Tag: Awesome Speed

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Parlay The Pennsylvania Way At Parx

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The party is in Pennsylvania this weekend!  As we inch ever closer to the 2016 Breeders’ Cup, much of the talent has gone north for the biggest day in racing that Pennsylvania has ever created.  Parx Racing will host 12 races on Saturday, 9/24/16, including 3 stakes, the Gallant Bob Stakes, the Cotillion Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby!  A fan and friend attended Parx this time last year and shared her photos above.

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Parx Racing and Casino is located in Bensalem, PA.  The track originated in 1974 and it was called Keystone Racetrack until 1984.  At that time, the name changed to Philadelphia Park until 2010 and then the name was changed again to Parx, as it is today.  The combination of the stakes races, that take place at Parx this Saturday, will make PA Derby Day, the biggest purse day ever for this track.  I met To Honor and Serve this past June.  He won the PA Derby in 2011 and he holds the record finish time at 1:47:1.   He is now a stallion at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY.

Gates open at Parx at 10 A.M. EST with the 1st race posting at 12:25 P.M..  Race 9 is the 1st stakes race of the day.  It is the 25th running of the Grade 3, Gallant Bob Stakes, with a post time of 4:14 P.M.  The Gallant Bob was inaugurated in 1979.  It is a 6 furlong dirt race with a purse of $300,000.  12 horses are entered, listed by post:

  1. Full Salute
  2. Yellow Chips
  3. Mind Your Biscuits
  4. Threefiveindia
  5. Navy Hymn
  6. Noholdingback Bear
  7. Counterforce
  8. Awesome Speed
  9. Cocked and Loaded
  10. Cardio Cowboy
  11. Klingon Warrior
  12. Who’s Out

 

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Race 10 posts next, at 4:55 P.M.  This is the 50th running of  the Grade 1, Cotillion Stakes.  The Cotillion was 1st ran in 1969.  The 1 and 1/16th mile (8.5 furlongs) dirt race is for 3 year old fillies.  It carries a purse of $1 million dollars.  I’m a Chatterbox won in 2015.  6 fillies are entered.  Keeneland’s September Yearling Sales Graduate, Carina Mia will race.  Her banner as is the former winner’s, are shown in the photo above.  The full field is listed by post position:

  1. Carina Mia
  2. Cathryn Sophia
  3. Disco Rose
  4. Land Over Sea
  5. Songbird
  6. Queen Esther

Songbird is the favorite.  She is undefeated in 10 starts, 9 of which were graded stakes wins.  She earned the 2015 Eclipse Award for Champion 2 Year Old Filly.  That same year Songbird won the 14 Hands Winery BC Juvenile Fillies race.

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Finally, race 11, posting at 5:45 P.M., is the 40th running of the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby!  Inaugurated in 1979, this year’s PA Derby has it’s largest purse ever at $1.25 million dollars.  The race is 1 and 1/8th miles (9 furlongs) on dirt for horses age 3.  Frosted won in 2015.  12 horses are entered with the favorites being more Keeneland September Yearling Sales Grads, Exaggerator and Nyquist.  The two have raced against one another 6 times prior.  Kentucky Derby winner, Nyquist, won the 1st 4 times.  Preakness winner, Exaggerator, has won the last 2 in the ongoing duel.  The entire field by post is as follows:

  1. Awesome Slew
  2. Exaggerator
  3. Summer Revolution
  4. Connect
  5. Cupid
  6. Wild About Deb
  7. Gun Runner
  8. My Man Sam
  9. Nyquist
  10. Sunny Ridge
  11. Discreet Lover
  12. Hit It Once More

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There are still a few days left in the Keeneland sale where I have had the privilege of attending on several sessions.  The sale ends Sunday, September 25th.  I hope that the pictures I captured of the 2016 yearlings will be the Thoroughbreds that go on to race in favorite prep races for the BC like those happening at Parx this weekend.  I will keep posting on the events I can make it to, like the sale, and I would appreciate some feedback from those who can make it to races I won’t be at this time, like the PA Derby Day.  KY bred horses have won the PA Derby more than horses from any other state.  I’m attending something pretty huge on Monday.  Any guesses?  I’ll let you know after I make the trip!

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Preview Pimlico’s Preakness

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The 141st running of the Grade I Preakness Stakes will take place this Saturday, 5/21/16.  I will be betting on Nyquist (update: that is him pictured above), our latest Kentucky Derby winner!  He was just announced as the morning line favorite with 3/5 morning-line odds immediately following the post position draw.  Here is the full field:

Post Position: Horse/Jockey/Trainer/Owner/M-L Odds

  1. Cherry Wine/Corey Lanerie/Dale Romans/William Pacella and Frank L. Jones, Jr./20-1
  2. Uncle Lino/Fernando Hernandez Perez/Gary Sherlock/Tom Mansor, Purple Shamrock Racing and Gary Sherlock/20-1
  3. Nyquist/Mario Gutierrez/Doug O’Neill/Reddham Racing/3/5
  4. Awesome Speed/Jevian Toledo/Alan Golberg/Colts Neck Stables/30-1
  5. Exaggerator/Kent Desormeaux/Keith Dersormeaux/Big Cheif Racing, Head of Plains Parteners, Rocker O Ranch, et al./3-1
  6. Lani/Yutaka Take/Mikio Matsunaga/Yoko Maeda/30-1
  7. Collected/Javier Castellano/Bob Baffert/Speedway Stable/10-1
  8. Laoban/Florent Geroux/Eric Guillot/McCormick Racing and Southern Equine Stable/30-1
  9. Abiding Star/J.D. Acosta/Edward Allard/Stonehinge, LLC/30-1
  10. Fellowship/Jose Lezcanno/Mark Casse/Jacks or Better Farm/30-1
  11. Stradivari/John Velazquez/Todd Pletcher/John Gunther, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and John Magnier/8-1

