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Longshot Informative Shocks In Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park

At 79-1, not many had given Informative a chance to win in Saturday's Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. Last after the first quarter, this son of Bodemeister seemed to have too much ground to make up on Green Light Go and Ny Traffic, but he found room on the rail to sneak through and pass Ny Traffic in the stretch to win the $150,000 G3 stakes race for 3-year-olds and older.

After a clean break, Green Light Go took a short lead on the rail, with Ny Traffic a half-length behind for the first five furlongs. On the final turn, Paco Lopez sent Ny Traffic to the lead, powering past a slowing Green Light Go. In the stretch, Ny Traffic dug in and tried to hold on to a length and half lead, but it was not enough. Jockey Jose Ferrer and Informative snuck through on the rail, flashing under the wire a length in front of Ny Traffic. Galerio and West Will Power were third and fourth, with War Stopper, Pirate's Punch, Basin, Bal Harbour, Green Light Go, and Croatian rounding out the field.

Find this race's chart here.

Fractions for the Salvator Mile were :23.98 for the first quarter, :47.27 for the half-mile, 1:11.55 for six furlongs, and 1:37.01 for the mile. Informative (79-1) paid $161.60, $37.80, and $15.60. Ny Traffic (4-5) paid $3.00 and $2.60. Galerio (7-1) paid $4.60 to show.

After the race, trainer Uriah St. Lewis was thrilled about Informative's longshot victory in the Salvator Mile.

“I expected this because this horse has been training so good. The last race he ran at Pimlico (second in a $35,000 optional claimer on May 15) he got blocked, checked and stopped and ran a huge number.” St. Lewis said to the Monmouth Press Office. “I said to myself 'if he can run that number again he can win – and he did.' We were not intimidated by this field. That's why we entered him. We thought he could win it. He has been close in a lot of his races and a mile (the horse was 0-for-19 at the distance) is right up his alley.

“When they went down the backside I thought I had no chance. But when we got to the top of the stretch and everything opened for him I said `our lucky day is coming.' All he had to do was finish strong and he finished strong. This feels good. I like that price $161.60 to win. Everyone is happy.”

Jockey Jose Ferrer knew what kind of horse he had under him today.

“We were in last place in the backside yes, but I saw everything happening in front of me. I had a lot of horse underneath. I've ridden horses like this before that looked like they were hopeless and they just pick it up for you.” Ferrer remarked after the race. “Everything opened up for me in the stretch. It was wide open to come through. I knew I had saved ground coming into the lane and I was thinking let's see what this horse has now. Then I saw Paco Lopez (aboard odds-on favorite Ny Traffic) drifting out and I said `man. I'm going to get him. I'm going to win this race.' The horse can't read the board so he didn't know (his odds). I've always said you don't have a chance if you stay in the jockeys' room and this is proof of that.”

Owned by Trin-Brook Stables, Informative is a 4-year-old colt by Bodemeister out of the Hard Spun mare Lucky Black. He was bred in Kentucky by Rose Hill Farm and John Trumbulovic and sold to Trin-Brook Stables by Brick City Thoroughbreds for $25,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Trip Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale. The G3 Salvator Mile is Informative's first stakes win and third win of his career in 25 starts with career winnings of $240,290.

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Lopez to Join the Monmouth Riding Colony

Cory Moran, the agent for top Monmouth rider Paco Lopez, informed trainers Thursday by text that his client will begin riding at the meet June 5. Lopez's status had been up in the air as he was considering his options in the face of new rules instituted at Monmouth that ban whipping. Some riders have said they would not ride at Monmouth because they felt the whip ban created unsafe racing conditions.

Lopez will not be riding at Monmouth this weekend, but that is because he has prior commitments to ride at Gulfstream Park. Lopez also has a suspension that needs to be served and has riding engagements in the days ahead at Delaware Park and Belmont. Those are the reasons why he won't be appearing at Monmouth until early next month.

“The unity didn't happen…so Paco does start riding at Monmouth June 5…thanks,” Moran, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, wrote to a number of trainers.

