Jose Lezcano

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Last Friday, trainer David Jacobson watched as his ultra-consistent 5-year-old gelding Banishing (Ghostzapper) won the $1-million GII Charles Town Classic Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths. Jacobson is toying with the idea of bringing Banishing back to the races on Sunday to run in the $1-million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at Saratoga. All signs are pointing that way: the horse has already shipped up to the Spa and Jacobson entered Banishing in the race. He is among the nine horses that were entered Wednesday, which...

8th-Saratoga, $110,000, Alw, 7-17, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:51.22, ft, 7 1/4 lengths. STARS AND STRIPES (c, 3, Not This Time--Pearl River, by Quality Road) went off at odds of 31-1 in his debut at Aqueduct May 17 and, though he wound up third, impressed with a 92 Beyer Speed Figure. Slammed down into favoritism to break his maiden going this distance at Aqueduct on a sloppy track June 15, he responded with a resounding 10 1/2-length win. Facing winners for the first time Thursday at Saratoga, the 4-5 favorite...

He made those that swallowed 1-5 really have to sweat it out, but in the end, Chester Broman's 'TDN Rising Star' Sand Devil (Violence) got to the wire first after a long stretch duel in Saturday's state-bred restricted Damon Runyon Stakes at Aqueduct, running his record to a perfect three wins from as many trips to the races. An impressive four-length winner of his six-furlong debut Dec. 8, the immaculately bred colt was dropping back slightly in trip after decimating first-level allowance rivals by better than a dozen lengths going...

Bet down from a 4-5 morning line to jump at 35 cents on the dollar in a first-level state-bred allowance at Aqueduct Thursday afternoon, Chester Broman's Sand Devil (c, 3, Violence--Mineralogist, by Mineshaft) ran up the score through the final furlong and a half en route to 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Having graduated by four solid lengths on six-furlong debut Dec. 8--an effort awarded a field-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure--the homebred drew the inside gate in a field scratched down to five and showed enough speed to hold a spot...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A pinch of seasoning produced a maiden-breaking recipe for Simulate (Kitten's Joy) Saturday in the opener at Saratoga Race Course. Making his second career start for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Simulate was in front from gate to wire on the inner turf course to win the $100,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds by a head over State's Rights (Constitution). The son of Camou (War Front), a half-sister to GI winner Lea, completed the 1 1/16 miles contest in 1:45.46. He paid $19.60 as the...

There's never a bad day to win your first race but Where's My Ring (Twirling Candy) sure picked an opportune day to do it, breaking her maiden and earning 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with a dominant effort in the GIII Gazelle S. at Aqueduct Saturday. A career maiden through seven starts, the $100,000 Keeneland September grad could perhaps be forgiven for running behind the likes of MGSW Dreamfyre (Flameaway), champion Just F Y I (Justify) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and not once...

In a mad scramble for the wire in Saturday's $1-million GII Ainsworth Turf Sprint S. at Kentucky Downs, 23-1 Calumet homebred Gear Jockey (6, h, Twirling Candy--Switching Gears, by Tapit) got a desperate head down in front of 3-2 choice One Timer (Trappe Shot) and 11-1 Bad Beat Brian (Jack Milton). It was a repeat of his success in this same race two years ago when it was a Grade III, albeit by a far slimmer margin. Final time for the six furlongs was 1:10.59. The Turf Sprint is a...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. California Track: Del Mar Date: 08/17/2023 Licensee: Tiago Pereira, jockey Penalty: Three-day...

If Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott had any qualms whether his star turf distaffer could hold her own against the boys, George Krikorian's War Like Goddess (English Channel) dispelled all doubts with an emphatic 2 3/4-length score over males in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, run this year at Belmont at the Big A. Pacesetter Bye Bye Melvin (Uncle Mo) was second with Astronaut (Quality Road) checking in third, and second choice Gufo (Declaration of War), third as the favorite in last year's renewal, a dull last of...

Flavien Prat is a world-class jockey, a future Hall of Famer who dominated the Southern California circuit before heading east. Yet, he entered the week tied for fourth-place in the Saratoga jockey standings, 15 wins behind the leader, Irad Ortiz, Jr. Tyler Gaffalione is the top jockey in Kentucky and is coming off a meet at Churchill Downs where he was leading rider and had 29 more wins than the runner-up. He began the week in ninth-place in the Saratoga standings. That's no reflection on Prat or Gaffalione. What it...

The NYRA stewards have decided not to take action against Jose Lezcano for his controversial ride aboard Foxtail (Mizzen Mast) in last Sunday's first race at Aqueduct. Lezcano's mount lost the race by a neck after what the chart caller described as, "the rider took a peak behind him at the five-sixteenths, took the advantage while the rider took five more looks to his inside into upper stretch, was asked while surprised by the presence of the winner to her outside at the three-sixteenths then lost the advantage, kept on...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--When he goes to the post Saturday for the GI Forego S., Lexitonian (Speightstown) will try to do something new: follow a win with a win. Lexitonian picked up his fifth victory in 19 career starts July 31 in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. as the longest shot in the field of nine at 34-1 and paid $70. It was his second graded stakes win and pushed the Calumet Farm homebred's earnings to $687,682, but was it just a one-off at the historic Graveyard of Favorites? Trainer...