Delaware Park Racing Notebook 2018: Vol. 16
Elate won the G2 Delaware Handicap. Photo by Allison Janezic.
by Doug McCoy
Every week during the Delaware Park racing season, The Racing Biz will publish The Delaware Park Racing Notebook. This page is designed to give helpful information to both horseplayers and horsemen about the racing picture at Delaware Park from the past week.
In the notebook, you’ll find:
- “Horses to watch” section highlighting both horses who have shown promise those who may have had poor “trips” in their last starts.
- “Clocker’s Corner” where track clockers will point out horses who have worked in noteworthy fashion during the past week.
- Track tendencies or biases during the week’s races. While it would be great if every race track was completely fair and even and an equal number of speed horses, stalkers, and closers won each day, observant handicappers know this just isn’t the case. Every track’s tendencies and biases (favored styles) change and vary, often from one racing program to the next due to any number of factors, most notably weather. While these changes are often minor, there are also days where a certain type of horse (like a speed horse) has a decided advantage, and there also days where one portion of the racing strip is a better spot to race over (like the inside) than another.
- Leading trainers and jocks and who’s been hot during the last week.
HORSES TO WATCH
- TERPEYE – Made a good middle move to upper stretch behind a wire-to-wire winner then steadied late when a tiring horse drifted out in front of him. If this one catches a field with some speed in it and a fair strip, he could be dangerous next out.
- WARRIOR LAKE – Rushed to the lead after his rider fell back a bit at the start but early troubles didn’t stop him from pulling away through the lane to win an off-the-turf five-furlong sprint in :57.59. Could well handle a jump in class off that strong race.
- WISHFUL QUALITY – This Exclusive Quality filly gave trainer Kathleeen O’Connell her 2,000th career win with a game wire-to-wire performance from the tough rail post. She ripped through six furlongs in 1:10.44 while outgaming the 1-2 favorite through the lane. Could have a future.
- TRAPPED N MY MIND – Chased Wishful Quality’s winning effort in her debut but lacked a strong late kick. This Trappe Shot filly could be sitting on a big race next start off that solid career debut.
CLOCKERS’ CORNER
- WOWZA MAN – This unraced 2-year-old Arch colt posted a strong five-furlong move from the gate in 1:02.00 on 09/11 and looks to be close to making his debut.
- TBTWELVE – Another unraced juvenile, this one continues to impress in the morning and turned in a five-furlong drill from the gate with a 1:01.60 clocking on the same day as Wowza Man. Hasn’t done much wrong in the A.M.
- TRADFEST – Heather Hollahan runner didn’t fare well in his last at Parx Racing back in December, but his quick :47.20 move on 09/12 indicates an he may be nearing a return to action.
- STAKES ON A PLANE – This 3-year-old filly has been knocking heads with top stakes-level competition for most of this year, and her 1:00.60 move on 09/13 for Jeff Talley indicates she’s still training forwardly. Look out if he finds a bit softer spot for her soon.
JOCKEYS AND TRAINERS
Leading rider and defending champion Carol Cedeno was blistering hot last week, winning with seven of the 17 mounts she accepted for a 41 percent win rate. Cedeno continues to dominate the local jockey standings with 78 wins for the meeting. Angel Suarez also continues to ride in good form, booting home three winners from 18 mounts, and is easily second best in the standings with 55 victories for the current stand.
Jose Angel Garcia is very quietly having a solid meeting, and he, along with five other riders, each won a pair of races last week. Garcia’s two winners raised his win total for the meeting to 24. Keiber Coa, Jose C. Ferrer, Dexter Haddock and Anthony Nunez each won two races.
Cedeno and Ferrer, along with Daniel Centeno, constitute a ruling triumvirate in our jockey rankings (at right), which combine wins, win percentage, earnings per start, and $2 wagering return on investment into a single metric. The three are virtually deadlocked, with Ferrer, who is 11-for-26 at the meet (42 percent), with a narrow advantage (277.46 points versus 277.40 for Cedeno and 277.13 for Centeno). Feargal Lynch and Angel Suarez round out the top five.
