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Wicked Strong Relocated To Pin Oak Lane Farm In Pennsylvania

Grade 1 winner Wicked Strong will move to Pin Oak Lane Farm in New Freedom, Pa., for the 2021 breeding season, where he will stand for an advertised fee of $3,500, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred reports.

The 9-year-old son of Hard Spun previously stood at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky, where he entered stud in 2016.

From two crops of racing age, Wicked Strong has been represented by 64 winners, led by Puerto Rican Group 2 winner Wicked Runner, stakes winner Evil Lyn, and stakes-placed runners including Wicked Warrior, Secretly Wicked, Myawaya, Wicked Slider, and Brooklyn Strong.

Wicked Strong won three of 19 starts during his on-track career for earnings of $1,994,460. He broke his maiden at two, then became one of his division's top 3-year-olds with victories in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes and G2 Jim Dandy Stakes, and a runner-up effort in the G1 Travers Stakes. At four, he earned in-the-money finishes in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes and Woodward Stakes.

Wicked Strong is out of the winning Charismatic mare Moyne Abbey. His extended family includes Grade 1 winner Student Council, Grade 2 winner Classic Kris, and Grade 3 winners Gulch Approval, Rusty Slipper, Classic Value, and Gradepoint.

After Raising Purses, NYRA Hoping For Strong Winter Run at Aqueduct

It’s racing during the frigid winter months at a blue-collar racetrack, so Aqueduct may not always be the easiest sell. But New York Racing Association (NYRA) officials are expecting a strong five-month run once the track opens Nov. 6, counting on robust purses to convince owners and trainers to choose the Big A over options like Gulfstream and Oaklawn.

Typically, purses decrease once the fall meet at Belmont is over. Racing at Aqueduct handles less than it does at Belmont and there is a drop off in the quality. But this year, that won’t happen. Thanks to robust handle of late and the reopening of the casino at Aqueduct, NYRA was put in a position to raise purses. The higher purses went into effect Oct. 18 at Belmont, but will carry over to Aqueduct. NYRA Senior Vice President, Racing Operations Martin Panza said NYRA will dedicate about $2.5 million more to purses at Aqueduct than was the case a year earlier.

“If owners are struggling or looking to justify why they are in the game, I hope they realize that the purses are going to be pretty significant in New York this year,” Panza said. “Before we raised the purses, our claiming purses were pretty much higher than anyone else’s in the country. Now, we are going to spend an extra $2.3 to $2.5 million from Dec. 7 through the end of March. That is a lot of money and a lot of money for owners.”

While Aqueduct has always had good purses, the competition for horses in the winter has never been more fierce. With purses exploding thanks to the success of its casino, Oaklawn’s racing gets better every year. The success of Historical Horse Racing machines has helped Turfway Park improve its product. Gulfstream may not be able to compete with New York when it comes to purses, but its warm weather and abundant sunshine are powerful draws.

“With what has taken place in Arkansas and in Kentucky over the last year, year and a half, we’re going to pivot on a lot of our purses,” Panza said. “We want to be more competitive on the overnight purses or at least as competitive as those other facilities.”

Rather than raise purses across the board, Panza and his team have picked out certain categories to accentuate. The purse for a maiden special weight race has gone from $64,000 to $80,000, the pot for a $25,000 claiming race has been raised to $50,000 and a $40,000 maiden claimer will go for $43,000.

“How do you get owners to say ‘I’ve got 12 horses and instead of having all 12 at track XYZ, because of the purse levels, I’m going to send four or five to a trainer who will be running in New York in the winter?” Panza said. “That’s what we are hoping to accomplish with this.”

Field size at Aqueduct can be a problem and while that is not good for handle, Panza said it’s another reason why horsemen might want to chose New York.

“With our dirt racing, we average small fields and there is an opportunity for people to come in and take advantage of that, especially at these purse levels,” he said.

NYRA is so intent on keeping horses in New York and attracting new ones for the winter that it is about to embark on a marketing campaign to get the message out about the purses. It’s something, Panza says, that should have been done before.

“In the past, we have probably done a poor job of explaining the value of being here in the winter,” he said.

Panza is hopeful there will be a domino effect, that higher purses will lead to bigger fields which will result in a bigger handle.

“What we are doing will be an experiment to see if higher purses drive larger field size and if larger field size drives more handle,” he said. “Trainers here have asked us to take a look at this and we’re going to try it and see if it makes a difference.”

