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Friday’s Stronach 5 Features Four Tracks, Two Turf Races, 12-Percent Takeout

Over the course of approximately one hour, Friday's Stronach 5 will feature races from Laurel Park, Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields, a low 12-percent takeout, full fields, and two turf races.

The action begins at 4:28 ET.

Laurel's ninth race, a $10,000 claimer at seven furlongs, starts the Stronach 5. The wide-open field of 14 fillies and mares includes Bellswillberinging from the barn of Gary Contessa. The daughter of Mosler drops in class. Icy Harbor, part of a Dove Houghton-trained entry, shortens in distance after finishing ninth on a muddy track. His previous race over a fast track produced a third-place finish. El Bochinche enters off a second-place finish for trainer John Robb.

The Stronach 5 heads west for the second leg, Santa Anita's third race. The 1 1/8-mile turf event for 4-year-olds and up for $25,0000 claimers has an 8-5 favorite in Keystone Field. The Richard Mandella-trained gelding drops in class after finishing fourth, beaten two lengths, in allowance conditions at Del Mar. The second-place finisher in that race came back to win under allowance conditions. Stage Ready goes out second off a $40,000 claim for trainer Jeff Mullins. John Velazquez is named to ride. Graded stakes winner Cleopatra's Strike, who has five seconds at the distance in seven starts, seeks his first win since the 2019 John Henry Turf (G2).

Gulfstream's ninth race, a $62,500 allowance optional claimer at 6 ½ furlongs for 4-year-olds and up, drew a field of nine including Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq, who will make his first start for trainer Todd Pletcher in a year. The Into Mischief colt won the Bourbon (G2) on the turf as a juvenile before going to the sidelines after winning the Mucho Macho Man in his only start as a 3-year-old. Luis Saez has the call. Bank On Shea will make his first start at Gulfstream after winning restricted races for New York breds at two and four. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides for Carlos David.

Golden Gate's third race will serve as the fourth leg of the Stronach 5. The six-furlong claiming event for 4-year-olds and up drew a field of seven with a 2-1 favorite in Mohawk King, an Irish-bred who drops in class and gets blinkers for trainer Simon Callaghan. Mohawk King finished fifth in his last start behind Freeport Joe, who has won two consecutive races including the Berkeley Handicap (G3). Mohawk King will likely be joined on the lead or as part of the pace by Knockout Bert, who has finished in the money in seven of nine starts at Golden Gate. Foster Boi goes for his fifth win at Golden Gate in eight starts.

Gulfstream's 10th race concludes the Stronach 5. The one-mile turf event, a maiden optional claimer for 4-year-olds and up, has a 5-2 favorite in Eagle Chief, who breaks from the rail after being claimed by Paradise Farms Corp and trainer Mike Maker for $50,000 at Del Mar in November. Eagle Chief, a son of Into Mischief, is winless in 11 starts. Tyler Gaffalione rides. Golden Indy, fifth in his debut Dec. 16 for trainer Jonathan Thomas, returns with Paco Lopez in the saddle.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One –Laurel Race 9: (14 entries, 7 furlongs) 4:28 ET, 1:28 PT
Leg Two –Santa Anita Race 3: (9 entries, 1 1/8-mile turf) 4:35 ET, 1:35 PT
Leg Three – Gulfstream Race 9: (9 entries, 6 ½ furlongs) 4:42 ET, 1:42 PT
Leg Four – Golden Gate Race 3: (10 entries, 6 furlongs) 4:50 ET, 1:50 PT
Leg Five –Gulfstream Race 10: (9 entries, 1 mile turf) 5:14 ET, 2:14 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

The post Friday’s Stronach 5 Features Four Tracks, Two Turf Races, 12-Percent Takeout appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Winter Storm Forces Thursday Cancellations At Laurel Park, Charles Town

The Maryland Jockey Club has canceled Thursday's nine-race program at Laurel Park because of the lingering effects of a winter storm earlier in the week that brought rounds of sleet, freezing rain and snowfall to the area.

Laurel, Pimlico, Rosecroft and the MJC OTB Network remain open for simulcasting.

