Venti Valentine, winner of the Johnstone Mile at Saratoga this summer, is among the stars on the Empire Showcase Day card. NYRA Photo.
By Tom Law
The flagship Showcase Day from the world of New York breeding and racing – Empire Showcase Day – returns with its usual pizzazz Sunday.
One of the biggest days of the year for New York-breds features eight stakes on the 10-race card, run again this year at the Belmont at the Big A meeting due to ongoing construction at Belmont Park.
The team at The Saratoga Special is again privileged to preview all of the day’s races, and more, with a special edition of The Empire Showcase Special.
The Showcase Special offers the perfect primer for anyone heading to Ozone Park for the day’s action, or those watching from home. And we’ve thrown in some of the popular features you see every summer in The Saratoga Special.
Here’s the primer for Sunday, Oct. 29. Enjoy the day, be safe and good luck.
By the Numbers
100: Entries on Sunday’s Empire Showcase Day card.
16: Entries in the first race, a 6-furlong turf maiden for 2-year-old fillies.
10: Runners entered on the card for trainer Linda Rice, the most of any conditioner on the day. Others with large contingents include Christophe Clement (seven), Mike Maker (six) and Rudy Rodriguez (five).
7: Entrants bred or co-bred by Sequel Stallions NY or Sequel Thoroughbreds on the day – Win for Gold, Barese, Baroness Bourbon, Dakota Gold, Tricky Temper, King Moonracer and Leeloo.
6: Runners on the card by the late former leading New York-based freshman sire Laoban – Today’s Flavor, Be the Boss, Barese, Un Ojo, Baroness Bourbon and B D Saints.
5: Horses owned or co-owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing on the card – Dakota Gold, City Man, Radio Red, Silver Skillet and Fabulous Fox.
Ny Traffic, one of four past Empire Showcase winners, runs in Sunday’s Hudson. NYRA Photo.
4: Past Empire Showcase Day winners running Sunday – City Man (2022 Mohawk), Venti Valentine (2021 Maid of the Mist), Runaway Rumour (2022 Ticonderoga) and Ny Traffic (2021 Hudson).
4: Entrants sired by War Dancer on the card – Sinful Dancer, Battle Scars, Starlight Dancer and Ruse.
37: Stallions that bred mares in New York in 2023, according to statistics from The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred.
1,085: Mares bred in New York in 2023, an increase of 11.51 percent from last year’s 973 mares bred.
190: Mares bred to Mind Control in 2023, the most of any stallion in the Empire State. He stands at Rockridge Stud on behalf of a partnership that also includes Irish Hill, Dutchess Views, Hidden Lake, Waldorf, Red Oak, and Madaket. Leading sire Central Banker, who stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, bred 131 mares, while McMahon’s Solomini (103), Sequel Stallions New York’s Honest Mischief (94), Irish Hill and Dutchess View’s War Dancer (71) and Sequel Stallions New York’s Keepmeinmind (70) also finished the season with large books.
1,760,000: Total purses in dollars for Sunday’s Empire Showcase Day card, including $1.6 million for the eight stakes.
1,204,870: Career earnings in dollars for defending Mohawk Stakes winner City Man, the most of any runner on the card. Bred by Moonstar Farm, 6-year-old son of Mucho Macho Man also ranks 43rd on the list of all-time leading New York-bred earners.
Worth Repeating
“Empire Showcase Day is the highlight of the fall racing calendar for New York owners and breeders. We’re proud each of our three Showcase Days on the NYRA circuit throughout the year have proven to be premiere days displaying the strength and competitiveness of the New York-bred program for all participants.”
Najja Thompson, Executive Director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc.
Names of the Day
Rough Draft, fourth race. Our team at The Saratoga Special is always partial to writing-related names, including this 4-year-old gelding by Editorial.
Venti Valentine, Empire Distaff. Always a classic, New York-bred champion and multiple stakes-winning daughter of Firing Line is a half-sister to Espresso Shot. Coffee anyone?
