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Welcome to On The Lead, the 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!
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 Saturday, April 4 marks the richest day of the Aqueduct meet, with four graded stakes including the $750,000 Wood Memorial (GI). The Wood is one of the biggest prep races for the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown. It is expected to feature a rematch between I Want Revenge and Imperial Council, the top two finishers from the Gotham (GIII). This amazing day of racing also features the $300,000 Carter Handicap (GI), the Excelsior (GIII), and the Bay Shore (GIII). The aforementioned graded races will comprise a $400,000 Guaranteed Pick 4, and the entire day of racing will have eleven great races. It's a day of racing not to be missed!
 Please note that Aqueduct will not have live racing on Sunday, April 5, or Sunday, April 12 in order to celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, respectively. There will be no simulcasting on either of these days. NYRA would like to extend warmest wishes to all of its fans on both of these holidays, in addition to those celebrating Passover from April 9 to April 16.
 With the first full month of spring comes the 2009 Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet! Racing begins at legendary Belmont Park on Wednesday, April 29, and runs through Sunday, July 26. Live racing will be Wednesday through Sunday with the following three exceptions: Live racing on Memorial Day, Monday May 25, dark on Wednesday, May 27, dark on Sunday, June 7. The meet will feature 30 graded races including the $600,000 Shadwell Metropolitan Handicap (GI) on Monday, May 25, the $1,000,000 Belmont Stakes (GI) on Saturday, June 6, and the $500,000 Man o'War (GI) on Saturday, July 11. Click here for a full stakes schedule for the 2009 Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet.
 The online Belmont Stakes 141 Super Store is now open for business! Featuring great merchandise with the brand new 2009 Belmont Stakes logo, the store has everything you could possibly want to celebrate the third leg of the Triple Crown in style. Shirts, hats, fleeces, glasses, sunglasses, and much more. Best of all, there is free shipping for orders of $141 or more through April 30! To get this special offer, use the coupon code ship141. Click here to shop the Belmont Stakes online store.
 In order to make your weekend that much better, NYRA is offering a $250,000 Guaranteed Late Pick Four Saturdays at Aqueduct! That means that if the total amount wagered on the late Pick Four is less than $250,000, NYRA will supplement the additional money to meet the guarantee. The late Pick Four is a wager that comprises the final four races of the Aqueduct card, usually starting with race six. Please note that on Saturday, April 4, Wood Memorial Day, the late Pick Four will start with race seven and will be guaranteed for $400,000!
 Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. and the New York Racing Association, Inc. announced a partnership to develop the inaugural Fasig-Tipton Festival of Racing at Saratoga Race Course for the second weekend of the season, Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2009. Featured stakes races the weekend of the Festival include the 82nd running of the Grade 1 $750,000 Whitney Handicap and the 84th running of the Grade 1, $300,000 Test on Saturday, August 8. In addition to the featured races, a variety of events are planned for the weekend including a Jockey Challenge, Best Turned Out horse contests, a speaker series featuring Legends of Racing, and a handicapping contest for fans. As the festival draws closer, further details of these events will be released.
 Tune in to Trips & Traps, NYRA's groundbreaking online handicapping show! Join hosts Andy Serling and Eric Donovan for an insiders look at horses to watch or horses to watch out for. On this weekly show, Andy and Eric scrutinize replays of races to find horses that have a reason to perform much better in future races. You will learn how to better scrutinize replays for information that's not necessarily in the past performance charts.Trips & Traps is only available at NYRA's official Youtube site.
 Aqueduct Racetrack offers dark day simulcasts on Mondays and Tuesdays. Fans will be able to bet at Aqueduct’s second-floor simulcast center, and mutuel clerks, self-service terminals and concession stand service will be available. There is no charge for admission or general parking at Aqueduct for either live racing days (Wednesdays through Sundays) or simulcast-only days. Parking and admission gates will open at 11:30 a.m., with the final simulcast race going off at approximately 6:30 p.m. NYRA Rewards members can also wager seven days a week by phone, online and now through mobile devices such as BlackBerry's, iPhones, and Windows- and Java-based applications.
