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Whitney Win Vaults Knicks Go To Top Of Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go, dominant winner of last Saturday's Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, has vaulted to No. 1 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38^th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, rose from fourth place to the top of the Classic Rankings, receiving 314 votes. Knicks Go led the 1 1/8-mile Whitney from start to finish, winning by 4 ½ lengths over Maxfield, who had been the top-rated horse in the poll for the first six weeks. Knicks Go has won three of five starts this year, which includes the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park in January and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) in July. Last year, Knicks Go won the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, also trained by Cox, stayed in second place this week with 276 votes. Essential Quality, last year's TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner, won the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga and the Belmont Stakes (G1) in his last two starts. Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield dropped from first to third place this week with 269 votes. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has won three races in 2021, including the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, in which he earned an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's 3-year-old Hot Rod Charlie, trained by Doug O'Neill, dropped one position to fourth place with 202 votes.

Juddmonte's 3-year-old Mandaloun, winner of the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) on July 17, remained in fifth place with 127 votes. Also trained by Cox, Mandaloun has been taken out of training for the remainder of the year due to a sore foot.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska rose one spot to sixth place with 96 votes. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska won the Ogden Phipps (G1) at Belmont Park and the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in her last two starts.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State dropped one spot to seventh place with 95 votes. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State finished third in the Whitney, suffering his first defeat of the year after four wins.

CRK Stable's 4-year-old Express Train, winner of the San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar, remained in eighth place with 85 votes.

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.'s 4-year-old Max Player, winner of Belmont's Suburban (G2), is in ninth place. Also trained by Asmussen, Max Player has 70 votes.

Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver and Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farm's Royal Ship (BRZ) are tied in 10^th place with 53 votes apiece. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Happy Saver lost his first race in six starts when he finished third in the Suburban. Royal Ship won the Californian Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita in April and was recently third in the San Diego Handicap for trainer Richard Mandella.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Aug. 10, 2021*

Rank	Horse	Votes	First-Place Votes	Previous Week
1	Knicks Go	314	22	4
2	Essential Quality	276	4	2
3	Maxfield	269	6	1
4	Hot Rod Charlie	202	1	3
5	Mandaloun	127	0	5
6	Letruska	96	0	7
7	Silver State	95	0	6
8	Express Train	85	0	8
9	Max Player	70	0	9
10	Happy Saver	53	0	9
10	Royal Ship (BRZ)	53	0	0

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 11. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

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Knicks Go Takes Over Top Spot In NTRA Thoroughbred Poll

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go, dominant winner of Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course, jumped from sixth place to the No. 1 position in the latest NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Trained by Brad Cox, Knicks Go received 29 first-place votes and 374 points. A Maryland-bred son of Paynter, Knicks Go led the 1 1/8-mile Whitney from start to finish, defeating Godolphin's Maxfield by 4 ½ lengths. In registering his third win in five starts this year, Knicks Go earned a 111 Beyer Speed Figure, which was just two points shy of this year's top North American figure of 113 that he received when he captured the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap by 10 ¼ lengths on July 2.

In this week's poll, Knicks Go, who also won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January, overtook the 5-year-old mare Letruska, who is now in second place after holding onto the top spot for the previous five weeks. Owned by St. George's Stable and trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska has seven first place votes and 326 points. Letruska has won four of five starts this year, including the June 26 Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs in her most recent start.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, who won the July 31 Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, remained in third place. Also trained by Cox, Essential Quality, who captured the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 5, has one first-place vote and 269 points.

Klaravich Stables' Domestic Spending remained in fourth place with two first-place votes and 251 points. Trained by Chad Brown, Domestic Spending, the only turf horse in the top 10, finished in a dead heat for first in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, and won the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park.

Following his defeat in the Whitney, Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, dropped from second place to fifth place with 250 points. Maxfield is a three-time winner this year, including a victory in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State finished third in the Whitney, suffering his first defeat of the year after four consecutive wins, including the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Silver State, trained by Steve Asmussen, dropped from fifth to sixth place with 148 points.

Michael Lund Petersen's 4-year-old Gamine, the 2020 champion female sprinter, stayed in seventh place with 92 points. Gamine is unbeaten in three starts this year, including a victory in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff presented by Kendall Jackson Winery at Churchill Downs.

Juddmonte officials announced on Tuesday that its 3-year-old Mandaloun has been taken out of training for the remainder of the year due to a sore right hind foot. Also trained by Cox, Mandaloun, second in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, and winner of the Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes, is in eighth place with 65 points.

Hot Rod Charlie, owned by Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss, crossed the wire first in the TVG.com Haskell but was disqualified and placed seventh due to interference. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie, remained in ninth place with 56 points.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Grade 1 Dubai World Cup winner, Mystic Guide, also sidelined due to injury, is in 10th place with 52 points.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through Nov. 6.

The full results for the NTRA Thoroughbred Polls can be found on the NTRA website at: https://www.ntra.com/ntra-top-thoroughbred-poll-august-9-2021/

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Whitney Day Card At Saratoga Generates Record Handle

Saturday's 12-race Whitney Day card at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., featuring five graded stakes and highlighted by Knicks Go's convincing victory in the 94th running of the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney, generated record all-sources of $36,820,234, eclipsing the previous Whitney Day record of $35,796,435 set in 2020.

On-track handle was $6,707,742 and paid attendance totaled 38,525.

2019 Whitney Day, which was held on August 3, yielded all-sources handle of $31,835,864 and on-track handle of 7,078,192.

For more information about Saratoga Race Course, visit NYRA.com.

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All-Stakes Cross Country Pick 5 Featuring Whitney, Hambletonian Pays $699.25

An all-stakes cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday paid $699.25 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $60,003. The wager, which featured thoroughbred racing from historic Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., also encompassed two prestigious harness races from the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.

Thoroughbreds started the action when State of Rest won the $1 million Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational to capture the second leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series for 3-year-olds in Race 9 at the Spa. The Irish-bred State of Rest, trained by Joseph O'Brien and ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, topped Solider Rising by one length in the 1 3/16-mile contest on the Mellon turf course in a final time of 1:53.35. Off at 21-1, State of Rest returned $44.20 on a $2 win wager.

Monmouth Park, located in Oceanport, New Jersey, hosted the $100,000 Tyro for juveniles going five furlongs on the turf in Race 12. Her World, an Irish bred trained by Wesley Ward, romped by six lengths as the even-money favorite, paying $3.80. Under jockey Paco Lopez, Her World completed the course in :56.62 seconds.

A unique wrinkle to the Cross County Pick 5 came in the third leg when standardbreds took center stage with the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks in Race 14 at the Meadowlands. The prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies saw heavy favorite Bella Bellini win in rein to driver Dexter Dunn. The R. Nifty Norman trainee paid $3 to win in capturing the race for trotters.

Saratoga's feature, the 94th running of the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney in Race 10, saw Knicks Go surge to the front and go wire-to-wire to best the five-horse field under jockey Joel Rosario, who notched his second career Whitney victory. Trained by Brad Cox, Knicks Go won by 4 1/2 lengths as the favorite, paying $4.10, and hit the wire in the 1 1/8-mile contest in 1:47.70.

Standardbreds closed out the sequence when another favorite – Captain Corey – won the 96th running of the $1 million Hambletonian for 3-year-olds in Race 15 at the Meadowlands. Trainer and driver Ake Svanstedt led Captain Corey [$4.60] to victory in the one-mile stakes for trotters.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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