‘Mortgage‘, Grand Tito Head Gulfstream Stakes Field

Staff  Report

Saturday, July 26 --  Burn the Mortgage and Grand Tito are the likely favorites in what  shapes up as a non-stellar but solid and competitive field for Saturday’s $75,000 Eight Miles East Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

The  race is 1 1/16 miles on  turf for 3-year-olds and up.  As of 10:30 Saturday morning, nine horses were set to run.  Empire Builder was scratched on Saturday morning. Black Diamond Cat was a Main Track Only runner.

Dashing  David, Decisive Moment and Padilla  also will have their supporters at the betting windows.

None of  the  entrants have won a turf stakes at Gulfstream.

Burn the Mortgage  has three wins and two second  place finishes in five Gulfstream turf starts.  This Feb. 7 at Gulfstream, he won a 1 1/16  mile race in the  fast time of 1:39.32.  On March 29, he finished third in the Mervin Muniz (Grade 2) at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Fair Grounds.

Edgard Zayas will ride the  5-year-old Burn  the Mortgage for trainer and owner Mike  Maker.

Grand Tito is wheeling back after finishing second  last Saturday at Gulfstream in the $75,000 Skip Trial at 1 1/16 miles on dirt.  He finished 1 ¾  lengths behind Csaba.

On May 24, Grand Tito won the Miami  Mile (Grade 3) on the turf at Calder  Casino  & Race Course.  He is a 4-year-old son of Candy Ride.

Manoel Cruz will ride Grand Tito for trainer/owner Mike Maker.
 
The Eight Miles East  has several horses, including Decisive Moment,  that likely will seek the lead.  That could ensure a fast pace and help horses such as Burn the Mortgage, Grand Tito and Dashing David that  will not be on the the lead.

The Eight Miles East is named for an aspect of  the July 2013 to June 2014 head-to-head weekend racing between Gulfstream  and Calder.  Gulfstream, in Hallandale Beach, is eight miles east of Calder  in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The  Eight Miles East is the ninth  race with post time of 5:30 p.m.

By the Numbers: Gulfstream had 96 starters in its ten races Friday. It has averaged an impressive 9.2 starters per race during its 14 racing days since July 1,  following the end of head-to-head racing with Calder.

Gulfstream had all-sources handle of $3,607,927 on Friday. It has averaged $3.8 million per day this month, compared with about $3 million during the second half of June.

The Gulfstream handle was almost $400,000 more than Monmouth Park which began its biggest annual weekend that will be topped by the Haskell Invitational (Grade 1) for 3-year-olds on Sunday.

Monmouth in Oceanport,  N.J., had  $3,281,307 in handle  for 10 races.  It had 74 starters.

Gulfstream Report: Golden Jason Wins Turf Feature

 
     

Staff Report

Thursday, July 24 -- Golden Jason led gate to wire and  beat Drover Road  by 3 ½ lengths  in today’s feature race at Gulfstream Park.

The 4-year-old colt won the $40,000 one mile turf race in 1:36.30 over a course listed as firm.  As the 8-5 second choice, he paid $5.20, $3.60 and $3.20.

The win was the second in a row for Golden Jason at Gulfstream. On June 22, he won a seven furlong dirt race--again showing early speed.

In today’s turf race, Tale of the Heart finished third followed by the 7-5 favorite Tenth Star.

Jose Valdivia Jr.  rode Golden Jason in both races.

On June 15 at Gulfstream, Tenth  Star rallied down the stretch to win a 1 1/16 mile $25,000 optional claimer on turf. Golden Jason finished third after racing in second place most of the way.

The difference in the rematch was that Golden Jason was able to set a comfortable pace with fractions of :25.10 and :49.26 for the first half mile before pulling away to victory.

Edward Coletti, Jr., Golden Jason’s trainer, said he chose Thursday’s race based more on race conditions than surface.  It was a $62,500  optional claimer for horses that had never won two races other than maiden, starter or claiming races.      

“He runs just as well on the turf as he does on dirt. The two-other-thans don’t come around too often, and the mile (distance) was good,” Coletti said.

