The 47-day Big A winter meet, which will feature 26 stakes races worth $3.5 million in purses, begins Monday, Jan. 1 and runs through Saturday, Mar. 30. Live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday for the first three weeks of January and Friday-Sunday from Jan. 26 through the first week of March. Aqueduct will host a Presidents' Day card on Monday, Feb. 19. Four-day race weeks resume on March 7.

A total of six stakes received a purse increase at the winter meet, topped by the Listed $150,000 Interborough, which saw it's purse improved by $50,000. Five other featured events received an increment of $25,000 in the GIII Toboggan and GIII Tom Fool H. along with three Listed stakes now worth $150,000, including the Heavenly Prize, Stymie and Excelsior.

The centerpiece of the March stakes calendar is the one-mile Grade III, $300,000 Gotham March 2, providing 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The Gotham Day card includes the Listed one-mile $200,000 Busher for 3-year-old fillies, offering 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.

Click here for a complete stakes list.

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The aforementioned GI Kentucky Derby prep race has been his only victory in 2023, and in pairing with a nose runner-up effort in the GIII Indiana Derby July 8 to familiar foe GSW & MGISP Verifying (Justify), has been the only time the son of Violence has been on the board this year. The 6-1 distant third choice here for the cut back in distance behind that returning rival and the eventual runner-up, Raise Cain was content to stalk from fourth as a leading trio battled it out on the front. Riding the rail into the turn but moved to the outside at the five sixteenths pole, he was rolling in the six path with a full head of steam entering the lane. Locking horns with Dr. Venkman after catching him late in the stretch, he nailed that rival in the shadow of the wire by a head as Post Time (Frosted) rallied from last to round out the trifecta.

Watch the full replay as RAISE CAIN finds the wire first in the Perryville (L)! pic.twitter.com/qpCikFTyg5

— Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 21, 2023

“I think it's probably what he wants to do. His only wins were around one turn. He got us to the (GI Kentucky) Derby and he's been such an over-achieving horse, he really deserved it,” said Ben Colebrook. “I think (jockey) Luis Saez made the difference. He rode him great. I mean, all the riders have ridden him well, but Luis gives you that just extra little bit. That's probably what we needed today.”

The first black-type runner for his dam, Raise Cain joins a trio of siblings to get their picture taken on the mare's tally. Lemon Belle, out of MGSW Queenie Belle (Bertrando)–making her a half-sister to GISW & MGISP Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), dam of two-time champion MGISW Unique Bella (Tapit)–has a 2-year-old Frostelle (Frosted) as well as a 2023 Constitution colt and visited red-hot Justify for 2024. This is the female family of Canadian staple MGISP Sir Sahib (Fort Larned). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

PERRYVILLE S., $235,188, Keeneland, 10-21, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.58, ft.
1–RAISE CAIN, 118, c, 3, by Violence
         1st Dam: Lemon Belle, by Lemon Drop Kid
         2nd Dam: Queenie Belle, by Bertrando
         3rd Dam: Lady Argyle, by Don B.
($180,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $65,000 RNA 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Andrew N. and Rania Warren; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Ben Colebrook; J-Luis Saez. $153,063. Lifetime Record: GSW, 13-3-2-1, $577,066.
2–Dr. Venkman, 118, g, 3, Ghostzapper–Theory of Change, by Archarcharch. ($105,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Dan J. Agnew, Clint Bunch, Mark Cohen, and James Hailey; B-Ghostzapper Syndicate & Hidden Brook Farm (KY); T-Mark Glatt. $39,500.
3–Post Time, 118, c, 3, Frosted–Vielsalm, by Fairbanks. ($85,000 Ylg '21 EASOCT). O-Hillwood Stable LLC; B-Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Brooke Bowman & Milton P Higgins III (MD); T-Brittany T. Russell. $19,750.
Margins: HD, 1 1/4, 5HF. Odds: 6.44, 1.26, 7.42.
Also Ran: Loyal Company, Verifying, Confidence Game.