 The NYRA Group Sales department has unveiled a new video that has all the details you need to make your next special occasion a truly memorable one. Combine the thrill of thoroughbred racing with world-class dining and service at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, or Saratoga Race Course. Let one of NYRA's spectacular venues and staff host your next special occasion. NYRA has the capabilities to handle everything from corporate events to fund raisers, proms to weddings…the possibilities are limitless. Click here to view the new NYRA Group Sales video, or visit the NYRA Group Sales Website. |
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 NYRA hits the gas pedal on the graded stakes schedule in April and it won’t slow down until December! The featured day of the month is Saturday, April 4, with two GI’s and four graded contests in all. Racing shifts from Aqueduct to Belmont Park during the month, with opening day at Belmont Park scheduled for Wednesday, April 29. All in all it’s an action packed month of racing that is not to be missed. Please note that there will be no live racing on Sunday, April 5, or Sunday, April 12, for Palm Sunday and Easter, respectively.
 Saturday, April 4 is the richest day of the Aqueduct Meet, featuring the prestigious $750,000 Wood Memorial (GI), run at 1-1/8 mile on the dirt for 3-year-olds. The Wood is the last major New York prep race for the Kentucky Derby, and throughout its history has been a significant springboard to success at Churchill Downs. Beginning with Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox in 1930, 11 Wood winners have gone on to take the Run for the Roses, including Triple Crown winners Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946) and Seattle Slew (1977), as well as Pleasant Colony (1981) and Fusaichi Pegasus (2000). The Wood has also proven to be a major indicator of success in the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes. All tolled, there have been 32 different horses that finished first, second, or third in the Wood and went on to win the Derby, the Belmont, or both.
 Also featured on Saturday, April 4 is the $300,000 Carter Handicap (GI), run at seven furlongs on the dirt for 3-year-olds & up. One of the top sprint races in the world, the Carter has an impressive list of previous winners, including superstars Artax (1999), Congaree (2003), and most recently the undefeated New York-bred Bustin Stones. The Carter also has produced some of the most influential sires in the last 20 years, including Mt. Livermore (1985), Gulch (1988), Rubiano (1992), and Langfuhr (1997).
 3-year-old sprinters will do battle on Saturday, April 4 in the Bay Shore (GIII), run going seven furlongs on the dirt. Last year’s rendition was run by the ultra-fast J Be K. Two recent Bay Shore winners, Gulch (1988) and Forest Danger (2004), went on to win the Carter Handicap the following year!
 The final graded race on Saturday, April 4 is the Excelsior (GIII), a 1-1/8 mile test for 3-year-olds & up on the dirt. This race was won by New York legend Funny Cide in 2004, who had previously won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness!
 On Saturday, April 11, 3-year-old fillies get their chance to shine in the Comely (GII), run at a mile on the dirt. Past Comely winners including fantastic fillies such as Meadow Star (1991), Two Item Limit (2001), and Society Selection (2004).
 The following Saturday, April 18, features older fillies & mares in the Bed O’Roses Handicap (GII), a test of speed at the seven furlong distance on the dirt. In the race’s 53-year history, three great mares have won it in back-to-back years: Straight Deal (1966-67), Lady D’Accord (1992-93), and Raging Fever (2002-03). Last year’s running was won by Rite Moment.
 On April 25, the final Saturday of the Aqueduct Meet, the track hosts the Withers (GIII), always one of the most exciting races of the entire meet! This race, for 3-year-olds going a mile on the dirt, has been won by some of the biggest superstars to grace thoroughbred racing, including Gone West (1987), Housebuster (1990), Successful Appeal (1999), Bernardini (2006), and most recently Harlem Rocker.
 Belmont Park opens with a bang on Wednesday, April 29! The graded action swings into gear immediately with the Westchester (GIII) for 3-year-olds & up going 1-1/8 mile on the dirt. Last year’s winner, Divine Park, went on to win the Shadwell Metropolitan Handicap (GI), also at Belmont. | |  |
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 Get ready for great live television broadcasts from Saratoga! MSG Plus, in partnership with The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), announced a strong slate of live horse racing programming for this summer. MSG Plus will kick things off with the important Kentucky Derby prep race, the Wood Memorial, on Saturday, April 4, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Then starting on Saturday, August 1, the network will telecast five “Saturdays at Saratoga,” going live from the historic Saratoga Race Course for eight championship caliber stakes. Jason Blewitt, Eric Donovan and Andy Serling will provide commentary for the telecasts. Click here to read more details.
 Jockeys Ramon Dominguez (left) and Richard Migliore (right) flank Knicks legend, turned MSG broadcaster, Walt "Clyde" Frazier before the start of a recent Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. The jockeys were on hand to help promote MSG Plus’ inaugural broadcast of the Saturday’s $750,000 Wood Memorial, New York’s biggest Kentucky Derby prep race.
