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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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 On Saturday, October 2, NYRA will offer a special $500,000 Guaranteed All Grade 1 Pick 4. The 93rd running of the Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational highlights the wager and is expected to include Blame, winner of five straight graded races including the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga Race Course in his most recent start, Rail Trip, a multiple graded winner trying conventional dirt for the first time, and Fly Down, runner-up in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and the Grade 1 Travers for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito. Click here for more details.
 Racing fans at Belmont Park on Super Saturday, October 2, will each receive a free baseball cap in celebration of the biggest day of racing during the fall championship meet. With five exciting Grade 1 races, highlighted by the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup, fans can commemorate the day with the black cap bearing the white-embroidered NYRA logo, free with each paid admission, while supplies last. Click here for more details.
 Advance wagering on the 2010 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and selected races on the undercard at Longchamp will be offered at Belmont Park on Super Saturday, October 2. Beginning at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, self-service machines and mutuel tellers will be open for advance wagering on the Arc de Triomphe (post time 10:05 a.m. Sunday, October 3), along with the Group 1 Prix de la Foret (9:20 a.m. Sunday), the Group 1 Prix de L’Abbayede (11:35 a.m. Sunday), and the Prix de Dona Handicap (12:05 p.m. Sunday). Click here for the schedule.
 College Day, sponsored by the Dime Savings Bank (Dime), returns to Belmont Park on Saturday, October 9 and offers college students free admission and the chance to win more than $10,000 in scholarships in addition to great giveaways and prizes All college students with a valid student ID will receive free grandstand admission on October 9 and the first 250 to register will receive a free commemorative t-shirt. The Belmont Park gates open that day at 11:00 a.m. and registration for prize eligibility will begin immediately thereafter in the Paddock Tent. Click here for full details.
 From October 8 to 17, Belmont Park will host an exhibit honoring the 1910 International Air Show, sponsored by VisitNassauCounty.com, the first international aviation meet held in the United States, which took place at the racetrack 100 years ago this fall. To commemorate the anniversary of this historic event, The Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City has created a special exhibit featuring rare photographs, artifacts and film from the International Air Show, as well as examples of aircraft flown at the meet, including the “Antoinette,” an early French monoplane, and the ultra light “Demoiselle.” Click here for full details.
 As a guest service enhancement initiative, NYRA has announced a new restaurant policy whereby all reservations will be taken via the telephone. NYRA has simplified the restaurant reservation system with the creation of a new toll free group sales phone number, (888) 516-NYRA, that guests can call to make reservations at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, or Saratoga Race Course. Click here for the release.
 NYRA has introduced a text message service that will alert fans to Pick 6 carryovers and live racing cancellations. Those interested in the service can sign up by texting the keyword NYRA to 84700 or by visiting this site and registering their cell phone. The text alerts are free to subscribe to, and message & data rates may apply depending on each individual’s service plan. For example, if someone has a cell phone plan with unlimited texting, they will not incur any charges. If someone has a plan with 100 text messages, and the text alert from NYRA is received once the 100 message limit has been reached, charges will apply per the cell phone carrier’s policies. Click here for full 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 numerous 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.
 NYRA has 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 and Belmont Park. Click here to start following Andy!
 NYRA has announced the launch of Forbes’ Firsters, a series that takes a glance at the pedigrees and sales histories of select 2-year-olds who are making their debuts in maiden special weight races at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, or Saratoga Race Course. Many of history’s best horses have commenced their careers in New York, and Forbes’ Firsters will help fans find the stars of tomorrow as they head postward for the first time. Each edition of Forbes’ Firsters will be available on the NYRA website. Click here to visit the Forbes' Firsters homepage.
 NYRA has unveiled the “New York Watch” website, the online home for the series launched in January that shines the spotlight on promising colts and fillies that have recently cleared the maiden and allowance ranks at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, or Saratoga Race Course. Therein, fans can read details, view photos, and watch race replays of each featured horse. Click here to visit the site.
