Tag: Horseplayers

The final program of Canterbury Park's 53-day season ended abruptly after the running of the third race when jockeys deemed both racing surfaces, dirt and turf, unsafe. Rain in the Shakopee, Minn., area over the preceding 24 hours soaked the main and turf tracks.

The riders originally refused to race on the main track and agreed that remaining races following the first two over the turf could be moved to the grass course. Race one and two were originally scheduled for the turf and were run over a yielding course. The third race, carded for the main track, was transferred. Following the running of the third the jockeys determined that course too was not safe and the remaining 10 races were cancelled.

Of those 10 races cancelled were the $50,000 Tom Metzen H.B.P.A. Sprint and the $50,000 Shakopee Juvenile.

Harry Hernandez, with 51 wins, was the leading thoroughbred rider for the second consecutive season. Joel Berndt won the thoroughbred training title with 52 wins. Bob Lothenbach's Lothenbach Stables, Inc. won 48 races and $1,223,352 in purse money. This was the fourth consecutive title for Lothenbach.

Tom Maher was leading quarter horse owner for the third consecutive season. Edwin Escobedo was leading quarter horse jockey, a title he has held since 2020. Jason Olmstead won his ninth consecutive quarter horse training title.

Doctor Oscar, owned by Pete Mattson and trained by Tim Padilla was voted Horse of the Meet. The 4-year-old Minnesota bred colt won three races from four starts including the 10,000 Lakes Stakes, the Crocrock Minnesota Sprint Championship and an open-company allowance.

Canterbury Park's 2023 Horse of the Year and divisional champions:

• Horse of the Year – Doctor Oscar (owner: Peter Mattson : trainer: Tim Padilla)
• Sprinter – Doctor Oscar  (owner: Peter Mattson : trainer: Tim Padilla)
• Older Horse – Doctor Oscar  (owner: Peter Mattson : trainer: Tim Padilla)
• Older Filly or Mare – Midnight Current (owner: Lothenbach Stables, LLC : trainer: Joel Berndt)
• Grass Horse –  Midnight Current (owner: Lothenbach Stables, LLC : trainer: Joel Berndt)
• Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding –  Jose Patio (owner: Barry and Joni Butzow : trainer: Mike Biehler)
• Three-Year-Old Filly – Cupids Crush (Xtreme Racing Stables, LLC : trainer: Mac Robertson)
• Two-Year-Old – Relentlessly Fast (owner: Tom Maher : trainer: Tyler Stein )
• Claimer – Lock It Down (owner: Esteban Martinez: trainer: Esteban Martinez)
• Quarter Horse – Relentlessly Fast (owner: Tom Maher : trainer: Tyler Stein )

Leading Thoroughbred Jockey: Harry Hernandez   51 wins

Leading Thoroughbred Trainer: Joel Berndt  52 wins

Leading Thoroughbred Owner: Lothenbach Stables, Inc.  48 wins

Leading Quarter Horse Jockey: Edwin Escobedo    12 wins

Leading Quarter Horse Trainer: Jason Olmstead    15 wins

Leading Quarter Horse Owner:  Tom Maher    10 wins

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Saturday's card at Belmont at the Big A will be bolstered by a Pick 6 carryover of $33,630 after the multi-race wager went unsolved on Friday's nine-race card.

The $1 Pick 6 returned $2,242 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly.

The sequence kicked off in Race 4 – a 1 1/16-mile allowance optional claimer for 3-years-old and upward – when the Kendrick Carmouche-piloted Ocala Dream [No. 9, $27.40] rallied to a 1 3/4-length score for trainer Mike Maker.

Trainer Horacio De Paz saddled Barry Schwartz's New York homebred Awesome Czech [No. 3, $9.60] to victory in a state-bred maiden event for juvenile fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf [Race 5]. The Mendelssohn filly was piloted by Manny Franco.

Franco returned to the winner's circle in Race 6 – a 6 1/2-furlong main track maiden special weight for fillies and mares 3-years-old and upward – aboard Klaravich Stables' Thought Experiment [No. 8, $14.80] for trainer Chad Brown.

