Tom Ochiltree, Wayne Wright Join Immortals Friday in Racing Hall of Fame; Stakes Winner Lexington Street Making Sophomore Debut Friday; Connections Hope to Make Waves with Debut Winner Undulated
Tom Ochiltree, Wayne Wright Join Immortals Friday in Racing Hall of Fame; Stakes Winner Lexington Street Making Sophomore Debut Friday; Connections Hope to Make Waves with Debut Winner Undulated
Tom Ochiltree, Wayne Wright Join Immortals Friday in Racing Hall of Fame
Stakes Winner Lexington Street Making Sophomore Debut Friday
Connections Hope to Make Waves with Debut Winner Undulated
Laurel Park Hosting Annual Crab Feast & Buffet Friday
Rainbow 6 Carryover of $15,951 for Twilight Friday Program
LAUREL, MD – Elite 19th century racehorse Tom Ochiltree, winner of the third Preakness Stakes (G1) in 1875, and 1945 Preakness-winning jockey Wayne Wright are slated to be enshrined into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on Friday.
Tom Ochiltree and Wright were chosen for induction by the museum’s Historic Review Committee. They join a contemporary Class of 2016 comprised by multiple Maryland riding champion Ramon Dominguez; trainer Steve Asmussen and filly Rachel Alexandra, who teamed up to win the 2009 Preakness; and the champion mare Zenyatta.
A bay son of celebrated sire Lexington named for a Confederate colonel and later U.S. Congressman, Tom Ochiltree won 21 of 33 lifetime races between 1875 and 1877 and defeated Viator by two lengths in the Preakness just two days after winning his career debut, both at historic Pimlico Race Course.
Originally purchased for $500, he was sold prior to the 1876 racing season for $5,000 and reunited with Hall of Fame trainer R.W. Walden, becoming one of the top horses in the East winning several major long-distance stakes including the 2 ¼-mile Baltimore Cup. He won a second Baltimore Cup in 1877 and was retired with earnings of $41,445.
Born in 1916 in Rexburg, Idaho, Wright began riding at the age of 15 in 1932 and was America’s leading rider in 1934 and 1936. In addition to his 2 ½-length upset aboard Polynesian at odds of 12-1 in the Preakness, Wright won the 1934 Belmont Stakes and 1942 Kentucky Derby. He rode 1,492 winners before retiring in 1950 due to weight issues, and died in 2003 at the age of 86.
Rachel Alexandra became just the fifth filly to win the Preakness and the first in 85 years with a front-running one-length triumph over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird from post position 13. She beat males again in the Haskell (G1) and Woodward (G1) and was named 2009 Horse of the Year, the third straight winner trained by Asmussen, following Hall of Famer Curlin in 2007 and 2008.
Stakes Winner Lexington Street Making Sophomore Debut Friday
Marathon Farms Inc.’s Maryland homebred Lexington Street is set to make her first start of the year in Friday’s co-featured eighth race, a $45,000 optional claiming allowance for females 3 and up at six furlongs on the main track.
The dark bay or brown daughter of Street Sense, first or second in all five of her starts at 2, is the only 3-year-old filly in the field of 10 having drawn post 2 with regular rider Jevian Toledo aboard for trainer Gary Capuano.
“She’s doing well. She’s been training good. We’ve been kind of taking our time with her coming back,” Capuano said. “She’s close to being back where she was but she’s not quite there yet. I’m guessing chances are she’s probably going to need a race but hopefully she can still get there.”
Lexington Street won the six-furlong Maryland Million Lassie in her third career start last fall at Laurel, the second of three straight wins capped by one-mile optional claiming allowance in late November. She finished the year finishing second as the favorite in the Maryland Juvenile Fillies Championship Dec. 26 and has been working steadily at Laurel for her return.
“We gave her all winter off and early spring and got her going back again,” Capuano said. “She’s a big filly and we’re just taking our time shooting for the later part of the year for her.”
Capuano said 3-year-old filly Broken Bridle, who ended a string of runner-up finishes dating back to April with late surge to win Saturday at Laurel, could be headed to stakes company next in the $100,000 Riskaverse for sophomore fillies at one mile on the grass Aug. 25.
“I do have her nominated … I’m not sure whether I’ll go or not. I’m kind of up in the air on that,” he said, “but she’s coming around real nice. She’s going to be a real nice filly when she finishes developing, and she’ll get better as she gets a little older. She’s running huge right now.”
