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Talented Sprinter Come Dancing On Her Toes Ahead Of Saturday’s Vagrancy

Blue Devil Racing Stable's Grade 1-winner Come Dancing headlines Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Vagrancy, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park.

The Vagrancy is one of four graded stakes on a loaded 11-race card, highlighted by the Grade 1, $250,000 Just a Game for fillies and mares going one mile on the Widener turf and also featuring the Grade 2, $150,000 True North, for 4-year-olds and up going 6 ½ furlongs; and the Grade 2, $250,000 New York at 1 ¼ miles on Belmont Park's inner turf.

Trained by Carlos Martin, the 6-year-old Malibu Moon mare will look to rebound after a rare off-the-board performance last out in an ambitious spot going two turns in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 18 at Oaklawn Park.

Come Dancing now returns to sprinting, where she excelled in 2019, highlighted by a dramatic come-from-behind win in the Grade 1 Ballerina in August at Saratoga Race Course. At the Spa, she was left at the break but rallied under Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, posting a 3 ½-length score in the seven-furlong sprint.

That was part of a stellar season for the millionaire Come Dancing, who won 4-of-6 starts in 2019 for Martin, including Grade 2 wins in the Ruffian and Gallant Bloom, both at Belmont Park; and the Grade 3 Distaff at Aqueduct.

Come Dancing was prepared for her Apple Blossom effort by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, after which Martin said the talented dark bay was given some time to recuperate before returning to Belmont Park in May.

Castellano, who also rode Come Dancing to victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Gallant Bloom last September at Belmont Park in an off-the-board finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in November at Santa Anita Park, gets the call on Come Dancing again on Saturday, breaking from post 5.

“Javier is one of top jockeys in the world and brings in a lot of experience, that's for sure,” Martin said. “There are certain riders like Javier who are just winners. There are great riders all over the country, but in New York, we have the best in the world.”

Come Dancing enters Saturday with a month of solid work, fortified by two recent bullet workouts on the main track at Belmont: on June 15, going five furlongs in 57.94 seconds and on June 8, going a half-mile in 47 flat.

“We wanted to just keep her fresh,” Martin said. “It didn't look like she was out of a canter. She was just so smooth. It's just one of those things where the track is extremely fast and she came out of it great.”

Lael Stables' 6-year-old Chalon, a winner of seven of 18 career starts, will make her 2020 debut. In her last start, going six furlongs in October at Keeneland, the Dialed In mare finished off the board. Trained by Arnaud Delacour, she will leave from post 3 with Jose Ortiz aboard.

Also looking for redemption is Gainesway Stable's Mother Mother, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who last out on June 5 at Belmont Park finished a disappointing fourth in a 6 ½ furlong sprint. One of the youngsters in the field, the 4-year-old has three victories in 13 career starts. The Pioneer of the Nile filly will be ridden by Joel Rosario from post 2.

Looking for redemption in the Vagrancy will be First Row Partners and Parkland Thoroughbreds' Royal Charlotte, who finished three-quarters of a length back to Honey I'm Good in a runner-up effort in the six-furlong Harmony Lodge on June 5 at Belmont Park in her seasonal bow.

“I wish I had a little more time,” said trainer Chad Brown. “I felt she could've won if she would've gone more to the outside on that wet track. It was a good prep for her.”

Royal Charlotte has five wins in eight career starts, including four consecutively in 2019 when she dominated races from 6-to-6 ½ furlongs, capped last July 4 by a convincing four-length win in the 6 ½-furlong Grade Victory Ride on the July 5 Stars and Stripes Day card at Belmont.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be aboard Royal Charlotte Saturday, drawing the inside post.

Rounding out the seven-horse field are Jakarta [post 4; Luis Saez], Victim of Love [post 6; Jose Lezcano] and Pacific Gale [post 7; Junior Alvarado].

The Vagrancy is named for the bay mare out of Valkyr by Man o' War, who in 1942 was Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and also the Champion Handicap Mare. Bred and owned by Belair Stud and trained for most of her career by the legendary “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons, Vagrancy enjoyed a season for the ages in 1942, winning nine stakes races that included the Coaching Club American Oaks, the Pimlico Oaks, the Delaware Oaks, the Alabama, Gazelle and Test against other 3-year-olds, and the Beldame Handicap and Ladies Handicap against older fillies and mares. Vagrancy raced 42 times in her career, hitting the board in 31 of her starts.

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Promises Fulfilled Returns From Eight-Month Layoff In Saturday’s True North

Robert Baron and WinStar Farm's Grade 1-winner Promises Fulfilled returns off a more than eight month layoff to headline Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 True North, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for 4-years-old and up at Belmont Park.

