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NYRA Invites Fans to Enjoy Saratoga Virtually With ‘Your Summer Place’

The New York Racing Association is inviting fans to celebrate the 2020 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course remotely with an assortment of virtual events and downloadable content.

For the 40-day meet that runs from July 16 through Sept. 7, fans can access the “Your Summer Place” experience via the NYRA Events page. Posters, tip sheets, recipes and more will be added throughout the meet to help fans stay close to the racing action from the comfort of their own homes.

“Your Summer Place” will provide an immersive, at-home initiative designed to maximize the ways fans can experience the action at the Spa while still adhering to New York state guidelines regarding live racing without spectators in attendance.

Downloadable items also include a featured restaurant of the week, which will highlight a different Saratoga Springs-based establishment that encompasses both a restaurant bio and links to recipes crafted specially by the restaurant. Keeping with the food theme, Levy, Saratoga’s food-and-beverage provider, will also create special recipes throughout the summer to bolster the dining choices of any horseplayer.

“Your Summer Place” will also offer downloadable posters–and special trading cards–of each GI Whitney S. contender and provide full profile information for every contender in the GI Runhappy Travers S.

The post NYRA Invites Fans to Enjoy Saratoga Virtually With ‘Your Summer Place’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The TDN Oaks Top 10 For July 16

It was a busy Saturday at Keeneland for the nation’s top 3-year-old fillies, as a field of five contested the GI Ashland S. and Swiss Skydiver (Daredveil) ventured outside her division as her connections boldly took on males in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. At the end of the day, the deck was shuffled some, but not much. Speech (Mr. Speaker), already a highly regarded Oaks contender, won the Ashland and Swiss Skydiver was terrific in a second-place finish against the boys.

With the Oaks less than eight weeks away, the number of meaningful preps for the race is starting to dwindle. Most of the action will be in Saratoga, where the meet includes the GI Coaching Club American Oaks, the GI Test S. and the GI Alabama S., races that should have an impact on the Oaks picture.

1) SWISS SKYDIVER (Daredevil–Expo Gold, by Johannesburg)
O-Peter J Callahan. B-WinStar Farm (KY). T-Kenneth G McPeek. Sales History: $35,000 yrl ’18 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 8-4-2-1, $677,980.
Last Start: 2nd GII Toyota Blue Grass S., KEE, July 11
Next Start: GI Kentucky Oaks, CD, Sept. 4
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 310.

We keep flip-flopping between Swiss Skydiver and Gamine for the top spot and return Swiss Skydiver to No. 1 after her second-place finish against males in the Blue Grass. Considering that she ran that well against the boys and had reeled off three straight graded stakes wins against fillies prior to that, she’s done more than enough to deserve top billing in the Oaks. She’s as solid as they come and there are no knocks against her. It’s going to take a freakishly talented filly to beat her, and Gamine may well be that good. But she’s going to have to prove it on the racetrack.

Still amazing to think that trainer Kenny McPeek found her at the sales for just $35,000. Would be fun to see her in the GI Kentucky Derby and she has enough points to get in, but McPeek and owner Peter Callahan have said she is likely to go next in Oaks.

2) GAMINE (Into Mischief—Peggy Jane, by Kafwain)
‘TDN Rising Star’ O-Michael L. Petersen. B-Grace Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $220,000 yrl ’18 KEESEP; $1,800,000 2yo ’19 FTMMAY. Lifetime Record: GISW, 3-3-0-0, $234,600.
Last Start: 1st GI Longines Acorn S., BEL, June 20
Next Start: GI Longines Test S., SAR, Aug. 8
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 50.

Considering that she turned in one of the best races by a 3-year-old filly in decades when destroying the opposition in the GI Acorn S, Gamine very well could turn out to be a superstar. As good as Swiss Skydiver is, Gamine may just be better. No one knows what the ceiling is. But she definitely has more to prove, most importantly her ability to win around two turns or at a mile and an eighth. She did win her only two-turn race, beating Speech in an allowance race at Oaklawn, but wasn’t nearly as explosive or impressive that day as she was in the one-mile, one-turn Acorn. Trainer Bob Baffert has said the GI Longines Test S. at seven furlongs may be next for Gamine, which make for an unusual route to the Kentucky Oaks. Is it an indication that he believes her best distance is shorter than nine furlongs?

