Baffert has been indefinitely banned from entering horses or utilizing stalls at New York Racing Association racetracks after the Medina Spirit Kentucky Derby controversy, including Belmont Park, hence the trainer switch.

Du Jour, a son of Temple City, has breezed twice for Mott at Belmont: a 49.23-second half on June 6, and a 48.62-second half on June 13. Mott said he believes the colt can move up in distance from the 1 1/8 miles of the American Turf to the 1 1/4 miles of the Belmont Derby.

Other horses reported to have been moved out of Baffert's barn include Bezos, Hozier, and Crystal Ball. All three have been transferred to Rodolphe Brisset, reports Horse Racing Nation, but the new trainer indicated the change has nothing to do with Baffert's Medina Spirit controversy.

“It's just the ownership and Mr. Baffert talked and decided to leave those horses around here and not bring them back to California,” Brisset told HRN.

Hozier will be pointed to the G3 Ohio Derby on June 26 at Thistledown, while Crystal Ball is headed to the Lady Jacqueline Stakes on the same card. No target has yet been named for Bezos.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form and at Horse Racing Nation.

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A second-out graduate Nov. 26 at Fair Grounds, the Godolphin homebred repeated in an allowance there Dec. 19 before passing the class test with a good second in the GIII Lecomte S. Runner-up in the GII Risen Star S. after that, he couldn't quite progress further when an even fourth in the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby last out Mar. 23.

“We felt like he was really going in the right direction with the intention of trying to make it to the Kentucky Derby, but that last race, it wasn't really that big step forward that we really needed to have confidence going into the Derby,” Stidham told TDN's Katie Ritz. “With Godolphin having the favorite in Essential Quality, it wasn't as important to kind of force Proxy into a race that maybe he's not quite ready for. We're not really thinking hard about the Derby right now. I've learned in this business you never say never, so I'm not going to say definitely no. If he really ran well in this race, came out of it really well, certainly we would have to consider it. But right now, we're not thinking along those lines.”

A trio of twice-raced 3-year-olds look like the most probable beneficiaries if Proxy stumbles. Swiftsure (Uncle Mo) debuted as an 11-10 favorite Nov. 27 at Fair Grounds and ran to the money with a wire-to-wire, open-length victory before repeating over three next-out winners in another convincing score Jan. 23 at Oaklawn. Noble Reflection (Liam's Map) sports the best Beyer in the field outside of Proxy, earning an 89 for a sharp 4 1/2-length maiden tally off a near seven-month layoff Mar. 7 at Oaklawn, and Bezos (Empire Maker) rebounded from a disappointing seventh in his universally-touted debut with a dominant 4 1/2-length triumph going a mile at Santa Anita Mar. 26.

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The Stonestreet Lexington, which offers 34 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby on a 20-8-4-2 scale to the first- through fourth-place finishers, will go as the ninth race Saturday afternoon with a 5:30 p.m. post time.

A half-brother to Coolmore Jenny Wiley entrant Micheline, Proxy is a Godolphin homebred and trained by Mike Stidham.

Proxy has picked up 34 points toward the Kentucky Derby by virtue of runner-up finishes in the Lecomte (G3) and Risen Star (G2) Presented by Lamarque Ford and the Louisiana Derby placing.

John Velazquez has the mount and will break from post position seven.

An intriguing invader from California is Bezos, who will be making his stakes debut for trainer Bob Baffert.

Owned by the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stable, Stonestreet Stables and Golconda Stables, Bezos romped to a 4½-length victory going a mile on March 26 at Santa Anita to notch his first triumph. Drayden Van Dyke will be aboard for the first time Saturday and break from post three.

The field for the Stonestreet Lexington, with riders and weights from the rail, is: Noble Reflection (Javier Castellano, 118 pounds), Swiftsure (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118), Bezos (Van Dyke, 118), It's My House (Umberto Rispoli, 118), Unbridled Honor (Julien Leparoux, 118), Hockey Dad (Mario Gutierrez, 118), Proxy (Velazquez, 118), Ultimate Badger (Corey Lanerie, 118), King Fury (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118) and Starrininmydreams (Luis Saez, 118).