Funny How, Iroquois. Cleverly named daughter of Overanalyze out of Heavenly Humor, with a tribute to one of the great movie scenes with Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas.
Detective Tom, Sleepy Hollow. Blue Lion Thoroughbreds’ 2-year-old son of The Factor is named for the late Detective Thomas J. Gallo, a 25-year veteran of the NYPD who passed away as a first responder in the cleanup of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Thin White Duke, Hudson. Of course, Dominus gelding is named for the late, great David Bowie.
Drake’s Passage: Robert S. Evans’ homebred son of Tonalist is named for the turbulent body of water between South America and Antarctica, or at least we think that’s the case.
Un Ojo: If you see 4-year-old son of Laoban in the paddock you’ll know why.
As for the races …
Race 1. 12:35 p.m. Showcase Day kicks off with $75,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies on the turf.
Ashley T. Cole winner Spirit of St Louis takes on City Man and others in the Mohawk. Chelsea Durand/NYRA Photo.
Race 2. 1:08. The $200,000 Mohawk for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the grass leads off the eight stakes. City Man, an 11-time winner and earner of more than $1.2 million, returns to defend his title and looks to turn the tables on Spirit of St Louis and Jerry the Nipper. They finished ahead of him in the Ashley T. Cole last time out but behind him in the West Point two starts back.
Race 3. 1:42. The 2-year-old fillies take their turn in the $200,000 Maid of the Mist at 1 mile on the main track. Tricky Temper finished second in the off-the-turf Matron against open company last time out and takes on proven stakes competitors Caldwell Luvs Gold, Cara’s Time and My Mane Squeeze.
Race 4. 2:12. A brief break in the stakes action for a 6-furlong turf allowance-optional that drew a full field, an also eligible and some main track only runners. Rain in the forecast could move this one, so be sure to check those scratches.
Race 5. 2:44. The co-featured $250,000 Empire Distaff gives Ichiban the opportunity to take on older horses – again – and chance to extend her win streak to four. She won’t have it easy with the likes of Venti Valentine, Know It All Audrey and April Antics in the field.
Whatlovelookslike, a full-sister to La Fuerza and Stonewall Star, bids for another stakes win in the Ticonderoga. NYRA Photo.
Race 6. 3:16. Back to the grass for the $200,000 Ticonderoga for fillies and mares. Lawrence Goichman’s Runaway Rumour has been strong in this division for several seasons, won it last year and looks to go out with a victory in her career finale. Strong group lines up here with Spungie, Whatlovelookslike, Silver Skillet and Itsakeyper among the major players.
Race 7. 3:48. Field of eight female sprinters for the $150,000 Iroquois, including DQ’d Gallant Bloom winner Sterling Silver, Broadway winner Funny How, 2022 Union Avenue winner Bank On Anna and the ever-popular Vallelujah.
Race 8. 4:22. The 2-year-old males get their chance in the $200,000 Sleepy Hollow at 1 mile. The first five from the Bertram F. Bongard – El Grande O, Aggelos the Great, Bonne Chance, Skyler’s Starship and Detective Tom – are back along with last-out maiden winners Solo’s Fury, Two’s a Crowd and Wine Responsibility.
Thin White Duke, winner of the Harvey Pack this summer on turf, runs again on dirt in the Hudson. NYRA Photo.
Race 9. 4:54. Today’s Flavor and Thin White Duke finished 1-2 in the Belmont Turf Sprint which was not run at Belmont nor on turf. They’re still major players here in the $150,000 Hudson, along with Win for Gold, Ny Traffic, Amundson and Rotknee.
Race 10. 5:24. Cap the day with the $250,000 Empire Classic. The co-featured event looks wide open with Barese, Sherriff Bianco, Drake’s Passage, Un Ojo and Straight Arrow in the mix. Sherriff Biano exits a fourth behind Cody’s Wish in the Grade 2 Vosburgh, Drake’s Passage won the Albany two starts back and Barese comes in off a victory in the Genessee Valley Breeders’ at Finger Lakes.
