Del Mar's Bing Crosby Season will present the richest stakes schedule in its nine-year history featuring 13 major stakes races–nine of them graded–and two overnight events worth a total of $2,450,000. The season kicks off Friday, Nov. 11 and goes through Sunday, Dec. 4.
Topping the roster for the 13-day Crosby session are a pair of Grade I offerings on closing weekend, each carrying enhanced purses of $400,000–the Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds at a mile and one-eighth on turf Dec. 3 and the Matriarch S. for older fillies and mares at a mile on turf Dec. 4.
Also of note on the stakes agenda are $50,000 purse boosts to a pair of tests, one on grass for fillies and mares, the other on the dirt open to all. The former is the GIII, $150,000 Red Carpet S. at a mile and three eights on the lawn slated for Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24. The latter is the GIII $150,000 Native Diver S. at nine furlongs on the main track on Sunday, Nov. 27.
The meet presents racing three days a week–Fridays through Sundays–with the one exception of Thanksgiving when racing is held Thursday through Sunday. First post daily will be 12:30 p.m. with the special case of an 11 a.m. start for the Thanksgiving card.
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has highlighted television coverage of Runhappy Travers Day, which will include five grade 1 races among six stakes races in total on Saturday, Aug. 27 at historic Saratoga Race Course.
For the fourth consecutive year, FOX will present coverage and analysis of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers as part of a special 90-minute telecast beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Saturday's 13-race blockbuster card features a first post of 11:35 a.m. Accordingly, an expanded edition of Saratoga Live will begin at 11:30 a.m. and continue throughout the afternoon on the networks of FOX Sports.
First held in 1864, the Travers is the country's 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.
The field for the 153rd renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers will feature Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, Preakness winner Early Voting and Jim Dandy winner Epicenter. The race is sponsored by Runhappy, a champion sprinter currently standing at Claiborne Farm.
The Runhappy Travers on FOX will incorporate footage provided by a new aerial cable cam system currently in place at Saratoga Race Course. Constructed specifically for the demands of filming thoroughbreds in full flight from a variety of angles, the remote-operated camera travels up to 45 mph along a cable that spans the length of the Saratoga backstretch.
Viewers of the Runhappy Travers on FOX will also enjoy an eye-in-the-sky perspective of Saratoga Race Course via a helicopter-mounted SkyCam, which will be utilized throughout the 90-minute show.
In addition to the Runhappy Travers, Saturday's spectacular day of world-class racing will include the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf; the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign; the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial and the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa.
Del Mar's Bing Crosby Season, which offers the premier late fall racing in America, will present the richest stakes schedule in its nine-year history featuring 13 major stakes races – nine of them Graded – and two overnight events worth a total of $2,450,000. The season kicks off on Friday, Nov. 11, and goes through Sunday, Dec. 4.
Topping the roster for the 13-day Crosby session are a pair of Grade 1 offerings on closing weekend, each carrying enhanced purses of $400,000 – the Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds at a mile and one-eighth on turf Dec. 3 and the Matriarch Stakes for older fillies and mares at a mile on turf on Dec. 4.
Also of note on the stakes agenda are $50,000 purse boosts to a pair of tests, one on grass for fillies and mares, the other on the dirt open to all. The former is the Grade 3, $150,000 Red Carpet Stakes at a mile and three eights on the lawn slated for Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24. The latter is the Grade 3, $150,000 Native Diver Stakes at nine furlongs on the main track on Sunday, Nov. 27.
Del Mar additionally will present on Dec. 3 the first running of the $100,000 Stormy Liberal Stakes at five furlongs on the turf for 3-year-olds and up. Stormy Liberal, of course, was the former claimer that trainer Peter Miller and owners Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen turned into a two-time Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner (including the one in 2017 at Del Mar) and an earner of more than $2.2 million. The Stormy Liberal is one of 10 grass stakes offered during the stand.
The meet presents racing three days a week – Fridays through Sundays – with the one exception of Thanksgiving when racing is held Thursday through Sunday. First post daily will be 12:30 p.m. with the special case of an 11 a.m. start for the Thanksgiving card.
A pair of overnight stakes – each carrying $75,000 purses — get the season rolling with the Let It Ride Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the green on Nov. 11, followed by the Kathryn Crosby Stakes for older fillies and mares, also at a mile on the turf, right behind it on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Other major offerings include the Grade 2, $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one-half on the lawn on Nov. 25, and the Grade 2, $250,000 Seabiscuit Handicap, also for 3-year-olds and up, at a mile and one-sixteenth on turf on Nov. 26.