 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 4,500 fans, so join the community now! Click here to access the site. |
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 Belmont Park’s fall championship meet is in full swing during the month of October, with eight Grade 1 races and 23 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 $300,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4, except for Jockey Club Gold Cup Day, October 2, which instead features a $500,000 Guaranteed All-Grade 1 Pick Four. Click here for the full fall stakes schedule.
 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 2, 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. Last year’s running was captured by Summer Bird, who became the first 3-year-old to sweep New York’s three most prestigious races – the Belmont Stakes, the Travers, and the Jockey Club – since Easy Goer did it in 1989.
 Racing's top turf stars also get their chance to shine on October 2, with two phenomenal races. For the males, the big race is the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (GI), for 3-year-olds & up going 1-1/2 miles on the turf. Two of the past six 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 $500,000 Flower Bowl Invitational (GI) run at 1-1/4 miles on the grass. This year’s running is expected to include the Group 1 winning Japanese filly Red Desire.
 Jockey Club Gold Cup Day also features two other spectacular Grade 1’s on the dirt, with the $350,000 Beldame (GI) for fillies and mares going 1-1/8 miles, and the $350,000 Vosburgh (GI) for 3-year-olds & up going six furlongs in what is always a sensational display of speed. Last year, Kodiak Kowboy used a win in the Vosburgh to propel him to the Champion Male Sprinter award.
 Sunday, October 3 features three excellent graded stakes races 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 dirt. 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 Pilgrim was run on the main track and was won by Eskendereya, who went on to win the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct before being retired before the Derby with an injury.
 The terrific graded racing at Belmont continues on Saturday, October 9, with three big Grade 1's. 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 $300,000 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) in the Champagne, and Devil May Care (2009), Indian Blessing (2007), Storm Flag Flying (2002), and Flanders (1994) in the Frizette. Also on October 9 is the Jamaica Handicap (GI) for 3-year-olds going 1-1/8 miles on the turf.
 Belmont Park will race on Columbus Day, Monday, October 11, with a card featuring the Pebbles, a mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies. The holiday card always features lots of great betting races and promises a fun day at one of the most beautiful tracks in the country. Last year, Miss Catalyst took the race for trainer Todd Pletcher, winner of this year's H. Allen Jerkens Saratoga Training Title.
 Two turf graded route races highlight the following weekend at Belmont Park, with the Athenia (GIII) for fillies & mares on Saturday, October 16, and the Knickerbocker (GIII) for all horses on Sunday, October 17. In 2003, the timeless Better Talk Now, winner of the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Turf, won the Knickerbocker in thrilling fashion.
 One of the highlights of the Belmont Park fall championship meet is New York Showcase Day on Saturday, October 23. The best New York-breds will battle it out in seven stakes races worth a whopping $900,000! The day’s headliner is the $200,000 Empire Classic for 3-year-olds & up going 1-1/8 miles on the main track. Last year’s winner, Haynesfield, went on to make waves this year in open competition, winning the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at Belmont. The day also features two turf races, two sprints, and two juvenile races, making it a phenomenal day of racing. This year, Showcase Day also highlights the best of New York wines and crafts! Sample New York wines from Duck Walk Vineyards, Fox Run Vineyards, Heron Hill Winery, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars and Pindar Vineyards in the Clubhouse Lobby, and shop the New York Showcase Vendors in the grandstand for jewelry, decorated horseshoes, frames, children’s toys and crafts, cupcakes, jams, glassware and knitted items.
 The final two two stakes races of the Belmont meet are on Saturday, October 30. 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 for the final 2010 weekend at Belmont!
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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 and the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational from Belmont Park on Saturday, October 2 from 5 – 6 p.m. EDT. The telecast will also include coverage of three other prestigious Grade 1 races from Belmont. Click here for complete details.
NYRA has increased purses at Belmont Park’s fall championship meet by approximately 13 percent. Average daily purses for the Belmont meet will be $480,000, up from the initial projected figure of $425,000. Click here for more information on the increases.
