‘Hard Work Pays Off’: Irad Ortiz Jr. Bags Five Wins Thursday At Saratoga

Irad Ortiz, Jr. enjoyed a tremendous day at the races, winning with 5-of-8 mounts on Thursday's 10-race card at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The veteran jockey, a two-time leading rider at Saratoga [2015, 2018], moved into a tie for second position in the jockey standings with his brother, Jose Ortiz, each with 10 wins, just one short of Joel Rosario.

“When you have the right horses, they make you look good,” said Ortiz, Jr. “Days like this are great. To win five races in one day at any track is so special. You work so hard in this business and on days like this all that hard work pays off.”

Ortiz, Jr. kicked off the flat racing portion of Thursday's program by guiding Thomas Shelby [No. 6, $6.50] to a claiming score for owner-trainer Wesley Ward. Two races later in Race 4, he captured the NYSSS Statue of Liberty for the second straight year by piloting Fresco [No. 1, $3] to a memorable maiden win for leading trainer Christophe Clement.

The veteran rider followed up in Race 5 with a prominent score aboard Irish Front [No. 5, $9.50], a Waterford Stable homebred son of Summer Front trained by Todd Pletcher. In Race 7, he guided Bertranda [No. 10, $6.70] to an in-hand allowance optional-claiming event for trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci.

Ortiz, Jr. added his fifth win on the card in Race 9 when Admiral Lynch [No. 3, $16.80] sprinted to convincing score over 8-5 mutuel favorite Honest Mischief.

On July 31, 2019, Ortiz, Jr. also won five races in one card at Saratoga, going 5-for-7 on the day of his NYSSS Statue of Liberty score aboard Kid Is Frosty.

Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez twice won six races on a Saratoga card in 2012 and Hall of Famer John Velazquez also notched six in one card at the Spa in 2001.

Live racing resumes Friday at Saratoga with a 10-race card highlighted by the Grade 3, $100,000 Quick Call for sophomores going 5 ½ furlongs on the Mellon turf course in Race 9 at 5:46 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:10 p.m.

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The Beat Goes On: Shepperton Win Gives Pink Lloyd 21st Stakes Triumph

The incomparable Pink Lloyd deployed his usual tactics, powering past the competition in the stretch to add more hardware to his collection as he won the 45th edition of the $100,000 Shepperton Stakes on Thursday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Winning his third Shepperton title, Pink Lloyd ties Paso Doble with the most wins in the main track stakes event, which has been run at a distance of 6 1/2 furlongs for all but two editions.

The Robert Tiller trainee also won this race in 2017 and 2019, and finished third in 2018. Paso Doble took the 2011, 2013 and 2014 events.

Carrying a field height weight of 128 pounds, Canada's reigning three-time Champion Male Sprinter stalked the leaders along the rail before jockey Rafael Hernandez maneuvered him outside in the stretch and took off. 

Stopping the clocked in 1:16.44 nearly two lengths in front, Pink Lloyd paid $2.60 to win as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite in the six-horse field. There was no place or show wagering.

Early trailer Silent Jimmie chased the champion home and got up for second just ahead of the front-runners, Dun Drum and Not So Quiet, who had set fractions of :23.25 and :45.88. Magical Man and Souper Success completed the order of finish.

“He's got the heart and desire to be probably the best sprinter in Canada the last 50 years,” said Tiller, who has won the Shepperton a record six times for a trainer. “He is amazing. He was in trouble all the way. We got the box trip with the one-hole, and it worked out well. Rafii waited and waited.” 

“We're very proud of him and I love him dearly,” said the Hall of Fame horseman. 

Bred by John Carey and owned by Entourage Stable, the 8-year-old Ontario-bred son of Old Forester now boasts 24 career wins from 29 starts and is approaching the $2 million mark in career earnings.

A 21-time stakes winner, Pink Lloyd previously put together an 11-race win streak in stakes action, beginning at the start of his 2017 Horse of the Year campaign. Pink Lloyd's current streak is now at eight after going six-for-six in 2019 and winning a record fourth Grade 3 Jacques Cartier Stakes in his season's debut on June 25. 

