Laurel Park Racing Notebook, Vol. 4
Waterhaven (#6) won but was disqualified at Laurel on June 11. Photo by The Racing Biz.
by Frank Vespe
Our new Laurel Park racing notebook gives you the scoop on the weekend’s racing, even if you couldn’t make it out. Horses to watch, headlines from the weekend, leading jocks and trainers — it’s all here.
Check it out below.
HORSES TO WATCH
- TRUE CAT — Was probably best in a maiden claiming event but ran into all sorts of trouble, steadying inside on the turn and then checking sharply in mid-stretch before finding a seam and running into second, beaten less than a length.
- SEGOVIA — Battled willingly but couldn’t quite catch a loose-on-the-lead runner who’d set a slow pace, but this one was a clear second.
- BLACK PRONG — Longshot was all kinds of green in his debut, bearing in at the start and then running sideways in mid-stretch — but for all that was beaten just a length by a 7-10 favorite for all the money.
- BELLE ‘N TONIC — Debut runner rallied nicely at long odds in her debut, chopping more than three lengths off her deficit while out wide in the last eighth of a mile to be third behind Proportionality.
- ROBEY’S BOY — Narrowly prevailed at monster odds while his rider, apparently misjudging the finish, petted the horse’s mane.
HEADLINES
- Proportionality squares up first-out win
- Trainer Trombetta wins three to lead weekend
- Jockeys Boyce, Karamanos pace Laurel colony with three wins each
- Two Charley’s rallies past Parade of Nations to win second-level allowance
Forest Boyce and Horacio Karamanos led the colony with three wins apiece during last weekend’s action, though Boyce, who had only 10 mounts, enjoyed the most productive weekend. Her mounts finished in the money 60 percent of the time, and she posted more than $5,000 in earnings per start.
Victor Carrasco leads the colony with 16 wins overall, one more than Jevian Toledo and two clear of Sheldon Russell. Toledo, though has a much higher return on wagering investment — 67 percent — driven by his impressive 7-for-36 ledger on horses who go off at 8-1 or longer. Toledo also leads the colony with five wins on the turf.
Karamanos, who has 13 wins to date at Laurel, has steered seven betting favorites to victory in 18 tries; that’s the most favored winners in the colony.
JOCKEYS AND TRAINERS
[table id=169 /]Mike Trombetta led the trainer ranks with three wins this past weekend, one more than five others who won two each. Claudio Gonzalez, Hamilton Smith, and Kieron Magee all made nine starts, with Gonzalez and Smith winning twice each and Magee scoring once.
Magee retains the overall lead with 10 wins. That’s two more than Trombetta and Gonzalez, who have eight each. Trombetta’s runners have earned over $256,000, well clear of Magee in second. Eighteen trainers have won at least three times during the meet.
Perhaps the oddball statistic of the week: trainer Rodney Jenkins is three-for-three at the meet with favorites — and 0-for-seven with all other runners.
