Pennsylvania Derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

Weekend Lineup: Parx Takes Center Stage With Five Graded Stakes

Parx will be the focus of many of the nation's racing fans Saturday as the Philadelphia oval hosts five graded stakes races headed by two Grade 1, $1 million races—the Pennsylvania Derby for 3-year-old males and the Cotillion Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Both races mark the unofficial end of the graded stakes season for 3-year-olds males and females.

Races in this weekend's rundown are listed in chronological order (all times Eastern). Full previews, when available, can be found through the link for each race.

TVG will be broadcasting racing throughout the weekend from Delaware Park, Gulfstream Park, Monmouth Park, Woodbine and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app, which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

“America's Day at the Races” will be broadcasting live from Belmont Park on Saturday, Sept. 25 on FS2 from 12:30 – 3:30 pm and on SNY from 5:00-6:00 pm. America's Day at the Races returns on Sunday, Sept. 26 on FS2 from 12:30 – 6:00 pm.

Saturday, September 25

2:34 PM ET – $300,000 Kelso Handicap (Grade 2) at Belmont Park FS2

Multiple graded stakes winner and prohibitive favorite Life is Good is hoping to use the Kelso as a prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL092521USA4-EQB.html

3:20 PM ET – Greenwood Cup Stakes (Grade 3) at Parx on TVG

Repole Stables and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners Moretti has been installed the 2-1 morning line favorite as he seeks his first win of the year against a field of nine.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/PRX092521USA8-EQB.html

3:51 PM ET – $300,000 Turf Monster Stakes (Grade 3T) at Parx on TVG

Firecrow is set to return to the races Saturday for the first time since winning the Jim McKay Sprint on Preakness Day at Pimlico.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/PRX092521USA9-EQB.html

4:22 PM ET – $275,000 Dogwood Stakes (Grade 3) at Churchill Downs

Undefeated 3-year-old filly Carribean Caper will attempt to land her fifth consecutive victory as the likely favorite in the 46th Dogwood Stakes.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD092521USA8-EQB.html

4:22 PM ET – $300,000 Gallant Bob Stakes (Grade 2) at Parx on TVG

Jackie's Warrior, a leading contender for the Breeders' Cup Sprint, leads a field of seven following a neck victory over Life is Good in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (Grace 1) at Saratoga.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/PRX092521USA10-EQB.html

5:02 PM ET – $1,000,000 Cotillion Stakes (Grade 1) at Parx on TVG

Juddmonte Farm's Obligatory will make her third consecutive start in a Grade 1 stakes for Hall of Fame Trainer Bill Mott.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/PRX092521USA11-EQB.html

5:34 PM ET – $150,000 Bold Venture Stakes (Grade 3) at Woodbine on TVG

Multiple stakes winner and seven-time Sovereign Award recipient Pink Lloyd looks to add to his illustrious career with a win in the Bold Venture. The 9-year-old Pink Lloyd was Canada's 2017 Horse of the Year.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO092521CAN9-EQB.html

5:49 PM ET – $1,000,000 Pennsylvania Derby (Grade 1) at Parx on TVG

Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and second in the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets before being disqualified from first to last in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes, headlines the field of nine 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the main track, after the scratch of morning line favorite Medina Spirit. Other leading contenders include Midnight Bourbon, Keepmeinmind, Bourbonic and Americanrevolution.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/PRX092521USA12-EQB.html

5:58 PM ET – $200,000 Athenia (Grade 3T) at Belmont Park on SNY

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Pocket Square and Miss Teheran in the Athenia Stakes, a nine-furlong turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. Brown has won four of the last five runnings of the Athenia.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL092521USA10-EQB.html

Sunday, Sept. 26

5:16 PM ET – $250,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap (Grade 2) at Belmont Park on FS2

Following a triumph in the Longines Test Stakes (Grade 1) at Saratoga, Bella Sofia will face older fillies and mares at stakes level for the first time in the Gallant Bloom.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL092621USA9-EQB.html