3) SPEECH (Mr Speaker—Scribbling Sarah, by Freud)
O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. B-Gail Rice (FL). T-Michael W. McCarthy. Sales history: $65,000 ylg ’18 OBSWIN; $95,000 RNA ylg ’18 FTKJUL; $190,000 2yo ’19 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-2-4-1, $353,840.
Last Start: 1st GI Ashland S., KEE, July 11
Next Start: GI Kentucky Oaks, CD, Sept. 4
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 160.

If ever a horse were due for a big win.

Speech came into the Ashland having finished second in four straight races. She kept running into tough customers, whether it was Swiss Skydiver in the GII Santa Anita Oaks or Gamine in the Oaklawn allowance. The betting public thought it would happen again. Speech was the 4-1 second choice in the Ashland, while Venetian Harbor was sent off at 3-5. Venetian Harbor got the trip, getting a comfortable early lead. But Speech had no problem going by her. The losses to Swiss Skydiver and Gamine suggest that she will have a tough time beating the top two in the Oaks. She might just be a good filly who came around in the wrong year.

4) VENETIAN HARBOR (Munnings—Sounds of the City, by Street Cry {Ire})
O-Ciaglia Racing LLC, Highland Yard LLC, River Oak Farm & Dominic Savides. B-Colts Neck Stables LLC (KY). T-Richard Baltas. Sales History: $110,000 yrl ’18 KEESEP; $205,000 RNA 2yo ’19 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP, 5-2-3-0, $323,400.
Last Start: 2nd GI Ashland S., KEE, July 11
Next Start: To Be Determined
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 90.

This is a very talented filly, but probably not a Kentucky Oaks winner. The question with her all along has been how far does she want to go? After the Ashland, it’s pretty obvious that nine furlongs is a stretch for her. She made the lead easily and the pace was not fast, but she had no answer when Speech came to challenge her. The story was the same when she cleared the field in the Fantasy only to be run down by Swiss Skydiver. Her connections must now decide if they even want to try the Oaks or look for shorter races like the Test.

5) SHEDARESTHEDEVIL (Daredevil–Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats)
O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC, Qatar Racing Limited & Big Aut Farms. B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY). T-Brad Cox. Sales History: $100,000 wlg ’17 KEENOV; $20,000 RNA yrl ’18 KEESEP; $280,000 2yo ’19 KEENOV. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 9-4-2-2, $501,768.
Last Start: 1st GIII Indiana Oaks, IND, July 8
Next Start: To Be Determined
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 90.

Rather than tackle the best of the division, trainer Brad Cox has been picking easier spots for Shedaresthedevil, a strategy that has been working. After winning an allowance at Churchill Downs by six lengths, she came back in the GIII Indiana Oaks, where she romped by five lengths. It’s gotten her back on track after she was a distant third in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn. She’ll need to step it up to be able to win the Oaks, but has at least proven she knows how to win. Her resume also includes a victory in the GIII Honeybee S.

6) TONALIST’S SHAPE (Tonalist—Hitechnoweenie, by Harlan’s Holiday)
O-Slam Dunk Racing, Doug Branham & Legacy Ranch, Inc. B-Sabana Farm (KY). T-Saffie Joseph, Jr. Sales History: $45,000 RNA yrl ’18 KEESEP; $60,000 RNA 2yo ’19 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 7-6-0-0, $357,425.
Last Start: 1st Hollywood Wildcat S., GP, May 15
Next Start: GI CCA Oaks S., SAR, July 18
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 60.

She was scratched out of the Ashland to go in the Coaching Club American Oaks. That’s a smart move by trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., who, no doubt, figured out that the CCA Oaks was going to come up weak this year, a lot weaker than the Ashland. At six-for-seven lifetime, she has a remarkably good record. The lone defeat came in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, where she was a distant seventh to Swiss Skydiver as the 19-10 favorite. She came back to win the Hollywood Wildcat S. at Gulfstream, but didn’t face much that day. She will need to win the CCA Oaks convincingly to be considered a serious contender for the Kentucky Oaks.

