New York-Bred 2021 Divisional Championship Nominees Announced

New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB) is pleased to announce the nominees for the New York-bred divisional champions of 2021. A panel of New York Turf writers, broadcasters, handicappers, racing analysts and photographers will vote on the winners of each division and the 2021 New York-bred Horse of the Year.

The 2020 New York-bred divisional champions and New York-bred Horse of the Year will be unveiled this summer during the historic Saratoga Race Course meeting. Also to be honored with 2021 awards will be Broodmare of the Year, Champion Trainer, Champion Jockey and Outstanding Breeder.

A list of the 2021 New York-bred divisional championship nominees by category follows.

Champion 2-Year-Old Male
Adios Asher
Coinage
Dakota Gold
Geno
Rebel Empire
Run Curtis Run
Senbei
Shipsational

Champion 2-Year-Old Filly
Classy Edition
Curly Girl
Derrynane
Howdyoumakeurmoney
Miss Alacrity
November Rein
Shesawildjoker
Venti Valentine
Yo Cuz

Champion 3-Year-Old Male
Americanrevolution
Excellent Timing
Hush of a Storm
It's a Gamble
Lobsta
Nicky the Vest
Ocala Dream
Perfect Munnings
River Dog
The King Cheek

Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
A Bit o'Irish Sass
A Life That's Good
Bank Sting
Betsy Blue
Byhubbyhellomoney
Make Mischief
Secret Love
Sport Model

Champion Older Dirt Male
Bankit
Captain Bombastic
Mr. Buff
Ny Traffic
Our Last Buck
Sea Foam

Champion Older Dirt Female
Dancing Kiki
Espresso Shot
Ice Princess
Maiden Beauty
Mrs. Orb
Sharp Starr

Champion Turf Male
Battle Station
City Man
Cross Border
Rinaldi
Somelikeithotbrown
Step Dancer

Champion Turf Female
Classic Lady
Giacosa
Myhartblongstodady
Robin Sparkles
Runaway Rumour
Sport Model
Time Limit

Champion Male Sprinter
Bank On Shea
Battle Station
Foolish Ghost
Jemography
My Boy Tate
Ny Traffic
Our Last Buck

Champion Female Sprinter
Awesome Debate
Espresso Shot
Miss Jimmy
Mrs. Orb
Sadie Lady
The Important One
Time Limit

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Somelikeithotbrown Holds Off Sanctuary City To Get Second Mohawk Win

In a postponed renewal of the 1 1/16-mile $200,000 Mohawk for New York-breds 3-years-old and up on the turf, which was washed off its intended surface earlier in the meet, odds-on favorite Somelikeithotbrown made all the running and fended off longshot Sanctuary City's menacing late rally to capture his second straight edition of the race by posting a half-length score at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Skychai Racing and David Koenig's Somelikeithotbrown, a 5-year-old son of Big Brown, was making his first appearance against state-bred company since winning last year's Mohawk in October 2020. The Mike Maker trainee had run exclusively against graded stakes competition in 2021 spanning his first five starts, including a win in the Grade 2 Dinner Party at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., in May and a third-place finish last out in the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., on October 9.

Keen on the class relief despite the quality New York-bred competition, bettors sent off Somelikeithotbrown as the prohibitive 1-2 favorite in the Mohawk. He looked the part, breaking from post and surging to the front under Jorge Vargas, Jr. With Klickitat providing only token pressure off his flank, the bay horse ambled down the backstretch through an opening quarter-mile in :24.23 and a half in :49.15 over firm going on the Widener turf.

Somelikeithotbrown and Vargas kept up the moderate tempo, going three-quarters in 1:13.49, and it wasn't until leaving the far turn that they received their first serious test in the form of the Christophe Clement-trained City Man, who ranged up on their outside leaving the bend. Shrugging that one off with little opposition, the pair again opened up a daylight lead in mid-stretch. A hard-charging Sanctuary City then picked up the chase. Coming with a burst of energy down the middle of the Widener Turf Course, Sanctuary City looked poised to go by the frontrunner in the final eighth of a mile, but Somelikeithotbrown was unrelenting and dug in late to hit the wire in 1:42.39.

“He was [originally] pointing to the Breeders' Cup so you had to feel confident,” said Vargas, Jr. of the suspenseful finish. “He was traveling easily throughout. When they got to me I asked a little bit and he jumped on them right away. When it was time to run he fought to the end.

“He's a nice horse,” the winning jockey added. “Nice horses make multiple moves. They know what they're capable of, and that's what he does. He still had something left; I could barely pull him up he was feeling so good.”