RANK | JOCKEY | TOTAL POINTS | WINS | WIN PCT. | EARNINGS/START | $2 ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrer Jose C | 277.46 | 11 | 42.31% | $5,593.65 | $2.12 |
| 2 | Cedeno Carol | 277.40 | 78 | 24.53% | $4,030.66 | $1.57 |
| 3 | Centeno Daniel | 277.13 | 23 | 29.49% | $6,911.79 | $2.06 |
| 4 | Lynch Feargal | 250.95 | 12 | 25.53% | $7,687.60 | $1.76 |
| 5 | Suarez Angel | 227.20 | 55 | 20.07% | $3,133.09 | $1.60 |
| 6 | Toledo Jevian | 220.79 | 7 | 19.44% | $5,062.78 | $2.34 |
| 7 | Marin Augusto A | 206.44 | 20 | 19.61% | $3,437.25 | $2.10 |
| 8 | Torres Jomar | 202.71 | 10 | 18.87% | $6,570.04 | $1.40 |
| 9 | Rosado Johan | 201.11 | 15 | 20.27% | $3,531.15 | $2.06 |
| 10 | Pedroza Brian | 195.45 | 13 | 23.21% | $4,663.39 | $1.48 |
| 11 | Pino Mario G | 195.19 | 15 | 16.13% | $4,945.65 | $1.72 |
| 12 | Cintron Alex | 183.65 | 18 | 15.79% | $4,481.86 | $1.52 |
| 13 | Hamilton Weston | 156.82 | 8 | 16.67% | $4,033.31 | $1.28 |
| 14 | Vargas Jr Jorge A | 156.42 | 8 | 14.04% | $4,678.51 | $1.22 |
| 15 | Ortega Jomar | 154.92 | 13 | 15.29% | $2,014.65 | $1.78 |
| 16 | Garcia Jose Angel | 150.34 | 24 | 13.11% | $2,564.44 | $1.29 |
| 17 | Coa Keiber J | 149.48 | 30 | 11.58% | $2,407.14 | $1.22 |
| 18 | Mccarthy Trevor | 141.36 | 17 | 14.17% | $3,726.29 | $0.88 |
| 19 | Panell Dyn | 133.04 | 7 | 11.86% | $2,322.71 | $1.54 |
| 20 | Montanez Rosario | 132.28 | 4 | 13.79% | $2,669.31 | $1.40 |
| 21 | Acosta J D | 125.76 | 4 | 11.43% | $3,320.29 | $1.18 |
| 22 | Rose Jeremy | 125.75 | 5 | 10.00% | $3,414.64 | $1.20 |
| 23 | Paz Robert | 124.53 | 6 | 8.57% | $1,379.86 | $1.84 |
| 24 | Uske Shannon | 118.81 | 12 | 10.71% | $1,667.14 | $1.32 |
| 25 | Betancourt Jose R | 116.56 | 9 | 7.83% | $1,391.93 | $1.60 |
| 26 | Powell Ryan | 103.96 | 4 | 8.33% | $1,681.29 | $1.34 |
| 27 | Rodriguez Pablo | 82.92 | 10 | 8.62% | $1,665.65 | $0.66 |
| 28 | Lara Ezequiel | 75.08 | 3 | 4.84% | $1,353.95 | $0.99 |
| 29 | Quiles Antonio | 74.41 | 7 | 8.33% | $1,784.10 | $0.53 |
RANK | TRAINER | TOTAL POINTS | WINS | WIN PCT. | EARNINGS/START | $2 ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzalez Claudio A | 335.81 | 13 | 35.14% | $10,149 | $2.46 |
| 2 | Delacour Arnaud | 298.14 | 12 | 32.43% | $7,521 | $2.44 |
| 3 | Pecoraro Anthony | 278.78 | 19 | 31.15% | $5,696 | $1.88 |
| 4 | Ness Jamie | 262.94 | 30 | 25.00% | $4,279 | $1.32 |
| 5 | Torrez Jerenesto | 248.66 | 20 | 32.26% | $3,887 | $1.38 |
| 6 | Capuano Gary | 243.32 | 9 | 23.08% | $7,354 | $2.00 |
| 7 | Ashby Lynn A | 238.31 | 12 | 26.09% | $7,137 | $1.43 |
| 8 | Gorham Michael E | 226.80 | 14 | 20.00% | $4,264 | $2.16 |
| 9 | Motion H Graham | 220.72 | 10 | 21.28% | $6,768 | $1.60 |
| 10 | Powell Scott | 212.53 | 8 | 21.05% | $2,633 | $2.66 |
| 11 | Carrasco Jr Victor | 210.26 | 12 | 23.08% | $3,135 | $1.96 |
| 12 | Magee Kieron | 200.56 | 8 | 26.67% | $4,834 | $1.34 |
| 13 | Bennett Gerald S | 194.81 | 16 | 16.49% | $3,336 | $1.64 |
| 14 | Ritchey Timothy F | 187.60 | 7 | 24.14% | $4,663 | $1.32 |
| 15 | Capuano Dale | 183.90 | 6 | 20.69% | $4,019 | $1.74 |
| 16 | Simoff Andrew L | 180.62 | 10 | 23.81% | $3,263 | $1.26 |
| 17 | Lake Scott A | 174.84 | 18 | 16.22% | $2,393 | $1.20 |
| 18 | Wasiluk Jr Peter | 174.31 | 6 | 15.00% | $2,476 | $2.32 |
