Saratoga
Saratoga vs. Monmouth
There’s no need for competition, Ed Fountaine writes:
NYRA should embrace the Haskell — which is, after all, merely a prep race for the marquee event of the Saratoga meet, the 141st Travers Stakes on Aug. 28. Since the same all-star horses that face off at Monmouth on Sunday will renew their rivalry in the “Midsummer Derby,” NYRA should start beating the drums now. Advertise that the local fans can watch and bet on the Haskell at Saratoga on Sunday. Show the race on the infield TV screens. Turn the tables on Monmouth Park by using their signature race to promote yours.
Especially if you’re NYRA, and you’re likely to win the numbers game: The test of Monmouth’s “elite meet” handle figures was always going to be the opening of Saratoga. Friday, when the Spa kicked off its 40-day meet, the New Jersey track took in $5,515,194, a decline of 20% from $6,898,633 the previous Friday, while attendance remained roughly the same. Sunday, Monmouth was down 11% compared to the previous Sunday. Saturday was the odd day out, as Haskell day will certainly be next weekend. With the Lady’s Secret and Rachel Alexandra featured, handle was up 25% and attendance up 37%, which tracked nicely with on-track handle, up 35% over the previous Saturday.
At Saratoga, the first four days of this year’s extended meeting have been declared satisfactory: “Average all-sources handle, wagers on Saratoga races both on-track and from simulcast outlets nationwide, came to $12,834,190 daily, for a total of $51,336,758.” Attendance averaged 18,133 per day.
This and That
NYRA’s video of Rachel Alexandra returning to Saratoga from Monmouth is full of mysteries. Well, two. What’s that face trainer Steve Asmussen makes at :59? And what’s the answer to the final question?
Yes! The Personal Ensign is possible, and maybe not only for Rachel Alexandra, reports Tim Wilkin in the Times-Union. “We’re trying to decide that. We have not confirmed anything yet. We’re looking at several options,” said Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs, when asked if Zenyatta was being considered. Trainer Todd Pletcher has already said that Delaware Handicap winner Life At Ten is likely, an intriguing third to this much talked about match-up. (“There is no reason why this can’t happen,” Wilkin editorializes on his blog about just the big two, but no reason doesn’t mean some reason won’t be found …)
This year’s Arc winner? Breeders’ Cup Turf favorite? Harbinger demolished the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes field at Ascot on Saturday, setting a new course record of 2:26.78 with his 11-length win:
… the boffins at Timeform, regarded as the “bible” of its field, put their necks on the line with a provisional rating of 142 for the colt. To put that in perspective, that is below only Sea-Bird, Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstrel since the firm’s first annual volume was published in 1948, and the equal of, or above, the likes of Ribot, Mill Reef, Dancing Brave, Dubai Millennium, Shergar, Vaguely Noble and last year’s celebrity, Sea The Stars.
Not all are convinced Harbinger deserves such an extraordinary rating: “… to have a horse go from 123 to 142 in six weeks would require remarkable improvement. It’s not impossible, but I’d like to see him do it again first.”
That may be a tall order: “Six of the last nine King George winners never won again while ten of the last 14 failed to ever repeat to the same level …“
A Matter of Perspective
Which recap best captures Rachel Alexandra’s three-length win as the 1-10 favorite in the ungraded Lady’s Secret Stakes at Monmouth this afternoon?
Rachel Alexandra has to work in Lady’s Secret victory (Blood-Horse)
… it was not a walkover for the reigning Horse of the Year …
Rachel Alexandra cruises in the Lady’s Secret (Thoroughbred Times)
Rachel Alexandra turned in a performance befitting a Horse of the Year …
Rachel Alexandra takes care of business (Daily Racing Form)
… a solid win, considering the conditions.
I’m partial to the last. She tracked an unexciting pace, responded when asked, looked comfortable, despite the heat. She won by open lengths, even if not by a great margin. (And really, what would have been gained by a blowout?)
Final time for the nine furlongs was 1:49.78 (final furlong :12.75).
With Rachel Alexandra running, Monmouth racked up phenomenal handle numbers, taking in a record $11,421,794 on its 12-race card. The WPS pool in the Lady’s Secret hit $1,593,662, the exacta pool $343,968.
At Saratoga today, first-timer Wine Police turned heads with a wire-to-wire win in the seventh, a 5 1/2 furlong maiden special, which the 2-year-old Speightstown colt took by 7 3/4 lengths in a final time of 1:03.36 (watch the replay). He’s the latest addition this summer’s buzz babies list.
7/25/10 Addendum: A Beyer speed figure of 110 for Rachel Alexandra in the Lady’s Secret, 105 for runner-up Queen Martha. That’s a big number for ‘Martha, who was making her second US start and her first on dirt. Rachel Alexandra’s BSF revised to 105, per Mike Watchmaker (DRF+).
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Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
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