jaime rodriguez | Horse Racing Free Tips

Rodriguez, Ness Earn Laurel Winter Meet Titles, Spring Meet Begins Apr. 1

Heading into Friday's closing day winter meet card, Jaime Rodriguez and Jamie Ness appear poised to top the jockey and trainer divisions for Laurel Park's concluding Winter Meet.

Rodriguez, 32, holds an 11-win advantage over five-pound apprentice Jeiron Barbosa in the rider standings, 58-47, with eight races remaining. Rodriguez is named in four races Friday, while Barbosa is named in six. It will be the first riding title in Maryland for Rodriguez, who also leads with $1.9 million in purse earnings from 209 mounts. He led the Delaware Park standings in 2021 and 2022, averaging 124 wins.

Ness, 48, leads Brittany Russell in wins, 34-28, heading into closing day where Ness has horses entered in two races (Russell has three entered). With $1.219 million in purse earnings, Ness ranks second to Russell ($1.236 million). It will be the sixth Maryland training title for Ness and first since Pimlico Race Course's 2019 spring meet. Others have come at Pimlico in spring of 2012 and 2015 and Laurel Park fall 2011 and 2012.

Ness is coming off a 2022 season where his horses earned a career-best $10.3 million in purses to go along with 326 wins, the fourth time he has topped the 300 mark including a personal best 395 in 2012. He ranked third in North America in wins in 2022 and 2021 (311) and fifth in 2020 (224). Ness earned his 3,900th career win with Time to Cruise March 22 at Parx, where he has dominated the trainer standings since 2020.

Laurel will open its 21-day spring meet Apr. 1 and race Thursday-Sunday through May 7 with the exception of Easter Sunday Apr. 9. Spring post time will be 12:40 p.m. with a special 12:10 p.m. post time on Kentucky Derby Day, May 6.

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Shake Em Loose, With 59-1 Upset, Favored Buy The Best Take Pair Of Laurel Juvenile Stakes

JR Sanchez Racing Stable's Shake Em Loose, making his seventh career start and the first for new connections, paid immediate and thrilling dividends by collaring Last Romance approaching the wire and pulling away to a 59-1 upset in Sunday's $100,000 Heft at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 20^th running of the Heft for 2-year-olds and 14^th renewal of the Gin Talking for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting seven furlongs, were among six $100,000 stakes on a nine-race Christmastide Day program.

Ridden by Yomar Ortiz for trainer Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon, Shake Em Loose ($120.80) completed the distance in 1:25.69 over a fast main track to beat Last Romance by three-quarters of a length. It was 1 ¼ lengths back to 3-5 favorite Life Is Great in third, followed by Run to Daylight, Uncle Buddy, Dontcrossfuzzy and Amidships.

“I was feeling really good about him, that's why I ran him in there,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “I was going to run him for [$25,000] but I couldn't by the way he was training, and God helped us.”

Claimed for $16,000 out of a maiden victory Nov. 19 at Laurel and racing as a new gelding, Shake Em Loose found himself trailing the field but gaining momentum as Uncle Buddy led through a quarter-mile in 23 seconds and a half in 46.85 chased by Dontcrossfuzzy and Life Is Great down inside. Run to Daylight overtook Uncle Buddy on the turn and was passed by Last Romance as they straightened for home, as Shake Em Loose came rolling on the far outside. Shake Em Loose reeled in Last Romance and surged past for his second straight win.

“I thought he was going to be a little closer. He broke a little bad coming out of the gate but the jockey put him right in the race. Thank God he came to the wire first,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “I was hoping to improve 20 percent from what he did last time, and he did.”

Shake Em Loose, by Shakin It Up, had one win, one second and one third through six starts dating back to Aug. 7 at historic Pimlico Race Course. He notched a popular 3 ¾-length score in mid-November over Heartness, who came back to win a Parx maiden claimer by 10 ½ lengths Dec. 22.

“I was following this horse for a while,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “Thank God I got him.”

Buy the Best winning the Gin Talking Stakes

Buy the Best Extends Streak to Four in $100,000 Gin Talking
Hope Jones' Buy the Best collared pacesetter Beneath the Stars in mid-stretch and edged past to extend her win streak to four races with a popular two-length victory in the $100,000 Gin Talking.