| 19 | Rubley Kelly | 166.33 | 5 | 17.86% | $4,308 | $1.50 |
| 20 | Rodriguez Jose S | 161.97 | 5 | 15.63% | $2,298 | $2.08 |
| 21 | Proctor Thomas F | 151.46 | 6 | 16.67% | $5,399 | $0.82 |
| 22 | McMahon Hugh I | 147.42 | 5 | 14.71% | $3,070 | $1.56 |
| 23 | Neilson Wallace C | 142.76 | 7 | 14.58% | $1,506 | $1.68 |
| 24 | Potts Wayne | 140.52 | 13 | 14.13% | $2,729 | $0.80 |
| 25 | Cronk Samuel F | 139.91 | 5 | 12.20% | $2,347 | $1.74 |
| 26 | Rigattieri John | 138.17 | 6 | 16.22% | $3,341 | $1.04 |
| 27 | Galvan Baltazar | 123.24 | 7 | 9.21% | $2,366 | $1.34 |
| 28 | Cruz Jesus | 122.64 | 7 | 12.50% | $2,577 | $1.02 |
| 29 | Hobson Simon | 120.58 | 6 | 11.32% | $1,825 | $1.34 |
| 30 | Raymond Robert A | 107.80 | 4 | 10.26% | $1,970 | $1.22 |
| 31 | Epley Jr Steve | 99.40 | 3 | 8.57% | $2,553 | $1.06 |
| 32 | Woodhouse Marten | 84.66 | 2 | 7.69% | $1,802 | $1.02 |
| 33 | Diaz Jorge | 84.58 | 4 | 7.84% | $1,227 | $0.98 |
| 34 | Sienkewicz William M | 82.70 | 3 | 10.71% | $1,765 | $0.66 |
| 35 | Stauffer Sr Arthur F | 79.70 | 3 | 4.48% | $1,126 | $1.22 |
| 36 | Powell Mark K | 75.88 | 5 | 7.69% | $1,193 | $0.68 |
| 37 | Gaffney Hubert | 70.27 | 3 | 6.12% | $1,373 | $0.78 |
Mike Gorham, yet another local horseman whose roots trace back to New England, won with two of the five horses he sent to the post and two others from the Gorham barn ran second. Gorham has enjoyed a productive meet to date with 14 wins from 70 starters, a solid 20 percent strike rate. His top current trainee, Angel At War, recently won a Delaware allowance, while You Know Too, who was second in the Obeah in June, won a $95,000 allowance test at Saratoga.
Scott Lake, Jose Rodriguez, Wayne Potts, Kieron Magee, Gerald Bennett, Jerenesto Torrez, Jorge Navarro and Juan Carlos Guerrero also sent out two winners last week.
Our trainer rankings (at left) show Laurel Park-based Claudio Gonzalez and Fair Hill stalwart Arnaud Delacour at the top of the tables. Though with fewer starters than many of their counterparts, both have constructed their strong rankings through a good winning percentage, solid earnings-per-start, and a positive wagering ROI. They are followed by Anthony Pecoraro, Jamie Ness, and Jerenesto Torrez. Those three are third, first, and second by wins, respectively.
TRACK BIAS REPORT
Power of Snunner won the 2017 Obeah at Delaware Park. Photo by Kathleen O’Leary.
- 09/12 – The track had some moisture in it and was lightning fast on Wednesday as the times would indicate. Speed types and close-up stalkers dominated the card, and late-running types struggled to make up ground through the lane.
- 09/13 – Thursday’s card found the track not quite as quick as on Wednesday, and three-four wide prompters and stalkers had a better chance. Speed still held on fairly well.
- 09/15 – Heavy rains in the area left the track with an abundance of standing water and riders had to search for the best footing from race to race.
- 09/17 – The track favored speed and close-up types through the first three races, and then intermittent heavy rain showers turned the surface to wet fast. Front runners continued to fare well with the exception of the seventh, when a group of late runners raced by the leader late in a blanket finish.
