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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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 NYRA is hosting hour-long live, online chat sessions with key industry figures on select Friday nights at 8:00 p.m. This upcoming Friday, February 5, fans will have the chance to chat with trainer Gary Contessa, New York's four-time leading trainer as he gets ready to run the brilliant 3-year-old Eightfiveinafifty in the Whirlaway. Fans and handicappers may log on to http://www.nyra.com/livechat to join the chat or read archived chats. They often feature NYRA race analyst Andy Serling, while the most recent chat featured NYRA Executive VP Hal Handel. No pre-registration is necessary and users may simply type questions and comments in the chat field at the bottom of the page for the featured chatter to address. At the conclusion of the chat, an “instant replay” is created for future reference. Click here to read more.
 NYRA has announced that it will offer a $250,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 Saturdays at Aqueduct during the 2010 Winter/Spring Meet. The first Guaranteed Late Pick 4 of the meet will be offered on Saturday, January 23. On Wood Memorial Day, Saturday, April 3, NYRA will offer a $500,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 that will likely include the Grade 1 Wood Memorial, the Grade 1 Carter Handicap, The Grade 3 Bay Shore, and the Grade 3 Excelsior Handicap. Click here for more details.
 NYRA has created a new series of videos entitled “Backstretch Buzz." The series highlights jockeys and trainers as they share their thoughts on topical events, news stories and some of the current issues concerning thoroughbred racing. The first installment in the series discusses cold weather training with trainers Glenn DiSanto, Bruce Brown and David Donk while the next video debates apprentice vs. journeyman riders with trainers Rick Schosberg, Mike Hushion and Leah Gyarmati, jockey Maylan Studart and jockey agent Al Dellape. The “Backstretch Buzz” videos can be viewed by online here.
 NYRA announced the stakes schedule for Aqueduct Racetrack’s 2010 winter/spring meet, with the Grade 1, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 3 anchoring 10 graded stakes worth $2.25 million for the 81-day meet which begins on January 1. The remainder of the 2010 NYRA stakes schedule will be announced at a later date. Click here for more details.
 NYRA’s “Spotlight Series” videos offer racing fans an exclusive look at the people who work behind the scenes at Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack. The videos can be viewed online at the official Spotlight page and at NYRA’s official Youtube site. The “Spotlight Series” videos profile the individuals who work in the jockey’s room, on the backside, in the paddock, on the clockers’ stand, and in numerous other areas at the track. These are the people behind the scenes that ensure thoroughbred racing in New York can take place smoothly on a daily basis. Click here to visit the NYRA Spotlight homepage.
 Racing fans can now go behind the scenes year-round at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course with the launch of NYRA's latest on-line offering, “NY Racing Insider.” The blog is located at www.nyracinginsider.com. Consolidating and building on both the popular “Saratoga Insider” and “Belmont Insider” blogs, “NY Racing Insider” gives fans unprecedented access to the backstretch with up-close-and-personal looks at all three of NYRA’s racetracks. Click here to visit the blog.
 NYRA has launched its own photostream page on flickr.com. By logging on to www.flickr.com/photos/nyraphoto, fans can view colorful, exhilarating photos from a majority of NYRA’s premier stakes races and popular promotional events. Among the featured photographs are galleries dedicated to Belmont Stakes Day, fan-favorite Commentator, and Travers Stakes Day. Super-filly Rachel Alexandra also has a pair of galleries dedicated to her. Click here to visit the site.
 The popular daily handicapping show “Talking Horses” is available for live viewing online at www.nyra.com. Fans who are not on-track will be able to watch and listen to the show live online and get all the day’s handicapping selections from the program’s prognosticators. “Talking Horses” runs from approximately 11:35 – noon on live racing days, always starting approximately an hour before first post, and is hosted by NYRA TV Analysts Jason Blewitt, Eric Donovan, and Andy Serling. Click here for more details.
 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 Aqueduct. Click here to start following Andy!
 NYRA is on Facebook! The page enables users to interact with other NYRA fans, stay updated on NYRA events, view NYRA racing photos, and much more. NYRA's Facebook page already has more than 3,200 fans, so join the community now! Click here to access the NYRA Facebook page.
