HorseRacingNation.com NewsWire

Fiftyshadesofhay Takes the Black-Eyed Susan

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:19:06 GMT

In the 89^th running of Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico, it was Bob Baffert, and blinkers, and no more Beholder, as Fiftyshadesofhay got up to win by a neck.

Baffert put blinkers on the Pulpit filly for the first time, and she was not running against Beholder, to whom she had lost her last two races. Baffert explained why he made the equipment change, “With the addition of blinkers we wanted her to, and she could, settle better. Without blinkers we had to encourage her to stay in a race.”

It certainly didn’t hurt that, with the race on the east coast, America’s hottest jockey Joel Rosario got in the saddle. Baffert said, “I told Rosario to just ride your race, whatever you think. See how she breaks and keep her comfortable and just ride her Rosario style.” In 2013 Rosario style has come to mean another win in a big race.

Rosario described that race, “It was kind of a perfect trip, but she was kind of slowing a little bit from the dirt in her face. I got her on the outside and she looked like she was really comfortable. When I passed the sixte

Preakness 2013 – the Winning Running Style

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:47:39 GMT

Our analysis of the winning Kentucky Derby running style was spot on when we saw that the Derby was not a race for front-runners, but was instead, a race that favored horses coming off the pace. That is exactly what happened at Churchill Downs when Orb swept past the field from 20 lengths behind.

What kind of running style has been best in the Preakness, with its much smaller field that fits into one starting gate? Clearly horses do not fall as far behind and jockeys do not have to worry much about bad trips caused by a less than clean break from the gate, or traffic from tired horses.

Again looking at the running line of the Preakness winners, since the year 2000, reveals that only one horse has won the second leg of the Triple Crown on the lead, from gate to wire and that was the 2009 Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra. Shackleford and War Emblem won this race by very closely prompting and pushing the early pace setter.

In the Preakness, the most successful running style is that of the stalker. Six of the past 13 winners came from a handful of leng

What We Can Learn from Kentucky Derby 2013

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:27:14 GMT

Lessons learned from the past runnings of the Kentucky Derby should be treated as the most important lessons.

As a blogger for Horse Racing Nation I feel an obligation to come up with new and interesting ways to look at racing. In preparation for the 2013 Derby I did my research and wrote a couple of articles that ended up being on the mark.

In Is the 2013 Kentucky Derby Winner an N2L?, the premise was that in recent history the Derby winner had been eligible for a N2L condition on January 1^st. Amazingly this year the top four finishers had only one victory as the calendar turned to 2013.

Orb got his second win on Jan. 26. Golden Soul and Normandy Invasion could both still run in a N2L. Revolutionary got his second win in the Withers on Feb. 2. You can see in the updated chart that half of the Derby winners since the year 2000, fit the premise, including the past three in a row.

In What is the Best Kentucky Derby Running Style?, research showed that only one Derby winner had won in front-running style since 2

Orb Gives McGaughey and Rosario Their First Kentucky Derby Victory

Sat, 04 May 2013 18:41:37 GMT

Trainer Shug McGaughey and Jockey Joel Rosario combined to win their first Kentucky Derby when the 5-1 favorite Orb closed from a distant 16^th place over the sloppy Churchill Downs track to take the Run for the Roses.

Palace Malice surprised the crowd of 151,616 when he set a blistering pace of :22.57, :45.33, and 1:09.80. The pace was so fast that the anticipated front-runners Goldencents, Falling Sky, and Itsmyluckyday could not contend.

As Palace Malice blazed on the front end, Orb settled near the back of the pack. Winning jockey Joel Rosario said, “I was so far behind. I just let him be calm and let him relax. He was very relaxed he did exactly what I wanted. We had a perfect trip.”

Rosario is the hottest rider in the country. He has won more money and more races than any other rider. The jubilant jockey said, “This is awesome. To win the $10 million Dubai World Cup and to win the Derby now. It’s like I’m living a dream. I’m so happy now and I’m so happy for Shug McGaughey. I feel awesome.”

Orb, who became the first favorite to w

38-1 Princess of Sylmar wins the Kentucky Oaks for Pletcher

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:13:32 GMT

The 139^th running of the Kentucky Oaks featured one of the strongest fields in history, and that field included four horses from the Todd Pletcher barn. Dreaming of Julia went off as the 3-2 post time favorite and Unlimited Budget was a 4-1 third choice. Uncharacteristically Pletcher had two longshots in the field with Princess of Sylmar at 38-1 and Salista at 48-1.

Thus, a Pletcher victory was not a surprise. The surprise came when Princess of Sylmar came from far back and passed last year’s champion two-year filly, Beholder, in the stretch to give Pletcher his third career win in the Oaks.

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith got the mount in the race at the last minute. Amazingly Smith had never won the Oaks and he was thrilled, “I’ve never come close to the Oaks and I’ve always wanted to win this race so bad. I just thank Todd for putting her in at the last minute and asking me to ride her.”

