The Week in Review: Graded Stakes Committee Shows NYRA No Love

The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association has done it again, announcing Saturday that it has reduced the number of graded stakes races that will be run in the U.S. in 2024, while also downgrading 30 races. To most, this is a welcome development. With the foal crop continually declining, there should be fewer graded stakes races and fewer Grade I's. Many believe that the committee has not gone far enough.

Yet, the announcement, as it always seems to do, did not come without a few head-scratching, controversial decisions, many of them leaving tracks to believe they have been treated unfairly. When the list of graded races for 2024 reached the New York Racing Association's executive offices there probably was a sense that they were being picked on. No tracks took it on the chin quite like the NYRA tracks did.

There will be 429 graded races in 2024, 11 fewer than there were this year. Thirty races were downgraded, and that's where NYRA was hit the hardest. Ten of those 30 races are run at NYRA tracks. They include the Carter H. and the Man o'War S., which were two of five races that were Grade I's that have been downgraded to Grade II's for next year. Ten races were downgraded from II's to III's and five of them are NYRA races. Three more NYRA races were dropped from Grade III's to listed races.

Ten races were upgraded, including three on the NYRA schedule.

It wasn't that long ago that the NYRA stakes schedule was the gold standard for the industry. But in 2024, NYRA will present a stakes schedule that looks nothing like what it offered during its glory days. It's not just the Carter and the Man o'War. The five NYRA stakes that have been dropped from Grade II's to Grade III's are the Forty Niner S., the Hill Prince S., the Vosburgh S., the Sheepshead Bay S. and the Prioress S. The Bay Shore S., the Fall Highweight H. and the Schuylerville S. all went from Grade III's to listed.

In 2022, it was announced that the 2023 runnings of the Cigar Mile S. and the Woodward S. were being dropped to Grade II's. Since 2016, NYRA has lost eight Grade I races. The list also includes the Wood Memorial S., the Flower Bowl S., the Beldame S. and the Vosburgh S. With the downgrading of the Carter for next year, there will no longer be any Grade I races run at what are the traditional Aqueduct meets.

Has the graded stakes committee treated NYRA fairly? Even with all the cuts, the answer, for the most part is yes.

A race like the Carter should have been dropped to a Grade II years ago. A quality horse in Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}) won the race in 2020, but recent winners (2021) Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief), (2022) Speakers' Corner (Street Sense) and (2023) Doppelganger (Into Mischief) are not Grade I material.

The Wood Memorial, once a premier prep for the GI Kentucky Derby and a Grade I through the 2016 running, has failed to keep up with the other Derby preps. You have to go all the way back to 2000 to find the last Wood winner to win the Derby, which was Fusaichi Pegasus (Mr. Prospector).  Since Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) won the 2003 Derby after finishing second in the Wood, the Wood has produced 41 Derby starters without a top three finish. Tacitus (Tapit) was moved up to third after Maximum Security (New Year's Day) was DQ'd in 2019.

This year's Cigar Mile, won by Hoist The Gold (Mineshaft), was not a Grade I quality race.

The one move by the graded stakes committee that makes no sense is how it has treated the Vosburgh. Named a Grade I in 1991 when it was won by Housebuster (Mt. Livermore), it remained a Grade I until 2019. The 2020 and 2021 runnings were nothing to get excited about, but the 2022 edition was won by Elite Power (Curlin), who would go on to win the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint and be named sprint champion. This year the race was won by Cody's Wish (Curlin), who came back to win the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and is the favorite to be named 2023 Horse of the Year. How do you take a race won in back-to-back years by Elite Power and Cody's Wish and downgrade it from a Grade II to a Grade III?

NYRA can't afford more of the same in the year's ahead. (How much longer can the historic GI Jockey Club Gold Cup maintain its Grade I status?)The problem with NYRA's stakes program is that it hasn't adapted to the times. There are simply too many stakes races on the schedule. You have a declining foal crop and you have trainers of top horses who are perfectly content to run them four times a year. The inevitable has happened. Field sizes for stakes races keep going down as does the quality, and that's why NYRA keeps getting hit by the graded stakes committee.

