Robertino Diodoro | Horse Racing Free Tips

Breeders’ Cup Runner Dreamer’s Disease Headlines Sunday’s NYSSS Great White Way

After running sixth in last month's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Dreamer's Disease will make his Empire State debut and cut back to seven furlongs as part of Sunday's $250,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series Great White Way for eligible state-sired 2-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack.

One of three stakes on the finale of the 18-day fall meet at the Big A, the 38th running of the Great White Way will be joined by the $250,000 NYSSS Fifth Avenue for juvenile fillies and the $100,000 Garland of Roses for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

Owned by Cypress Creek and Arnold Bennewith, Dreamer's Disease started his career on dirt when eighth in July at Ellis Park. Trainer Robertino Diodoro moved the Kentucky-bred Laoban colt to turf for his next two starts, resulting in his second-out win on Aug. 8 at Ellis before running off the board in his stakes bow in the More Than Ready Juvenile on Sept. 7 at Kentucky Downs.

After posting a 4 1/2-length sore in his return to the main track on Oct. 3 at Keeneland, Dreamer's Disease stretched out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time in the most challenging race of his career in the Breeders' Cup. Serving as the pacesetter in leading the talented field of 14 through the opening three ports of call, Dreamer's Disease tired in the stretch but still earned a personal-high 80 Beyer Speed Figure for his sixth-place effort in a contest won by Essential Quality.

“He's training well and bounced out of the race really good,” Diodoro said. “We were going to give him a break but with this race here, and how he came out of it, we figured to give it a shot. The distance sets up well, especially coming off a mile and a couple of ticks, I think it's going to suit him quite well.”

Dreamer's Disease shipped from his base in Kentucky to New York on Wednesday.

“He flew up well and went out to the track just a little while ago, so I think it's all-systems-go right now,” Diordoro said.

Diordoro said his charge has improved physically since starting his career this summer and has given the connections positive signs after posting victories on both turf and dirt.

“He's versatile and long-term I think that's going to come in quite handy,” he said. “He's filled out more and that's helped him a lot, and mentally, he's matured. He's a little bit of a high-strung horse, but he's starting to mature over the last couple months.

“When the dust settles, I think he is a dirt horse,” he added. “Time will tell in his career, but anytime you have a horse that's versatile that can run on both surfaces, it definitely helps.”

Jockey Dylan Davis will pick up the mount from post 7.

Mathis Stable's Uno was an impressive 3 ¾-length winner in his debut on Nov. 12 over a muddy and sealed Aqueduct track. Like Dreamer's Disease, Uno is also by Laoban, and the Todd Pletcher trainee registered a 76 Beyer for his win.

A $255,000 purchase at this year's Ocala Breeders' Sale, Uno was bred in New York by Spruce Lane, Built Wright, Lynn Farm, Will Robbins and Copper Beach et al. Jose Ortiz, aboard for the victory, will have the return call from post 11.

Stakes-winner Hold the Salsa won the Bertram F. Bongard against fellow New York breds going the Great White Way distance on October 2 at Belmont Park. Stretched out to a mile on Big Sandy on Oct. 24, the Hold Me Back colt ran fourth in the Sleepy Hollow for owner and trainer Richard Lugovich.

Making his first appearance at the Big A, Hold the Salsa, who won his debut on July 12 at Belmont, will depart from post 8 with Junior Alvarado aboard.

Horn of Plenty will have the services of Kendrick Carmouche, who entered Thursday's live racing action as the meet's leading jockey as he looks to secure his first New York riding title. Trained by Mike Maker, the Emcee gelding won his first start on October 18 at Belmont before running fourth in the six-furlong Notebook over an Aqueduct main track rated good on Nov. 14. Horn of Plenty drew post 9.

Windy Nations, a first-out winner in August at Monmouth Park in a maiden-claiming sprint, will be making his first start since a runner-up effort against claiming company on Nov. 12 at Churchill Downs for trainer Mike Maker [post 12, Manny Franco].

Rounding out the field is The King Cheek, who broke his maiden at third asking on Nov. 9 at Parx for conditioner Jamie Ness [post 4, Luis Rodriguez Castro]; It's Gravy, looking for his first win after two runner-ups and third-place effort in three starts for trainer Kelly Breen [post 2, Joel Rosario]; New York One, who has won two of his last three starts for trainer James Chapman [post 3, Ferrin Peterson]; Market Alert, third in the Notebook on November 14 for trainer James Ryerson [post 6, Jose Lezcano]; Prospect Mountain, a first-out winner on November 15 at Aqueduct for trainer James Ferraro [post 1, Benjamin Hernandez]; Jacoba, who will be making his first U.S. start after three races at Woodbine for trainer Jeremiah Englehart [post 10, Jorge Vargas, Jr.]; and Jacks American Pie, stepping up to stakes company after four maiden special weight appearances for trainer Karl Grusmark [post 5, Charlie Marquez].

The Great White Way is slated as Race 8 on Aqueduct's nine-race program, which offers a first post of 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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D J Stable, Green Group’s Len Green Talks Making the Horse Business Profitable On Writers’ Room

It’s no secret that the horse business is a tough one if your primary goal is to make money. But your chances are better the more experience and expertise you accrue, and The Green Group’s Len Green has decades of both. Wednesday, the tax, accounting and consulting firm’s founder and principal of successful racing outfit D J Stable joined the TDN Writers’ Room presented by Keeneland to impart his advice on turning a profit in racing, discuss what tax changes could be coming down the pike with a new presidential administration in 2021 and reminisce on some of his favorite memories in racing.