 Fans of 2009 Horse of the Year 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
 Aqueduct Racetrack provides an intimate and elegant setting for groups of any nature and is a particularly dramatic destination for corporate events. 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 discount! 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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 There are seven stakes races at Aqueduct in February, featuring a mix of sprints and routes, all on the inner track. Perhaps the most anticipated of them is the $100,000 Whirlaway on Saturday, February 6. Run at 1-1/16 mile, this race for 3-year-olds is one of the first New York stepping stones to the Triple Crown. Last year’s running was won by the New York-bred Haynesfield who went on to win three additional stakes in 2009. This year’s running could feature an explosive favorite, as the Gary Contessa-trained Eightyfiveinafifty, who ran a 105 Beyer to break his maiden at Aqueduct in January, is expected to enter.
 On Saturday, February 13, the 3-year-old fillies will stretch out to 1-1/16 mile in the Busher. Some of the recent winners of this race have gone on to graded success, including Little Belle, who won in 2008 and went on to win the G1 Ashland at Keeneland and run second in the G1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
 The stakes action continues on Sunday, February 14, Valentine’s Day, with the aptly-named Dearly Precious for 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs. In 2001, this race was won by one of the best filly sprinters ever, the lightning fast Xtra Heat. Last year’s winner, Dream Play, went on to win the G2 Comely, also run at Aqueduct.
 New York-breds have two stakes in February, with the first being the Hollie Hughes Handicap on Monday, February 15, Presidents’ Day. Contested by 3-year-olds & up at the six furlong distance, this race features an impressive past list of winners that includes Notebook (1989), Say Florida Sandy (2001), and Gold and Roses (2008).
 The 38th running of the Rare Treat is scheduled for Saturday, February 20. The race is run at 1-1/8 and always features a very competitive group of fillies and mares. Last year’s edition was captured by Weathered, who went on to win the G3 Next Move at Aqueduct.
 The final open stakes of the month is the Stymie on Saturday, February 27. For all 3-year-olds and up at 1-1/8 mile, the Stymie was first run in 1956 and has been recently won by some terrific horses, including Ground Storm in 2002 and 2004, and fan favorite Evening Attire in 2007.
 The second of the New York-bred stakes for the month is the Broadway on Sunday, February 29. The race is run at six furlongs for fillies and mares. Las year’s running was captured by Lights Off Annie. | |  |
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 Rachel Alexandra’s extraordinary victory in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course has been voted by fans as NYRA’s 2009 “Story of the Year.” The victory eclipsed four other compelling tales from New York racing, including jockey Ramon Dominguez’s superlative year and Linda Rice’s historic Saratoga training title. “The year was filled with memorable stories and I am delighted that Rachel Alexandra’s race in the Woodward won top honors,” said owner Jess Jackson, whose Stonestreet Stable campaigns the filly with Harold McCormick. “It was an extraordinary race in which she repelled a series of challenges, a race which displayed her courage and tenacity. Click here for the full story.
 NYRA has introduced the “New York Watch” series, which will shine the spotlight on promising colts and fillies that have recently cleared the maiden and allowance ranks at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, or Saratoga Racecourse.Many of the industry’s brightest stars embarked upon their careers at the NYRA tracks, including a number of recent Triple Crown race winners. Big Brown, Jazil, Birdstone, Funny Cide, and Empire Maker are all among the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes victors that kick-started their careers at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, or Saratoga. Gainesway Stable’s Tempted to Tapit was the first horse spotlighted in this series. Click here to read the story.
 From Rachel Alexandra to Gio Ponti, Summer Bird to Kodiak Kowboy, Steve Asmussen to Godolphin Racing, many of horse racing’s biggest stars turned in their finest performances in New York in 2009 en route to the Eclipse Awards Monday night. Rachel Alexandra’s historic victory over older males in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga Race Course – the first ever in the race by a filly – was the culmination of an extraordinary 8-for-8 season that carried her to the pinnacle of the sport when she was voted both Horse of the Year and champion Three-Year-Old Filly at the 39th annual Eclipse Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. Click here for full details.
 Jockeys riding at Aqueduct Racetrack are joining the relief effort to help those affected by the recent earthquake that struck Haiti. Riders at Aqueduct had the option to donate losing mount fees and/or a percentage of their earnings from races during the week span of Saturday, January 15 – Friday, January 22 to the American Red Cross toward the Haitian Relief effort. In addition, NYRA also donated $5,000 to the American Red Cross. Click here for full details.
