G3 Troy Victory Provides Memorable Moment for Trainer Potts
G3 Troy Victory Provides Memorable Moment for Trainer Potts
Karamanos Enjoying View atop Summer Meet Rider Standings
Impressive Laurel Turf Sprint Winner Fiya Fetches $400,000 at Auction
Live Racing Returns Thursday with Eight-Race Program
LAUREL, MD – It wasn’t conventional, but it was memorable. As the years go by, Laurel Park-based trainer Wayne Potts will have no trouble recalling the circumstances of his first career stakes win.
The milestone victory happened Aug. 8 in Saratoga, when Raj Jagnanan’s 8-year-old gelding American Sailor finished second in the $200,000 Troy (G3) but had his number put up following the disqualification of first-place finisher Imprimis for interfering with Shekky Shebaz, who ran third.
Potts’ breakthrough in the 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for older horses also came as part of Saratoga’s Travers (G1) program, the biggest of its summer meet.
“I couldn’t dream of anything better,” Potts said. “I’ve had 12 or 13 seconds … but this was my first one. To knock them both out at the same time, a stakes and a graded-stakes … at Saratoga … on Travers day … it’s unbelievable.
“I had dinner [that] night and my phone was beeping and dinging. As I’m walking my horse around waiting for the decision by the stewards, my phone’s going off non-stop,” he added. “I had an outpouring of support from everybody just for finishing second in the race, and then when they put us up it was such a different feeling. I wish the stands would have been packed to get that experience but to get national TV coverage and to have that happen, it’s fantastic.”
Potts, a 39-year-old native of Rockville, Md. who went out on his own in 2004 after working four years for Charles Town-based trainer David Rose, said he received 374 text messages following the race.
“I was on my phone until almost midnight [that] night trying to respond to everybody and then [the next] morning. It was great. Trainers from Maryland messaging me … the support that I got was amazing,” Potts said. “To the guys in Maryland and where I started back at Charles Town and Shenandoah [Downs] I’d say, ‘Guys, keep dreaming. It can happen.’
“I started with one $500 horse. I started from the ground up, cleaning stalls and hotwalking, and I got to where I am today,” he added. “Again, I can’t take all the credit. My owners are behind me. My help at the barn, they work endless hours. My assistants, I couldn’t do it without them. I give them just as much credit as I give myself.”
Potts hauled American Sailor from Laurel to Saratoga and back himself, giving his stable star a few days off before bringing him back to the track. After getting the winter off for the first time in three years, American Sailor returned with an optional claiming allowance victory June 8 at Laurel, more than seven months following his 2019 finale.
“That race made me feel really good about him. I fought tooth and nail. My owner at first didn’t want to give him the time, he wanted to go to Sam Houston like we had been doing,” Potts said. “It took a good 30 days for it to finally sink in and he said, ‘You know what, if that’s what you want to do go ahead and do that,’ so I turned him out.
“He told me [after the race] and he messaged me again [the next] morning and said, ‘I have to tell you, the best thing you ever talked me into doing was giving the horse the time off,’” he added. “He came back and he looks fantastic. He looks so good after giving him the time to drop his head and be a horse for the 60 days we gave him. It was great to see the flesh on him coming back. He really filled out and he’s really muscled up. It was the right thing to do.”
Jagnanan was also on hand at Saratoga for the win, the 15th of his career for American Sailor, who saw his career bankroll swell over $500,000. Potts claimed American Sailor for $25,000 in September 2017 at Suffolk Downs, lost him for a $7,500 tag the following summer and got him back shortly afterward when Jagnanan purchased him privately.
Since their reunion, American Sailor has put together a record of 5-3-1 from 13 starts for Potts with purse earnings of more than $400,000, the bulk of his races having come at Laurel or Pimlico Race Course.
“Maryland racing is no joke. Maryland racing is very, very tough. Lots of good horsemen, lots of quality horses, lots of good trainers. Maryland racing is very, very competitive,” Potts said. “This horse, he means a lot to me. I’m taking [the DQ win] and running with it. I’ve been disqualified from races before and I was a little upset about it and the guys that got the win were smiling and walking away, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
Potts said he will take his time finding a spot for American Sailor to run back. Laurel will be hosting the $100,000 Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on its world-class turf course Monday, Sept. 7 during the extended summer meet.
“We’re going to play it by ear,” he said. “I’m going to take the next week, week and a half to see how he comes back and then get him back on the racetrack and go from there. I’m in no rush to wheel him right back.”
Potts was quick to credit Maryland Jockey Club outrider and ex-jockey Kaymarie Kreidel and current Laurel-based rider Tais Lyapustina with American Sailor’s development. Lyapustina is recovering from a spill at Laurel three hours before the Troy was run.
