juan vazquez | Horse Racing Free Tips

Vazquez Remains Eligible to Race at NYRA Tracks…For Now

Trainer Juan Vazquez has been granted a stay of a recent suspension handed down by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, which will allow him to continue to race at the NYRA tracks for the time being. He has three horses entered on Thursday's card at Aqueduct.

However, NYRA issued a statement Saturday in which it said it will consider filing charges against Vazquez, which could lead to his being banned.

Vazquez received two consecutive 15-day suspensions after two of his horses tested positive for the dewormer levamisole in races at Parx. One, Hollywood Talent (Talent Search), tested positive after winning the GIII Turf Monster S. at odds of 108-1.

Because NYRA is affiliated with the state of New York, a court ruled in the Bob Baffert matter that it cannot ban trainers without adequate due process. Since the court decision, it has gone ahead with a hearing for Baffert and another, for Marcus Vitali, is scheduled for next month.

“Since Juan Vazquez was granted a stay of the Pennsylvania suspension, he retains his license to participate in New York,” the statement read. “In the July decision, and in subsequent rulings, the court was clear that NYRA is required to provide adequate due process prior to revoking privileges to participate at NYRA tracks. To refuse entries or prohibit Mr. Vazquez from accessing the property, for example, are actions that NYRA could take against a licensed trainer only after he is provided satisfactory due process. That process is deliberative and not immediate, which is why Juan Vazquez is permitted to participate at NYRA while he appeals his suspension in Pennsylvania. Any suspension handed down in Pennsylvania will be reciprocally implemented in New York and Vazquez will be suspended from participating in all racing activities at NYRA tracks for the duration of the suspension. NYRA is gathering information that could inform a statement of charges and subsequent hearing, should that be required.”

Vazquez has numerous suspensions and violations on his record. In one ruling, issued in 2017 in Pennsylvania, it was noted that Vazquez had eight drug positives during a 23-month period.

Vazquez has maintained a stable at Parx and in New York this year. He is just 2-for-22 (9%) at Parx while going 7-for-30 (23%) at the Big A.

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108-1 Winner of G3 Turf Monster Tests Positive For Levamisole

Hollywood Talent, the 10-year-old gelding who posted a 108-1 shocker in the Grade 3, $300,000 Turf Monster Stakes at Parx Racing on the Pennsylvania Derby undercard in Bensalem, Pa., on Sept. 25, has tested positive for levamisole, the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission has confirmed. Hollywood Talent is trained by Juan Vazquez and owned by King Star LLC.

Levamisole, a Class 2 drug with Category B penalties under the Association of Racing Commissioners International guidelines, is found in commercial dewormers for cattle, pigs and sheep and can be used as an immunostimulant in horses or for treatment of Equine Protozoal Myelitis. The drug can metabolize to aminorex, a potent stimulant.

A split sample has yet to be tested. If the drug's presence is confirmed in the split sample, stewards will conduct a hearing on the matter to consider sanctions against the horse and his trainer.

Graded stakes placed at age 2 and third in the 2019 Turf Monster, Hollywood Talent, came into the five-furlong Turf Monster with 11 wins from 51 lifetime starts. He was claimed for $8,000 in September 2020 out of what was his most recent victory. The Pennsylvania-bred Talent Search gelding was transferred to the barn of Vazquez a few months later and posted a second- and third-place finish from five starts. Far back early under Ricardo Santana Jr., Hollywood Talent rallied late to win the Turf Monster by 1 1/4 lengths over California invader Beer Can Man, paying $219.20 on a $2 mutuel.

While any subsequent disqualification would not affect the pari-mutuel payoffs, the owners of Beer Can Man – Little Red Feather Racing and Sterling Stables – would stand to gain an additional $112,000 in purse money should their 3-year-old Can the Man colt be elevated to first place. The Turf Monster was not a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race, but Beer Can Man's connections have indicated the Mark Glatt trainee will be pre-entered in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar, where he won the G3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes last November.

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Hollywood Talent Pulls Off Shocking Upset In Turf Monster At Parx

In a plot twist that no one saw coming, Hollywood Talent at 99-1 shocked the field of the Grade 3 Turf Monster at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Penn., passing Admiral Abe in deep stretch to take the five-furlong stake.

With Ricardo Santana, Jr. aboard, Hollywood Talent broke cleanly, settling toward the back of the pack early, content to hang two wide off the rail as Admiral Abe and Firecrow ran one-two. Entering the far turn, Santana hustled his mount on the outside, boldly moving into contention as they turned into the stretch.

In the Parx straight, Admiral Abe took the lead from Firecrow with Hollywood Talent rallying on his outside. As Firecrow dropped out of it, Santana and his 10-year-old gelding dug in, passing Admiral Abe in the race's final yards to take the G3 Turf Monster by 1 1/4 lengths.

The final time for the five furlongs over a good turf course was :59.51. Find this race's chart here.

Hollywood Talent paid $219.20, $55.40, and $19.00. Beer Can Man paid $5.40 and $3.60. Admiral Abe paid $7.60.

Bred in Pennsylvania by Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Hollywood Talent is by Talent Search out of the Johannesburg mare Intrinsic Value. He is owned by King Star and trained by Juan Vazquez. His victory in the G3 Turf Monster is his first victory in five starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 12 wins in 52 starts and career earnings of $635,071.

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