 Lose a few pounds. Travel. Be healthier. Oh – and win more races. Some of Aqueduct Racetrack’s best-known jockeys, horsemen, and personalities share their resolutions for 2010 in the newest video on www.nyracinginsider.com, the blog that brings fans behind the scenes at all three of the NYRA tracks. Jockeys Jackie Davis, C.C. Lopez and Richard Migliore, as well as Hall of Famers Jose Santos and Jorge Velasquez, join Sam the Bugler, NYRA racing analyst Andy Serling, trainers Rick Schosberg, Tom Bush, Bobby Barbara and assistant trainer Artie Magnuson as they reveal some traditional – and some not-so-traditional – goals for the upcoming year in the irreverent take on resolutions, racetrack style. Click here to watch the video.
 The last day of 2009 found Ramon Dominguez in the same place as the first – atop the jockey standings and in the winner’s circle at Aqueduct Racetrack. New York’s leading rider wrapped up his record-breaking year on NYRA circuit by piloting a pair of winners to finish with 376 victories, 152 more than runner-up Rajiv Maragh. Dominguez, 32, won the 2009 riding titles at all three NYRA tracks – Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course – and his 376 winners were second only to Steve Cauthen’s 433 wins in 1977. Gary Contessa won the training title for the 4th straight year and Repole Stables won the owner title. Click here for the full story.
 Gary Contessa trains hundreds of horses and has been the leading trainer in New York for four consecutive years. His stables are home to everything from bottom-priced claimers to high-priced stakes horses, but it’s a recent maiden winner who has him talking Kentucky Derby. After saddling Eightyfiveinafifty to a 17 ¼-length maiden win over the inner track in this past Saturday’s second race, Contessa says he has a case of Derby fever. Click here to learn more.
 Compared to now, the Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack of a half-century ago would look a lot different. But if you were a jockey heading into the First Aid Room back then, things would probably appear about the same – at least in terms of who would be there to take care of you. Now 84, Doris Glier is celebrating her 50th year as a nurse at Aqueduct and Belmont. During her time at NYRA, she’s seen everything from Secretariat’s Triple Crown-clinching Belmont Stakes runaway in 1973 to Summer Bird’s historic Jockey Club Gold Cup win in 2009. Click here for the full story.
 It was a lucrative start to 2010 for the lucky horseplayers backing George Santangelo’s homebred Hudson Heights in Race 6 at Aqueduct Saturday, as the 110.50-1 longshot colt rallied late up the outside to win by a head. Hudson Heights returned $223 for a $2 win bet, the highest win payout at a NYRA track in more than a decade. On February 6, 1999, Barrier Free won the first race at Aqueduct and paid $338. The record for a win payout at a NYRA track ($434) was set by Markobob at Aqueduct on September 3, 1943. Click here to read more.
 Jockeys Maylan Studart and David Cohen represented NYRA on Tuesday, January 5 at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan at the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s 2010 Muscle Team Gala and Benefit Auction in support of the search to find a cure for neuromuscular diseases. It was the second year that Studart, a 20-year-old rider from Brazil, joined the dozens of other professional athletes from New York and New Jersey at the gala event, which was held for the 13th year and raises more than $1 million annually in support of the MDA’s work. Cohen, 25, one of the top riders in the country and a recent transfer to the NYRA circuit, participated the first time. Click here for full details.
 The third installment of NYRA's “Spotlight Series” is now available on demand at NYRA.com and profiles paddock judge Neal Cutrone. The video follows Cutrone as he oversees the saddling process before a race at Belmont Park and then heads over to the track where he climbs atop a tower and becomes a finish line patrol judge. Click here to visit the Spotlight Series page.
 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 Elmont Clean Up Day, the Exceller Fund, and the Gateway Youth Outreach. Bookmark the NYRA Community Relations website to keep informed of all these important events.
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! |
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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 jockey Gabriel Saez, who is riding in New York this winter following the retirement of trainer Larry Jones, for whom Saez had ridden regularly since soon after his arrival in the United States from Panama. Born and raised on a fruit farm in Port Darien, Panama, Saez graduated from the Laffit Pincay Jockey School in 2005 and was the top apprentice in his native country the same year. Upon arriving in the U.S. in 2006, he caught the eye of trainer Larry Jones at Delaware Park, and began riding regularly for him that year.
