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Articles by Jeff Scott
FROM OFF THE PACE: Saratoga Odds and Ends Original
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — At approximately 5.52 pm EDT on Monday, Sept. 7, a three-year-old filly named My Lil Army Girl crossed the finish line in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden-claiming race at Saratoga Race Course, bringing to a close what was probably the longest meet in the track’s history. According to Dave O’Rourke, NYRA’s president […] Already have an account? Log In This article is only available to subscribers
FROM OFF THE PACE: Derby Day - at last
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — To the surprise of no one, Fierceness and Sierra Leone have been made the morning-line favorites for the 150th Kentucky Derby, at 5-2 and 3-1, respectively. Neither horse has been perfect but both are exiting strong performances in big races. Reigning juvenile champ Fierceness erased most of the memory of his puzzling third-place finish in the Holy Bull (as the 1-5 choice) with a 13 ½-length demolition of an overmatched field in the Florida Derby.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Tiz the Law stands out for New York breds in 2020
Any summary of how NY-breds fared in graded stakes in 2020 has to begin with Tiz the Law, the Constitution colt who captured the imagination of racing fans across the country while sweeping the Florida Derby, Belmont and Travers. Although he was unable to reel in Authentic in the Kentucky Derby, a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic would still have made Tiz the Law the favorite for both the 3-year-old championship and 2020 Horse of the Year. Alas, it was not to be.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Cigar Mile is wide open field with Firenze Fire making last chance to add second G1 win
The Cigar Mile heads a four-graded-stakes card today at Aqueduct, with the Go for Wand for older fillies and mares and a pair of century-old 2-year-old stakes – the Remsen and the Demoiselle – on the undercard. The Cigar shapes up as a wide-open affair, with five or six horses given a reasonable chance to end up in the winner’s circle.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Cigar Mile is wide open field with Firenze Fire making last chance to add second G1 win
The Cigar Mile heads a four-graded-stakes card today at Aqueduct, with the Go for Wand for older fillies and mares and a pair of century-old 2-year-old stakes – the Remsen and the Demoiselle – on the undercard. The Cigar shapes up as a wide-open affair, with five or six horses given a reasonable chance to end up in the winner’s circle.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Big numbers at Keeneland November
While Keeneland’s November breeding stock sale often features a number of prime race mares, few recent sales can match the quality at the top of this year’s group. Offerings included stars Monomoy Girl, Rushing Fall, Midnight Bisou, Uni and Got Stormy, who together have won 43 graded races (23 G1s) and earned nearly $16 million. The five sold for more than $26 million last week at Keeneland, led by Monomoy Girl’s $9.5 million.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Breeders' Cup Big Four set for Saturday
The Breeders' Cup Big Four are the Classic, the Distaff, the Mile, and the Filly and Mare Turf. All races are set for Saturday. With a dozen wins in 36 years, 3-year-olds have done pretty well in the Classic since the Breeders’ Cup’s inception in 1984. They included three straight in recent years, when the Bob Baffert-conditioned Bayern, American Pharoah and Arrogate streaked to Classic victories between 2014 and 2016.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Daredevil makes his mark
The award for the most surprising stallion of 2020 should go to Daredevil, a son of More Than Ready whose initial crop of 73 foals turned out to include this year’s two best 3-year-old fillies, G1 winners Swiss Skydiver and Shedaresthedevil. As 2-year-olds in 2019, neither filly won beyond the maiden level. As sophomores, the pair has won a remarkable eight graded races.
