Paco Lopez Suspended 30 Days for Greenwood Cup Ride

Jockey Paco Lopez, who pulled up his mount Ridin With Biden (Constitution) a few steps before the finish of last Saturday's GIII Greenwood Cup S. at Parx, likely costing the horse a second-place finish, was handed a 30-day suspension Thursday by the stewards at Parx.

In ruling, the stewards wrote that the suspension was “for failure to give his best effort and failure to use the proper diligence in Race 7 on September 23, 2023 while astride the horse Ridin With Biden…”

The suspension began Thursday and will conclude on Oct. 27. Lopez has waived his right to appeal.

“The penalty is justified,” said trainer Butch Reid. “We have to look out for our owners as well as the betting public. My concern was that the horse was sound and he is. He has been inspected by state vets three times since the race and is fine.”

In the Greenwood Cup, a mile-and-a-half race, Ridin With Biden chased the winner Next (Not This Time) for about 10 furlongs before that rival started to pull away to what would become a 25-length laugher. However, Ridin With Biden appeared to have second-place wrapped up as he was eight lengths clear of the rest of the field at the eighth pole. But when he pulled the horse up, he was caught for the place, losing out by a nose to 84-1 shot My Imagination (Lea).

Here's how the Equibase chart caller saw it: “Ridin With Biden prompted the winner to midway on the final turn, proved no match then was eased in the final stages costing the place.”

For third-place, Ridin With Biden earned $19,000 or $19,000 less than the second-place payout of $38,000. Lopez's move also, no doubt, costs plenty of bettors. The combination of Next over Ridin With Biden was the lowest payout among all exactas.

The post Paco Lopez Suspended 30 Days for Greenwood Cup Ride appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The Week in Review: Next Deserves A Shot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic

There will no doubt be a tendency to dismiss Next (Not This Time) as a novelty act, even after his 25-length romp in Saturday's GIII Greenwood Cup on a sloppy, dreary day at Parx. That comes with the territory when your speciality is marathon-distance races of 12 furlongs or more. But to do so would be a mistake.

While it's true that he does not face the best of competition in these races, Next is obviously a seriously talented race horse. You have to be to win a graded stakes race by 25 lengths–no matter the distance or the level of competition.

Next was claimed for $62,500 by trainer Doug Cowans out of a seven-furlong race in April of last year, but the story really begins five months later. Cowans was running him on the turf, but stayed in when the Cape Henlopen S. at Delaware Park was rained off the grass and run at 12 furlongs on the dirt. He won by 18 1/4 lengths. Then it was the GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Keeneland, which he won by 6 1/4 lengths. He didn't run his race in his 2023 debut when third in the Isaac Murphy Marathon Overnight S. at Churchill Downs, but has been nothing short of sensational since. He won the GII Brooklyn S. by 2 1/4 lengths and then the Birdstone by 11 3/4. Then he turns the Greenwood Cup into a laugher.

Yes, comparing him to the top horses in training is somewhat a matter of apples-to-oranges, but the Beyer numbers indicate that he's fast enough. He got a 104 Beyer Saturday and has twice run a 105, in the Thoroughbred After Care Alliance and in the Birdstone. Arcangelo (Arrogate), who could be the favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, ran his top number in the GI Travers S., where he got a 105.

But Next's connections remain committed to a schedule that includes only more of the same. When asked after the Greenwood Cup if they might try to drop back in distance and try tougher competition, Cowans said that wasn't the plan.

“It has not been a thought process up to this point,” he said. “At the beginning of the year there was a five-race plan for this horse and we have made every one. Lucky enough, he has stayed sound and healthy and has made every race.”

He said the plan is to run again in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which will be run this year at Santa Anita.

That certainly makes sense and you can't really fault Cowans and owner Michael Foster to sticking to what has worked so well since the Cape Henlopen. With $915,672 in career earnings he is closing in on the $1-million mark. Not bad for a horse who was claimed for $62,500.

But what if? Could Next duplicate his form in a mile-and-a-quarter race? Is that type of race, just two furlongs shorter, really that different than what he's been running in? It's certainly not out of the question that he could be competitive in some of these races, maybe even in the Classic. Even if he were to run second or third, that would be a huge accomplishment, result in a payday much bigger than anything available to him in the marathon races and open up all sorts of doors. A 5-year-old gelding, if he stays sound he has a lot of racing in front of him.

So why not run in the Classic? There is absolutely nothing to lose, especially when you consider that the alterative, the Thoroughbred After Care Alliance, is worth only $250,000. If he doesn't run well, you can always go back to Plan A.

“We've got a hell of a horse,” Foster said.

He's right. They do. Now let him go out and prove it–in the Classic.

Parx Stewards Need to Come Down Hard on Paco

The other story in the Greenwood Cup was Paco Lopez's ride aboard Ridin With Biden (Constitution), who finished third as the 7-2 second choice. He chased Next for the first nine furlongs or so and was obviously going to lose and lose by a wide margin. But it looked like the horse was going to be second and easily so as he was eight lengths clear of everyone else in the field at the eighth pole. But in the final 40 yards or so, Lopez just gave up.

Here's how the Equibase chart caller saw it: “RIDIN WITH BIDEN prompted the winner to midway on the final turn, proved no match then was eased in the final stages costing the place.”

That's exactly what happened as Ridin With Biden wound up finishing third, beaten a nose by 84-1 shot My Imagination (Lea). The difference between the place and show money was $19,000. Then, of course there's all the money that went down the drain in the exactas, where the Next-Ridin With Biden combo was the favorite. The irony is that Lopez is often accused of being too aggressive.