 NYRA will host a community day for Floral Park on Sunday, October 10, featuring local restaurant offerings, art shows, hat contests, trophy presentations, and more. Organized by the Village of Floral Park, the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce, and the Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce, the day provides an opportunity for local Floral Park restaurants to sell food in the Marquee Tent in the Belmont backyard, which will be provided by NYRA for the day. Additionally, the Floral Park Community Day Committee is planning a hat contest for children and the Floral Park Art League will host its first art show at Belmont on October 9 and 10. NYRA sponsors the Floral Park Belmont Festival as well as the Floral Park Art League over Belmont Stakes weekend. Click here for full details.
 Rachel Alexandra won thirteen races during her brilliant career, which included 2009 Horse of the Year honors, and two of those victories came in unforgettable fashion on the NYRA circuit. On September 28, Jess Jackson, principal of Stonestreet Stables, the majority owner of Rachel Alexandra, announced that the 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro would be retired and bred to two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. Click here for a Rachel retrospective.
 NYRA will provide free round-trip “Belmont Special” shuttle service between Avenue U in Brooklyn and Belmont Park on every Saturday during the 2010 Fall Championship Meet, with service set to begin tomorrow. Through the final Saturday of the meet, patrons will be picked up Avenue U, between Nostrand Avenue and 29th Street, at 11:30 a.m. and go directly to Belmont Park. A return shuttle will leave Belmont at 5:30 p.m. and will take riders back to Avenue U. Click here for more info.
 NYRA has announced the stakes programs for the 2010 Belmont Fall Championship Meet and the 2010 Aqueduct Fall Meet, featuring more than 30 graded stakes races and nearly $9 million in purses. The Belmont meet runs through Sunday, October 31, with 37 days of scheduled live racing. The marquee afternoon of racing falls on Saturday, October 2, with five prestigious Grade One races – the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Flower Bowl, Beldame, and Vosburgh. Click here to see the schedules.
 NYRA has announced the launch of the “NYRA Time Machine” video series, which highlights some of the greatest races in New York Racing history. The human connections of the horses who competed in these historical races will provide their insights and perspectives in each “NYRA Time Machine” video. The first episode profiles Onion’s upset victory over Secretariat in the 1973 Whitney Handicap, featuring an interview with Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens, while the second video profiles Rachel Alexandra's timeless 2009 Woodward victory at the Spa, with the third profiling Holy Bull's gutsy Travers win. To watch the videos, click here.
 At Belmont Park, Aqueduct, and Saratoga, the stewards’ race-day decisions involving the official order of finish will be communicated via the simulcast feed and will also be posted to NYRA.com.“This new policy is a big step forward in providing transparency of the stewards’ decision making,” NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said. “Millions of dollars are bet every day at NYRA tracks and customers should know why decisions are made in the stewards’ stand.” Click here to visit the Stewards' Corner.
 Wagering on races at Saratoga Race Course surpassed advance projections, decisively outpaced industry trends, and dominated handle on thoroughbred racing nationwide, according to statistics released today by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) as the 142nd meet concluded. Daily average all-sources handle for the expanded 40-day meet was down 3.4 percent compared to last year’s 36-day meet. All-sources handle for the six full weeks of the meet compared to last year’s six-week meet was down 2.6 percent, largely due to 2.5 percent fewer races run during the period. (All-sources handle combines wagers on Saratoga races both on-track and from simulcast outlets nationwide.) Click here for full details.
 Jockey John Velazquez, trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole all enjoyed independent successes this summer at Saratoga Race Course, but their work together was a major factor in each party walking away a leader at the Labor Day conclusion of the 142nd Saratoga meet. More than 105,000 people attended the races at Saratoga on closing weekend, with 21,242 on hand to watch Velazquez pilot the Pletcher-trained Quality Road to victory in the Grade 1 Woodward on Saturday, September 4; 58,872 to see Pletcher win the Grade 1 Spinaway with R Heat Lightning on Sunday and a Labor Day crowd of 25,298 to conclude the 40-day meet. Click here for the meet recap.
 Channing Hill is featured in the latest installment of NYRA’s newest video series “Riders Up,” now available on demand at this website. The series provides fans with a comprehensive look at the riders on the NYRA circuit, from the perspective of trainers, owners, and, of course, the jockeys themselves as they discuss their motivations and thoughts on riding in New York. Click here to visit the Riders Up Homepage.