Trained by Dale Romans, the 5-year-old Shackleford chestnut last raced in the Grade 2 Phoenix on October 4 at Keeneland when sixth, defeated less than four lengths. That effort capped off an otherwise sparkling campaign that included four wins, led by a 4 1/2-length romp in the seven furlong Grade 2 John A. Nerud in July at Belmont that garnered a career-best 108 Beyer Speed Figure.

Promises Fulfilled, who will ship up to New York from Kentucky on Thursday, has trained forwardly at Churchill Downs, including a bullet five-eighths breeze in 59 seconds flat on June 13 and a similarly speedy effort in 59.20 Saturday on the Churchill Downs main track.

“He had ankle surgery [during his time off] and since he's come back he's been training very well,” Romans said. “He just keeps getting better. There's a lot of money out there for him. I think he'll run well. He's doing good enough.”

Promises Fulfilled, who sizzled to a front-running score in the 2018 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga Race Course, boasts a record of 17-7-0-3 with purse earnings of $1,455,530.

After running fourth in last year's Runhappy Met Mile in June, he turned back successfully with a dominating front-end effort in the Grade 2 John A. Nerud under regular pilot Luis Saez.

Romans said he expects a similar approach on Saturday when Promises Fulfilled bursts out of post 7 under Saez.

“He likes every track, but he did perform very well there last year,” Romans said. “He's going to do the same thing this time, they're going to have to come get him.”

Chiefswood Stables homebred Yorkton, a multiple graded-stakes winner on synthetic, will seek his first dirt win.

The 6-year-old Ontario-bred son of Speightstown captured back-to-back renewals of the 2018-19 Grade 3 Bold Venture on the Woodbine Tapeta for former trainer Stuart Simon. Last out, in an April 25 optional-claiming sprint at Gulfstream Park, Yorkton set the pace but could not fend off last year's Grade 3 Peter Pan champ Global Campaign in a solid runner-up effort.

Following that effort, Yorkton has breezed five times at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland.

“He's coming out of the really tough allowance race down in Florida that came off like a graded race,” said Motion. “I thought he ran a huge race that day. I think it took a lot out of him, which is why I wasn't in a hurry to get him back into the entries.”

Dylan Davis will pilot Yorkton from post 5.

Cash is King and LC Racing's Diamond King, a 5-year-old multiple stakes-winning son of Quality Road, was fifth in his Belmont debut in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap in October. The John Servis-trainee exited that effort to capture the one-mile Stymie with a prominent trip on March 7 at the Big A. Last out, on May 23 at Churchill Downs, Diamond King bobbled at the start en route to running seventh in the Blame.

Looking to make the grade in his 20th career start, Diamond King will emerge from the inside post under returning rider Kendrick Carmouche.

Wicked Trick, co-owned by trainer Linda Rice with Stephen G. Cooper, ran off a six-race win streak from a maiden claiming score in July 2019 at Saratoga Race Course through a 9 1/4-length allowance score on January 20 at the Big A. The 5-year-old Hat Trick gelding, claimed for $16,000 out of a 6 3/4-length score in August at the Spa, was fifth last out in his stakes debut in the one-mile Stymie at Aqueduct.

Jose Lezcano has the call from post 3.

Rounding out the field are Stan the Man [post 6, Joel Rosario], Firenze Fire [post 8, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] and a pair from the barn of Ed Coletti Jr. in Midnightcharly [post 2, Javier Castellano] and Wait for It [post 4, Manny Franco].

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Brown Enters Three In Pursuit Of Fourth Straight Just A Game Victory

Trainer Chad Brown will bring a strong hand of cards to the table when he saddles turf champion Uni, Grade 1-winner Newspaperofrecord and two-time graded stakes winner Regal Glory in pursuit of a fourth consecutive win in the 27th running of Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Just a Game over the Widener turf course at Belmont Park.

The one-mile event for fillies and mares is one of four graded stakes events carded for Saturday afternoon's action packed program at beautiful Belmont Park, which also features the Grade 2, $250,000 New York at 1 ¼ miles on Belmont Park's inner turf; the Grade 2, $150,000 True North, for 4-year-olds and up going 6 ½ furlongs, and the Grade 3, $100,000 Vagrancy for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up contesting at 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.

Brown has saddled Antonoe (2017), A Raving Beauty (2018) and Rushing Fall (2019) to victory in the past three editions of the Just a Game, which is named in honor of Peter Brant's six-time graded stakes winning filly who was named Champion Grass Mare in 1980.

Defending Champion Turf Mare Uni will make her 2020 debut in the Just a Game, having not raced since taking last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita, where she became the sixth female to score a win in the race.