It's time for some tough love and to simply eliminate some races. A perfect example is its schedule for older male dirt horses from the late spring to the early fall. You start with the June 10 GI Metropolitan H., followed by the July 8 GII Suburban S., the Aug. 5 GI Whitney, the Sept. 2 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Oct. 1 GII Woodward. That's five races in the same division over less than four months and that doesn't begin to take into account major races for older dirt males run elsewhere. There simply aren't enough quality horses to adequately fill all those races. Yes, the Suburban and the Woodward are historic races, but maybe it is time for them to go. The same goes for a half dozen or so other stakes.

NYRA still has a terrific stakes program, particularly at Saratoga, where the prestige of the races and the purses involved attract the very best horses in the sport. Every Grade I run there is a deserving Grade I. The card offered on the day of the GI Belmont S. is the second best day of racing in the sport, behind only the Breeders' Cup Saturday program. It's just the rest of the year where NYRA needs help.

The Brick Ambush Decision

Put 1,000 racing people in a room and ask them to watch Saturday's running of the Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct, and the verdict would be unanimous. All 1,000 would say the stewards got it wrong. In disqualifying Brick Ambush (Laoban) from second, the stewards not only made the wrong call they made a call that defies explanation. Anyone can see that. In no way did this horse bother anyone or have anything to do with the pile-up that resulted near the quarter-pole when three other horses banged into one another.

Yet, the stewards took down Brick Ambush. If you didn't know better, you'd think they didn't even bother to watch the race. It was, simply, a horrendous call, and it cost the horse's owners $100,000.

The stewards are no different than the rest of us. We all make mistakes. But the problem is, who holds them accountable when they do? Who is reviewing them and watching them? Is anyone in a position to fire or demote a steward when it becomes clear they're not up to the job? There doesn't appear to be. Separate from an appeal from owners Dean and Patti Reeves, the New York Gaming Commission needs to conduct a review into this race and any others where the stewards might have made an erroneous decision and decide whether or not the three stewards on duty Saturday need to be sanctioned in some way, even if that means they should be fired.

The disqualification caused a firestorm on X, with the vast majority questioning the stewards call, which seemed so obviously wrong.

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NYRA Announces Spring Stakes Schedule

The stakes schedule for the 2023 spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, featuring 14 stakes worth nearly $2.8 million in total purses, was released Friday, Dec. 16

The 19-day spring meet will open Mar. 30 and continue through Apr. 30. Live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday except for Apr. 9, when live racing and pari-mutuel wagering is prohibited by New York State in observance of Easter Sunday.

The $150,000 GIII Distaff H., a seven-furlong contest for older fillies and mares, will kick off the spring meet graded stakes action Friday, Apr. 7 and a blockbuster Wood Memorial Day card Apr. 8 will feature four graded stakes, topped by the 98th running of the $750,000 GII Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino. The nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds will offer 100-40-30-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

Wood Memorial Day will also raise the curtain on Grade I racing on the NYRA circuit in 2023 with the $300,000 GI Carter Handicap presented by NYRA Bets, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses as well as include the $250,000 GIII Gazelle S. at nine furlongs for sophomore fillies offering 100-40-30-20-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

For the complete Aqueduct spring meet stakes schedule, visit the NYRA website.

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NYRA: Wood Memorial Purse Will Increase To $1 Million If Grade/Group 1 Winner Starts

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the stakes schedule for the 15-day Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet, which will feature 13 stakes worth $2.7 million in total purses. The spring meet will open on Thursday, March 31 and continue through Sunday, April 24.

The spring meet is highlighted by the 97th running of the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, a nine-furlong test for sophomores on Saturday, April 9.

Should any horse in the field register a Grade 1 or Group 1 victory prior to running in the Wood Memorial, NYRA will increase the total purse by $250,000 if the qualifying horse is declared an official starter.

The lucrative Wood Memorial card features the first Grade 1 of 2022 on the NYRA circuit in the $300,000 Carter Handicap, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses. The stakes-laden day is headlined by the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, which offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Bolstering the Wood Memorial day card are a trio of Grade 3 races, including the $250,000 Gazelle at nine furlongs for sophomore fillies offering 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers; the $200,000 Bay Shore, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores; and the $150,000 Distaff Handicap at seven furlongs for older fillies and mares.

