New York | Horse Racing Free Tips

Cuomo Announces Fans Can Return to New York Tracks April 23

In a surprising development, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that fans may return to the state's racetracks starting Apr. 23. Attendance will be capped at 20% capacity.

A few hours after Cuomo's announcement, NYRA officials were still considering their options and would not commit to allowing fans to attend as soon as Apr. 23.

“The New York Racing Association, Inc. looks forward to welcoming fans back to Belmont Park this spring and to Saratoga Race Course this summer,” NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke. “We thank Governor Cuomo for the opportunity to host fans at our historic tracks for the first time since the start of the pandemic. We will announce ticketing options for fans once we further review the guidelines and protocols set forth for thoroughbred tracks in New York state. NYRA has dearly missed the passion and excitement that fans bring to the sport of thoroughbred racing. Today's announcement by the Governor is one more indication that we are collectively moving toward a return to normalcy.”

Belmont is scheduled to open for its spring meet Apr. 22.

NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna said that it was premature to predict how many fans will be allowed to attend the GI Belmont S. card and the Saratoga races.

“As the rate of vaccination continues to increase across New York State, we are optimistic that capacity restrictions will continue to ease in the coming months in advance of the Belmont Stakes and the 2021 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course,” he said. “We miss our fans dearly, and look forward to seeing them soon back where they belong.”

NYRA has not been allowed to have on-track fans since March 2020, when the pandemic started to shut down the entire country.

It remains to be seen how many fans will be allowed at each facility under the 20% guideline. In 2015, NYRA decided to cap the attendance at cavernous Belmont Park for the Belmont Stakes at 90,000. That could mean that about 18,000 people will be allowed to attend the final leg of the Triple Crown. With vaccinations readily available in the state, the 20% guideline will no doubt change at some point with even more fans being allowed.

The numbers for record crowds at Saratoga are misleading because they include days when the attendance was artificially inflated due to “spinners” going through the turnstiles more than once to collect added giveaway items. The record crowd for the GI Travers day is 60,486. That could mean NYRA will be allowed to welcome about 12,000 fans a day to the popular upstate track.

Cuomo appeared at Belmont Wednesday to do a press briefing, but never mentioned the decision to allow fans back on track. He did take the opportunity to commend the New York racing community for its response to a barn fire Monday in which all but two horses were rescued.

“Due to really extraordinary effort by first responders, the fire department and the staff here at NYRA. Fifty-eight horses were saved,” he said. “Two horses perished, but they did a really outstanding job.”

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Tiz The Law Named 2020 New York-Bred Horse Of The Year

Tiz the Law took home the biggest prize of the evening during Monday's New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. 2020 Awards, snagging Horse of the Year honors for a second straight season.

The son of Constitution was also named champion 3-year-old male during the online ceremony.

Tiz the Law won four of six starts during his 2020 campaign and earned $2,388,300 for owner Sackatoga Stables. He started his season at Gulfstream Park with victories in the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes and G1 Florida Derby, establishing himself as one of the biggest threats on the originally scheduled Kentucky Derby trail before the race was postponed due to the emerging pandemic.

Instead, Tiz the Law reemerged in the summer to win the Belmont Stakes, suddenly positioned as the first leg of the Triple Crown after a re-shuffled racing calendar. He then continued to claim his home state's top prizes for 3-year-old males with a 5 1/2-length drubbing of the G1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

The colt's fall campaign saw a narrow runner-up finish in the Kentucky Derby in early September, then he ran sixth in his final start, the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland. He began his stallion career earlier this year at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky.

Tiz the Law's award-winning campaign also had a ripple effect in other divisions of the NYTB Awards, as well. His trainer, Barclay Tagg, was named Trainer of the Year, while regular rider Manny Franco was named Jockey of the Year. Twin Creeks Farm, which bred Tiz the Law, was named Breeder of the Year, and Tizfiz, the colt's dam, earned Broodmare of the Year honors.

This is the second New York Horse of the Year title for Tiz the Law, who earned the award last year with a season highlighted by a win in the G1 Champagne Stakes. His 2019 season also helped earn Jockey of the Year honors for Franco and Broodmare of the Year honors for Tizfiz.

A full list of the year-end award winners can be found below.

Horse of the Year and 3-Year-Old Male – Tiz the Law
Breeder: Twin Creeks Farm
Owner: Sackatoga Stable
Trainer: Barclay Tagg

2-Year-Old Filly – Simply Ravishing
Breeder: Meg Levy
Owners: Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing, Nehoc Stables
Trainer: Kenny McPeek

2-Year-Old Male – Brooklyn Strong
Breeders: Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan
Owner: Mark Schwartz
Trainer: Danny Velazquez.

