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Jockey Angel Suarez Suffers Broken Femur In Fair Grounds Spill

Jockey Angel Suarez has undergone successful surgery to repair a broken femur suffered during a spill at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La. on Saturday, the Puerto Rico native reported via Twitter on Sunday.

“Thanks everybody for the calls, txts and prayers,” Suarez wrote. “So many people reaching out with so many good wishes made my eyes tear you guys are amazing, thank you all.”

The incident occurred during Saturday's 10th race, when Suarez' mount Kehron's Creed was unable to avoid a stricken rival, Caramel Latte, at the five-sixteenths pole. Kehron's Creed returned to her feet and walked off the track under her own power, according to Equibase, while no news was provided on Caramel Latte.

An Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey in 2012, Suarez has ridden 710 winners from 5,030 starters in his career.

Suarez made a few of the more bizarre headlines in racing history in 2014. The jockey faced criminal charges after he broke into two apartments in Bensalem, Penn., under the influence of an unknown substance. Though Suarez does not remember the night, he was spotted half-naked, climbing the second story balcony of a woman's apartment. He seized her dog and exited, leaping off the balcony. He then broke into another unit, where he was shot twice by a man babysitting a toddler.

Suarez underwent surgery for damage to his liver and pancreas, and was in a medically-induced coma for a week. He returned to the saddle in 2016, and was ranked in the top 100 jockeys by wins in both 2018 and 2019.

“There are a lot of people out there who are only looking out for themselves,” Suarez told Doug McCoy of The Racing Biz in 2018. “You have to learn who you're real friends are. It's been my true friends and family that's helped me pull through this. I've been lucky enough to be given a second chance in life and I'm trying to make the most of that chance.”

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‘We Have An Obligation’: Louis Cella Named Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year

Oaklawn owner and president Louis Cella has been named the 2020 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sportsman of the Year for his efforts to keep racing going during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The track operated without fans in attendance beginning on March 13, and was able to continue hosting racing through the end of the season. Cella even rescheduled the Arkansas Derby to the first Saturday in May when it was announced that Churchill Downs would postpone the Kentucky Derby.

“In racing, we have an obligation,” Cella told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “It's not like a retail store. You send your employees home and good luck and let's talk next week. We have 500 people in the backstretch. We've got 1,500 horses that have to be fed and cared for. We have our own employees, and at that time, we're ramped up to a thousand people. We can't just turn the lights off and say go home. It's not right, and we can't do it.”

Read more at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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‘Out Of My Wheelhouse’: Maggie Wolfendale Learned To Broadcast From Home In 2020

Just one live day – the New Year's Eve card at Aqueduct Racetrack – remains in 2020 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. The NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of New York-based racing personalities to get their reflections on the memorable year.

As a third-generation horsewoman, Maggie Wolfendale's life has been immersed in horse racing since birth. The daughter of Maryland-based conditioner Howard Wolfendale worked on-air at Pimlico Race Course and Colonial Downs before joining NYRA's on-air talent as paddock analyst, a role that she has maintained since October 2010. In addition to her television duties, Wolfendale works alongside her husband, trainer Tom Morley, and gallops horses during morning training. Wolfendale also is involved with Thoroughbred aftercare.

In a year of unprecedented tests and challenges, what would you say has been the highlight of 2020?

Wolfendale: Getting back to racing on June 3. It was a sense of relief; a sense of anticipation in getting back to the races. I think through it all, we proved, amidst a global pandemic, that we can be sustainable, and we can be successful as a business and thrive. At the end of the day, these horses need to run. It was a welcoming day to get back to work.

What has been your best betting/handicapping day of the year?

Wolfendale: It wasn't at NYRA, but we were broadcasting from our homes and we were covering Churchill in mid-May. It was good for me because it's out of my wheelhouse and I'm used to looking at horses in person and not through a TV screen. But I had five winners that day, including Cat's Pajamas who paid around $50 [$57] for Graham Motion.

What was NYRA's biggest accomplishment this year?