FROM OFF THE PACE: October surprises for known, and not-so well known, horses
Winners of Breeders’ Cup preps in recent weeks included a number of familiar names. They also included four lesser-known horses – Ivar, Happy Saver, Valiance and Harvey’s Lil Goil – who stepped up to win their first U.S. Grade 1s in major races at Keeneland and Belmont. All four are being considered for the Breeders’ Cup.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Jockey Club Gold Cup draws short field
When Vino Rosso won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, it marked the first time since Blame in 2010 that a horse who had run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Blame finished second in that race) went on to win the Classic. The last horse to win both races was Curlin, who accomplished the feat as a 3-year-old in 2007. The Jockey Club Gold Cup will be run for the 102nd time this afternoon.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Authentic favored in Preakness
The announcement back in May that the Preakness would be run on Oct. 3, thus making it the last rather than the middle leg of this year’s Triple Crown, raised the possibility that for the first time the Preakness could be the race to clinch a Triple Crown. That possibility ended when Belmont winner Tiz the Law finished second behind Authentic four weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby. Despite the absence of Tiz the Law and recently retired Honor A.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Maximum Security, Improbable face off at Santa Anita
The first two weekends after Labor Day are usually among racing’s quietest of the year, and 2020 is no exception. Only seven graded races were contested, with the Belmont Oaks – won by French invader Magic Attitude – the sole G1. The next three weekends, by contrast, are among the busiest, as horses being pointed to the 13 Breeders’ Cup races make their final starts in preparation for this year’s event on Nov. 6-7. At least 41 graded races, including 17 G1s, are scheduled between Sept. 25 and Oct.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Authentic for real in Derby
Last winter, Bob Baffert’s herd of Kentucky Derby prospects included Thousand Words, Authentic, Nadal, Charlatan, Cezanne and Uncle Chuck, several tons of premium horseflesh that had cost their owners more than $6.6 million at auction. Then stuff started happening. Nadal and Charlatan, winners of the two divisions of the Arkansas Derby, were injured; Nadal was retired and Charlatan hasn’t raced since. Uncle Chuck looked good winning the Los Alamitos Derby but finished up the track in the Travers.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Tiz the Law odds-on in Derby
There was no doubt that Tiz the Law would be the overwhelming Derby favorite. Still, a lot of people may have been surprised when Churchill Downs set his morning-line odds at 3-5, the lowest for a Derby favorite since 1989, when the entry of Easy Goer and Awe Inspiring was also pegged at 3-5. Post-time favorites have done very well in recent years, winning six consecutive Derbies between 2013 and 2018.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Sizing up the Kentucky Oaks
If there were people who hoped Tiz the Law might somehow be losing his edge, their hopes were dashed Saturday when the Travers/Belmont winner breezed five furlongs in :59.21 in his final timed work before the Kentucky Derby. The Constitution colt looked terrific in video of the occasion: powerful yet controlled and well within himself.
WEEKEND RECAP: Win Win Win wins Forego, Channel Maker adds another G1 win
It looked like a hopeless situation. Midway around the far turn in Saturday’s Forego Stakes, Win Win Win was last of 11 horses, 17 lengths behind the leader, and he would have to make up the difference over a sloppy track that was being pelted by what remained of Hurricane Laura. Win Win Win was so far behind on the backstretch that at one point track announcer John Imbriale almost neglected to mention him.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Whitmore goes for second Forego
Nominees to the Forego Stakes included Volatile and Vekoma, the dynamic front-runners whose brilliance was on display in last-out G1 victories in the A. G. Vanderbilt Stakes and Met Mile, respectively. Unfortunately, neither horse will be in the starting gate Saturday for the Forego. The field of 11 does include, however, Whitmore, Mind Control and Firenze Fire, the three G1 winners who followed Volatile across the finish line four weeks ago in the A. G. Vanderbilt.
