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Gulfstream’s 2020-2021 Championship Meet Features $13.06 Million Stakes Schedule

The 2020-2021 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. will get under way Wednesday for the first of 84 days of Thoroughbred racing contested by the most popular and accomplished horses, trainers and jockeys in the country.

Racing will be conducted primarily on a Wednesday-Sunday schedule with a first-race post time set at 12:35 p.m. through March 27. Under COVID-19 pandemic protocols, racing will be conducted without spectators. Gulfstream's races will be streamed live at 1/STBet.com, Xpressbet.com; and gulfstreampark.com.

The 2020-2021 Championship Meet will offer a stakes schedule of 75 stakes, 36 graded, worth $13.06 million in purses.

The $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) will be run Jan. 23, co-headlining a program with seven graded stakes. The Pegasus World Cup, won by Mucho Gusto last year, has been designated as a 'Win and In' race for the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh Feb. 20. The Pegasus World Cup Turf will be a qualifier for the $1 million Middle Distance Turf Handicap on the Saudi Cup undercard.

The $800,000 Florida Derby (G1), which has produced the winners of 60 Triple Crown races, will headline a March 27 program that will offer 10 stakes, 6 graded, including the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks. The 2020 Florida Derby was won by Tiz the Law, who went on to win the Belmont (G1). Swiss Skydiver, who captured the Gulfstream Park Oaks, went on to beat the boys in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

Gulfstream's program for 3-year-olds will kick off with the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Dec. 12, followed by the $200,000 Holy Bull (G3), a 1 1/16-mile Florida Derby prep that will headline a Jan. 30 program with five graded stakes, including the $100,000 Swale (G3), a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds. The $350,000 Fountain of Youth (G2), the 1 1/16-mile final prep for the Florida Derby, will be featured on a Feb. 27 program with nine graded stakes.

The Road to the Gulfstream Park Oaks will start with the $100,000 Forward Gal, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies on the Jan. 30 Holy Bull undercard. The $200,000 Davona Dale, the mile final prep for the Gulfstream Park Oaks, will be contested on the Feb. 27 Fountain of Youth undercard.

The $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) kicks off Gulfstream's turf program Dec. 12 while offering an opportunity for Pegasus World Cup Turf invitational candidates to prep over the Gulfstream turf course. The $200,000 Mac Diarmida (G2), a 1 3/8-mile race for 4-year-olds and up, will be one of six graded turf stakes on the Fountain of Youth card. The $200,000 Pan American, a 1 ½-mile stakes for 4-year-olds and up, will top six turf stakes on the Florida Derby program.

The 2020-2021 stakes program will launch Saturday with the return of the Claiming Crown, a popular program for horses that have started for a claiming price at least once during the past two years. The $150,000 Jewel, a 1 1/8-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up that have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or lower, is featured among nine Claiming Crown stakes. Jesus' Team, who finished third in the Preakness and second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), is expected to headline the field for the Jewel.

Irad Ortiz Jr. will be back to defend the riding titles he won in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. Luis Saez, who finished second behind Ortiz by just one and two wins respectively, will seek to regain the title he won the previous two seasons. Hall of Famers John Velazquez, fresh off his Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) victory aboard Authentic, Javier Castellano, a five-time Championship Meet titlist; and Edgar Prado, who ranks eighth all-time with 7,089 wins, will head a jockey's colony that will include young guns Tyler Gaffalione, Jose Ortiz, and South Florida's year-round leader Edgard Zayas.

Todd Pletcher, who regained his training title last season, will seek his 17th Championship Meet title. Horsemen shipping in include Shug McGaughey, Bill Mott, Mike Maker, Mark Casse, Ken McPeek, Chad Brown and Christophe Clement. New stables at Gulfstream and its satellite training center Palm Meadows in Palm Beach include Brad Cox, Jack Sisterson, Brittany Russell, Jeremiah Englehart and Butch Reid.

“We're extremely optimistic for a fantastic Championship Meet,” said Mike Lakow, Vice President of Racing at Gulfstream. “The barns are full with many of the top trainers, including some wintering here for the first time. We're also happy with the way our turf course has thrived during the extreme rainy season here this fall.”

The 20-cent Rainbow 6, the innovative multi-race wager that has produced many live-changing payoffs over the years, will again be prominent on Gulfstream's wagering menu. The Rainbow 6, which will span the final six races each day, will be kicked off Wednesday with a $50,000 jackpot guarantee. Wednesday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 5-10, including back-to-back optional claiming allowances in Races 8 and 9.