Maybe he thought he had the place position wrapped up, but that's no excuse. His job was to ride the horse out to the wire and he didn't. The Parx stewards shouldn't take this lightly. An appropriate suspension and fine is called for. Send a message.

Turf Paradise's Demise

It's sad, but hardly surprising to see that Turf Paradise will not re-open. The sport keeps losing racetracks and now will no longer have  a track in another major market. With a population of 1.6 million, Phoenix is the fifth biggest city in the U.S.

But this is also a story of how casino gaming has changed the sport. I don't know what the bottom line details were at Turf Paradise, but trying to make a racetrack go without help from casino revenue is a battle that few tracks can win. That's especially true at a place like Turf Paradise, where the handle is small. And there was nothing on the horizon in Arizona in the way of the track getting help from Historical Horse Racing Machines (HHR) or anything else.

It's no coincidence that the other track about to close, Golden Gate Fields, was also trying to get by without help from a casino, slots or HHR. The list of places where there is an operating racetrack that gets nothing in the way of casino revenues or a subsidy from the government has dwindled to just a handful. Of all the U.S. tracks racing over the weekend, Los Alamitos was the only one. Even Monmouth, which has been fighting a losing battle against the Atlantic City casinos for decades, gets $10 million a year from the state to fatten the purse account.

The post The Week in Review: Next Deserves A Shot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Unbeaten First Captain Progresses In Dwyer; McGaughey Eyes Travers

Highly-regarded First Captain lived up to his connections' aspirations, tracking a moderate pace along the rail and taking control in mid-stretch to remain undefeated while conquering his first stakes test in Monday's Grade 3, $250,000 Dwyer at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey for owners West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Woodford Racing and Bobby Flay, First Captain arrived at the one-turn mile for 3-year-olds off a first-level victory against winners at Belmont on May 29.

The talented chestnut posted a sharp debut score by three-quarters of a length over eventual winners Mahaamel and Repo Rocks going seven furlongs over Big Sandy on April 24.

First Captain broke toward the rear of the compact five-horse field while Ridin With Biden was first in command through an opening quarter-mile in 23.47 seconds over the fast main track, 1 ½ lengths clear of Gershwin and Snow House, who battled for second.

Ridin With Biden's lead dwindled through a half-mile in 46.67 as jockey Jose Ortiz started getting busy aboard First Captain, who made a four-wide bid around the far turn.

First Captain confronted the pacesetter just past the eighth-pole en route to a 1 3/4-length score, completing the journey in 1:36.19. Ridin With Biden held second by a half-length over Snow House. Gershwin and Civil War competed the order of finish.

Ortiz, who piloted First Captain in both of his previous efforts, said First Captain improved significantly.

“Last time, he was in the clear most of the time. Today, he was a lot better. He was behind horses and took some dirt,” Ortiz said. “They were running. They went 46 and when I put him in the clear it took me awhile to get into high gear, but when he did it, he used that beautiful stride of his. He went by them as he is supposed to, and he galloped out really well. I think he's going to improve with distance.”

First Captain provided McGaughey with his fourth Dwyer triumph, adding to a list that includes Seeking the Gold [1988], Coronado's Quest [1998] and Code of Honor [2019]. The latter two went on to win their respective year's edition of the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga.

McGaughey said he would consider a start in the Grade 1, $1.25 Runhappy Travers on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course, but also didn't rule out the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy on July 31 – the Spa's local prep for the Mid-Summer Derby.

“We'll take a look at it,” McGaughey said. “I'll see how he comes back and how he is when he gets up there. That would be the best-case scenario. I'm glad to get this one.”

Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds said they initially considered running in his sire's namesake race, the nine-furlong $120,000 Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga, but the opportunity to garner a graded stakes win could not be passed up.

“He's never going to be a horse that just dazzles you, but you can tell he's just starting to get going,” Finley said. “We're very happy with him. We would have loved to have got him a little further in his third start, but it just wasn't to be. We were going back and forth to run in the Curlin, but this spot came up and it was too attractive. Now, I guess we can go to the Jim Dandy or wait for the Travers.”

Now 3-for-3, First Captain banked $137,500 in victory, over doubling his lifetime earnings to $237,500. Going off as the 2-5 favorite, First Captain returned $2.80 for a $2 win bet.

“He was a lot steadier today. I knew he was winning his first two races on ability, but I didn't really know what to think of him,” McGaughey said. “Today, he showed me something, especially that two turns is going to be in the bag, I think. I liked the way he took the dirt; he took it a lot better today than he did the last time. He was a little further back than I thought he would be. But that's why they are what they are. I thought we were in pretty good shape coming up to the quarter-pole.”

Bred in Kentucky by Bobby Flay, First Captain is by multiple-champion producing sire Curlin and out of the graded stakes-winning A.P. Indy broodmare America. He is a direct descendant of influential broodmare Best in Show – a prominent line that includes American classic winners Jazil, Rags to Riches and War of Will, as well as Grade/Group 1 turf winners Peeping Fawn, Denon, Good Journey, Chimes of Freedom, Spinning World, Domedriver, and popular Japanese champion Almond Eye.

First Captain was a $1.5 million acquisition from the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by Stone Farm.

Live racing resumes on Friday afternoon with a nine-race card. First post is 1 p.m. ET.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the 48-day spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Unbeaten First Captain Progresses In Dwyer; McGaughey Eyes Travers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights