Pimlico | Horse Racing Free Tips

Friday’s Stronach 5 Features Four Tracks, Three Turf Races

An interesting sequence of five races from four tracks along with an industry-low 12-percent takeout will make up Friday's Stronach 5.

The Stronach 5 will include races from Pimlico Race Course, Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields.

The action kicks off at 4:34 ET with Pimlico's eighth race, a 5 ½ furlong event for optional allowance claimers led by Colts Neck Stables LLC's Dalton, who returns from a five-month layoff after ending his juvenile season with a second-place finish against the multiple-stakes winner No Cents in the James F. Lewis at Laurel in November. A son of Kantharos, Dalton finished second by a nose in September in the Smoke Glacken at Monmouth Park. Trained by Jorge Duarte Jr., Jevian Toledo gets the mount on Dalton, who has never been off the board in five starts.

Sky's Not Falling enters the race for trainer Mike Trombetta off a fifth-place finish on the turf at Gulfstream Park in his 3-year-old debut. The son of Seville finished third last summer at Saratoga in the Skidmore, second at Woodbine in the Ontario Racing Stakes and third in the Fitz Dixon Jr. at Presque Isle. Victor Carrasco will ride.

Exculpatory, who won his debut March 5 at Laurel for trainer Mark Reid, and Kwist, who broke his maiden at first asking in September for Claudio Gonzalez, return for their second starts.

The Stronach 5 continues with Gulfstream's ninth race, a 7 ½ furlong turf event for maiden fillies and mares. It's wide open with a 7-2 favorite in Maricopa, who drops slightly off a third-place finish. Kayla's Tune returns to the turf, drops from his last turf start, and gets Edwin Gonzalez.

Pimlico's ninth race, a five-furlong turf event for $12,500 claimers, serves as the third leg of the sequence. Algodonal leaves from the rail in her first start since November. The daughter of Afleet Alex closed out her 4-year-old year with her last five races moved off the turf to the main track.

The Stronach 5 heads west for the fourth and fifth legs of the Stronach 5. Santa Anita's third race, a maiden claimer for 3-year-old fillies, has a 2-1 favorite in Circle of Honor, coming off a second-place finish against similar company April 4 for trainer Steve Knapp. Flag Salutes drops in from a restricted maiden special weight for trainer Carla Gaines. David Hofmans sends out Paynter's Love, who finished 1 ¼ lengths behind Circle of Honor last time out.

Golden Gate's third race concludes the Stronach 5. The mile turf event for 3-year-olds with a $20,000 tag has a 6-5 favorite in Qatar Racing's Space Odessey, a son of Malibu Moon beaten less than a length at Golden Gate April 2 after dropping into this condition from a $80,000 maiden claiming event at Santa Anita in February.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One – Pimlico Race 8: (8 entries – 5 ½ furlongs) 4:34 ET, 1:34 PT
Leg Two – Gulfstream Race 9: (12 entries – 7 ½ furlongs turf) 4:48 ET, 1:48 PT
Leg Three –Pimlico Race 9: (10 entries – 5 furlongs turf) 5:10 ET, 2:10 PT
Leg Four –Santa Anita Park Race 3: (8 entries – 1-mile) 5:15 ET, 2:15 PT
Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields Race 3: (8 entries – 1-mile turf): 5:30 ET, 2:30 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

The post Friday’s Stronach 5 Features Four Tracks, Three Turf Races appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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MATCH Series Set For Return

The Mid-Atlantic Championships Series (MATCH) returns May 14-15 at Pimlico Race Course after a one-year hiatus. This year's MATCH Series, to be run at racetracks in Maryland and Virginia only, will extend through Dec. 26, 2021. It will offer 24 stakes valued at $2.75 million and $282,000 in bonus money for owners and trainers.

The first four stakes in the Series will be held Preakness weekend: GIII Allaie DuPont S., GIII Pimlico Special S., GIII Maryland Sprint H. and Skipat S.

Please note that nominations for all the MATCH Series events at Pimlico close Tuesday, May 4. Horses are nominated to each Series stakes; there is no overall nomination process for the Series.

Owners and trainers will compete for $63,000 in divisional bonuses and the overall MATCH Series champion will net $30,000 in bonuses for its owner and trainer. In addition, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association will pay a $3,000 bonus to the breeder of the top points-earning Maryland-bred and $3,000 for the top points-earning Maryland-sired horse. If the top points-earner is both Maryland-bred and -sired, the breeder would get $6,000.

The complete schedule is available here.

The post MATCH Series Set For Return appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Reds Awarded Federico Tesio Stakes Via Disqualification

Having run second despite encountering trouble both early and late, Flanagan Racing's The Reds was promoted to victory following the disqualification of first-place finisher Excellorator in Saturday's $125,000 Federico Tesio at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 40^th running of the 1 1/8-mile Federico Tesio headlined an 11-race Spring Stakes Spectacular program featuring six stakes worth $650,000 in purses. For the sixth straight year, the Tesio offered Triple Crown-nominated 3-year-olds and automatic berth in the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 15 at Pimlico.

Saturday marked the return of the Tesio to Pimlico, where it debuted in 1981 and stayed every year but two through 2015. Named for the noted Italian breeder, owner and trainer whose homebreds Nearco and Ribot dominate Thoroughbred bloodlines around the world, the Tesio was held at Laurel Park in 1987 and 1989 and each year since 2016.

Sent off the 9-5 favorite in a field of eight that included stakes winners Shackled Love, Hello Hot Rod and his former stablemate Maythehorsebwithu, The Reds ($5.80) gave both local jockey Victor Carrasco and New York-based trainer John Kimmel their first Tesio victory.

