Saturday’s Parx Racing card was Pennsylvania’s biggest of the year, featuring two Grade 1 races in the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion, plus three other graded stakes and a smattering of additional stakes.

It also, unfortunately, featured rain and plenty of it, rain which forced the second of the day’s two turf races onto the main track, though the first one went off as planned on the grass. There were plenty of short-priced winners, making a lot of people happy, but there were also some bombs to spice things up. Herewith, some notes on the Pennsylvania Derby card:

• After two consecutive near-misses in which he led most of the way but couldn’t seal the deal, Saudi Crown managed to get it done in the Derby, leading throughout and holding off the late bid of 7-1 Dreamlike to win by a half-length. It was the first stakes win for the Brad Cox trainee and, with a $1 million purse, a good spot for it…
• The Grade 1 Cotillion, for three-year-old fillies, was run in remarkably similar fashion, with Ceiling Crusher controlling the pace, opening a clear lead, and then holding off the late bids, most prominently from favored Pretty Mischievous, who seemed to labor over the sloppy surface until getting her footing for one final bid. The Doug O’Neill-trained Ceiling Crusher is now 6-for-7 in her career…

• Didn’t much care for Damon’s Mound in the G3 Gallant Bob, but that proved to be a mistake. The Michelle Lovell trainee had gone very fast early and then very slow late  in winning the Robert Hilton Memorial last out at Charles Town; he benefited when the closers didn’t close despite a final three furlongs that took 40 seconds. In the Gallant Bob, he and jockey Junior Alvarado took over after a half-mile and went on to win nicely by 1 ¼ lengths. He’s made his last three starts on off tracks, winning two…
• Things have certainly gone sideways for Ryvit since his early July win in a minor stake at Ellis Park. That was his fifth straight win, a streak that included a Grade 3 triumph in the Chick Lang at Pimlico. Since then, the Steve Asmussen trainee is 0-for-3, finishing a well-beaten fifth each time…
• Gunite was one of the day’s most obvious favorites, a horse who towered over his five rivals in the Parx Dirt Mile on class. His $2 million-plus in earnings were more than all his rivals combined, and his recent form, including a last out win in the Grade 1 Forego, was sterling. So no surprise the bettors made him 3-10, tied with Next as the day’s shortest-priced favorite. The only problem: he didn’t win. Instead, PA-bred local stalwart Nimitz Class, with Paco Lopez up, took over in the final furlong to win by almost two lengths. The defeat probably puts a damper on the idea of running Gunite around two turns again in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile…
• As for Next, the day’s other 3-10 favorite, well, he won like one, taking the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup by an astonishing 25 lengths and earning a gaudy 104 Beyer speed figure. It was also his third straight win, a streak that kicked off in the Grade 2 Brooklyn…
• Nobody Listens had mostly been a dirt horse in his career prior to Saturday, the Grade 3 Turf Monster being just his seventh start (from 26 overall outings) on the lawn. No matter. While in the Parx Dash in August he stalked the pace before powering to victory, on Saturday he led throughout en route to a three-length victory under Tyler Gaffalione. The filly Roses for Debra, off as the favorite, was an even third. Unfortunately, Nobody Listens was killed in a van accident the next day…
• Total handle on the day was more than $17 million, a healthy sum though down from over $19 million the prior year; several Mid-Atlantic tracks canceled their cards, which made Parx pretty much the only game in town but also robbed it of many potential customers.
• The day closed with 65-1 Boss Like Beth winning the nightcap, triggering a winning payoff of more than $83,000 in the jackpot Pick 5 (which was forced out)…

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