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  • Last Gunfighter wins his sixth in row, taking the Pimlico Special! Posted 21 hours ago
  • Fiftyshadesofhay gets there in the Black-Eyed Susan!Posted 22 hours ago
  • Ben's Cat rolls home in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint! Posted 23 hours ago
  • I'm Mom's Favorite scores in the Miss Preakness by a whisker! Posted 1 day ago
  • Paynter worked 6f in 1:12.60 (3/17) at Betfair Hollywood Park on 5-17. Posted 1 day ago
  • Comma to the Top posted a 4F bullet work in 47 flat (1/20) at BHP on May 16. Posted 1 day ago
  • Night Officer holds off Hoofit to win the Around the Cape Stakes. Posted 1 day ago
  • Walkwithapurpose has a bruised foot and is out of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. Posted 2 days ago
  • Libertarian pulls off a Dante Stakes surprise at 33-1!Posted 2 days ago
  • Flat Out posted a 4F bullet work in 47:84 (1/22) on the dirt training track at Saratoga. Posted 3 days ago

Saratoga, Smarty Jones, Rachel Alexandra, Man O'War - August 2nd

Jockey Robyn Smith, one of the first female jockeys in the U.S., won her first
career race, at Ferndale. ~1969
 
Rachel Alexandra again beat the boys when she bested Summer Bird by 6 lengths in the Haskell Invitational(G1), 1 1/8, at Monmouth Park. ~2009
 
Smarty Jones was retired to Three Chimneys Stud Farm due to chronic bruising of his ankle bones. He finished his career with 8 wins and one place in nine starts, earning $2,613,155. He also earned an additional $5 million bonus from Oaklawn Park, bringing his total earnings to $7,613,155. ~2004
 
Man O' War carried 130 pounds while winning the United States Hotel Stakes at Saratoga, spotting the other entrants 3-17 pounds.  He went 1:12 2/5 for the 3/4 distance, winning easily by 2 lengths and earning $7,600.  Chart states that  "Man o' War away fast, opened up a big lead at the back stretch turn, raced under restraint thereafter, and was eased up in the final sixteenth."  6 wins in 6 starts ~1919
 
America's oldest Thoroughbred racetrack, Saratoga Racecourse, opened its
inaugural meet with four days of racing. Since then it has been the site of some
of racing's most famous upsets. Man o' War suffered his only loss in 21 starts
while racing at Saratoga, and Triple Crown champion
Gallant Fox was defeated by
a 100-1 shot named Jim Dandy in Saratoga's 1930 Travers, prompting the track to
be called "the graveyard of favorites." ~1864

 

What the Nation is saying about Saratoga, Smarty Jones, Rachel Alexandra, Man O'War - August 2nd...

Later Jockey Robyn Smith married Fred Astaire! She did fairly well on the NY circuit.