 NYRA was very proud to be named one of the 2009 Spirit of Preservation Award winner by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. Each year the Preservation Foundation recognizes individuals or organizations that have contributed to the overall quality of life in Saratoga Springs through their hard work and dedication to the ideals of historic preservation. The New York Racing Association is being recognized for its stewardship of the Saratoga Race Course. Said the Preservation Foundation in a news release, “Since 1955, NYRA has retained the historic integrity of the track through maintenance of over 200 structures and landscapes, as well as honored the character of the race course when making upgrades and changes.” The May 8 awards presentation will take place at the Saratoga Automobile Museum, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information contact Marjorie King Martin, programs director, Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, 518-587-5030, mking@saratogapreservation.org, or visit the foundation’s web site at www.saratogapreservation.org.
 In an important ruling that benefits fans of New York racing, New York Governor David Paterson signed a bill that removed a proposed takeout increase. If it had been passed, the bill would have resulted in lower payouts for residents of New York that wager on out-of-state races. NYRA President and CEO Charlie Hayward lauded the Governor's decision: “Yesterday, Gov. [David] Paterson signed into law a bill repealing a proposed takeout increase on wagers placed on out-of-state races. The New York Racing Association joins other industry stakeholders in applauding both the Governor’s and the legislature’s leadership on this issue. With this repeal, our elected officials have helped level the playing field for both the vital New York racing industry and the many thousand racing enthusiasts in the state.”
 NYRA Now, a 30-minute Sirius Satellite Radio show dedicated exclusively to racing at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, can be heard on Saturdays from 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Hosted by Dave Johnson and Bill Finley, NYRA Now will air on Sirius Channel 122 and XM Channel 143 and will be available to 20 million Sirius XM subscribers. It will offer race handicapping analysis, interviews with owners, trainers and jockeys, and much more. There will also be a number of live races aired during the afternoon, beginning with New York’s final major prep for the Kentucky Derby, the Grade 1, $750,000 Wood Memorial for three-year-olds at nine furlongs on Saturday, April 4.
 The New York Times recently featured articles on two of the young female jockeys at Aqueduct, Maylan Studart and Jackie Davis. Click here to read the article on the 20-year-old Studart, a Brazilian sensation who has made a real name for herself this winter. Click here to read the article on the 22-year-old Davis, whose father, Robbie, won more than 3,300 races during his own 25-year career. Both articles provide compelling looks into the lives of these exciting new jockeys on the NYRA scene!
 Andrea Terrill, one of the new jockeys on the NYRA scene, took home her first victory on Friday March 6! Winless in her first 12 trips to the starting gate, the bettors thought that number would increase to 13 when they sent her horse, Wild Holly, off at 64-1 odds. However, when they entered the Aqueduct stretch, Terrill and the 8-year-old mare launched a huge rally to win going away by three lengths. As she headed back to the jockey’s room after her maiden win, Terrill endured the first-win ritual hazing by her fellow jockeys, a baptism of buckets of water, talcum powder and raw eggs. Click here to read more.
 Racing is a sport with a history of family connections, and Aqueduct has more than its fair share. Look no further than C.C. and Erick Lopez, one of the only father-son jockey combinations in the United States. C.C.'s father, Carlos Lopez Sr., was also a successful rider for more than four decades, retiring 10 years ago at the age of 57. There's also C.C.’s three jockey brothers – Carlos Lopez I, Carlos Lopez II and Carlos Lopez III. And of course C.C.'s middle son, 21-year-old apprentice Erick, who often rides against his father here at Aqueduct, and his youngest son, 19-year-old David, an aspiring jockey currently galloping horses for trainer Bruce Levine. Click here to read more about this amazing family of jockeys!
 NYRA has unveiled the logo for the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of horse racing's prestigious Triple Crown. The 2009 Belmont Stakes logo features the New York skyline shaded by a stylized version of Belmont Park’s trademark white pine, the 186-year-old tree in the center of the Belmont Paddock. The race will be held Saturday, June 6, with ABC-TV and ESPN providing live coverage of the day’s events. It's now been more than 30 years since Affirmed swept the 1978 Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes), becoming the 11th horse to accomplish the feat. Since then, there have been eleven horses (most recently Big Brown last year) that won the Derby and Preakness before failing in the Belmont Stakes, illustrating why the race is nicknamed the "Test of the Champion." The 2009 Belmont Stakes logo was designed by Eric Johnston of Art Design Studios.