“Kaymarie gallops the horse for me and Tais works him all the time for me. The two have done a great job with him. Believe it or not, a guy cannot gallop him. He doesn’t get along with them. He’s a ladies’ man. Both of those ladies have done a fantastic job,” Potts said. “I actually spoke to Tais [the next day]. She said she was a little sore but everything’s well. Nothing was broken, which was great news for herself and me. I use her a lot at Laurel.”
Karamanos Enjoying View atop Summer Meet Rider Standings
Journeyman Horacio Karamanos, one of Maryland’s most experienced and successful riders, finds himself leading Laurel Park’s summer meet standings in what promises to be a spirited fight to the finish.
Through the first 27 racing days since live racing returned to Maryland May 30, Karamanos has 25 winners, one more than Jevian Toledo. Sheldon Russell, out with a broken wrist suffered July 16 at Delaware Park, and 16-year-old apprentice Charlie Marquez are tied for third with 20.
Karamanos is named in six of eight races as live racing returns to Laurel Thursday, and eight of nine races on Friday’s card. A five-time meet champion in Maryland, he ranks second in both mounts (145) and purses earned ($708,618), trailing Toledo. Karamanos’ last Maryland meet title came when he shared the 2017 Preakness Meet at Pimlico crown with Feargal Lynch and Kevin Gomez.
Lynch, a winner of 12 of 61 starters, is also sidelined with fractures in his neck and back following a July 23 spill Laurel. Perennial leading rider Victor Carrasco broke his elbow July 15 at Monmouth Park, where he and Maryland’s four-time overall champion Trevor McCarthy moved their tack for the summer.
I’m having a beautiful meet. We started a little bit slow in the beginning like everybody and then my business started to pick up,” Karamanos said. “Now I’m riding some better horses and I’m winning some races so I’m happy for that. My agent, Frank Douglas, is working hard, too.
“This is a pretty even meet. A couple riders are hurt and not here and that spreads it out a little more equally for everybody,” he added. “I’ve had some good luck. I’ve been able to win some races and the horses are running well. I try hard so I hope it stays like that. If not, I’m happy to be riding good horses and having them run well, too.”
A native of Argentina, where he won more than 1,500 races before coming to the U.S. in 2000, Karamanos won with just five of his first 50 mounts (10 percent) before the calendar turned to July. Since then, he has gone 20-for-95 (21 percent) and posted seven multi-win days, including hat tracks July 4 and 25.
Karamanos has ridden winners for 12 different trainers during the meet, the most (seven) coming for Laurel-based Damon Dilodovico. He also has multiple wins for Jose Corrales, Jamie Ness, Marco Salazar, Ferris Allen and Miguel Vera
“I ride for most of the people here. Sometimes trainers decide they want to ride different riders but I’ll always be available to ride for anyone. I have no problem riding for everybody,” Karamanos said. “Damon is starting to win races and he is my biggest client right now and I appreciate him giving me the opportunity.”
Karamanos rode in South Florida when he first came to the U.S. and picked up his first domestic winner at the former Calder Race Course. A multiple meet champion at Colonial Downs, he came to Maryland in 2002 and tied a Laurel Park record by riding seven winners on a single card on Oct. 26, 2002.
On Father’s Day, June 17, 2017, Karamanos earned his 2,000th career victory aboard Liquid Aloha at Laurel Park. He owns nine graded-stakes wins including the 2015 and 2017 Barbara Fritchie (G2), 2017 Frank J. De Francis Memorial (G3), 2016 General George (G3) and 2007 Virginia Derby (G2). He also has nine wins in the Maryland Million and was the regular rider for retired claimer-turned-multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire Page McKenney.
“I feel so happy to stay in Maryland. I came here 18 years ago, and this is my home and these are my people. I feel so happy and so confident on this track. It’s a beautiful track, the turf is good and the dirt is a really beautiful track, too,” Karamanos said. “This is my place. When you find your home, you feel happy and you want to do well. I think everything is coming up good for me. I’m happy.”
Impressive Laurel Turf Sprint Winner Fiya Fetches $400,000 at Auction
Robert Masiello, a graduate of Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and Manhattan-based equities trader who discovered his love for Thoroughbred racing at Pimlico Race Course, purchased impressive Laurel Park turf sprint winner Fiya for $400,000 out of Wanamaker’s July auction.
Launched in June, Wanamaker’s.com is host to a monthly non-traditional auction where live bidding continues from when a catalogue goes live until the final day of the sale. Bidding on Fiya started at $100,000 July 22 and concluded July 30.
Bred in Maryland by Ann Merryman and trained through his first four starts by her son, Michael, Fiya is a gelded 3-year-old son of Friesan Fire who has raced exclusively at Laurel and is a perfect two-for-two in 2020, capturing a waiver maiden claiming event in his seasonal debut June 26.
Last out, Fiya sprinted to a three-length allowance victory July 17 in 1:00.99, just .25 off the Exceller turf course record for 5 ½ furlongs set last April by Wet Your Whistle. He earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, the second-fastest number given to a 3-year-old on grass this year.