7) SPICE IS NICE (Curlin—Dame Dorothy, by Bernardini)
‘TDN Rising Star’ O-Lawana L. & Robert E. Low. B-B. Flay Thoroughbreds LLC (KY). T-Todd Pletcher. Sales History: $1,050,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSP, 4-2-1-0, $106,080.
Last Start: 1st Alw/Opt. Clm., BEL, July 3
Next Start: GI Alabama S., SAR, Aug. 15
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 20.

A $1.05-million yearling purchase trained by Todd Pletcher, she fell out of the top 10 after a poor showing in the Gulfstream Park Oaks. She’s back after winning a July 3 allowance at Belmont, her first start in more than three months. She’ll go next in the mile-and-a-quarter Alabama. That means she’d have to come back in three weeks for the Oaks and cut back in distance. That’s not ideal, but neither is it impossible. She’s shown a lot of talent and the seven-figure price tag at the sales stands out. Should be getting better.

8) ENVOUTANTE (Uncle Mo—Enchante, by Bluegrass Cat)
O-Walking L Thoroughbreds LLC & Three Chimneys Farm; B-Jumping Jack Racing LLC (KY); T-Ken McPeek. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISP, 6-2-1-2, $125,748.
Last Start: 3rd GI Ashland S., KEE, July 11.
Next Start: GI Alabama S., SAR, Aug. 15. Equineline PPs.
KY Oaks Points: 20

Among the reasons Kenny McPeek gave for running Swiss Skydiver in the Blue Grass was that he felt he could still win the Ashland with Envoutante. Facing proven stakes horses, it was a tall order for a filly coming of an allowance win, but she didn’t embarrass herself. She finished third, beaten 6 3/4 lengths. She’s a late-developing filly who didn’t break her maiden until April, so she has every right to improve. A good showing in the Alabama could be her ticket into the Oaks.

9) BONNY SOUTH (Munnings—Touch the Star, by Tapit)
O/B-Juddmonte Farms (Ky). T-Brad Cox. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-3-0-0, $343,350.
Last Start: 4th GI Ashland S., KEE, July 11
Next Start: To Be Determined
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 110.

Unraced since winning the GII Fair Grounds Oaks on March 21, Bonny South didn’t show much in her return in the Ashland. She never seriously threatened and finished fourth in the five-horse field. With Beyer numbers in the mid-eighties, she appeared to be slower than her main rivals at Keeneland. Has more than enough points to get into the Oaks, but she would really have to improve to win a race at that level.

10) WATER WHITE (Conveyance–Uzume, by Unbridled’s Song)
O-E V Racing Stable; B-Richard Forbush (KY); T-Rudy Rodriguez. Sales history: $50,000 Ylg ’18 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: SW, 7-2-2-1, $270,275.
Last Start: 3rd GI Acorn S., BEL, June 20
Next Start: GI Coaching Club American Oaks, SAR, July 18. Equineline PPs. Kentucky Oaks Points: 64

After you get past the top three or four, the list gets pretty thin. That’s why a horse like Water White makes it into the Top 10. Yes, she was beaten 19 1/4 lengths in the Acorn, but Gamine thrashed everybody that day. She picked up most of her Oaks points when winning the Busher Invitational in her previous start. Probably not a serious contender for the Oaks.

The post The TDN Oaks Top 10 For July 16 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A Most Unusual Saratoga Meet Set to Begin Thursday

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Even though he is healthy and enthusiastic, 91-year-old Gus Ziamandanis will not be able to attend his 70th consecutive opening day at Saratoga Race Course on Thursday, July 16. His quest for a remarkable personal milestone was stopped by New York State’s coronavirus guidelines that prohibit spectators at professional sporting events.

When he understood that it was unlikely that he would get into the grounds for the 10-race opener, Ziamandanis made a reservation for a table at Capital OTB’s Clubhouse Race Book in Albany, 33 miles south of the track. Capital OTB’s venue is close to Ziamandanis’s home in the Albany suburb of Colonie. While Ziamandanis, who played handball until the gyms were closed by the pandemic this winter, is disappointed that he won’t extend his streak, he is realistic.