“Last time, he gave me a little hard time – he had to work hard to get there – but after the race, I told Bob, 'Now he's ready 100 per cent,'” said Hernandez. “He showed up today. He just broke out of the gate, sat behind good and he just did the best thing he knows how to do… he just switched the lead in the stretch and 'let's go.'

“He knows how to do it, he knows how to win.”

And so does Hernandez, who is the leading rider at the 2020 Woodbine meet and won half of Thursday's eight races.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues, without spectators, on Friday at Woodbine Racetrack. Post time for the first of eight races is set for 1 p.m.

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Tiz The Law, Gamine Favored In Latest Kentucky Derby, Oaks Future Wagers

Seven weeks in advance of the rescheduled $3 million Kentucky Derby  (Grade 1), bettors reaffirmed Belmont Stakes (Grade 1) winner Tiz the Law as the horse to beat when he closed as the 5-2 favorite Sunday in Pool 6 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Honor A. P. and unbeaten Los Alamitos Derby (G3) winner Uncle Chuck both closed at odds of 6-1. Blue Grass (G2) winner Art Collector was the 8-1 fourth betting choice and was followed by Haskell (G1) winner Authentic at 9-1.

Horses in order of favoritism in the three-day July 17-19 KDFW Pool 6 (Final Odds and $2 Win Will Pays): #21 Tiz the Law (5-2, $7.20); #8 Honor A. P. (6-1, $14); #22 Uncle Chuck (6-1, $15.80); #1 Art Collector (8-1, $19); #3 Authentic (9-1, $21.40); #24 “All Other 3-Year-Old Males” (14-1, $31.60); #4 Cezanne (18-1, $39); #14 Ny Traffic (19-1, $40.20); #6 Dr Post (24-1, $51.80); #11 Max Player (25-1, $52.80); #9 King Guillermo (25-1, $53.20); #5 Dean Martini (37-1, $76.60); #7 Enforceable (38-1, $78.60); #17 Shared Sense (42-1, $86); #13 Mystic Guide (50-1, $103); #23 “All 3-Year-Old Fillies” (52-1, $107.80); #20 Thousand Words (65-1, $132.20); #15 Pneumatic (87-1, $176.80); #19 Storm the Court (88-1, $179.20); #10 Major Fed (90-1, $182.40); #12 Modernist (96-1, $194.80); #2 Attachment Rate (105-1, $212.40); #18 South Bend (106-1, $215.60); and #16 Rushie (141-1, $285.40).

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager, offered for a 22nd consecutive year, enables bettors to wager on possible Kentucky Derby contenders in advance of America's greatest race at odds that could be more attractive than those available on the day of the race.

On March 17, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby, the 1 1/4-mile classic for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds, would be rescheduled from Saturday, May 2, to Saturday, Sept. 5, amid public health concerns in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Pool 2 of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which was conducted concurrently with the KDFW, 18-length Acorn (G1) winner Gamine closed as the 2-1 favorite over Road to the Kentucky Oaks points leader and Blue Grass (G2) runner-up Swiss Skydiver, who was 9-2. Ashland (G1) winner Speech was the 10-1 third choice.

The final odds for the Oaks Future Wager: #8 Gamine (2-1, $6.20); #19 Swiss Skydiver (9-2, $11.20); #17 Speech (10-1, $23.80); #12 Paris Lights (14-1, $31); #4 Donna Veloce (14-1, $31.40); #1 Altaf (17-1, $37); #21 Tonalist's Shape (19-1, $40); #16 Shedaresthedevil (19-1, $40.40); #18 Spice is Nice (21-1, $45); #24 “All Other 3-Year-Old Fillies” (22-1, $46.60); #7 Finite (24-1, $51); #9 Harvey's Lil Goil (24-1, $51); #22 Venetian Harbor (27-1, $56); #3 Bonny South (27-1, $56.60); #11 Mundaye Call (37-1, $77); #6 Envoutante (72-1, $147.20); #13 Pleasant Orb (78-1, $158); #2 Bayerness (91-1, $185.20); #5 Dream Marie (92-1, $186.20); #14 Project Whiskey (97-1, $197.60); #23 Water White (106-1), $215.60; #15 Queen of God (126-1, $255.60); #10 Impeccable Style (159-1, $320.80); and #20 Tempers Rising (175-1, $353.80).

