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Brown, Irad Ortiz Jr., Klaravich Stables Win Belmont Park Meet Titles

Chad Brown notched 23 wins to finish as the leading trainer at the Belmont spring/summer meet for the fifth consecutive time and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. posted 34 victories to lead all riders as the 25-day meet concluded on Sunday at Belmont Park. The meet ran from June 3 to July 12.

Klaravich Stables led all owners with 13 wins, outpacing second-place finisher Michael Dubb, who had seven victories.

Brown has been the top trainer at the Belmont spring/summer meet every year since 2016. He recorded a 23-19-8 ledger in 95 starts for his latest triumph, besting Christophe Clement [14 wins].

The spring/summer meet kicked off on June 3 marking the return of professional sports in New York, and also saw the return of live racing for the New York Racing Association, Inc, which temporarily suspended racing in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I'm really proud of our team. We had a late start to the year and it was frustrating for everybody – the staff, the owners, everybody involved,” Brown said. “Our team held it together. We had to change plans with several horses. We had to change plans with living arrangements for people on our team. Everyone had to make sacrifices and alter their life – and that's not just our stable, that's other stables, racetrack management and all around in other industries.”

NYRA's year-ending leading trainer five years running, Brown conditioned five graded stakes-winners at the spring/summer meet, starting with Rushing Fall in the Grade 3 Beaugay on June 3 and continuing with the two wins on the same day with Instilled Regard [Grade 2 Fort Marcy] and Newspaperofrecord [Grade 3 Intercontinental] on June 6. Newspaperofrecord, coming off an 11-month layoff, wheeled back three weeks later to capture the Grade 1 Just a Game on June 27.

Brown trainees ran 1-2 in the Grade 1, $400,000 Manhattan, with Instilled Regard edging stablemate Rockemperor on July 4 on Runhappy Met Mile Day.

“The Grade 1 wins stand out,” Brown said. “It was an exciting finish for two of our horses in the Manhattan and then Newspaperofrecord coming back and being able to regain her Grade 1 form are highlights of the meet. It's good momentum heading into Saratoga that we're starting to creep towards normalcy and running lots of horses on the big days and being competitive. We're going into Saratoga with good morale after a very difficult first half of 2020 for everybody.”

Ortiz Jr. was the leading rider for the second time in the last three spring/summer meets, compiling a 34-23-13 record in 128 mounts, winning at more than a 26 percent clip. He teamed with Brown for four of his five graded stakes victories of the meet, piloting Newspaperofrecord to both of his graded stakes wins and Instilled Regard to triumphs in both the Grade 3 Intercontinental and Grade 1 Manhattan.

Besides his success with Brown, Ortiz Jr. also earned a winner's circle trip for trainer Kelly Breen when he guided Firenze Fire to victory in the Grade 2 True North on June 27.

“It's good. I've been working so hard, and we've had support from everyone,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “Instilled Regard and 'Newspaper' and Firenze Fire were all good wins. We're just looking to keep going and keep moving forward in Saratoga.”

Ortiz Jr. has finished as NYRA's year-end leading jockey in 2014, 2015 and 2017. He has won the last two Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Jockey for the 2018 and 2019 campaigns. His brother, Jose Ortiz, won three races on Sunday to finish in second with 32 wins on the meet.

“I've done well in the spring here. I'm thankful to all the trainers and the owners,” Ortiz Jr. said.

Klaravich Stables, which was the year-ending leading owner on the NYRA circuit in 2019, repeated as the top owner at the Belmont spring/summer meet. Headed by Seth Klarman, Klaravich Stables posted a 13-6-5 record with 32 starters for a 40.62 winning percentage, racking up $826,8855 in earnings.

Newspaperofrecord's connections encompassed all three respective meet leaders, with Klaravich Stables campaigning him in his two graded stakes wins of the meet.

Thoroughbred action moves to historic Saratoga Race Course for the 40-day summer meet from July 16 to September 7. Featuring 71 stakes worth $14.45 million, the meet will offer 39 graded stakes and 18 Grade 1s, highlighted by the 151st renewal of the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on August 8 and the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney on August 1.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘I’ve Always Thought He Was A Star’

Trainer George Weaver has long believed that Vekoma is capable of big things on the racetrack. The 4-year-old son of Candy Ride has delivered on that faith in a major way this season, earning back-to-back Grade 1 victories in the seven-furlong Carter Handicap and last Saturday's Runhappy Metropolitan Mile Handicap.