 NYRA has launched a brand new Community Relations website! This site will stay updated with all of the great events that NYRA is organizing and taking part in with the communities surrounding their racetracks. Some of the recent organizations and events that NYRA helped out with were Toys For Tots, the Manhassat Food Drive & Holiday Show, Jamaica Hospital, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Bookmark the NYRA Community Relations website to keep informed of all these important events.
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 Each month we’ll take a trip to the backstretch and visit with a different jockey or trainer. For this issue, the focus is on Anna Rose Napravnik (aka. Rosie), one of the top new faces on the NYRA jockey scene. Born in Mendham, NJ, Anna is hovering right around the top five jockeys in wins at the Aqueduct Winter Meet. Despite just celebrating her 21st birthday, she is closing in on her 700th career victory. Click here to read the entire interview.
Napravnik lives in Garden City, NY.
Q: How did you first get involved with horses?
I was born into the horse world. My mother was the barn manager of a boarding facility, served as a riding instructor, and competed in combined training events. My father is a farrier.
Q: How much did being around horses from a very young age help you understand them?
It helped more than you can explain with words. To me, it’s amazing that some people start riding at the age of 18. Really, anything over the age of ten seems like a stretch, because what I learned before that age was so important in my development. I was riding before I could walk, and that early experience helps me every day in what I do.
Q: When did you become a professional rider and how did you make that decision?
When I was 16, I galloped for [trainer] Dickie Small at Pimlico. He knew that I wanted to become a jockey and worked with me to achieve that goal. Dickie was great at developing young jockeys, and one of his exercise riders taught me a ton about the horses.
Dickie came to me one day when I was 17 and said that he thought I was ready. While I agreed with him, I had a dilemma because I was just finishing up my junior year of high school. After careful deliberation, I decided 3 weeks before my junior year ended that I would start riding. So on June 9, 2005 at Pimlico, I rode my first race. Dickie wanted to put me on a horse with a good chance to run well, but because I was a new rider, he didn’t want to upset any owners by putting me on one of their best horses. My first mount ended up being Ring of Diamonds, a 3-year-old filly that was a low-level claimer, but that had won three of her previous four races. I knew her well as I had been galloping her in the mornings. Luis Garcia was her regular rider, but he graciously allowed me to ride her and even gave me advice before the race.
Ring of Diamonds went off at 9/5, took the lead at the start, and cruised to an easy two-length victory! Getting my first victory in my first race was a huge confidence boost and really jumpstarted my career.
Q: Was there a moment, early in your career, where you knew that you were going to be successful in this sport?
Well, in general, I don’t try to do something in which I don’t think I am going to be successful. That’s why I don’t do things like play golf or basketball. So in my mind, I always knew I was going to be successful as a jockey. That being said, early in my career I didn’t really have a concept of what success in horseracing meant. I was naïve and didn’t know much about the business.
Q: There are some people that believe females have inherently different and more closely connected relationships to horses. Do you think there is any truth to that?
I don’t know if it’s a female trait, but I think a word that is used a lot is finesse. In general, females tend to use more finesse than males. There are certainly male jockeys that have that trait as well, though. Ramon Dominguez seems to be a jockey that has that finesse. He does everything very smoothly. | |  |
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 The NYRA Rewards Players Club will offer a food spread featuring sandwiches, chips, and soft drinks on Wood Memorial Day, Saturday, April 4. The Players Club is the best spot at Aqueduct for NYRA Rewards members to take in a day at the races. Located in the Sunny Jim Room at Aqueduct, Players Club members can watch the races on a wall of big-screen televisions or on their own individual betting terminals. Access to the Players Club is based on NYRA Rewards account wagering activity, with certain thresholds required to receive a membership card. Entry to the Players Club for members is on first-come, first-serve basis each day. Complimentary coffee service is provided on a regular basis. In the future, quarterly benefits will be rolled out to members based on wagering levels, which will include vouchers for track amenities such as food and beverage, Post Parades, Daily Racing Forms, valet parking, and guest passes.
With no minimum balance, no wagering fees, express funding, and cash back rewards, now is the time to sign up and start enjoying racing’s finest wagering platform offering unparalleled privileges! To learn more about NYRA Rewards, click here for a brochure. |
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