Multiple Grade 1-placed New York-bred Ny Traffic [No. 6, $19.20] returned triumphant from a 13-month hiatus with Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. in Race 7 – a 6 1/2-furlong allowance optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up over the main track.

Race 8 – the featured $135,000 Winter Memories for sophomore fillies going one mile over the inner turf – saw Sacred Wish [No. 3, $11.80] win her turf debut two starts after a close second in the Grade 1 CCA Oaks in July at Saratoga Race Course. George Weaver trains the Not This Time filly, who was ridden to victory by Hall of Famer John Velazquez.

With only three horses covered in Race 9 – a six-furlong maiden special weight for New York-bred juvenile fillies – the Phil Serpe-trained and Hilly Fields Stable homebred Being Betty [No. 1, $6.60*] won at second asking with Jose Lezcano aboard.

Saturday's Pick 6 will kick off in Race 5 at 3:10 p.m. Eastern and includes the Grade 3, $350,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational in Race 9. First post for the 10-race card is 1:05 p.m.

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of every day of Belmont at the Big A on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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The 2023 live horse racing season at Canterbury Park ends this Saturday with a 13-race program beginning at 4:00 p.m. CT. The 53rd day of racing marks the conclusion of the 29th consecutive season since the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack reopened for live horse racing as Canterbury Park in 1995. The racetrack previously operated as Canterbury Downs from 1985 through 1992.

Average field size for the 13 races that include five turf races and eight on the main track is 10.23, a significant increase compared to the season per race average of 6.52 horses per race. The five turf races, races 1,2,4,6 and 7, allow for a special All-Turf Pick 5 wager with a 50-cent base and an industry low 10 percent takeout. There will be three additional Pick 5s with that takeout rate on consecutive races beginning in races 3, 6 and 9. The card also begins with a Pick 4 carryover of $32,160. That Pick 4 will offer a 10 percent takeout, also an industry low.

A pair of $50,000 stakes will be run as the eighth and ninth races, the Tom Metzen H.B.P.A Sprint and the Shakopee Juvenile, both at six furlongs on the main track. Doctor Oscar, winner of the Crocrock Sprint on Sept. 9, will be favored in the Metzen. The Minnesota bred 4-year-old owned by Pete Mattson has won nine of 19 career starts and has recorded Beyer Speed Figures, one accepted measure of a horse's ability, much higher than the six others he will face Saturday. Doctor Oscar, ridden by Alonso Quinonez, is trained by Tim Padilla who also will saddle Thealligatorhunter, a 5-year-old multiple stakes winner he co-owns with Mattson.

Trainer Mac Robertson has two in the Metzen Sprint, both with early speed, that could offer a challenge to Doctor Oscar. Plane Talk has primarily sprinted on the turf while Sir Wellington has been campaigned this summer on the east coast. Harry Hernandez will ride Sir Wellington. Hernandez is leading the meet in thoroughbred wins with 50, six more than Eduardo Gallardo who rides Plane Talk. Both jockeys have mounts in all 13 races.

Robertson won the Shakopee Juvenile in consecutive renditions from 2017 to 2021. Last year's winner Two Phil's, trained by Larry Rivelli, went on to finish second in the Kentucky Derby. This year Robertson has a pair of 2-year-olds in the Shakopee Juvenile. Both won their only starts with Gallardo in the irons. The colt Bourbon Aficionado will be ridden by Hernandez while Gallardo remains aboard the filly Xtreme Smoke Show, the 2 to 1 morning line favorite.

Mattson and Padilla will have a presence in the Shakopee Juvenile as well with General Battle Axe, owned by Mattson and Outofthedark, co-owned by the duo. Both 2-year-olds ran last Saturday in the $100,000 Northern Lights Futurity finishing second and fifth respectively.

Joel Berndt will be the leading thoroughbred trainer for the season. He has 52 wins and a 23-win lead over Robertson. Berndt has nine entered on Saturday, six for the meet's leading owner Bob Lothenbach who has 48 wins and purse earnings of $1,223,352. Berndt won the training title in 2020 and tied with Robertson for most wins last season. Lothenbach has been leading owner each season since 2020 and also won the title in 2002.

Canterbury Park remains open year-round with simulcast race wagering daily and a 24/7 casino offering table games and poker. A robust entertainment schedule is planned for the coming months with several vendor shows, snocross racing and extreme horse skijoring. More information is available canterburypark.com.