7:33 PM ET – $200,000 Remington Park Oaks (Grade 3) at Remington Park on TVG

Pauline's Pearl is the morning line favorite in the 1-1/16 mile Remington Park Oaks (G3) on the main track for trainer Steve Asmussen and will face six rivals, including Lovely Ride, Amendment Nineteen and Lady Mystify. Pauline's Pearl, who won the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes in April, finished second in the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks in her most recent start.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/RP092621USA8-EQB.html

9:11 PM ET – $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (Grade 3) at Remington Park on TVG

Texas Derby winner Warrant is the morning line favorite in the 1-1/8 mile main track contest for 3-year-olds. The Brad Cox-trained Warrant finished second last out in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby to fellow Oklahoma Derby (G3) entrant Mr. Wireless. Super Stock and Team Merchants are also expected to line up in the eight-horse field.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/RP092621USA11-EQB.html

The post Weekend Lineup: Parx Takes Center Stage With Five Graded Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

TVG To Broadcast Pennsylvania Derby Card Live From Parx This Saturday

Top sophomores Hot Rod Charlie and Midnight Bourbon will face off on Saturday in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) from Parx Racing in Bensalem, Penn. and TVG will be broadcasting live throughout the thirteen-race card which includes eight total stakes races.

TVG's Rich Perloff will be trackside with exclusive interviews, analysis and handicapping selections throughout the card. In addition to the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1), the card will also feature some of the top three-year-old fillies in the country in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1).

It was announced on Tuesday that Medina Spirit, the 2-1 morning line favorite, would be a scratch out of the race leaving a field of nine. Hot Rod Charlie, disqualified from his first-place finish in the TVG Haskell (G1) and placed seventh for interference in the stretch, will be trying to earn his second stakes win of the year for trainer Doug O'Neill. The bay son of Oxbow was third in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and second in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and will have Flavien Prat aboard. Midnight Bourbon, second in the Travers Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) for trainer Steve Asmussen, will have Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the irons.

The $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) drew a field of nine and is expected to go to post with eight contenders with the scratch of Private Mission. Clairiere, a homebred for Stonestreet Stables, is the 2-1 morning line favorite for Steve Asmussen. Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be aboard the daughter of Curlin who was last seen finishing second in the Alabama Stakes (G1).

The undercard will also feature multiple Grade 1 winner Jackie's Warrior as he faces six rivals in the $300,000 Gallant Bob Stakes (G2). Trained by Steve Asmussen, the bay colt was last seen winning the H. Allen Jerkens (G1) at Saratoga by a neck. Regular rider Joel Rosario will retain the mount.

Three-year-olds will also take center stage at Remington Park on Sunday and TVG's Dave Weaver will be reporting live from the track featuring a twelve-race card anchored by the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3). The field of eight includes Warrant, the 5-2 morning line favorite for trainer Brad Cox. Bred and owned by Twin Creeks Farm, the son of Constitution won the Texas Derby in May and was second in the West Virginia Derby (G3). Joel Rosario has the mount.

In addition to racing from the Parx Racing and Remington Park, TVG will also be featuring Los Alamitos, Gulfstream Park and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

The post TVG To Broadcast Pennsylvania Derby Card Live From Parx This Saturday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Winchell Has Strong Hand With Midnight Bourbon, Silver State At Parx

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Midnight Bourbon, 3-1 morning line second choice will try to capture his first Grade 1 victory in Saturday's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, and enters after falling short of victory by a neck in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga.

Multiple graded stakes winner Silver State owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC and Willis Horton Racing, will look to begin another win streak in the $200,000 Parx Dirt Mile after his string of six consecutive victories came to an end in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, both look to be strong contenders according to Winchell's Racing Manager David Fiske.

“I think both spots are really good for them,” Fiske said. “The two-turn mile for Silver State should set him up for the Breeders' Cup Mile. Midnight Bourbon, he keeps knocking on the door. I think eventually he's going to knock one of these off. He's a really cool horse. Big personality. I saw a little video of him schooling in the paddock yesterday. Man, he looked like something else.”

