Author Archives
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Another Big SAR Win for Starting Over, This Time The Phipps
Starting Over has been in the BC for the last two years, and ran third in the BC Distaff at SA last fall. Now, she knows that she will be heading back for that race again just as long as the trainer, TwinTowersRacing, wants her there as she picked up an impressive two length win in the Grade 1 Phipps at SAR.
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The Manhattan Heads North This Weekend
Manhattan is being moved upstate this weekend, as the 21st edition of this Grade 1 turf stake is held at SAR as a part of the BEL racing festival. This means a slight change in the distance, as it will lose one-sixteenth of a mile from it’s traditional length. We can deal with that, and will enjoy the purse increase back to $1,000.000.
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BC Dirt Mile Spot on the Line in The Metropolitan Handicap
Our next look at the BEL undercard at SAR takes us to the Metropolitan Handicap, an always entertaining Grade 1 on the dirt that offers a ticket to the BC Dirt Mile in five months. If that wasn’t enough to get excited about, the race also offers a $1,000.000 purse to be split amongst the top four finishers.
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Time to Appreciate The Phipps Field
It’s the beginning of June, and we’re racing at SAR! The four-day racing festival at the Spa officially kicks off on Thursday, and the area is completely excited to have this rare opportunity to take in a bunch of great races, not only the BEL itself. As the game absolutely should be doing without fail, these races are being moved from BEL virtually as well.
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Lunar Victory Thoroughly Dominates in The Blame
If Fractious decided to scratch Lunar Victory because of the sloppy track conditions, no one would have criticized the move. The gelding had struggled in his previous off track races but things were about to be much different in the Blame. On this day, Lunar Victory thrived in the rain, scoring a two length, wire to wire win!
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El Salvador Thrives in the Slop to Win The Shawnee
Rain made a mess of CD on Saturday, leaving the track sloppy and soft for the day’s races. That also meant a couple scratches for The Shawnee, leaving us with a field of seven for the race. The weather forecast likely made Iolaus Racing thrilled even before the race, since El Salvador has proven she is a mudder.
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Classy City Shows Plenty of Class in PEN Mile Victory
Classy City had an excellent two year old season that saw him win the BC Juvenile Turf, but thus far in 2024, he had not picked up that big win in a graded race. It may not have helped him that he had been dealing with soft turf in his last two starts and that would not be a concern in the PEN Mile.
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Present Tense Should Be Tough to Beat in The Shawnee
Like the Blame Stakes, the Shawnee is a newer addition to the calender at CD, appearing for the first time in 2020 as an ungraded race, and staying that way for three years before becoming a Grade 3 last year. It has also seen gradual purse increases over that time, and the present $275.000 level is a high mark for the race.
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Time To Play the Blame Game at CD
As we move into the month of June, we get to see a race that has been growing in stature: the Grade 3 Blame from CD. This race first appeared as an ungraded race in 2020, and since 2021, the purse has grown a bit every year and it would receive it’s graded status in 2023.
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It’s Fanatical Empire vs Diamond Haggis, Round 3, in PEN Mile
There is purse money to be won at PEN this Friday, as the 11th running of the PEN Mile takes place. This is a nice race for three year olds on the grass, and our field will feature several that ran in the BC Juvenile Turf last fall.
