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Belmont Stakes May Lack Extra ‘Star Power,’ But Connections Are Excited To Kick Off Triple Crown

The past several weeks' three major defections from the 3-year-old season – Charlatan, Nadal, and Maxfield – may have turned this Saturday's Belmont Stakes into a smaller field, but connections were still quick to express their excitement for the the non-traditional first leg of the Triple Crown during an NTRA conference call Monday afternoon.

“My original thought was that it could potentially be a race that would oversubscribe, but now it looks like it's going to be more in the neighborhood of an eight or a nine-horse field, max,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who plans to enter the pair of Dr. Post and Farmington Road. “That does surprise me a little bit, and I think that's partly due to some bad luck for some horses and also the uncertainty due to the timing of everything.”

The changing schedule of the Triple Crown, caused by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, saw the Kentucky Derby pushed back from the first Saturday in May to the first Saturday in September. The Preakness was rescheduled for the first Saturday in October, and the Belmont was pushed back three weeks from its originally-scheduled date, and is now the first leg of the classic series.

Rather than running the Belmont at the traditional 1 1/2-mile distance, the New York Racing Association made the decision to shorten it to nine furlongs, turning the “Test of the Champion” into a one-turn affair.

“I had spoken to people three or four weeks ago, and said that in many ways I felt I thought the Belmont was going to be this year's Kentucky Derby, because its the first time that the best horses in training were going to be meeting each other, the West Coast and East Coast and in-between,” echoed Jack Knowlton, co-owner of likely favorite Tiz the Law. “Clearly because of the injuries in Bob's two horses, and now with Maxfield out, there isn't the star power that we all expected.

“But, I feel good about the race being a mile and an eighth. We know that Tiz the Law can handle Belmont, he trains on it, he won the G1 Champagne there. I think the configuration, with a long run down the backside, Manny (Franco's) gonna have an opportunity to put him where he wants to put him. He'll be able to make the run that he's made in all four of his wins, just kind of stalking a little bit off the pace, then moving forward around the turn and winning the race in the stretch.”

It is not yet clear whether any owners will be able to attend the Belmont Stakes, which Knowlton especially acknowledged was a new challenge. His Sackatoga Stable group became famous when they won the 2003 Kentucky Derby with Funny Cide, after riding several school busses from their hotel to Churchill Downs with a 53-person entourage.

This time around, the majority of the Sackatoga group plans to watch the Belmont Stakes from a restaurant patio in Saratoga.

“Funny Cide was a once in a lifetime for an outfit like ours,” Knowlton said. “To have it happen again, it looks like lightning really has struck twice… so the school bus will be reserved for Louisville, and we're hopeful we will be able to have owners and a number of fans at Churchill.”

Meanwhile, Knowlton has all the faith in the world in veteran trainer Barclay Tagg.

“Barclay's been in the game for 50 years, and he's got all the experience you need,” Knowlton said. “He doesn't get horses like Funny Cide or Tiz the Law very often, but when he does, he makes the most of it.”

Looking to upset the favorite will be a recent allowance winner trained by Mark Casse, who also took time to speak to media during Monday's teleconference. The 3-year-old son of Tapit broke his maiden at Saratoga back in August, and Casse immediately started thinking about bigger and better things.

“After he broke his maiden, I told (owner) Mrs. Weber, 'I think this colt could win the Breeders' Cup this fall, but it's going to be a bit of a rush, and we're going to have to run him two turns in his next start,'” Casse recalled.

His first two-turn race, the Breeders' Futurity, was a bit of a disaster when he missed the start, rushed up and fought with jockey Tyler Gaffalione, and faded to finish 10th. Trying again in the listed Street Sense Stakes, Tap It To Win was gashed up at the start and again finished at the rear of the field.

“He couldn't hardly walk for a couple weeks after, and it turns out a piece of bone actually died, so we had to operate on him,” Casse explained. After taking the winter off, Tap It To Win “came back with a vengeance, and with a much better attitude. He's always shown, from the time we got him, that he was something exceptional.”

He won his first start off the layoff, and his second start on June 4 resulted in a five-length romp at Belmont Park.

“Johnny (Velazquez, jockey) is the one that kind of convinced me for sure that the Belmont is the way to go.” Casse said. “He felt like he finished with something left, and he said he galloped out very strong.”

The Belmont will be the colt's third race off the layoff, and Tap It To Win could be poised for a career-best performance.

Meanwhile, Pletcher's pair of Farmington Road and Dr Post, both sired by Quality Road, are also preparing well for Saturday's big test. The lightly-raced Dr Post got a “good education” last out when he won the listed Unbridled Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Pletcher said, and should be close enough to the pace to make his presence felt.

Farmington Road hasn't shown the same success rate on the track as his stablemate, and Pletcher admitted that the 1 1/2-mile distance might have been more his style.