“I thought he showed tremendous courage, really,” Kimmel said by phone. “He got squeezed at the start so he ended up losing his spot. He should have been much closer. Then he had a terrible trip getting to where he was when the horse came out on him, which was a call I thought was deserved. We were just very fortunate.”

Shackled Love, who edged Maythehorsebwithu in the March 13 Private Terms at Laurel, broke side-by-side from the two outermost posts and both were intent on the lead, going the first quarter-mile in 24.13 seconds and a half in 48.12 with Excellorator and jockey Angel Cruz tracking in third. Six furlongs went in 1:11.50 with the top two still in front, though Excellorator was closing the gap.

Neither leader was able to maintain their momentum and began to drop back as they came into the stretch, leaving Excellorator to inherit the lead. Meanwhile The Reds, shuffled back between Royal Number and Hello Hot Rod early and steadied on the far turn, got straightened out and was coming with a run when Excellorator drifted out under Cruz's left-handed urging. The Reds was forced to alter his path and had Royal Number closing on his outside.

Once on a straight path, Excellorator dug in and held off The Reds by a head after completing the distance in 1:49.98 over a fast main track. Following a lengthy stewards' inquiry and objections from both Carrasco on Cruz and Royal Number jockey Julian Pimentel on Carrasco, Excellorator was taken down and placed second behind The Reds.

“Not too disappointed really, because the horse ran a wonderful race,” Excellorator's trainer, Hugh McMahon, said. “We did our part. There's just so much we can do, but there's so many external variables that influence these kinds of outcomes.”

The remaining order of finish was unchanged. Royal Number was third, followed by Hello Hot Rod, Maythehorsebwithu, Shackled Love, Zertz and Tiz Mandate.

“He broke good. You could see going into the turn, I'm trying to get him to relax. We had a great outside post and I wanted no part of dueling for the first three-quarters,” jockey Sheldon Russell, aboard Maythehorsebwithu, said. “I'm making every effort to sort of break his stride and get him to relax. We do a lot of work trying to teach them to relax in the afternoon, but we probably had him a little too fresh today. He just ran his race early on. We'll regroup and see how he comes out.”

By Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tonalist, The Reds broke his maiden in his fifth career start and second this year, a 1 1/8-mile maiden special weight Jan. 31 at Aqueduct. Last time out, he ran fifth in the one-mile Gotham (G3) March 6, also at the Big A.

The Reds is not Triple Crown-nominated, but can be supplemented to the 1 3/16-mile Preakness at the time of entry, May 10.

“This horse is really suited to run further. He's got that kind of temperament. He settles really well,” Kimmel said. “I'm not sure if we'll come back in three weeks but we'll see how the Derby and the participants in the Preakness shakes out and we'll go from there.”

The post The Reds Awarded Federico Tesio Stakes Via Disqualification appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Weber City Miss Triumph Gives Miss Leslie Black-Eyed Susan Berth

BB Horses' Miss Leslie, stretched back out around two turns after opening the year with back-to-back sprints, proved trainer Claudio Gonzalez's contention that longer is better with a 1 ½-length victory in Saturday's $125,000 Weber City Miss at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 1 1/16-mile Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies co-headlined an 11-race Spring Stakes Spectacular program featuring six stakes worth $650,000 in purses with the $125,000 Federico Tesio, a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated 3-year-olds to the 146^thPreakness Stakes (G1) May 15.

In its sixth year, the Weber City Miss was being contested for the first time at Pimlico after having its first five runnings at Laurel Park. With the victory, Miss Leslie ($21.20) earned an automatic berth in the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) May 14 at Pimlico, on the eve of the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1).

Gonzalez, a 44-year-old cancer survivor, entered Grade 2 winner Landing Zone in last year's Black-Eyed Susan but had to scratch the morning of the race.

“Everybody wants to run in that race, and if this filly is doing good we're going to run,” Gonzalez said. “Definitely.”

Moonsafe, a front-running 15 ¼-length maiden claiming winner in her previous start Feb. 27 at Laurel, established command early and was in front after a quarter-mile in 24.59 seconds and a half in 48.59, with 13-1 long shot Exogen in pursuit. After hopping at the gate and getting squeezed back, Miss Leslie trailed the field through six furlongs in 1:12.78.

Miss Leslie began to gain momentum around the far turn and was swung five wide by jockey J.D. Acosta approaching the stretch as Moonsafe continued to lead. Miss Leslie continued her drive and swept past horses to earn her fourth career victory and second in a stakes.

The winning time was 1:44.28 over a fast main track. Oliviaofthedesertgot was up for second, 1 ¾ lengths ahead of Littlestitious, winner of the March 13 Beyond the Wire at Laurel and the 7-5 favorite.

Exogen, Moonsafe and Hybrid Eclipse completed the order of finish. Fraudulent Charge, second in three consecutive stakes and a 5-2 second choice on the morning line, was scratched.

“Everybody knows speed is good, and a lot of horses had speed. I told J.D., stay behind the speed and then do one move,” Gonzalez said. “He did it perfect. He rode just like we planned.”

Gonzalez claimed Miss Leslie for $25,000 out of a win last November at Laurel and won two straight starts 16 days apart with the Paynter filly, including the about 1 1/16-mile Anne Arundel County Dec. 26 at Laurel, her only previous try going two turns. This year, she ran second to Street Lute in the six-furlong Xtra Heat Jan. 16 and sixth in the seven-furlong Wide Country Feb. 20.

“You see in that time I run from six furlongs to a mile and a sixteenth close together, because it was the only choice, and she proved to me that she can go long. This year she ran the two races short, and she was coming, but it's not the same as two turns. That's why I waited for long, and I know she can do it,” Gonzalez said. “For me, a mile and a sixteenth or more is better.”

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