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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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 MSG Plus, in partnership with NYRA, will offer live coverage of the Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational from Belmont Park on Saturday, October 3 from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. The telecast will also include coverage of four other prestigious Grade 1 races from Belmont Park. As expected, the Jockey Club Gold Cup is lining up as one of the best races of the year. It marks the first time that Belmont Stakes and Shadwell Travers winner Summer Bird will compete against older horses. Click here for more details.
 NYRA has announced that it will offer a $500,000 Guaranteed All Grade 1 Pick 4 on Jockey Club Gold Cup Day, Saturday, October 3 at Belmont Park. All four races will be televised during the MSG Plus and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) broadcast from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. that day. Click here for the wager details.
 What place in the world is more beautiful than New York in fall? And where better to spend that New York fall day than Belmont Park? New York Showcase Day on Saturday, October 24 is a celebration of the best the state has to offer. Seven New York-bred stakes races with purses totaling $1 million! Showcase Day exclusively features New York bred horses, and is highlighted by the $250,000 Empire Classic. The day will also feature premium sale items from local NY vendors (jewelry, gourmet cheeses, etc.), and there will be local artists, craftspeople, and wineries to showcase their wares. In addition, Event Kings will present a fall carnival for the kids, with pumpkin carving, candy apple stations, a pumpkin patch, hayride, and more. And there will be a live band on the backyard stage from 12pm - 4pm.
 NYRA keeps fans abreast of racing information at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga with its official Twitter site, located at Twitter.com/NYRAnews. The site is updated throughout the day with scratches and changes, news and notes, interesting events, and a host of other information. Click here to follow the site!
 NYRA has launched a Twitter website for racing analyst Andy Serling, located at Twitter.com/andyserling. Serling, a co-host of Talking Horses and NYRA Live, is known for his bold predictions and confident demeanor. Serling’s Twitter page will feature a combination of race analysis and wagering suggestions, along with observations that he makes throughout the day while at Belmont Park. Click here to start following Andy!
 Get into the game with the Pick the Pros and Ponies contest every Sunday during the NFL season. Not only can you watch all of the NFL games each week, you can also participate in a contest to win $1,000. All you have to do is select the winners of four designated NFL games and two designated Belmont races. Call (516) 488-6000 for more information about the Pick the Pros and Ponies contest.
 Fans of Rachel Alexandra can connect with the star 3-year-old filly on her own website, “Rachel’s Sandbox," set up by NYRA. Rachel recorded a victory for the ages when she became the first ever female winner of the prestigious Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, September 5. The multimedia site gives fans an interactive experience and allows them to keep up with the latest news and information on Rachel Alexandra as she looks to make history. Fans can view a Rachel Alexandra photo gallery, peruse career past performances and pedigree, comment on blogs and participate in a poll on the website, which also contains a “Fun Stuff” section featuring downloadable wallpaper, coloring pages, and fun facts about the fabulous filly. Fans can visit “Rachel’s Sandbox” at www.nyra.com/rachel
 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.
 Beautiful Belmont Park provides an intimate and elegant setting for groups of any nature and is a particularly dramatic destination for corporate events. Dine in the spacious Marquee Tent or in the Garden Terrace, which rests high above Belmont Park’s sweeping mile-and-a-half oval. Enjoy superb fare, spectacular views and unparalleled service while experiencing thoroughbred racing at its finest. All options include admission, program and luncheon. Drink packages can be added on at an additional cost. Children (ages 3-12) receive a 33 percent disount! Packages and menus can also be customized to fit client needs. For more information, visit www.nyragroupsales.com or call (888) 285-5961. |
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 Belmont Park’s Fall Championship Meet is in full swing for the month of October, with eight Grade 1 races and 22 stakes races in total. Traditionally, October at Belmont Park has featured many of the best horses in the industry in all categories. Turf, dirt, sprints, routes, juveniles, New York-breds, you name it, and you’ll see it at Belmont Park in October. Every Saturday at Belmont Park features the $350,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4, except for Jockey Club Gold Cup Day, October 3, which instead features a $500,000 Guaranteed All-Grade 1 Pick Four.
 The biggest day of the Belmont Fall Meet, and the only day on the New York calendar featuring five Grade 1 races, is Saturday, October 3, Jockey Club Gold Cup Day. The main attraction that day, of course, is the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational (GI) for 3-year-olds & up going 1-1/4 miles on the main track. Won the last two years by Curlin, who also captured Horse of the Year honors both years, this year’s running is expected to include Summer Bird, impressive winner of the Belmont Stakes and the Shadwell Travers.
 The sports’s top turf stars also get their chance to shine on October 3, with two phenomenal races. For the males, the big race is the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (GI) for 3-year-olds & up going 1-1/2 miles on the turf. Two of the past five years, the winner of the Joe Hirsch has gone on to capture American Champion Male Turf Horse honors, English Channel in 2007 and Kitten’s Joy in 2004. That same day, the fillies and mares will contest the $600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational (GI) run at 1-1/4 miles on the grass.