“The way things are going today, you live with it. You just live with it,” he said. “Just like COVID, you live with it. It took away my handball. It took away this. It took away that. You live with it. What are you going to do?”

Ziamandanis and millions of other racing fans will watch from afar. Some, no doubt, as close as across the street at King’s Tavern or in other Saratoga-area bars and restaurants in this season like no other at America’s oldest racing venue. Concerned that people would congregate along Union and Nelson avenues to get a glimpse of the action from the sidewalks, Saratoga Springs city officials asked the New York Racing Association to install temporary coverings to block the view.

“The critical part of this meet is that we celebrate racing, but we celebrate it at home,” Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton said at a press conference. “The city cannot have people come to the track and try to watch racing.”

She continued. “In fact, we have asked NYRA to put up privacy fencing around the track so you won’t be able to see in, and they have been very cooperative and done that. That is for the collective safety of the community and also to make sure we can continue to celebrate racing this year and every year to come.”

The New York Racing Association’s 40-day meeting is the 152nd summer of Thoroughbred racing in Saratoga Springs and the first time without spectators. The inaugural season was held in 1863 on the Horse Haven track on the opposite side of Union Avenue from the now-historic site that opened the following year. This will be the 75th consecutive season of racing at the Spa since it reopened in 1946 following three seasons of Saratoga-at-Belmont meetings during World War II. The track was closed in 1896 when its nefarious owner Gottfried Walbaum was in a tussle with The Jockey Club over dates. In 1911 and 1912, the New York tracks did not operate due to a legislative crackdown in gambling.

This year’s Saratoga meet will feature 71 stakes worth $14.45 million, with 39 graded stakes and 18 Grade 1s, including the historic GI Runhappy Travers, this year a Kentucky Derby prep on August 8. For the second year in row, Saratoga will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It will open with four racing days, and then run five days per week for six weeks before reaching its conclusion with a six-day week that ends on Labor Day, Sept. 7.

As has been the case for more than 60 years, the GIII Schuylerville S. for 2-year-old fillies is on the 10-race opening day program. The co-feature this year is the GIII Peter Pan S., a race for 3-year-olds normally run at Belmont Park as a prep for the Belmont Stakes. Both races will be staged over the new dirt track installed during the off-season.

Due to the pandemic, NYRA changed the look of the Saratoga stakes schedule and cut purses following the closure of many tracks and the rescheduling of the Triple Crown. The $1 million GI Runhappy Travers, a fixture near the end of the meet for decades, was moved ahead three weeks to Aug. 8, so it could be a stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 and the Preakness S. on Oct. 3.

The 1958 Travers was held on Aug. 9, but this will be the earliest running of the 1 ¼ miles race since it was held on August 5, 1916.

Jason Fitch and his brothers, Patrick and Adam, have operated the Saratoga City Tavern on Caroline Street downtown for 15 years. Six years ago, they took over King’s Tavern, which was previously only open during the racing season, and now is open year-round. Their bars were closed for three months during New York’s pandemic “pause,” but have been open since mid-June and now move into a racing season without fans. Like many other bars and restaurants in the city, the Fitch brothers’ taverns will feature Saratoga racing on their TVs. This week they expanded the patio area and added an outdoor television at King’s Tavern.

“It’s going to be definitely a different season,” Jason Fitch said. “Whatever happens, we’re going to embrace it. It’s still going to be Saratoga with the track and the horses running. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to walk across the street, go inside and enjoy a family day there. It’s definitely going to be a unique season, but I think the community is going to come together.”

Fitch said he has heard from customers who visit Saratoga for the races, and said some have told him they have scrapped their travel plans. Others, though, may drop in for a weekend.

“It’s just one year. Hopefully, everything is back to normal by next year,” he said. “Five years from now it’s going to be ‘remember that time when the track was closed?’ It’s going to be definitely a piece of history.”