Wolfendale: Being able to get back to racing, by far. The fact that in the whole state of New York and this portion of the country, the COVID cases skyrocketed in March and April. The fact that we got everything under control and back to a safe environment. By the end of April, things were where they should be in terms of the protocols put in place. The fact that the TV department put on about 700 hours of live coverage and the amount of handle we increased by broadcasting to people's living rooms, considering they couldn't be here on track.

Broadcasting from your home is interesting. Especially when you have a young baby and child on the other side of the door, that can be a bit distracting. Fortunately, I have a good husband and mother that are able to help out. It was different, but it was a lot of fun in retrospect. I missed physically being around the horses more than anything else. That was the most painful thing to go through during the pandemic. Once I got back out to the barn, I felt so much better being around horses. Everyone in the TV department really rallied.

When watching the races on the NYRA circuit this year, did you notice any track biases for handicappers to consider?

Wolfendale: On the turf course at Aqueduct it paid to save ground, but that's fairly typical in all turf races. That's something you typically see at Saratoga as well over their inner turf course. There would be days, especially at Belmont Park, when it seems like if it rains and it was on the drying out spectrum, you wanted to be on the inside and have early speed.

Who would you say has been the most improved jockey?

Wolfendale: It was really fun to watch the progression of apprentice jockey Luis Cardenas. He obviously showed some talent earlier on in the year and, like everyone else, had the layoff in the springtime, but he's just come back and just rode extremely well. It's also been really enjoyable watching Kendrick Carmouche and all that he's done, winning his first Grade 1 and getting the riding title during the fall meet at Aqueduct.

As far as trainers are concerned, who has stood out the most to you this season?

Wolfendale: I think each year, with new trainers that come in, you gather more information and learn more about what each trainer's horses look like. It adds a tool and a nuance to looking at horses in what to expect when it comes to looking at horses from different barns. Each year, you learn a little bit more about each trainer. For example, Horacio DePaz is a fairly new face consistently on the Maryland and NYRA circuit and I'm learning more about his horses and what to expect, and he does a fantastic job. That's helped me a bit in looking at horses in the paddock.

I think what Christophe Clement accomplished throughout the year has been phenomenal, especially considering that he doesn't have the numbers that Chad Brown or Todd Pletcher do. A lot of the success comes when you have the right horses for the right spots, but once they run through those conditions, you hit that lull. Christophe brought over first time starter after first time starter to the winner's circle, but he does a good job of capitalizing on his stock. Timeless Journey for example, won a maiden 40 at Saratoga and then wins a starter allowance, kind of surprisingly, and got things her own way, but then he brings her to the dirt and runs her through her allowance conditions on the dirt. That's just what he's done with his entire stable to win at the percentage that he has. I like the fact that it's a family-style operation. Christophe has his son [Miguel Clement] working for him and he has longtime assistant Christophe Lorieul working for him for over 20 years, so it's a very family type of establishment and operation. That's been really fun to watch.

The 2020-21 winter meet at Aqueduct returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 31, and continues through Sunday, March 28.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

For additional information, and the complete winter meet stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule.

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Claudio Gonzalez Wraps Up Another Leading Training Title At Laurel

Midwest Thoroughbred, Inc.'s Tayler's Chrome, a juvenile daughter of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, captured Sunday's opener at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., to clinch the fall meet championship for trainer Claudio Gonzalez.

Ridden by Angel Cruz, Tayler's Chrome ($7.60) pressed the pace for a half-mile and took a 2 ½-length lead into the stretch before drawing off to win by five in 1:38.28 over a fast main track in the one-mile waiver maiden claimer for 2-year-olds. One of three horses in for a $40,000 tag, she was not claimed.

It was the 25th win of the fall meet for Gonzalez, putting the title out of reach for runner-up Brittany Russell, who would later win with impressive second-time starter Little Huntress, her 24th victory from just 49 starters. Gonzalez also won with 3-year-old filly Originaly From Dot ($3.80) in Race 7

Gonzalez, a 44-year-old cancer survivor, has now won 12 of the last 13 meets in Maryland dating back to Laurel's 2017 spring stand, and owns or shares 15 titles overall. With just New Year's Eve remaining on the live racing calendar in 2020, he will finish with the most wins in the state for a fourth consecutive year.