Midnight Bourbon began the year with a victory in the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds and then added a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Risen Star, also in Louisiana.

Next came a second in the Louisiana Derby before finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby.

The colt by Tiznow then added a runner-up finish in the Preakness, before clipping heels with Hot Rod Charlie in the stretch run during the Grade 1 Haskell and losing jockey Paco Lopez.

“Hopefully, Saturday is his turn,” said Fiske. “It's been a peculiar year. Most years, the field for the Kentucky Derby evaporates the day after the Derby. This year we've had Essential Quality, Midnight Bourbon, Hot Rod Charlie, Medina Spirit — even though he scratched — he's still going. There are a lot of them out there and they're all quality colts.”

As far as Midnight Bourbon goes, Fiske knows this:

“He's a cool horse,” he said. “He seems to show up every time. He ran well in the Preakness, ran well in the Travers, ran well in the Derby. He's just a cool customer. He's a high energy guy. You need to be on your toes around him all the time.”

Silver State ended his 3-year-old year with a seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, then returned the following year with a seven-length victory against allowance competition at Keeneland. From there the son of Hard Spun added three more victories before returning to face graded stakes competition where he won the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap and Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap

“It's unusual for any horse to win that many races in a row,” Fiske said. “We had a horse a long time ago that won an Eclipse Award named Tight Spot. He won eight in a row. Then, we had a little horse that ran fourth in the Derby [1981 Kentucky Derby] named Classic Go Go that Tony Black rode. He won seven in a row. One of those was at the old Keystone Park as a matter of fact. He would win a race on Saturday then win a race at Keystone on Thursday. He made 26 starts as a 3-year-old. You do the math on that.”

The post Winchell Has Strong Hand With Midnight Bourbon, Silver State At Parx appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘Monumental Chore,’ But ‘Honest’ Beren Takes On Jackie’s Warrior In Parx’s Gallant Bob

After a year away, it's good to be back. That's what you've heard on the backstretch at Parx as the days get closer to the biggest day in racing in the Keystone State. The Pennsylvania Derby is back.

Following a year's hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, a 13-race card comes to Parx Saturday, Eight stakes races – highlighted by a pair of $1 million Grade 1 races, the Cotillion and Pennsylvania Derby – worth $3.4 million will be held.

“It will be good to see the nation get a chance to look at us and look at the quality product we put out here,” veteran Parx trainer Robert “Butch” Reid said. “There are good horsemen here with good horses. To get the national press is a very good thing for the track. It was like last year never happened because we missed out on our big day.”

Reid has horses running in five races. He will send out Beren in the Grade 2, $300,000 Gallant Bob for 3-year-olds where he will tackle the imposing Jackie's Warrior.

Beren, owned by St. Omer's Farm and Christopher Feifarek, is 6-1 on the morning line and will be ridden by Frankie Pennington, the second leading rider at the Parx meet with 121 wins.

In eight career starts at Parx, Beren has four wins and two seconds. Overall, he has six wins in 12 career starts. The Gallant Bob will be his second graded stakes start; he was third in the Grade 3 Bay Shore at Belmont in April.

“It's obviously a monumental chore,” Reid said about going up against Jackie's Warrior, the 4-5 morning line favorite. “But the horse always gives a good effort and we will certainly give it a try.”

Beren is coming off a front-running 6 ½-length win in the Parx Summer Sprint Stakes on Aug. 24. His trainer says his horse does not need the lead to win.

“He won a race at Belmont (Gold Fever on May 9) and he stumbled out of the gate, righted himself, and ran really well,” Reid said. “He is just an honest horse.”

Reid has also entered 6-year-old Smooth B in the five-furlong Grade 3, $300,000 Turf Monster and Ninetypercentbrynn in the $200,000 Plum Pretty at 1 1/16 miles.

The post ‘Monumental Chore,’ But ‘Honest’ Beren Takes On Jackie’s Warrior In Parx’s Gallant Bob appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post