Manny Franco

Rhetorical (Not This Time) earned New York-bred Horse of the Year honors and led a strong evening for his breeders Mallory and Karen Mort Monday evening during the New York Thoroughbred Breeders' Inc.'s Annual Awards Ceremony held Monday night at the Hall of Springs at the Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs. Bred by the Morts and campaigned by Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable and Wachtel Stable, Rhetorical won four of five starts and earned $863,800 in 2025. His victories included the GI Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland Race...

Jockey Manny Franco and trainer Linda Rice were the respective leaders of the jockey and trainer standings at the conclusion of this year's Aqueduct winter meet, and they repeated by topping the Aqueduct spring meet, which ran from Apr. 2-26. Franco, 31, earned 22 wins to land his fourth riding title at the Aqueduct spring meet, adding to wins in 2019 and 2023-24. The native of Carolina, Puerto Rico posted an overall record of 103-22-28-16, good for a win rate of 21.36% and in-the-money rate of 64.08% with $1,518,315 in...

Linda Rice earned her fourth consecutive and sixth overall trainer's title at the Aqueduct winter meet, which concluded Sunday, while also claiming the meet's leading owner honors. Rice trained the winners of 62 races at Aqueduct's final winter meet. "It feels good, a little happy and sad at the same time as it's our last winter meet at Aqueduct," said Rice, who was the leading trainer on the NYRA circuit in 2025. "Aqueduct has been a big part of New York racing history, and I'm glad to have been a...

Jockey Manny Franco booted home six winners Thursday on Aqueduct's nine-race card, including three consecutive victories to close the day. The six wins pushed his winter meet win total to 25, which leads the current jockey standings. "My agent [John Panagot] is the best, doing a terrific job," said Franco said. "Every day, he tries to get the best mounts possible. I'm happy to have him on my side. I'm thankful for these opportunities." Franco kicked off the day with a win aboard Sea Vista (Street Sense) in a 6...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) wrapped up Aqueduct's fall meet Wednesday with Flavien Prat taking the leading rider title and Linda Rice taking the leading trainer honors. Prat's 46 wins included nine stakes victories and five graded victories. His record for the fall stands at 136-46-21-15, earnings of $3,247,016, and a win percentage of 33.82%. Manny Franco was second with 33 wins, while Kendrick Carmouche was third with 25 victories. Rice notched her fourth consecutive Aqueduct fall meet training title with 31 wins and an overall record of...

When the Belmont at the Big A fall meet wrapped Sunday, it was a familiar name leading the trainer standings as Chad Brown captured his 36th individual training title on the New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit. The 32 wins at the Belmont fall meet--which ran from Sept. 11 through Nov. 2--marked his 14th consecutive Belmont fall title. "My team has done an unbelievable job--not only my team at Belmont, but my surrounding teams when we ship horses in--everyone has contributed," said Brown. "We have a diverse group of horses...

He hasn't been seen since November, but unbeaten Rated by Merit (Battalion Runner) returned to the winner's enclosure like he never left it in the first place in the Discovery Stakes. A sensation who garnered national attention last season in Florida while in the shedrow of Michael Yates, he was unveiled July 13 at Gulfstream to an eye-catching 9 3/4-length tour-de-force against open maidens--soundly beating MSP Forged Steel (Vekoma)--and just kept going from there. He rolled right through the Florida sire stakes circuit with open margins in the Dr. Fager...

Dahman's Bottas (Vekoma) found himself in tight quarters with push coming to shove in Friday's GII Pilgrim Stakes at Aqueduct, but he sliced through a narrow opening at the eighth pole and refused to let three-start maiden Heeere's Johnny (Oscar Performance) push past in the dying stages, scoring by a head. The 8 1/2-furlong contest serves as a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on Oct. 31. Named a 'TDN Rising Star', presented by Hagyard off an impressive 2 1/4-length debut...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Though he was well aware of her pedigree, trainer Brad Cox said he didn't need a piece of paper to help him forecast Fille d'Oro's (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) future. "She didn't show us much on the dirt at Keeneland when she came in," Cox said. "She struggled a little bit on the dirt. We transferred her over to the synthetic and she really improved. Then we breezed her up here on the turf last week and she was really nice, a really good move." In...

4th-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 8-1, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:45.83, fm, 1 1/4 lengths. SCRATCH IT (f, 2, Tapit--Carolyn's Cat {MGSW, $307,415}, by Forestry), nearly the longest shot on the board at 12-1, was sharp from the middle of the gate and led the field into the first turn dogged throughout by Miss Picky (Uncle Mo). The two held a narrow advantage over a three-wide wall of challengers just behind as the opening half went in :51.04. Hugging the rail around the far turn, Scratch It got first jump into the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--The work is done. Now, Sovereignty (Into Mischief) waits for the $500,000 GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course next Saturday. Winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes, Sovereignty's connections are confident he is ready to make his first start since that Triple Crown campaign. Saturday, morning at 7:30, Sovereignty had his final work for the Jim Dandy--and third since the Belmont--going four furlongs in 49.82 (12/41) under Neil Poznansky, the assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Sovereignty worked by himself; in...

Multiple graded winner Mo Plex (Complexity) continued his preparations for the GII Jim Dandy Stakes Friday morning at Saratoga while MGSW Echo Sound (Echo Town) has her eyes on the GI Test Stakes with her own move over the Oklahoma training track. New York-bred Mo Plex went out on Saratoga's main track Friday morning for a half-mile work in :48.84 (22/74) for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. The solo work under Manny Franco, who will have the call in the Jim Dandy, was exactly what the conditioner wanted to see. "The plan...