Saratoga and Del Mar Summer Meet Review
by Patricia Woo | Sep 13 2010
Summer is over and so are the summer racing seasons at
Saratoga and
Del Mar. Here are a few highlights from this year's meets.
On July 23, Saratoga welcomed the horse racing world to its 142nd summer racing meet that would run until Sept. 6. Among the standout races was the $750,000 Gr. 1 Whitney Handicap for 3-year-olds and up that took place on Aug. 7. Top older males Blame and Quality Road went head-to-head in a thrilling edition of the 1 1/8 mile race. Quality Road seemed to have the race sewn up down the stretch but Blame, who had won his four previous races, managed to run down the son of Elusive Quality in the final strides for a narrow head victory.
Both are pointed toward the
Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs, but they will take separate paths there. Todd Pletcher's Quality Road bounced back with a solid victory in the $750,000 Gr. 1 Woodward Stakes, also at Saratoga, on Sept. 4. On the other hand, Albert Stall Jr.'s Blame will use the
$750,000 Gr. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 2 as a springboard to the Breeders' Cup.
The $1M Gr. 1 Travers Stakes was another highlight of the Saratoga summer meet, a race that pitted some of the most talented 3-year-olds in the country against each other:
Kentucky Derby champion Super Saver,
Preakness Stakes runner-up Ice Box and
Belmont Stakes runner-up First Dude. But it was breakout star Afleet Express, trained by Jimmy Jerkens, who managed to get a nose in front of the hard-charging Fly Down to claim victory.
Jockeys John Velazquez and Javier Castellano enjoyed professional success at Saratoga as well. Velazquez finished the meet with 57 wins, while Castellano finished with 54; Castellano won five straight races on July 25, which set a new course record.
Del Mar's summer racing season spanned July 21 - Sept. 8 and boasted its own highly anticipated lineup of races. One of those was the $300,000 Gr. 1 Clement Hirsch Handicap on July 29, featuring career undefeated mare Zenyatta going for her 18th straight victory. The 6-year-old mare, trained by John Shirreffs, did not disappoint, utilizing her powerful closing kick to cement the win over an overmatched field.
Del Mar's feature race was the $1M Gr. 1 Pacific Classic, a 1 ¼ mile test held this year on Aug. 28. Defending champion Richard's Kid pulled out another victory with an exciting last-to-first move despite a lackluster season, defeating a tough field that included The Usual Q.T.
For the jockeys, it was Joel Rosario narrowly edging out Rafael Bejarano for most wins at the meet, 57 to 56, a title that was decided in exciting fashion in the final race of the meet.
The 2010 summer racing seasons at Saratoga and Del Mar is now a wrap. But you can still bet on horse racing at the Bodog Racebook!
