John Velazquez rides 1,000th winner at Saratoga

Associated PressAug 26, 2022, 10:13 AM EDT

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — John Velazquez, already the leading career rider at Saratoga, had his 1,000th winner at the historic track.

The 50-year-old Hall of Fame jockey won the eighth race by a neck aboard Precursory, who paid $14 to win. The filly is trained by fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott.

“It’s a special number, no matter what,” said Velazquez, who first came to Saratoga from his native Puerto Rico at age 18.

Back then, Velazquez traveled with Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. on a flight upstate.

“On the ride here he told me everything about Saratoga and how special it is,” Velazquez said. “The first year I won maybe three races, the second year maybe two races. I was furious, this was not a special place for me. In 1992, I was almost going back home but with the help of a new agent, it got me started again and it went on the right way with steady business.”

Some of Velazquez’s biggest career moments have occurred at Saratoga.

His 64 victories at the 2004 summer meet was a record at the time. On Sept. 9, 2001, he won six races in one day to set a record. On July 27, 2013, he won his 694th race to become the track’s winningest jockey.

Mott recalled that Velazquez clinched the first of his five Saratoga riding titles in 1998 on a horse he trained called Clever Actor on the last day of the meet.

“When they come down to a photo finish, if you’re betting, you might want to put your money on him,” Mott said. “He’s been very tough when it comes down to the wire.”

Forte works out, waits for Belmont Stakes clearance

Associated PressMay 27, 2023, 3:14 PM EDT

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NEW YORK — Forte, the early Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched on the day of the race, worked out in preparation for a possible start in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Forte worked five-eighths of a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. It was the colt’s second workout since being scratched from the Derby on May 6.

“It seems like he’s maintained his fitness level,” Pletcher said. “It seems like everything is in good order.”

Forte was placed on a mandatory 14-day veterinary list after being scratched from the Derby because of a bruised right front foot. In order to be removed from the list, the colt had to work in front of a state veterinarian and give a blood sample afterward, the results of which take five days.

“There’s protocols in place and we had to adhere to those and we’re happy that everything went smoothly,” Pletcher said. “We felt confident the horse was in good order or we wouldn’t have been out there twice in the last six days, but you still want to make sure everything went smoothly and we’re happy everything did go well.”

Pletcher said Kingsbarns, who finished 14th in the Kentucky Derby, will miss the Belmont. The colt is showing signs of colic, although he is fine, the trainer said.

Another Pletcher-trained horse, Prove Worthy, is under consideration for the Belmont. He also has Tapit Trice, who finished seventh in the Derby, being pointed toward the Belmont.

Judge grants Churchill Downs’ request for summary judgment to dismiss Bob Baffert’s lawsuit

Associated PressMay 25, 2023, 9:36 PM EDT

Abbey Cutrer/USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Churchill Downs Inc. suspended Baffert in June 2021 after his now-deceased colt, Medina Spirit, failed a postrace drug test after crossing the finish line first in the 147th Kentucky Derby. The trainer’s request to lift the discipline was denied in February, keeping him out of the Derby for a second consecutive May.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled in a 12-page opinion issued Wednesday that Churchill Downs’ suspension of Baffert did not devalue his Kentucky trainer’s license. It cited his purse winnings exceeding $1 million at Keeneland in Lexington and stated that his argument “amounts to a false analogy that distorts caselaw.”

Jennings denied CDI’s motion to stay discovery as moot.

The decision comes less than a week after Baffert-trained colt National Treasure won the Preakness in his first Triple Crown race in two years. His record eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown came hours after another of his horses, Havnameltdown, was euthanized following an injury at Pimlico.

Churchill Downs said in a statement that it was pleased with the court’s favorable ruling as in Baffert’s other cases.

It added, “While he may choose to file baseless appeals, this completes the seemingly endless, arduous and unnecessary litigation proceedings instigated by Mr. Baffert.”

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.