Saratoga

Amplify Horse Racing, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that highlights Thoroughbred industry education, mentorship, and career opportunities within the horse industry for youth and young adults, on Monday announced four educational experiences set to be held during the upcoming Saratoga Race Course meeting--Thursday, July 27; Thursday, Aug. 10; Thursday, Aug. 17; and Thursday, Aug. 31. The all-day experiences run from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and includes visiting a trainer's barn, speaking with a veterinarian, a discussion about aftercare, and racetrack maintenance during morning training hours. Afternoon events include a day...

After a close battle with his brother through the final days of the 40-day spring/summer meet at Belmont Park, jockey Jose Ortiz secured the leading riding title on Sunday at the Belmont oval, finishing the meet just one win ahead with 59 total victories. Ortiz celebrated his 12th overall meet riding title. He was also the leading rider on the NYRA circuit in 2016, 2020 and 2021. Ortiz closed out the meet with a record of 246-59-44-38 and total purse earnings of $4,921,926, putting him at a win rate of...

Trainer Todd Pletcher appears to be in a good spot heading into the upcoming Saratoga Race Course meet after enjoying graded-stakes success Saturday at Belmont Park with both Far Bridge (English Channel) and 'TDN Rising Star' Charge It (Tapit). LSU Stables' Far Bridge earned his first graded stakes triumph in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational. Pletcher said following the race that the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational August 5 would be, "a logical next target." Whisper Hill Farm's Charge It is a likely candidate for the GI Whitney S. the same...

The GI Saratoga Derby Invitational, slated for Saturday, Aug. 5 at Saratoga, will offer the winner an automatic berth into the G1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate, the New York Racing Association, Inc. and Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) announced Wednesday. The new partnership will provide the winner of the Saratoga Derby, a 1 3/16-mile test for sophomores, a place in the starting gate for the Ladbrokes Cox Plate Oct. 28 at Moonee Valley in Victoria, Australia, with winning connections afforded subsidies for transportation and accommodation. In 2021, the Joseph O'Brien-trained State...

GII Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) remains a possibility for either the GII Jim Dandy July 29 at Saratoga Race Course or the previous week's GI Haskell S. at Monmouth Park said Spendthrift Farm's general manager Ned Toffey. "We're freshening him a little bit, keeping some options open," Toffey said. "There's the Haskell and the Jim Dandy and we'll look at those, but we'll talk with [trainer] Todd [Pletcher] and just keep things open. Obviously, it gets pretty tough with fewer spots for these good 3-year-olds. You won't find...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. has announced post times for the 2023 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course, which will include 71 stakes worth $20.8 million in total purses. Highlighted by the GI Travers S. card Aug. 26, the 2023 summer meet will open on Thursday, July 13 and continue through Monday, Sept. 4. Following the four-day opening weekend, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day. First post time is...

The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation will host its annual Fashionable Fillies Luncheon in Saratoga at Saratoga National Golf Club on Monday, August 7, TJC announced Wednesday. The luncheon will honor Libby Imperio, a longtime supporter of The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation, horse owner, and president of the Belmont Child Care Association. Outside of racing, Imperio has been a member of CME-Nymex for more than 20 years, trading for herself in world energy markets and specializing in precious metals. Fashionable Fillies Saratoga has traditionally been Safety Net's premier fundraiser....

Scott and Cindy Heider and their Heider Family Foundation have issued a $10,000 matching grant to raise money for the New York Race Track Chaplaincy's Summer Enrichment program, the focus of a TDN feature earlier this week. The Chaplaincy started the summer program 10 years ago to allow families to stay together when racing shifts to Saratoga, sending the children to local summer camp programs while the parents work. "The kids love it," Humberto Chavez, New York Chaplain for the Race Track Chaplaincy of America told the TDN last week....

The New York Race Track Chaplaincy, an organization devoted to serving the community of stable workers and their families who make Thoroughbred racing possible at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Saratoga Race Course, have announced that tickets and sponsorships for its 16th annual brunch in Saratoga Springs are now available. The brunch, scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 10 a.m. EDT, will once again be held at the Saratoga National Golf Club. Tickets and sponsorships can be obtained online by visiting www.rtcany.org. or by calling 516-216-5196. "This increasingly popular event...

Saffie Joseph Jr. has nominated Violet Gibson (Ire) (Expert Eye {GB}) to the Wild Applause S. at Belmont Saturday, June 24, and has been given 23 stalls for the summer at Saratoga Race Course, according to an email from NYRA's Vice President of Communications, Patrick McKenna. "Following consistent and productive dialogue between Saffie Joseph Jr. and NYRA, Joseph Jr. will resume training and racing at NYRA tracks," McKenna wrote. "He has nominated Violet Gibson to the $150,000 Wild Applause and has been allotted 23 stalls for the 2023 summer meet...

It was a banner weekend for Godolphin homebreds during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Cody's Wish (Curlin) added another chapter to racing's feel-good story with a powerful, come-from-behind victory in the stallion-making GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H. The GI Kentucky Oaks winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) validated her upset neck victory on the first Friday in May with a heart-stopping victory in the GI Acorn S. The up-and-coming Loved (Medaglia d'Oro)--a 4-year-old half-sister to MGISW and young Darley stallion Maxfield (Street Sense)--made it three straight...

The Horse Racing Women's Summit (HRWS) community will 'Meet Up' in Saratoga Springs on Thursday, Aug. 3. The gathering at Saratoga Race Course will feature New York horsewomen and provide attendees with an opportunity to network during morning training hours and at the races. A breakfast buffet on the clubhouse porch is available, but must be purchased separately from the HRWS ticket. Attendees will reconvene at the racetrack for an afternoon of racing in the climate- controlled Paddock Suite. Tickets to the Aug. 3rd HRWS Meet Up at Saratoga are...