Linda Rice | Horse Racing Free Tips

Linda Rice Goes Five-For-Five on Big A Card

Trainer Linda Rice and jockey Jose Lezcano combined to win five races on Thursday's eight-race card at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Rice, who captured the recently concluded Aqueduct winter meet training title with 23 wins, won with all five of her starters on Thursday's program, while Lezcano won with five-of-six mounts. Three of the Rice-Lezcano scores came for owner Winning Move Stable.

Rice, who won a record-equaling 164 races on the NYRA circuit last year, was pleased to kick off the Aqueduct spring meet in style.

“I've had a few four-win days, a lot of three-win days, but not five in one day. It is pretty exciting,” Rice said. “The races went for me. Did I think we'd win five? No, not necessarily, but I knew we would have a good day.”

The quintet of scores kicked off in Race 2 as Winning Move Stable's Solib (American Pharoah) romped to victory in a seven-furlong claiming sprint for older New York-bred fillies and mares. The success continued in Race 4 as the Rice-owned Screaming Uncle (Bolt d'Oro) prevailed in a claiming sprint for 3-year-olds and upward.

Winning Move Stable would sweep Race 6 and Race 7 as New York-bred Cinderella's Cause (Congrats) won a one-turn mile claimer against open company older fillies and mares one race before graded stakes-winner Joey Freshwater (Jimmy Creed) ran off to an impressive score in an allowance optional-claiming tilt for older horses.

“I'll tell you Joey Freshwater ran a superb race. He really stepped up. It was a tough race and he really ran great,” said Rice of last year's GIII Bay Shore winner. “Joey Freshwater's race was pretty tough, a three-other-than in New York is always tough. Frankly I was thrilled with the way he ran, and it was just a dominant performance.”

The day concluded in Race 8 as Everything's Cricket Racing's New York homebred Freedsdale (Redesdale) made a winning debut with a prominent trip in a state-bred maiden special weight for sophomores.

“This 3-year-old in the last race had been training beautifully and I thought he would run great,” Rice said. “I wasn't sure it would be a win, but I was surprised he was such a long price.”

The post Linda Rice Goes Five-For-Five on Big A Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Linda Rice and Dylan Davis Lead Way at Aqueduct Winter Meet

Linda Rice continued to assert her dominance on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit when capturing the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet training title with 23 wins at the 45-day meeting which ran from Jan. 1 through Mar. 30.

Rice has now won the training title at six of the last seven NYRA meetings, along with year-end honors last year as the circuit's top trainer with a record-tying 164 wins. She also came out on top at last year's Big A winter meet with 37 wins.

“It's great,” said Rice. “Frankly, I love New York winter racing and it's a good place for my clients. They enjoy it, I enjoy it, and it's been a good winter. It's pretty surreal.”

Rice, 60, posted a record of 137-23-27-23 with $1,471,414 in earnings, good for a win rate of 16.79 percent and in-the-money rate of 53.28 percent.

Jockey Dylan Davis clinched his second Aqueduct winter meet riding title when posting 54 wins.

In all, Davis' mounts banked $2,699,061, with a win rate of 22.31 percent and in-the-money percentage of 50.41.

“I've won this title before and [it's] great to win it again,” said Davis. “My business has improved every year along with the quality of horses I'm riding.”

David Jacobson claimed his first owners' title at NYRA since capturing the 2017 Aqueduct inner track meet. The veteran owner and conditioner secured 18 wins at the meet, including four races on Closing Day.

The post Linda Rice and Dylan Davis Lead Way at Aqueduct Winter Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Rice Sets NYRA Single-Season Win Record

Linda Rice saddled her 165th winner of 2023 to set the record for most victories in a year on the New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“It's a tough number to get to. I think about how we're starting over at one tomorrow,” said Rice, with a laugh. “It's just been an incredible year. I'm really excited and I just hope we can do something that will compare going forward. That's a high bar to set.”

With George's Vice (Unified)'s win in Sunday's second race, Rice eclipsed the previous single-season record of 164 set by trainer David Jacobsen in 2013. During 2023, the 59-year-old earned leading trainer honors at the winter [37 wins] and spring [17 wins] meets at the Big A; the Belmont Park spring/summer meet [34 wins]; and tied with Chad Brown [35 wins] to register her second title at the Saratoga Race Course summer meet.

She has also secured the title at the Aqueduct fall meet, which concluded Sunday, with the record-setting victory on closing day marking her 20th win at the meet.

In addition to Rice's record training win, she also tied with Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables for leading owner at Aqueduct's fall meet. Each had seven wins. Klaravich Stables finished the year as NYRA's leading owner for a fifth consecutive time, completing the season with a record of 235-62-39-33 and purse earnings of $6,408,466. It was Klaravich's 25th owners' title at a NYRA meet and fifth this year.

Jockey Manny Franco won the Aqueduct fall riding title with 37 wins and earned the year's leading NYRA rider honors for the third time with 238 wins across the circuit's race meets.

Rice saddled 11 stakes winners on the NYRA circuit during 2023. Among that group was Pioneering Spirit (American Pharoah), who was haltered for $40,000 in March for owner A. Bianco Holding Limited and went on to win the Bernard Baruch S. and Knickerbocker S., and Mommasgottarun (Maclean's Music)–taken for $50,000 last December for owner Ronald P. Stewart–who won the GIII Distaff H.

“We claimed Pioneering Spirit in March in a maiden $40,000, and for him to win the Bernard Baruch, win the Knickerbocker, run in Grade Is, that was exciting,” Rice said. “Mommasgottarun we claimed in December. She won a Grade III, wins a couple of allowance races for some new clients. That was really exciting.”

Rice saddled her first winner, Contraboss, in 1987 at Garden State Park and now boasts a career record of 12,879-2409-1989-1829 for purse earnings in excess of $104 million, according to stats provided by Equibase.

The post Rice Sets NYRA Single-Season Win Record appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Tina Bond Elected NYTHA President

Tina Marie Bond, who previously served as co-vice president of the organization, has been elected to her first term as president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

“I am honored to be chosen as the next president of NYTHA,” said Bond. “It is an important time for our industry and the future of horse racing. I look forward to working with NYRA and the New York breeders to continue the great work of keeping New York racing at the top of our industry. We have the best owners, the best trainers, the best employees, and soon we will have the best facilities. I want to thank Joe Appelbaum and our past board members for all of their work and support. And I want to congratulate our new board–I look forward to working with all of you.”

Also in NYTHA election results released Wednesday, owner/directors to the board are: Tom Bellhouse, Dan Collins, Sanford Goldfarb, Dr. Jennifer White, Aron Yagoda, and alternate Andrew Aaron.

Trainer/Trainer-Owner directors are: Jena Antonucci, David Donk, David Duggan, James Ferraro, John Terranova, and alternate Linda Rice.

“I'd like to recognize everyone who put themselves out there to run for a position,” said outgoing NYTHA president Joe Appelbaum. “NYTHA's strength is in our community and the more that participate, the better. Good luck to the incoming board, they are going to need our support.”

The post Tina Bond Elected NYTHA President appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post