Latest news with #Saratoga


Forbes
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Sandman Hopes To Keep It Simple In The Jim Dandy Stakes
Sandman is looking to make a big run in the Jim Dandy Stakes on July 26. Here is a valid question. Do we often times over think when it comes to sports? The essence of competition is really very simple. All one has to do is simply be better than the opposition, case closed. For a beautifully marked Thoroughbred, a simple approach is exactly what he hopes to execute in the grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 26. Sandman is a beautiful gray colt that inherited the good looks from his father. This son of Tapit has displayed a big turn of foot down the lane during his ten-race career that has at times looked as handsome as he. Trained by the fabulously successful Mark Casse, a simple approach will be taken as he takes on a short but very talented field in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. 'We just want him to run a good race', says Casse, who has 4,000 wins as a trainer in North America. 'He will be coming in off a little bit of a break and we are going to add blinkers in an effort to help him focus. Sometimes adding blinkers can backfire, but we just want to try and keep his mind on just simply running his race.' Sandman's last start was a closing third place finish in the Preakness on May 17. Prior to that was a troubled seventh in the Kentucky Derby. But before running for the roses, this grandson of Distorted Humor was very impressive in winning the Arkansas Derby. Chasing a hot pace over the Oaklawn dirt, Sandman closed with authority and was 2 ½ lengths clear despite wandering about in the stretch. 'The Arkansas Derby was a great race for him', says Casse. 'Everything went well and he had a nice pace in front of him. He had a really good trip and showed some of his potential. He will not have that kind of pace in the Jim Dandy, but the field will be a lot smaller.' Sandman hopes a simple approach will get him back to the winner's circle The Jim Dandy, which was inaugurated in 1964, will feature only five runners, but oh my what a lineup. Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont champ headlines the group. Also included is West Coast phenom Baeza who was third in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, Mo Plex, recent winner of the Ohio Derby and a two-time stakes victor at Saratoga, and Hill Road, the Peter Pan Stakes champ. 'The Jim Dandy gives us an opportunity to really see where Sandman is in this three-year-old division', says Casse. 'We hope we have a young talent on the rise. He has given us those indications and the good news is he ran really great in winning in his only start at Saratoga as a two-year old.' The Jim Dandy is considered one of the major preps for the Travers Stakes, also run at Saratoga. Carded as race 10 with an expected post time of 5:41 eastern, the Dandy offers $500,000 in prize money. The Travers will be contested on August 23 with a purse of $1.25 million. Sandman currently has three wins, one second, and three thirds in ten lifetime starts with career earnings in excess of $1.47 million. Jose Ortiz will ride as the Sandman breaks from post two.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wednesday's Saratoga Card Features $102,004 Pick 6 Carryover
Wednesday's Saratoga Card Features $102,004 Pick 6 Carryover originally appeared on Paulick Report. Wednesday's card at Saratoga Race Course will be bolstered by a Pick 6 carryover of $102,004 after the multi-race wager went unsolved on Sunday's 10-race $1 Pick 6 returned $4,272.50 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners Pick 6 sequence kicked off in Race 5 with a win from Standoutsensation [No. 8, $9.40] in a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming race with Jose Ortiz aboard for trainer Thomas Amoss. Luis Rivera, Jr. piloted the next winner as the Anthony Ferraro-conditioned Mo Trump [No. 3, $50.00] captured a 1 1/16-mile state-bred allowance on the Mellon turf, in Race 6. The next race saw Manny Franco visit the winner's circle aboard Belouni [No. 1, $6.40*] in a 1 1/16-mile claimer on the inner turf for five-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Chad Brown, in Race Race 8, a six-furlong starter optional claiming race, Jose Lezcano navigated Geez Eloise [No. 2, $11.20] to victory for trainer Linda Rice. In Race 9, the Grade 2, $200,000 Honorable Miss, Irad Ortiz, Jr. edged clear under Halina's Forte [No. 1, $50.00] for conditioner Phil only 2-of-9 horses covered in the Race 10 finale, a 5 1/2-furlong state-bred allowance on the Mellon turf, the Chad Summers-trained Just Add Water [No. 3, $13.80] prevailed with Jose Ortiz in the saddle, triggering the carryover. Wednesday's Pick 6 begins in Race 4 at approximately 2:58 p.m. Eastern. The Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial kicks off the nine-race card at 1:10 Live will present live coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Malibu, Met Mile Winner Raging Torrent Retired
Malibu, Met Mile Winner Raging Torrent Retired originally appeared on Paulick Report. Raging Torrent two-time Grade 1 winner of the Malibu Stakes and Metropolitan Mile Handicap along with this year's Grade 2 Godolphin Mile, has been retired because of a suspensory injury to his left foreleg. Craig Dado, managing partner of Great Friends Stable, which co-owns the 4-year-old son of Maximus Mischief with Yuesheng Zhang's Yulong Investments, confirmed the news on Mike Willman's Thoroughbred Los Angeles radio show after it was first reported by Daily Racing Form Saturday night. Dado told Willman that stud plans have not been finalized, but that 'we're pretty far down the line with Lane's End right now. A couple more things need to be worked out, but would speculate that's where he'll be.' After being freshened following his victory over dual Grade 1 winner Fierceness in the Met Mile at Saratoga on June 7, Raging Torrent was set to begin serious preparation to defend his title in the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar. O'Neill said some swelling was detected and diagnostics indicated damage to the suspensory ligament. 'We were so bummed,' O'Neill told the Paulick Report. 'He was a brilliant, brilliant horse who had sprinter speed but the heart and competitiveness and stamina of a route horse.' Placed in graded stakes at 2, Raging Torrent won seven of 14 starts, with $1,797,400 earnings. He won six of his final seven starts, including two Grade 1 events that have proven to be stallion-making races, the Malibu at Santa Anita and the Met Mile, run the last two years at Saratoga while Belmont Park is being rebuilt. From the initial crop of the Into Mischief stallion Maximus Mischief – second to Mitole in the 2023 first-crop sire list – Raging Torrent was bred in Kentucky by Rodney J. Winkler and Alfonso Mazzetti. Produced from the Violence mare, Violent Wave, the colt raced initially for Mark Davis, who purchased him for $75,000 at the 2023 OBS Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training, with Great Friends taking a minority interest in the horse. Davis sold his share to Zhang following Raging Torrent's Malibu victory Dec. 26. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Repole Stables' Mindframe, Fierceness Work Toward Saratoga Grade 1s
