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‘I’ve Exceeded My Expectations’: Apprentice Pyfer Finds Herself In The Running For Los Al Title

Apprentice jockey Jessica Pyfer has unexpectedly found herself in the running for the jockey title at the three-week meet currently taking place at Los Alamitos, according to the Daily Racing Form. She celebrated her first multi-win day with three victories last Saturday and is currently tied for second in the standings with seven wins, only one win behind leader Juan Hernandez. The meet ends on Sunday.

Pyfer is the stepdaughter of trainer Phil D'Amato and started her riding career in September of 2020. She had her first win on Oct. 9 at Santa Anita and she ended up having a total of four wins during the track's autumn meet. So far, she has won 15 races from 81 mounts.

“I've exceeded my expectations,” Pyfer told the Daily Racing Form's Steve Anderson. “I never thought I'd have three wins in a day, not even less than three months into my career. Yesterday, I starting crying after it happened.”

Racing Canceled At Multiple Northeastern Tracks Due To Snow Storm

Racing has been canceled on Thursday at multiple tracks in the Northeastern portion of the United States due to extreme winter weather conditions. Among those announcing cancellations are: Aqueduct in New York, Charles Town in West Virginia, and Laurel Park in Maryland.

Press releases from each track follow:

– The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has canceled Thursday's live racing program at Aqueduct Racetrack due to a powerful winter storm currently impacting the New York metropolitan area with heavy winds, accumulating snow and coastal flooding.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter storm warning for the downstate New York region extending through 1 p.m. Thursday. The current NWS forecast, which aligns with NYRA's independent weather services, calls for sustained high winds with gusts up to 50 mph and total snow accumulations of 9-12 inches. In addition, the NWS has issued a coastal flood watch for southern Queens as of Thursday morning.

As a result, NYRA has canceled Thursday's eight-race card in the interest of the safety of all participants. Live racing at Aqueduct is scheduled to resume on Friday, Dec. 18, with a nine-race card kicking off at 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

For additional information on the 2020-21 winter meet at Aqueduct, as well as a complete stakes schedule, visit NYRA.com.

– Due to a winter storm that moved across the region bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain, the Maryland Jockey Club announced live racing at Laurel Park has been cancelled Thursday, Dec. 17. The Maryland Jockey Club's simulcast locations will remain open. Live racing will resume Friday at Laurel with a nine-race program beginning at 12:25 p.m. The eighth and ninth races will be part of the popular Stronach 5. Laurel's eighth race will serve as the opening leg of the Stronach 5 at approximately 3:49 p.m. Eastern.

Fans can watch and wager on Laurel Park and the Stronach 5 at www.1st.com/bet and xpressbet.com.

– Due to the continued impact of the winter weather moving through the area over the past 24 hours, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has cancelled its live racing program for Thursday, Dec. 17. The track will remain open for limited simulcasting until mid-afternoon. Live racing is currently slated to resume on Friday, Dec. 18, with a first race post time of 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

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‘He’s Matured Beautifully’: Undefeated Maxfield Returns To The Races In Saturday’s Tenacious

A potentially lucrative and prolific 2021 campaign gets underway in the twilight of 2020 when Maxfield makes his long-anticipated return to the races in Saturday's $75,000 Tenacious Stakes at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. Run as the finale, the 1 1/16-mile Tenacious is the last of six $75,000 stakes run as part of the 13-race Santa Super Saturday card. Clearly, the eyes of the racing world will be focused on Fair Grounds as the undefeated Maxfield makes his first start since May.

Godolphin LLC's homebred Maxfield (post 6 at 8-5 on the morning line with Florent Geroux to ride) has had plenty of heartaches sprinkled in amongst a perfect 3-for-3 lifetime record for trainer Brendan Walsh. He was forced to miss the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a minor foot injury and then got derailed off the Kentucky Derby trail soon after his win in Churchill's May 23 Matt Winn (G3). The 3-year-old son of Street Sense came out of a June 10 workout with a condylar fracture of his right front cannon bone, which prompted his connections to scrap any thoughts at a run in the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

“We always thought he'd be a nicer 3-year-old, so to come back the way he did, then to lose him for the Derby was terribly disappointing,” Walsh said. “But at least we're getting another go with the horse. It would have been a terrible shame if we didn't get him back and he couldn't show what we think he's capable of.”