“I thought both of his races this year were impressive. He’s just a really fast horse, and I love his action. I feel like he covers a lot of ground. He’s a big, good-looking horse,” Masiello said. “It certainly seemed like there was plenty left in the tank when [jockey] Feargal [Lynch] asked him at the eighth pole in both races.
“In his last race, it looked like he was breezing, just the way Feargal was sitting on him on the turn. He was absolutely just cruising around there, but he was going in 43 and change against a pretty good field,” he added. “We spent a decent amount of money on him. The question is going to be, ‘Can he take that to the next level?’ We’ll find out at some point, but when they do that they’re giving you an indication that they might be pretty special.”
Masiello said Fiya was sent over the weekend to trainer Tom Albertani’s string in Saratoga. Among the turf stakes being considered for his next start are the 5 ½-furlong Mahony for 3-year-olds Aug. 26 at Saratoga, the 6 ½-furlong Franklin-Simpson (G3) for 3-year-olds Sept. 16 at Kentucky Downs, and the $100,000 Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up sprinting 5 ½ furlongs Sept. 7 at Laurel Park.
“I shipped him up to Tom Albertrani. I’ve had horses with Tom for a long time and I think Tom does really well with these types of horses. He had Final Frontier last year who won the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational. He keeps them sound and I think he’ll be a good fit for Tom’s program,” Masiello said. “He’s been jogging the last couple days and he might be galloping now. It’s a little too early to say if Tom’s ready to run him yet.
“I always try to look at the upside and downside of buying a horse. The fact that he’s a Maryland-bred is a good upside and the fact that he’s eligible for the Claiming Crown at Gulfstream,” he added. “I hope that he’s the type of horse that’s running in the Jaipur [G1] next year and the big turf sprints, but if he’s not between the Maryland-bred stuff and all his starter and open conditions, there’s a lot of options there. We’ll stay flexible. I do know that he likes Maryland and he’s a Maryland-bred. Tom will ship horses down there and we certainly wouldn’t be opposed to doing that.”
Masiello credited Fiya’s former connections for their work with the horse, who was raised at The Orebanks, the family’s farm in Sparks, Md., located 20 minutes from Pimlico where Mike Merryman is based.
“I have to give a huge shout-out to the Merrymans. He’s a big, good-looking horse and Tom was really happy with him when he got to the barn,” Masiello said. “I really appreciate how they took such good care of this horse and hopefully we can keep it going. They raised a good horse. We were very impressed.”
Masiello, 39, is a native of Oradell, N.J. whose first racehorse ownership came in 2005 through the West Point Thoroughbreds syndicate, partnering in such horses as Grade 1-winning millionaires Twilight Eclipse and Ring Weekend and Grade 2 winners Justwhistledixie and Freedom Child.
“I have a huge soft spot for Maryland and Maryland-breds. I grew up in New Jersey but I went to school at Johns Hopkins in the early 2000s and used to go to Pimlico and that’s really where I got my love of racing. Xtra Heat, probably still to this day, is my favorite horse,” he said. “I love having Maryland-breds and racing in Maryland. I like to go back to Pimlico whenever I get a chance. I love the people. They’re very passionate in that clubhouse and I love it. Obviously, the history too. It’s always a place I enjoy going.”
Live Racing Returns Thursday with Eight-Race Program
Live racing returns to Laurel Park with an eight-race program, including three scheduled for its world-class turf course, starting at 12:40 p.m. Thursday.
A total of 30 horses were entered for Thursday’s grass events, Races 3, 5 and 7, to be contested over the All Along and Dahlia turf course layouts. The feature comes in Race 6, an entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up sprinting 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.
Two Rivers Racing Stable and BB Horses’ Absolved, trained by summer meet leader Claudio Gonzalez, is the 5-2 program favorite in a field that also includes Stone Courageous, runner-up in Maryland Million Nursery and Maryland Juvenile Futurity last fall and winter at Laurel for owner-trainer Hamilton Smith.
Friday’s nine-race card has four races scheduled for the grass which attracted a total of 61 entries, an average of 12.2 starters per race. Race 4 will serve as the feature, an open stakes-quality third-level allowance going a mile on the main track for 3-year-olds and up.
Among the field are 8-year-old gelding John Jones, a 12-time career winner including stakes on both turf and dirt; Grade 3-placed Top Line Growth, winner of the 2019 Iowa Derby and undefeated in three tries at Laurel but racing for the first time in nearly 11 months; 2019 Maryland Million Sprint winner Taco Supream; and five-time stakes-placed Tybalt.
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 3-8) and 50-cent Late Pick 5 (Races 4-8) both begin anew Thursday after being solved during the last live program Saturday, Aug. 8. The Rainbow 6 returned $11,695.98 to one lucky bettor with a unique ticket of all six winners, while the Pick 5 paid $1,332.25.