“When we win the title it's not only for me, it's for all the people working for me. It's a team; everyone is excited. No matter what, in the end we want to win. It's a good feeling,” Gonzalez said. “It's very special for everybody. My assistants, the grooms, everybody. There are very good trainers here and that's why to win the title is a special, special feeling.”

Gonzalez entered the Christmastide Stakes Day program Dec. 26 tied with Russell at 22 wins. Trying to become just the fourth female to lead the trainer standings in Maryland following Karen Patty (1992), Mary Eppler (2016) and Linda Rice (2017), Russell won the $100,000 Dave's Friend with Whereshetoldmetogo.

But Gonzalez captured the $100,000 Native Dancer with historic Pimlico Special (G3) winner Harpers First Ride and $100,000 Anne Arundel County with 2-year-old filly Miss Leslie – a horse he claimed for $25,000 two starts prior – to retake the lead.

Claimed by Gonzalez for $30,000 out of a Sept. 14, 2019, win at Churchill Downs, MCA Racing Stable's Harpers First Ride won for the seventh time in 11 starts in 2020, four of those wins coming in stakes – the Deputed Testamony, Richard W. Small and Native Dancer at Laurel and Pimlico Special at Pimlico Race Course.

A gelded 4-year-old son of Grade 1 winner Paynter, Harpers First Ride has earned $495,623 this year, growing his career bankroll to $573,055. He will figure in the conversation for Maryland-bred Horse of the Year along with Knicks Go, who went three-for-three in the Midwest this year topped by a victory in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

“The horse surprises me every race he runs. Every race he runs better and better. He walked today and he walked like he knows he won. It's really good when you see that,” Gonzalez said. “He won four stakes, he won the Pimlico Special, and all the stakes he won he won good. It's the first time I've had a horse like that. With Harpers, every day is special. From the day we claimed him, he started doing good.”

Among the early 2021 stakes for 4-year-olds and up going a route of ground at Laurel are the $75,000 Jennings for Maryland-bred/sired horses at one mile Jan. 16, the $100,000 John B. Campbell at about 1 1/16 miles Feb. 13 and $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial at 1 1/8 miles March 13. Gonzalez said the connections will keep all their options open for the soon-to-be 5-year-old.

“He proved that he won his races easy and maybe he has to take the next step and race with the big guys and see how he does,” he said. “It all depends on how he's doing after the race, day by day, and we'll make a decision what we're going to do.”

Gonzalez has 99 wins in Maryland this year heading into Thursday's fall meet-ending program, where he has five horses entered. Russell does not have any horses entered on Thursday. Gonzalez also finished first overall in 2017, 2018 and 2019 but said this year takes on added significance, especially since live racing was paused in the state for 2 ½ months from mid-March to late May due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Aside from Harpers First Ride, Gonzalez's other stakes winners this year were 3-year-old Lebda in the Miracle Wood and Private Terms, Princess Cadey in the Beyond the Wire and Completed Pass in the Laurel Dash.

“I don't pay attention to those things. It's not like I have just really good horses. A lot of the horses we have we claimed. They do a little bit better and they run. Like [Saturday], the filly we claimed [Miss Leslie] and she won the stake. You never know,” Gonzalez said.

“The horses tell me where I have to put them. Every race they go, they say ok I'm ready for the next step and we go,” he added. “It's special this year because for everybody it was a strange year with the coronavirus. It's extra special for everybody.”

Notes: Wonder Stables, Robert LaPenta and Madaket Stables' Little Huntress ($2.40) broke running and never looked back in rolling to a front-running 14-length maiden special weight romp over five rivals in Race 3. The winning time for seven furlongs was 1:23.94 over a fast main track … A gray or roan daughter of first-crop sire Frosted, record-setting winner of the 2016 Met Mile (G1), Little Huntress was the first of three winners on the card for jockey Jevian Toledo, followed by Introspection ($4) in Race 6 and Gimme's Goldengirl ($5.20) in Race 9. Toledo has tripled in back-to-back days and has 39 wins, three behind meet leader Sheldon Russell … There will be carryovers of $17,538.82 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $332.99 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for the Thursday, Dec. 31 closing day program. Tickets with five of six winners in Sunday's Rainbow 6 each paid $69.56.

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