In March, there were justifiable fears that the purse levels at the NYRA tracks would eventually take a big hit. Revenues from VLT machines, which account for about 38% of the total amount of purse money, were cut off when the Aqueduct casino shut down Mar. 16 due to the coronavirus. Three days later, racing was halted in New York.

Once Belmont resumed racing in June, the handle numbers have been impressive. They were up during the spring meet at Belmont and were, essentially, even during Saratoga, even though there was almost no on-track wagering. During the first 17 days of the Belmont fall meet, handle has averaged over $10 million a day, a 27% increase over 2019 numbers.

Panza believes that the handle has been impacted by the extensive coverage NYRA now receives from the FOX Sports networks.

“A lot of what is happening here has to do with our TV strategy,” he said. “People are staying at home, working from home. Getting on FOX and having our signal out there allows us to reach a lot of people. We’re not on TVG, like we used to be, for five minutes every hour. We are on FOX and talking about our races for four, five, six hours a day and that has paid tremendous dividends. It’s no longer a case where they go to Belmont for a race when they are loading in the gate and then the race is over and they go to another track before you even know what the running order was. Because of FOX, we are able to give a much better presentation of our product.”

Panza said that if the handle numbers continue to go up, there may be another purse increase come the spring. For now, though, he is focused on Aqueduct.

“There is going to be a great opportunity for people to race for a lot of money here this winter,” he said. “The message we want to get out is that we have made a serious commitment to winter racing.”

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Empire Classic, Empire Distaff Highlight Saturday’s Empire Showcase Day At Belmont Park

A total of 109 New York-breds are entered for a special 11-race card on Saturday at Belmont Park to celebrate the best of New York for the annual Empire Showcase Day, featuring eight stakes races worth $1.2 million, topped by the $175,000 Empire Classic and $175,000 Empire Distaff.

Veteran New York-based owner-trainer H. James Bond will saddle a pair of contenders on the lucrative card, including Evaluator in the featured 45th running of the Empire Classic, and Rinaldi in the $150,000 Mohawk.

“The New York breds are showing up all over the country and doing very, very well. A day like this, to show the rest of the world how good they are, is important,” said Bond. “It's usually full fields and it's nice to show all our hard work and give the owners and breeders their due acknowledgement for all the good things they do for us.”

R and H Stable's Evaluator will square off against multiple stakes winners Mr. Buff, Funny Guy and Sea Foam in a loaded renewal of the nine-furlong Empire Classic in Race 10.

Bred in the Empire State by EKQ Stables, the 5-year-old Overanalyze gelding captured the 2017 Sleepy Hollow in his first Empire Showcase Day appearance when conditioned by Michael Dilger. After finishing off-the-board in the 2018 Empire Classic, Evaluator was transferred to Bond's care and picked up his first win in four starts last out with a 13-length score over Empire Classic-rival Our Last Buck in a nine-furlong optional-claiming tilt over a sloppy Saratoga strip.

“He's a nice little horse. He's had a few setbacks over the last year but he's pulled through and he's doing very well training-wise,” said Bond. “There will be a few tough horses in there to run against, of course, but it's a good spot to run a mile and an eighth with him.”

Chester and Mary Broman's Mr. Buff will look to defend his title for trainer John Kimmel. A 14-time winner from 39 career starts with more than $1.1 million in the bank, Mr. Buff enjoyed a profitable winter at Aqueduct winning the Alex M. Robb against state-breds in December and the open Jazil in January before romping to a 20-length score over state-breds in the Haynesfield at one mile on the Big A main.

Following a runner-up effort to Empire Classic-rival Funny Guy in the Commentator in June at Belmont, Mr. Buff has finished off-the-board in a pair of graded events.

Gatsas Stables, R.A. Hill Stable and Swick Stable's Funny Guy was a last-out second to Complexity in the Grade 2 Vosburgh on September 26 at Belmont Park after finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Forego presented by America's Best Racing on August 29 over a sloppy main track at Saratoga.

The John Terranova trainee, a son of Big Brown bred by Hibiscus Stables, will now stretch out to nine furlongs, a distance at which the four-time New York-bred stakes winner bested Empire Classic-rival Bankit in the 2019 Albany at Saratoga.

Watervillle Lake Stable homebred Sea Foam captured the 2017 Notebook at Aqueduct, the 2018 New York Derby at Finger Lakes and the 2018 Albany at Saratoga for trainer Christophe Clement. The seven-time winning son of Medaglia d'Oro, who was seventh in last year's Empire Classic, enters on a two-race win streak.

