Saturday’s Pennsylvania Derby day card was the biggest day of the racing year at Parx Racing, featuring a pair of Grade 1 races for sophomores and several other graded events. It was also not without controversy; more on that in a moment.

The biggest races – the Pennsylvania Derby for three-year-olds and the Cotillion for sophomore fillies – both proved representative of those divisions. The boys have taken turns beating each other all year, and it happened again, as Seize the Grey parlayed an unexpectedly easy lead into a 3 ¾-length victory at 4-1 odds.

As for the Cotillion, Thorpedo Anna has dominated her rivals all season, and while she certainly had to work for this one, she lived up to her 1-9 odds.

Here’s what it looked like:

COAST TO COASTAL

Coastal Mission has dominated West Virginia-bred company the last couple of years, and in Saturday’s $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile, he found his biggest win outside of it.

Trainer by Jeff Runco for his and wife Susan’s Coleswood Farm operation, Coastal Mission had been second in two graded stakes this year and most recently was fourth in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic.

Saturday under Arnaldo Bocachica, Coastal Mission rallied from fifth to prevail by a hard-fought half-length over Repo Rocks. Sent off as the 7-5 favorite, Coastal Mission paid $4.80 to win and now is within shouting distance of $1 million in career earnings.

You can see in the top photo how Bocachica, the longtime leading rider at Charles Town, got down to urge his mount to the wire. In the bottom, a tired-looking rider shows his horse a little love for a job well done.

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

Crisper (#7) and Fierce and Strong engaged in a spirited battle, with Crisper and Julio Hernandez getting the better of their rival to win the grassy Alphabet Soup Handicap for PA-breds.

Crisper is trained by Tim Woolley for Ascoli Piceno Stables LLC and earned his third straight win.

Now the bad news: Freedom Eagle stopped and was vanned off and reportedly subsequently euthanized. Parx officials, who weeks earlier had closed the turf course for safety reasons, moved the day’s remaining grass races to the dirt.

“These tracks need to do better,” Woolley posted on the app formerly known as Twitter.

FIGHTING FINISH

Bentornato was the even-money favorite. Sunny Breeze was an overlooked 17-1 outsider. But they combined for one of the day’s best battles in the Grade 2 Gallant Bob, a six-furlong sprint for three-year-olds.

Bentornato, trained by Jose D’Angelo for Leon King Stable Corp., was ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. Jaime Rodrgiuez was aboard Sunny Breeze for trainer Ned Allard and owner Stonehedge LLC. The two runners hooked up early and ran one-two all the way around the track.

The margins at the official points of call were: head, head, head, and at the finish, neck. Sunny Breeze was in first in the first three of those, but at the wire, it was Bentornato who got the money.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NEXT?

Six-year-old Next, a Not This Time gelding, has become the category killer of the marathon division.

Trained by William Cowans for Michael Foster, Next has obliterated his rivals with the greatest of ease, and Saturday’s Grade 3 Greenwood Cup was no exception.

Under jockey Luan Machado, Next cruised home the easiest of winners in the 1 1/2-mile test. Off at 1-20, Next won by 10 lengths. It was his seventh consecutive victory and second in this event.

What’s next for Next? There’s no Breeders’ Cup Marathon anymore, so if his connections want a Breeders’ Cup event, it’s either the Classic or the Turf.

BELLE OF THE BALL

Three-year-old Thorpedo Anna has for the most part dominated her division this year.

Indeed, the only blemish on her 2024 resume — and you really can’t even call it a blemish — is a runner-up finish versus the boys in the Grade 1 Travers. She ran a closing second that day behind Fierceness.

But in Saturday’s Cotillion, she had to work for it. Under jockey Brian Hernandez, Thorpedo Anna saved ground, came between rivals at the head of the lane, and looked a sure thing when she put her head in front.

But just when it seemed she was home and dry, Gun Song, winner of the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan earlier this year, battled back on the inside. The official margin was a neck.

Thorpedo Anna is trained by Kenny McPeek for Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks, and Magdalena Racing. The win gave her more than $2.8 million in career earnings.

SHADES OF GREY

On paper Saturday’s Pennsylvania Derby seemed to have several horses who figured to be part of the early running, suggesting a fast, contentious pace that might benefit tactical runners or even closers.

Nope.

Jockey Jaime Torres once again seized the initiative aboard Seize the Grey, doled out surprisingly tepid fractions — 49.25 seconds for a half-mile, 1:13.81 for six furlongs — and drew away to a dominant 3 3/4-length victory over Stronghold.

Seize the Grey is trained by D. Wayne Lukas for MyRacehorse.

Seize the Grey’s victory injected yet more confusion into the chaotic three-year-old scene. He now has two Grade 1 wins, one being a classic: the Preakness. Dornoch has the same: the Belmont and Haskell. Fierceness has two Grade 1 wins, including, most recently, the Travers (over Thorpedo Anna) but was a dismal 15th in the Kentucky Derby. And Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan has no other Grade 1 wins.

So who’s 3yo of the year? Let’s see what the Breeders’ Cup tells us.

Text by Frank Vespe.

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