Coronavirus Resource Center
FMA Articles Read the latest articles from FMA staff members on payment guidance, telehealth, summaries of Executive Orders, and more. Updated regularly. Work-contracted COVID-19? Getting workers’ comp benefits isn’t impossible by Jeff Scott, Esq. August 27, 2020 Reopening Your Medical Practice: Primer for Florida Physicians by Jeff Scott, Esq.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Looking ahead to fall horse racing
The Breeders’ Cup is still more than ten weeks away, but already the anticipation of a Classic showdown between Maximum Security and Tiz the Law is building. Maximum Security solidified his position as arguably the top older horse in training with a three-length victory over an out-classed field Saturday in the Pacific Classic.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Halladay runs off with Fourstardave
The main story line going into Saturday’s Fourstardave Handicap was that the race was reuniting the top three finishers from last year’s record-setting edition – Got Stormy, Raging Bull and Uni, multiple G1 winners all. A competing narrative concerned Halladay, a 4-year-old colt who looked as though he might be the lone speed in the one-mile race. The Todd Pletcher-trained son of War Front had put together a solid record, hitting the board in 10 of his last dozen starts.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Stars line up for Diana
In deciding which Saratoga stakes produce the strongest and most memorable fields, the Whitney and Travers are usually the first races that come to mind. But other stakes sometimes become part of the conversation, including the Personal Ensign, Alabama, Woodward and Forego. Another race that seems to reliably produce compelling fields is the Diana, which will be run for the 82nd time on Sunday. Only six horses are entered, but five of them are among the top ten turf females in the latest DRF poll.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Saratoga notes on turf
One doesn’t have to be a close follower of racing to be aware of the increased role turf racing has played in recent years. This is notably true at Saratoga, where most recent summers the total number of races run on dirt and turf have been roughly equal. So far in 2020, through Sunday, there have been 115 races on dirt and 121 on turf at the Spa. The percentage of graded stakes carded on turf is considerably smaller than turf’s share of total races.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Skydiver leaves no doubt in Alabama
On paper, Swiss Skydiver was the best horse by far in Saturday’s Alabama Stakes, worthy of her status as the odds-on favorite in the nearly 150-year-old race. Because there’s always time to be filled in during racing telecasts, however, possible circumstances under which she might be beaten were naturally discussed. For example, maybe likely pacesetter Crystal Ball, who had nearly wired the field in the Coaching Club American Oaks, would somehow hold on despite the Alabama’s added furlong.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Swiss Skydiver looks to rebound in Alabama
In recent years, the Alabama Stakes hasn’t been the producer of champions it had been in previous decades. When Questing won the 2012 race en route to being named champion 3-year-old filly, it marked the seventh time in the last 11 years that a horse who ran in the Alabama was so honored. In the seven years since 2012, however, only one filly who competed in the Alabama (2016 winner Songbird) went on to win that year’s Eclipse Award.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Tiz the Law Derby favorite, sweeping all four of his graded preps
FROM OFF THE PACE Tiz the Law: locked and loaded As the strangest and longest Kentucky Derby prep season finally nears an end – eight months’ duration instead of four, with competition all but shut down during the middle months of April and May – the 20 qualifiers are all but set. The only remaining prep offering qualifying points is Saturday’s Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park, and it’s worth only 20 points to the winner. It is also clear that Tiz the Law will be the Derby favorite.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Tiz the Law makes it look easy
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Winning the Triple Crown wasn’t the only bit of unfinished business Barclay Tagg and Sackatoga Stable left behind at the close of Funny Cide’s storybook 3-year-old season in 2003. There was also the matter of winning the Travers, a race Funny Cide was forced to miss because of illness. Sweeping the 2020 Triple Crown with Tiz the Law would no doubt be considered a greater accomplishment than winning the Travers.
TRAVERS DAY PREVIEW: Tiz the Law seeks glory, Ballerina between three
This afternoon Tiz the Law will attempt to become the first favorite to win the Travers since Alpha (2-1) dead-heated with 33-1 Golden Ticket in 2012. There have been genuine upsets during this period, Keen Ice running down Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015 being the most notable.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Weekend results scramble older-horse divisions
Older horses took center stage over the weekend as nearly half the top ten of both sexes in the latest DRF poll saw G1 action at Saratoga and Del Mar. Not surprisingly, there were competing story lines. The first was that odds-on favorites Midnight Bisou and Tom’s d’Etat both got beat. A second was the emergence of Vexatious (who was not listed among the female top ten) and Fighting Mad as serious threats for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff – and any other races they contest between now and then.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Vexatious leads Whitney Day upsetters
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Whether or not one buys into Saratoga’s reputation as “The Graveyard of Favorites,” most years there’s at least one big race where a horse considered a sure thing ends up getting beat. That race came a little early this year when Midnight Bisou, the prohibitive favorite at 1-5 in Saturday’s Personal Ensign Stakes (G1), was out-finished by a neck by 9-1 Vexatious.
