Tag: Horseplayers

This Saturday's Grade 3, $225,000 Regret Stakes drew a compact but talented field of six 3-year-old fillies. Half of the group exit the G2 Edgewood Stakes run four weeks ago on Kentucky Oaks Day. The best finisher that day was Mission of Joy, who was just a neck behind the runner-up when the finish line came up. Prior to that, Mission of Joy won the Grade 3 Florida Oaks.

Papilio (IRE) rallied from fourth to second on the turn in the Edgewood but the effort took a bit out of her late as she faded back to fourth at the wire. Girl Named Charlie won the Allen Black Cat LaCombe Memorial Stakes prior to a sixth in the Edgewood and might have finished higher if not for being blocked during a critical stage of the stretch run. Sabalenka was a well-beaten eighth in the race at 45 to 1 odds and that effort followed a non-threatening sixth place effort in the G2 Appalachian Stakes in April.

Mrs. Astor was trying stakes competition for the first time last month in the Horseshoe Indianapolis Handicap and wasn't disgraced when fourth in a blanket finish on the wire. Miss Riddler makes only the third start of her career, first in a stakes race and second following the return from nine months away from the races, but she is perfect in two races and could be the one that the other five will have to catch as she likes to lead from the start and gets the ground saving rail.

Win contenders:

Mission of Joy began her career in a sprint on the all-weather surface at Woodbine last summer, finishing fifth of 11 in what appeared to be nothing more than a race designed to give her experience. Nearly three months later in December, Mission of Joy tried turf and stretched out to two-turns, easily winning by four lengths. She won her next two races as well, also turf routes, including the Florida Oaks in March. In that race Mission of Joy put forth a visually impressive rally from seventh and wide on the far turn to win by a neck at the wire. She had already shown excellent improvement from race to race since first racing on the grass, earning Equibase® Speed Figures of 72 then 80 then 91. In her most recent race, the Edgewood Stakes four weeks ago over the same turf course at Churchill Downs as the Regret Stakes, Mission of Joy improved to a career-best 101 figure even though she finished third in the 11 horse field. In that race, Mission of Joy found herself behind a wall of horses after the field entered the stretch. Then, with no room to run, jockey Joel Rosario angled her out sharply for a clear path and she took off moving quickly from sixth to third and making up a couple of lengths when she ran out of time. Still, Mission of Joy was beaten just a neck for second, with the winner another three-quarters of a length in front. For the Regret, Mission of Joy gets a jockey change to Tyler Gaffalione. As it is easy to believe if this filly had found a clean path to run earlier in the stretch she would have won, she can win the Regret with good racing luck.

Girl Named Charlie is also on a pattern for improvement, having made her 3-year-old debut in January in her first turf route and winning nicely by two lengths to earn a 78 figure. She improved to a 93 figure in her second start of the year in March when winning the LaCombe Memorial Stakes, then again to a 99 figure in the Edgewood last month. Similar to the traffic trouble encountered by Mission of Joy in that race, Girl Named Charlie found herself on the inside and behind a wall of horses as the field turned for home, but she and jockey Morales never found a path to run while Mission of Joy did, with Girl Named Charlie hopelessly blocked until many of the horses in the race were already in full stride. As such, Girl Named Charlie only managed to finish sixth in the race, but it can be assumed she would have finished much better if not blocked during that critical stage of the stretch run and therefore could run as well in the Regret as she did one race before her last race.

The rest of the field, with their best representative Equibase® Speed Figures, is Miss Riddler (85), Mrs. Astor (88), Papilio (IRE) (101) and Sabalenka (97).

Win Contenders in preference order:

Mission of Joy
Girl Named Charlie

Regret Stakes – Grade 3
Race 5 at Churchill Downs
Saturday, June 3 – Post Time 2:45 PM E.T.
One Mile and One-Eighth on Turf
Fillies, Three Years Olds
Purse: $225,000

The post Equibase Analysis: Mission Of Joy Should Get Back To Winners’ Circle In Regret appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday, featuring stakes action from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs.

The Cross Country Pick 5 requires bettors to pick the winner of five select races from tracks across the country. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country with each week featuring a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5, boasting a low 15 percent takeout, offers sequences with races from Belmont Park and partner tracks across the country.

The sequence kicks off in Race 7 [4:06 p.m. Eastern] at Belmont Park where trainer Chad Brown sends out first time starter Redistricting in a field of sophomore maidens going 1 1/16 miles on the Widener turf course. The son of Kingman is out of the Montjeu mare Cascata – a full-sister to 2011 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf winner St. Nicholas Abbey. Treadway Racing Stable's homebred Fly Right will make his first start since November at Aqueduct, when finishing third to next-out stakes winner Ari Gold. Trained by Leah Gyarmati, the son of Astern is a full-brother to graded stakes winner Sail By.