Known for her devastating late kick, the 6-year-old daughter of More Than Ready made up 11 lengths in the Breeders' Cup, where she broke sharply, was taken back in the early stages and put her sweeping turn of foot on display around the far turn with a five-wide move and stormed to victory by 1 ½ lengths. The impressive triumph registered a career-best 106 Beyer and was the fourth triple-digit speed figure recorded by the talented chestnut mare.

Uni, whose last eight starts took place at the Just a Game's distance, is a three-time Grade 1-winner with all three victories at such caliber taking place over different surfaces. Following a win in the Grade 1 Matriarch in December 2018 at Del Mar, where she made up 19 lengths, Uni secured a victory in the Grade 1 First Lady in October at Keeneland en route to her Breeders' Cup Mile triumph.

“She's doing well,” Brown said. “There's a little uncertainty with the layoff, but she seems to be training well. She has a great turn of foot and we'll just see how it plays out.”

Uni began her career in France for former conditioner Fabrice Chappet and has placed in 11 of her 12 starts in the United States for Brown.

Owned by Michael Dubb, Robert LaPenta, Sol Kumin's Head of Plains Partners and Michael Caruso's Bethlehem Stables, Uni has won at six different tracks in the United States and boasts the highest amount of lifetime earnings in the field with $2,347,880.

Uni is bred in Great Britain by Haras D'Etreham and is out of the Dansili broodmare Unaided.

Jockey Joel Rosario has been aboard for her last six outings and will pilot once more from post 6.

Owned by Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, Newspaperofrecord arrives at the Just a Game off a wire-to-wire victory in the Grade 3 Intercontinental on June 6 over the Widener turf, where she recorded swift fractions but still had enough left in the tank to draw off to a four-length victory recording a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

The 4-year-old daughter of Lope de Vega made amends from a disappointing 3-year-old campaign where she went winless in three starts. Newspaperofrecord began her career with an unscathed 2-year-old campaign, which included victories in a Saratoga turf maiden event, the Grade 2 Miss Grillo at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs by a combined 20 lengths.

“She's doing fine,” Brown said. “She seems very settled in the mornings. She went fast fractions last time, which wasn't really what I wanted, but she doesn't need to do that. She's been pretty relaxed and settled.”

Favored in all seven of her career starts, Newspaperofrecord boasts a 7-4-2-0 record, with all four of her victories taking place over yielding turf courses.
Bred in Ireland by Times of Wigan, Newspaperofrecord is out of the Holy Roman Emperor broodmare Sunday Times.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. has been aboard for all of her starts and will return to the irons from post 4.

Rounding out the Brown threesome is Paul Pompa, Jr.'s dual graded stakes-winner Regal Glory. The 4-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom was second to Newspaperofrecord in the Intercontinental last out in her first start of the year. Her summer at Saratoga last year was a prosperous one as she took the Grade 3 Lake George over stablemates Blowout and Dogtag and followed up with a win in the Grade 2 Lake Placid over good ground, where she dead-heated for victory alongside Varenka.

Regal Glory has never finished worse than second in eight of her nine career starts. Her lone off the board effort was when she stretched out to a mile and an eighth in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland finishing sixth beaten four lengths to stable mate Cambier Parc.

“A mile is a good distance for her. It's a big step up for her, but hopefully can grab a piece of it,” Brown said.

A Kentucky homebred, Regal Glory is out of the dual turf graded stakes winning More Than Ready broodmare Mary's Follies who also produced multiple graded stakes-winner Night Prowler and unbeaten Japanese group stakes winner Café Pharoah.

Breaking from post 5, Regal Glory will be ridden by Manny Franco.

Looking to make amends after three losses in 2020 is Gary Barber's two-time Grade 1-winner Got Stormy who will attempt to put her best foot forward for trainer Mark Casse, who saddled 2015 Champion Turf Female Tepin to victory in the Just a Game five years ago.

The daughter of Get Stormy was a hard-fought second to Uni in the Breeders' Cup Mile and recorded six straight triple-digit speed figures last season, including a 109 from her victory in the Grade 1 Fourstardave at Saratoga against males.

The chestnut mare arrives off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont Park, which came after finishing second beaten a neck in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita.

Jockey Luis Saez will be aboard Got Stormy from post 2.

Trainer Brad Cox sends out last year's runner-up Beau Recall who will try to move forward off a ninth-place finish in the Grade 3 Mint Julep on May 30 at Churchill Downs.

The daughter of Sir Prancealot won the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs and the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar last season.
Jockey Jose Ortiz will be aboard from post 1.

Rounding out the field are Valedictorian [post 3, Jose Lezcano] and Zofelle [post 7, Javier Castellano].

