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NYRA Announces New COVID-19 Protocols For Jockeys

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has announced COVID-19 health and safety protocols for jockeys during the 2020/21 Aqueduct winter meet, which will open on Thursday, Dec. 10 and run through Sunday, March 28.

The 56-day Aqueduct winter meet will include 42 stakes races worth $4.57 million in purse money. In order to mitigate risk and reduce the spread of COVID-19, Aqueduct will be closed to riders that are not regular members of the NYRA jockey colony as of Dec. 31.

To account for NYRA's 10-day holiday break from December 21 through Dec. 30, jockeys interested in being included in the regular NYRA jockey colony must contact NYRA for consideration by Dec. 31.

Members of the regular NYRA jockey colony who travel to ride at any other racetrack during the Aqueduct winter meet will be required to provide two negative COVID-19 tests taken within a 5-day window in order to return to ride at Aqueduct. Jockeys traveling out of state who have completed the required testing will then be physically isolated in the jockey quarters for three additional calendar days. All COVID-19 testing must be performed in New York state.

In addition to race day safety protocols which include standard health screening and temperature checks, the jockey quarters at Aqueduct have been substantially altered to provide maximum social distancing and reduce density. All areas accessed by jockeys during the regular course of a race day are closed to outside personnel, including credentialed media, and are cleaned and disinfected throughout the day. Jockeys are not permitted access to the barn area at Belmont Park.

Jockey agents must produce a negative COVID-19 test in order to gain access to the barn area. Races will continue to be drawn via Zoom. Valets working in in the jockey quarters are not permitted in the barn area.

Live racing during the Aqueduct winter meet will generally be conducted Thursday through Sunday until the end of February and the addition of special Monday cards on Jan. 18 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Feb. 15 for Presidents' Day. Live racing in March will be offered Friday through Sunday through the conclusion of the winter meet on March 28.

For additional information, and the complete winter meet stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule.

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NY-Bred Brooklyn Strong Upsets the Remsen

Native New Yorker Brooklyn Strong (Wicked Strong) earned his black-type badge against fellow Empire-breds last out in the Oct. 24 Sleepy Hollow S. and took his career to the next level Saturday with a gritty victory in the GII Remsen S. at Aqueduct.

Away alertly under Joel Rosario, the 7-1 shot raced two wide near the back of the quintet as favored Ten for Ten (Frosted) clicked off early splits of :23.67 and :47.86. Inching up into third alongside GIII Nashua S. victor Pickin’ Time (Stay Thirsty) on the backstretch run, they bay overtook that rival approaching the bend and set his sights on the pacesetter. Pulling away from the rest of the field in the lane, the pair slugged it out in the slop with Brooklyn Strong forging clear of a determined Ten for Ten in the final strides to win by a neck.

“I was very confident going in,” said trainer Daniel Velazquez, who registered his first graded win in the Remsen. “I knew the distance was key and I was confident about the off track. I was happy with his performance. He really dug in. Today was a big showcase for him against tougher competition and I couldn’t be happier.”

“I broke well and it looked like they were running away from me a little bit, so I had to ride him to get position,” said Rosario. “I didn’t want to let him fall back, so I rode him to stay within a couple of lengths. I was happy with how he was progressing and I was confident he was going to have something left for the end.”

Purchased for just $5,000 at the delayed OBS April Sale after breezing in :10 2/5, Brooklyn Strong was dangled for a $40,000 tag in his career bow at Delaware Sept. 12, which he won by three lengths. Third next out in the state-bred Bertram F. Bongard S. at Belmont Oct. 2, the gelding scored a decisive victory in the one-mile Sleepy Hollow at Belmont last out.

Pedigree Notes:

Brooklyn Strong is the first graded winner and one of three black-type victors for second-crop sire Wicked Strong, who scored a career high at the Big A when winning the 2014 GI Wood Memorial S. His SP dam Riviera Chic produced a Keen Ice colt last year and a Practical Joke colt May 4 of this year.

