Jamie Ness | Horse Racing Free Tips

Somekindofmagician Best in Find Stakes At Pimlico

Bell Gable Stable's Somekindofmagician ran his win streak to three while earning the first career stakes win for himself and his owners with a last-to-first, 1 ¾-length victory in the $75,000 Find at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Rating well back of pacesetter Trifor Gold, who was in front through splits of :25.02, :50.72, and 1:15.40 before being reeled in by a group led by Nick Papagiorgio, Somekindofmagician trailed each of his six rivals midway around the turn. Jockey Angel Cruz moved the 7-year-old gelding off the fence approaching the stretch and set down for a stretch drive.

Nick Papagiorgio held on for second, a neck ahead of Alwaysmining, who rallied up the rail for third. Trifor Gold stayed up for fourth with 3-2 favorite Cannon's Roar checking in fifth followed by Benny Havens and Closer Look. The winning time was 1:48.13 over a turf course rated yielding.

Somekindofmagician entered the Find off successive $20,000 optional claiming wins at Delaware Park July 21 and Aug. 7, the latter at 1 1/16 miles. They were his first wins since a similar spot last summer at Parx for previous trainer Jamie Ness; he joined trainer Gary Ness this spring.

“He's showing us signs that he's doing very well. Honestly, his last two wins for like $20,000 claiming, but he's gotten so much better. I think he needed that,” Contessa said. “He went a long dry spell without winning a race, and each win I've watched him just improve drastically.”

Somekindofmagician had previously placed twice in stakes, running second in the 2017 and 2019 Maryland Million Turf at Laurel Park. He was also sixth in the race in 2018.

“We thought, 'Hey, let's take a shot at this stake.' It's a Maryland-bred, Maryland-sired race, which he fits,” Contessa said. “We just thought he was coming in on top of his game and we'd find out if the top of his game was good enough. Sure enough, he delivered.”

The Find is named for the Sagamore Farm homebred that raced through age 11, starting 110 times with 22 wins, 27 seconds, and 27 thirds and purse earnings of $803,615. He won or placed in 51 stakes, retired in 1961 as Maryland's all-time leading money winner and the second-richest gelding in history.

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Well Known In Pennsylvania, Jockey Silvera Plans To Pick Up More Mounts In Maryland

Jockey Ruben Silvera, far and away the leading rider at Parx this year, may soon be bringing his talent to Maryland on a more regular basis.

The 33-year-old Panama native is in the midst of a career year with 144 wins, already having topped his previous high of 124 from 2020 and ranking in the top 10 nationally. He is also less than $72,000 from besting last year's $3,505,099 in purse earnings.

Much of Silvera's success comes from his association with trainer Jamie Ness, a winner of 3,378 career races and currently tied for third with 15 wins from 65 starters at the extended Preakness Meet at historic Pimlico Race Course, which returns to action with a live eight-race program Friday and runs through Aug. 22.

During the Preakness meet, Silvera has two wins, two seconds and three thirds from eight mounts with $124,945 in purses earned. Seven of his rides have been on Ness horses, including Indian Lake, winner of the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby July 24.

“He likes to ride, and he's a good rider. He's the leading rider by far at Parx,” Ness said. “He's going to try to come down to Laurel on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, be at Laurel more in the fall. He's trying to get his foot in the door. Another top rider in the jock's colony is always better.”

Laurel Park, after completing a reconstruction of its main track, will have horses back on the grounds next week and open its calendar year-ending fall meet Sept. 9.

Through Aug. 4, Silvera had won 142 races and $3.247 million in purse earnings from 569 mounts at Parx since the meet opened Jan. 4, leading runner-up Frankie Pennington by 45 wins and $517,808. Pennington owns nearly 2,700 lifetime wins and is a member of the Parx Hall of Fame.

Silvera will continue to ride at Parx, which operates on a Monday through Wednesday schedule, with Laurel scheduled to run Thursdays through Sundays.

“We'll see what happens. I'll talk to Jamie about it more over the next couple of weeks, but wherever Jamie wants him to go is where we're going to go,” Silvera's agent, Richard Englander, said. “It makes sense for him.”

Both Silvera and Englander have connections to Maryland. Silvera's wife's brother-in-law is former jockey Elvis Trujillo, who launched his training career last summer at Laurel. Among his 2,102 wins as a rider was the 2018 General George (G3) with Something Awesome.

Englander was voted the Eclipse Award as North America's leading owner in 2001 and 2002 and won 1,384 races between 2000 and 2009 including a high of 405 in 2001. He is also a General George winner, taking the 2003 edition with My Cousin Matt when it was a Grade 2.

