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Pharoah Colt MacKinnon Tops 11-Strong Field For El Camino Real Derby

Eleven 3-year-old colts and geldings are slated for a chance to earn 10 Kentucky Derby points and a free Preakness berth in the feature race at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday afternoon, the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Tapeta. The El Camino Real Derby goes as Race 8 on a nine-race program.

Last year, 2021 winner Rombauer took advantage of his free Preakness berth, which has been offered to the winner of the El Camino Real Derby the last four years, and went on to win the second leg of the Triple Crown.

A pair of Southern California shippers make the trip north. The headliner in the field is Doug O'Neill trainee MacKinnon, who won a pair of stakes on turf as a 2-year-old-the Juvenile Turf at Del Mar and the Zuma Beach at Santa Anita-before finishing third in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf last November. Most recently, the son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah finished fourth behind next-out Southwest Stakes victor Newgrange in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on dirt at Santa Anita. Southern California-based jockey Abel Cedillo, who has a total of four mounts on the day, is named to ride McKinnon.

O'Neill saddles a second entrant in Del Mo, who won a maiden special weight at Golden Gate on Jan. 9 and has trained in the Bay Area leading up to the El Camino Real Derby.

Trainer Bob Baffert won the El Camino Real Derby in 2019 with Azul Coast and sends out $620,000 yearling purchase Blackadder in the 2022 edition. In his most recent afternoon appearance, the son of Quality Road broke his maiden in a two-turn race at Santa Anita on Dec. 26. He faces winners for the first time and will be ridden by Edwin Maldonado for the first time. Blackadder is owned by the large partnership of SF Racing LLC, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable and Siena Farm LLC.

Local contenders run deep in the El Camino Real Derby. Temple City colt Boise attempts to rebound after a poor performance in the Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita on turf. Trained by leading Northern California conditioner Jonathan Wong, Boise broke his maiden at Golden Gate and won the Gold Rush Stakes in December over the Tapeta main track.

Dr. Pescado picked up a stakes victory in the Golden Nugget Stakes sprinting on Tapeta last fall and freshens up two months after finishing third behind Boise in the Gold Rush.

C'Mon Man, who rounded out the superfecta in the Gold Rush and was a non-factor in the Eddie Logan, is another 3-year-old from the local contingent entered.

Unraptured, who has always been well regarded by his connections and the Bay Area racing community, is a perfect two-for-two on the Golden Gate Tapeta. He enters fresh off a dominant allowance win. The Tim McCanna trainee possesses the pedigree to be a decent racehorse: he is a half sibling to Grade 3 winner and $500,000 earner Jalen Journey. Another sibling, Derek Adrian, was a Group 1 winner in South America and won 12 races from 16 lifetime starts.

Allowance winner Stormy Samurai stretches out in distance after beating a salty bunch of sprinters, two-turn maiden special weight victor Il Bellator sports an improving pattern leading up to this stakes debut, and maiden Meetmeattheclub is entered ambitiously in search of a massive upset. Nuestro Engriedo, who finished third behind Stormy Samurai in an allowance race two weeks ago, rounds out the field.

First post on Saturday afternoon is 12:45 PM PT. Fans who wish to attend the race card, or any future race programs, can purchase tickets online at Goldengatefields.com.

The El Camino Real Derby (Race 8 of 9. Approximate post time: 4:15 PM PT)

#1 Stormy Samurai (Jockey William Antongeorgi III…trainer Jack Steiner)

#2 McKinnon (Abel Cedillo…Doug O'Neill)

#3 Unraptured (Armando Ayuso…Tim McCanna)

#4 Blackadder (Edwin Maldonado…Bob Baffert)

#5 Nuestro Engriedo (Santos Rivera…Felix Rondan)

#6 Boise (Evin Roman…Jonathan Wong)

#7 Dr Pescado (Pedro Terrero…Felix Rondan)

#8 Meetmeattheclub (Silvio Amador…Dan Franko)

#9 C'Mon Man (Irving Orozco…Bill McLean)

#10 Il Bellator (Alejandro Gomez…Jose Bautista)

#11 Del Mo (Ruben Fuentes…Doug O'Neill)

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Early Triple Crown Nominations Due Jan. 29

Early nominations for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds to become eligible to compete in the 2022 Triple Crown series are due Saturday, Jan. 29 with a $600 payment.

Payment for early Triple Crown nominations must be made at the time of entry on www.TheTripleCrown.com. Information regarding phone or mail-in entries can also be found on the website.

