JC / Railbird

Saratoga Archive

Carryover Alert

Thanks to a parade of longshots, there’s a one-day pick six carryover of $212,258 at Del Mar today; at the Spa, a one-day pick six carryover of $92,503.

Posted in Del Mar, Saratoga on July 30, 2007

Record, or Teletimer Error?

From the Crist Blog:

Internal fractions for the Whitney were :23.86, :23.51, :22.91, :24.07, and :12.29. NYRA is looking into the possibility of a Teletimer error, possibly in the third quarter. If the final time is right, Lawyer Ron’s Whitney Beyer figure would be 128 — a number achieved only by Ghostzapper in recent years.
Update: Although the timing mystery hasn’t been solved, Lawyer Ron has been assigned a provisional 116 Beyer for the race. Like a lot of others after reading Crist’s post, I watched and clocked the Whitney a few times and came up with times similar to the official time. The timer might have been off, but it would seem more likely the already speed-favoring track (with the exception of one race won by a horse closing from the rear, and another won by a horse three lengths off the lead at first call, all of the races were won by horses on the lead or within 1 1/2 lengths at first call, including the Whitney) was tweaked for a fast feature. What will be interesting is seeing how the Whitney starters run back. How aberrant was this race?
Addendum: Lawyer Ron’s record time of 1:46.64 has been confirmed. If only NYRA had Trakus — then all the confusion could have been avoided, although the debate over Lawyer Ron’s final Beyer of 116 would probably still happen. Dick Jerardi has a DRF+ column up explaining how the final figure was arrived at by its maker.
As Nellie points out in her comment, Lawyer Ron will be retired by the end of year; Stonewall is already hyping his Whitney win to broodmare owners.

Posted in Saratoga on July 29, 2007

Legitimate Fractions

Lawyer Ron takes the Whitney in a record-setting final time of 1:46.64 on a speed-favoring track, paying $13.00 to win (video). Wanderin Boy set early fractions of :23.86, :47.37, and 1:10.28, and held on for second. Diamond Stripes was third.

Posted in Saratoga on July 28, 2007

Zito, Live at the Spa

Trainer Todd Pletcher may be in a slump with first-time two-year-old starters at Saratoga, but trainer Nick Zito picked up right where he left off last year at the Spa, sending out War Pass in the second to win his maiden debut at 7-1 odds. In 2006, Zito started 17 two-year-old first-timers, winning with six (35%), and finishing in the money eight times (47%), with a median payout of $13.30. The numbers were a stark change from his 2005 record, in which the trainer went 1-for-12. “The owners of today like instant gratification,” Zito said of the shift. “They like the fun of winning. Saratoga has become the premier meet, therefore if you win with a first-time starter that’s a lot of points on your ‘resume’” (DRF).

Posted in Saratoga on July 28, 2007