My Cousin Matt's win in 1:22.12 for seven furlongs over a sloppy track came 26 minutes before Xtra Heat captured the Barbara Fritchie (G2) in 1:24.76 in what would be the final race of her Hall of Fame career.

“That was a crazy race he ran that day. Xtra Heat was a freak. To beat her by [two] seconds at the same distance the next race on the same track? That was just crazy,” Englander said. “He was a great sprinter.”

A contemporary of Luis Saez in Panama where they attended the country's jockey school, Silvera rode his first U.S. race at Gulfstream Park, finishing fourth with Great Bear March 24, 2011. He picked up his first winner aboard Power Rules May 7, 2011 at Calder Race Course.

Equibase statistics show Silvera with 744 wins and $21.97 million in purse earnings from 5,305 career mounts. He already has six wins this month including a four-win day Aug. 4.

“I love the riders out of Panama. They're strong, strong riders and real good riders, most of them. That's the group he came from,” Englander said. “He is [a hard worker]. He really is, especially for a leading rider that's like 40-something in front. You would think that he could maybe get lazy, but no. He works five, six days a week. That's Ruben.”

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Indian Lake Gets Easy Win In Bald Eagle Derby At Pimlico

Gap View Stables and Jagger, Inc.'s Indian Lake, having only run twice previously on turf and never farther than a mile and 70 yards in 16 starts, conquered both the course and distance with a front-running, three-quarter-length triumph over favored Experienced in Saturday's $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The third running of the 1 ½-mile Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds was the first of four grass stakes worth $500,000 in purses, anchored by the $200,000 Grade 3 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup. In between were a pair of $100,000 stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up, the five-furlong Sensible Lady Turf Dash and the 1 1/8-mile Big Dreyfus.

Jockey Ruben Silvera, leading the rider standings at Parx with 132 wins since Jan. 1, gave Indian Lake ($8.60) an ideal trip, establishing a comfortable early lead with plenty left for a drive to the wire in the Daredevil gelding's first stakes victory.

In fact, Indian Lake hadn't won since Silvera was last aboard in an April 12 optional claimer at Parx, having gone winless in four subsequent starts, three of them in stakes. He ran fourth in the one-mile James W. Murphy May 15 on the Pimlico turf, second in an off-the-grass Jersey Derby May 28, and third in the Sussex July 8 at Delaware Park.

“He rides all my horses at Parx; I told him absolutely nothing. Sometimes I feel when I have a good rider, that's best. Just get the feel of the race and do your best,” winning trainer and co-owner Jamie Ness said. “Great race. Lot of fun.”

Silvera was able to get away with easy splits of :24.59 for the opening quarter-mile and :50.83 for a half, tracked by Shackled Love, a stakes winner on dirt making his turf debut, and 56-1 long shot Hanford along the rail. The main challengers didn't get any closer as Indian Lake went six furlongs in 1:17.51 and a mile in 1:44.09.

“[Shackled Love] had the speed, so it all depended on how I break. He broke pretty good and nobody went, so I tried to control the pace in the beginning. I won the race in the beginning,” Silvera said. “Jamie is a good guy, a good trainer. He never gives me instructions. He trusts me. He says, 'You are the jockey, you know what you're doing.'

“I know the horse. He's a good horse. He likes to run in front,” he added. “Every time when he feels a horse behind him, he's a different horse. He was really relaxed all the way around.”

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Experienced, racing for just the second time off a gutsy maiden special weight triumph June 21 at Delaware Park in debut, swung wide at the top of the stretch after racing near the back of the field to make a run, but was unable to catch the winner. It was three-quarters of a length back to Wootton Asset, who edged Take Profit by a nose for third. Hanford and Shackled Love completed the order of finish.

“When I saw 1:17, and this is a good horse, I thought it's going to take a pretty good horse to catch him. We were stretching our distance, but he's a good horse,” Ness said. “He galloped out good. You can't let a good horse go that slow and expect to beat him. I give all the credit in the world to Ruben on that one.”

The Bald Eagle honors Harry Guggenheim's two-time winner of the Washington D.C. International. His first victory, in 1959, came in a course-record 2:28 for 1 ½ miles and his second, in 1960, helped clinch champion handicap horse honors. Bald Eagle also set track records at Aqueduct and Hialeah and retired with 12 wins, all in stakes, and $692,122 in purse earnings from 29 lifetime starts.

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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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