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Math Wizard ‘Going To Move Forward,’ Aimed At Pegasus World Cup

The fields for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) will be firmed up on Friday, when the connections of the invitees must confirm their intent to run in the Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational series at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has every intention to run Grade 1 winner Math Wizard in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup. The 5-year-old son of Algorithms was listed second in preference on Reserve Invitees list released last week but is expected to draw into the 12-horse field due to the recent retirement of defending champion Mucho Gusto and the likelihood of Anothertwistafate, No. 1 on the Reserve list for the Pegasus, being committed to the Pegasus Turf.

Math Wizard, who captured the 2019 Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx, came off a three-month layoff to finish fourth in the Dec. 12 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream Park. The Harlan's Holiday was won in impressive front-running fashion by Tax, who won by 4 ½ lengths while covering 1 1/16 miles in a sharp 1:41.15.

“If all goes well, he'll run in the Pegasus,” Joseph said. “He's doing good. Normally, when he comes off a layoff, it takes a race or two for him to come back to order. We wanted to get him the race in the Harlan's Holiday. I feel like he's going to move forward off that race.”

Math Wizard is winless in seven starts since registering a 31-1 upset victory in the Pennsylvania Derby. Heading into Parx's signature race, he had gone winless in six starts following his 18 ½-length victory at Gulfstream Jan. 31, 2019, when he was claimed by Joseph and owner John Fanelli for $25,000.

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Announcer Keith Jones Retires After 30 Years With Parx Racing

After more than three decades as the voice of Parx Racing, announcer Keith Jones will be stepping away from the microphone at the end of the year. Since 1987, Jones has been the voice of Philadelphia Park/Parx making him the second longest tenured announcer after Tampa Bay Downs' Richard Grunder.

Jones began his career at Garden State Park before moving permanently to Philadelphia Park.

“I'll be forever grateful to the management at Greenwood for affording me an opportunity to pursue a career doing something I've thoroughly enjoyed,” said Jones.

Among an impressive list of achievements, Jones has called more than 60,000 races and 32 Pennsylvania Derbies. He was behind the mic high above the Philadelphia Park oval when a two-year-old Smarty Jones first flashed the talent that would lead to an improbable Triple Crown run in 2004.

“Smarty Jones' second career race in the Nursery Stakes was one of the greatest performances I've seen of any horse here at this race track,” Jones recalled.

Among other greats to grace the track at Parx, Jones ranks 2016 Cotillion winner Songbird and 2014 Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome as two of the most noteworthy horses he's had the honor to call.

Parx Racing Chief Operating Officer, Joe Wilson has worked with Keith for over thirty years.

“The voice of Keith Jones more than any single entity is synonymous with Parx Racing,” said Wilson. “He has always called the races with a dignity and professionalism worthy of the sport. It's hard to imagine someone else calling the Pennsylvania Derby or the Cotillion or even a Tuesday afternoon claiming race.”

It is the people at Parx Jones says he will relish most as he reflects on his career.

“As much pleasure as I've gotten from calling the races, what I'll always treasure most are the relationships—the friendships—that have been so rewarding over the past 34 years. From fellow staff to the many members of our PTHA to our passionate and supportive racing fans, I've had the good fortune to cross paths with an amazing group of people. This track, this job, these people—have been my professional life for a long time and I will miss all of it.”

Jones will be relocating to Texas with his wife, Kelly. Although he will miss his Parx family, he is enthusiastic about the road ahead.

“There's also a lot of excitement and anticipation about what lies ahead and I say thank you to everyone who has shared the journey with me.”

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COVID-19 ‘Just Wiped Out Everything’: Parx Cancels Pennsylvania Derby, Cotillion

Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa. will not host the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby or Grade 1 Cotillion in 2020, according to the Thoroughbred Daily News. Both $1 million races, originally scheduled for Sept. 26, are victims of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We will not be running any open stakes races this year,” racing secretary David Osojnak told the TDN. “We will be going on hiatus. The virus, the plague, just wiped out everything. We think we will be able to come back stronger in 2021.”

The late September date is an issue this year because Churchill Downs postponed the Kentucky Derby to Sept. 5 and the Preakness was rescheduled for Oct. 3. That left Parx little chance of attracting top 3-year-olds for its premier stakes races.

Instead, Osojnak reallocated the purse money from the Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion to overnight purses, allowing him to keep them near levels from 2019 until casino revenue starts flowing again.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Pennsylvania Derby, Cotillion Will Not Be Held in 2020

Due to circumstances that arose with the coronavirus pandemic, Parx Racing has canceled all of its open stakes for the remainder of the year, including the GI Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Cotillion S. The two $1-million events were part of a program that had been scheduled for Sept. 26 and also included the Turf Amazon S., the Parx Dirt Mile and the GII Gallant Bob S.

“We will not be running any open stakes races this year,” racing secretary David Osojnak said. “We will be going on hiatus. The virus, the plague, just wiped out everything. We think we will be able to come back stronger in 2021.”

COVID-19 caused two major problems for the Parx stakes. Since being moved to mid-September they had an open spot on the calendar, coming after the major 3-year-old races at Saratoga and before the Breeders’ Cup. That allowed Parx to attract quality fields that included recent Pennsylvania Derby winners like McKinzie (Street Sense) and West Coast (Flatter). Once the GI Kentucky Derby was rescheduled for Sept. 5 and the GI Preakness S. for Oct. 3, the mid-September slot no longer worked.

The purse account at Parx was also dealt a blow with the closing of the on-track casino Mar. 16. It reopened June 29, but can only operate at 50% capacity.

“It was 50-50,” Osojnak said. “As soon as they moved the Derby, we had a problem. We would have had to run three weeks after the Derby and a week before the Preakness. The way things were working out, it just didn’t make any sense to do so, from a financial standpoint or from where the calendar fell.”

Using the money that would have been earmarked for the Sept. 26 stakes has allowed Osojnak to keep purses for overnight races near their 2019 levels.

“We cut our purses, but not significantly,” he said. “I did an analysis of the local tracks–Laurel, Delaware, Monmouth. We had to work things out between the horsemen and Parx management, but what we wanted to do was to make sure that our purses were comparable, plus or minus a few thousand dollars, with those other tracks. We are doing OK, and if the casino revenue picks up, I anticipate that the purses will go back up.”

Parx will hold a handful of Pennsylvania-bred stakes races this year, including five scheduled to be run Sept. 7.

“It’s disappointing that we won’t be able to run these stakes this year,” Osojnak said. “This virus has affected so many things. These races will be back and, we believe, stronger than ever.”

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