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NYRA, Fox Sports TV Analyst Andy Serling Talks Saratoga On Writers’ Room

With the first week of the 2022 Saratoga meet in the books, NYRA and Fox Sports TV analyst Andy Serling joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about how Saratoga somehow continues to exceed its sky-high expectations, what track trends handicappers should look out for the rest of the summer, whether or not the sport needs fewer stakes races and more.

“I'll be honest, I came into this meet concerned [about a drop in business], and I think rightfully so, because our numbers were so spectacular last year when you're up 13% like we were,” Serling said when asked to explain Saratoga's continued growth. “I was shocked how much we were up [opening week]. Saratoga, even as we expanded, always sort of stayed the August place to be. It was a little quieter when the meet started and the last week, especially when you're into September, can get quieter. I'm wondering now if it's starting to matter less and less. This weekend was incredible, huge crowds, the handle numbers were great, the racing was also terrific. We averaged almost 10.5 horses per race on the inner turf. We were up about three-quarters of a horse over last year. So all the stars aligned, the racing was great, and the love for Saratoga keeps growing and growing. And maybe it's that once somebody comes to Saratoga, they never stop coming back. And over the years that's just going to build and build and build.”

The conversation turned to the increasingly redundant racing calendar and the abundance of short fields seen in stakes races.

“It's 100% a problem. To suggest otherwise is to continue, as we love to do in racing, to keep our heads in the sand,” he said. “It's not just a problem in America, but it's a bigger problem in America. The purses shouldn't matter in these big races, because there's so much intrinsic value for stallions and broodmares. But there are too many races. We were trying to fill the Mother Goose, and it pains me to think of that as a race that will go by the wayside, because the winners of that race are a veritable who's who of the greatest horses that have ever raced in that division. But something has to give. I'm not blaming any of these tracks, but there's an Iowa Oaks, there's this Oaks, there's that Oaks. There are races everywhere and it's just giving people too many options. Whether it's the graded stakes committee, the boards, the racing offices, something has to be done, because there are just too many big races with small fields.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers previewed a big weekend of racing, remembered the great Kitten's Joy and called for more meaningful sanctions for Paco Lopez's reckless riding. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Juarez: Lopez Has `No Regard’ For His Fellow Riders

Though admitting that he deserved his eight-day suspension after being the aggressor in an altercation with Paco Lopez following a July 1 race at Monmouth, Nik Juarez has some choice words for his fellow jockey, calling him “careless and someone who has no regard for his fellow riders.”

Lopez was suspended five days for his ride aboard Midnight Diva (Midnight Lute) in that day's third race. Juarez was suspended for eight days and fined $500 for “initiating a physical confrontation with another jockey.”

According to the footnote of the race, Midnight Diva came out midway on the far turn and impeded Juarez's mount, La Costa (Archarcharch). La Costa clipped heels with Midnight Diva, stumbled badly and was pulled up by Juarez. Midnight Diva crossed the wire third but was disqualified and placed last.

A New Jersey Racing Commission ruling issued July 13 noted that, “Mr. Lopez came out changing paths without sufficient clearance, causing #5 LA COSTA to clip heels and stumble badly, losing all chance.”

Lopez has been suspended numerous times in recent years for careless or rough riding, and Juarez is not the first rider to accuse Lopez of often riding in a reckless manner. The TDN was unable to reach Lopez for comment by deadline for this story.

The fight took place after the race when both riders were at the scales to weigh out.

Juarez had traveled back and forth to Sweden to be there for the birth of his daughter and rushed back to New Jersey to fulfill his riding obligations. He said the travel was difficult and he was frazzled.

“I had, literally, spent 31 hours on planes,” he said. “My daughter was born the day before the incident. My wife is still stuck in Sweden. It was a whirlwind week. Flight cancellations, delays, they lost my bag. It was a nightmare.”

He said his newborn daughter was on his mind when Lopez cut him off.

“He was smirking at me,” Juarez said. “I had just held my baby girl the day before and he just did something that could have cost me my life. He knows what he did and he's done it before. He has no remorse. He never called Romero Maragh in the hospital after he dropped him and the kid broke his neck. I know he would never do anything for me. To know you're riding out there every day with someone like that, it's touchy.”

Juarez said riding against someone like Lopez is like driving on the same road with a dangerous driver.

“Imagine if you are diving to work every day and are driving with the same eight, nine guys every day,” he said. “Just the same people. But you know one guy doesn't give a [expletive]. One day he's going to cut you off, one day he's not. Would you feel safe driving?

Despite his feelings toward Lopez, Juarez said he got what he deserved from the stewards.

“With me, they sent the right message because I deserve my punishment,” Juarez said. “I took things into my own hands and if I did that out on the street there would be repercussions with the authorities. I have to let the authorities do their job. On my end, I think they were fair. I am ashamed of how I acted. What they do with him is out of my control.”

Earlier this year, Lopez was handed a 14-day suspension by the Gulfstream stewards for his ride aboard In Due Time (Not This Time) in the GII Fountain of Youth S., in which two horses fell. In 2019, the Gulfstream stewards hit Lopez with a 30-day suspension for careless riding and causing a spill that resulted in Maragh undergoing surgery for two broken vertebrae and Carlos Montalvo suffering a fractured ankle. In 2021, Lopez got into an altercation with Irad Ortiz Jr. after a roughly run race at Gulfstream. Ortiz was fined $1,000 and both riders were put on probation.