The 146th running of the $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI), the nation's most lucrative race for 3-year-old fillies, will be run over 1 1/8 miles on Friday, Sept. 4.

All told, $305,488 was bet in future wagers over the three-day period. Total handle for Pool 6 of the KDFW was $191,346 ($126,026 in the Win pool and $65,320 in Exactas). Betting on the Oaks Future Wager totaled $54,897 ($35,383 in the Win pool and $19,514 in Exactas). The Oaks/Derby Future Double, which requires fans to correctly select the winners of both races, handled $59,245.

Pool 7 of the KDFW – the final future wager opportunity in advance of the races – is scheduled for Aug. 7-9.

Visit www.KentuckyDerby.com/FutureWager for more information.

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COVID-19: Luis Saez Could Be Cleared To Return To Saddle Friday At Saratoga

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) on Sunday announced that pending the completion of a 14-day quarantine period, a negative COVID-19 test and clearance from a physician noting that NYRA-based jockey Luis Saez can no longer transmit the virus, that Saez would be permitted to ride at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Friday, July 24.

Saez tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, July 10 while riding at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. He has remained asymptomatic throughout the period of quarantine, which will total 14-days on July 24.

Current Centers for Disease Control (C.D.C.) guidance recommends a 10-day quarantine period for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, but remained asymptomatic prior to and throughout the duration of quarantine. Saez made the determination to extend his quarantine to 14-days in the interest of protecting his fellow riders.

Following the completion of 10-days in isolation, according to the same C.D.C. guidance, a COVID-19 diagnostic test should be administered to rule out the potential for ongoing infection and transmission. As such, Saez will only be tested once he has completed 10-days in quarantine.

Additional information regarding the discontinuation of quarantine/isolation for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 can be found at CDC.gov.

The decision to allow Saez to potentially return to action on Friday, so long as all steps are completed to the satisfaction of NYRA and his attending physician, was made in consultation with the Jockeys' Guild and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC).

Saratoga Race Course is closed to out-of-town jockeys. In addition, any member of the regular NYRA jockey colony who travels to ride at any other racetrack will not be permitted to return to Saratoga Race Course.

Out-of-town jockeys that are not currently riding at another racetrack may be considered for inclusion in the regular NYRA jockey colony provided the jockey does not ride at another racetrack beginning on Thursday, July 16.

Any jockey that rides at a racetrack outside of Saratoga beginning Thursday, July 16 will be considered an out-of-town jockey and will not be permitted at Saratoga Race Course.

All personnel working at Saratoga Race Course in any capacity are required by NYRA to produce a negative COVID-19 test in order to access the property. This policy is inclusive of jockeys, valets, NYRA employees, trainers and their staff, outside vendors and credentialed media.

In addition to race day safety protocols including standard health screening and temperature check, the jockey quarters at Saratoga Race Course have been substantially altered to provide maximum social distancing and reduce density. All areas accessed by jockeys during the regular course of a race day are closed to all outside personnel, including credentialed media, and are cleaned and disinfected throughout the day.

Jockeys and valets are not permitted access to the barn area. In order to work a horse in the morning, the jockey must meet the horse in the paddock and can then proceed to the main track.

Jockey agents must produce a negative COVID-19 test in order to gain access to the barn area. Races will continue to be drawn via Zoom.

All common areas as well as the jockey's dining area have been closed and will remain closed through the end of the meet.

NYRA's COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan Committee, comprised of key NYRA staff members as well as representatives from the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA), the Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.), Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) and the New York Race Track Chaplaincy of America (NYRTCA), will continue to implement the most current health and safety protocols as described by the C.D.C. and the New York State Department of Health.

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