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Abscess Rules Keepmeinmind Out Of Pennsylvania Derby

Keepmeinmind, the 5-1 morning-line third choice in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, will not run.

Trainer Robertino Diodoro said the son of Laoban has an abscess in his left front foot.

“It's just bad timing,” Diorodo said. “He trained like a monster (Thursday) and we needed the pony to get him off the track, he was feeling so good. This is definitely disappointing, but the main thing is the horse is going to be ok. Terrible timing.”

Keepmeinmind last raced in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 28, finishing fourth. He has not won a race in seven starts this year. For his career, Keepmeinmind has one win, three seconds and a third-place finish in 11 starts.

Diodoro had confidence in the week leading up to the Pennsylvania Derby because of the way the late-running Keepmeinmind had been working at Belmont Park.

Now, instead of getting the colt ready for a ship to Parx early Saturday morning, Keepmeinmind will remain at Belmont. Friday afternoon, he was in his stall, his left foot soaking in a tub.

“He is sulking a little bit right now,” Diorodo said. “Those abscesses, they're painful. He will be back to himself in a few days.”

With the defection of Keepmeinmind, the field for the Pennsylvania Derby has been reduced to eight. Earlier in the week, Medina Spirit, the 2-1 morning line favorite, was taken out of the race by trainer Bob Baffert.

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Pair Of 2-Year-Old Stakes Featured On Closing Day At Monmouth Park

Two-year-olds will take center stage on Sunday at Monmouth Park with a pair of stakes races on the final day of the 55-day meet, which concludes with a 14-race card.

The $500,000 Nownownow Stakes, scheduled for a mile on the grass, and the $100,000 Smoke Glacken, at six furlongs on the main track, will serve as showcases for 2-year-olds, some of which have designs on the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar.

Monmouth Park increased the purse of the Nownownow Stakes from $150,000 to $500,000 in an effort to lure potential Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hopefuls looking for one last prep.

The Mark Casse-trained Coinage, coming off a win in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 1, heads a 10-horse field in the Nownownow Stakes, which includes first-out winner Dakota Gold. The New York-bred Dakota Gold won his debut for trainer Danny Gargan by 4½ lengths against open Maiden Special Weight company on Sept. 2 at Saratoga.

Midnight Chrome, Grooms All Bizness and There Are No Words come into the race after breaking their maiden on the grass at Monmouth Park in their last start.

The Butch Reid-trained Practical Coach, a first-out winner at Parx on Aug. 25 at six furlongs, heads a field of eight 2-year-olds for the Smoke Glacken Stakes. Swift Tap, a handy debut winner at Monmouth Park on Aug. 11 before finishing fifth in the $200,000 Sapling Stakes, will add blinkers for this start for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

The races for top jockey, trainer and owner all appear to have been decided, with Paco Lopez already clinching his eighth riding title with 100 victories for the meet entering the final three-day weekend of racing. Only Joe Bravo, with 13, has won more riding titles at Monmouth Park.

Wayne Potts enters the final three days of live racing with a 10-win lead (36 to 26) over Kelly Breen in the trainers' race, while Colts Neck Stables LLC has a four-win lead over Mr. Amore Stable (12 to 8) in the quest for top owner honors.

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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.”

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‘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.

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