Saturday, Aqueduct
REMSEN S.-GII, $145,500, Aqueduct, 12-5, 2yo, 1 1/8m, 1:50.60, sy.
1–BROOKLYN STRONG, 120, g, 2, by Wicked Strong
1st Dam: Riviera Chic (SP), by Medaglia d’Oro
2nd Dam: Hurricane Warning, by Thunder Gulch
3rd Dam: Dewan’s Flag, by Dewan
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($30,000 Wlg ’18 FTNMIX; $42,000
RNA Ylg ’19 SARAUG; $6,000 RNA Ylg ’19 OBSOCT; $5,000 2yo
’20 OBSAPR). O-Mark Schwartz; B-Cheryl Prudhomme & Dr.
Michael Gallivan (NY); T-Daniel Velazquez; J-Joel Rosario.
$82,500. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1, $195,000. Werk Nick
Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ten for Ten, 118, c, 2, Frosted–Summer Vacation, by
Eskendereya. ($410,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-Courtlandt Farms
(Donald & Donna Adam); B-George Krikorian (KY); T-Claude R.
McGaughey III. $30,000.
3–Known Agenda, 118, c, 2, Curlin–Byrama (GB), by Byron (GB).
($135,000 RNA Ylg ’19 FTSAUG). O/B-St. Elias Stable (KY);
T-Todd A. Pletcher. $18,000.
Margins: NK, 8 3/4, 8 1/4. Odds: 7.10, 1.25, 1.95.
Also Ran: Pickin’ Time, Erawan.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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TVG’s Weekend Coverage Features Cigar Mile, Opening Of Los Al, Gulfstream

The Cigar Mile (G1) headlines horse racing coverage from coast to coast this weekend on TVG featuring racing from Aqueduct, Fair Grounds and Tampa Bay Downs alongside opening weekend cards from Los Alamitos and Gulfstream Park.

The prestigious Cigar Mile (G1) is the tenth and final race of the day on a star-studded card from Aqueduct which includes three additional graded stakes races – the $150,000 Remsen Stakes (G2), the $100,000 Go for Wand Handicap (G3) and the $150,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2). The Cigar Mile has attracted a contentious field of nine including multiple graded stakes winner Firenze Fire, last seen finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) for trainer Kelly Breen.

Los Alamitos will kick off their afternoon Thoroughbred meet on Friday and TVG's Christina Blacker and Britney Eurton will be live trackside throughout the weekend with analysis and selections. Saturday's featured race is the $300,000 Starlet Stakes (G1) for juvenile fillies. Princess Noor tops the field of five for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza. The two-time graded stakes winning daughter of Not This Time will be trying to improve off of a fifth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). The Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos will run through Sunday, Dec. 20.

Gulfstream Park began their Championship Meet on Wednesday and this weekend will host the popular Claiming Crown which will feature an eleven-race card, nine of which are stakes races, and purses over $800,000. The stakes races include the $150,000 Claiming Crown Jewel which will be run at 1 1/8 miles and has drawn an accomplished field of eight including Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) runner-up Jesus' Team for trainer Jose Francisco D'Angelo. Luis Saez will be aboard the 3-year-old son of Tapiture who rose up from the claiming ranks this spring to finish third in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

The stakes action will continue at Fair Grounds on Saturday with the $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes, the featured race on the nine-race program. A turf sprint for fillies and mares, the race has drawn a full field of fourteen contenders including Into Mystic, the 5-2 morning line favorite for trainer Brendan Walsh. A 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, she is trying to rebound off of a twelfth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) and will have Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the irons.

In addition to racing from Aqueduct, Los Alamitos, Gulfstream Park and Fair Grounds, TVG will also be featuring Tampa Bay Downs, Laurel Park and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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Saturday’s Cigar Mile Card Features Mandatory Payout Of Empire 6 Wager

Cigar Mile Day on Saturday at Aqueduct will feature a mandatory payout of the New York Racing Association's Empire 6 wager, which carried a jackpot of $48,311 heading into Friday's card at the Big A.

The Empire 6 will start with Race 5 [1:30 p.m. Eastern post time] for Saturday's 10-race card, with the sequence encompassing three graded stakes, including the Grade 3, $100,000 Go for Wand in Race 6 and the two concluding races with the Grade 2, $150,000 Demoiselle for juvenile fillies in Race 9 and the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile for 3-year-olds and up in the finale.

The Empire 6 requires the bettor to select the first-place finisher of the final six races of the day's card. On non-mandatory payout days, if one unique ticket exists, then 100 percent of the net pool, plus the jackpot carryover if applicable, will be paid to the winner. If there is no unique wager selecting the first-place finisher in all six races, then 75 percent of the day's net pool will be distributed to those who selected the first-place finisher in the greatest number of races. The remainder will be added into the jackpot and carried to the next day's Empire 6.

The Big A fall meet will conclude on Sunday, December 6 with a stakes-laden card that offers a pair of rich New York Stallion Stakes Series races, including the Great White Way for 2-year-olds and the Fifth Avenue for juvenile fillies, with purses of $250,000 each. Also featured on Closing Day is the $100,000 Garland of Roses at six furlongs for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

Live racing action will then continue with the 56-day Aqueduct winter meet which kicks off Thursday, Dec. 10 and runs through Sunday, March 28, offering 42 stakes races worth $4.57 million in purses.

For more information, please visit NYRABets.com.

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