Tom’s d’Etat, Midnight Bisou head Whitney card
One year ago, the day before the 2019 Whitney, Tom’s d’Etat was a length winner of the ungraded Alydar Stakes at Saratoga. Today, one year later, riding a four-race winning streak and ranked second in the latest NTRA poll, the 7-year-old son of Smart Strike returns to the Spa as the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the 2020 Whitney.
FROM OFF THE PACE: First look at Whiney Day stakes
For the past 15 years or so, the Travers Day card has resembled a sort of mini-Breeders’ Cup, with five or six G1s and a G2 or two going off one right after the other. As many as half of the G1s scheduled for the entire meet have been crammed into a single afternoon. There’s no question that these “Super Saturdays” – which are common throughout racing – are popular with bettors and fans, and that they generate an extra level of excitement.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Starship meets challenge in Ballston Spa
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - In a preview of Saturday’s Ballston Spa Stakes (G2), this writer floated the opinion that, for all her accomplishments, 7-year-old Starship Jubilee had never beaten a horse the caliber of Sistercharlie. This was probably true – at the time. But not anymore. Benefitting from a well-gauged ride under Javier Castellano, Starship Jubilee collared new leader Call Me Love at the eighth pole, keeping that one at bay through the late going to prevail by a neck.
Mind Control seeks third Spa G1 in Vanderbilt
The good news for horses contesting Saturday’s A. G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) is that Imperial Hint is not in the field. The now-retired son of Imperialism streaked to victory by 3 ¾ and four lengths in the last two runnings, smashing a 47-year-old track record for six furlongs last summer. A short field of five is entered in this year’s edition. Co-highweight Mind Control is vying for his third G1 win at Saratoga, following the Hopeful in 2018 and the H. Allen Jerkens last year.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Stud deals inked for Tiz the Law, Honor A.P.
In their decisive victories in the Belmont Stakes and Santa Anita Derby, respectively, Tiz the Law and Honor A. P. opened up space between themselves and other Kentucky Derby hopefuls. The two colts have generated excitement in a racing community that, in this year of the coronavirus, can use all the excitement it can get. And few things in racing are more exciting than a couple of top-class 3-year-olds in the prime of their careers.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Paris Lights shines in Oaks
It isn’t often that a horse’s first stakes experience occurs in a G1 race. It is even less often that the experience is a successful one. In Saturday’s Coaching Club American Oaks, however, Paris Lights – who was exiting an allowance win three weeks ago at Churchill Downs – showed she was ready to make the jump to graded company, out-finishing Crystal Ball by a head after a stretch-long duel. “She was very game,” winning trainer Bill Mott said on the America’s Best Racing telecast.
Tonalist’s Shape seeks G1 glory
After Tonalist’s Shape failed to sell as a yearling for a mere $45k and for $60k as a 2-year-old, she seemed to take the rejections personally. Turned loose on the track, the daughter of Tonalist proceeded to win her first five starts, including the Forward Gal (G3) and Davona Dale Stakes (G2) this winter at Gulfstream Park.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Schuylerville, Peter Pan top opening-day card
Today’s opening-day card at Saratoga Race Course, like many other cards that include graded stakes at the unique 2020 meet, is different from last year’s. The Schuylerville Stakes, the traditional opening-day feature, is still in its familiar spot. This year, however, it shares top billing with the Peter Pan, which has been moved from its long-time position at Belmont as a prep for the Belmont Stakes.
FROM OFF THE PACE: The 'Big Three' of Saratoga
Three horses who could play prominent roles at Saratoga this summer recorded impressive victories at Belmont Park last Saturday in the Met Mile, Manhattan Stakes and Suburban Handicap. In the Met Mile, Vekoma went gate to wire under pressure to prevail by a length and a quarter, adding a second G1 to last month’s Carter Handicap. The 4-year-old son of Candy Ride has now won major stakes at seven, eight and nine furlongs. The question is, where would he run at Saratoga?