3-Year-Old Filly – Sharp Starr
Breeder: Stonewall Farm
Owner: Barry Schwartz
Trainer: Horacio DePaz

Older Dirt Female – Lucky Move
Breeders: Maltese Cross Stables and Stonegate Stables
Owners: Ten Strike Racing
Trainer: Juan C. Guerrero

Older Dirt Male – Mr. Buff
Breeders/Owners: Chester and Mary Broman
Trainer: John Kimmel

Female Turf Horse and Female Sprinter – Lead Guitar
Breeder: Windylea Farm
Owners: Jim and Susan Hill
Trainers: George Weaver, Eddie Kenneally

Male Turf Horse – Somelikeithotbrown
Breeders: Hot Pink Stable & Sand Dollar Stable
Owners: Skychai Racing & Sand Dollar Stable
Trainer: Mike Maker

Male Sprinter – Funny Guy
Breeder: Hibiscus Stable
Owners: Gatsas Stable, R.A. Hill Stable, Swick Stable
Trainer: John Terranova

Broodmare of the Year: Tizfiz
Breeder of the Year: Twin Creeks Farm
Jockey of the Year: Manny Franco
Trainer of the Year: Barclay Tagg
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ellen Bongard; Frank and Patricia Generazio
Special Award: Jeffrey Cannizzo.

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Mischevious Alex Dominates In the Carter

Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) took his 2021 record to a perfect three-for-three and scored a career high Saturday in Aqueduct's GI Carter H. Breaking sharply alongside the fleet-footed Chateau (Flat Out), the 4-5 chalk allowed his foe to dictate terms, sitting two lengths back in second as Chateau clocked a :23.09 first quarter and :45.89 half-mile. Chateau turned for home in front, but Mischevious Alex was just winding up. The bay inhaled the pacesetter by mid-stretch and rolled clear with ease under a hand ride from Irad Ortiz to win by 5 1/2 lengths. Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) got up for second and Souper Stonehenge (Speightstown) was third with Chateau fading to be fourth out of five. It was the second graded win on the card for both Ortiz and trainer Saffie Joseph.

“I was a little concerned early in the race,” Joseph said. “He was a little far back and I know the track has been heavy and I didn't know if he could make up that much ground. Obviously, he was giving Irad some feel and he rode him with a ton of confidence. He ran well, but I didn't expect him to win a Grade I as easy as he did. I have a lot of respect for the competition.”

As for what's next, Joseph said, “[Part-owner] Chuck [Zacney] has always wanted to go to the [GI] Met Mile because we want to make him [Mischevious Alex] a stallion. Winning a Grade I today takes a lot of pressure off. In my opinion, he wants to sprint six or seven furlongs. Can he get a mile? Yes, against the right company. But it all depends on who shows up. The Met Mile is definitely under consideration and then the two Grade Is at Saratoga [Forego and Vanderbilt]. Hopefully, he comes out of it good and then we'll make a game plan.”

“He came to Saffie's barn in December and he took it from there,” Zacney said. “This was always our goal. We felt this horse deserved a Grade I. That's what we were shooting for, and now he has it.”

Romping by seven lengths in Gulfstream's GIII Swale S. in February of last year, Mischevious Alex followed suit with a facile score in Aqueduct's GIII Gotham S. a month later. With COVID-19 halting racing in much of the country, he did not make his next start until June 20, finishing fourth in Belmont's GI Woody Stephens S. Sixth next out in the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. at Saratoga Aug. 1, the $75,000 KEESEP buy was subsequently shelved for the season and transferred from John Servis to Joseph in the interim. Kicking off 2021 with a decisive optional claimer score at Gulfstream Jan. 10, Mischevious Alex captured the GIII Gulfstream Park Sprint S. last time Feb. 13.

Pedigree Notes:

Mischevious Alex is the ninth Grade I winner by leading sire Into Mischief and is also one of 39 graded winners and 92 black-type scorers by the red-hot stallion. He is also the fourth Grade I winner out of a daughter of Speightstown and one of 11 graded winners and 30 black-type victors out of mares by that WinStar stalwart. The winner is bred on the same Into Mischief/Speightstown cross as MGISW Mia Mischief and MGSW & MGISP Engage. His dam White Pants Night is a half-sister to GSW Hebbronville (Majesticperfection); MSW & GSP Master of Disaster (Dance Master) and SW A Day For Dancing (Dance Master). Mischevious Alex was her second foal and she has since produced the 3-year-old gelding Great Gasby (Tiznow); a juvenile colt by Outwork; and a yearling colt by Wicked Strong. White Pants Night was bred back to Audible last season.

