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Favorites Dominate Stronach 5; 144 Winners Each Get $717

With favorites winning three of the five races, Friday's Stronach 5 returned $717.70. There were 144 winning tickets.

The Stronach 5 featured races from Laurel Park, Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields as well as an industry-low 12-percent takeout.

Shane's Jewel, an even-money favorite ridden by Sheldon Russell, began the Stronach 5 by winning Laurel's eighth race, a seven-furlong starter optional claimer. Gulfstream's eighth race, a mile turf event, served as the second leg of the sequence, and it was won by the stakes winner and graded stakes placed Kelsey's Cross ($11), ridden by Chantal Sutherland.

Laurel's ninth race, a waiver maiden claimer for 3-year-olds, was the third leg of the Stronach 5 sequence, and it was won by favored Portal One for trainer Hugh McMahon. The Stronach 5 returned to Gulfstream for Race 9, an optional claimer at 7 ½ furlongs on the turf. Serenade a Kitten ($9.60), trained by Mary Eppler, was game winner for jockey Edwin Gonzalez. The Stronach 5 concluded with Golden Gate's third race, a claiming event for fillies and mares at 5 ½ furlongs, won by the 6-5 favorite Real Keeper ($4.60).

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One –Laurel Park 8^th Race: Shane's Jewel $4
Leg Two – Gulfstream Park 8^th Race: Kelsey's Cross $11
Leg Three –Laurel Park 9^th Race: Portal One $5.80
Leg Four –Gulfstream Park 9^th Race: Serenade a Kitten $9.60
Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields 3rd Race: Real Keeper $4.60

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1st.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 atInTheMoneyPodcast.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.

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Fonner Files: Elite Casino Resorts Chosen As Track’s Casino Partner

Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak shares slices of life from the Grand Island, Neb., racetrack throughout the 2021 meet in the Fonner Files.

Since the majority of Nebraskans voted in casino wagering by a 70 percent majority landslide, things have been very busy in the Fonner Park executive board room.

I established an 11-person committee to find the right casino partner for Fon, and after roughly five months of interviews and deliberations, we have chosen Elite Casino Resorts, LLC.

Apart from community involvement being a mandatory element of the operation, my personal criteria was trust, partnership, and experience. Elite Casino Resorts got an “A+” in all my categories, plus their customer service culture is innate and part of their mission.

To see more, go to elitecasinoresorts.com and check out the video on Facebook here.

An artist's rendering of the planned casino development at Fonner Park.

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Maker’s Mark Mile: Heads Up Ride From Irad Ortiz Lands Raging Bull In The Winner’s Circle

With a quick pace to chase down, reigning champion jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. made a bold decision to move a bit earlier than his late-running rivals in Friday's Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland Race Course. The choice paid off in a big way when the frontrunners dropped back and Raging Bull got a head start down the stretch, growing bold on the lead and pulling away to win by two lengths on the wire. It was the first win since May of 2020 for Peter Brant's 6-year-old son of Dark Angel, who completed a mile over the “good” turf in 1:33.86.

Trained by Chad Brown and sent to post at odds of 7-2, Raging Bull is now a three-time Grade 1 winner with a record of 7-3-3 from 18 lifetime starts, and total earnings of nearly $1.5 million.

“Both horses (Raging Bull and stablemate and third-place finisher Sacred Life [FR]) ran great, especially given the layoffs they were facing,” Brown said. “Raging Bull got a great trip and setup. He's much more effective with a solid pace in front of him. Irad deserves a lot of credit for getting him into the race early and securing a great spot into the first turn.”

An early speed battle erupted between Get Smokin, Somelikeithotbrown, and Flying Scotsman, who traded punches through fractions of :22.47 and :45.65. Ortiz had Raging Bull settled just behind Field Pass in fifth against the rail, no more than four lengths behind the leaders down the backstretch.

At the three-eighths pole, Ortiz sent Raging Bull hard up the rail to take third, then angled out sharply to maintain his momentum while three wide as the leaders straightened for home. Raging Bull easily inherited the lead, and had more than enough left to hold off the deep closers through the length of the stretch.