Vekoma defeated Network Effect and Code of Honor by 1 ¼ lengths in the Met Mile, leading throughout the one-mile contest.

“I actually did think he could be on the lead,” Weaver said after the race. “I thought we had the most natural speed of the horses in the race. I knew the outside horses liked to show speed, but at the end of the day I thought if we broke well, they might just be caught chasing. When I talked to Javier in the paddock, he was non-committal, and I said the whole time that I know Javier understands this horse and feels what he can and can't do, and I left it in his hands.

“At the quarter pole, it seemed like all comers were coming and I thought 'Man, does he have anything left in the tank or not?' When they got to the eighth pole and I saw him rebreak and keep going, I got excited. It was fun.”

The big wins have increased Vekoma's career earnings to $1,245,525, making him Weaver's highest earner since the trainer took out his license in 2002.

“I was so proud of him,” said Weaver. “Physically he's matured and filled out, and I really couldn't be any happier with him.”

The Met Mile was Weaver's fourth top-level win as a trainer, following Saratoga County's win in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in 2005 and Lighthouse Bay's win in the Grade 1 Prioress in 2013.

Still, the Louisville native grew up with dreams of the Kentucky Derby. He made his inaugural Run for the Roses in 2015 with Tencendur, but that horse faded to finish 17th.

Early last year, Weaver had gotten excited that Vekoma might give him a stronger chance in a second trip to the Derby. The colt won the G2 Nashua as a juvenile, and made his 3-year-old debut a third-place finish in the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. In April, Vekoma dominated the G2 Blue Grass Stakes by 3 ½ lengths, securing his spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby.

Unfortunately, Vekoma disappointed on the day, up close early and fading to finish 12th, and the colt was sent to the farm for a break that lasted the remainder of 2019.

“He did not perform well on Derby day, and I don't know if it was the (sloppy) track or if it just wasn't his day,” Weaver said. “He's a terrifically talented racehorse, and I've always thought he was a star. Obviously, we were hoping to do better in the Derby, but history shows that a lot of really nice horses don't run well on the first Saturday in May.”

Bringing the colt back to the races involved a lot of dedication from both Weaver and his wife and business partner, Cindy Hutter. The couple first met in 1991 when they were employed by D. Wayne Lukas, but didn't date until they both made the move to trainer Todd Pletcher's team.

Pletcher, also employed by Lukas early in his career, left the Hall of Famer to go out on his own in 1996, and Hutter went along as his assistant. Weaver made the move to Pletcher's barn in 1997, but as assistant trainers, he and Hutter had to work at separate locations for much of the year.

In 2002, the couple made the decision to stick together and work for themselves.

“We decided to make a go of it and do everything all at once,” Weaver explained. “We went into business for ourselves, we bought a house, had a kid; we didn't hold back and did it all at once.”

Today, 18 years later, Hutter is very hands-on with the horses while Weaver is able to handle many of the business aspects like communicating with owners and planning races.

When it came time to bring Vekoma back to the races early in 2020, Hutter was on the talented colt's back nearly every morning.

“She's gotten on him most of his career,” Weaver said. “I have confidence when she tells me they're doing well. She's a great horseperson and knows our horses very well.”

In late March, Vekoma made his first start off a nine-month layoff a winning one in Gulfstream's listed Sir Shackleton Stakes, dominating the seven furlong-contest by 3 ¾ lengths. Though his next start was delayed a bit by the coronavirus pandemic, Vekoma didn't miss a beat and celebrated his first Grade 1 win with an impressive romp in the Carter Handicap, a Win and You're In Challenge Series race for the Breeders' Cup.

With a 7 ¼-length win and a final time of 1:21.02 for seven furlongs, Vekoma earned an automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Met Mile win earned the colt a slot in the Dirt Mile, so there are plenty of options leading up to this year's World Championships.

“Nothing's written in stone, but we'll probably focus on a mile or under going forward,” Weaver said. “We're going to nominate to the Whitney for sure, but he's run two huge races back-to-back. The most likely scenario, to me, is that he would come back in a race like the Forego. We want to plot a campaign to get us to the Breeders' Cup, so we'll take a look at the calendar and go from there.”

“I think he's the best older horse in the country,” co-owner Randy Hill told NYRA publicity. “The horse will tell us. He's such a warrior.”

