Casual | Horse Racing Free Tips

Seven-time Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. recorded his 1,500th career North American victory in Friday's fourth race at Oaklawn, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization.

Santana, 28, reached the milestone at the Hot Springs, Ark., track on Casual ($6.60) for his main client, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. It was Santana's eighth victory of the meet – all for Asmussen – and the 554th in his Oaklawn career.

“I'm very thankful to have won 1,500 races in the United States,” Santana said in a Twitter message Friday. “Thank you to all of the owners, trainers, and stable employees for making this possible, and thank you to my agent, Ruben Munoz, for his hard work and dedication.”

Santana was Oaklawn's leading rider from 2013-'18 and again in 2020. Santana is Oaklawn's all-time leader in career purse earnings ($27,142,696 through Friday). He set a single-season Oaklawn record for purse earnings ($4,317,757) in 2019.

Santana ranked eighth nationally last year in purse earnings ($12,751,803) and 15th in victories (175), according to Equibase. Santana, a native of Panama, began riding in the United States in 2009 and has been an Oaklawn regular since 2011.

The post Santana Hits 1,500 Career Win Milestone Friday At Oaklawn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gamine (Into Mischief) will look to take her record to a perfect three-for-three while making her stakes debut in the GI Longines Acorn S. at Belmont Park Saturday.

The highly regarded $1.8-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old sale topper debuted with the easiest of victories as the 1-9 favorite sprinting at Santa Anita Mar. 7, then gamely held off the hard-knocking subsequent GII Santa Oaks runner-up Speech (Mr Speaker) by a neck in front-running fashion in her two-turn debut in an optional claimer at Oaklawn May 2. The even-money morning-line favorite will be on the engine from her rail draw with Hall of Famer Johnny Velazquez in the irons.

“We took our time with her, let her develop,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said of the Michael Lund Petersen colorbearer. “Her two races have been really nice races. I could have stayed home and run her here two turns in the [Santa Anita] Oaks, but I wanted to give her a couple extra weeks. I thought the Acorn with the bigger, wider turns, I think she’ll like that. And it’s a lot of prestige.”

Perfect Alibi (Sky Mesa), heroine of last summer’s GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga, is the seven-horse field’s lone graded winner. A well-beaten second behind British Idiom (Flashback) in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland Oct. 4, she kicks off her sophomore season following a fourth-place finish behind last year’s champion 2-year-old filly in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.

“She’s been ready to run for about three months,” newly minted Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said. “She’s always been very, very professional. If anything, she’s a little better work horse than she was. Last year, if you wanted to give some confidence to another horse you’d just work them with her because she’d let anybody beat her–except when they run in the afternoon. This year and recently, she’s been a little more aggressive in her works.”

The lightly raced and unbeaten Casual (Curlin) paired up 90 Beyer Speed Figures in a pair of hard-fought tallies, including an optional claimer going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs last time May 22. She makes her stakes debut for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen here.

The post Unbeatens Meet Grade I Winner in Acorn appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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