Buy the Best ($2.20), a bay daughter of Tapiture ridden by Jaime Rodriguez and trained by Cathal Lynch, ran seven furlongs in 1:26.79 over a fast main track. Beneath the Stars, making her stakes debut off back-to-back wins, was 6 ½ lengths clear of Moody Woman in third.

Beneath the Stars broke sharply from the rail and set a comfortable pace of 23.11 seconds for a quarter mile while Buy the Best raced in second between Sommer Velvet to her inside and My Thoughts. Buy the Best had moved clearly into second after a half in 46.77, closed the gap on the turn and steadily gained ground on the leader through the stretch before taking over.

Buy the Best, a $70,000 yearling purchase last fall, ran second in debut May 23 at historic Pimlico Race Course then made her next three starts at Delaware Park, graduating in a Sept. 29 maiden special weight and beating winners Oct. 28. She entered the Gin Talking off a 3 ¼-length triumph in the six-furlong Smart Halo Nov. 13 at Laurel over Luna Belle, who came back to win the Maryland Juvenile Fillies Dec. 18.

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Buy The Best Takes Smart Halo Stakes At Laurel

Buy the Best was much the best in the Smart Halo Stakes at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. The 2-year-old daughter of Tapiture swooped around Sparkle Sprinkle and Buff My Boots on the far turn to take the six-furlong stakes by 3 1/4 lengths.

On a fast Laurel track, Sparkle Sprinkle was fastest out of the gate with Buff My Boots pressing early, a half-length behind in the opening furlongs. Around the far turn, Buff My Boots ranged up on the outside of Sparkle Sprinkle, taking the lead briefly as Buy the Best made a bold move on their outside. As the field of the seven reached the stretch, Buy the Best was a length clear of rivals, stretching her advantage out down the stretch. At the wire, she was four lengths in front, with Luna Belle second and Click to Confirm third.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.99. Find this race's chart here.

Buy the Best paid $6.00, $3.40, and $3.00. Luna Belle paid $4.60 and $3.40. Click to Confirm paid $6.00.

Bred in Kentucky by Susan Moulton, Buy the Best is out of the Indian Charlie mare Sister Dawn. Trained by Cathal Lynch, the filly was ridden in the Smart Halo by Jaime Rodriguez. Consigned by Eaton Sales, she was purchased by owner Hope Jones at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $70,000. With her win in the Smart Halo, Buy the Best has three wins in five lifetime starts and career earnings of $117,480.

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Jaime Rodriguez’ 10 Wins Earn Jockey Of The Week Title

While Jaime Rodriguez usually rides between Delaware Park and Parx, last week he added Pimlico and Penn National posting an impressive 10 wins from 26 mounts to be voted Jockey of the Week for July 19 through July 25. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

A native of Puerto Rico, Rodriguez attended the famous Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school and has been riding state-side since 2010. He rode primarily at Aqueduct and Belmont before moving his tack to Finger Lakes in 2012 where he dominated the standings while also riding at Mahoning Valley. In 2020, with Finger Lakes delaying their meet because of Covid-19 restrictions, Rodriguez decided to come to the Mid-Atlantic region. The move has paid dividends.

Last year, his first riding at Delaware Park, Rodriguez won 56 races for third in the standings, he rides first call at Delaware Park for leading trainer Jamie Ness.

“If I got a closer, if I got a runner, a turf horse, it really doesn't matter,” Ness said speaking to The Racing Biz. “He's not a one-dimensional rider. I just think he does everything right.”

Rodriguez rode the Ness-trained The King Cheek to a win in the Sir Barton Stakes this year at Pimlico on the Preakness undercard.

“That was an experience,” Rodriguez said. “To win with a horse on Preakness day, that was amazing.”

Rodriguez notched his 1,000th winner on February 21, 2018 at Mahoning Valley. He currently sits atop the standings at Delaware Park with 43 wins. Together with girlfriend, trainer Amber Cobb, he has two children.

“I want to try my talent in different environments,” said Rodriguez in an interview with The Racing Biz. “See how good I can go. I want to fly high and be proud, you know?”

Rodriguez's statistics for the week were 26-10-5-2 for a 65% in-the-money rate and $188,460 in purses.

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Victor Carrasco with two stakes wins, Jose L. Ortiz who also won 10 races including two stakes races, Flavien Prat with two stakes wins and Ricardo Santana, Jr. who won the Grade I Coaching Club American Oaks.

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