Also featured on the Saturday card is the $100,000 Danger's Hour at one-mile on turf for 4-year-olds and up. Completing the weekend at the Big A on Sunday, April 10 is the $100,000 Top Flight Invitational at nine furlongs for older fillies and mares.

Opening Weekend of the spring meet on Saturday, April 2 will feature the Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior at nine furlongs for older horses. Following the Wood Memorial card, the Big A will offer the $100,000 Plenty of Grace at one-mile on turf for older fillies and mare on Saturday, April 16.

Closing weekend of the Big A spring meet offers the $200,000 NYSSS Times Square at 6 1/2-furlongs for eligible New York-sired sophomores and the $100,000 Woodhaven for sophomore turf routers on Saturday, April 23.

The 15-day spring meet will conclude on Sunday, April 24 with the $200,000 NYSSS Park Avenue at 6 1/2-furlongs for eligible New York-sired sophomore fillies and the $100,000 Memories of Silver for sophomore filly turf routers.

Follow this link for the full 2022 Aqueduct Racetrack spring stakes schedule.

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Saffie Joseph, Jr. Points Mischevious Alex To Forego At Saratoga

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex had a good breeze back on Friday in his first timed work since an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 31 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay worked a half-mile solo in :48.45 on the main track in preparation for a start in the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego at seven furlongs on the main track on Travers Day August 28.

“He's bounced out of the race good. We haven't seen anything to deter us running back in the Forego,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He got the thumps last time pretty bad. Hopefully, that was the reason for his performance.”

A multiple graded stakes winner, Mischevious Alex has won 3-of-5 starts this year, including scores in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., in February and the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Joseph Jr. said Friday's breeze have him confidence that Mischevious Alex could return to form in the Forego.

“He went a good half by himself. Hopefully, the real Alex shows up and if he does, he'll have a good chance,” Joseph, Jr. said.

Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Nentwig's Drain the Clock, a sophomore son of Maclean's Music, also breezed Friday covering a half-mile in :48.83 on the main track.

Boasting a record of six wins and two seconds from nine starts, Drain the Clock bested Jackie's Warrior by a neck on June 5 at Belmont in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens.

Last out, in the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Amsterdam, Jackie's Warrior turned the tables with a romping 7 1/4-length score over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track.

Joseph Jr. said he is hopeful Drain the Clock will one-up his familiar foe in the $500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on Travers Day.

“No one was beating Jackie that day. He ran dynamite. Maybe our horse didn't run his best that day but all credit to Jackie,” Joseph, Jr. said. “We have no excuse. We had a good trip. The record is one and one. He's beat us once, we beat him once. We'll try again in the Allen Jerkens.”

John Fanelli, Cash is King, LC Racing, Paul Braverman, and Team Hanley's Ny Traffic, a 4-year-old New York-bred son of Cross Traffic, breezed a half-mile in :48 flat Sunday on the main track.

The talented colt finished second in a trio of graded events last year, including the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., the Grade 3 Matt Winn in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., in July in which he finished just a nose back of Authentic.

Ny Traffic won his seasonal debut in May at Belmont by 6 3/4-lengths sprinting seven furlongs against fellow state-breds in an optional claimer and followed with a close second in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile in June at Monmouth.

Last out, Ny Traffic faded to fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on July 17.

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“He went good this morning. It was his first breeze back since Monmouth, I had him in 47 and 4. It was a good work back,” Joseph Jr. said. “There's a possibility he could go in the Forego or the Charles Town Classic.”

Joseph Jr. said Ny Traffic will breeze again next weekend before he decides on cutting back to seven furlongs for the Forego or stretching out to nine furlongs for the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at Charles Town in Charles Town, W.Va. on August 27.

Overall, Joseph, Jr. said he has been pleased with Ny Traffic's performances this season.

“He won his debut at Belmont and in his second race at Monmouth he ran second but it was a good race,” Joseph, Jr. said. “Last time he disappointed a little bit if you just look at the running lines, but the reality is that he acted up pre-race back at the barn and I think he lost his race there. It wasn't a true run.”

Joseph, Jr. said e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Gibberish will turn back to nine furlongs for the $120,000 Summer Colony on August 22 at the Spa.

Last out, the 4-year-old daughter of Lea was a game second to Miss Marissa in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Delaware Handicap on July 10.

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