Somelikeithotbrown returned $3 on a $2 win wager, while his career earnings now stand just shy of $1.2 million.

Sanctuary City, trained by James Ferraro for the owner/breeder combo of Edward Messina and William Butler, came alive again in the Mohawk, having run shockingly well in this race last year at odds of 41-1, and finished a clear second ahead of City Man, who was 2 ½ lengths back in third. It was another 1 ½ lengths back to Therapist in fourth, who was followed home by Cross Border and Klickitat. Rinaldi was scratched, as was main-track only entrant Tiergan.

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Live racing resumes Sunday with Closing Day of the Belmont fall meet. The 10-race card, which features an 11:50 a.m. first post, will feature a pair of stakes in the $150,000 Zagora for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 1/2 miles on the turf in Race 4 at 1:18 p.m. and the Grade 3, $150,000 Nashua for 2-year-olds in a one-turn mile on the main track in Race 9 at 3:43 p.m.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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

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In Love Finds Running Room Late To Take Keeneland Turf Mile, Earn BC Mile Spot

Of the two horses clad in the colors of Bonne Chance Farm and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos LLC, all eyes were on Ivar (BRZ), last year's winner of the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile, but it was In Love (BRZ) who brought home the win in the 2021 edition at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., earning a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Mile along with his first graded stakes win.

Over a good Keeneland turf course, the 5-year-old gelded son of Agnes Gold with jockey Alex Achard broke cleanly, settling into seventh early in the one-mile stakes. As Brown Storm led the field around the first turn and into the backstretch, Achard and In Love bided their time in the middle of the field of 12, waiting until the far turn to move for a more advantageous position. On the rail, though, In Love was stymied by a wall of horses, Achard going wide in the stretch to find running room. That move was the winning one.

Clear of horses, In Love dug in late, passing Somelikeithotbrown and Tell Your Daddy to take the lead and drawing away to win by three lengths. The final time for the one-mile G1 stakes was 1:34.84.

In Love paid $26.40, $15.40, and $9.60. Tell Your Daddy paid $24.60 and $13.20. Somelikeithotbrown paid $8.20. Find this race's chart here.

The G1 Keeneland Turf Mile is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners of Challenges Series races receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot for the corresponding event at the Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I think the big key was we went to Arlington and tried an easier spot, and he won the race, and then we put blinkers on him and he improved a lot, and running the one-turn mile – they are very unfamiliar in South America with that – and I think the horse is improving. You know, Kentucky Downs horses get very fit. And also he loves it here (at Keeneland). Last year he won an allowance very easy here, and I think the giving ground helped him,” trainer Paulo Lobo said after the race.

“(Recording my first Grade 1 win) feels great. Especially at Keeneland—I love Keeneland—and it couldn't be any better,” jockey Alex Achard told the Keeneland Communications Office after the Turf Mile. “He's getting older but he's getting better. He's like a good wine. Every race he shows up and he's even better every time.”

Bred by Fazenda Mondesir and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos, In Love is out of the Know Heights mare Last Bet. With his win in the G1 Keeneland Turf Mile, the 5-year-old gelding has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 13 starts and career earnings of $729,700.

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Somelikeithotbrown Among Top Choices For Labor Day’s Mint Million At Kentucky Downs

Louisville's Harvey Diamond and his partners in Skychai Racing will finally run their stable star Somelikeithotbrown at Kentucky Downs, with the multiple graded-stakes winner among the favorites for Monday's $1 million, Grade 3 WinStar Mint Million.

Last year's winner, Juddmonte Farm's Flavius, also is among the 11 older horses entered Tuesday for the Labor Day featured attraction, previously known as the Tourist Mile. The Chad Brown-trained Flavius won Saratoga's restricted Lure Stakes in his last start.

With the mile stakes enjoying Grade 3 status for the first time in 2021, the purse was increased from $750,000 and the name changed to reflect that amount and as a shout to The Mint Gaming Hall at Kentucky Downs.

Diamond, Skychai co-managing partner Jim Shircliff and frequent partner David Koenig of Sand Dollar Stable all love Kentucky Downs. Not only do they like to have a good time in a festive outdoor atmosphere at the races, but they won the $1 million Calumet Turf Cup in 2015 and 2016 with Da Big Hoss.