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Laurel Park: First Win On ‘The Flat’ For Trainer Madison Meyers

Gordon C Keys' Maryland homebred Grateful Bred, reluctant to first load in the starting gate, took an early lead and put his rivals away for good at the head of the stretch in a stylish front-running maiden special weight triumph Saturday at Laurel Park.

The 3 ½-length victory by 4-year-old Grateful Bred ($43.20) marked the first win at a recognized flat track for trainer Madison Meyers. According to Equibase statistics, Meyers had two previous career victories – a 2016 amateur event at Great Meadow in Virginia and a hurdle race last fall in Aiken, S.C.

“It's great. We've worked hard with this horse, so it feels really good,” Meyers said. “If we can work on the antics a little bit, I think we've got a pretty nice horse.”

It was the second maiden special weight win in as many days over Laurel's world-class turf course for leading Maryland stallion Great Notion, who was represented by Kendama's victory Friday for trainer Arnaud Delacour.

Grateful Bred, making his second career start after rallying to be fourth in a similar turf sprint last October at Laurel, initially balked when approaching the gate and had to be loaded without seven-pound apprentice Charlie Marquez.

Once the doors opened Grateful Bred broke a bit slowly but was intent on the lead and quickly took command, setting fractions of 22.03 and 45.01 seconds. Grafeful Bred turned for home with a commanding six-length lead and sailed to the wire in 1:02.76 for 5 ½ furlongs over the firm All Along layout.

First Law closed to be second by a neck over Josef is Real. It was another half-length back to Our Destiny in fourth.

“The pre-race antics are a little bit worrying at times, and I was hoping for a few more weeks to kind of work with him, but this race came up and he really was telling us that he was ready to run,” Meyers said. “So, we decided just to go for it and it paid off.”

Grateful Bred had three timed works since late May for his seasonal debut, two this month, the most recent a three-furlong move in 38 seconds at the Middletown Training Center in Delaware. He was only beaten 4 ½ lengths in his debut despite a poor break under Laurel's current summer meet-leading jockey Sheldon Russell.

“When he ran here the first time last fall, he was great and went right in [the gate],” Meyers said. “I don't know if he broke so hard that he stumbled or what he did, but he stumbled and Sheldon did a great job just to steady him and he ended up getting up for fourth. We were really impressed with his turn of foot and everything.”

Howling Pigeons Farm's first-time starter First Law is a gelded 3-year-old son of Constitution, the leading second-crop sire of 2020 whose current star is Florida Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tiz the Law.

Seventh as the narrow 5-2 favorite in his turf debut was The Cairo Kid, trained and co-owned by Annette Eubanks. The 4-year-old gelding, unraced at 2 and 3, is a son of Cairo Prince, the No. 1-ranked third-crop sire by stakes winners and graded-stakes winners including recent Ohio Derby (G3) upset victor Dean Martini.

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Hall Of Famer Espinoza Tests Positive For Coronavirus

Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza has tested positive for coronavirus and will be sidelined for at least 10-days, according to his agent, Brian Beach. Espinoza's positive test was first reported by Daily Racing Form.

Espinoza was named on mounts on Friday's opening day card at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif., but was taken off after he was unable to get results prior to the day's races from a coronavirus test he took earlier in the week in Orange County, north of Del Mar. A subsequent test he took in La Jolla, just south of Del Mar, came back positive Friday afternoon.

Espinoza took the tests after experiencing flu-like symptoms earlier in the week and learning that Martin Garcia, whom Espinoza came into contact with last weekend at Los Alamitos, had tested positive for coronavirus. Garcia, formerly Southern California based, rode at Los Alamitos Friday and Saturday and at Prairie Meadows in Iowa on Sunday. Garcia was tested on Tuesday at the direction of officials at Keeneland prior to that track's five-day meet that began on Wednesday, and the results came back positive.

“Victor is fine,” said Beach. “He was feeling flu-y early in the week and on Wednesday, when he found out Martin tested positive, he said, 'Uh-oh,' and got tested. He's not showing any symptoms now.”

Beach said Espinoza has been extremely careful since the coronavirus pandemic was declared in March. “He moved to his home in Del Mar during the Santa Anita shutdown,” Beach said. “He wanted to do everything he could to avoid exposure to this.”

Beach said his understanding is that Espinoza will be unable to ride in California for a minimum of 10 days from the day of the positive test.

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