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Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Flavien Prat, Bezos got a flat mile in 1:37.64.

“We missed the window, we were trying to get him there (Derby trail), but he's a beautiful horse,” said Baffert. “This was good what he did today.  Going two turns, that's gonna be his game, so he'll develop.  We'll just let him develop on his own now.  We're not in a hurry now.

“Fenway… he ran his race, but he's definitely a one-turn horse.  I think he'll go a one turn mile.”

Well beaten in his 6 ½ furlong debut at odds of 3-5 on Feb. 7, Bezos was sent from the gate by Prat and traded punches with Fenway on the front end through splits of 22.98, 46.37, 1:10.83 and 1:23.85.

Ridden for the first time by Prat, Bezos was off as the 7-5 favorite in a field of six sophomores and paid $4.80, $2.80 and $2.10.

Purchased for $400,000 as a Keeneland September Yearling, Bezos is owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, LLC, Stonestreet Stables, LLC, Golconda Stable, Siena Farm, LLC and Robert Masterson, picked up $36,600 for the win.  A striking physical specimen, Bezos is by Empire Maker out of the A.P. Indy mare A P Mink.

Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, There Goes Harvard was on the move while 1 ½ lengths off the lead three furlongs out, but never threatened the winner the final quarter mile.  Trained by Michael McCarthy, There Goes Harvard was off as the 2-1 second choice and paid $3.20 and $2.20 while finishing 2 ¼ lengths better than Fenway.

Ridden by Mike Smith, Fenway, in his fourth career start, was the third choice at 2-1 and paid $2.40 to show while finishing a half length in front of Vantage Point.

Bezos provided Prat with his third win on the card and in race seven and he would notch his fourth of the day aboard Shes'a Perfectlady — giving him a meet-leading 72 wins, 24 better than runner-up Juan Hernandez.

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday is at 1 p.m.

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It's not often in this sport that John Q. Horseplayer gets a break, but that's exactly what happened last week when it was revealed that NYRA was no longer accepting bets from the so-called computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players on its Empire Six wager. The Empire Six wager joined the Cross Country Pick 5 and the late Pick 5 as NYRA wagers that are no longer available to the CAW players.

The computer players use algorithms that predict the probability of a particular outcome. If their programs tell them that a horse has a 50-50 chance of winning and is 3-1 they will bet accordingly. They use the same methods for most pools and bet huge amounts of money. Because they receive rebates in the neighborhood of 10%, they don't even have to show a profit on their bets, just as long as their rebates are bigger than their losses.

The number of bettors out there using these methods is minimal, no more than six or seven groups. But they bet so much money that they can severely tilt the pools and drive down prices by significant numbers. The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation estimates that CAW play accounts for as much as 35% of all monies wagered on U.S. racing. That would mean their annual handle is about $3.5 billion.

Not that they are doing anything wrong or breaking any rules. These are very smart and innovative people who are willing to risk huge sums of money and have designed computer programs that put them several steps ahead of the average player. A case can be made that they deserve every last nickel they have made betting on racing, not just in the U.S. but around the globe.

CAW players are, for obvious reasons, coveted by most American tracks. Tracks make money off of their percentage of the betting handle. Taking a micro view of how the business of racing works, why would any track turn away customers that might be betting tens of millions of dollars every year on their product?

If only it were that simple.

This is pari-mutuel wagering, gambling's version of survival of the fittest. The successful bettors are taking advantage of the unsuccessful ones. It's their money that they are winning, not the house's money. With the CAW phenomenon, which appears to be growing all the time, betting on the horses has turned into a matter of the whales vs. minnows. The whales have been gobbling up the minnows and after a while all the minnows will be gone.