The track's sizeable turf offerings during the stand have proven to be magnates for stakes horses from around the country in the past and that is not expected to change this year. The last two weeks of the season provide eight graded stakes on grass worth more than $1.4 million.
Here's the full list of the Bing Crosby stakes:
DATE
RACE / CONDITIONS
PURSE / DISTANCE
Fri. Nov 11
Let It Ride Stakes*
Three-year-olds, N/W S/S of $60,000 at 1 M o/o since April 1
$75,000 Guaranteed
1 Mile (T)
Sat. Nov 12
Kathryn Crosby Stakes*
Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, N/W S/S of $60,000 at 1 M o/o since April 1
Luis Ettedgui began following Hofburg, bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms, in the spring of 2018. The teenager's interest intensified when the chestnut son of Tapit placed second in the Florida Derby, leading him to persuade his father, Alberto, to purchase general admission tickets to the Kentucky Derby.
Heavy rain forced them to seek shelter on the afternoon of the Derby at Churchill Downs. Luis, decked out in a shirt that read Hofburg and bore Juddmonte's famous pink, green and white colors, spotted a vacant box. He and his father retreated there.
Minutes before the Derby, Garrett O'Rourke, Juddmonte's general manager, arrived and gently informed father and son that they were occupying his seats. At the same time, O'Rourke's eye was drawn to Luis' shirt and a conversation ensued. The young man told O'Rourke of his ambition to eventually become a farm manager, leading O'Rourke to offer his help.
Ettedgui's family had relocated to South Florida from Venezuela when he was 11. When it was time to apply to college, he submitted one application. He was intent on being part of the University of Kentucky's equine management program while working part-time.
“You would be in the horse capital of the world. I figured it was the place for me to be if I was to work, which was my plan,” he said.
Once Ettedgui was accepted by Kentucky, he contacted O'Rourke and arrangements were made for him to work with Juddmonte's regally-bred yearlings by doing basic chores on weekends. The position was not very profitable. Since the young man did not own a car as a freshman, round-trip transportation to the Lexington farm cost him $40. Money well spent.
“You learn more gaining actual experience,” he said. “I've always been taught to work with the best. They do things the right way and they do right by the horse.”
Ettedgui continued to work part-time at Juddmonte through his first three years at Kentucky before interning with Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox last spring at Keeneland as part of a three-credit course. He reported to assistant trainer Tessa Bisha, who specializes in developing Cox's 2-year-olds.
If Ettedgui expected her to bring him along slowly, he was mistaken.
“We generally threw him to the wolves, which is actually really scary for a lot of people because they are afraid of failure, afraid of making a mistake, afraid to ask a question. There is a lot of the fear of the unknown, right?” Bisha said. “Luis just took it all in stride.”
No task is too small for Ettedgui, 22, as he approaches his final year at Kentucky.
“He doesn't have any ego. He doesn't get in his own way,” Bisha said. “He has the best attitude to learn with.”
Ettedgui in the saddling stalls at Saratoga
When Cox asked Ettedgui if he wanted work for him at Saratoga this summer, the young man hesitated only because of the significant expenses he would incur for housing and other needs. He turned to O'Rourke for advice, as he had many times before. O'Rourke assured him it was an offer he could not refuse.
Ettedgui is glad he listened.
“I feel you should definitely experience this racetrack because this is the big leagues,” he said. “This is where everybody wants to win. This is where everybody wants to be.”
Ettedgui arrives at the barn before 4 a.m. each day knowing he might be asked to do anything and everything. Much of his time is spent grooming horses.
“It's a very exhausting job for grooms who do it every day. I have an appreciation for them because it is not easy,” he said.
He learned from the demanding Cox the importance of paying attention to every detail.
“Everything has to be perfect. Everything has to be how he says,” said Ettedgui. “He's a great guy to work with.”
Although Ettedgui has loftier goals, he understands the need to learn from the ground up.
“What I'm going through right now is definitely all the grunt work. But I feel there are certain stages you have to pass through to make it,” he said.
With an assist from O'Rourke, his next step will be to work beside bloodstock expert David Ingordo at Keeneland's September Yearling Sale. He already is a student of pedigrees. He also understands he must develop an eye for a racing prospect.
Bisha praised Ettedgui for taking all the right steps.
“What I love is he stuck with the racetrack side this long already,” she said. “For people who want to do farm manager jobs, it is very important that they see and understand what the end goal is.”
Ettedgui will always be indebted to O'Rourke, knowing he landed in the right seat after all.
Tom Pedulla wrote for USA Today from 1995-2012 and has been a contributor to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Blood-Horse, America's Best Racing and other publications.
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