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10th Time The Charm: Ricky Ramirez Wins All American Futurity Aboard Whistle Stop Cafe

As the 2020 Ruidoso Downs race season came to a close on Monday in Ruidoso, N.M., a new All American Futurity champion was crowned, and her name is Whistle Stop Cafe. The undefeated filly raced 440 yards down the fast track under partly cloudy skies against a 7 MPH headwind and hit the wire with a time of :21.437 to finish ahead of Instygator by a neck. With her win, Whistle Stop Cafe takes home the winner's share of $1.26 million of the $3 million purse.

Instygator, the race-time favorite, finished second and Apollitical Gold finished third. A $2 win ticket on Whistle Stop Cafe paid $9.80.

Whistle Stop Cafe, who also won the 2020 Rainbow Futurity, is owned by Whitmire Ranch/Lainie Whitmire et al and was bred in Texas by Bobby Cox. The gray filly by Freighttrain out of Sinuous by Mr Jess Perry comes out of the Blane Wood barn.

“It's amazing! We're so proud,” said owner Whitmire. “There were ten awesome horses…and our train never stopped!”

Jockey Ricky Ramirez has been aboard Whistle Stop Cafe for all six of her wins. He had the mount today for what turned out to be his first All American Futurity win in 10 efforts.

“It means so much especially with all my family here,” said jockey Ramirez. “It took me ten tries, but I finally got it done. That filly seems to enjoy it all. When I asked her, she had another gear. It was a great feeling to be on such a special filly in the All American.”

This was Wood's second All American Futurity victory. His first trip to the All American winner's circle was in 2018 with Apocalyptical Jess.

“Whistle Stop Cafe is the fastest filly I've ever had,” said trainer Wood. “Her heart is bigger than she is. She's quiet and easy going but she knows her job. She had to earn it today, and that's what she did.”

Ramirez is the go-to rider for the Wood barn, and the two have teamed up for many victories over the years.

“For Ricky to win it on one of our horses, it couldn't be any better,” said Wood of Ramirez's win on Whistle Stop Cafe. “Like ice cream and cake. We treat him like family, and I love him to pieces.”

Wood also had two other horses in the All American final, Caliente Caramelo and Famous And Easy, both of which were disqualified for interference and placed eighth and ninth.

The official order of finish for the running of the 2020 All American Futurity is as follows: Whistle Stop Cafe (:21.43): Instygator (:21.486); Apollitical Gold (:21.633); Jettz (:21.686); HR Princess Jess (:21.943); Flashing My Pjs (:21.970); Flash Bak (:22.176); *Caliente Caramelo (:21.701); *Famous And Easy (:21.753); and Eagles And Dragons (:22.212).

*Disqualified for interference

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$350,000 Guaranteed Rainbow 6 Jackpot At Gulfstream On Thursday

The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $350,000 Thursday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the fifth racing day in a row Monday, when multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $1,600.74.

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot 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.

There will be a Super Hi-5 carryover of $3,324.68 heading into Thursday's card.

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Pletcher Back On Top At Saratoga; Irad Ortiz Jr., Klaravich Stables Also Claim Titles

Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Klaravich Stables finished atop their respective standings with the trio finishing as the leading trainer, jockey and owner for the 40-day summer meet at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., that concluded on Labor Day Monday.

“It doesn't get old and it doesn't get easier,” said Pletcher. “I've been fortunate to have won it that many times, but I still have a tremendous appreciation for how hard it is to do. I have a lot of great owners and I'm grateful for the opportunities with so many good horses.”

Pletcher returned to familiar territory, finishing as the leading trainer for the Saratoga summer meet for the 14th time in his illustrious career, tallying 32 wins.

Pletcher, who won his first Saratoga crown in 1998, won the H. Allen Jerkens award as the meet's top conditioner for the first time since 2017, registering a record of 32-23-15 with 142 starters. His success ended reigning four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown's run of two consecutive meet titles and three in four years. Brown finished second with 28 wins.

Pletcher expressed his gratitude for the team effort in securing the title.