Maxfield broke his maiden on debut at Churchill in September 2019 and turned around a month later to win Keeneland's prestigious Breeders' Futurity (G1) by 5 ¼ lengths. He didn't resurface until the 2020 Matt Winn and now reappears in the Tenacious. With just three races in a stop-and-start career, Maxfield has plenty of upside as a lightly raced colt. He's worked eight times since late October, most recently logging 4 furlongs in :48.80 on Nov. 13 at Fair Grounds.

“He came out of his work great and we're looking forward to Saturday,” Walsh said. “We're happy what he's done. It (the Tenacious) was in my mind for a while, with the timing, and I think Fair Grounds will suit the horse, with the long straight and all. We haven't gotten anywhere near the bottom of him yet. He's as good as ever; he's matured beautifully, physically-speaking.”

Maxfield figures odds-on in a Tenacious that drew seven runners, though he spots recency to several, including Courtlandt Farms' Sonneman (post 5 at 3-1 with Ricardo Santana Jr.), who enters off a rousing optional-claiming win Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs. The 3-year-old son of Curlin has run five times for trainer Steve Asmussen after beginning his career with trainer Mark Hennig. He was the runner-up in Churchill's Pat Day Mile (G2) three back in September before running second in a Keeneland optional-claimer in October. Sonneman is 3-for-9 lifetime and has a plenty of early tactical speed that will enable him to get first run on Maxfield.

Lothenbach Stables Inc's Captivating Moon (post 3 at 9-2 with Brian Hernandez Jr.) won the local “off-the-turf” Buddy Diliberto Memorial on the Santa Super Saturday card last year and he is cross-entered in the race again this year. The 5-year-old son of Malibu Moon is winless in seven starts this year for trainer Chris Block but he has faced some tough competition. He was fourth to Silver Dust in the local Mineshaft (G3) in February before running second to By My Standards in the New Orleans Classic (G2) here in March. Captivating Moon is 4-for-26 lifetime and would be a stretch danger should he start.

Completing the Tenacious field from the rail out: Cool Bobby (12-1 with James Graham), a potential pace-setter for trainer Cherie DeVaux; G M B Racing's Locally Owned (post 2 at 5-1 with Miguel Mena), who enters off an optional-claiming win November 11 for trainer Al Stall Jr.; Wayne T Davis' Mocito Rojo (post 4 at 8-1 with Jack Gilligan), who won the Lukas Classic (G3) at Churchill in 2019 for trainer Shane Wilson but is just 1-for-8 since; and Al Rashid Stables LLC's Dinar (post seven at 12-1 with Shaun Bridgmohan), a close fourth two-back in Churchill's Ack Ack (G3) for DeVaux.

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Gilligan: Lack Of Voided Claim Rule ‘Creates Mortal Moral Hazard’

The current claiming rules in Louisiana harken back to the Stone Age, horseman, author, and jockey Jack Gilligan's father Patrick Gilligan wrote in an op/ed for the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. Those rules state that the claimant becomes the owner of a horse as soon as that horse becomes a starter in the race, and that the claimant owns the horse “whether alive or dead, sound or unsound, or injured at anytime after leaving the starting gate, during the race or after.”

In states like California, Kentucky, and New York, voided claiming rules are written into racing regulations. These negate a claim if a horse suffers a catastrophic injury, and depending on the state, may also negate the claim for a horse that's lame or suffers EIPH during or after a race.

Gilligan cites a study of claiming horses by Professor Tim Parkin utilizing the Equine Injury Database, which reveals that when a voided claim rule goes on the books, the rate of catastrophic injury drops by as much as 25 percent (depending on the strictness of the rule).

Louisiana's claiming “rule creates mortal moral hazard,” Gilligan wrote. “It allows and implicitly accepts the possibility that trainers and their owners could engage in behavior of grossest negligence, and possibly profit from it.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary.

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