 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. |
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 Each month we’ll take a trip to the backstretch and visit with a different jockey or trainer, and Julien Leparoux is our featured guest for October.
Hailing from Senlis, France, Leparoux is one of four riders to have received the Eclipse Award for both Outstanding Apprentice Jockey and Outstanding Jockey. After being named the top “bug boy” for 2006, Leparoux was honored as last year’s top journeyman after winning nine Grade 1 races throughout North America in 2009, including Breeders’ Cup events aboard She Be Wild, Informed Decision, and Furthest Land.
Q: What was your background with horses before you became a jockey?
Leparoux: I started riding at 11-years-old. They had an option in school where you could ride horses. I started to do that, and I loved it. A couple of years later I’d ride a little bit in the mornings during vacations from school, and I started to ride full-time when I was about 18 or 19. My dad was an assistant trainer and knew about the business, but he didn’t want me to do it when I was young. But I showed I was serious about it, and he supported me.
Q: Why did you immigrate to the United States to start your career as a jockey?
Leparoux: First I wanted to come here to learn the language and get more experience. I just loved it here and I wanted to stay here. I moved to California first and I used to work for Patrick Biancone, and the good thing about that was how I moved around a lot. I moved to Kentucky and New York and went to Texas – a little bit everywhere. It was nice to be young and be able to do that while doing what you love.
Q: When did Biancone tell you that you were ready to compete?
Leparoux: One day when I was in California I told him that I wanted to ride in races. He said we were going back to the East Coast first, and then he’d put me on horses.
Q: Your first race came at Saratoga Race Course in 2005. Did starting your career at a renowned venue make you nervous?
Leparoux: Not really because I rode my first horse for Patrick, and he put me in a good position and didn’t put me under any stress. He took care of me, and I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I might have been.  | |  |
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 NYRA Rewards, the wagering program that offers racing’s highest rebates, has launched a new homepage, located online at NYRARewards.com. The new site features a streamlined look with an easily navigable layout. Included among the features are a handicapping section with links to daily selections from NYRA TV Analysts, embedded video of the online handicapping show Trips & Traps, Andy Serling’s Twitter feed, and NYRA video replays, as well as an Express Funding menu explaining how NYRA Rewards members can make instant deposits of up to $500 per day using an electronic funds transfer, and also make withdrawals. Click here for all the details!
 Did you know that NYRA Rewards is New York’s premier PHONE and INTERNET wagering program and offers the highest rebates in the industry? And it's not even close! NYRA Rewards offers rebates that are more than seven 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 one of the most talented juvenile colts in the country, Boys At Tosconova. The 2-year-old son of Officer gave notice to the racing world that he meant business when he broke his maiden at Belmont Park on July 2 with an astonishing 103 Beyer Speed Figure. Following that race, trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. gave him some time off and brought the colt back in the Grade 1 Three Chimneys Hopeful on closing day at Saratoga, Monday, September 6. Sent off as the 1-2 favorite and showing a new dimension for jockey Ramon Dominguez, Boys At Tosconova rated in third before making a move at the top of the stretch and winning impressively by 1 3/4 lengths in a hand ride. Owned by Jay Em Ess Stable, the talented charge is likely to head straight to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs on Saturday, November 6. Click here to see the official race replay and download the wallpaper from the Three Chimneys Hopeful.
 John Velazquez is the featured guest for this month’s On The Lead podcast. The 38-year-old jockey had a sensational meet this summer at Saratoga Race Course, taking the riding title with 57 wins. It marked the 21st time that he led all jockeys in wins during a NYRA meet, and was his fourth crown at the Spa. He has won an astounding 601 races at Saratoga during his career, good for third all-time behind Angel Cordero and Jerry Bailey. 28 of Velazquez’s victories during this year’s meet came for leading trainer Todd Pletcher, including Grade 1 wins aboard Quality Road, Discreetly Mine, Devil May Care, and Malibu Prayer. He also rode the most impressive 2-year-old debuter of the meet, the Mike Repole-owned Uncle Mo, who ran off to a 14-1/4 length victory on Travers Day. We discussed these topics and more with Johnny V. Click here to listen to the podcast. | |  |
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