The post Canterbury: All-Turf Pick 5, 10 Percent Takeout Highlight Saturday’s Final Program appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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More than AU$87 million in purses will be distributed across a multitude of stakes races during the Sydney Everest Carnival beginning this Friday night and including the seventh running of The Everest on Oct. 13 (US date/time). The immediate, stunning success of The Everest had already established the six-furlong, “slot-holder” event as the world's richest race on turf, but this year's renewal sees a whopping 33% purse increase to an eye-watering AU$20 million.

Friday night's card contains a key prep for The Everest, named The Shorts, which is the eighth of 10 races, broadcast live by FanDuel TV and Sky Racing World. First post at Royal Randwick is 9:50 p.m. Eastern/6:50 p.m. Pacific.

The Shorts (G2) is an old race, dating back to 1867, but became instantly linked to The Everest when inaugural winner Redzel used it as his final prep in 2017. Classique Legend also did The Shorts-Everest double in 2020, and numerous placegetters have featured in both races.

This year, The Shorts seems even more critical because seven of the 12 available “slots” for The Everest remain up for grabs. Thus, The Shorts (5 1/2 furlongs) has the strong feeling of an audition. #1 Private Eye (8-1) and #2 Mazu (12-1) finished second and third, respectively, in The Everest last year; Mazu has already secured a slot for next month's race. #3 Lost And Running (10-1) was fourth in The Everest of 2021 and third in The Shorts last year. #4 Overpass (9-2) was second in The Shorts and sixth in The Everest last year. #5 In Secret (2-1) is a brilliant sprinting mare, widely expected to be selected by owner Godolphin to fill their slot. #6 Buenos Noches (6-1) is a lightly raced, exciting prospect. #7 Remarque (6-1) was finally gelded and is starting to showcase his latent talent. #8 Ruthless Dame (16-1) split Sunshine In Paris, who is already confirmed for The Everest, and In Secret in a G1 race last February. #9 Hawaii Five Oh (10-1) is a large, late-developing, lightly raced 4-year-old. #10 Rocketing By (100-1), #11 Athelric (50-1) and #12 Casino Lord (200-1) are outclassed.

The Everest is just one of many innovations by the executives in charge of Sydney racing. The Shorts shares top billing on Friday night's card with a new million-dollar race named the 7 Stakes. Sponsored by a national television network, the “7” (appropriately, Race 7) has drawn a terrific mix of top milers headed towards the Epsom Handicap on Sept. 29. (The number of individual Group 1 winners in the field is, yes, 7!)

Godolphin's newly turned 4-year-old #8 Pericles (8-1) is 2-for-2 this campaign and currently equal favorite in future book wagering for the G1 Epsom. #1 Think It Over (4-1) and #2 Zaaki (5-2) are older, well-established stars; and Chris Waller trains a trio of 5-year-old mares. #9 Fangirl (2-1) spent last season in the shadow of now-retired Horse of the Year, Anamoe. She embraced the limelight when winning the first Group 1 race of the new Australian season, the Winx Stakes, four weeks ago. (That victory offered a pleasing symmetry: it was the 150th Group 1 for Waller, who hit the 100-mark with Winx's farewell race in 2019.)

Sydney's champion trainer will also saddle #11 Hinged (9-1) and #10 Going Global (20-1). The latter makes her third Australian start, having been purchased at a Kentucky auction last November for US$2.5 million. Going Global counts the G1 Del Mar Oaks of 2021 among numerous California stakes wins, when trained by Phil D'Amato.

The Randwick card will be broadcast live on FanDuel TV this Friday night (first post: 9:50 p.m. ET/6:50 p.m. PT) alongside cards from Eagle Farm, Newcastle and Belmont. All races will be live-streamed in HD on the new Sky Racing World App, skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRABets, WatchandWager, HPIbet, FanDuel and AmWager. Wagering is also available via these ADW platforms. Fans can get free access to live-streaming, past performances, and expert picks on all races at skyracingworld.com.

About Michael Wrona: A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Michael's vast U.S. experience includes race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders' Cup on the International simulcast network. Michael also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

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