Action shifts to Churchill Downs for the following leg in Race 8 [4:22 p.m.] where Stonestreet Stables' Grade 1-winning millionaire Pauline's Pearl headlines a field of seven older fillies and mares in the Grade 3 Shawnee. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the 5-year-old Tapit mare will try to recapture her winning form from January, when she won the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic. Steep opposition will be provided by four other graded stakes winners, including Godolphin's Frost Point who seeks her fourth straight conquest for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, last year's Grade 3 Comely winner Sixtythreecaliber, dual graded stakes winner Travel Column and Hidden Connection, who won the 2021 Grade 3 Pocahontas.

The middle leg will see Grade 1-winning millionaire Classic Causeway return to turf for the first time this year in the Grade 3 Arlington at Churchill Downs [Race 9, 4:55 p.m.]. Owned by Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper, the 4-year-old son of Giant's Causeway has not won since springing a 26-1 upset in last year's Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational for trainer Kenny McPeek. Juddmonte's Set Piece will attempt his fifth overall victory over Churchill's Matt Winn turf course, while also seeking his fourth career graded win for trainer Brad Cox.

Godolphin's Silver Knott returns to North America in the penultimate leg – the Grade 2, $200,000 Pennine Ridge [Race 9, 5:12 p.m.] for 3-year-olds traveling nine furlongs on the inner turf. Trained by Charlie Appleby, the son of Lope de Vega was a narrow second as the favorite in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in November at Keeneland and enters off a distant 11th in the Group 1 2000 Guineas. Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher will saddle graded stakes-placed Far Bridge as well as international stakes winner Sharar – a half-brother to 2017 Champion Turf Female Lady Eli.

The curtains close on the sequence in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Blame at Churchill Downs [Race 10, 5:26 p.m.], where Lucky Seven Stable's Rattle N Roll goes for his third straight graded stakes conquest for McPeek. The millionaire son of Connect captured the Grade 3 Pimlico Special on May 19 and the Grade 3 Ben Ali on April 22 at Keeneland in his last two efforts. WSS Racing's Barber Road is the only other last out winner in the field as he returns to graded stakes company for the first time since last year's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, where he finished seventh for trainer John Ortiz. The gray Race Day colt defeated first-level allowance company going 1 1/16 miles on April 15 at Keeneland.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, June 3:

Leg A: Belmont Park – Race 7, MSW (4:06 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Churchill Downs – Race 8, G3 Shawnee (4:22 p.m.)

Leg C: Churchill Downs – Race 9, G3 Arlington (4:55 p.m.)

Leg D: Belmont Park – Race 9, G2 Pennine Ridge (5:12 p.m.)

Leg E: Churchill Downs – Race 10, G3 Blame (5:26 p.m.)

The post NYRA: Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Features Stakes Action From Belmont, Churchill appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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With a mandatory payout in place in Santa Anita's 20 cent Rainbow Pick Six Jackpot, $3,560,020 in new money was wagered on Memorial Day Monday, creating a massive total Rainbow Six pool of $3,919,931.

Juan Hernandez booted home 13-1 longshot Kid Azteca in the 10th and final race, leading to 75 winning tickets with six winners, each worth $40,920.60.

On a festive Memorial Day that included three Grade 1 stakes in the Rainbow Six sequence that spanned races five through 10, the winning numbers and $2 pari-mutuel payouts were as follows:

R5 (Gamely Stakes), #7 Macadamia ($14.40); R6, #2 ($36.60); R7 (Shoemaker Mile), #6 ($8.20); R8 (Hollywood Gold Cup), #4 ($3.20); R9, #8 ($11.60) and R10, #4 ($29.20).

Live racing resumes with first post time for a nine-race card on Friday at 1 p.m. Admission gates open at 11 a.m.

The post Santa Anita: Mandatory Payout In Rainbow Pick Six Leads To 75 Winning Tickets Each Worth $40,920 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Historic Pimlico Race Course will serve up a special nine-race Memorial Day holiday program Monday featuring six-figure carryovers in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $1 Jackpot Super High Five wagers and a stakes-quality feature for 3-year-olds and up.

First race post time is 12:25 p.m. (ET).

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 11th straight racing day Sunday, pushing the carryover jackpot to $454,077.75 for Monday. A total of $66,893 was put into the popular multi-race wager Sunday, which began with a carryover of $432,683.12 from Saturday's program.

Multiple tickets with all six winners in Sunday's Rainbow 6 paid $1,395.30.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Maryland's state-record Rainbow 6 carryover reached $1,435,080.75 over 27 consecutive racing programs before a mandatory payout of $31,028.08 to multiple ticketholders July 4, 2021.

Monday's Rainbow 6 covers Races 4-9, opening with a starter optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up scheduled to sprint five furlongs on the grass. Nine were entered including a pair from trainer Robert Wolfe Jr. – Bourbon Currency, who rallied to be second despite a troubled trip in a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint May 5 at Laurel Park; and Papal Law, a nine-time winner from 49 career starts making his 10-year-old debut off a runner-up finish, beaten a half-length, in a similar spot last October, also at Laurel.