Capuano said stakes winner Noteworthy Peach, Maryland’s champion 3-year-old male of 2015, continues to do well out of his off-the-turf optional claiming allowance victory July 30 at Laurel, just his second start in six months.
“He’s good. He came out of the race good,” he said. “There’s not a whole lot of spots for him coming up so we’ve got to try to find something to keep him going until the fall races start back at Laurel.”
Connections Hope to Make Waves with Debut Winner Undulated
M M G Stables LLC’s Undulated impressed both his connections and onlookers with the way he coolly handled adversity in his debut victory Sunday at Laurel.
The chestnut son of Hall of Famer Curlin, purchased in March as a 2-year-old in training for $625,000, overcame a troubled start where he clipped heels and was squeezed back to weave his way through horses down the stretch for a narrow victory under jockey Trevor McCarthy.
“Trevor said he was going to go outside and they started squeezing in a little bit and he had nowhere to go,” trainer Cal Lynch said. “He couldn’t make up his mind and he said the horse kind of made up his mind for him. He said he was kind of leaning off him hanging off to one side as the horses were backing up in front.”
Lynch was not surprised with Undulated’s response to his circumstances, having been indoctrinated during a steady string of works since early May at Laurel leading up to his unveiling going 5 ½ furlongs in 1:03.13 over the Bowl Game Turf Course.
“We schooled him three or four times and we’ve sat him behind horses and he took dirt in his face,” he said. “He’ll run as good on the dirt, the race just happened to be on the turf. He worked in behind horses three or four times, swung him wide, went between, went on the rail. He’d been pretty well-schooled.”
Lynch said they bypassed a 7 ½-furlong race on the dirt at Delaware Park the previous day to stay at home, in part because stablemate Monsoon K S A, who would go on to win the race was also entered.
“He wants to go longer, but there’s not too many spots,” he said. “The 5 ½ figured to be a better spot. He didn’t have to ship for it. We like to run him out of his own stall, and this is as good a turf course as you’re going to find.”
Options remain open for Undulated, whose price tag was the sixth-highest at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. sale.
“They liked him. Two or three guys looked at him and they asked me what I thought, and I love Curlin. He’s one of my favorite stallions; I’m not the only guy. I just always can’t afford him. These guys said they wanted him and they picked him and we bought him,” Lynch said. “I’ll talk to the owners and whenever the team gets together we’ll decide.”
Laurel Park Hosting Annual Crab Feast & Buffet Friday
In addition to a full card of live racing, Laurel Park will host its annual Crab Feast and buffet during Friday’s weekly twilight program.
Post time for the first of nine races is 3:40 p.m.
The Crab Feast and buffet will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. under the apron tent on the far side of the winner’s circle. Cost is $48 per person for the Crab Feast, which includes the buffet as well as two beer/wide/soda drink tickets.
Cost for the buffet is $20 per person, with a la carte available. Drink specials include $3 domestic drafts and $4 frozen margaritas. For reservations, call 301-470-5439.
Friday’s menu has steamed hard shell crabs and Maryland crabs coated with a special blend of seasoning and steamed on-site. There will also be Maryland crab soup, BBQ chicken marinated in North African berber spice, burgers, beef hot dogs and sauerkraut, potato salad and cole slaw, and assorted sheet cakes, cookies and fruit.
Live music will be performed from 4 to 8 p.m. by Jimmy Buffet/beach-themed artists Sons of Pirates.
For further information, please click here.
Rainbow 6 Carryover of $15,951 for Twilight Friday Program
A 20-cent Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot of $15,951.27 will greet bettors for Friday’s weekly summer twilight program, with a first race post time of 3:40 p.m.
The Rainbow 6 has gone unsolved for 14 consecutive live programs since being taken down for $24,250.10 on July 4.
Friday’s sequence covers Races 4-9 and includes the return of stakes winner Lexington Street in Race 8, $45,000 optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs on the main track; and a $42,000 allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up going 5 ½ furlongs on the Exceller Turf Course in Race 9.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
In addition to live racing, Laurel is serving up its annual Crab Feast and buffet from 4 to 7 p.m. as well as live music from 4 to 8 p.m. from beach-themed artist Sons of Pirates. Admission to the Crab Feast is $48 per person which includes the buffet and two drink tickets. The buffet is $20 per person, with a la carte available.