Ride A Comet ran on credibly to finish second, while Sacred Life was third. Field Pass checked in fourth, and 5-2 favorite Hit the Road was fifth.

“He was traveling so good down the backside,” Ortiz said of Raging Bull. “I was close to the leaders. I tried to stay in contact with the field. He broke sharp today. I had an advantage there. The first turn, I let him run then I slowed him down. He relaxed so well. He was like 3 or 4 lengths behind the leaders. I said I'm just gonna wait until it's time to go. By the three-eighths pole, I saw some separation so I went for it a little early. He responded well, so I just went for it. He still had something at the end.”

Bred in France by Dayton Investments Limited, Raging Bull is out of the Mr. Greeley mare Rosa Bonheur, a daughter of five-time graded stakes winner Rolly Polly (Mukaddamah).

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Wells Bayou Continues Comeback In Saturday’s Oaklawn Mile

As a star wide receiver during the mid-1980s at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Lance Gasaway is aware of injuries and the lengthy down time between seasons. Wells Bayou, co-owned by Gasaway and his father, Clint, is an equine reminder of that.

A year ago, Wells Bayou was coming off a victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds and headed for the Kentucky Derby. Then COVID-19 hit, the Kentucky Derby was moved to September, Wells Bayou finished a disappointing fifth in the second division of the rescheduled $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) in May at Oaklawn and bone bruising sidelined the Lookin At Lucky colt for the remainder of 2020.

Wells Bayou, who is trained by Brad Cox, is scheduled to make just his second start since the Arkansas Derby in the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile for older horses Saturday at Oaklawn.

“It's been a long, drawn-out year for Wells,” Lance Gasaway said Wednesday afternoon.

The speedy Wells Bayou, in his only start this year, ran third in the $125,000 Louisiana Stakes (G3) Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds. Wells Bayou was scratched from the $200,000 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) Feb. 13 at Fair Grounds because of a minor illness, Gasaway said, then missed the $500,000 Essex Handicap March 13 at Oaklawn with a foot issue.

“Just been one thing after another with him,” Gasaway said. “It's horrible. We were worried about getting him back. Brad had told me: 'He said Lance, I don't know if we're going to make it back, like in December.' He just got so big. He grew so much and put so much weight on, I think it just took longer to get him in shape. Really felt good after that Louisiana Stakes. Actually, the week before the Mineshaft, he worked a :59.80 (5 furlongs) down there and Brad said, 'Hey, he's ready.' We really thought we had a shot to beat Maxfield. Really did. He was training that well, then had to lay him off a month with all that other crap.”

Wells Bayou returned to Oaklawn last Sunday, according to Jorgito Abrego, who oversees Cox's local division. Wells Bayou made three starts last year in Hot Springs, recording a powerful first-level allowance victory in his two-turn debut before finishing second in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) and fifth behind Nadal in the second division of the Arkansas Derby.

“To be honest with you, this race, Brad thinks this is just going to be another conditioning race,” Gasaway said. “In fact, we're still a race away from getting him back like he was. But it's a shorter race, so we decided to give it a go. Hopefully, we'll run good.”

The Gasaways, who grew up and still reside in southeast Arkansas, purchased Wells Bayou on the advice of bloodstock agent Liz Crow (BSW/Crow Bloodstock) for $105,000 at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-year-old in training sale. Crow brokered a deal before the Louisiana Derby to bring in BSW/Crow clients Sol Kumin (Madaket Stables) and Marc Lore (Wonder Stables) as partners in the bay son of champion Lookin At Lucky.

Clint Gasaway named Wells Bayou after a small community about 70 miles southeast of Little Rock.

Overall, Wells Bayou has a 3-1-1 record from seven lifetime starts and earnings of $872,793. Wells Bayou (4-1 on the morning line) is among nine horses entered in the Oaklawn Mile. Probable post time for the Oaklawn Mile, the ninth of 13 races, is 4:49 p.m. (Central).

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