 Jockey Club Gold Cup Day also features two other spectacular Grade 1’s on the dirt, with the $600,000 Beldame (GI) for fillies and mares going 1-1/8 miles, and the $400,000 Vosburgh for 3-year-olds & up going six furlongs in what is always a scintillating display of speed. In both 2005 (Ashado) and 2006 (Fleet Indian), the winners of the Beldame went on to capture American Champion Older Female Horse honors.
 Sunday, October 4 features three excellent graded stakes races on the grass to cap an amazing weekend of racing at Belmont Park. Leading the way is the Kelso Handicap (GII) for 3-year-olds & up going a mile on the turf. In addition, the 2-year-old turfers get to strut their stuff in the Pilgrim (GIII) for colts, and the Miss Grillo (GIII) for fillies, both run over 1-1/16 mile on the grass. Last year’s Miss Grillo victor, Maram, went on to capture the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Fillies to cap a perfect undefeated juvenile campaign.
 The month’s second biggest day of graded racing is Saturday, October 10, with three big Grade 1 races. The spotlight will be on the juveniles, as the 2-year-old colts will contest the Champagne (GI) and the 2-year-old fillies will duke it out in the Frizette (GI), both $400,000 races run at a mile on the main track. The honor rolls of both races read like a whose who of some of the industry’s brightest stars, including War Pass (2007), Birdstone (2003) and Easy Goer (1988) on the Champagne, and Indian Blessing (2007), Storm Flag Flying (2002), and Flanders (1994) in the Frizette. Also on October 10 is the Jamaica Handicap (GI) for 3-year-olds going 1-1/8 miles on the turf.
 Sunday, October 11 offers one of the final chances for 3-year-old colts to take on age-similar opponents in a graded race in the Jerome Handicap (GII), run at a mile on the dirt. Tale of Ekati put in a whirlwind performance to win last year’s rendition in stirring fashion. Belmont Park will race on Columbus Day, Monday, October 12, with a card featuring the Pebbles, a mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies.
 Two turf graded route races highlight the penultimate weekend at Belmont Park, with the Athenia (GIII) for fillies & mares on Saturday, October 17, and the Knickerbocker (GIII) for all horses on Sunday, October 18. In 2003, the timeless Better Talk Now won the Knickerbocker in thrilling fashion.
The final day of stakes racing at the Belmont Park Fall Championship Meet is New York Showcase Day on Saturday, October 24. The best New York-breds will battle it out in seven stakes races worth a whopping $1 million! The day’s headliner is the $250,000 Empire Classic for 3-year-olds & up going 1-1/8 miles on the main track. But the day also features two turf races, two sprints, and two juvenile races, making it a phenomenal day of racing to highlight closing weekend at Belmont Park
 Opening day at Aqueduct is Wednesday, October 28, with the first two stakes races of the meet on Halloween, Saturday, October 31. The sprinters will go at it in the Bold Ruler (GIII) and the fillies and mares will stretch out in the Turnback The Alarm (GIII). It will be a great day of racing to ring in opening weekend a Aqueduct. | |  |
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 If you’ve ever wanted to go behind the scenes at one of the premier race meets in the country, here’s your chance. With exclusive videos, photos and news, NYRA’s new “Belmont Insider” blog offers fans unprecedented access to the backstretch at world-famous Belmont Park. From up-close-and-personal footage of Triple Crown star Summer Bird to off-the-cuff chats with trainers and owners, “Belmont Insider” offers a fresh and informal view of the racing world. Click here to visit the blog.
 NYRA is offering a $350,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 Saturdays at Belmont Park during the 2009 Fall Championship Meet,. Although NYRA offers daily Pick 4’s on races 2-5 and 7-10, the $350,000 guarantee applies only to the Late Pick 4 on Saturdays. Click here to read more about the guaranteed wagers.
 Photo finish pictures are now available on demand at NYRA.com. The site enables fans to view the photo finish pictures for win, place, show, or fourth place at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, or Saratoga. It's a great way to get an unparalleled view of the heated competition at the finish line. Click here to learn more about how to access these great photo finishes!
 Fans of Rachel Alexandra have a new online outlet to share their thoughts and impressions of the exceptional bay filly in the “Fan Letters” section of Rachel’s Sandbox at NYRA.com, where NYRA will now publish letters penned by her supporters. Earlier this month, Rachel Alexandra made history at Saratoga Race Course, becoming the first filly ever to win the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes against older male rivals. To submit fan mail, please email letters to rachelfanmail@nyrainc.com for publication on “Rachel’s Sandbox.” Fan letters can be accessed under the “Fun Stuff” section of the website, which also features downloadable wallpaper, coloring pages, and fun facts about the fabulous filly. The “Fan Letters” page is just the newest aspect of the multimedia site at which fans can view Rachel Alexandra photo galleries, peruse career past performances and pedigree, comment on blogs and more. Click here to read more.
