Laurel Park Racing Notebook, Vol. 1
Waterhaven (#6) won but was disqualified at Laurel on June 11. Photo by The Racing Biz.
by Frank Vespe
Our new Laurel Park racing notebook gives you the scoop on the weekend’s racing, even if you couldn’t make it out. Horses to watch, headlines from the weekend, leading jocks and trainers — it’s all here.
Check it out below.
HORSES TO WATCH
- FIFTIES MUSIC – Game try in defeat, seemingly done a couple of times during lengthy speed duel, rebid to overcome speed rival but couldn’t hold off the closer, held second.
- TEMPLE SKY – Wasn’t a bad group for a $25,000 maiden claimer — two of these had placed in maiden special company — but Temple Sky was raring to go in her debut and won by almost two lengths after a good trip.
- LIMITED VIEW – Speedy two-year-old Freedom Child filly ran her six rivals into submission in a maiden special weight test going five furlongs. Under Edgar Prado, the John Salzman, Jr. trainee set a solid pace and drew away to a nearly-four-length win in 57.95 seconds — about half a second faster than two-year-old boys did it two races later.
- BROKEN BRIDLE – Got the squeeze at the start of an allowance sprint on the turf, found a bunch of traffic in the lane but closed stoutly once clear. A repeat of that effort with a clean trip would make this Gary Capuano trainee a winner next out.
- SHIMMERING ASPEN – Look for this Malibu Moon filly to visit graded stakes company again sooner than later. She dazzled in rolling to victory by a half dozen lengths in the Alma North Stakes over a field that included several stakes winners, including Grade 1 winner Yellow Agate.
- GREAT HARBOUR CAY – Ran off with his rider to a long lead through ridiculous fractions in a one-mile turf test — 22.99 seconds for the quarter, 46.72 for a half, 1:10.71 for three quarters — but held off most of the cavalry, passed only by Top Prospect, who had to navigate a mile in a blazing 1:33.99 to earn the victory.
HEADLINES
- HORACIO KARAMANOS earns 2000th career victory to kick off three-win day
- SHIMMERING ASPEN dazzles in Alma North triumph
- TRAINER NOAH ABRAMSON wins with first starter, Temple Sky
- LIMITED VIEW, CHEESE ON win at first asking in juvenile maiden events
Victor Carrasco. Photo by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.
Victor Carrasco has surged to a two-race lead in the jockey standings in the first two Laurel Park weekends, with Horacio Karamanos in second after a three-win day on Sunday, punctuated by his 2,000th career victory.
Only three of the top 10 jockeys by wins — Carrasco, Jevian Toledo, and Sheldon Russell — have been generating bettors a postive return on investment. Of those, Russell, whose average winner at Laurel Park has paid $30.20, has been by far the most profitable, paying back $3.90 for each two-dollar wager.
JOCKEYS AND TRAINERS
[table id=154 /]Among trainers, Kieron Magee has been fastest out of the gate, winning with six of his first 15 starters — a 40 percent strike rate. Of trainers with at least two wins, Phil Schoenthal, whose two wins have returned an average win payoff of $30.30, leads the group in return on investment.
In fact, Mary Eppler is the only trainer with at least two wins so far during the meet who has not generated a postive return on wagering investment.
Linda Rice, who won the Laurel winter meet while winning over 50 percent of her starts, has one win from five starts to date during the summer meet.