Unless his trainer can find another condition, Golden Jason is likely to return in a stakes race on turf or dirt.

Golden Jason, a son of Kitten’s Joy, is owned by Olympia Star Inc. He has three wins in 13 career starts, hitting the board in all but three races. Those were turf stakes last year--two at Monmouth Park and one at Arlington Park,


Rainbow 6:  There were multiple winning tickets on the Rainbow 6, with each receiving a payoff of  $2,553.44.

This  Quay Home, at 3-1, won by a nose over the late-running Afleet Allie, at 9-2, in the ninth and  final race.

By the Numbers: There were 79 starters in today’s nine races,  for an average of 8.8.   All-sources handle was $2,671,805.

Since July 1 and  the  end of head-to-head weekend racing against Calder  Casino &  Race Course, Gulfstream has been  averaging 9.3 starters per race and almost $4.0 million in daily handle.

Thursday is usually Gulfstream’s lowest handle day because  it has nine races,  compared with ten on Friday and  Sunday and 11 on  Saturday.

What’s  Ahead: Gulfstream will have  ten  races on Friday with first post of 1:15 p.m.

On Saturday, the feature will be the $75,000 Eight Miles East at 1 1/16 miles on turf for 3-year-olds and up.

Large Fields Again This Week at Gulfstream

By Jim Freer

Thursday, July 24 -- Gulfstream Park will  resume its Thursday-to-Sunday summer meet this afternoon with a nine-race card that has 91 entrants, including one Also Eligible.

Gulfstream’s number of entrants per race  also is just over ten for this Friday  and Saturday. That sets it up for a continuation of the impressive handle it has generated this month, following the June 29 end  of its head-to-head weekend racing with South Florida neighbor Calder Casino & Race Course.

Our review of Equibase Co. charts shows  that Gulfstream has averaged 9.3 starters per race with average daily all-sources handle of $3.9 million for its 12 racing days between July 1 and July 20.

For the four days between July 17 and July 20, Gulfstream averaged 9.5 starters and $4.0 million in handle. Breakdowns between live and off-site handle were not available.

Gulfstream’s fields are among the largest at the country’s leading Thoroughbred tracks, and last weekend  its total handle virtually tied for third place with  Monmouth Park.  Only Saratoga and Del  Mar are generating higher handle than  Gulfstream.

Gulfstream’s July numbers compare very favorably with  last month, when its average daily handle was in the $3 million  range and  average starters were just over eight per race.  Calder’s handle was in the $800,000 to $900,000 range during  the second half of June, with averages of six  or seven  starters most days.

Basically,  the schedule change has  left South Florida with one track racing four days a week rather than two tracks racing every Friday through Sunday--with Gulfstream’s higher and rising purse structure.

Calder was averaging about $100,000 in purses per day for its eight-race cards.

Gulfstream this month is averaging ten races a day.  It had average purses of $220,000 for the four days between July 17 to July 20. Starting today, it is raising purses an  average of 10 percent a day under an agreement with the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and  Protective Association.

Trainer Carlo Vaccarezza is among South Florida horsemen who, along with  Gulfstream management, expect that the track’s field sizes and handle numbers will grow during  the next several weeks.

“I think the field sizes and handle are fantastic, and (Gulfstream) vice president of racing) P.J. Campo is doing a great job,” said Vaccarezza, the managing partner of Little  Dreams Racing LLC.

“P.J. came down here in the middle  of the mess with Calder,” he added.  “Now he and the racing office can  plan a schedule where they don’t have to  deal with Calder also running. We  will  keep seeing the 12-horse fields that bettors like.”

Gulfstream has 1,250 horses in its stables and access to 450 more at Calder.  Its affiliate Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach is closed for resurfacing and will re-open by September.

From his own contacts and information from Gulfstream, Vaccarezza has heard that some trainers  who do the Saratoga-Belmont-Gulfstream circuit will send some of their horses directly to Gulfstream after  Saratoga ends its meet early in September.

In addition, he expects that a continuation of strong Gulfstream numbers will result in some trainers soon sending down some horses from Arlington Park  near  Chicago and from Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.
                                                                                                                                                                    Those  horses also will be available to run at Calder from Oct. 7 to Nov. 30 in a meet conducted  by Gulfstream.