The 2022 Triple Crown opens Saturday, May 7 with the 148th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) at 1 ¼ miles at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The 147th running of the $1.5 million Preakness (G1), its 1 3/16-mile second jewel, is set for Saturday, May 21 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. The 154th running of the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1), the series' 1 ½-mile final leg, is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Last year's Triple Crown nominations attracted 326 early nominees plus nine late nominations.

Horses not nominated during the early phase can be made eligible between Jan. 30-March 28 with a $6,000 payment. Any horse not nominated during either the early or late nomination phases have a final opportunity to become eligible for the races through payment of a supplemental nomination fee due at the time of entry for each Triple Crown race: Kentucky Derby ($200,000), Preakness ($150,000) and Belmont ($50,000).

Representatives of the Triple Crown host tracks include:

· Churchill Downs: Vice President of Racing and Racing Secretary Ben Huffman at (502) 638-3820 or Ben.Huffman@KyDerby.com. … Assistant Racing Secretary and Stakes Coordinator Dan Bork at (502) 638-3806 or Dan.Bork@KyDerby.com. … Racing Operations Manager Kelly Danner at (502) 638-3825 or Kelly.Danner@KyDerby.com.

· Pimlico: Racing Secretary Jillian Sofarelli at (800) 638-1859 or Jtullock@marylandracing.com.

· Belmont Park: Stakes Coordinator Andrew Byrnes at (718) 659-4217 or abyrnes@nyrainc.com.

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‘It’s Time’: Jockey Robby Albarado Set To Retire

Two-time Preakness-winning jockey Robby Albarado told the Daily Racing Form this week that he plans to retire after riding at Turfway Park on Saturday. With 5,222 wins from a career that began in Louisiana in 1990, Albarado ranks 30th among North American jockeys.

“It's time,” Albarado told DRF. “I've been thinking about this for quite a while now.”

Albarado was most recently in the spotlight for his partnership with Swiss Skydiver, the filly who beat the boys in the 2020 edition of the Preakness Stakes. He was also the jockey of 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, as well as of Hall of Famer and two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, his partnership with the latter including wins in the 2007 Preakness, 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic, and 2008 Dubai World Cup.

Among Albarado's other achievements are a victory in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with Tapitsfly and in the 2011 Breeders' Cup Mile with Court Vision.

Future plans could see Albarado become a jockey's agent in 2022.

2022 Maryland Dates to Include August Meet at Pimlico

The inclusion of an August race meet at Pimlico Race Course for the first time in 17 years was the only major change in the 2022 slate of racing dates approved Thursday by the Maryland Racing Commission.

Although not discussed at the Oct. 28 meeting, one obvious benefit to the mid-summer move from Laurel Park to Pimlico will be the ability to give Laurel's turf course a break during the hottest time of the year in Maryland.

Pimlico last ran in the late summer back in 2005, when its calendar also included dates in January, April through June, and August.

In 2006, Pimlico's schedule got cut to an April-through-June meet. Between 2007 and 2015 it raced just April and May. In 2016 Pimlico raced May and June, and from 2017 to 2019 the schedule was pared down to only 12 dates in May in conjunction with the GI Preakness S.

The schedule for the last two years at Pimlico got thrown into an aberrational flux.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out spring racing in the state, so Pimlico raced just six dates over two weeks in September and October in conjunction with the repositioned Preakness.

In 2021, Pimlico had to pick up dates in April through August because of the emergency closure at Laurel to install a new main track.
After years of debate over what to do with the decaying Pimlico, its owner, The Stronach Group (TSG), has recently partnered with the city and the state for a an approximately $400-million redevelopment plan that will keep the Preakness in Baltimore while revitalizing the track's surrounding neighborhoods.

The Washington Post recently described the plan, which is just getting started, like this: “TSG will turn Pimlico over to the city. Its clubhouse and grandstand will be demolished and the racetrack rotated 30 degrees to free up parcels to sell for other development. A new clubhouse and event center will be erected, but horse training and stable operations will be consolidated at Laurel Park. All racing will move to Laurel, except for a short spring meet in Baltimore that will include the Preakness.”

Maryland's full 2022 Thoroughbred calendar follows:
• Laurel (147 dates over four meets): Jan. 1-Mar. 31, Apr. 1-May 8, June 1-July 31, Sept. 6-Dec. 31.
• Pimlico (21 dates over two meets): May 8-31, Aug 1-25 and Aug. 30.
• Timonium (7 dates): Aug. 25-Sept. 5.

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