Live racing is set to resume Friday with a nine-race program with first race post of 12:25 p.m.

Due to the winter weather moving through the region later today, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia has cancelled its live racing program for Thursday evening, Jan. 6. Live racing is currently slated to resume on Friday, Jan. 7 with a first race post time of 7:00 P.M. EST.

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After Fatality-Free Month, Snow Poses First Challenge to New Laurel Surface

The work-in-progress new dirt racing surface at Laurel Park has made it through 10 racing dates and nearly a month of training without a catastrophic injury after being closed for 11 days in late autumn after eight equine fatalities. But a Monday snowstorm followed by a sharp drop in overnight temperature provided the first 2022 challenge to a track that has historically been prone to problems during winter weather.

Training was cancelled at Laurel Monday and Tuesday but will reopen Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. without timed workouts being permitted as a safety precaution. A chance of freezing rain is in the Wednesday forecast ahead of the next scheduled race date on Thursday, Jan. 6.

Mike Rogers, the president of the racing division for The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns Laurel, gave an update on the track to the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) during Tuesday's monthly meeting.

After Rogers accentuated the positive aspects of the project, commissioner R. Thomas Bowman, a veterinarian who chairs the MRC's Equine Health, Safety and Welfare Advisory Committee, reported that despite the progress, he has concerns that the expert consultant hired to represent the horsemen is not having his input fully acted upon by TSG, which is relying more heavily on the expertise of its own consultants.

Bowman said that he is “absolutely confident that everybody is trying to do the right thing” to keep the track safe. But, he added, “I am fairly disappointed, however, in the apparent disagreement on which of the experts that has been brought in is actually the pilot of the ship.”

When speaking remotely via teleconference, Rogers had introduced both Chris Bosley, the MJC's track superintendent, and Glen Kozak, who served in that same capacity in the mid-2000s before being hired by the New York Racing Association, in case the commissioners wanted to ask questions. Bosley handles the day-to-day operations while Kozak has been hired to consult.

Not introduced was John Passero, who years ago was Laurel's superintendent but has recently been retained by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association as its consultant. It was not clear if Passero was on the call in listen-only mode; in December he had been previously introduced alongside the other experts to speak at MJC meetings.

According to Bowman, Passero “has the confidence of the horsemen–at least the rank and file horsemen–and there seems to be a disconnect in what John proposes to do and what some of the other experts propose to do. And John Passero has been very, very quick to point out that he is not trying to be critical of anyone else's opinion. But he does feel frustrated when his input is not being heeded.”

Bowman continued: “Everybody has tried to be cooperative. Everybody has offered me what I think is an honest opinion. But when it gets down to it, somebody's got to call balls and strikes, and it would seem that the person most able to do that would be someone that is on the grounds on a regular basis.”

After Bowman aired his concerns, Rogers addressed what he said he believes to be the discrepancy among the consultants.

“All experts are on the same page. The only disagreement is timing on one of the issues,” Rogers said.

That issue has to do with a “pad” of compressed cushion that sits on top of the limestone base. It was established weeks ago as a protective measure while the body of the cushion gradually gets rebuilt through the addition of coarse sand. Laurel's crews have already added 2,000 tons of sand, with another 1,000 tons to be slowly mixed in.

“At some point, we all know that pad will not be able to be maintained,” Rogers said. “And the crew is going to have to dig into that pad, and we do not want to do that until we feel the cushion has the body in it to do that.”

MRC chairman Michael Algeo said he appreciated that explanation, but he underscored to Rogers that the commission wants to avoid a problem that has happened in the past, whereby TSG keeps telling the MRC, “everything's going okay, and all of a sudden we have a track issue. And then we repair it a little bit, and then we have a track issue.”

Recent history bears out Algeo's point of view. The autumn cluster of fatalities was only the latest safety blow at Laurel. After years of freeze/thaw and drainage troubles that TSG attempted to fix via piecemeal repairs, the main track was in such bad shape last spring that Laurel ceased racing on Apr. 11, 2021, to begin an emergency overhaul, which morphed into a multi-million-dollar rebuild from the base up. What was initially supposed to have been a closure of about one month ended up taking five months before racing could resume.

