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NYRA is pleased to announce On The Lead, the new monthly newsletter of The New York Racing Association. We will keep you tuned in to all of the ongoing excitement at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.
In each issue, we will update you on important news and look ahead to the featured promotions, events, and stakes races for the coming month. You will read fun and enlightening interviews with our trainers and jockeys and receive the latest information about our NYRA Rewards program. And as an added bonus, you can download eye-popping wallpaper and watch thrilling race replays!
On The Lead is your one-stop communication to catch up on the action at the NYRA tracks. We hope you enjoy this issue!
Sincerely,
Gavin Landry
Senior VP - Sales & Market Development |
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 Family Fun Days are back! Starting May 4, every Sunday at Belmont Park will feature a festival for the entire family, including a petting zoo, miniature golf, comedy troupes, magicians, pony rides, face painters, balloon clusters, and much more. Everything is free except for a $1.00 donation per pony ride to benefit the Backstretch Employees Service Team (B.E.S.T.). Please note that there will not be a Family Fun Day on Sunday, June 8.
 Sunset Racing at Belmont Park is the place to be on Friday afternoons and evenings from June 13 – July 18! A party atmosphere is highlighted by food and drink specials from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. and a live concert series following the last race. Post time for Sunset Racing is 3:00 p.m. The gates open at 11:00 a.m. for simulcasting, and there is no admission charged before 1:00 p.m.
Belmont Park will host a Kentucky Derby Simulcast on Saturday, May 3, featuring a T-Shirt Giveaway! Enjoy a great day of live racing, including the $200,000 Nassau County (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies, and then watch and wager on the fabled first jewel of the Triple Crown. To celebrate the 134th running of the Derby, every paid admission will receive a free T-Shirt, while supplies last.
Mark your calendar for the 2008 Belmont Handicapping Challenge, set for June 21 & 22 at Belmont Park. The entry fee is $400 with $35,000 to the winner and $80,000 in total prize money, based on 200 entries. The top three finishers will receive an entry in the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship scheduled for January 2009 in Las Vegas. The entry form will be available for download on NYRA.com.
Aqueduct's Sunny Jim Room is now open to the general public! Located on the first floor of the Clubhouse, this room has been fully renovated and is a sensational setting for taking in a day at the races. It features personal handicapping carrels and an array of large televisions in a luxurious atmosphere.
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 The racing action ramps up a notch this April at Aqueduct! The featured attraction is the $750,000 Wood Memorial (GI) on Saturday, April 5, for 3-year-olds going a mile-and-an-eighth on the main track. This race has propelled three horses to the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle in the last eight years, including Funny Cide in 2003.
The April 5 card also features the $300,000 Carter Handicap (GI) for 3-year-olds & up going seven furlongs on the main track. This race perennially draws a top field of older sprinters, and has been won by such great horses as Congaree, Affirmed Success, and Artax.
There will be an all-graded stakes guaranteed $400,000 Pick Four on Wood Memorial Day featuring the Bay Shore (GIII) and Excelsior Handicap (GIII) along with the Wood and the Carter.
Closing weekend at Aqueduct is highlighted by the $150,000 Withers Stakes (GIII) on Saturday, April 26. Carded for 3-year-olds going a mile on the main track, this race has grown in notoriety and importance in recent years. Bernardini won the Withers in 2006 and went on to capture the Eclipse for top 3-year-old colt.
The turf stakes season kicks off on April 26 with the $100,000 Beaugay Handicap (GIII) for 3-year-old fillies & mares and continues on April 27 with the $100,000 Fort Marcy Handicap (GIII) for 3-year-olds.
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 Leading breeding and racing operation Shadwell Farm has stepped up to sponsor both the Travers Stakes (GI) presented by Shadwell Farm and the Suburban Handicap (GI) presented by Shadwell Farm. The partnership, which will run through 2009, brings together two of the most influential organizations in the world of Thoroughbred racing. Shadwell Farm operates in Lexington, KY, and is home to an impressive array of remarkable runners, including 2006 Horse-of-the-Year Invasor and 2006 Belmont Stakes winner Jazil.
