![]() ![]() He does have four Grade 1 wins (one a disqualificationfor a drug positive), but has not hit his two-year old Beyer top of 100 from the Juvenile.ħ) Hit Show (Brad Cox/Manny Franco) – He has won at three different tracks, has increasing Beyers in every start and was near the front in the Derby until he “flattened” out. ![]() He is the morning-line favorite (at 5-2) just as he was in the Derby prior to being a vet scratch. His Beyer top is a 77, and in five career stakes he lost by a total of 79½ lengths.Ħ) Forte (Todd Pletcher/Irad Ortiz, Jr.) – While National Treasure may be under-estimated, I think this guy may be over-estimated. He has two wins, earning a total of $103K. I just stated the only positive about his chances in this Grade 1 race. This colt is one of six in this year’s field of nine who was either sired by Tapit or whose dam was. Meneses) – NYRA will be changing the name of this race to the Tapit Stakes for next year. While that was only his second career win, I think he has been under-estimated despite on-the-board finishes in four Grade 1 stakes.ĥ) Il Miracolo (Antonio Sano/M. It was only his fourth career win and his second straight W, in a pattern of increasing Beyer numbers.Ĥ) National Treasure (Bob Baffert/Jon Velazquez) – As a sign of the competitiveness of this race, the Preakness winner with a last-race Beyer (98) exceeded by only one entrant is the fourth morning-line pick at 5-1. That was his only off-the-board finish in six starts where he won four races.ģ) Arcangelo (Jena Antonucci/Javier Castellano) – He won the Peter Pan (97), the traditional prep for this race. He had a difficult trip at Churchill, but finished seventh, 9 ¼ lengths back (94). He has one career win from five starts, with his Beyer top of 91 coming in his last start, a second to Red Route One in Oaklawn’s ungraded Bath House Row (sic) Stake.Ģ) Tapit Trice (Todd Pletcher/Luis Saez) – After his win in the Blue Grass Stakes (99) the conventional wisdom by the racing commentariat agreed that even if he did not win the Derby, he was a certainty to take this race. When there is more than one number in the parenthesis, the most recent comes first.ġ) Tapit Shoes (Brad Cox/Jose Ortiz) – In a race that may not have a lot of early pace, my suspicion is that trainer Cox entered this one to create a more favorable scenario for his two closers in the field. The numbers in parentheses are Beyer speed figures where the higher the figure the better. ![]() Here is the field in post-position order with trainers and jockeys. I defy anyone to watch the story of the horse with his namesake Cody and keep a dry eye. But for a sport that could use all the favorable attention it can get, Cody’s Wish would have been a no-brainer choice. But he was an embodiment of the power of money in racing who, after an admittedly spectacular (but short) career, was retired to stud. I would wager that many of the readers of this cannot name the actual winner of that award. If the powers-that-be in racing had a soul, he would have been last year’s Horse of the Year. In addition to the feature, the must-see race is the 10 th, the Metropolitan Handicap featuring Breeders’ Cup champion Cody’s Wish. It has ruined many other weekend cards that lost their own graded stakes, but Saturday’s card is a beauty. Their explicit purpose was to make for a good day of racing even when a Triple Crown is not on the line. In addition to the feature, the New York Racing Association loaded up the card with eight other graded stakes – five of which are Grade I’s, - beginning at 12:29. I will write more about that in the upcoming weeks. While much has been done to improve health and safety, we have not eliminated the tragic occurrences. There are the still-unexplained fatalities at Churchill Downs followed by a fatal breakdown on the Preakness undercard. Racing has been battered over the last five weeks. As I write this, air quality has improved to the point where Belmont can conduct its Friday card, and hopefully air quality will remain at a level sufficient to allow racing (and normal activity) to happen on Saturday. Yet it is here in the form of smoke-filled skies coming from our neighbor to the north. But racing in this Triple Crown season did not need another threat to the health and safety of its participants. So locusts and pestilence must be next - strike that, we had and still have the pestilence. The analysis, including even that which turns out to be accurate, is mine unless otherwise noted. The factual information contained herein is from The Daily Racing Form (drf.com). ![]() TV: FS1 begins its coverage at 11:00 with Fox kicking in at 4:00. ![]()
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