However, Somelikeithotbrown previously has raced in the summer at Saratoga, where he's eligible for New York-bred races and his owners earn additional incentives as the horse's breeder. The Big Apple has been very good to Somelikeithotbrown, including winning Saratoga's Grade 2 Bernard Baruch and Belmont's $150,000 Mohawk for New York-breds last year, along with an eight-length maiden victory and a pair of seconds in Grade 3 stakes as a 2-year-old in 2018.

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund is channeling millions of dollars into purse supplements at the six-date FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs for horses born in the commonwealth and by a stallion standing in the state. But the stakes' base purses — for which all horses can compete — alone would rank among some of the most lucrative in the country.

So while Somelikeithotbrown isn't eligible to compete for the $450,000 KTDF component of the Mint Million, “$550,000 isn't exactly chopped liver,” Diamond said. “It just seemed like the proper spot for him.”

Somelikeithotbrown last ran when a close second to Set Piece in Churchill Downs' Grade 2 Wise Dan on June 26.

“I thought he tried really hard all the way to the wire,” said Diamond, a retired occupational physician. “That race was a mile and a sixteenth around two turns. This will be a one-turn race, so we're looking forward to giving it a shot down there. We think he's a really nice horse, and he doesn't owe us a thing. So let's see how he runs at Kentucky Downs. Hotbrown doesn't need to take his track with him. He's won at multiple tracks, and he's good at the distance. So we're looking forward to running him at this European-style course. We love to come down there. We're excited the turf course has been renovated and can't wait to see it. And it's in an outdoor atmosphere that will fit with our COVID restrictions.”

The cleverly named Somelikeithotbrown is from the first foal crop sired by 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown in his first breeding season in New York. His dam is the Tapit mare Marilyn Monroan, her name a play on her gray color, who raced for Skychai's affiliated Hot Pink Stables and Sand Dollar. Overall he's 7-5-2 in 20 starts, earning $899,838.

Somelikeithotbrown spent the summer in Louisville at trainer Mike Maker's Trackside training center base, where he has uncorked four very strong workouts. Jose Ortiz, the 2018-2019 Kentucky Downs meet titlist, has the mount and is skipping closing day at Saratoga.

Alluding to bypassing Saratoga's $250,000 Albany for New York-breds to run in the Mint Million, Maker said the New York-bred turf horses “are no cupcakes, either. So, we figured with the difference in the purses, we might as well stay home where he's doing well. He's run on hard ground, yielding ground and performed well at different places. I do like the one turn for him.”

As Kentucky Downs' all-time winningest trainer with 63 victories, Maker's 356 starters also are a track record. Those horses have earned $8,259,886 at the all-grass meet, with no one else close.

Maker is coming off a huge meet at Saratoga, with 24 wins and $1.97 million in purse earnings and still having horses for that meet's final week. But it's a sign of how important the Kentucky Downs' meet is to the trainer that he's back in Kentucky. He has nine horses entered in six races on the Labor Day card.

That includes another Mint Million entrant in Michael Hui's Monarchs Glen, a $62,500 claim who in his last three starts won a second-level allowance race and Indiana Grand's Jon B. Schuster Memorial and finished second by a neck in the West Virginia Speaker's Cup.

Other contenders in the Mint Million include Chicago invader Betwithbothhands, who earned a fees-paid berth in the race by virtue of winning the stakes prep at Ellis Park; last year's Grade 2 Del Mar Derby winner Pixelate; and Bizzee Channel, who won the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes before finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Mr. D (formerly the Arlington Million).

Skychai, in partnership with Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher, also is running Saratoga maiden-winner Kiss the Sky in Monday's $500,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile. As a Kentucky-bred son of Twirling Candy, the Maker-trained Kiss the Sky will compete for the whole purse.

“He's shown some ability with that Saratoga win,” Diamond said.

The Kentucky Downs Juvenile also drew a field of 11, including the Kenny McPeek-trained Tiz the Bomb, who romped by 14 1/4 lengths in a mile maiden race that came off the grass at Ellis Park. Larry Rivelli will send out 2-for-2 Nobals, who won the Arlington-Washington Futurity winner this past Saturday. Mark Casse brings up On Thin Ice, an impressive debut winner on grass, up from Gulfstream Park for the stakes. Maker also entered the maiden Fan the Fire in the stakes.

Brad Cox has a strong 1-2 punch in the $500,000 Aristocrat Juvenile Fillies, running Turnerloose and Yin Yang, both Ellis Park debut winners at a mile on grass. The Randy Morse-trained Verylittlecents, winner of the RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Juvenile Fillies, makes her first start on turf in the mile stakes, which attracted a field of ten 2-year-old fillies.

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