The modern horse training book says this: Give them at least six weeks off between races, start them no more than five times a year, and never miss an opportunity. It was a book that Ken McPeek apparently never read.
Among the top coaches, there is no one like him. He will run track and field against the boys, run again in a week, and he doesn’t mind throwing a 50-1 bomb at a race or, in the case of GI winner Belmont S. 2022 Sarava ( Wild Again), 70-1 shot. It hurts his win rate, which is 17% for the year. But McPeek doesn’t seem to care. His job is to make money for his owners, and he understands that the more opportunities he gives his horses, the more money his clients are likely to earn.
McPeek dipped into his bag of songs on Saturday as he walked in Classic Road (Giant’s Causeway) in the Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational, a decision that led to a Class I victory in a $1 million race.
The foal has shown a lot of promise in his career and was one of the top contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby after winning the GII Tampa Bay Derby. Then, coached by Brian Lynch, the Classic Causeway played to the top and finished 11th in the GI Florida Derby and 11th in the GI Kentucky Derby. The owners moved after the Kentucky Derby and passed the horse over to McPeek. In his first stint for McPeek, he finished third in the GIII Ohio Derby, a sign that he could be on the way.
That may have left him with some major hardships to come for 3-year-olds. Instead, McPeek aimed for the Belmont Derby. Never mind that Classic Causeway will have to return in two weeks or he has never run on grass. It was a $1 million race, and McPeek decided to take a shot, something few other trainers can do with this horse.
It is not a pity that Classic Causeway is the one to receive a lucky break. Emmanuel (More than ready) is not only a top contender in the race, but also has obvious speed. But he has been scratched by managers for reasons that are still unclear. The New York Game Commission tweeted the following: “Commissioner has ordered treatment of Emmanuel’s scratch, scheduled for today’s Belmont Derby, due to issues related to veterinary records . The issue is still under review. “
For Emmanuel, the Classic Causeway is the only speed in the race. Jockey Julien Leparoux captured that and made a smooth ride. The Classic Causeway led the way after half a mile was run in: 48 and from there, they couldn’t catch him.
McPeek’s aggressive horse tackles were also on display at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where he put on a good show Saturday. He won the Mari Hulman George S. $100,000 with Semble Juste (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire}), who will return in nine days after winning a pension at Churchill. In GIII Indiana Oaks, he runs Runaway Wife (Gunman) laid off eight days and Silverleaf (Speightster) laid off nine days. Runaway Wife is second and Silverleaf is third. McPeek also runs Rattle N Roll (Link) in the GIII Indiana Derby, just a week after he won the American Derby. He’s seventh.
On Saturday, McPeek also won GIII Iowa Oaks with Butterbean (Klimt). She’ll be back in 28 days, which is a long layoff by McPeek’s standards.
The only horse he’s run all day with more than four weeks off is Tiz The Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), who is starting his first since the May Kentucky Derby in the Belmont Derby. He finished ninth.
On that day, McPeek ran in five different races, all of which were shares. He wins two and has two others, both fillings, ending in money and choosing the black one. In that group, everyone was back running in 28 days or less. That doesn’t happen anymore.
Belmont record meeting for Chad Brown
Chad Brown winning the coaching title at the NYRA tracks isn’t big news anymore, but what Brown achieved at the Belmont meeting that ended this past Sunday is history.
With 153 starts, he won 47 races, setting a new record for most wins by a coach at the Belmont spring-summer meeting. The old record was 44, set by David Jacobson in 2013. But Jacobson compiled those numbers over the course of a year that the meeting took place over 56 days. This year’s meeting lasted 44 days.
Twelve of Brown’s winners came in tiered bet races and four were in Class I. He won 14 stakes in total. He won 27 grass races and 20 dirt races. But his win rate on the pitch is 26%, while he wins with 41% of bad starts.
Many smaller schools
They could only find five horses to run in GII Suburban S. Saturday in Belmont – a race won by Easy Goer, Dr. Fager, Forego, Buckpasser, Kelso, Bold Ruler – and one from home warehouse of the racing secretary’s best friend, Uriah St. Lewis. Winner, Move one (Union Rags), have never won the classified bet before.
Between the GI Metropolitan H. June 11 and the GI Woodward S., which will likely be running this year on October 1, the NYRA will offer five classified shares for men on land. (The other two are the GI Whitney S. and the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup.) Please don’t try to tell me this is not the problem.
Juan Vazquez and the Pennsylvania Racing Commission
For years, the Pennsylvania Racing Commission appeared to be a do-it-yourself organization run by bureaucrats who had better things to do than actual police. But it seems that has changed.
Juan Vazquez, who has a long and troubled history of breaking the rules, transported a horse in January from Belmont to Parx. Horse, Light Color (Payer), in such a bad condition that she had to die from what her manager said was a severe case of meningitis. Vazquez is suspended for 2 and a half years Fridayand managers called his actions “totally negligent, cruel and abusive.”
This isn’t your typical slap on the wrist, but a punishment befitting the crime. Apparently, the racing committee had enough of a way for Vazquez to flout the rules and it delivered a hammer blow to a coach who should have been dropped from the game years ago.
He is eligible to return on January 26, 2025. Will someone – a race committee, a track? – let him race at that time? It is hoped that the sport can show enough strength that Vazquez will never participate again. Just don’t trust it.