 The logo for the Travers Stakes presented by Shadwell Farm features the dramatic finish of last year’s rendition, when Kentucky Derby champion Street Sense gamely held off the lightly-raced upstart Grasshopper. Rendered in the blue-and-yellow silks of Street Sense’s owner, James Tafel, the logo is based on a photograph taken by NYRA’s Adam Coglianese. The 139th running of the Travers Stakes presented by Shadwell Farm is set for August 23 at Saratoga Race Course and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
 Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms will continue to sponsor the Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile through 2010. One of the top full service thoroughbred facilities in the world, Hill ‘n’ Dale is located in Lexington, KY, and boasts top stallions such as Vindication, Stormy Atlantic, and Theatrical. They have sponsored the final Grade I race on NYRA’s calendar since 2005. This year’s edition of the Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile will be run at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday, November 28. |
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 Each month we’ll take a trip to the backstretch and visit with a different jockey or trainer. For the inaugural issue, the focus is on Aqueduct’s current leading rider, Ramon Dominguez. This Venezuelan-born jockey was also the leading pilot on Aqueduct’s main track in 2007 with 24 wins. Dominguez, 31, led the entire nation in wins in 2001 and 2003. He bagged his first Breeders’ Cup win in 2004 with Better Talk Now. Dominguez came to the United States in 1995 and began riding at Hialeah in 1996.
Ramon Dominguez makes his residence in Maryland with his wife Sharon, and their two sons, Alex, 3, and Matthew, 2.
Q: How did you first get involved with horses?
My father ran a betting facility when I was growing up in Venezuela. At the age of 13 I started helping him at work and got the chance to see a live race. From that point on I knew that I wanted to become a jockey. My father wasn’t too keen on the idea, as he was hoping I would go to school and become a doctor. But I persevered and started going to the training center when I was 16, and he became much more supportive.
Q: How hard was your decision to come to the United States?
It wasn’t that hard. I was doing well as a bug rider in Venezuela and felt that I had nothing to lose. Riding in the United States had always been a dream of mine. At the time I wouldn’t have been too upset if I wasn’t able to come here, but now I can’t even imagine not making the move. The hardest part was leaving family behind in Venezuela.
Q: You have already broken Eibar Coa’s record of 105 inner track wins at Aqueduct. Was breaking this record important to you?
It was great to break the record, as the last two years I have just fallen short of the riding title. Although I didn’t set the goal to become the leading rider and break records, I knew there was a good chance for these things to happen. I have support from my agent in addition to many great trainers and owners. | |  |
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 Trifecta and Superfecta part-wheel boxes are now available on NYRA Rewards Internet Wagering! If you have ever had a key horse get nosed at the wire, part-wheel boxing is the way to go. With an easy checkbox option your ticket builder rotates your runners through each position to include every possible combination. For example, enter a Trifecta of 1 with 2, 3, 4 with 2, 3, 4, check Part-Wheel Box, and your ticket includes the 1 in second and third for 18 possible combinations.
Did you know that you can fund your NYRA Rewards account with an electronic check transfer? Set up is easy and there are no fees with this type of transaction, plus you avoid the hassle of lost checks in the mail. Call 1-800-THE-NYRA (1-800-843-6972) and select option # 4. Answer the questions about your billing address, checking account number, bank routing number, check number, and deposit amount. Your NYRA Rewards account will be credited as soon as the transfer clears (up to 4 business days).
To apply for a NYRA Rewards account, visit here. Online wagering is currently available to residents of New York State only.
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 This month we are proud to bring you a special podcast with Gavin Landry, NYRA Senior Vice President, Sales and Market Development. He sat down to chat with Saratoga.com about future plans for The New York Racing Association, including renovations to Belmont Park.
Visionaire is the featured attraction for this month’s computer wallpaper and race replay. Trained by Michael Matz, this three-year-old colt conquered the fog, the rain, and nine opponents to win the Gotham (GIII) at Aqueduct Racetrack on March 8. He should be a major force on the Triple Crown trail.
 We also have a unique and insightful podcast with Helen "Penny" Chenery, whose charm and enthusiasm as the owner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat earned her the unofficial title, "First Lady of Racing." She discusses her great champion and the shocking defeat that he was dealt in the 1973 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.
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