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Last week two of his horses ran in the money on Wednesday, then another made it to the winner's circle on Thursday, and on Saturday he and his wife Rania celebrated their first graded stakes win with Raise Cain (Violence) in the GIII Gotham S. The weekend wrapped up with a pair of runner-up efforts from Scoobie Quando (Uncle Mo) in the John Battaglia Memorial S. at Turfway and Wizard of Westwood (Tu Brutus {Chi}) in the Baffle S. on the turf at Santa Anita.

All this from someone who got into racing with the intention of owning just one horse.

Warren grew up attending the races with his parents William and Suzanne Warren, who have campaigned a number of graded stakes winners led by GI Breeders' Cup Classic victor and 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam and 2018 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner City of Light.

When City of Light retired to stud, Warren started to think about getting involved in the sport himself.

“I was intrigued by the breeding aspect of the game and how horses could sell for astronomical prices at the sales,” Warren said. “I wanted to buy one filly, race her, and then breed her to City of Light and get a really nice foal.”

After enlisting the help of City of Light's trainer Michael McCarthy, Warren attended the 2019 OBS March Sale wielding a list of sires that might nick well with the new stallion. But buying one filly quickly led to the purchase of another, and six months later he was at the Keeneland September Sale looking at colts.

“The plan changed a bit and I ended up buying a few more horses than I anticipated,” he said with a laugh. “I became intrigued with the talent selection process and with trying to find that needle in the haystack.”

Warren wasn't too far into his foray in the industry when he landed on what would eventually become that first graded stakes winner. He picked out a Violence colt from the Warrendale Sales consignment for $180,000.

“I've had a handful of horses by Violence and they've shown good flashes of ability for me,” Warren said. “On his female side, having Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song) in there is pretty impressive. I have advisors helping me look at them and after you vet them if they still look good, you feel pretty good. All the stars have to align for you to want to be spending money on a horse because you're gambling at a high stakes.”

The Warren family | courtesy Andrew Warren

As Raise Cain was training as a 2-year-old with Eisaman Equine, Warren was starting to feel disheartened when his first few purchases hadn't turned out to be as productive on the racetrack as hoped. He decided to send a few of his 2-year-olds through the ring at the OBS June Sale.

“I was weary about how maybe I needed to cut down on how much I was into this,” Warren recalled. “I didn't go in with the mindset to pinhook, but when I've felt like my stable has gotten too big, I've tried to reduce at the 2-year-old sales to come back with the appropriate amount of risk that I want to be taking.”

Despite improving steadily at a juvenile, Raise Cain went through the ring unsold for $65,000. Warren decided to stick with his original plan and he sent the colt on to Ben Colebrook.

Raise Cain broke his maiden last fall at Keeneland and then placed in two stakes as a juvenile.

Warren was cheering from his home in Oklahoma as Raise Cain closed down the stretch in the Gotham to win by 7 ½ lengths at odds of 23-1, earning 50 points on the Kentucky Derby trail.

“I had kind of pushed for this race, for him to get into a stake, and when he was 30-1 morning line I knew we were in the deep end of the pool,” he admitted. “I knew he had a lot of ability and I knew it was within him to perform like that, but I didn't want to get too high on him because you can get humbled pretty quickly in this game.”

While Warren said he was disappointed that he couldn't make the race in person, he explained that it was just as meaningful to watch the victory at home with his father. The younger Warren works alongside his father in their family's Tulsa-based oil and gas exploration and production company.

Warren echoed what Colebrook has already indicated concerning Raise Cain's next start. The GI Blue Grass S. at his home track or the GII Wood Memorial S. back at Aqueduct are their top two considerations.

Meanwhile, Warren has another potential Kentucky Derby contender in Scoobie Quando. The son of Uncle Mo graduated on debut early this year in the Turfway Preview S. and made his third career start in the John Battaglia Memorial S. last Saturday. After getting stuck behind a wall of horses, Scoobie Quando was able to make a late run to finish second, earning eight points on the Derby trail.

Purchased by Warren for $160,000 as a yearling, Scoobie Quando was yet another OBS June pinhook attempt, but the colt failed to reach his reserve at $125,000.

“He had value and was a nice horse, but had some chips that needed to be removed,” Warren recalled. “People at the 2-year-old sales weren't giving money for horses that would probably need surgery, so we thought we would do the surgery and see how it works out.”

