Mid-Atlantic Three Stars: November 17
![street lute6071 Street Lute](https://www.theracingbiz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/street-lute6071.jpg)
Street Lute won the Smart Halo Stakes. Photo by Jerry Dzierwinski.
Plenty of racing action took place throughout the Mid-Atlantic this past week.
Here’s a look at the “three stars” of each track:
LAUREL PARK
- FIRST STARS: STREET LUTE AND NO CENTS. On Saturday, Laurel hosted a pair of stakes for 2-year-olds. The Smart Halo, for fillies, went to Street Lute, who saved ground and drew off to win by 2 3/4 lengths. In the James Lewis, for the boys, the Jersey-bred No Cents got a fantastic ride from Trevor McCarthy and won by 1 1/4 lengths. Read more about their wins here and here.
- SECOND STAR: MALIBU MISCHIEF. It’s one thing to win six races in a row, it’s another to win them all in gate-to-wire fashion. That’s what Malibu Mischief accomplished on Sunday afternoon. She easily cleared to the front from the outside post in the n/w3x allowance optional claiming affair, then drew off under minimal urging and won by five lengths. She covered the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.48, narrowly missing the track record. Rudy Rodriguez is the winning owner and trainer.
- THIRD STAR: KIERON MAGEE. A mainstay on the Maryland circuit, Magee achieved a milestone on Friday, with his 800th career training win. Odds On held on to win race 4 by a neck, with Roimes Chirinos in the saddle. Magee was the leading trainer in Maryland from 2014 to 2016. Right now, he’s tied for ninth place in the trainer standings at Laurel, with five wins on the fall meet.
CHARLES TOWN RACES
- Racing at Charles Town was been suspended through November 14, after two positive COVID-19 tests in the jockey’s room. They will resume on November 19.
PARX RACING
- FIRST STAR: RUBEN SILVERA. He went on a riding tear last week, winning eight races. He pulled off riding hat tricks on back-to-back days, winning three races apiece on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon saw him win two more races. Silvera has moved into second place in the jockey standings, with 89 wins.
- SECOND STAR: JAMIE NESS. Parx’s top trainer turned a hat trick on Tuesday, as part of a six-win week. He won the fifth race with Freedom Passage, with jockey Frankie Pennington, then teamed up with Silvera to win race 7 with Misdriven and race 8 with I’m Busy. Ness came close to winning four in a row, as his Starinthemaking finished second in the sixth race. Ness’s 88 wins on the year are exactly twice was many as the total of runner-up Joseph Taylor.
- THIRD STAR: MYCHEL SANCHEZ. The top jockey at Parx, he not only got a hat trick on Wednesday’s card, he got a natural hat trick. He teamed up with trainer Felix Flores-Cobra on two of those wins, scoring with Dream’n Demon in race 2 and Jupi’s Lightning in the fourth race. In between, he won on Abdaa, for trainer Michael Pino, in race 3. Sanchez’s 116 wins are the most among Parx jockeys.
LATEST RACING NEWS
Style Points, Deep Satin dead heat for Virginia Oaks win
Style Points and Deep Satin hooked up in an absolute thriller in Saturday’s Virginia Oaks that resulted in a dead heat.
Siesta Key takes Kitten’s Joy thriller
Two-year-old Siesta Key found a seam and narrowly won the Kitten’s Joy Stakes Saturday at Colonial Downs in his first try on turf.
Four Virginia Derby day questions
Big fields and good betting opportunities abound on Virginia Derby day at Colonial Downs. Here are four questions (and some price plays).
Road to Kentucky Derby, Oaks to go through New Kent
The road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks will make stops in New Kent in 2025, when the Virginia Derby and Oaks become points races.
Big fields abound on Virginia Derby undercard
Four stakes supporting the Virginia Derby and Oaks average nearly 11 runners entered, with three topping that number.
Familiar names in Virginia Oaks
Selima winner Brocknardini, Black-Eyed Susan show horse Call Another Play, and a pair from Delaware’s Christiana Stakes face off in the Virginia Oaks.