On Friday, Gulfstream will have ten races with 111 entrants.  That includes three Also Eligibles and five  Main Track  Only  runners.  Saturday’s 11-race card has 117 entrants, including four Also  Eligibles and two for the Main Track Only.

Even with routine numbers of scratches, the average field size should  be near or above ten each day.

Gulfstream this afternoon will release  its entries for Sunday.

One point of reference for Gulfstream is that from last Friday  through  Sunday, it beat Monmouth Park in average handle per race--with about $430,000 per race compared with $390,000.

Monmouth has a long-entrenched summer-fall meet that is popular with fans  in its surrounding New Jersey shore communities and it has a nationwide simulcast and ADW fan base.

By keeping  pace with Monmouth, Gulfstream is showing the popularity of its brand for fans watching on TV and computer screens--even though it is in just its second season of summer racing.

Gulfstream-Tested East Hall Wins Ohio Derby

By Jim Freer

Sunday, July 20 -- A headline today in the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s  on-line edition /reads:  East Hall shocks favorites in $300,000 Ohio Derby at ThistleDown Racino.

Well,  Cleveland,  a lot of racing folks here in Florida beg to differ about the word “shock.”  East Hall’s exciting Ohio Derby win on Saturday was far from a surprise to those who saw his very respectable races this year in Gulfstream Park’s stakes for 3-year-olds.  

East Hall, trained by Bill Kaplan, ran in four Gulfstream stakes races.  He finished between second and fifth while chasing the likes of Constitution, Wildcat Red and  General a Rod across the finish line.

The competition was easier but still respectable in the 1 1/16 mile Ohio Derby at Thistledown in North Randall, which is  near Cleveland.

On Sunday, back at Gulfstream, Kaplan said that going into the Ohio  Derby “I felt we were the best in the field.”

Still, East Hall was the third  betting choice  at 9-1.

East Hall, always a strong closer,  passed five horses in the final furlong and beat Jessica’s Star by a nose. He was ridden by his  regular jockey Juan Leyva and ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.22 in a light rain on a track listed as wet fast.

Jessica’s star, at 2-1, finished 2 ¼ lengths ahead of  the 3-2 favorite Almost Famous. Those two horses battled for the lead during most of  the race.

At  Gulfstream  this year, Almost Famous finished fourth in the Holy Bull (Grade 2) and 11th in the Fountain of Youth (Grade 2). East Hall did not run in the Holy Bull and came in fourth in the Fountain of Youth.

Jessica’s Star came into  the Ohio Derby off a  victory in the Iowa  Derby (Grade 3) at Prairie Meadows on June  28.

East Hall won the Ohio Derby despite having the outside post in the 11-horse field.  He was forced several paths wide on the first turn.  Leyva kept him in the  clear on the backstretch.  Then he began his move that led to him catching Jessica’s  Star at the wire.

 

It was the first stakes win and third victory in 16 career starts for the Florida-bred East Hall, who is owned by H. Jack Hendricks and Roger Justice.

“He ran against some of the best 3-year-olds in the country in his Gulfstream races,” Kaplan said.  “I felt that we had a very good chance (in Ohio) even after we drew the outside post.”

The gelded son of Graeme Hall finished third in the Gulfstream Park Derby, fourth in the Fountain of Youth (Grade 2) and fifth in the Florida Derby (Glade 1).  He prepped for the Ohio Derby with a second-place finish behind Wildcat Red in the Quality Road  at Gulfstream on June 28.

At least thus far, none of  the 3-year-olds that ran at Gulfstream are regarded as superstars. But based on stakes wins at other tracks and their strong showings  in Triple Crown races, that group is one of the deepest to come out of Gulfstream in several years.

On Sunday, Kaplan mentioned the $75,000 Monarchos Stakes, at one mile at Gulfstream on Aug. 30, and the $400,000 Super Derby (Grade 2)  at 1 1/8 miles at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 6, as possible targets for East  Hall.

    

Because he is a gelding,  fans can look forward to seeing East Hall run in stakes races in South Florida and nationally for several more years.