Now with two good shots at making it to the Kentucky Derby with horses that went through the ring unsold as juveniles, Warren said the colts' achievements this year have been reassurance that he is taking the right steps in the game.

“I was pretty excited just to have the two horses in those races last weekend,” he noted. “It's definitely incredibly fortunate that they have both developed this way and have come along like they have because I've had quite a few over the past couple of years that didn't develop and go the way I wanted them to go. To be able to finally have a little fruit from the labor is pretty unbelievable.”

While the majority of the horses in Warren's 30-some strong stable are with Ben Colebrook, he also has horses in California with Michael McCarthy and several others with Bret Calhoun, Anthony Farrior and Barbara Minshall.

Warren said the most exciting part of his journey in racing so far has been enjoying the ride with his family. He shared that his wife, Rania, follows their stable as much as he does, and now that their daughter has turned three, they hope to be able to travel and attend more races in person.

Warren has been to the Kentucky Derby twice to cheer on his parents' horses. In 2008 their colt Denis of Cork (Harlan's Holiday) finished third.

“I remember going both times that they had a horse running and it was an unbelievable experience,” Warren said. “To be able to go to the Derby would be beyond exciting, very emotional, and a thrill for everyone. It would be incredible to share the experience with my friends and family, but to be able to share it with my dad would be very special.”

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California invader Carmel Road (Quality Road) set a pressured pace heading into the far turn as the riderless and previously unbeaten Howgreatisnate (Speightster) made for some tense moments leading the big field of 14 after stumbling and tossing jockey J. D. Acosta at the start.

Raise Cain, meanwhile, raced toward the rear through fast fractions of :22.52 and :45.53, and somehow worked his way to the rail from a high draw. He was checked and altered course to the outside as he began to roll leaving the quarter pole and exploded down the center of the stretch beneath Jose Lezcano to win as much the best while matching strides late with the aforementioned loose horse. It was 7 1/2 lengths back to Slip Mahoney (Arrogate) in second. Longshot General Banker (Central Banker) was third.

Raise Cain picks up 50 GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the victory.

Raise Cain, a sharp winner at second asking at Keeneland Oct. 9, took on stakes company in his next three attempts. He finished third in the Bowman Mill S. at Keeneland Oct. 29, second in the Gun Runner S. trying two turns for the first time at Fair Grounds Dec. 26 and fifth over the all-weather in Turfway's Leonatus S. last time Jan. 21.

“He finally had some pace to run into, and I think that's what he's been missing to be honest,” winning trainer Ben Colebrook said. “He never really had any pace to close into except in his maiden win. I don't know that it's necessarily one turn that he needs, but I definitely think pace to close into is what he needs because he's such a relaxed horse and he can make that one big run like he did today. More credit goes to Jose [Lezcano] for the ride. It was just a phenomenal ride.

He continued, “He's bred to go longer and if he were to go on to the Derby, you usually get plenty of pace in there. I think more than anything pace is what he needs. He's never run a bad race. We're nominated to the Blue Grass [at Keeneland] and we'll nominate to the Wood Memorial. It'll probably be one of those two races and we'll see how it plays out and go to whichever race looks like the best option.”

Pedigree Notes:

It's an embarrassment of riches for Hill 'n' Dale sire Violence on this year's Kentucky Derby trail, as Raise Cain joins Violence's champion Forte on the narrowing path to the first Saturday in May. Forte added Gulfstream's GII Fountain of Youth S. to his CV less than an hour after Raise Cain's Gotham victory Saturday. With the addition of Raise Cain, Violence makes it 31 black-type winners and nine graded winners for his Northern Hemisphere-breds. Raise Cain is also one of 92 stakes winners as a broodmare sire for Lane's End pensioner Lemon Drop Kid.

The 13-year-old Lemon Belle is out of 2001 GII Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup winner Queenie Belle, making her a half-sister to 2010 GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic winner and $3.8-million Keeneland November broodmare Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), also dam of two-time champion Unique Bella (Tapit). The family traces tail-female to extraordinary English turn-of-the-century racemare Pretty Polly (GB) (Gallinule {GB}), who later turned into an influential broodmare through her daughters.