FROM OFF THE PACE: Met Mile, Suburban Handicap, and Manhattan Stakes all top holiday card
With the pandemic necessitating substantial changes to NYRA’s stakes schedule, races are turning up in unusual combinations. The latest example is Saturday, when three historic New York races with origins in the nineteenth century – the Met Mile, Suburban Handicap and Manhattan Stakes – are run on the same card for what may be the first time.
FROM OFF THE PACE: And then there were three
While the racing world seemed resigned to the changes to the 2020 Triple Crown necessitated by the coronavirus – with the Belmont now the earliest and shortest of the three races instead of the longest and the last – there appeared to be enough talented 3-year-olds that maybe it wouldn’t matter in what sequence the races were run. Most lists of top contenders this spring included six horses.
FROM OFF THE PACE: And then there were three
While the racing world seemed resigned to the changes to the 2020 Triple Crown necessitated by the coronavirus – with the Belmont now the earliest and shortest of the three races instead of the longest and the last – there appeared to be enough talented 3-year-olds that maybe it wouldn’t matter in what sequence the races were run. Most lists of top contenders this spring included six horses.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Baffert reloads for the Derby
After accomplishing the unprecedented feat of saddling two Triple Crown winners in the space of four years (American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018), Bob Baffert cooled off in the 2019 classics when his three well-backed horses came up short in the Derby: Improbable was moved up to fourth, Game Winner to fifth and Roadster to 15th when Maximum Security was disqualified from first to 17th. Two weeks later, Improbable finished sixth in the Preakness.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Whitmore, Ce Ce find success at Oaklawn
Whitmore’s popular triumph last Saturday in the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park – his third victory in the G3 event in the past four years – was the first graded stakes run in the U.S. in three weeks. In the interim, 29 graded races were cancelled or postponed. Sent off as the narrow 3-1 favorite in the field of eleven older sprinters, Whitmore raced in mid-pack early, moving toward contention on the turn and battling for the lead in upper stretch.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Geldings shine in hall of fame nominee class
When one thinks of geldings in the Racing Hall of Fame, one begins with Kelso, Forego and John Henry, the legendary threesome who accounted for an almost inconceivable 85 stakes wins in the 1960s, ‘70s and early ‘80s. Geldings who have been enshrined since the turn of the current century include Ancient Title, Best Pal and Lava Man, with Lava Man the most recent inductee in 2015.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Tiz the Law solidifies his position as top three-year-old in training
As the only one of the five main Derby preps to go off as scheduled this year, the Florida Derby was bound to attract a decent-sized field. Of the other four races, the Blue Grass has been cancelled and the Arkansas Derby rescheduled for May 2, while the Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial have been suspended with the hope of running them at a later date.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Tiz the Law solidifies his position as top three-year-old in training
As the only one of the five main Derby preps to go off as scheduled this year, the Florida Derby was bound to attract a decent-sized field. Of the other four races, the Blue Grass has been cancelled and the Arkansas Derby rescheduled for May 2, while the Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial have been suspended with the hope of running them at a later date.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Roses in September
Last week’s shocking news that federal indictments had been brought against 27 individuals in the racing industry was quickly shoved into the background as the U.S. braced to deal with the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Among the developments in the sports world were the suspension of the NBA and NHL regular seasons and the cancellation of the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.
FROM OFF THE PACE: Horse racing takes another big hit
Until now, most investigations into illegal drug use have been undertaken by entities within the racing industry itself. Penalties, when applied, often amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist. The sensational charges contained in indictments unsealed last Monday in Manhattan, however, are a different story.
FROM OFF THE PACE: U.S horses perform well in Saudi Cup
It’s more than a little ironic that while the U.S. is the only major country to race primarily on dirt, the two most lucrative races on that surface take place on the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Not surprisingly, U.S.-based horses performed well in Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup, accounting for four of the first five finishers.
FROM OFF THE PACE: U.S horses perform well in Saudi Cup
It’s more than a little ironic that while the U.S. is the only major country to race primarily on dirt, the two most lucrative races on that surface take place on the Arabian Peninsula, in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Not surprisingly, U.S.-based horses performed well in Saturday’s $20 million Saudi Cup, accounting for four of the first five finishers.
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