Lopez represents one of the last dominos to fall in what has at times been a bitter dispute between Monmouth's riding colony and the New Jersey Racing Commission, which instituted the new whipping rules. Several riders went on record saying they would not ride at Monmouth this year because of safety concerns. But any attempts there may have been to present a unified front have failed. Once Lopez's name was added to the list of available riders, nine of last year's top 12 jockeys had committed to the meet.

Lopez is a seven-time riding champion at Monmouth and led the standings last year. He had 51 winners, nine more than runner-up Ferrin Peterson.

In a related development, Monmouth has taken action against Antonio Gallardo, one of the riders who has opted to sit out Friday's opener over concerns about the whip rule. He has been suspended indefinitely pending a hearing. Dennis Drazin, the CEO of the management company that operates Monmouth, said that racing secretary John Heims had made the decision to ban Gallardo until a hearing could be held. Joe Bravo, another big name who has decided to sit out the meet, was not suspended. Drazin said that the reason Gallardo was banned and Bravo was not was because Gallardo's agent had accepted calls on the Friday card and had failed to honor them. Bravo will be a Penn National Friday, which means that he would not have been available to ride at Monmouth that day, whip ban or no whip ban.

“We will give him a hearing if he wants to come back,” Drazin said.

It appears that Gallardo's ban is a moot point. When reached by the TDN Thursday, the rider said that he has no intention of riding at the meet under the existing rules. He will ride, instead, at Presque Isle Downs this summer.

“I don't want to ride because I feel it is unsafe,” he said. “If they told me I was welcome to come back, my answer would be no. I don't know how I could ride without a whip. To me, it's like telling a policemen they have to do their job, but can't have a gun to protect themselves. I have nothing against Monmouth Park. I love Monmouth Park and it's like a second home to me. Because of this rule, I just wouldn't feel safe riding there.”

Gallardo was last year's fourth leading rider.

Of last year's top 12, only Bravo and Gallardo will be missing early on at the meet. Jorge Vargas, Jr., who finished ninth in the standings in 2020, will also be absent this weekend, but he has been injured and has not ridden since Mar. 20. Drazin said he recently talked to Bravo, a 13-time winner of the Monmouth riding title, and said “he was emphatic that he will not ride here this year unless the rules are changed.”

Nik Juarez, who nearly beat out Lopez for the riding title in 2019, has also clarified his position. He still has an outstanding suspension to serve, which some believed might keep him out of this weekend's races. But he will ride, which became possible after he secured a stay of his suspension. Juarez may now have the option of taking his days after the meet is over.

With most of the top riders back, concerns that a boycott would hurt handle have lessened greatly. However, handle may be off quite a bit this weekend because there are reports that it will rain heavily on Friday and Saturday, which would mean the races will come off the grass.

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For Second Day of Meet, Monmouth Will Have Plenty of Jockeys, Horses

The Monmouth Park racing office appeared to have no problem attracting horses and jockeys for Saturday's card when entries were taken Thursday. A 12-race card attracted 107 entries and there are 22 jockeys named to ride. There had been concerns that the track would fall short in both categories because some of the top riders have decided to sit out the opening weekend at Monmouth because they are concerned about new rules that prohibit whipping in the races, with the only exception being instances when there are safety concerns.

“We are happy with the way things have worked out,” racing secretary John Heims said. “We have some really good races for Saturday. It is a very nice card.”

When asked if the absence of some of the regular jockeys was making it harder to fill entries, Heims said: “It's not a factor and it wasn't a factor for Friday's card either. I read a lot of what was written and one thing that bothered me was somebody writing that we had to scrounge up these riders. We didn't scrounge up anybody. That's not fair to the guys who wanted to ride and feel comfortable doing so.”

The jockey colony for Saturday will include some notable names who are not scheduled to ride Friday. Ferrin Peterson, second leading rider last year, has four mounts and Nik Juarez, seventh in the standings in 2020 will ride four. Both will sit out Friday's card because they were serving suspensions. Hector Diaz Jr., last year's fifth leading rider, will also join the colony after accepting mounts for Friday at Belmont. Seven of the top 12 riders in 2020 will ride Saturday, the notable exceptions being Joe Bravo and Antonio Gallarado. Leading rider Paco Lopez will also be missing, but will be honoring previous commitments he made to trainers to ride this weekend at Gulfstream Park.