“He's come close to a breakthrough performance, and he would appreciate a good honest pace up front,” Pletcher said. “On paper, it looks like it should have solid pace. Because of the one-turn dimension, horses lay a little closer to the pack because the first turn doesn't spread them out… that's to the benefit of Farmington Road because he won't be so far out of contention early.”

Also expected for Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes are: Jungle Runner, Max Player, Modernist, Pnuematic, and Sole Volante.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘All I Have In This World Is My Word’

If you pay close enough attention, you might start to recognize the same faces leading horses through the Churchill Downs paddock multiple times over the course of an afternoon of racing.

Of course, due to the current operating rules not allowing spectators on the Louisville, Ky., racetrack, you're limited to watching races from the perspective of the track cameramen. Paired with the face mask every groom leading a horse is required to wear, it's a little harder to watch for Jerry Dixon during the four to six races he works every day.

Or maybe it's the color of his skin that helps Dixon unjustifiably fade into the background.

As a Louisville native, the 52-year-old has been paying extra attention to the recent Black Lives Matter protests after the police killings of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee.

Dixon had been to McAtee's barbeque joint in Louisville's West End multiple times over the years, and said it's always crowded because the food is so good. Police arrived to disperse the crowd the evening McAtee was shot due to Mayor Greg Fischer's curfew, but not because protestors were congregating there. In fact, the protests were mainly happening uptown, not in the West End.

“Real talk: I have tears running down my face for my city,” Dixon wrote on Facebook the morning after McAtee was killed, pleading for a nonviolent community response to the police shooting. “Watching the news on the outside looking in, I want to join the protest but I'm going to do it this way […] Pray for my city, pray for my country, pray that our God give us the justice for all.”

Racism in the world of horse racing is just as prevalent as it is outside the game, with few black trainers and jockeys making it to the sport's top levels. Asked about black horsemen getting a fair shake, Dixon admitted they often don't get the same opportunities for success as those of a different skin color.

“But that's just the way the world is,” he said. “And it's sad, too, because we're losing a lot of old-school horsemanship knowledge with fewer and fewer American grooms out there.”

For his part, Dixon might be easier to recognize when you look for the relaxed countenance of the horse he's handling. He is a true throwback horseman, a remnant of a bygone era, according to multiple trainers employing his services. They are all quick to acknowledge that if they have a racehorse who is particularly nervous or difficult to handle in the paddock, Dixon is who they want handling that horse.

“He's probably one of the best I've ever seen when it comes to handling a nervous horse in the paddock,” said Kentucky-based trainer Tommy Drury. “I think it's mostly experience, but it's also that little extra 'something' that all the good horsemen seem to have. I think it's just a natural ability. It's almost like he can feel what a horse is gonna do in the paddock before they do it and stay a step ahead of them.”

So why does Dixon handle so many horses each race day? He doesn't care for all of them on a regular basis; it'd certainly be a challenge to groom the hundreds of horses he works with over the course of a race meet.

Instead, Dixon has built a thriving business out of Churchill Downs' receiving barn. When trainers ship their horses to Churchill on the day of a race, whether from another track or a local farm or training center, they are stabled in the receiving barn near the stable gates. It can be difficult for those trainers to bring a groom to the track for each horse, especially when that groom usually has several other horses back home they are caring for.

That's where Dixon steps in. Once the horse trailer arrives at Churchill, Dixon meets the trainer or the van driver to help unload the horse and settle him or her into the stall. Then he'll unload all the equipment and take down specific instructions for that horse.

Does the horse require running bandages on all four legs, just two legs, or none at all? Which bridle does the horse need? If he wears blinkers, should they be put on in the paddock or in the barn before leading the horse over?

Dixon can also meet the state veterinarian for the administration of Lasix, and he'll monitor the horse up to and after the race to watch for any problems.

“Look, all I have in this world is my word,” Dixon said. “That's how I got my business … If I say I'm gonna take care of you, I'm gonna take care of you.

“What a trainer wants is when they ship in, they want to be able to know that their horse is alright while they go eat, while they go to the frontside with their owners. No trainer wants to sit back there at the receiving barn in a suit!”

With multiple horses shipping into the receiving barn for each race day, Dixon employs a small crew of three to seven trusted assistants, depending on how busy he is, including his son, Jerry Jr., whom he hopes will eventually take over the business.

Every member of the crew is dressed professionally, usually wearing khaki slacks and a collared shirt, which makes a difference to the trainer and to their owners, Dixon said.

He calls his business “Dixon, Inc.,” though he laughed and joked that the “Inc” doesn't stand for “Incorporated,” but rather, “I Need Cash.”

That self-deprecating humor is a trademark, as is Dixon's work ethic. He walks hots every morning for trainer Jordan Blair at Trackside, Churchill's training center, and on race days he leaves straight from there to meet trainers at the receiving barn.

