MassCap Day at Suffolk
It’s MassCap day at Suffolk Downs and there’s a buzz in the air, an excitement around the grandstand unlike anything since the last running of the Massachusetts Handicap in 2004. I arrived about half an hour before the track opened and watched the crowd grow to dozens. By opening time, there was an impatient gang of fans pressing against the doors. Someone called, “Two more minutes!” and another, “Open the doors or we’ll knock them down!” At 11:00, it seemed likely they would when people began rattling the doors and pounding on the glass. A chant went up: “Open the doors! Open the doors! Open the doors!” Security heeded and the crowd surged in, then politely sorted itself into neat lines to pay the $2 admission into the freshened facility. There’s new paint, a grandstand gift shop, a playground and picnic area on the apron, a spiffy new stakes barn, and the best thing of all: A positive vibe on the frontside and the backstretch.
Photos from around the track this morning:
Brass Hat naps in the stakes barn on Saturday morning.
View of the field for Saturday’s first race from the catwalk.
Big stakes, big hat.
MassCap Entries
A field of eight was drawn today for Saturday’s Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs:
| PP | Horse | Jockey | ML |
| 1 | Dr. Pleasure | Velasquez | 6-1 |
| 2 | Palladio | Do Ramos | 12-1 |
| 3 | Who What Win | Bridgmohan | 15-1 |
| 4 | Fairbanks | Migliore | 7-5 |
| 5 | Shuffling Maddnes | Rojas | 12-1 |
| 6 | Fire Striker | Krigger | 30-1 |
| 7 | Evening Attire | Espinosa | 5-1 |
| 8 | Brass Hat | Martinez | 5-2 |
Fairbanks, making his first start since setting the pace and finishing fourth behind Lawyer Ron in the Woodward, looks like a legitimate favorite with his early speed and triple-digit Beyers, one scored winning the Tokyo City Handicap at Santa Anita last March, but morning line second favorite Brass Hat brings back class, veteran Evening Attire can’t be overlooked in his third attempt to take the MassCap, and Palladio — shipping in from Woodbine and with three wins at the 1 1/8 mile distance — is an intriguing upset proposition.
TVG will broadcast live from Suffolk Downs beginning at 1:00 p.m.; post-time for the MassCap is 5:23 p.m. There’s an all stakes pick four on the card, starting with race seven, the Collegian Stakes. I’ll be at Suffolk all Saturday, and if all goes as planned, posting throughout the afternoon.
Free PPs are available from DRF.
34 Nominated to MassCap
Leading Horse of the Year candidate Lawyer Ron tops the list of 34 nominations to the Massachusetts Handicap (PDF), which will be run for the first time since 2004 on September 22. Also nominated: Grasshopper (second to Street Sense in the Travers), King’s Bishop winner Hard Spun, Magna Graduate, Brass Hat, and Evening Attire. Teuflesberg is also in the mix for the nine furlong race, even though he seems better suited to the six furlong James B. Moseley Handicap, which drew 31 nominees (PDF), including Commentator, High Finance, and Weigelia. Unfortunately for Suffolk Downs, Lawyer Ron is more likely to start in the September 30 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Hard Spun to run at Turfway, and Grasshopper might go in the Super Derby (Shreveport Times). Until entries are taken next Wednesday, though, it’s okay to dream.
Related: Steven Crist visited my old home track this week and found reason for cautious optimism.
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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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