“The racing commission is charged with making certain that we have a safe track. At the same time, our commission cannot be the 'track police,'” Algeo said. “This is a period of time which most concerns me, because this is the type of weather–the change of weather, the deep freeze, the snow–is where the track surface issues seem to happen in a 24-48 hour period.”

Bosley expressed confidence that the Laurel surface made it through Monday's test of four inches of precipitation followed by a dramatic temperature drop to 17 degrees Fahrenheit.

“The way that we maintenanced the track [Monday] night was with the drag harrows, pretty much every single drag harrow we had, with added weights and the draw bars down,” Bosley said. “And that's important because with added weight and the draw bars down, the drag harrows will be riding on top of or will be into the pad that we established.”

After crews worked all night, Bosley said it was “very impressive” how the track reacted to the winter weather.

“That's a really good sign,” Bosley said. “An early inspection of the pad [Tuesday] morning [revealed] that we still have a pad … That means that the plan we submitted is working. It means that the sand that we have added into the track is working. That doesn't mean that we need to stop adding this coarser sand into the track. We definitely need to add more. But we're definitely heading in the right direction.”

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MATCH Champion Cordmaker Emphatic In Final Race Of The Series

Hillwood Stable's Cordmaker had sealed the overall title in the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships (MATCH Series) earlier on the Dec. 26 card at Laurel Park, but he ended the series emphatically with a strong victory in the $100,000 Robert T. Manfuso Stakes in the final race of the series.

Ridden by Victor Carrasco for trainer Rodney Jenkins, favored Cordmaker was rated inside for most of the 1 1/16-mile Manfuso. He was guided outside entering the stretch and reeled in the leaders—Workin On a Dream and Shackqueenking, who finished second and third, respectively—to capture his third stakes win in this year's MATCH Series. Cordmaker, a 6-year-old Curlin gelding bred in Maryland by the late Robert Manfuso and Katy Voss, who operates a stable at Laurel, is the only horse to have had competed in all six races in his division (3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Dirt) this year.

“It's all so special,” said Ellen Charles, who owns Hillwood Stable, a prominent Maryland racing and breeding operation. “Bob (Manfuso) was always my friend. I think Cordmaker is my best horse, an amazing horse who is a great character in the barn. He knows he's special, and he has given us wonderful, wonderful wins. It's just great to be a part of this.”

It was the 12th victory in 34 starts for graded stakes-placed Cordmaker, who is approaching $800,000 in earnings. His MATCH Series scores came in the Manfuso, the Richard Small Stakes at Laurel, and the Victory Gallop Stakes at Colonial Downs. He also won the Harrison Johnson Memorial at Laurel, where his is stabled, earlier in 2021.

“Cordmaker is very special,” said Carrasco, who has ridden Cordmaker in all of his starts this year and some before that. “We had a good trip right off the speed, and once we turned for home and he got some daylight, he was gone. It's awesome. He's a good horse and I think it's even better when you have a home-track horse winning the series. I'm just happy for Mrs. Charles, Mr. Jenkins, assistant trainer Eveline (Kjelstrup) and the whole crew in the barn.”

Cordmaker ended the MATCH Series with 49 points in his division, the most of any horse in the 2021 series. Mary Eppler Racing Stable and Ram Racing Stable's McElmore Avenue was second with 18 points in the division, followed by Trin-Brook Stables' Forewarned in third with 6 points.

Willa On The Move Stakes

Bush Racing Stable & Liberty House Racing's Kaylasaurus, claimed for $25,000 at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in her previous start, went from last to first to win the $100,000, six-furlong Willa On the Move Stakes. It was the 2021 MATCH Series debut for the 5-year-old Munnings mare.

Ridden by Horacio Karamanos for trainer Tim Kreiser, Pennsylvania-bred Kaylasaurus won for the seventh time in 19 starts and passed the $200,000 mark in earnings. Eric Rizer's Princess Kokachin, who had previously won five races in a row, finished second, with Dontletsweetfoolya third.

“She always makes a big move down the stretch,” the Penn National-based Kreiser said. “Horacio saw the early pace and saw (Hello Beautiful) struggling.”