When Churchill isn't running, Dixon can be found at one of Kentucky's other tracks, like Ellis Park and Keeneland, or as far away as Indiana Grand, Belterra Park, Mountaineer, or even Arlington on Kentucky's dark days. It just depends where the horse trailers are heading that day, and whether he can catch a ride.

It keeps him out of trouble, Dixon said, echoing the reason he was introduced to racing in the first place.

Dixon grew up in Louisville, attending Butler High School in the late 1980s. During the summer between his junior and senior year, Dixon's uncles brought him to the racetrack to help keep him out of trouble, and quickly found him a morning job walking hots for trainer Jerry Romans.

His uncle Danny taught him how to walk horses, and his uncle Mitchell showed him “everything else,” like how to bridle a horse. Dixon remembered that his uncles used to charge him $5 each to apply bandages when he ran a horse, until trainer Steve Decker taught him how to do it for himself!

After he graduated high school, Dixon returned to the track until he got married in 1990 and moved to Northern Kentucky. He kept up with the horses as a hobby, working at Turfway Park on the weekends, but for 10 years his primary job was in roofing.

Eventually Dixon gravitated back to the track, and he noticed a trend at the receiving barn. Guys wanting a job would run to greet trailers as soon as they pulled up, and Dixon thought it was unprofessional.

“I thought, 'I can organize this,'” he remembered. “Some of my first clients were Wayne Mackie and Steve Casey, and of course Tommy Drury.”

Dixon's job doesn't garner him a lot of outside attention, so his name isn't particularly well-known outside the backstretch. He isn't usually handling the high-dollar graded stakes-caliber Thoroughbreds that the media focuses on, simply because there just aren't as many of them as there are lower-level runners.

“Look, when I was younger, it mattered to me whether their odds were higher than 10 to one,” Dixon admitted. “Now, I just want to focus on doing right by my clients.”

Still, the good horses Dixon has handled stick with him, especially Rahystrada, three-time winner of the Arlington Handicap for trainer Byron Hughes. The horse was fourth in the Arlington Million in 2010 and third in 2012, bringing Dixon a whole new level of excitement.

“The chance to work with good horses is a really nice opportunity,” Dixon said. “But really, there are a lot of good, honest runners out there that I like just as much.”

As the world outside the racetrack continues to wrestle with ideas like systemic racism, the racing industry ought to be willing to do the same thing.

But how? What can we do to be better?

Dixon thought about it for a moment, considering.

“We just want to be equal,” he said, leaning in. “Put a black person on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a black person in the racing office. I think that'd be a good start.”

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She’s A Julie Holds Off Point Of Honor To Win Ogden Phipps, Earn Breeders’ Cup Distaff Berth

She's a Julie added a second Grade 1 victory to her ledger, when displaying a powerful kick at the top of the stretch before running down Ollie's Candy to the inside of Point of Honor to win the 52nd running of the Grade 1, $300,000 Ogden Phipps by a nose Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Steve Asmussen, the 5-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality earned a “Win and You're In” berth into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff on November 7 at Keeneland through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

She's a Julie made amends after a poor result in the last out Shawnee at Churchill Downs, where she hopped in the air at the start, got out of position and was beaten 13 ¼ lengths.

Guided by jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. from post 3 in the six-horse field, She's a Julie laid fourth, one length off of pacesetter Blamed, who recorded an opening quarter mile in 22.84 seconds with Ollie's Candy and stablemate Golden Award to her outside second and third, respectively.

With the half-mile in 45.98 seconds, Blamed extended her advantage to a length but began tailing off as the field came around the far turn as She's a Julie, under a hard drive by Santana, Jr., made a three-wide move.

As Blamed dropped out of contention, Ollie's Candy found herself 2 ½ lengths in front with She's a Julie gaining ground in tandem with Point of Honor. The duo battled to a head-bobbing finish, with She's a Julie stopping the clock in 1:40.27.

Point of Honor was a neck to the better of Ollie's Candy and it was another 8 ¼-lengths to Blamed, followed by Pink Sands and Golden Award.

The victory was a second Grade 1 triumph for She's a Julie, who won the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs in May 2019. The victory was a fifth graded stakes win for She's a Julie, all of which took place at different racetracks.

“Everybody put a lot of effort into this filly. Steve [Asmussen] said he wanted me to go to New York,” said Santana, Jr., who has piloted She's a Julie in her last 14 starts. “She's doing well. I worked her and we were really happy with her. Steve knows what he's doing and I always listen to him. Today, she was feeling good. We got a great break. I sat in the spot I wanted. I knew she was going to give it to me, and she kicked it in. She gave me a nice kick.”

The win marked a ninth Grade 1 triumph for the jockey-trainer combo of Santana, Jr. and Asmussen.

Asmussen also won last year's edition of the Ogden Phipps with subsequent 2019 Champion Older Filly Midnight Bisou.