Repole Stables' Mindframe, Fierceness Work Toward Saratoga Grade 1s originally appeared on Paulick Report. Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables' Mindframe, the last-out Grade 1 Stephen Foster-winner on June 28 at Churchill Downs, completed his first breeze back when covering a half-mile in 52.46 seconds on Friday, July 18, over the main track at Saratoga Race by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Constitution dark bay currently leads the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top Thoroughbred Poll following wins in the nine-furlong Stephen Foster and the seven-furlong G1 Churchill Downs on May 3. Mindframe is 3-for-3 this year, also capturing the G2 Gulfstream Park Mile in March, among his 7-5-2-0 lifetime record with over $1.8 million in earnings.'We were just looking to get an easy half in, he went by himself,' Pletcher said of Friday's work. 'He does whatever you ask him to do. He is cool that way. He goes easy if you want him to go easy, fast if you want him to go fast.' On Aug. 2, Saratoga hosts the G1, $1 million Whitney, a nine-furlong main track test for older horses, offering a 'Win and You're In' berth to the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Del Mar. The question for Pletcher has been whether or not Mindframe could run there alongside Fierceness, who has been reported to be targeting the race for Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, and Mrs. John Magnier.'I've got to gather up with the connections. We are still a couple weeks away, but he is a fit horse coming out of the Foster win. We don't have to do a lot with him if we did decide to run in the Whitney,' Pletcher if he'd like running Mindframe and Fierceness against each other in the Whitney, Pletcher said, 'Ideally, no. We'd split them up, so if we decide to wait for the [G1] Jockey Club Gold Cup with him [Mindframe], that would be one way of splitting them up.'The G1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, a 10-furlong 'Win and You're In' event for the Breeders' Cup Classic, is run on Aug. 31 at the Spa.'Fierceness hasn't run since the Met Mile, so we have always been pointing him towards the Whitney,' Pletcher said. Fierceness worked Friday over the main track, covering five furlongs in 1:01.70 in company with Dreamlike.'He worked terrific today. He is giving us every indication he is on target for it [the Whitney],' said Pletcher. 'I'd say if he stays that way, that would probably give us a good reason to wait a little longer on Mindframe and give him a little extra time off a huge effort shipping to Churchill.' Fierceness, the multiple G1-winning 4-year-old City of Light colt and the 2023 Champion 2-Year-Old Male, last ran second in the one-mile G1 Metropolitan Handicap here after a track-record setting win in the 1 1/16-mile G2 Alysheba on May 2 at Churchill Downs.'I thought he worked terrific, like he always does, he finished up nicely and put in a huge gallop out, moving great, doing everything you'd like to see,' Pletcher has earned in excess of $4.5 million through an 11-6-2-1 record, including a head score over subsequent Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna in the G1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers in August here. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Saratoga To Host Make-A-Wish Kids, Families On July 16
Saratoga To Host Make-A-Wish Kids, Families On July 16 originally appeared on Paulick Report. The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has announced it will host Wish Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday, July 16. More than 50 Make-A-Wish Vermont & Northeast New York Wish Family members will visit Saratoga for a special day that offers a new experience to local wish children and their families through the excitement of world-class thoroughbred racing. The group of Wish Kids and their families will participate in a variety of activities culminating in a named race and trophy presentation in the winner's circle. Advertisement Wish Wednesday will honor Wish Kid Kailey Paul, who will serve as an event day ambassador. Kailey, an accomplished equestrian with a deep passion for horses, will represent Make-A-Wish Vermont & Northeast New York during the special winner's circle presentation at Saratoga Race Course. 'We are honored to support Make-A-Wish Vermont and Northeast New York and play a small part in the magic they create for children like Kailey,' said Robert Hines, NYRA Community Affairs Manager. 'Horse racing is deeply rooted in community and Wish Wednesday is a powerful reminder of how sport and service can make a meaningful impact.' "Thank you to NYRA for creating this exciting day for our Wish families,' said Jamie Hathaway, President & CEO, Make-A-Wish Vermont & Northeast New York. 'This partnership will provide moments of joy and normalcy for children and families facing serious medical conditions. When communities come together like this, we create hope and happiness that extends far beyond a single day." Highlighted by the 156th renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on Saturday, August 23 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on Saturday, August 2, the Saratoga summer meet resumes on Wednesday, July 16. Racing is conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from closing week, when the 2025 summer meet will conclude on Labor Day. For more information about Saratoga Race Course visit This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.