– Pick 6 wagers are usually associated with big payoffs, but that’s not the case when five of six winners are heavy favorites, which is what happened at Belmont Thursday, “producing 633 winning pick 6 tickets worth whopping $57.50; better than sharp stick in eye. Consolation paid $4!” (New York Post)
– Doyle New York is auctioning the 1969 Kentucky Derby trophy won by Majestic Prince. The solid gold cup has an estimated value of $15,000-$20,000. This is the first time since the 1950s that a Derby trophy has gone up for sale. Photo (Doyle New York).
– Jeremy Rose wins the ESPY award for best jockey, beating Jerry Bailey, Javier Castellano, and Kentucky Derby winner Mike Smith for the honor. Rose, along with Afleet Alex, was also nominated in the best moment category for the duo’s recovery from the collision with Scrappy T at the top of the stretch in the Preakness. Some basketball player won that instead for his final game. The ESPY awards were given out in a ceremony on Wednesday; the event will be televised Sunday on ESPN (Centre Daily Times).
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 07/15/2005 @ 9:55 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
I love the idea of the Claiming Crown. It’s a fantastic event — celebrating the claimers that make up the majority of races, treating cheap horses like stakes horses. Some of the starters are both, such as Lord of the Game, claimed for $10,000 last Janauary and now a grade 2 winner. Only five will start against the Cornhusker victor in the $150,000 Jewel Stakes, where Lord of the Game is easily the best. “When you look down at his record, the only horses who have beaten him were Pollard’s Vision and Badge of Silver,” said trainer Tom Tomillo said in reference to Lord in the Game’s third-place finish in the National Jockey Club Handicap. “He gave Badge of Silver all he wanted (so) I think they’ll have to beat him. He’s tough” (Blood-Horse).
Posted by JC in Races/Results on 07/14/2005 @ 6:00 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
It’s a big weekend of racing coming up at Delaware Park, with six stakes races carded for Saturday and Sunday, including the $1 million Delaware Handicap, which has attracted six graded stakes winners (Daily Racing Form), and the Delaware Oaks, which will feature Sis City and Round Pond (Blood-Horse). The once hot High Limit will make his first start since the Kentucky Derby in the Leonard Richards Stakes. A bevy of familiar names from this spring’s Triple Crown season — Sun King, Sort It Out, and Scrappy T — are set to start as well. An impressive win from any one would add some depth to three-year-old division, as Surf Cat did last Saturday in the Swaps (LA Times). Although, as the Times article points out, Surf Cat’s rise to prominence off one win is “indicative of the frailty of the game,” as is the fact that neither Surf Cat, nor last weekend’s Gold Cup winner Lava Man, is nominated for the Breeders’ Cup.
Papi Chullo is entered in the Richards as well, but it’s safe to say the maiden will scratch — Papi is entered in the fifth race at Belmont on Friday, where he gets Rafael Bejarano aboard and is the 7-5 morning line favorite.
Posted by JC in Races/Results on 07/14/2005 @ 12:05 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