Raise Cain is Lemon Belle's first stakes winner. She also has a 2-year-old colt by Frosted, who hammered for $12,000 to Laura Kelton at last year's Keeneland September sale, and delivered a Constitution colt Feb. 21. Her most recent trip through the sales ring was at the 2018 Keeneland November sale, where she brought $285,000 from Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds–Raise Cain's breeder–while carrying a full-brother to Raise Cain, since named Nasty Habit and who remains unraced.

Saturday, Aqueduct Racetrack
GOTHAM S.-GIII, $300,000, Aqueduct, 3-4, 3yo, 1m, 1:38.09, my.
1–RAISE CAIN, 118, c, 3, by Violence
1st Dam: Lemon Belle, by Lemon Drop Kid
2nd Dam: Queenie Belle, by Bertrando
3rd Dam: Lady Argyle, by Don B.
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($180,000
Ylg '21 KEESEP; $65,000 RNA 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Warren,
Andrew N. and Warren, Rania; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds,
LLC (KY); T-Ben Colebrook; J-Jose Lezcano. $165,000. Lifetime
Record: 6-2-1-1, $268,578. Click for the free Equineline.com
catalog-style pedigree.
2–Slip Mahoney, 118, c, 3, Arrogate–Got Lucky, by A.P. Indy.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($150,000 Ylg '21
KEESEP). O-Gold Square LLC; B-Hill 'N' Dale Equine Holdings,
Inc. & Philip J. Steinberg (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $60,000.
3–General Banker, 118, c, 3, Central Banker–Elusive Jozi, by
Johannesburg. O-Seacoast Thoroughbreds of N. E.; B-Seacoast
Thoroughbreds of New England (NY); T-James W. Ferraro.
$36,000.
Margins: 7HF, 1HF, NO. Odds: 23.50, 6.20, 30.00.
Also Ran: Eyeing Clover, Clear the Air, Mr. Swagger, Lugan Knight, Carmel Road, Radio Red, Transect, Recruiter, Uncorrelated, Clubhouse, Howgreatisnate. Scratched: Fort Warren. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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“Morello looks like he could potentially be something special,” Dave Lyon of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds said. “I think it's just a perfect race set up for a horse like him, where you're going to take your time and see what he can do. Past the wire, it looks like he can get further out there. Seeing him calm in the winner's circle tells me he has more left in the tank.”

Todd Pletcher also saddles an unbeaten runner in this event in Dean's List (Speightstown). The chestnut drew off to a 5 1/2-length graduation despite some greeness in his Dec. 11 unveiling at Gulfstream and wired an optional claimer there last out Jan. 8. Both races were run over six furlongs. Pletcher also saddles Calumet Farm's Golden Code (Honor Code). Runner-up to Bold Journey (Hard Spun) in a state-bred event here Dec. 18, he crushed his fellow Empire-breds by 10 3/4 lengths next out in the mud at this oval Feb. 5.

“I like the way he's been training and he's put in some gallop outs that suggest he is going to be able to handle a stretch out in distance–that's what we're trying to find out here and I feel the one-turn mile is a good way to do it and gradually stretch him out a little bit,” Pletcher said of Dean's List.

Rockefeller (Medaglia d'Oro) returns to the Big Apple in search of another victory Saturday. Opening his account at Del Mar Aug. 28, the Bob Baffert pupil was fourth to champion stablemate Corniche (Quality Road) in the GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita Oct. 1. Wiring the GIII Nashua S. at Belmont last time he visited New York Nov. 7, the $750,000 KEESEP buy checked in second to stablemate Newgrange (Violence) in the GIII Sham S. in Arcadia Jan. 1.

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Trained by John Servis and campaigned by Cash Is King LLC at two, the bay won two of five starts, including the Parx Juvenile. Victorious in the GIII Swale S. and GIII Gotham S. early in his sophomore season, he was subsequently transferred to Saffie Joseph Jr. after LC Racing secured a stake in the colt. The winner of a pair of starts at Gulfstream for new connections, including the six-furlong GIII Gulfstream Park Sprint, the WinStar Farm-bred recorded his biggest career win in the GI Carter H. at Aqueduct. Third in Belmont's GI Met Mile later that June, he finished off the board in his final two starts against Grade I company. He retired with seven wins from 15 starts and earnings of $734,355.

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