Off to the Races with Nick Costa
Photo credits: Nick Costa except Prince Of Wales finish, Contreras with the POW trophy, My Natalie and "Closer look at the Hat" which are all attributed to Michael Burns photgraphy
Hi everyone, the Canadian Triple Crown concludes today at Woodbine with the Breeders Stakes. The one and one-half mile marathon will be contested on the E.P. Taylor turf course. Will this year's Canadian version mirror that of the American run Triple Crown? That is, with three separate winners of each race. Animal Kingdom, Shackleford and Ruler On Ice took the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in that order, While on Canada's side of the border, Inglorious and Pender Harbour have won the Queen's Plate and Prince Of Wales respectively. Since there will no equine Triple Crown winner, all eyes will be on jockey Luis Contreras to see if the 25 year old native of Mexico City can humanly win the three race series. Contreras rode Inglorious and Pender Harbour and has the call once again aboard the Prince Of Wales winner. Should he win the Breeders' Stakes, Contreras would become the first jockey in the Triple Crown era (since 1959) to win all three jewels with two horses. Check out my analysis of the race at www.triplecrownchase.blogspot.com
A REAL JIM DANDY:
In the early morning hours on Saturday, July 30th, Lori and I headed east on Interstate 90. Not on horseback, but by courtesy of my Jeep Cherokee. Our destination?....Saratoga Race Course. This was going to be Lori's first visit to the illustrious historic track. For me, my first and only golden opportunity occurred back in 2003. I certainly never imagined it would take me eight very long years to return, but due to various reasons and circumstances, some legit, some not, it has. But that was then and this is now. We were en route to the "SPA" as Saratoga is affectionately known as, and that is all that mattered. The journey was smooth and the GPS system navigated us with pinpoint accuracy, arriving just before 11 a.m. From the moment the Jeep turned onto Broadway in downtown Saratoga, we were fully aware that we were getting close to the racetrack, as pedestrian and vehicular traffic were all headed in one direction. I quickly found a parking spot in one of the many side lots and asked the attendant if he could accommodate my request for a place in the shade on this hot sunny day. He obliged and I gave him some extra cash. I then began my checklist, pen, camera, cell phone, Sharpie marker (for autographs), keys and finally, my wallet. Once all those items were on my person, I locked the Jeep and Lori and I made our walk to the main entrance. The weather was absolutely spectacular, it was truly a glorious day for racing. Two feature races were being showcased, the G1 Diana and the G2 Jim Dandy Stakes. I knew that win, lose, we were in for, well.... a jim-dandy of a day. After paying the admission, we entered the oldest active sporting venue in the United States. Every racing day something great can happen here....and it does. Racing's best have arrived. Best jockeys, best trainers and best horses. And now on this day, so too have the both of us. 
Eight years had passed, so I needed to get reacquainted. There was nearly two hours before the first race, so we decided to walk around and admire the multitude of sights and sounds. Our two hour window flew by, but in that time frame we enjoyed listening to the local musicians playing at various locales on the grounds, visited many local artists tents and carefully eyed their beautiful artworks of the many champions that have raced at the Spa. I spotted Hall-Of-Fame trainer D.Wayne Lukas walking amongst the crowd and stopped him long enough to get him to sign my program. See, the Sharpie marker came in handy. I easily managed to locate two necessities: the paddock and walking ring. Lori and I engaged in conversation with several friendly people, many of them out-of-towners like ourselves, but many of them local Saratogians. It's eat, sleep, drink and talk thoroughbred racing while the meet is going on. Hey, hey, I'll drink to that!! Throughout the afternoon, I watched the races from different vantage points which took us from one end of the grandstand to the other. Neither Lori or I was having any success betting. When we bet to win, the horse finished second. When we bet the exacta, the horses would run second and third. We had two out of three in the trifectas and three out of four in the superfectas. That theme continued until the Diana Stakes, when my eventual exacta bet on ZAGORA & ARUNA ran one-two as expected. Alright, I was going to the window to CASH a ticket. Although the exacta returned a pleasant surprise of $50, I was still on the minus side for the day, but damn it felt good to get some money back. 