The pool of available riders Saturday also includes New York regular Dylan Davis, who will be riding for, among others, Chad Brown. He has seven mounts. Davis was sidelined earlier this year when breaking his clavicle in a spill and has not ridden since March 20.

While there will be one six-horse field Saturday, there is also a 16-horse race, an 12-horse race and an 11-horse race. Heims said he could have attracted even more horses, but decided to only card four grass races because of the threat of rain Saturday.

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With Whip Ban in Place, Showdown Looms at Monmouth

With 10 days to go before opening day at Monmouth Park, preparations are being made to kick off the 53-day meet that begins May 28. Track officials are ready to go and so are the trainers and about 1,100 horses already stabled at the seaside track.

But who will ride the horses?

That question remained up in the air Tuesday. The New Jersey Racing Commission has passed regulations that will go into effect on opening day that will prevent jockeys from using their whips, except for cases when there are safety concerns. Several jockeys, including 13-time leading rider Joe Bravo, have said that because of the whip ban they will not be riding this meet at Monmouth. They are concerned that the new rule will create potentially dangerous situations during the running of races.

“I can't believe it has come this far,” Bravo said. “They're trying to put us in a situation where we will not be safe. I won't be riding.”

Bravo said he was also concerned about the penalties in place for whip infractions. For the first offense, there will be a fine of $500 plus a five-day suspension and the penalties will increase with each subsequent offense.

“That can get very expensive very quickly,” he said.

Paco Lopez, last year's leading rider, had made earlier plans to ride in Florida at Gulfstream Park opening weekend. His agent Cory Moran said Lopez has not decided what do after the first few days of racing, but added that he “plans to stick with his fellow riders.”

Though some jockeys have yet to make their intentions known, it appears fairly certain that a number of regular riders will be missing come opening day. Under existing labor laws, the jockeys are not permitted to stage an organized boycott. However, any jockey can simply decide to spend their summer riding at another track.

Through the Jockeys' Guild, efforts have been made to have the commission reconsider the rule change, but the issue is not scheduled to come up until a commission meeting this summer, after Monmouth has opened. There doesn't appear to be any avenue to have the rules changed before the opening weekend.

Management is convinced there will be no problem finding enough riders to fill out a card.

“We will have plenty of riders,” said a racing official, who estimated at least 15 jockeys will be available on opening day. The list includes Ferrin Peterson, last year's second leading rider. According to the Asbury Park Press, Tomas Mejia is also planning to ride at the meet.

In 1988, jockeys went on strike at Aqueduct over riding fees, but there was no disruption of racing. Some of the lesser riders on the circuit crossed the picket line to ride and so did a number of riders from out of town. Monmouth has, outside of Belmont Park, the best purses in the Northeast, which may prove irresistible to some jockeys struggling to earn a living.

Meanwhile, Monmouth management is caught in the middle.

“I support the jockeys,” said Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth Park. “I'm most concerned about their safety and welfare and I think we need to do everything possible to make sure that they are safe and to prevent injuries.”

Yet, Drazin understands that the track cannot afford to lose any racing dates and he warned the jockeys that if they stage an organized boycott or accept mounts and then refuse to ride they will face a suspension by the racing commission.

“The safety of the jockeys at our racetrack should always come first, but I have no power to change this,” Drazin said. “I can't pick up the phone and make this go away. It is our regulator that adopted this rule.”

Drazin said his biggest concern is that bettors will shy away from Monmouth because the races might prove to be less predicable because jockeys will no longer be allowed to use their whips as a tool to encourage their mounts.

“The whales I have talked to said, 'look, this is going to hurt your handle.'” Drazin said. “They say they support Monmouth, but they're wondering how do you bet a closer in race where the jockeys can't hit them? It concerns me to some extent that the bettors feel this way.”

At least one big bettor who is a regular Monmouth player said the whip rule will have no impact on his total wagering.

“It doesn't bother me because it's fifty-fifty,” said Anthony Altamonte. “Do some horses need it more than others? Probably. But it will even out in the end. The whip also hinders some horses. Sometimes it's noticeable that when you hit a horse they will run out. Some horses don't like it. To me, this won't make any difference. It won't affect my gambling.”

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