“One, you really have to learn about setting [your horse investment] up so it looks, sounds and smells like a business,” Green said when asked for his advice for new owners. “Instead of writing checks out of your own regular checking account, which has personal deductions on it, etc., set up an LLC. It gives you protection in terms of liability, but it also gives you the appearance that you’re running it as a business. Two, you have to have some strategy. Three, you’ve got to keep on changing that strategy every couple of years.”

Elaborating on the last point, Green talked about making the eventual move from strictly racing claiming horses to the substantial owning and breeding program he now oversees, one that included champion 2-year-old filly Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) in 2018.

“You get used to a particular pattern of doing business and it really takes a shock sometimes to get you out of your comfort zone,” he said. “Our comfort zone was winning races. It was great, winning 30% of the time, but you were losing the horse because if the horse won for $25,000 our trainer would drop it down to 20. It would win at 20, but by that point, someone would claim the horse from you, and that horse may have originally cost you 100 [thousand]. His theory was, you run it where it belongs, which is correct, but that’s a great pattern to lose money with. So at a certain point in time, we said, ‘Hey, let’s get out of this claiming game. It’s too difficult to make money.'”

Elsewhere in the show, the writers reacted to an intriguing weekend of racing across the globe and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, lamented the slap-on-wrist punishments trainers continue to receive despite overall positive movement on drug issues in the sport. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Diodoro Fined $5K, Gets Stayed 60-Day Suspension for Lidocaine Positives

Two 3-hydroxylidocaine positives detected in separate horses six days apart at Canterbury Park in August and September have resulted in a $5,000 fine and 60-day suspension for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

The suspension part of the penalty has been stayed so long as Diodoro does not incur a Class 1 or 2 or Penalty Category A or B medication violation before Jan. 31, 2021.

Lidocaine is classified as a Class 2, Penalty Category B substance on the Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule compiled by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI).

For a first offense, the ARCI’s recommended Category B penalties are a “minimum one-year suspension absent mitigating circumstances [and a] minimum fine of $10,000 or 10% of total purse (greater of the two) absent mitigating circumstances.”

The positives were reported in lower-level claiming horses that ran second and sixth.

According to a Nov. 30 Minnesota Racing Commission ruling, Diodoro back on Nov. 18 had “waived his right to a formal hearing and agreed to accept a Board of Stewards ruling calling for a 60-day suspension effective Dec. 1, 2020 through Jan. 30, 2021, and a $5,000 civil penalty.” Another stewards’ phone conference with Diodoro on Monday preceded the release of the ruling.

That ruling continued: “Due to mitigating factors, the Board of Stewards ordered a stay of the 60-day suspension for 365 days beginning Dec. 1 providing Diodoro has no Class 1 or Class 2, Category A or B medication violations within that timeframe. If Diodoro is the subject of a Class 1 or Class 2, Category A or B medication violation within the timeframe, the 60-day suspension will be reinstated immediately…”

The ruling did not address specifics of the mitigating factors.

The first positive came from Hey Kitten (Haynesfield) who ran second as the 9-10 favorite Aug. 26 in a $10,000 claimer for owner Heads Up Racing. The 3-year-old filly was claimed that day and hasn’t started since, although she shows recent workouts at Turfway Park. According to the ruling, her 3-hydroxylidocaine finding was reported at 58.4 pg/ml (the threshold is 20 pg/ml).

On Sept. 1, Catty Krys (Discreet Cat) ran sixth as the 23-10 second favorite in a $7,500 claimer for owner Empire Racing Stables, LLC. She too was claimed by a new outfit, and has since started four more times at Remington Park and Charles Town Races without cracking the top three placings. According to the ruling, the 6-year-old mare’s 3-hydroxylidocaine finding was reported at 56.6 pg/ml.

According to the ruling, “The Board of Stewards took into consideration that the second violation occurred before the first violation was reported to the Stewards and was not known by the trainer. Therefore, the Board of Stewards treated the two violations as one, which is standard practice.”

The ruling stated that Diodoro requested split-serum sample testing for confirmation and the presence of 3-Hydroxylidocaine was recorded “in both split sample serums well above the threshold level,” the ruling stated.

Both horses were disqualified for purse and placing purposes only. The ruling did not address the status of the claims made by new owners on the days both tested positive.

Around the same time that Diodoro’s two Canterbury horses returned the Class 2 positives, the trainer had four other horses disqualified for Class 4 positives that turned up earlier in the year at Oaklawn Park and Will Rogers Downs.

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Keepmeinmind Puts In Big Late Run Break His Maiden In Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes

Cypress Creek and Arnold Bennewith's Keepmeinmind added to the freshman tally of stallion Laoban with a win in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Jockey David Cohen rode the juvenile to his maiden triumph as the 2-1 favorite; the pair completed 1 1/16 miles over the fast main track in 1:44.52. Trained by Robertino Diodoro, Keepmeinmind was third last out in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Also the runner-up in the G1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, Keepmeinmind has collected a total of 18 points on the 2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Smiley Sobotka led the way through fractions of :24.00 and :48.00, before being headed by stakes winner King Fury at the head of the lane. The frontrunner pulled away again, but didn't have enough left to fend off the late run of early trailer Keepmeinmind.

Still last at the three-sixteenths pole, Keepmeinmind wove through traffic to find clear running on the outside in the stretch. Cohen drove Keepmeinmind firmly down the lane to break his maiden by three-quarters of a length over Smiley Sobotka. Arabian Prince checked in third, and Swill was fourth.

Bred in Kentucky by Southern Equine Stable, Keepmeinmind is out of the unraced Victory Gallop mare Inclination. Raced by his breeder to a second on debut at Churchill Downs, the colt also ran second in the Breeders' Futurity in those colors. He was sold to his current ownership before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup. Overall, the colt's record stands at one win, two seconds, and a third from four starts, with earnings just shy of $400,000.

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