West Point Thoroughbreds, Chester and Mary Broman, Woodford Racing, Siena Farm and Robert Masiello's Chestertown, a $2 million purchase at the March 2019 OBS Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, matched a career-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure last out in a three-quarter length score in the Albany on September 4 at the Spa under Jose Ortiz for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

The Tapit grey graduated at second asking in December and wintered at Fair Grounds in Louisiana, where he was off-the-board in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. He entered the Albany from a distant sixth in the Grade 3 Peter Pan at Saratoga.

“He's been doing well. Everyone was very excited about him at the beginning of the year and Steve has managed him very well,” said Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds. “He's a bit of a challenge and he's not a straightforward horse. That's one reason why we gave him to Steve. He has a proven track record with Tapits and they can be a challenge to train. Jose will ride him back following the win in the Albany.”

Additional Empire Classic contenders include Winston's Chance [David Donk], Our Last Buck [Michelle Nevin], and Bankit [Asmussen].

Veteran New York-based trainer Jeremiah Englehart will saddle four Empire Showcase Day stakes hopefuls, including Captain Bombastic [Hudson] and Party At Page's [Maid of the Mist], along with Makingcents and Critical Value in the co-featured Empire Distaff for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 1/16 miles over Big Sandy in Race 6.

Englehart said Empire Showcase Day is circled on his calendar as a key day each year.

“It gives us a chance to show off some of our better New York-breds. We focus on buying New York-breds year in and year out, so it's always nice when you have horses that can make these races,” said Englehart. “We've been fortunate the last few years to have won some of these races. Hopefully, these horses will represent our team well on Showcase Day.”

The stakes-winning Makingcents, a Goldencents sophomore, ran twice at the just-concluded Saratoga summer meet, including a last out win in the Fleet Indian going a two-turn nine furlongs on September 4.

“I think it will be a little easier for her at Belmont than at Saratoga,” Englehart said regarding Saturday's one-turn test. “I don't know if she likes to go that far but she likes to run and she tries. I just hope she shows up and runs her race. It seems like her best race was at Belmont even though that was a very nice race she won at Saratoga.”

Ten Strike Racing's Critical Value captured the Bouwerie in June at Belmont when sprinting in her seasonal debut ahead of an off-the-board effort in the two-turn Fleet Indian in September at Saratoga.

Last out, the Bodemeister sophomore was a game third against older fillies and mares in a one-turn mile open allowance on September 27 at Belmont.

“I thought that was probably one of her better races even though she ended up being third,” said Englehart. “The circumstances of the race and who was in there, I thought she ran a really big race. Hopefully it doesn't take too much out of her coming into this race.”

Two-time stakes winner Ratajkowski will look to repeat in the Empire Distaff. Owned by Gary Broad and trained by Graham Motion, the 6-year-old Drosselmeyer mare won the Critical Eye going one mile on June 18 at Belmont in her last appearance on the track and won last year's Empire Distaff when it was contested at one mile.

Other contenders include last-out allowance winner Singular Sensation, trained by Mark Hennig; Forever Changed [Charlton Baker]; Mrs. Orb [Michael Miceli]; and Lucky Move [Juan Carlos Guerrero].

The $150,000 Maid of the Mist kicks off the stakes action in Race 2 featuring a field of seven 2-year-old fillies going one mile over the main track.

Englehart, who saddled Critical Value to victory in last year's edition, will be represented by Gold Star Racing Stable and Emcee Stable's Party At Page's.

The Gemologist bay, bred by T/C Stable, graduated at second asking in an off-the-turf sprint at Saratoga and followed with a head score in the Lady Finger on October 5 traveling six furlongs at Finger Lakes that garnered a field-best 67 Beyer.

“She's doing well. It's a little quick back for her but we thought she wouldn't have any issue with stretching out, so we're going to give her a shot and go from there,” said Englehart. “I think a lot will depend on how the race shapes up. I think she's pretty versatile and we can ask her to do different things.”

Other contenders include impressive maiden winner Frost Me [Kimmel]; two for Hennig, including last-out Miss Grillo fourth Mashnee Girl and maiden winner Infringement; a pair for conditioner Mitchell Friedman in Chasing Cara and Cara's Dreamer; and Laobanonaprayer for owner-trainer Danny Velazquez.

The Terranova-trained Breadman was an impressive debut winner on September 26 at Belmont, and the $340,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale will step up to stakes company in the $150,000 Sleepy Hollow for juveniles going one mile on the main track in Race 3.