 In an electrifying display of courage and tenacity, Rachel Alexandra made history at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, September 5, taking the early lead and turning back a furious late challenge from Macho Again to become the first filly ever to win the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes. Under regular jockey Calvin Borel, the 3-year-old filly went right to the front and was pressured through an opening quarter of 22.85 and a half-mile in 46.41 by 2008 Belmont Stakes winner Da’ Tara and Past the Point. Rounding the turn, she shook clear of her early challengers and then was forced to dig deep to hold off the driving Macho Again by a head and earn her ninth straight victory and first over older males. Click here for the amazing details.
 NYRA has introduced turf course updates to NYRA.com in order to provide the most accurate and timely information on each day’s grass races. Racing fans can go to NYRA.com, click on the web banner titled, “Turf Course Updates,” and instantly see the track conditions and find out which races, if any, have been taken off the turf for that day. The updates are provided on the website shortly after the NYRA Racing Department has made its decision regarding the day’s turf racing, and could be posted as early as 8:00 a.m. Click here to see the turf course updates.
 A sensational six weeks of thoroughbred racing at Saratoga Race Course came to a close on Labor Day with final handle and attendance figures surpassing projections prior to the meet and decisively outpacing nationwide wagering statistics. Full fields and brilliant late-summer weather defined the final week at Saratoga, capped by Saturday’s historic running of the Woodward Stakes when a (six-week meet) record final-Saturday crowd of 31,171 witnessed the breathtaking, incomparable performance of the incomparable Rachel Alexandra. Click here for the meet attendance and handle recap.
 While jockey Ramon Dominguez continued to dominate the competition in New York, winning the jockey title for the 36-day meet at Saratoga Race Course by a comfortable margin with 45 wins, a new face jumped to the top of the trainer standings. Linda Rice, with 20 wins, narrowly edged out Todd Pletcher in the final days of the meet to become the first woman to win a training title at Saratoga Race Course. Click here for details.
 Purses at Saratoga Race Course climbed 18.4 percent from the incentive program created by NYRA to increase field size during the recently-concluded six-week meet. From the 365 races run at the meet, 76 (20.8 percent) qualified for purse hikes totaling $627,490, boosting original purse values of $3,405,000 to $4,032,490. Click here to read the details.
 NYRA has launched a 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 Manhasset 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. This month the spotlight is on trainer Christophe Clement, who has won four Grade 1 races in New York so far this year with three different horses. Born and raised in France, he is the son of the late French trainer Miguel Clement. After getting his start in the business under the tutelage of Alec Head and family in France, Clement spent two years in the United States from 1986-1988 working at Taylor Made Farm and with Hall of Fame trainer Claude “Shug” McGaughey before returning to Europe to assist Luca Cumani. Clement returned to the U.S. for good in 1991, setting up at Belmont Park.
In the years since, Clement has trained top horses such as Mauralakana, Royal Highness, England’s Legend – that female turf trio alone responsible for making him the only three-time winner of the Grade 1 Beverly D. at Arlington Park – as well as other talented runners including In Summation, Rutherienne, Voodoo Dancer, Forbidden Apple and Honor Glide.
Clement is no stranger to shipping and has won stakes at tracks across the U.S. and abroad, but much of his success this year has come in New York. Two of his four Grade 1 wins have come courtesy of turf star Gio Ponti in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan in June and the Man o’War in July at Belmont Park. The other two have come with fillies – Funny Moon on the dirt in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Miss World on the turf in the Garden City.
On the Lead caught up with Clement in his Belmont office, the week before he was scheduled to saddle Gio Ponti for a start in the Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational going 1½ miles over Belmont’s grass course.
Q: You returned to the United States to strike out on your own in 1991, why did you choose to come to this country rather than stay in Europe where you had grown up?
Clement: I believed there were more opportunities here in the United States.
Q: Do you remember your first winner – who I believe was also the first horse you saddled as a trainer?
Clement: Yes, my first runner was a filly who came from my brother and belonged to a good friend of my dad, called Spectaculaire [on October 20, 1991 at Belmont Park]. The owner was a gentleman, an Englishman, who used to have horses with my dad when I was a kid, so it was actually nice to win for that gentleman. That was the start. I was very lucky, I started with six.
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 Tim Ice burst onto the training scene this year with his grand 3-year-old chestnut colt Summer Bird. Despite debuting in March, Summer Bird's professional demeanor and boundless stamina allowed him to quickly ascend to the top of his division, with dominating wins in the Belmont Stakes and the Shadwell Travers. Tim, who is 35-years-old, has carried himself with class through the Triple Crown and summer racing seasons, and should be a top trainer for many years to come. Click here to listen to the podcast.
 As the incomparable Rachel Alexandra turned for home with the lead against older males in the Woodward Stakes at historic Saratoga Race Course, the 31,000+ people in attendance urged her to victory. And when she held off Macho Again by a head to become the first female horse to ever win the Woodward, the grandstand erupted in a wave of cheers, perhaps the loudest it has ever been in the 141year history of the fabled track. The victory was the ninth in a row for the elegant 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro, a streak that includes wins against the boys in the Preakness, Haskell, and now the Woodward. Rachel Alexandra's magnificent victory is featured in this month's featured wallpaper and race replay, which can be seen here. | |  |
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