On the almost-silent backstretch Wednesday morning , not far from a barn filled with empty stalls, veteran trainer John Kimmel described the atmosphere.

“Yesterday it felt like the first day after racing ended,” Kimmel said. “You know how it is? Everybody leaves and you come out here, there are a few horses on the racetrack, it’s nice and quiet and you go, ‘Wow, it’s really nice here.’ But to know that’s how it is before the meet has even started is kind of surreal. It certainly has lost the excitement and energy that you usually bring when you come here. You kind of get excited. Owners are all here. And the horses. The place is jumping with anticipation of a great racing season getting ready to commence. Right now, the trainers are just trying to cope with the situation.”

Ziamandanis, a first-generation American, was born and raised in Albany and the Navy veteran said he made his first trip to Saratoga in 1949.

“My sister’s in-laws came up from Long Island and I had a car,” he said. “My mother and father wanted to show them the Saratoga track, so I took them.”

Two summers later, Ziamandanis started what would become a seven-decade streak of making it to the track for the Saratoga opener. Thirteen U.S. Presidents have served during Ziamandanis’s run, which began on Monday, August 6, 1951. In those days, racing was prohibited on Sundays in New York. The downstate meet would end on Saturday and the Saratoga Association would open its 24-day season on Monday. The 1951 Spa opener drew a crowd of 16,692, the biggest following World War II. The horse named Vantage, ridden by Dave Gorman, won the first race by 4 ½ lengths.

In his early years as a fan, Ziamandanis said he came to the track with some of his buddies and stood at the end of the wooden grandstand built in the 1890s. A 700-foot extension was built in that area in the 1960s. As his plumbing, heating and air conditioning business based in Albany began to prosper, he was able to secure a table for the season in the clubhouse dining area. Ziamandanis has watched the track emerge from the doldrums and declining attendance of the 1950s and early 1960s and grow into one of the most popular and beloved tracks in the country. He has seen the stars, human and equine, who have made their way to Saratoga.

“I have a lot of memories there,” he said. “A lot of memories.”

The post A Most Unusual Saratoga Meet Set to Begin Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Brisnet.com Triple Crown Throwdown: Peter Pan

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN’s Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins.

DeRosa – Blue Grass Result – Art Collector (+$530) wore down Swiss Skydiver for a breakout victory. Bankroll: $4210.

GIII Peter Pan S. – I normally don’t like horses who need 1 1/8 miles on dirt to break their maidens as a 2-year-old, but given this one is by Tonalist, who has needed some time with his progeny, it’s more understandable. I loved Country Grammer’s race in the Fountain of Youth off that maiden win and the comeback wasn’t bad given he had to go long off the bench and was caught wide. Now back to nine furlongs second off the bench and I like his chances. Would loved to have pulled the trigger on Caracaro, but going this long against stakes types off a six-month layoff is a big ask. Selection: #2 Country Grammer (7-2).

Sherack – Blue Grass Result – Still plenty of work left to do to catch the top two, but nice to get back in the win column with Art Collector. Bankroll: $3135.

GIII Peter Pan S. – I couldn’t have been any higher on Mystic Guide following his eye-catching maiden win at Fair Grounds, and getting back to two turns with some added distance to work with after a good second in a quickly run race should be right up his alley. Will be making a nice exacta box with Candy Tycoon. Selection: #6 Mystic Guide (5-2).

DiDonato – Blue Grass Result – Rushie settled for third at 7-1 after a wide trip. This thing’s getting close. Bankroll: $4375

GIII Peter Pan S. – Mystic Guide and Country Grammer, the second and third finishers in that salty allowance won by Tap It to Win at Belmont June 4, are the two I’m most interested in (Caracaro’s also intriguing, but not sure what to make of him). I believe I’ve picked both in earlier contest races, but decided to side with Country Grammer here for red-hot (always hot?) Chad Brown. Mystic Guide finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Country Grammer, but the latter covered about two more lengths of ground according to Trakus data. Country Grammer also made a tougher move, being asked for his run earlier from farther back while off cover. He seems better suited to this two-turn nine furlongs, and is already a winner at the distance. Selection: #2 Country Grammer (7-2).

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