Saturday, Aqueduct
CARTER H.-GI, $291,000, Aqueduct, 4-3, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:23.97, ft.
1–MISCHEVIOUS ALEX, 123, c, 4, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: White Pants Night, by Speightstown
                2nd Dam: More d'Amour, by Tour d'Or
                3rd Dam: Love Connection, by Master Derby
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($75,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $140,000 RNA
2yo '19 OBSAPR). O-Cash is King LLC and LC Racing; B-WinStar
Farm, LLC (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $165,000.
Lifetime Record: 12-7-1-1, $614,730. Werk Nick Rating: A+++
*Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Mind Control, 123, h, 5, Stay Thirsty–Feel That Fire, by
Lightnin N Thunder. O-Red Oak Stable (Brunetti) & Madaket
Stables, LLC; B-Red Oak Stable (KY); T-Gregory D. Sacco.
$60,000.
3–Souper Stonehenge, 118, g, 5, Speightstown–
Onepointhreekarats, by Medaglia d'Oro. O-Live Oak
Plantation; B-Live Oak Stud (FL); T-Mark E. Casse. $36,000.
Margins: 5HF, 1, HD. Odds: 0.85, 2.60, 18.00.
Also Ran: Chateau, Shoplifted. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Junior Alvarado Bringing South Florida Momentum To New York Jockey Colony

Following a successful winter in South Florida, a determined Junior Alvarado will resume riding in New York on Friday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

After many years of staying in New York for the Big A winter meet, Alvarado, 34, instead took his tack to Gulfstream Park for their championship meet where he finished sixth in the jockey standings with 53 wins, including seven stakes scores.

“For a long time, I've waited for this opportunity and it felt like the right time, so I took advantage of it and I thought it went better than expected,” Alvarado said. “The first couple of weeks were a little slow, but that was a lot of people getting to know me and trying to figure out the track and knowing when and where to make your move. Things began picking up after that.”

Much of Alvarado's success this winter came on the turf for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. He guided Annex, a sophomore Constitution colt, to stakes scores in the Palm Beach and Cutler Bay as well as capturing the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant with White Frost, a 3-year-old Candy Ride filly.

Both Mott trainees could be contenders this summer in NYRA's lucrative Turf Triple series, implemented in 2019 as the turf equivalent of the Triple Crown, with all legs contested at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.

Alvarado also picked up Gulfstream stakes wins with Venezuelan Hug in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf for trainer Danny Gargan; Gray's Fable for Hall of Fame trainer Roger Attfield in the Grade 3 Kitten's Joy; and Pacific Gale in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie for John Kimmel.

Alvarado's mounts banked more than $2.3 million in earnings at the Gulfstream meet, where he boasted a record of 377-53-75-48 while finishing in the money at a 47 percent clip.

“This is the first year where I've started things off with this much success,” Alvarado said. “Coming back to New York, I've been riding a lot of good horses that I picked up down in Florida. Coming into the spring, I don't know that I've ever had this many good horses lined up, so I am very confident moving forward. It gives me a lot of confidence in the decisions I make in riding.”

Alvarado departed for Florida after a strong fall campaign in New York, notching five stakes wins during the Big A fall meet and six stakes victories during the Belmont fall meet, including Grade 1 scores aboard Dayoutoftheoffice in the Frizette and Gufo in the Belmont Derby Invitational.

On Saturday, Alvarado will have the chance to parlay his South Florida prosperity to the Empire State, with mounts in four of the five graded stakes on a lucrative card.

In the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, Alvarado will pilot Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Candy Man Rocket, who will try to make amends after an off-the-board effort as the beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 6.

The Mott-trained son of Candy Ride tasted sweet victory in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs on February 6 but did not get the most favorable of runs into the first turn of the Tampa Bay Derby, where he broke awkwardly and was shuffled to mid pack in between horses.

Alvarado, in search of his first Wood Memorial win, will guide Candy Man Rocket from post 7 in a field of 9. He said the outside post in Saturday's nine-furlong event will be beneficial.

“Things just didn't go our way that day,” Alvarado said of the Tampa Bay Derby effort. “There was some bumping going into the first turn and we had to start over and go to the outside. I would draw a line through that race. We have a good post to the outside on Saturday. Hopefully, he breaks well and gets a race similar to what he did in the Sam Davis, when he was in the clear on the outside.”

The Wood Memorial offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers and a good result on Saturday would propel Candy Man Rocket, currently 32nd on the leaderboard with 10 points, into the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.

Alvarado's previous Derby mounts include Mohaymen [4th, 2016], Enticed [14th, 2018] and Tax [14th, 2019].

Alvarado's stakes lineup on Saturday incudes mounts aboard multiple Grade 1-winner Mind Control in the Grade 1, $300,000 Carter [Race 6]; Modernist in the Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior [Race 8]; and Mia Martina in the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle [Race 9], which offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points. He will also partner Lady Sansa in her North American debut in a turf allowance in Race 7 for trainer Christophe Clement.

Alvarado formally returns to action on Thursday at the Big A, and is named to ride Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Paris Lights in the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff [Race 7]. He also is scheduled aboard Olympique [Race 1], Runabout [Race 2], and Box N Score [Race 6].

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