While the Preakness Stakes is eligible to 14 Thoroughbreds only these 11 will be participating.  That is 3 more than last year’s small field when American Pharoah became the 14th horse to take the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.  He went on to win at the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Classic to become our 12th Triple Crown winner and our first Grand Slam winner.  The competition is tough to see if Nyquist can follow in those horseshoes.

Cherry Wine was an “also eligible” as the 22nd horse in a 20 post position race for the Kentucky Derby but he did not get his chance that day.  He is a lovely grey late bloomer.  It took him 5 starts to break his maiden.  His last 2 of 8 career races were graded stakes.  He finished 4th in the Rebel Stakes and then 3rd in the Blue Grass Stakes.  In all he has 2 wins, 1 place and has come in third twice.  American Pharoah won from post position 1 in last year’s Preakness.

Uncle Lino wasn’t in the Kentucky Derby.  His last race out was the California Chrome Stakes.  He finished 1st place with his only win since he broke his maiden his second start.  Out of his 7 races he has been twice at each 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.  He has has finished in the top four of all three of his graded stakes, Robert B. Lewis, San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby.  His sire is Uncle Mo, making him a half brother to Nyquist and Laoban and Abiding Star.

Nyquist is the favorite and I have written about him a few times if you want a more complete history on him check on my webpage, ThoroughbredU.com.  He is undefeated in 8 starts and he wants to keep that title.  He just won the KY Derby by 1 and 1/4 lengths on 5/7/16.  California Chrome won the Preakness from post position 3 in 2014.  Secretariat liked this post in 1973.

Awesome Speed has finished 1st in 4 of his 6 career starts however, he was 4th in his only graded stakes race, the Fountain of Youth.  His connections have noted that he has bumped around a lot in his last couple of races.  He is a pacemaker in his running style.

Exaggerator ran an exciting late sprint to earn 2nd to Nyquist in the KY Derby.  He is 1 of only 3 horses from that race to step up to the Preakness challenge.  His sire, Curlin, won the 2007 Preakness.  To read more about Exaggerator, look back to my KY derby story.

Lani is the final horse to return from this past KY Derby.  This lovely grey son of Tapit finished 9th in the KY Derby.  Lani is described in more detail in my former KY Derby story.  His dam sire, Sunday Silence, won the Preakness in 1989.

Collected is trained by Bob Baffert.  Baffert has won the Preakness with Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Point Given, War Emblem, Lookin At Lucky and American Pharoah.  In 6 career starts, Collected has 4 wins and a finish in 2nd place as well.  He has won 2 of his 4 graded stakes races.  These were the Cecile B. DeMille, Sham, Southwest and Lexington Stakes.

Laoban was the other “also eligible” that missed the KY Derby by a post.  One of the 4 sired by Uncle Mo he is a front runner but also he has never won a race!  Despite that, his connections have raced him 5 times and 3 of those where graded stakes, the Sham, Gotham and Blue Grass Stakes.

Abiding Star is the 4th and final horse sired by Uncle Mo in this race.  He has had an amazing 11 career starts in which he has won 5 times and finished at 2nd and 3rd place each once.  It took him 7 times to break his maiden.  He has never ran in a graded stakes race, however he is on a five race winning streak.

Fellowship is trained by Mark Casse.  He is the trainer of one of my favorite Thoroughbreds, Tepin.  Fellowship has had a total of 12 starts.  He has finished 1st two times and 2nd and 3rd three times each.  He raced at Churchill Downs on KY Derby day in the Pat Day Mile where he finished fourth.  That race was his fourth graded stakes race.  He is of the Secretariat lineage.

Stradivari is the final horse in the Preakness.  He has only been in 3 races.  He won the last two.  These were not stakes races.  To my personal surprise, his trainer Todd Pletcher, despite all his fame, has never won the Preakness.  Pletcher was 3rd in 2000 with Impeachment.

Preakness Fun Facts:

  • the food of the day, crabcakes
  • the flower, Black-Eyed Susans
  • the blanket is actually made of Viking Poms
  • the race is “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans”
  • the song, “Maryland, My Maryland”
  • the trophy, a silver replica of the 1860 Woodlawn Vase
  • the track record, 1:55 set by Secretariat
  • the drink is also the Black-Eyed Susan
  • post time is 6:45 PM EST
  • NBCSN will televise starting at 2:30 PM EST
  • NBC will televise starting at 6:30 PM EST
  • Pimlico starts racing at 10:30 AM EST that day and the Preakness is the 13th race
  • the race is 1 and 3/16 miles or 9.5 furlongs on the dirt
  • the race is for 3YO Thoroughbreds

I hope everyone finds this info useful and helpful for their Preakness Stakes planning.  Check back after the race for another blog post.  Go, Nyquist, go!  Let’s wish the rain holds off this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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