Hello Beautiful, owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables and Magic Stables and trained by Brittany Russell, finished fifth but took the division title on the strength of two wins and a second in series competition. Hello Beautiful, with four MATCH Series starts this year, finished with 34 points (second to Cordmaker), while the retired Never Enough Time (22 points) and Paisley Singing (12 points) finished second and third, respectively, in the division.

Dave's Friend Stakes

Hillside Equestrian Meadows' Laki was entered in the $100,000 six-furlong Dave's Friend and scratched the morning of the race. But the 8-year-old Maryland-bred gelding by Cuba had enough points to capture his third consecutive title in the MATCH Series division. Laki, trained by Damon Dilodovico, has only missed two MATCH events—the Dave's Friend and a stakes at Delaware Park—in the three years since the series returned to the Mid-Atlantic calendar.

“He's a warrior, that's for sure,” Dilodovico said. “He's a special guy. After a horse like Immortal Eyes, who we had, it's not often you get a very good, quality animal. He spiked a temperature this morning; we've had a few bugs the last seven to 10 days. But to be able to know you have a shot to get to the wire first every time you go to post—that's Laki.”

Laki, who is 11-for-38 with multiple stakes victories, has earned $833,162. He finished the 2021 MATCH Series with 21 points in his division, followed by Mucho with 20 and Whereshetoldmetogo with 10.

Pocket 3's Racing Threes Over Deuces, trained by Gary Capuano and ridden by Victor Rosales, rallied wide in the lane and got the advantage at the wire in a scramble in the Dave's Friend. The 6-year-old Flat Out gelding, first, second or third in 28 of 40 starts, cleared the $500,000 mark in earnings.

“He's always fighting,” said Jon Madden of Pocket 3's Racing. “In his last couple races the jockey sent him, but with how the track was playing today, he held him back early. It was time to turn the tables once on Whereshetoldmetogo.”

Kentucky-based Mucho, owned by WSS Racing and 4 G Racing and trained by John Ortiz, competed in three MATCH Series events, two in Maryland and one in Virginia. Ortiz said he looks forward to future MATCH appearances.

“We were very happy to be a part of the series and hope to be back again in 2022 with two new shooters,” he said.

Carousel Stakes

BB Horses' Miss Leslie and James Wolf's Artful Splatter entered the 1 1/8-mile Carousel tied at 13 points each. Miss Leslie, trained by Claudio Gonzalez, won the race, but Artful Splatter, trained by Kieron Magee, won the division with a second-place finish in her fourth series start.

Miss Leslie, a 3-year-old Paynter filly, won her third race in a row, all under jockey Angel Cruz, with a strong rally from the back of the pack. She was one of two 3-year-olds in a field of eight.

“She's a good filly,” Cruz said. “She's nice to ride. In the morning she's kind of laid-back; I have to work hard with her. I felt really comfortable with her today. Just about every horse was coming from off the pace.”

Artful Splatter, under Carol Cedeno, sat just off the early leader before taking the lead on the far turn. She maintained the lead until the final sixteenth of a mile but held for second, which gave her the division victory. Artful Splatter, a 5-year-old Maryland-bred mare by Bandbox, made four series starts to three for Miss Leslie.

“I'm thrilled,” Magee said of winning the MATCH Series division. “I brought her here last week (from Pimlico Race Course) to work on this track. She broke well and took herself into the race. The filly that beat us obviously is very nice, but Artful Splatter has been a really good mare for a $16,000 claim.”

Artful Splatter finished with 25 points in the division, followed by Miss Leslie with 23 and Lookin Dynamic with 9 points.

MATCH Series division bonus money is awarded to the owner and trainer of the top horses based on points as follows: $20,000/$10,000 for first, $15,000/$7,500 for second, and $7,500/$3,000 for third. In addition, the owner and trainer of the overall points-earner regardless of division will receive $20,000 and $10,000, respectively. A horse must start at least three times in one division to qualify for bonus money.

In addition, bonuses will be distributed to the breeder of the top overall point-earning Maryland-bred horse and Maryland-sired horse in the series as follows—$3,000 for Maryland-bred and $3,000 for Maryland-sired.

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