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Penn National’s Leading Rider Edwin Gonzalez Shifts Tack To Gulfstream

Edwin Gonzalez, the leading rider at Penn National the last two years with more than 400 victories and a 2020 winning percentage of 33 percent, is moving his tack to Gulfstream Park.

Gonzalez, who rode five winners Wednesday evening at Penn National and six winners there Feb. 17, will ride in Pennsylvania through March 19 before heading to Florida. He is expected to ride in Tampa on Florida Cup Day March 28 before riding at Gulfstream.

Gonzalez, who finished second in wins during the 2017 Tampa Bay Downs meet and won six races there on March 10 of that year, has won more than 1,430 races since coming to the U.S. from his native Puerto Rico in 2013. He was ranked 14th in wins in North America last year and 11th in wins in 2019.

Kevin Meyocks, agent for Luca Panici, will represent Gonzalez.

“We've been north here the last two years and it's been good, but we only race two days a week and I'd like to ride at a better track with some better horses,” said Gonzalez, who is moving along with his wife and three children. “There's nice weather down here. We can take the kids out to the park. I talked to Kevin, he's a good agent, and when opportunity comes, you have to take advantage of it.”

Gonzalez, a multiple graded-stakes winner in Puerto Rico, guided Ghost Hunter for his first graded-stakes success in the 2017 Arlington Handicap (G3).

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Friday’s Stronach 5 Features Pair Of Turf Races, Four Tracks

A maiden special weight event at Santa Anita Park featuring the Baffert Stable's 3-year-old colt Fenway and two turf races from Gulfstream Park highlight this week's popular Stronach 5.

Friday's Stronach 5 will also feature races from Laurel Park and Golden Gate Fields along with an industry-low 12-percent takeout.

The opening leg of the Stronach 5 will begin at 3:55 ET with Laurel's eighth race, a 5 ½ furlong allowance event for 4-year-olds and up. Kingston Pike (4-1) enters off a three-length victory against claiming company while Josef Is Real (9-2) enters off a second-place finish against allowance company. Bourbon Street (6-1) goes first time off the claim for trainer Anthony Farrior.

Gulfstream's seventh race, a mile turf event for 3-year-old filly with a $35,000 claiming tag, serves as the second leg of the Stronach 5 and Celestial Cheetah is the 9-5 favorite. The daughter of Social Inclusion won her 3-year-old debut by 6 ¼ lengths after finishing sixth Dec. 5 in the Demoiselle (G2).

The third race at Santa Anita – the third leg of the Stronach 5 – is a mile maiden special weight event for 3-year-old colts. Trainer Bob Baffert will send out Fenway, a $650,000 son of Into Mischief who finished second Feb. 15. John Velazquez has been named to ride. Trainer Mike Puype has the 2-1 morning-line favorite in Harbored Memories, a homebred son of Harbor the Gold who comes off a pair of second-place finishes at Santa Anita. Flavien Prat has the call. Hronis Racing LLC's Star Sailor, a $275,000 son of Union Rags, enters the event for trainer John Sadler off a third-place finish, two lengths behind Fenway. Baffert will also send out Hudson Ridge, a son of American Pharoah who finished sixth in his debut Feb. 5.

The action moves to Golden Gate for its third race and the fourth leg of the sequence. The $8,000 maiden claiming event at 5 ½ furlongs has a 5-2 favorite in Mattawa N That. The gelded son of Eddington has finished second in his previous two starts for trainer Blaine Wright. Breaking from the rail is Flash of Gray, fifth in his debut Feb 13.

The Stronach 5 concludes with Gulfstream's ninth race, an allowance optional claimer at a mile on the turf. Witez will race for the first time since a fifth-place finish in the Mrs. Revere (G3) at Churchill Downs Nov. 14 and a fourth-place finish in the Valley View (G3) at Keeneland Oct. 16. Over the summer the 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready finished third in the Lake George (G3) at Saratoga. Kissing Frogs is the race favorite. Trained by Bill Mott, the lightly-raced daughter of Cairo Prince is undefeated in her only two turf races.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One – Laurel Park 8th Race: (13 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 3:55 ET, 12:55 PT
Leg Two – Gulfstream Park 7th Race: (7 entries, 1-mile turf) 4:12 ET, 1:12 PT
Leg Three –Santa Anita Park 3rd Race: (8 entries, 1 mile) 4:35 ET, 1:35 PT
Leg Four –Golden Gate Fields 3rd Race: (8 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 4:53 ET, 1:53 PT
Leg Five –Gulfstream Park 9th Race: (10 entries, 1-mile turf) 5:16 ET, 2:16 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

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$1 Million Guarantee In Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot At Gulfstream

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $1 million Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved Wednesday for the seventh straight racing day since a lucky bettor broke the jackpot for $712,824.06 Feb. 22. Multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $12,605.20 Wednesday.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover of $3,539.30 in Thursday's first race, a maiden claiming event at five furlongs on the turf that has drawn a field of 11 fillies and mares.

First race post is 1:10 p.m.

The jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

WHO'S HOT: Tyler Gaffalione doubled, scoring aboard Super Leggera ($7.30) in Race 1 and Valletta ($6.60) in Race 9. Paco Lopez also rode a pair of winners, visiting the winner's circle with Dropped Anchor ($5.60) in Race 2 and What's Inside ($9) in Race 8.

The post $1 Million Guarantee In Thursday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot At Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Lopez After Fight With Ortiz: ‘I Don’t Want Any Trouble Going Forward’

After scuffling Friday at Gulfstream Park with Irad Ortiz, Jr., which caused him to be put on probation for the remainder of the meet, Paco Lopez told the TDN Monday he is ready to move on.

That there was a fight between Ortiz and Lopez was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's Mike Welsch. The fight was captured on a video that shows Ortiz landing at least three punches on Lopez following the fourth race Friday at Gulfstream. Lopez did not fight back.

“For me, it's over. I don't want any trouble going forward,” Lopez said.

Ortiz was fined $1,000 and both riders were put on probation. According to the Racing Form, probation means that any future altercation between the two riders would result in “fines and/or suspension and possible expulsion from the grounds.”

The TDN tried to reach Ortiz through his agent Steve Rushing but Rushing did not return a phone call.

The altercation occurred after Ortiz guided Known Agenda (Curlin) to a win over Lopez's mount, Top Gun Tommy (Mineshaft) in the allowance race. Known Agenda won by 11 lengths.

Coming out of the far turn, Known Agenda came over a path and appeared to bother Top Gun Tommy before pulling away from his rival. Lopez lodged an objection but the stewards let the result stand as is.

“If I had fought him back, I'd have a fine, too,” Lopez said. “But I was just sitting down in the chair, waiting for the result at the same time as him. I didn't want to provoke him.”

Lopez has run afoul of the Gulfstream stewards in the past. In 2019, he received a 30-day suspension for careless riding, followed later on in the meet by a 60-day suspension for “continuous careless riding.” He said that was in the back of his mind when the fight was taking place.

“The stewards there are very tough on me,” he said. “They had given me 30 and then 60 days. I know that if I had done to him what he did to me I would have been ruled off from the track.”

Lopez said he doesn't know why Ortiz was so mad at him.

“I was just doing my job,” Lopez said. “I called the stewards. He started screaming at me. I'm not jealous of him. I had a problem. He would have done the same thing.”

Ortiz is the leading rider at the meet with 107 wins. Lopez is in a tie for third with Tyler Gaffalione. Both have 71 winners.

The post Lopez After Fight With Ortiz: ‘I Don’t Want Any Trouble Going Forward’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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