Moshe Mark's stakes winner Honor the Fleet is entered to make his 53rd start in Race 5, a 1 1/16-mile claimer for 3-year-olds and up. The 9-year-old gelding , winner of the 2020 Fire Plug at Laurel and third in Monmouth's Pegasus (G3) in 2017, was claimed out of a 5 ½-length victory April 15 at Laurel and returns to trainer Kieron Magee after running eighth last out May 4. Forloveofcountry, two-for-two lifetime at Pimlico, will be racing first off the claim for trainer Jose Corrales following a front-running 3 ¼-length triumph May 12.

Race 6 is a maiden special weight for horses ages 3, 4 and 5 scheduled for one mile on the grass. The 9-5 program favorite is West Point Thoroughbreds and Maccabee Farm's 3-year-old Collected colt Royal Velvet, a $110,000 yearling purchase trained by Christophe Clement that went winless in two New York starts last year and will race on Lasix for the first time from Post 7 in a field of nine. Among the challengers is Kevin Joy's Occasional Moon, a 3-year-old Malibu Moon gelding making his turf debut after running second in back-to-back starts, beaten a nose in a one-mile maiden claimer May 5 at Laurel.

Seven 3-year-olds and up were entered in Race 7, a six-furlong starter optional claimer sprinting six furlongs on the main track. Top contenders include Air Token, winner of the 2020 Concern and 2021 Maryland Million Sprint at Laurel that has placed in four other stakes, and multiple stakes-placed 7-year-old gelding Youngest of Five.

Trainer Nick Dilodovico will run both Galerio and Grade 2 winner Double Crown, each owned by Built Wright Stables, in Monday's featured Race 8, a stakes-quality third-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles.

Winner of Laurel's 2022 John B. Campbell, 7-year-old gelding Galerio has been third or better in 33 of 39 career starts with 10 wins, finishing second in each of his last three races, beaten less than a length in each of the last two. Favored at 2-1 on the morning line, he will break from Post 1 under jockey Angel Cruz.

Double Crown, 6, drew Post 2 under Horacio Karamanos and stretches back out to two turns off a sixth in a seven-furlong optional claimer May 4 at Churchill Downs. Second to Nimitz Class in the one-mile Harrison Johnson March 18 at Laurel, he sprung a 42-1 upset in the 2022 Kelso (G2), also at one mile, won the 2020 Roar and Carry Back and was third in the Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream Park, and second to Yaupon in the six-furlong Chick Lang (G3) at Pimlico.

“Galerio has been knocking at the door for a long time. He's a stakes winner. He's solid. He is a really nice horse,” Dilodovico, the son of Laurel-based trainer Damon Dilodovico, said. “Double Crown is a very nice horse. The race he ran at Churchill was a little disappointing. He won the Kelso and you kind of expect a lot from him. I wonder if the race kind of fell apart. He came to the barn in Maryland maybe a week and a half ago and he's been doing well. I'm really happy with him.

“They're two different kind of horses. Galerio is a little bit more intense, kind of high strung, and Double Crown is way more relaxed. I would love to cut him back, actually. I think he'd be really solid. He's a two or three time stakes winner going short. I'd love to get him back to three-quarters. He's definitely class,” he added. “We also have a good starter [Air Token] in [Monday]. It could be a good weekend. I hope that it pans out.”

Monday's Race 9 finale is a five-furlong claimer for 3-year-olds and up that have never won two races scheduled for the grass. Star Shopping is seeking his first turf win after two seconds and three thirds in nine previous tries, beaten 1 ¼ lengths when third May 11 in his Pimlico debut. Bourbon Ready, a 10 ¼-length maiden optional claimer to open the year Jan. 8 at Gulfstream Park, will be racing first time for trainer Arnaud Delacour after going 1-for-8 for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher.

Monday's $1 Jackpot Super High Five carryover stands at $444,608.21 after going unsolved for a sixth straight racing day Saturday. Multiple winning tickets were each worth $4,035.

A total of $46,817 was wagered into the Jackpot Super High Five on top of a $424,711.24 carryover from Saturday. The wager was last hit for a $10,383.50 payout May 14 at Pimlico.

Launched April 1, on opening day of Laurel Park's spring meet, the Jackpot Super High Five takes place in Race 6 every live race day. In the Jackpot Super High 5, the jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with each of the first five finishers in exact order. On days when there is no unique ticket, 50 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with all five finishers while 50 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

If there is no ticket with all five finishers in exact order, the entire pool will be carried over to the next day's Jackpot Super High Five.

The post Pimlico: Six-Figure Carryovers Holiday Monday In Rainbow 6, Jackpot Super High Five appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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