The winning continued into the next race when I placed a nice win wager on STAY THIRSTY, who then proceeded to stamp himself a legitimate Travers contender by winning the Jim Dandy Stakes comfortably. Another trip to the cashiers window. There was one more race remaining on the eleven race card, but with most of my money now safely back into my wallet, I decided to halt my betting and go out on a personal winning note. Before leaving, I grabbed Lori's hand and we zipped down to the walkway that takes the jockeys back from the track to the jock's room and waited. Yes, the jockeys walk right through the crowd, but are escorted by security. The men and women who protect the riders don't deter fans from stopping their favorite jocks and asking for autographs and requests to have a picture with them taken. It's allowed and the riders are used to it. They accommodate fans young and old race after race. It is another one of the many long lasting traditions at Saratoga. This old fan waited for his favorite, Ramon Dominquez. Once again, my Sharpie marker was put to use as Ramon signed a copy of a Blood horse magazine that he was on the front cover of that I had brought along with the hopes I could get him to autograph it. Mission accomplished. Lastly, I couldn't let the opportunity slip away, with Lori holding my camera, I asked Ramon to stand with me for a picture, he graciously did. So, let me tally up the day at Saratoga. Eleven top level races, most of my money back, two autographs: one from a Hall-Of-Famer, one from a future Hall-Of-famer, one priceless picture, great weather, great fun and great fans.....just as I predicted, a Jim Dandy of a day.
SARATOGA, an enduring destination in American racing and a picture perfect racetrack. It is a timeless summer tradition that continues year after year. As I made my exit through the very same gate that I entered through, I couldn't say with any certainty that I would or could come back next year. However, one thing is certain, it won't take me another eight years to return.
STAY THIRSTY MY FRIEND:
The $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes is the major local prep for the Travers to be run August 27th. A field of 7 three-year-olds contested this 1 1/8 mile main track test, with Dominus sent off as the 9-5 favorite off his win in the Dwyer at Belmont. In to challenge him included 5-2 second choice Stay Thirsty, a close second in the Belmont Stakes last out, and 7-2 third choice Alternation, off a victory in the Peter Pan. Jockey Robby Albarado sent 18-1 Will's Wildcat to the lead first time past the stands and set early fractions of 24:0 and 47:3/5 over the fast track while being stalked by Dominus a length behind. Down the backstretch, Dominus took over the lead getting 3/4 in 1:11:1/5, but on the turn, Stay Thirsty, 4th early, came out for room and took over the lead at the 3/16 pole getting the mile in 1:35:4/5. 37-1 longest shot Moonshine Mullin put in a strong late move through the lane but Stay Thirsty with Javier Castellano were long gone, cruising under the line 4 lengths in front in 1:48:3/5. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to favorite Dominus in third. Castellano swept both graded stakes on Saturday at Saratoga, winning the Diana Stakes with Zagora one race earlier.
PERSONAL FORT ERIE TRACK BIAS OBSERVATION: July 24th-August 2nd
July 24th--No Bias
July 25th--Outside paths had the best footing
July 26th--No Bias
July 31st--Track played heavily in favor of speed first half of the card
August 1st--Most main track winners raced near or on the rail. Deep closers won both turf races
August 2nd--No Bias. Both turf races won by deep closers
LEADER BOARD:
After three full months of racing at Fort Erie, there is absolutely no clear-cut leader in the jockey and trainer races. The top three riders are separated by a mere 3 total wins. It's even tighter for current top training honors with the top five conditioners only 4 wins apart. There is a lot of talent on both sides of the ledger, so expect each race to remain competitive and extremely tight right through the summer, fall and right to the end of the season .
JOCKEYS--Wins
-Chris Griffith 34
-Krista Carignan 32
-Kirk Johnson 31
-Real Simard 25
-Martin Ramirez 20
TRAINERS--Wins
-Ross Armata 13
-John Simms 11
-Layne Giliforte 11
-Sam DiPasquale 10
-Martin Drexler 9