Lopez tops the Monmouth standings with 48 wins. Juarez is in eighth place with 10 wins.

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Fixed-Odds Era Begins at Monmouth

OCEANPORT, N.J.-With a steady stream of customers showing up at the fixed odds windows, Monmouth Park's bold experiment with a new form of wagering the track hopes will energize the sport began Sunday.

Fixed-odds betting was supposed to begin a day earlier, but the opening day of the 2022 meet was canceled due to bad weather.
Monmouth did not release figures regarding how much was wagered on the fixed-odds bets, which made it difficult to assess how successful it was on day one. Because the bets are only available at present to on-track customers and Monmouth is the only track, for now, that players can bet on, expectations are that the handle, at the outset, will be modest.

There were, however, some positive signs Sunday. Three windows on the first floor of the grandstand accepted only fixed-odds wagering and the lines to get bets in typically ran three or four deep.

“The holds have been building with every race,” said Dallas Baker, the head of international operations for BetMakers, the Australian firm coordinating the fixed odds bets for Monmouth. “It's an educating process for the customers and an educating process for us as well. We are learning a lot. We are up and writing bets, but there are still a couple of takeaways from today that we need to look at. Ths success for us this weekend was always going to be measured by whether we were up and running and writing bets. We're writing bets and everything is working.”

Some of the customers appeared to be confused by the prices posted by BetMakers, which used the same system in place with overseas bookmakers. The stake is not included in the price. Therefore, a $2 bet on a 4-1 show pays $8, the same as a 3-1 shot in the pari-mutuel pools.

Many of the players were shopping for bargains, hoping they could find a horse going off at 3-1 in the fixed odds that might be 8-5 with the tote.

“I think this will work,” said jockey agent Nick Fulco after betting on the first race. “It will work in big fields, 12-horse fields, the turf races. You'll get 20-1 on maybe an 8-1 or 9-1 shot. Another place it will work is with the first-time starters. In the fixed odds a first-time starter might open up at 10-1, 15-1 and then you'll see them getting bet down. You might get 15-1 on a horse that pays 3-1. I'm going to be shopping around today for the best odds.”

(Note: For the sake of simplicity we have converted the fixed-odds prices to include the stake so that they correspond with the pari-mutuel prices).

Bargains were to be had, starting with the first race. Race winner Rhumjar (Holy Boss) took a lot of late action with the tote and went off at 2-1, paying $6. He opened at 9-2 in the fixed odds and held steady at that price. In the same race, beaten favorite Mr. Extension (Malibu Moon) went off at odds of 9-10 on the tote but could be had 8-5 in the fixed-odds betting.

It happened again in the second race with winner Kingdom Queen (Exaggerator) opening at 20-1 in the fixed odds before drifting down to 15-1. The filly went off at 8-1 in the pari-mutuel pools, paying $18.20. In the fifth race, Hushion (The Lumber Guy) paid $17.20 in pari-mutuel wagering with a $2 fixed odds bet closing at $28.00.

“We've seen massive price differences on some of the winners already today,” Baker said midway through the card. “We've also had 20-1's that were 10-1 on tote. It will show what a great service this is for the customers. Hopefully, this is a nice and easy start to what's going to be a great thing here.”

Bob Filo was typical of the customers that gave the fixed odds a try. A small bettor, he was curious to see how the system worked and was willing to give it a chance.

“I think this is a good idea,” he said. “If you're betting on a horse that you know is going to be a hot favorite you can shop for the best odds. I just wanted to try it. I just bet $5. I'm not sure how much I'll be betting on the fixed odds. I have to get used to it, see if it is worth it. I have to get the feel of it. I'll probably bet some in both pools today. Paco [Lopez] is always on the hot favorite. Maybe his horses won't be so low in the fixed odds. Then again, you might get burned. You could take Paco at 4-5 in the fixed odds and then his horse drifts up and goes off at 8-5. You just don't know.”

Baker said that he had expected to see more big gamblers try to exploit differences in the odds in the two pools.

“I was a bit surprised that we haven't seen a lot of professional money come in,” he said. “I was ready to be here and taking on some more professional money. It's been more just the general patrons getting into it. When the holds get bigger the more professional money will start flowing in.”

Baker has said that fixed odds should be available with online bookmakers in the state within a month or two. Betting will also expand to other tracks shortly and Baker said that his company has signed up about 15 tracks. However, all of the major racetracks are still taking a wait-and-see attitude regarding fixed odds wagering.

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Lopez Suspended for Fountain of Youth Ride

Jockey Paco Lopez has been suspended 14 race days after Gulfstream Park stewards found him guilty of careless riding in Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., the track announced Wednesday. The jockey will be on probation through the remainder of the Championship Meet.

Lopez was aboard eventual runner-up In Due Time (Not This Time) when the field of 3-year-olds bunched up on the far turn of the Fountain of Youth. In Due Time shifted out, which looked to cause High Oak (Gormley), under Junior Alvarado, to clip heels and fall. Galt (Medaglia d'Oro) and jockey Joel Rosario fell as they attempted to avoid the fallen High Oak.

The stewards reviewed the incident after the race, but made no changes to the order of finish.

In announcing Lopez's suspension Wednesday, Gulfstream Park also announced that additional cameras would be added and installed in the near future to provide the stewards better views of each race on dirt, turf and Tapeta.

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