Month: March 2023

‘It’s A Huge Day’: Jaime Rodriguez Rides Record-Tying Seven Winners Friday At Laurel

Paul Fowler Jr.'s 4-year-old gelding Shaft's Bullett rolled to a popular victory in Friday's Race 8 feature at Laurel Park to complete a record-tying seven-win day for jockey Jaime Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, 32, tied Horacio Karamanos and Chuck Baltazar for the most wins on a single card at Laurel. Baltazar rode seven straight winners Dec. 15, 1969, and Horacio Karamanos equaled the mark Oct. 26, 2002.

“I was pretty happy when I won the first one,” Rodriguez said. “I thought that everything that I rode had a shot today. I give everything to anyone that I ride. I am so happy. It's a huge day. Seven wins in one day? It's impressive.”

A native of Puerto Rico, Rodriguez won each of the first five races Friday aboard Center Mid Maddie ($8.60), Albertano ($4.80), Six the Hard Way ($12.40), Big Cheeks ($6.20) and Pelota ($3.60) before streak was snapped when he ran fifth in Race 6 on Peach Be With Q.

Rodriguez came back to win Race 7 on Semper Fi ($3.80) and capped his performance on Shaft's Bullet. Tracking the duel of Local Motive and Momos while racing in the clear three wide in third, Shaft's Bullet rolled up to the leaders on the turn and took over once straightened for home.

After taking one peek behind him in mid-stretch to monitor any late runners, Rodriguez pumped his fist as he cruised to the wire unchallenged 5 ¼ lengths ahead of belated runner-up Be Better. The winning time in the second-level optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up was 1:37.89 for one mile over a fast main track.

“I was pretty confident he had a shot and I said, 'I think this is going to be the seventh today,'” Rodriguez said. “Thank God, everything worked out the good way and he won the race.”

Center Mid Maddie, Big Cheeks, Pelota and Semper Fi are all trained by Jamie Ness, who leads Laurel's winter stand with 31 wins. Ness and Rodriguez are a combined 26-for-86 at the meet (30 percent).

“We have a pretty good relationship. I trust him, and he trusts me, too. Everything that we do, we do as a team and we go from there. That's how we work,” Rodriguez said. “I ride a lot for him but the same effort I give to him I'm going to give to everyone. I'm not picky. Whatever I've got, I'm going to give 100 percent.”

Rodriguez's other wins Friday came for trainers Rudy Sanchez-Salomon and Gary Capuano. Rodriguez, who did not have a mount in Laurel's Race 9 finale, entered the day trailing apprentice Jeiron Barbosa by one win for the winter meet riding title, and now holds a 47-41 lead.

Between Sept. 16 and 22, 2022, Rodriguez won eight straight races for eight different trainers at Delaware Park, one shy of the recognized U.S. record shared by Albert Adams (1930), Anthony Black (1993) and Travis Dunkelberger (2009).

Rodriguez had his best season ever in 2022, with career highs in wins (243) and purse earnings ($7.5 million) from 982 mounts, ranking seventh among North American riders in victories. He won his second straight Delaware Park riding title with 134 wins, 75 more than runner-up Mychel Sanchez, also going 24-for-89 at Parx (27 percent).

Last year, Rodriguez finished third at Laurel's winter (26 wins) and spring meets (16) and was fifth at the calendar year-ending fall stand (25). He ended 2022 ranked sixth overall with 79 wins in Maryland.

Rodriguez attended Puerto Rico's famous Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school and according to Equibase statistics earned his first domestic victory May 5, 2010 on East to Eden at Belmont Park. He rode primarily at Aqueduct and Belmont before relocating to Finger Lakes in 2012, dominating the standings. Rodriguez also spent time at Mahoning Valley before moving his tack to the Mid-Atlantic in 2020.

Equibase shows Rodriguez with career totals of 1,955 wins and more than $36.4 million in purse earnings. He is named in six of 10 races Saturday at Laurel, including multiple stakes winner Coffeewithchris in the $100,000 Private Terms for 3-year-olds, Ournationonparade in the $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial for 4-year-olds and up and Mavilus in the $75,000 Conniver for older Maryland-bred/sired female sprinters.

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Lukas Aiming For ‘Consistency’ With Last Samurai In Saturday’s Essex

Although Last Samurai is a millionaire multiple graded stakes winner, he's never won consecutive races. He gets another shot, this time as the 5-2 program favorite, in the $500,000 Essex Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the Essex, the ninth of 10 races, is 4:54 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 12:35 p.m. The card also features the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes (G3) for older horses at 6 furlongs.