It's already happening. The CAW players are pumping billions into the pools across the country, which is a fairly recent phenomenon, yet handle has been stagnant over recent years when it comes to real numbers and has declined sharply when adjusting for inflation. That can only mean that a lot of those who might bet $20 on a race, $200 on a card and play the races once or twice a week have been driven out of the game. Horseplayers only have so much money to spend on the sport and once you tap them out they are going to move on.

The regular players are getting particularly hurt in the jackpot wagers. The pools build up on their losing dollars and are too often scooped up by the CAW players, sometimes on a mandatory payout date.

NYRA took a look at this and, obviously, had some concerns.

“We are trying to level the playing field with these particular multi-race wagers so it's not tilted towards those folks with distinct advantages, meaning complicated algorithmic trading tools and an extremely high volume,” NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna told Steve Byk on his “At the Races” radio show.

McKenna noted that NYRA can operate differently from other tracks because it is a not-for-profit and doesn't always have to adhere to the bottom line. It would be far more difficult for a Churchill Downs track or a Stronach Group track to turn away the CAW money. But even NYRA hasn't gone so far as to ban the CAW players all together. They are still welcome in all other pools and they are the reason why so many horses go into the gate at 4-1 and drop to 8-5 during the running of the race, which is a terrible look for the sport. CAW wagers go directly into the pools and can be played at the very last second.

The status quo is not sustainable. Every day that this persists, another casual horseplayer gives up on the game. Racing cannot do without these everyday players. After a while, you're going to have nothing left but whales vs. whales.

But good luck trying to get a for-profit track to turn away bettors willing to wager millions on their product. Probably the best anyone can hope for would be for NYRA to extend the exclusion into other pools and for other non-profit tracks like Del Mar and Keeneland to also experiment by barring CAW players from some pools.

This is a serious problem for the sport and it's not going away. At least NYRA is trying to make a bad situation better.

Dream Shake Impresses

There were expectations that a star would emerge from Sunday's fifth race at Santa Anita, a maiden special weight going 6 1/2 furlongs. It happened, but just not with the horse everyone was expecting to win.

Sent off at 20-1, 'TDN Rising Star' Dream Shake (Twirling Candy) turned in what might have been the most impressive 3-year-old debut so far this year. Trained by Peter Eurton and ridden by Joel Rosario, he kicked into high gear in the stretch and won going away, by 4 3/4 lengths.

Eurton admitted that he never envisioned such a performance.

“He went way beyond my expectations,” he said. “I had never really challenged him whatsoever. He was an unknown. For him to have closed and ran fourth with a nice finish and a nice gallop-out would have been satisfying, especially against the field of horse we were facing. There were a lot of horses in there that people thought highly of.”

All indications are that the horse will be even better when stretching out.

“He acts like, to me, a two-turn horse,” Eurton said. “He's not ultra quick but neither is he slow. Once he gets going, he covers quite a bit of ground. Going two turns is, hopefully, in the cards for his next race.”

Eurton said he has not picked out the next start for Dream Shake but said a stakes race is a possibility.

The same race included a rare bad showing from the Bob Baffert barn. He entered two highly regarded first time starters in Bezos (Empire Maker), the 3-5 favorite, and Tivoli Twirl (Twirling Candy) only to have them both get beaten by 15-plus lengths. That was bad news for the people who foolishly bet on Bezos in the Derby Future wager before he had even had a start, sending him off at 26-1. The Baffert horses deserve a second shot, but it seems highly unlikely now that either one will make the GI Kentucky Derby.

The Katie Davis Saga

Earlier this week, we wrote about Katie Davis's unhappiness over the New York Gaming Commission's coupled entries rule.

The real point of the story is that she is being penalized by what is quite possibly the silliest, most out-of-touch rule on the books over at the Gaming Commission. There's no valid reason why her mounts must run as an entry with husband Trevor McCarthy's mounts when the two are in the same race. Protecting the betting public is one thing, but it's completely unnecessary in this situation.