Shadwell Stable's Ashaar is scheduled to make his first start for Pletcher in Race 8, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief hasn't seen action since finishing off the board in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream. Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Ournationonparade, the only stakes winner in the field, will make his first start since finishing fifth in the Sept. 5 Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream. Saez has been named to ride Ashaar, while Luca Panici is set to ride the Kathy Ritvo-trained Ournationonparade.

Tracy Farmer's Catch a Thrill, who has finished second in his three most recent starts, will be looking to break through with a win in Race 9, a five-furlong turf dash for fillies and mares. The Mark Casse-trained daughter of City Zip, who finished second in the Feb. 23 Melody of Colors at Gulfstream, will be ridden by Cristian Torres.

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Todd Pletcher Targeting 17th Championship Meet Title At Gulfstream Park

Though success has followed him year-round across the globe since launching his training career in 1996, it's safe to say that when the season turns to winter, Todd Pletcher's name has become synonymous with South Florida and Gulfstream Park.

The 53-year-old Texas native has led the Championship Meet standings in 16 of the past 17 years, including a remarkable and unprecedented streak of 15 consecutive titles beginning in 2004. After finishing second in 2018-2019, Pletcher reclaimed his crown with 48 wins last winter.

“You try to just focus on placing your horses properly and hoping they run well. I think when the streak was still intact it was perhaps a little more meaningful because if you have a streak going for that long the chances of ever duplicating that are pretty remote,” Pletcher said. “But, we'll focus on doing the best we can without being overly concerned about whether or not that ends up leading to a meet title.

“The exciting part about it is, it's kind of the time when a lot of your 2-year-olds are starting to come around and obviously turning three with a lot of big races coming up in the winter and spring, so we always look forward to that,” he added. “We've always enjoyed the Gulfstream meet. It's been historically a good venue for us and horses seem to like the surface there and run well, so hopefully we can continue that.”

Pletcher has two horses entered on Wednesday's 10-race program as he opens his title defense and quest for No. 17 during the 2020-2021 Championship Meet. The prestigious 84-day stand runs through Sunday, March 28 and features 75 stakes, 41 graded, worth $13.05 million in purses.

Michael Tabor's Eagerly, a 3-year-old son of 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, will be making his sixth career start and first since Jan. 18 at Gulfstream in Race 5, a one-mile maiden special weight for 3-year-olds and up on the grass. Listed at 9-2 on the morning line, he will break from the far outside under Paco Lopez.

“Eagerly unfortunately got stepped on by another horse in his last start there and had a fairly significant wound that took a lot of time to heal and some skin grafts and that sort of thing,” Pletcher said. “He's been training forwardly. All of his races except for an off the turf race and that particular day when he sustained that injury have all been good. We look forward to getting him back.”

In Wednesday's Race 8 feature, Pletcher will send out Shadwell Stable's homebred Ashaar, who hasn't run since finishing seventh in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream for previous trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. The sophomore Into Mischief colt is the program's 2-1 second choice in the six-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.

“Ashaar, I know that they liked him a lot, and he ran well in his debut. The thing that always concerns you in these types of races is when they have that optional claim on there, you're kind of running into some old warriors that have a lot of starts compared to pretty lightly raced horse,” Pletcher said. “But we're pleased with the way he's been coming along and looking forward to getting him started.”

Pletcher has enjoyed several career-defining moments at Gulfstream Park. It is where he won his first race Jan. 26, 1996 with Majestic Number, his 3,000th with Spring Hill Farm Feb. 11, 2012 and 4,000th with Eagle Scout March 18, 2016. He received the last two of his record seven Eclipse Awards for 2013 and 2014 in ceremonies held at the Sport of Kings Theatre, and he is the only trainer since it was inaugurated in 1952 to win Gulfstream's signature race – the Florida Derby – five times.

Over 1,100 of Pletcher's more than 5,000 lifetime victories have come at Gulfstream, where he has maintained a presence throughout the calendar year since 2017. He broke Hall of Famer Bill Mott's streak of six straight Championship Meet titles in 2010, and passed Arnold Winick's total with his 13th in 2016.

Pletcher has won 849 races during the Championship Meet since 2004, an average of 49.9 wins per winter. In 2019-2020 he picked up graded triumphs with Sombeyay in the Canadian Turf (G3) and Social Paranoia in the Appleton (G3) and ranked second with $2,085,635 in purse earnings.