Breadman, the son of Constitution, will face stakes-winner Hold the Salsa, the Richard Lugovich-trained victor of the Bertram F. Bongard on October 2 going seven furlongs at Belmont. The Hold Me Back colt won his debut at Belmont on July 12 before running ninth in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on August 7.

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez entered Eagle Orb and Let's Workout, while Brooklyn Strong, third in the Bertram F. Bongard, will make his second consecutive stakes appearance for Velazquez. Boss Bear [Mike Maker] and Masked Marauder [Rob Atras] will also vie for supremacy.

Myhartblongstodady will put her three-race winning streak dating to November 2019 on the line in the $150,000 Ticonderoga for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 1/16 miles on the turf in Race 4.

Trained by Jorge Abreu, the 5-year-old Scat Daddy mare won the Yaddo last out going the Ticonderoga distance on the Saratoga turf on September 4.

Clement will send out the Yaddo runner-up Wegetsdamunnys, who was second over grass labeled “good” that day also ran third in the Dayatthespa on July 29 over firm going.

“She's been very consistent at the level,” Clement said. “She still hasn't won a stakes yet, but she's always been in the frame.”

War Canoe, trained by Brown and second in the Dayatthespa, will seek her first win in four starts of her 7-year-old campaign. Niko's Dream [Barclay Tagg]; Short Pour [Hennig] and Pecatonica [Tom Bush] completes the field.

Team Hanley's multiple stakes winner Captain Bombastic will represent Englehart in the 43rd running of the $125,000 Hudson going 6 ½ furlongs for 3-year-olds and up in Race 7.

The sophomore Forty Tales chestnut, bred in New York by Chester and Mary Broman, will look to add to a stakes ledger that includes wins this year in the Mike Lee at Belmont and the NYSSS Times Square at Saratoga along with a second-out score in the Sleepy Hollow last year Belmont. He finished sixth last out in the Grade 3 Chick Lang at Pimlico.

He posted a sharp half-mile breeze in 49.41 seconds on Big Sandy on October 16.

“The breeze was good. His exercise rider said he finished up very strong against the bridle,” said Englehart. “He's a horse that always shows up. You're confident in him when you bring him over there because he always shows up.”

A loaded Hudson field includes Arthur's Hope [Marco Salazar], Big Engine [Linda Rice], Foolish Ghost [Ray Handal], Dugout [Larry Rivelli], My Boy Tate [Michelle Nevin], T Loves a Fight [Orlando Noda], Morning Breez [Robert Klesaris] and Tribecca [Chris Englehart].

Maker will send out a pair of formidable contenders in graded-stakes winners Somelikeithotbrown and Cross Border in the $150,000 Mohawk for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf course in Race 8.

Somelikeithotbrown has registered triple-digit Beyer in three of his last four starts, including a career-high 105 when second over a yielding Pimlico turf course in the Grade 2 Dinner Party on Preakness Day October 3. His last New York appearance was a victory in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch on July 26 over firm Saratoga turf, while stablemate Cross Border also enjoyed success at the Spa, crossing the wire second in the Grade 2 Bowling Green on August 1 before being elevated to first after Sadler's Joy was disqualified for interference.

Cross Border then ran second to Channel Maker in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on August 29 going a marathon 1 1/2 miles.

Rinaldi, owned and trained by Bond, enters off two wins, including a 2 1/2-length score in the West Point on September 4 at Saratoga, and will look to make the jump against a more accomplished field on Saturday.

“The waters are going to get deeper and deeper every time, but we'll just keep marching forward and keep our fingers crossed that he keeps getting better,” Bond said.

Seven-times stakes-winner Therapist, third in the West Point, last ran at Belmont with a victory in the First Defence on June 7. Clement said the son of Freud hasn't changed his demeanor much since he started his career 3-for-3 as a juvenile in 2017.

“He's a fun horse and always has been,” Clement said. “I'm not that aggressive with him. He's very consistent and he's been just a pleasure to be around.”

Rounding out the field is Dot Matrix, second in the West Point last out for trainer Brad Cox; Opt [Robert Ribaudo]; Sanctuary City [James Ferraro]. Yankee Division [Rudy Rodriguez] is entered for the main track only.

The $125,000 Iroquois at 6 ½-furlongs for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, set for Race 9, has been won by owners Chester and Mary Broman the last two years with Highway Star in 2018 and Pauseforthecause in 2019.