This is hurting Davis. It is hurting McCarthy. And it's cutting into NYRA's handle. It's well past the point where the Gaming Commission should have revisited the rule and taken it off the books.

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“The things that he did in in his first half miles (works) were quite impressive, but we never (had) really tested him, we've always worked him against mediocrity most of the time and he's done that pretty easily, so we were all optimistic about him, but you really don't know until you put 'em in the gate against the quality (competition) that we had today,” said Eurton.

So, does this win against a highly regarded field of sophomores that also included Mr. Impossible, who was second in his debut versus Saturday's Grade 2 San Vicente winner Concert Tour suggest Dream Shake could be headed to the Derby Trail?

“Against a field of this stature today, I would've been happy with anything fourth and above,” he said.  “Now that he's done this, it's just a question of how he comes back.  I think anything further, seven furlongs to a mile, would be very good.  We'll just try to enjoy this for now, but trust me, we'll probably be looking for a race before the evening has ended.

“He's such a smart horse.  At the beginning he was a little bit green, he wouldn't run inside, so we put blinkers on him.  As soon as he started becoming aware of things, he did everything pretty handily.”

Out of the Street Cry mare Even Song, Dream Shake sold for $75,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s April 2020 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.  Dismissed at 20-1 among a field of nine sophomores, Dream Shake paid $42.00, $13.40 and $6.80.

Owned by Exline-Border Racing, LLC, SAF Racing and Richard Hausman, Dream Shake banked $36,600 for today's win.

Trained by Mike Puype and ridden by Jose Valdivia, Jr., Harbored Memories was attentive to the pace, trading early punches with Bezos and Mr. Impossible.  In his second start and first on dirt, Harbored Memories was off at 13-1 and paid $10.20 and $6.20 while finishing 3 ¼ lengths in front of Mr. Impossible.

Ridden by Umberto Rispoli for Simon Callaghan, Mr. Impossible had a half length lead after the first half mile and was clearly third best on the day.  The second choice at 7-2, he paid $3.40 to show.

Bezos, who was heavily favored with Mike Smith at 3-5 and who has generated a good deal of hype in Kentucky Derby future wagering, broke alertly from his number five post and appeared to a have perfect trip but was done at the top of the lane, finishing seventh.

Fractions on the race were 23.40, 46.19 and 1:10.99.

Racing will resume with a four-day week on Friday.  First post time for an eight-race card is at 12:30 p.m.

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Away well from his outside draw, Dream Shake was outsprinted by almost all of them early as Baffert's other runner Tivoli Twirl (Twirling Candy) showed the way with Bezos not far behind. He began to inch closer while four deep around the turn, and had caught up to the leaders as a :46.19 half was posted. The early pacesetters came up empty in the lane, but Dream Shake continued to kick on powerfully, scampering away 4 3/4 lengths to the good of second timer Harbored Memories (Harbor the Gold). Bezos checked in seventh, two spots ahead of Tivoli Twirl in last.

“The things that he did in his first half miles were quite impressive, but we never really tested him, we've always worked him against mediocrity most of the time and he's done that pretty easily, so we were all optimistic about him, but you really don't know until you put 'em in the gate against the quality [competition] that we had today,” said winning trainer Peter Eurton. “Against a field of this stature today, I would've been happy with anything fourth and above. Now that he's done this, it's just a question of how he comes back. I think anything further, seven furlongs to a mile, would be very good. We'll just try to enjoy this for now, but trust me, we'll probably be looking for a race before the evening has ended.”

Dream Shake is a grandson of GSW Brownie Points (Forest Wildcat), who also produced MGSW near millionaire Synchrony (Tapit) and GSW Chocolate Kisses (Candy Ride {Arg}).Dam Even Song (Street Cry {Ire}) has a 2-year-old filly by Astern (Aus).