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Stephen Foster, Ohio Derby Take Center Stage On America’s Day At The Races Broadcast

America's Day at the Races, produced by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) in partnership with FOX Sports, returns this Thursday on FOX Sports and MSG+ for the start of four days of coverage and analysis of the best in thoroughbred racing from Belmont Park, Churchill Downs and Thistledown Racecourse.

The acclaimed national telecast will air Thursday through Sunday on FS1, FS2 and MSG+ for a combined 20 1/2 hours of television coverage, highlighted on Saturday by a blockbuster day of stakes races from around the country.

Stakes action takes centerstage on Saturday at Belmont Park, anchored by the 27th running of the Grade 1, $300,000 Just a Game for 4-year-olds & up (fillies & mares) going one mile on the turf. Saturday coverage from Belmont will include a pair of Grade 2 races – the $250,000 New York for 4-year-olds & up (fillies & mares) at 1 ¼ miles on the turf and the $150,000 True North for 4-year-olds & up at 6 ½ furlongs on the dirt – as well as the Grade 3 $100,000 Vagrancy Handicap for 3-year-olds & up (fillies & mares) at 6 ½ furlongs on the dirt.

Also featured on Saturday's broadcast is the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown Racecourse for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles, which has been added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby series. The top-four finishers will receive points worth 20-8-4-2 for entry to the field for the Kentucky Derby, rescheduled for September 5 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Churchill Downs closes out its 38-day spring meet with two Breeders' Cup Challenge Series “Win and You're In” qualifying races, the Grade 2, $500,000 Grade 2 Stephen Foster for 4-year-olds & up going 1-1/8 miles, which offers an expenses-paid berth in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic to the race winner; and the Grade 2, $200,000 Fleur de Lis for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles, which grants a place in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff. Both Breeders Cup races will be on November 7 at Keeneland.

Grade 1-winner Tom's d'Etat will take on multiple graded-stakes winners By My Standards and Owendale in Saturday's 39th running of the Grade 2 Stephen Foster.

Featured in the 45th running of the Fleur de Lis – which means “Flower of the Lily” and honors the French symbol incorporated into the city of Louisville's Flag – will be the U.S. return of 2019 Champion Older Female Midnight Bisou taking on 2019 Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress.

Closing day at Churchill Downs will also include the Grade 3, $100,000 Regret for sophomore fillies and the Grade 3, $100,000 Bashford Manor for juvenile sprinters.

The week's stakes schedule kicks off on Thursday at Belmont Park with the 8th running of the $80,000 Easy Goer for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Looking to extend his two victories in his first two career starts in his stakes debut will be Calumet Farm's Casino Grande, a Kentucky homebred, trained by Christophe Clement.

Highlighting Friday's racing from Belmont Park will be the inaugural running of the $75,000 Hessonite for 4-year-olds & up (fillies & mares) going six furlongs on the turf. Sunday's stakes race at Belmont will be the 43rd running of the $100,000 Bouwerie for 3-year-old New York fillies going seven furlongs on the dirt.

This week's America's Day at the Races schedule:

(All times Eastern)

Thursday, June 25:
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (FS2)
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (MSG+)

Friday, June 26:
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (FS2)
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (MSG+)

Saturday. June 27:
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (FS2)
3:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (FS1)
1:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (MSG+)

Sunday, June 28:
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (FS2)
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (MSG+)

America's Day at the Races is also broadcast on NYRA's YouTube channel, which boasts more than 40,000 subscribers. Fans can subscribe to NYRA's channel and set a reminder to watch the show on YouTube Live. NYRA's YouTube channel also hosts a number of race replays, special features, America's Day at the Races replays and more.

America's Day at the Races is presented by America's Best Racing, Runhappy, and Claiborne Farm. This weekend's broadcast team includes Greg Wolf, Andy Serling, Maggie Wolfendale, Richard Migliore, Acacia Courtney and Jonathon Kinchen.

NYRA Bets is the official online wagering platform of the Belmont spring/summer meet available to customers across the United States. In addition to a host of weekly special offers, NYRA Bets is currently offering a $200 deposit match bonus to new members.

NYRA Bets provides fans the opportunity to wager on racing from tracks around the world at any time. The NYRA Bets app is available for download for iOS and Android at NYRA Bets App. Watch and wager on the best racing while earning points on every bet.

For further details on the new member bonus, visit NYRABets.com/#sign-up-bonus.

Free Equibase-provided past performances are available for races that are part of the America's Day at the Races broadcast and can be accessed at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

The 2020 Belmont spring/summer meet continues through Sunday, July 12. Live racing is offered Thursday through Sunday with a first post of 1:15 p.m. The 25-day meet features 22 graded stakes and 40 stakes races in total worth $7 million in purses.

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