The popular owner-breeders will be represented by homebred Spin a Yarn, a five-time winner from six starts for trainer Christopher Progno. A sophomore daughter of Forty Tales out of the Elusive Quality mare Satin Sheeks, Spin a Yarn was a game second to Iroquois-rival Officer Hutchy in the NYSSS Park Avenue when making her stakes debut on September 3 at the Spa. Last out, she toppled a state-bred allowance field at Finger Lakes by 11 lengths.

Iroquois contenders include Newly Minted [Rice], Prairie Fire [Rice], Espresso Shot [Abreu], Timely Tradition [Handal], Fair Regis [Rob Atras], Officer Hutchy [Atras], Collegeville Girl [Richard Vega], Bertranda [Orlando Noda] and My Roxy Girl [Charlton Baker].

America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the Belmont fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Delaware Park Shows Increases In Average Handle, Starters During 2020 Meet

Despite a reduction in live race dates and significant safety protocols for live on-track patrons, horsemen and employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 live race meet at Delaware Park concluded on positive notes on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The 83rd season of live racing was originally scheduled to have 85-days beginning on May 27 and ending on Oct. 31, but because of the pandemic the meet was reduced by 20-days with opening day on June 17.

The 65-day season had increases in average handle per race and average starters per race. In 2020, the average handle per race was $167,192 with average starters per race of 7.52 and in 2019, the average handle per race was $157,640 with average starters per race of 6.56. There were 556 races compared to 661 in 2019. Total handle was $92,958,696 compared to the $104,200,290 from last year's 81-day meet.

“Without a doubt, this was one of the most challenging meets I can remember, but in many ways, it was also one of the most rewarding,” said Kevin DeLucia, Senior Vice President of Racing/Finance, who has been at Delaware Park for 24 years. “We were one of the first tracks and sporting venues to allow fans and we did so from the beginning of the meet until the end without incident. While we successfully negotiated all of the safety protocols and restrictions, we experienced increases in average handle and starters per race. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the cooperation and support of the fans, employees, Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen Association and the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission.”

For the sixth time in seven years, Carol Cedeno was the leading jockey with 84 victories. The native of Puerto Rico, who lives in Delaware, has been the leading rider at Delaware Park every year since 2014, with the exception of 2017. She equaled the record for most titles by a jockey set by Michael McCarthy, who won six from 1996 through 2000 and 2002. Cedeno, concluded the meet 11 wins away from her 1,000th career victory (through October 21). Nearly 500 of those wins have been at Delaware Park.

“It really is overwhelming,” said jockey Carol Cedeno, who set the record for most wins in a day at Delaware Park in 2018 when she rode seven on a single card. “I am honored to be included in the group of the all-time great jockeys in Delaware Park history. There are some big names on that list and for my name to be among them at my hometown track is very humbling. We all work very hard at what we do and I am lucky that my hard work and sacrifices have resulted in these achievements.”

Jamie Ness recorded his sixth consecutive leading trainer championship by saddling 52 winners. The native of Heron, South Dakota, is one title shy of equaling the record for most consecutive trainer titles set by Delaware Park legends Grover 'Buddy' Delp from 1963 through 1969 and Scott Lake from 2002 through 2008. This is the eighth overall title for Ness. He has also been leading trainer in 2012 and 2013 and from 2015 through 2019. The record for most titles by a trainer is eleven also set by Grover “Buddy” Delp.

Jagger Inc. won the leading owner title by recording 25 wins.

The brilliant filly Dunbar Road won the Delaware Handicap with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard on July 11th. Owned by Peter M. Brant, the daughter of Quality Road posted a 3-length victory in the filly and mare summer classic. The Kentucky-bred is conditioned by Chad Brown. Otter Bend Stables' Gufo won the Kent Stakes with Trevor McCarthy aboard on July 4. The son of Declaration of War trained by Christophe Clement notched a half-length win and followed with a second in the Saratoga Derby on Aug. 15 and a victory in the Belmont Derby on Oct. 3.

“The racing at the meet was exciting and competitive from the beginning to the end,” said John Mooney, the Executive Director of Racing. “I could not be happier. Between our big race days and the race for leading jockey, trainer and owner, every live race day had something special. We are very much looking forward to seeing how horses like Dunbar Road and Gufo do in the race for national divisional championships. We could not be happier for Carol Cedeno and Jamie Ness as they are continuing the rich tradition of top and first class jockeys and trainers at Delaware Park.”

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