5th-Santa Anita, $63,000, Msw, 2-7, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 1:17.34, ft, 4 3/4 lengths.
DREAM SHAKE, c, 3, Twirling Candy
                1st Dam: Even Song, by Street Cry (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Brownie Points, by Forest Wildcat
                3rd Dam: Stylish Society, by Forty Niner
Sales history: $32,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP; $75,000 2yo '20 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $36,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-Exline-Border Racing LLC, SAF Racing & Richard Hausman; B-Dunwoody Farm (KY); T-Peter Eurton.

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5th-SA, $61K, Msw, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 4:03 p.m. ET

The day has finally arrived for the buzzed-about Bezos (Empire Maker) to kick off his career for Bob Baffert and the powerful ownership conglomerate nicknamed The Avengers. The $400,000 KEESEP yearling has been working so well at Santa Anita that he was bet down to 26-1 in the GI Kentucky Derby future pool that closed Jan. 24 without having yet made an afternoon appearance. His tab includes a :59.40 (1/39) gate breeze Jan. 21 in which he bested graded-placed older stablemate Speed Pass (Bodemeister) by some five lengths (XBTV Video). The bay is a half to MSP Fortunate Girl (Hard Spun) from the family of GSWs Palmeiro (Pleasant Tap), Dynaslew (Dynaformer) and 2019 GII Remsen S. winner Shotski (Blame).

Baffert has also entered Michael Lund's Tivoli Twirl (Twirling Candy). The bay was a $95,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga  New York-bred yearling turned $375,000 OBS April juvenile after a :10 flat breeze. He's been working quickly at Santa Anita as well, and prepped for this with a :59.20 (1/64) solo five eighths last Sunday (XBTV Video). The bay is a half to MSW Saythreehailmary's (Repent) and SW Afleet Alexandra (Northern Afleet).

Three runners hit the board in their respective debuts, with Mr. Impossible (Munnings) the toughest-looking of that bunch on paper. The Simon Callaghan trainee earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure when running second here Jan. 15 to Baffert 'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense). He's out of graded-winning turfer Qaraaba (GB) (Shamardal), already the dam of GSW and GISP Californiagoldrush (Cape Blanco {Ire}) and last year's GII Zenyatta S. heroine Harvest Moon (Uncle Mo).

Twin Creeks homebred Law Professor (Constitution) is out of a MSW half-sister to pricey GISW Celestine (Scat Daddy).

TJCIS PPs

6th-GP, $50K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 3:10 p.m. ET

Favored on the morning line at 5-2 in this stacked field is Repole Stable's Iced Latte (Pioneerof the Nile). The $250,000 KEESEP yearling is out of fellow Todd Pletcher pupil Malibu Prayer (Malibu Moon), winner of the 2010 GI Ruffian H. for late owner/breeder Ned Evans. From a typically deep family, Malibu Prayer sold for $2 million in foal to Smart Strike during the blockbuster dispersal of Evans's stock at the 2011 Keeeneland November sale.

Peter Brant's Boston Post Road (Quality Road) was a $525,000 FTSAUG yearling bred on the same cross as her connections' GISW Dunbar Road (Quality Road). She's a full to MSW and GSP Top Quality and a granddaughter of GSW Sweet Fervor (Seeking the Gold) from the family of GSWs Concerto, Illusioned and Codified.

Brant's cousin Joe Allen also gets in on the action with $650,000 Keeneland September acquisition Red Hot and Blue (Candy Ride {Arg}). The rail-drawn Shug McGaughey pupil hails  from the extended female family of McGaughey-trained Phipps  standouts like Point of Entry, Pine Island and Pleasant Home.

Sabana Farm homebred Hitech Is Back (Outwork) is out of stakes winner Hitechnoweenie (Harlan's Holiday), making her a half to last year's local GIII Forward Gal S. and GII Davona Dale s. heroine Tonalist's Shape (Tonalist). Dream About Me (Medaglia  d'Oro) was a $450,000 Saratoga yearling out of a daughter of GISW juvenile Mi Sueno (Pulpit) and granddaughter of GISW Madcap Escapade (Hennessy). TJCIS PPs

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