Another stakes winner for Pletcher last winter was Halladay, who would go on to capture the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga. He is being pointed to the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream as a possible prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) Jan. 23.

Wertheimer and Frere's undefeated homebred Happy Saver, who improved to 4-0 with his victory over older horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), is among the horses that may also show up during the meet, as well as Spinster (G1) winner and Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) runner-up Valiance and multiple turf stakes winner Largent, both part-owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

“Right now we're pointing Halladay for the Fort Lauderdale which, if that were to go well, we'd kind of have an eye toward the Pegasus but we'll see how he handles the mile and an eighth first,” Pletcher said. “We have him and Largent pointed for that. Valiance and Happy Saver and some of those are getting a bit of a break so if we do see them it would be toward the end of the meet.”

Pletcher has one horse, a 2-year-old English Channel colt named Turlough, entered on Thursday's card in Race 7, a one-mile maiden claiming event for juveniles on the grass.

When he returns to South Florida with sights set on defending his Championship Meet riding title, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will have the opportunity to join some exclusive company.

Ortiz, 28, is coming off his second straight winter championship, leading the 2019-2020 Gulfstream Park standings with 115 wins and more than $5.8 million in purses earned. Only three jockeys in track history have led the rider standings three consecutive years, the most recent being Hall of Famer Javier Castellano's record streak of five in a row from 2011-2016.

Jorge Chavez also won three straight between 1999 and 2001, while Jeff Fell shared the 1977 title with Mickey Solomone before winning it outright in 1978 and 1979. Among those with back-to-back championships are Hall of Famers Walter Blum, Alex Solis, Julie Krone and Jerry Bailey. Luis Saez won two in a row before finishing second to Ortiz each of the past two winters.

Ortiz has won the past two Eclipse Awards as champion jockey, trophies he accepted in ceremonies at Gulfstream Park, and is a leading candidate to win a third for 2020, a season abridged by the coronavirus pandemic. Through Nov. 28, Ortiz was leading all North American riders for a third consecutive year in both wins (274) and purse earnings ($20.1 million).

Since 2014, Ortiz has ranked no worse than fourth in wins or lower than third in purse earnings. He has won at least 300 races every year since 2015 with a high of 346 in 2018, and his $34.1 million in 2019 purses earned shattered the previous North American single-season record of $28.1 million set by Castellano in 2015.

One of just four jockeys to register triple digits in wins at Gulfstream, Ortiz won 135 races during his first full winter in 2018-2019, just two shy of Saez's track record set the previous season. His biggest victory during the 2019-2020 stand came aboard Mucho Gusto in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).

Ortiz returns to South Florida after earning the Bill Shoemaker Award as the most outstanding jockey at the Breeders' Cup for a third consecutive year. He won the Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) with Golden Pal and Sprint (G1) with Whitmore, was second in the Classic (G1) on Improbable and third in the Dirt Mile (G1) aboard Sharp Samurai. Garrett Gomez, John Velazquez and Mike Smith are also three-time winners, but Ortiz is the first to win three straight since the award was launched in 2003.

Saez will have a head start for the 2020-2021 season with Ortiz under quarantine after riding at Del Mar over Thanksgiving weekend. Saez is named in 26 of 30 races over the first three days of the Championship Meet, including nine of 10 on Wednesday's opening day and 10 of 10 on Thursday.

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Gulfstream: Florida-Bred Bonuses Announced for 13 Championship Meet Stakes

Thirteen stakes races during Gulfstream Park's Championship Meet – including the Florida Derby (G1), Fountain of Youth (G2), Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), Fred W. Hooper (G3) and Sunshine Millions – will have bonuses for Florida-breds properly registered with the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA).

A total of $400,000 in bonus money will be distributed throughout the meet beginning Jan. 9 with the $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3).

While a dozen of the races will have a $25,000 'win only' bonus, the $800,000 Florida Derby (G1) will have $100,000 in Florida-bred distributive purse supplement funds available with 70 percent to a registered Florida-bred winner, 20 percent for a second-place finish and 10 percent for a third-place finish.

