after him a bit to get him going,” said Rosario. “The horse in front was going easy. He ran his race.”
Live racing resumes on Friday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in Race 8 and the Grade 3, $300,000 Troy in Race 9. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.
Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
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