“It means a lot to the whole team,” said Pletcher. “A lot of people put in a lot of hard work. We were understaffed coming in and a lot of guys and girls put in a lot of work for this. I'm grateful for that and happy to be a part of the achievement.”

Among Pletcher's highlights was saddling Halladay for his Grade 1 Fourstardave triumph on August 22 while racking up stakes wins with Spinoff [Alydar], Nonna Madeline [Summer Colony] and Moretti [Birdstone].

“Halladay winning the Fourstardave stands out for me,” said Pletcher. “Grade 1 wins are hard to come by and that was a big win.”

The 53-year-old Pletcher won six Saratoga training titles consecutively from 2010-15 and tallied his most wins in a summer meet with 40 in 2017.

“Someone said to me this morning if I won that it would be the fourth different decade I've won a training title and I thought that was kind of cool,” said Pletcher. “I'd say aside from the first one in 1998, this was the next most rewarding.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. earned the Angel Cordero, Jr. Award for the third time overall and first since 2018, finishing with 59 wins to top younger brother Jose Ortiz [58 wins] and Joel Rosario [48] in third. Ortiz, Jr. won his first crown in 2015.

“It's very special. My agent [Steve Rushing] did a great job and I'm very thankful for all the trainers and owners, without them I would not be here,” said Ortiz, Jr., who missed three days of racing late in the meet with a wrist injury. “After my injury, I had to take off a few days and they still named me on their horses and gave me the confidence and the opportunity.”

The 28-year-old native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico compiled a 59-47-43 record in 282 mounts, totaling earnings of more than $4.4 million with a winning percentage of better than 20 percent.

A memorable meet was highlighted by his winning ride aboard Improbable in the Grade 1 Whitney on August 1, part of a day in which he registered four wins in total. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Improbable marked the second Whitney winner in three years for Ortiz, Jr., who also was victorious with Diversify in 2018.

Ortiz, Jr. won 10 stakes at the meet including graded scores in the Grade 3 Peter Pan aboard Country Grammer on Opening Day; the Grade 3 With Anticipation on Fire At Will; and the Grade 2 Honorable Miss with Come Dancing on Sunday.

The veteran rider won with 5-of-8 mounts on July 23rd during a 10-race card at the Spa, led by a victory aboard Fresco in the NYSSS Statue of Liberty.

Ortiz, Jr. said he enjoyed the daily competition with his brother.

“We have fun,” said Ortiz, Jr. “He wants the best for me and I want the best for him.”

Klaravich Stables was once again the top Saratoga owner, recording 13 wins, 11 runner-up finishes and 17 third-place efforts from 58 starts. The win total was three more than the next-closest competitors in Repole Stable. Headed by Seth Klarman, the stable again teamed with Brown for its meet highlights, which included the stakes scores of Selflessly in the Grade 3 Lake George and Domestic Spending in the Saratoga Derby Invitational.

Live racing will now shift to Belmont Park for the 27-day fall meet, featuring 38 stakes worth $5.58 million in purse money, that will kick off on Friday, September 18 and run through Sunday, November 1.

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Kent Desormeaux Suspended For Disorderly Conduct After Using Racial Slur In July Incident At Del Mar

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux has been suspended 15 days by California Horse Racing Board stewards for a July 28 incident on the grounds of the Del Mar racetrack and fairgrounds in which Desormeaux is said to have used a racial slur against an African-American television cameraman that led to a fight between the two men, according to Daily Racing Form.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club ejected Desormeaux from the property shortly after the incident.

The stewards' ruling, as reported by the Form, cited Desormeaux for disorderly conduct and requires that he be evaluated by the Winners Foundation, which offers assistance to individuals in California racing dealing with substance abuse issues. In the past, Desormeaux has admitted to being an alcoholic.

A verbal dispute in the RV parking area of the track property between Desormeaux, 50, and 44-year-old Guy Stuttley became physical after Desormeaux used a racial slur, according to the report. Stuttley was fined $200 for fighting and disorderly conducted in a separate ruling, according to the Form.

His agent, J.R. Pegram, said Desormeaux does not intend to appeal the suspension. Pegram told the Form the Louisiana native plans to return to Southern California to resume riding at the end of the suspension, which is to run through Sept. 22.