Saez’s relationship with Jones led to stakes mounts about Proud Spell, Eight Belles, Kodiak Kowboy and most recently, Friesan Fire. 2008 proved to be a breakout year for Saez, in which he rode Proud Spell to two Grade 1 victories in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and the Alabama at Saratoga Race Course. That year also brought his first mount in the Kentucky Derby aboard the filly Eight Belles. Her brave second-place finish behind Big Brown and ahead of 18 other 3-year-old colts was marred by her tragic breakdown after the wire, an experience that greatly troubled Saez, then just 20 years old.
With Jones announcing his retirement effective at the end of 2009 to become an assistant trainer for his wife, Cindy, Saez is exploring new options and arrived in New York late last year to ride the Winter/Spring Meet at Aqueduct.
On the Lead sat down with Saez at Aqueduct in late January to discuss past successes and future plans as the young rider works to establish himself in New York.
Q: You grew up in Panama, which also produced some of the best jockeys the sport has ever seen – Laffit Pincay, Braulio Baeza, Jorge Velasquez, Jacinto Vasquez, and those are just the Hall of Famers. Did you always want to be a jockey?
Saez [Laughs]: Yes…I didn’t really want to go to school when I was in sixth grade. My uncle [Oscar Chavez] was a jockey and I decided to go to jockey school because I could have a career without really going to school.
Q: But at the Laffit Pincay school, you still had to go to classes, didn’t you?
Saez: We learn the basics about horses and also English and math and stuff, and we do that for like two years in the school. After that, we learn to ride.
Q: You’ve been with your agent, Ruben Munoz since you came to this country and I understand he actually came to scout you when you were riding in Panama? How has he helped you build your career in this country?
Saez: Yeah, he came to find me in Panama. He is the one that came to get to get me at my house when I finished school! My uncle Oscar is a rider in Singapore and, he knows Cornelio Velasquez (a longtime New York Journeyman, also Panamanian). So, when I came home from jockey school, my uncle talked to Cornelio, to try to find me an agent over here. He told me to decide if I wanted to come [to Singapore] with him, or go over to the United States. I decided so quick!
I’ve been with Ruben for four years now. He’s is like my father, you know? He helps me with all my stuff, all the papers. He tries to teach me to ride the right way – you know, do this, don’t do that, and don’t make mistakes. Sometimes I do anyway though!
Q: He’s also a flight attendant, right? How does that work?
Saez: Yeah, he’s a flight attendant. Dark days between races he’ll fly and do his travel stuff, and then come back. He always tries to do it when there are no races and no entries. He’s got it figured out.
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 Did you know that NYRA Rewards offers the highest rebates in the industry? And it's not even close! NYRA Rewards offers rebates that are more than eight times as much as some of the other ADW platforms. Click here to see how the NYRA Rewards rebate program stacks up.
 NYRA has introduced a minus pool alert to its NYRA Rewards Internet Wagering platform. The alert will only be displayed for races at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course. The minus pool alert is triggered when the wagering on a NYRA race is such that a potential minus pool situation exists. The alert will appear at the top of the race program page. Click here for more information.
NYRA Rewards is now offering almost live Instant Replays! They will be available a few minutes after the race has been declared official. There will be an icon linking to an Instant Replay landing page that can be found on the Track Menu and Aqueduct Program pages of the Internet Wagering application.
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! Click here to sign up for a new account. |
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 This month's wallpaper and race replay features a horse that racing fans will likely be hearing a lot more from as the Triple Crown chase picks up steam. Laus Deo, a 3-year-old son of the sensational racehorse and promising stallion Medaglia d'Oro, entered the Count Fleet stakes at Aqueduct as a 10-1 longshot. He exited the race with a two length victory and a lot to look forward to for trainer Anthony Dutrow and jockey David Cohen. By a Travers winning sire and out of an Alysheba mare, Laus Deo should improve as the races get longer. Click here to watch the race replay and download the wallpaper.
 For this month's podcast we sat down with NYRA Director of TV Production and Racecaller John Imbriale. John has been with NYRA since 1979, making him one of the longest standing employees of the organization. He directs the simulcast feeds for Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga, in addition to serving as the executive producer for the MSG+ live broadcasts from NYRA tracks. The MSG+ broadcast of Rachel Alexandra's Woodward victory at Saratoga won honorable mention in the Eclipse Awards Local Television category. John also serves as the race announcer for much of the Aqueduct Winter/Spring Meet. Click here to listen to the podcast.
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