The projected 10-horse Essex field from the rail out:

  1. Silver Prospector, Ricardo Santana Jr. to ride, 118 pounds, 6-1 on the morning line;
  2. Vittorio, Martin Garcia, 116, 3-1;
  3. Rated R Superstar, David Cabrera, 118, 20-1;
  4. Call Me Fast, Francisco Arrieta, 116, 15-1;
  5. Classic Causeway, Flavien Prat, 119, 15-1;
  6. Necker Island, Nik Juarez, 118, 8-1;
  7. Forza Di Oro, Florent Geroux, 117, 7-2;
  8. Tawny Port, Rafael Bejarano, 117, 15-1;
  9. Keystone Field, Isaac Castillo, 116, 15-1; and
  10. Last Samurai, Cristian Torres, 121, 5-2.

The Essex is a major local prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 22, a 1 1/8-mile race Last Samurai won in 2022. Last Samurai wouldn't win again until his last start, a sparkling 1 ½-length score over West Will Power in the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 18 at Oaklawn. The victory, Last Samurai's fifth in 23 career starts, boosted his career earnings to $1,607,639. It also generated a 119 Equibase Speed rating, highest of the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting.

The obvious question: Can Last Samurai flash the same form Saturday?

“I'm getting paid to make them better,” Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, jokingly, said. “That's what they pay me for, to make them better. Not to keep them there, but to get them better.”

Lukas began training Last Samurai following the 2022 Oaklawn Handicap. A son of Malibu Moon, Last Samurai opened his 5-year-old campaign with a fourth-place finish in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at 1 1/8 miles Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park. Last Samurai shined three weeks later in the Razorback for owner Kevin Horton of Marshall, Ark. (Willis Horton Racing).

“I hope I get some consistency out of him,” Lukas said.

In addition to the Last Samurai, the Essex features Grade 1 winner Classic Causeway for trainer Kenny McPeek, Grade 2 winner Silver Prospector (Steve Asmussen) and Grade 3 winners Rated R Superstar (Martin Villafranco) and Tawny Port and Forza Di Oro (Brad Cox).

Classic Causeway returns to dirt after making his final five starts last year on turf, highlighted by a front-running victory in the $1 million Belmont Derby (G1) at 1 ¼ miles July 9 at Belmont Park. In the runup to last year's Kentucky Derby, Classic Causeway was a front-running winner of the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) and $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2). Both 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Derby dirt preps were at Tampa Bay Downs.

“We're proud of what he did on the grass, but we don't want to pigeonhole him as strictly a turf horse,” McPeek said. “We want to give him several races on the dirt again to try and see how he competes against the older dirt crop. He still needs to learn to rate himself and be more tactical, as opposed to pretty well being one-dimensional. When he leaves the gate, he wants to be in front. I would like to think that Flavien can get him to relax a little bit. We've been trying to practice this a bit with him, to get him to lay off horses and just wait, wait and finish and use that natural speed later in the race.”

Defending champion Rated R Superstar, 10, is trying to become the oldest horse to win a two-turn stakes race at Oaklawn. Vittorio will be making his stakes debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Necker Island, approaching $1 million in career earnings, returns to a route for the first time since May for 2015 Oaklawn training champion Chris Hartman.

“The idea was the Oaklawn Mile,” Hartman said, referring to the $400,000 Grade 3 race April 1. “But the horse is doing so good, we didn't want to wait around for the Oaklawn Mile. The idea was to get him back around two turns, so what's an extra sixteenth. The horse is doing really good, so we thought we could see what he can do there.”

Silver Prospector exits a sharp Feb. 11 allowance victory at Oaklawn.

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Inclement Weather: Fair Grounds Cancels Remainder Of Friday Card After First Race

After running the first race, the decision was made to cancel the rest of Friday's card at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots due to inclement weather.

Live racing will resume on Saturday, March 18 with 9 races scheduled to begin at the regular post time of 1:15 p.m. CT.

Also on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT, the field for the 110th running of the $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) with starting gate assignments and morning line odds will be revealed during the Louisiana Derby Draw Show.

The Louisiana Derby Draw Show will be broadcast on Fair Grounds simulcast & on Twitter: @fairgroundsnola. Joe Kristufek and John G. Dooley will host and be joined by morning line odds maker Mike Diliberto & racing analyst Kevin Kilroy. Following the post-position draw, the connections on hand and members of the Fair Grounds management team will be available for interviews.

About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation's oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 15 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 151st Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 110th running of the Louisiana Derby – will run from Nov 18, 2022 through March 26, 2023. More information is available online at www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.

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