The $25,000 'win only' bonuses will be available to properly registered Florida-breds in the races below:

Jan. 9:

$100,000 Tropical Turf (G3)

Jan. 16:

$100,000 Sunshine Millions Classic
$100,000 Sunshine Millions Sprint
$100,000 Sunshine Millions Turf
$100,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf

Jan. 23:

$150,000 Fred W. Hooper (G3)

Jan. 30:

$200,000 Holy Bull (G3)
$100,000 Swale (G3)

Feb. 13:

$100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3)

Feb. 27:

$350,000 Fountain of Youth (G2)
$200,000 Davona Dale (G2)

March 27:

$250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2)
NOTE: The $800,000 Florida Derby (G1) March 27 will have a $100,000 Florida-bred bonus.

Gulfstream's Championship Meet begins Wednesday, Dec. 2. The first Saturday of the meet will feature the $835,000 Claiming Crown. On Saturday, Dec. 12, Gulfstream's program will include five stakes, four graded, including the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) on the turf and the $100,000 Rampart (G3).

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Rising Star Jack Sisterson Brings Fond Memories Back To Gulfstream Park

Trainer Jack Sisterson will participate in the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park for the first time this season, but he certainly is no stranger to the historic Hallandale Beach track.

The 35-year-old former assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill will bring fond memories of his 2016 travels with Nyquist to Gulfstream Park, where Reddam Racing's colt captured the $1 million Florida Derby (G1), as well as a $1 million bonus, on his way to winning the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs six weeks later.

“That was a start of a long successful happy journey. I traveled everywhere with him — thanks to Doug and Paul and Zilla Reddam for the opportunity. The goal was the Florida Derby all along because he was in the Florida Sale the year before and Fasig-Tipton offered a $1 million bonus,” Sisterson said. “The whole plan was to focus on the Florida Derby and prep him at Keeneland for the Kentucky Derby.”

Sisterson, who was also a member of 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness (G1) winner I'll Have Another's travel team for O'Neill and the Reddams, was hired as a private trainer for Calumet Farm in 2018 and has returned to South Florida with a stable of 20 horses at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

“We've grown as the years go on with slightly better stock. We're bringing some nice 2-year-olds-turning-3-year-olds that we'd like to put on the Triple Crown trail, as well as some nice grass horses that Palm Meadows gives you options to train on the grass,” Sisterson said. “We put those things together and decided to try Florida this year.”

The 2020-2021 Championship Meet will get under way Wednesday, and Sisterson is scheduled to saddle his first official Gulfstream starter, Everfast, for Thursday's featured Race 6, a mile starter allowance for 3-year-olds and up. Everfast, who finished second in the Holy Bull (G2) at Gulfstream and second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico in 2019 while trained by Dale Romans, is rated second in the morning line at 7-2 behind West Will Power, the 8-5 favorite who is coming off back-to-back victories at Monmouth for trainer Kelly Breen.

“We're hoping to get off to a fast start,” Sisterson said.

Since saddling his first starter for Calumet in July 2018, Sisterson has won 41 races from 331 starters.

“I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Calumet. It's humbling to be able to train for an outfit that's so historically well known in the industry and all the success that they've had,” Sisterson said. “We'd like to get Calumet back to where they once were back in the prime days. I think we definitely have the stock this year to have our best year yet with the likes of Vexatious. We've got a couple of unraced 2-year-olds that we think are potential Derby types for next year. It's definitely a program that I'm very fortunate and humbled and honored to be involved with.”

Sisterson's career highlight thus far came during the 2020 Saratoga meeting when Vexatious provided him with his first Grade 1 success by capturing the Personal Ensign (G1).

“I can't give enough credit to the staff that I have in the barn because they are the ones who do all the hard work,” he said. “Just winning a race anywhere is a thrill, let alone a race at Saratoga, let alone a Grade 1 at Saratoga. That was pretty special.”

Sisterson maintains a year-round stable at Keeneland, and the native of Durham, England now considers Kentucky home. He first ventured to Kentucky after receiving a soccer scholarship from the University of Louisville.

“I was fortunate to be offered a scholarship and being able to do two things I loved. One thing was soccer and one was horse racing. I started hot-walking for Todd [Pletcher] in the summers,” Sisterson said. “That was my introduction to the racing side in America, working for Todd.”

In addition to some promising young stock, Sisterson's stable at Palm Meadows will include several veterans of the racing wars. True Timber, who finished eighth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) last year while trained by Kiaran McLaughlin; Bon Raison, who finished off the board in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland; Bandua, a graded-stakes winner who is scheduled to make a comeback after a year's absence, as well as Vexatious, will be based at Palm Meadows.

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