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Saratoga opens on Wednesday, July 25 for
a 36-day meeting. A total of 47 stakes
races are on the menu and there will be
top class racing six days a week throughout
the remainder of the summer. The meeting
ends on Monday, September 3.
Purses for the Saratoga meeting will be
in excess of $770,000 per day. That is
an increase of 13% over last year’s
totals.
The highlight of the meeting will be the
138th running of the Grade 1, $1,000,000
Travers Stakes, presented by New York Lottery.
The “Mid-Summer Derby” is for
three-year-olds at a mile and a quarter.
On Saturday, July 28, ABC-TV will televise
the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Handicap
for three-year-olds and up at nine furlongs;
the Grade 1, $250,000 Go for Wand for fillies
and mares at nine furlongs; the Grade 1,
$500,000 Diana Handicap for fillies and
mares at nine furlongs on the turf and
the Grade 2, $200,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt
for three-year-olds and up at six furlongs
during its two-hour live telecast that
will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern.
The winners of those races will automatically
qualify, respectively, for the Breeders’ Cup
Classic, Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Breeders’ Cup
Filly & Mare Turf, and Breeders’ Cup
Sprint.
Here some of the horses being pointed
toward the big day on Saturday:
Go for Wand Handicap: Ermine, Miss Shop
and Teammate.
Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap: Abraaj,
Attila’s Storm, Benny the Bull, Cougar
Cat, Diabolical, Nar, Saint Anddan and
Simon Pure
Diana: Danzon, Karen’s Caper, Magnificent
Song, Makderah (IRE), Meribel and My Typhoon
(IRE). Take the Ribbon is questionable.
Whitney: Awesome Twist, Diamond Stripes,
Dry Martini, Fairbanks, Flashy Bull, Lawyer
Ron, Magna Graduate, Papi Chullo and Sun
King. Brass Hat is questionable.
Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches is
being pointed toward the Grade 1 $600,000
Alabama Stakes, which will be run on Saturday,
August 18. The race is for three-year-old
fillies and contested at a mile and a quarter.
There are three other graded stakes on
the card Travers Day card: the Grade 3
$100,000 Victory Ride, the Grade 1 $250,000
Kings Bishop, and the Grade 2 $200,000
Bernard Baruch.
On Saturday, September 1, the Grade 1
$500,000 Woodward and the Grade 1 $250,000
Forego Handicaps will be featured at Saratoga
as the meet winds down to closing day of
the meet, which is Labor Day, Monday, September
3.
Todd Pletcher led the trainer standings
at the meeting last summer. The three-time
Eclipse Award winning trainer won 24 races
and his horses earned $2,596,696. Pletcher
won 10 stakes. Richard Dutrow was second
with 12 wins.
Edgar Prado won the jockey title with
46 wins from 216 mounts. Garrett Gomez
was second with 42 wins and led all jockeys
in money earned, his mounts earning $2,581,866.
Gomez won nine stakes at the meeting last
summer.
Pletcher, Dutrow, Bill Mott, and Steve
Asmussen are going to win more than their
fair share of races. At the meeting last
summer, those barns finished with 56 victories
(Asmussen was suspended and his assistant
Scott Blasi accounted for ten wins which
are included in that total).
Here are a few trainers I am going to
keep a close eye on this summer:
Richard Violette: I usually like to back
this barn with second timers, but I have
a feeling he will score with a couple of
first time starters in the next few weeks.
The barn scored with three firsters at
Belmont Park between June 30 and July 7.
Two of those were bought at the Ocala March
sale and are owned by Klaravich Stables.
I hear Violette has a few more bullets
in the barn. He did score with 2-of-10
first-timers at last year’s meeting.
The barn went 6-for-45 last summer and
four of those wins were in maiden races.
Garrett Gomez was aboard for all four wins.
Graham Motion: I have been saying Motion
is the most underrated trainer working
for about six years, but nobody seems to
listen. The barn went 7-for-28 here last
summer and does most of his damage on turf.
Over the past three years, he has 16 winners
and 15 have been on the weeds.
The great thing is we usually get a decent
price. His average win price over the past
three seasons at the Spa is $12.
Thomas Bush: This barn was very kind to
us last summer while racking up seven wins
from just 23 starters (30%). The only problem
is since last summer we have had a heck
of a time cashing tickets on his runners.
Look for him in New York bred races, and
he can even pop with a first timer. We
had Shelterfromastorm at $38 at the 2005
meeting.
Tony Dutrow: Tony D. did not do us any
favors last summer, going 3-for-23. He
did not win his first race until August
5 with Ferocious Fire, who was coming back
off a long layoff. Over the past five years,
the barn is just 5-for-42 (12%) at the
Spa, low by his usually lofty standards.
I am expecting to see a much better meeting
here, as he is more familiar with the New
York scene after spending most of his career
in Maryland.
Patrick Biancone: Here is a trainer to
really keep an eye on. Authorities in Kentucky
snooped around his barn area, and it is
being widely reported that cobra venom
was found.
He had a sub par meet here last year (6-for-48,
13%) after having strong meets in previous
years. In 2005, he hit at a 29% clip.
His first time starters did not perform
well last summer, several at short prices.
However, he has won ten baby races over
the last three years.
I am going to be very leery about backing
his runners at short prices until we see
his horses run with some venom. Oops, I
mean gusto.
Christopher Clement: Here is a barn I
am likely to back at the Spa with gusto.
Clement has won at a 22% clip here over
the past five meets, going 34 for 158.
He is always a danger in grass races, with
30 of those 34 wins coming on the weeds.
He won 8-of-37 on the grass here last
summer. Don’t expect to see any bombs.
His average mutual last year was $8.50.
Linda Rice: The racing secretary must
be Rice’s best friend. The racing
office over the past year has fallen in
love with turf sprints. So what did Rice
do? She won five turf sprints at last summer’s
meeting. She went 5-for-10 in turf sprints
and 1-for-29 in other types of races.
While we will give her extra attention
in turf sprints this year, she can win
on the main track as well. She went 7-for-35
in 2005 with three of those wins coming
on dirt.
Rice has really struggled with her first
time starters at the Spa. She is 1-for-33
over the past five years, the lone win
coming in 2003.
James Jerkens: This barn went 1-for-21
last summer and that did not agree with
my bankroll as I backed a few too many
of his runners.
We have had way too much success with
this barn to jump off the bandwagon. Over
the past five years at the Spa, he has
won with 25-of-107 starters (23%). In 2005,
he padded our bankroll by going 11-for-25
(44%).
He has won most of his races on dirt,
just eight coming on grass. Artie Schiller
won two of those.
Jerkens will bounce back with a better
meeting here, and we will be along for
the ride.
Barclay Tagg: We used to get decent prices
on Tagg when he shipped into the Spa from
Maryland and before he became a household
name as the trainer of Funny Cide.
Tagg won 6-of-30 last summer. Three on
turf and three on the main track.
Last summer he won three races with horses
coming back off layoffs of 60, 259, and
289 days. The only problem was the biggest
price of the three returned $12.00.
Tagg is just 1-for-23 with two year olds
over the past five years. His strength
is with New York-breds and maiden special
weight races. He has been very steady over
the past year, hitting at a 21% clip overall,
and should be right around that number
at the Spa.
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Posted on 7/23/2007 5:59:20 PM
Saratoga Offering Plenty of Betting Opportunities
By Michael Dempsey
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