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Tiz the Law Draws Post Six in Travers

GI Belmont S. winner Tiz the Law (Constitution) looks to take his next step down this unconventional GI Kentucky Derby trail in Saturday’s GI Runhappy Travers S. at Saratoga. The even-money morning-line favorite will break from post six with regular rider Manny Franco in the irons.

“I think he’s matured enough now that outside or inside is not going to bother him too much,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. “I’d prefer that he’s on the outside just because you have less chance of getting in trouble. Not that you can’t, but you have less chance. I think post six is fine. Five would have been fine. Four would have been fine. Any of those three would have been fine with me.”

‘TDN Rising Star’ Uncle Chuck (Uncle Mo) is the second choice at 5-2 and is drawn in post three. The undefeated Bob Baffert pupil will be piloted by Luis Saez. Belmont third-place finisher and GIII Withers S. victor Max Player (Honor Code) and GIII Peter Pan S. winner Country Grammar (Tonalist) were both given 6-1 morning-line quotes. Trainer by Linda Rice, Max Player drew post four with Joel Rosario in the irons. Chad Brown pupil Country Grammar will be in stall two with Irad Ortiz at the controls.

The rest of the field is as follows: First Line (First Samurai), post one, 30-1; Shivaree (Awesome of Course), post five, 30-1; Caracaro (Uncle Mo), post seven, 10-1; and South Bend (Algorithms), post eight, 15-1.

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Pennsylvania Derby, Cotillion Will Not Be Held in 2020

Due to circumstances that arose with the coronavirus pandemic, Parx Racing has canceled all of its open stakes for the remainder of the year, including the GI Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Cotillion S. The two $1-million events were part of a program that had been scheduled for Sept. 26 and also included the Turf Amazon S., the Parx Dirt Mile and the GII Gallant Bob S.

“We will not be running any open stakes races this year,” racing secretary David Osojnak said. “We will be going on hiatus. The virus, the plague, just wiped out everything. We think we will be able to come back stronger in 2021.”

COVID-19 caused two major problems for the Parx stakes. Since being moved to mid-September they had an open spot on the calendar, coming after the major 3-year-old races at Saratoga and before the Breeders’ Cup. That allowed Parx to attract quality fields that included recent Pennsylvania Derby winners like McKinzie (Street Sense) and West Coast (Flatter). Once the GI Kentucky Derby was rescheduled for Sept. 5 and the GI Preakness S. for Oct. 3, the mid-September slot no longer worked.

The purse account at Parx was also dealt a blow with the closing of the on-track casino Mar. 16. It reopened June 29, but can only operate at 50% capacity.

“It was 50-50,” Osojnak said. “As soon as they moved the Derby, we had a problem. We would have had to run three weeks after the Derby and a week before the Preakness. The way things were working out, it just didn’t make any sense to do so, from a financial standpoint or from where the calendar fell.”

Using the money that would have been earmarked for the Sept. 26 stakes has allowed Osojnak to keep purses for overnight races near their 2019 levels.

“We cut our purses, but not significantly,” he said. “I did an analysis of the local tracks–Laurel, Delaware, Monmouth. We had to work things out between the horsemen and Parx management, but what we wanted to do was to make sure that our purses were comparable, plus or minus a few thousand dollars, with those other tracks. We are doing OK, and if the casino revenue picks up, I anticipate that the purses will go back up.”

Parx will hold a handful of Pennsylvania-bred stakes races this year, including five scheduled to be run Sept. 7.

“It’s disappointing that we won’t be able to run these stakes this year,” Osojnak said. “This virus has affected so many things. These races will be back and, we believe, stronger than ever.”

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Handle Soars in July, Tops $1 Billion

The total amount wagered on U.S. races in July saw a 16.63% increase over 2019 figures, the best month the sport has had this year and a sign that the effects of the coronavirus are no longer negatively impacting handle. The July handle of $1,098,728 was the first $1 billion-plus monthly handle on the year.

Prior to the release of the figures, there had already been signs that July was going to be a good month. The handle for GI Haskell S. day at Monmouth was over $20 million, the most that track has handled outside of the Breeders’ Cup. NYRA reported that handle at Saratoga for the opening weekend was up 9.4%.

The July numbers were a welcome sign after handle was battered by coronavirus shutdowns in March, April and May. Handle was down at least 22% all three months and fell by 30.16% in May, which, in a normal year, would have included the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. Those races have been postponed until later this year.

Thanks in large part to the July numbers, total handle is down only 6.96% on the year.

The number of races run during the month and the number of race days remained on the decline. There were 3,290 races, a 12.35% drop off from last year, and 484 race days, a 17.77% decrease. But wagering on the races that were run was robust. The average amount wagered per race day was $2,761,165, a 41.83% increase.

Average field size also inched up. It was 7.97 starters per race versus 7.4 in July, 2019.

Perhaps the only negative news in the figures released Wednesday by Equibase came in the category of total purses. They were $90,224,084 in July, down 12.69% from last year. But average purses per race day was up, by 6.17%. For the year, purses are down $233 million or 35.99%.

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Grade I-Winning Millionaire Concrete Rose to be Offered at Keeneland November

Grade I winner and millionaire Concrete Rose (f, 4, Twirling Candy–Solerina, by Powerscourt {GB}) will be offered as a racing or broodmare prospect during the premier Book 1 of this year’s Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which begins Monday, Nov. 9, and follows the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Nov. 6-7.

Concrete Rose has won six of seven career starts and has bankrolled $1,218,650, led by wins in the 2019 GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. and Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. She will be consigned by Lane’s End, agent for co-owners Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing.

“We’re excited to offer Concrete Rose as a racing or broodmare prospect with such great companies as Lane’s End and Keeneland,” Ashbrook Racing Manager Bo Bromagen said. “Working with them as partners gives us the greatest opportunity to showcase her.”

After RNA’ing for $19,000 as a KEENOV weanling, Concrete Rose brought $20,000 as a KEESEP yearling and $61,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile.

“Lane’s End proudly welcomes Grade I winner Concrete Rose back to our sale consignment, this time as a racing/broodmare prospect at Keeneland November,” Lane’s End Director of Sales Allaire Ryan said. “Concrete Rose was previously sold by Lane’s End at Keeneland September in 2017 and from the start of her racing career has been a banner sale graduate for us and for our versatile resident stallion Twirling Candy. To date, she is the sire’s leader of lifetime top performers with over $1.2 million in career earnings–more than Grade I-winning sons Gift Box and Collusion Illusion. We are thrilled for the opportunity to highlight our November consignment with a filly of her caliber. Her combined talent, looks and breeding will make her a sought-after prospect for any top-level program.”

Trainer Rusty Arnold added, “She is something to have in your barn. Great mind on her. She is not complicated. She is easy to train. You hear this from trainers, but she is one of those horses you just stay out of her way and she’ll say ‘I’ll get the rest done.’ She trained like a special horse, and she acted like a special horse.”

Out of the winning Powerscourt mare Solerina, Concrete Rose is from a family of successful North American and international performers. Her family includes Horse of the Year and GI Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand.

“Concrete Rose is an extremely accomplished racehorse–one of the best of her generation in her division–and her future is exciting whether she returns to the racetrack or begins her career as a broodmare,” Keeneland President-Elect and Interim Head of Sales Shannon Arvin said. “Keeneland is thrilled for the opportunity to present Concrete Rose at the November Sale with all the support a performer of her stature deserves.”

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