She's a Julie was saddled by Asmussen's assistant Toby Sheets, who oversees his New York division, and he admitted that he wasn't sure his mare won the photo finish.

“I had to watch it one more time to be sure [she had won.] It was very close,” Sheets said. “I said to Ricardo before the race that there was a lot of pace in there, and that's how the race unfolded. It was a very patient ride and the pace upfront helped. She ran super.”

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, aboard runner-up Point of Honor, admitted that the defeat was tough, but nevertheless was proud of his filly's effort.

“It was a tough beat. I'm not disappointed at all,” Castellano said. “She ran her race. I expected a hot pace and she did everything she could. It was a 'bob' and these are all competitive horses.

“I let the speed go and sat behind the horses,” he continued. “I popped her out and I thought I was going to go by. At the quarter pole, I was a little concerned. I was asking her and she didn't take off and I thought I was going to be third, but she kept running and ran a good race. You can't ask for anything more than that.”

She's a Julie returned $31.40 on a $2 win bet and banked $165,000 in victory while enhancing her lifetime earnings to $1,187,880. Her record now stands at 19-7-2-4 and includes wins in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows and Grade 3 Remington Park Oaks during her 3-year-old campaign as well as a triumph in the following year's Grade 3 Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park.

She is owned by Bradley Thoroughbreds, Tim Cambron, Anna Cambron, Denali Stud, Rigney Racing and Madaket Stables.

Bred in Kentucky by Godolphin, She's a Julie is out of the Dubai Millennium broodmare Kydd Gloves and comes from the same family as Grade 1-winner Bodemeister. She was purchased for $160,000 from the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by Blandford Stud.

Live racing resumes Sunday with a 10-race card highlighted by the $100,000 Mike Lee for New York-bred 3-year-olds going one mile on the main track in Race 9 at 5:36 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:15 p.m.

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MGG Wins $24 Million Summary Judgment Against Zayat Stables, Cases Against Co-Defendants Dismissed

The ongoing civil case between New York financial group MGG Investments and Triple Crown-winning owner Zayat Stables continued this week with a series of judgments on the myriad of motions before a Fayette County Circuit Court. A number of big names in the breeding industry who had been pulled into the case for purchasing horses or breeding rights from Zayat saw MGG's claims against them dismissed by Judge Kimberly Bunnell.

McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds and Hill 'n' Dale Farm, which purchased Solomini and American Cleopatra respectively were dismissed from the case, as were LNJ Foxwoods and Orpendale Unlimited Company, which purchased breeding rights to American Pharoah from the Zayat family. MGG had brought suit against them as co-defendants because it claimed they knew or should have known MGG was entitled to proceeds from those sales, as Zayat still owed the group for a $30-million loan he had taken out in 2016. Judge Bunnell disagreed that the horses and breeding rights were subject to such a lien according to the Food Security Act, which states that purchasers of farm products are not subject to security interests created by the seller, whether they know about the existence of those interests or not.

Judge Bunnell also ruled on a series of motions traded in recent weeks between MGG and Zayat Stables, which brought counterclaims against the investment group. She granted an order for summary judgment against Zayat for $24,534,166.13, which represents the remainder of the loan and associated interest MGG claims Zayat still owes on the original $30 million.

When Zayat Stables was first sued for the loan alongside individual members of the Zayat family, it filed a counterclaim stating MGG did not understand the horse industry, “employed a pattern of deception to lock Zayat Stables into a loan written to fail,” and “crammed terms down Zayat Stables' throat that did not resemble the deal struck” at a time when the stable's debt was just about to mature.

The Zayat counterclaim included counts of fraudulent inducement, fraudulent concealment, breach of financing contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, negligence/impairment of collateral, and tortious interference related to MGG's handling of the loan from before paperwork was signed to its seeking receivership just before the 2019 Eclipse Awards ceremony.

Judge Bunnell dismissed Zayat Stables' charges that MGG fraudulently induced it into a loan and concealed a lack of intent to fulfill its financial commitments to the equine operation. She did not dismiss a count of breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

She also partially granted a complaint of fraud from MGG, ordering that it may only pursue claims against Zayat related to fraudulent inducement of pre-contract representations with regard to the American Pharoah breeding rights it sold, and any fraud possibly stemming from Zayat Stables' communication with MGG about its equine collateral.

It's unlikely the flurry of court motions being hurled back and forth in the case will stop any time soon. Documents filed by the receiver currently in charge of the Zayat Stable in early June indicated that conflict remains over Zayat horses whose bills have gone unpaid. The receiver describes a series of communications with trainer Robertino Diodoro, who has four Zayat horses in his shedrow which he has told the receiver he has claim to. The outcome of a hearing to determine whether the Kentucky court could compel Diodoro to give up the horses was not available at press time.

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