Smith talked about his trip on the filly who had won four of her six previous starts, “We got squeezed pretty h

Flat Out Stays Unbeaten at Belmont Park

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:03:23 GMT

If you were to look up “horses for courses” in a dictionary of horse racing terminology you would definitely find Flat Out. Flat Out remained unbeaten in four races at Belmont Park today, when he won an exciting stretch battle against the even money favorite Cross Traffic. The Westchester (G3), which is run as a one-turn mile, is the fourth graded stakes victory for Flat Out at Big Sandy. He adds this win to his back-to-back Jockey Club Gold Cups (G1) in 2011 and 2012 and the 2011 Suburban Handicap (G2).

Down the backstretch jockey Junior Alvarado was content to sit in fourth place just behind Cross Traffic who was setting a blistering pace of :22.77 and :45.33. Entering the clubhouse turn Flat Out began to make his move outside of horses. At the top of the stretch the battle began, the unbeaten Cross Traffic dug in after six furlongs in 1:08.87 and fought all the way to the wire. The fast fractions took their toll on the early leader, as seven-year-old Flat Out was able to get up by a head.

Alvarado rode Flat Out with great confidence and talk

What is the Best Kentucky Derby Running Style?

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:34:43 GMT

As the 139^th running of the Kentucky Derby approaches, attention turns to picking a winner. Accordingly there is a lot of discussion about the running style that will win the Run for the Roses.

Just the other day I heard an expert on the radio say, “The big closers don’t win the Kentucky Derby.” He also went on to mention, “That I don’t like horses that have a way of finding trouble.” Does that point of view have any merit? If it does, then we can certainly eliminate Revolutionary as a contender.

I have also been hearing talk about how Goldencents is the horse that has the kind of front running style that can lead to success in the Derby. Or is that front-runner going to be the speedy Itsmyluckyday? Can either of these horses relax on the lead and carry their speed for the ten furlongs?

There are so many questions to be asked and there will be even more people with the answers to those questions. I am the kind of handicapper that prefers to stick to the facts, so I made a chart that shows the running lines for all of the Derb

The Loss of Autism Awareness

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:30:21 GMT

Autism Awareness, the winner of the 2008 El Camino Real Derby (G3), broke down in Sunday’s seventh race at Santa Anita and had to be euthanized. It is a sad coincidence that April is also Autism Awareness Month.

Owner Johnny Taboada’s 13 year-old son, Renzo, has autism, which is a cognitive developmental disorder, that according to the CDC, occurs in 1 out of 88 children. Back in 2009 Taboada talked about the horse and autism in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Autism is something we deal with every day, but Renzo is a very happy boy. He gets therapy and a lot of help at school with his behavioral issues, but there's not a cure, so it's important to keep this horse in the news."

Autism Awareness, the colt, was not a typical thoroughbred to Taboada, "He has something we can't explain; the horse is here for a reason, and it's a bigger purpose than racing."

Autism Awareness was purchased as a yearling for $1,000 and in his career had a record of 5-5-2 from 38 starts with earnings of $356,482. That included a second grade three win in the Berkeley Stakes at G

Verrazano Gets the Victory in the Wood Memorial

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 18:57:46 GMT

The Wood Memorial was billed as the battle of “V” versus “V”, Verrazano against Vyjack, and that is exactly how it played out. Verrazano got the “V” for Victory in the battle down the stretch against Vyjack.

Early in the race Verrazano sat in second place just behind the early speed. Vyjack also was waiting to make his move, a little bit further back in fourth place. Around the turn Verrazano took the lead and began to lengthen. Down the stretch Vyjack made his move and drew close to Verrazano, but he could not get to the unbeaten 4-5 favorite. Near the wire Vyjack began to fade as Normandy Invasion came charging to get second money in the Wood. Verrazano ended winning by three quarters of a length in a relatively slow time of 1:50.27.

As a result Verrazano earned another 100 Road to the Kentucky Derby points and $600,000. Normandy Invasion picked up 40 points to give him a total of 44, which should be enough to get him into the field on the first Saturday in May.

Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Verrazano, talked about

Wood Memorial Point/Counterpoint: Verrazano vs Vyjack

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:47:45 GMT

This week's stop on the 2013 Kentucky Derby trail is V for Verrazano - or will it be V for Vyjack?

HRN Managing Editor Brian Zipse and New York State of Racing's Matt Shifman discuss Point/Counterpoint style the high points of both undefeated colts in this year's salty renewal of the Wood Memorial!



Matt Shifman: In the past decade the Wood Memorial, which is New York’s final Kentucky Derby prep race, has lost some of its luster. Recently the Wood has produced a series of horses that have been non-starters, also-rans, and beaten favorites in the Kentucky Derby. With two undefeated stars heading the field in Vyjack and Verrazano, this should be the year that the Wood returns to prominence. Vyjack is a horse that should be the favorite all of us horse players. Vyjack is owned by David Wilkenfeld and the Pick Six Racing Stable. Wilkenfeld is a handicapper who is famous for having hit the big pick 6 tickets that we all dream about: $3.3 million, $1.2 million, $500,000, and several over $100,000. The fact that a bona-fide bettor owns Vyjack en