Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.  - Jockey Jose Ortiz's return to competition at Saratoga Race Course Wednesday was very rewarding with three victories...and taxing. Ortiz was unseated and fell hard to the ground when his horse clipped heels in the first race of Friday's card. He was sent to Albany Medical Center where he was found to have bruised ribs. Ortiz took off his mounts Saturday and Sunday and was ready to ride again Wednesday, the start of the third week of the meet. In his comeback, Ortiz won with three of...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Four days after his second-place finish in the GI Haskell S., GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) took some small, easy steps toward the GI Travers on Aug. 26, jogging Wednesday on the Oklahoma training track. Mage shipped from Monmouth Park in New Jersey to Saratoga on Monday and was given another day off on Tuesday. He made his first visit to the track on a cool, foggy morning under his regular exercise rider J.J. Delgado. Assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado held the colt while he...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - After watching GIII Schuylerville S. winner Becky's Joker (Practical Joke) work a bullet half-mile Wednesday, trainer Gary Contessa said he may buck convention, take a step back in time and run her in the GIII Adirondack on Aug. 6. Becky's Joker turned in a stunning performance on opening day, July 13, easily winning the six-furlong Schuylerville by 3 1/4 lengths at 21-1 in the first start of her career. According to Equibase, she is the fifth horse since 1991 to win a graded stakes in her...

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez--dismounted from first-time starter Love Thyself (Solomini), who ducked in sharply shortly after the start in Wednesday's third race over the Mellon Turf Course at Saratoga--escaped the incident without serious injury. "Per agent Ron Anderson, John Velazquez was evaluated by Dr. Richard Alfred at the Bone and Joint Center of the Capital Region following the incident at the start of race three today," according to a statement released by the New York Racing Association. "X-rays revealed no fractures or serious injury to Velazquez's left wrist....

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at both Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. To follow are the horses entered for Thursday at Saratoga: Thursday, July 27, 2023 Saratoga 1, $88k, 2yo, (S),...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - After nine days of racing, Linda Rice has already had a Saratoga season most trainers would consider a roaring success. Rice starts the third week of the meet Wednesday atop the trainers' table with 10 victories, one up on two-time defending champ Chad Brown and two ahead of Todd Pletcher, a 14-time Saratoga titlist. She is winning at a 32% clip and her 31 starters have finished in the top three 22 times, an impressive 70.9 %. How does it feel to be Linda Rice these...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at both Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. To follow are the horses entered for Wednesday at Saratoga: Wednesday, July 26, 2023 Saratoga 3, $88k, 2yo, f,...

Jockey Kendrick Carmouche has opted not to appeal a three-day "careless riding" suspension imposed by the Saratoga Race Course stewards and will sit out the penalty this Thursday, July 27, through Saturday, July 29. The infraction occurred in Saratoga's sixth race July 20, a 5 1/2-furlong MSW turf sprint for 2-year-old fillies. He was aboard Parade Ring (Ire), (Night of Thunder {Ire}), a 44-1 first-time-starter who finished third. The Equibase chart explained that Parade Ring was "a bit fractious in the gate prior to the start, was backed out and...

Melanie Giddings had originally planned on a no-stress summer when she decided to move her fledgling stable from its home base at Palm Meadows up to New York for the Saratoga meet. "I had said, 'Why don't we just go up to Saratoga and enjoy ourselves?'" Giddings recalled with her signature easy smile. "No pressure, no nothing. Just take the horses there and see what we can do." Those expectations went out the window pretty quickly when a filly named Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) landed in her barn. The...

Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, on-site in Saratoga for a variety of events in August, highlighted by the Aug. 5 GI Whitney S., will be available at NYRA's Community Outreach Booth to share information on accredited aftercare. Branded merchandise will be available in exchange for a donation, including a limited-edition Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance "Saratoga" t-shirt sponsored by Repole Stable featuring a unique design by artist and supporter Ellen Skidmore. The TAA will remain on-site through the Aug. 7-8 Fasig-Tipton yearling sales. For more information, visit www.nyra.com/saratoga/visit/community-booth. "With so many events and industry...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Kodiac Wintergreen in a maiden race at the Spa.   A Touch Of Frost At Saratoga Alex Bregman's Bregman Family Racing, LLC's Kodiac Wintergreen (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) went one better than her Belmont debut to win a Saratoga affair on Thursday (video) for trainer Rusty Arnold. Bred by Patrick Grogan, the April foal sold for €160,000 as a Goffs Orby yearling. She is...

by Bill Finley & Patrycja Szpyra As he often does with his 2-year-olds, trainer Wesley Ward started Sam's Treasure (Munnings) off in a grass race, in this case a five-furlong maiden on May 11 at Belmont. She finished second, 2 3/4 lengths behind the winner--Cynane (Omaha Beach) had the distinction of being her sire's first winner and made an unfruitful trip to Royal Ascot--but there was nothing about the performance to suggest that she could develop into a top horse. Maybe Ward should have been thinking dirt all along. In...