Claudio Gonzalez

Spurred in part by a record handle on NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes Day, Monmouth Park continued its upward trend with increases in both total and on-track handle for the fourth straight year, while jockey Paco Lopez and trainer Claudio Gonzalez were repeat winners of their respective titles as the 50-day meet came to an end on Sunday. Total average handle was $4,251,965, a 5.4% increase over last year's average of $4,032,648 during a 51-day meet. On-track handle averaged $352,939, a 3.7% increase over last year's average of $340,257. In addition,...

Monmouth Park continued an upward trend by showing an increase in average total handle and average on-track handle for the third straight year as the 51-day meet came to a close Sunday. Paco Lopez claimed his 10th riding title and Claudio Gonzalez was the leading trainer for the second straight summer. The average total handle was $4,032,648 this year, an 11.4 percent increase over last year's average of $3,620,719. The on-track handle rose 15 percent to $340,257 compared to the 2022 average of $295,896. In addition, the average field size...

Jockey Jorge F. Hernandez captured his first win in the United  States when guiding Queen Cadence to victory in the first race at Laurel Park Sunday. A multiple group-stakes winning jockey in his native Chile, the 33-year-old Hernandez's first domestic win came in his 27th mount. He also finished fourth on Shoulda Had It for owner-trainer Mario Serey, Jr. in Sunday's second race. "I am really happy. I was waiting for it. After having five seconds in a month, I wanted to get that first win out of the way,"...

Claudio Gonzalez and Jevian Toledo both enjoyed career highs as they defended their titles as the Maryland Jockey Club's leading trainer and jockey, respectively, in 2022. Gonzalez, a 46-year-old cancer survivor from Chile, finished with 74 wins at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course to edge Brittany Russell and Jamie Ness, who tied for second with 73 wins apiece. It marked the sixth consecutive year that Gonzalez has led the Maryland standings, averaging 101 wins per season. He captured Laurel's winter stand to open 2022, his 19th individual meet title...

Monmouth Park showed a 25.2% increase in total handle and a 16.07% increase in on-track handle, while Paco Lopez won his ninth riding title and Claudio Gonzalez earned his first training title as the Jersey Shore track closed out its 77th season Sunday. Total handle was $217,243,199 this summer compared to $173,511,611 a year ago. On-track handle was $17,753,794 in 2022 compared to $15,216,978 a year ago. Total attendance was 368,101. Monmouth ran 60 live days of racing this year compared to 55 a year ago. "We're extremely pleased by...

In the last race on the final day of Laurel Park's 2022 summer meet, trainer Rudy Sanchez-Salomon edged Claudio Gonzalez by one win, 19-18, to earn his first career training title, breaking their weekend tie. "It's been a great meet," Sanchez-Salomon said. "Everything has been great for us. We've been very blessed. I thank God and thank my help and thank everybody." Jevian Toledo and Horacio Karamanos finished tied for leading jockey honors with 31 wins apiece. They also shared Laurel's summer meet title in 2020.

A pair of familiar faces topped the jockey and trainer standings following Sunday's closing day of Laurel Park's winter meet, as jockey Jevian Toledo and trainer Claudio Gonzalez reigned again as meet leaders following their titles at Laurel's 2021 fall stand as well as the year's overall Maryland championship. Toledo, 27, did not have a mount Sunday but took a 10-win edge, 38-28, over five-pound apprentice Jean Alvelo into the nine-race program. Alvelo had six mounts Sunday, winning with Royal Thunder ($3.60) in Race 6 to finish with 29 wins....

Mike Maker edged defending champion Brad Cox and two-time winner Steve Asmussen to claim the top prize in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 Sentient Jet Trainer Bonus offered to horsemen for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend, Oct. 1-3, at Pimlico Race Course. Maker led the way with 43 points, three more than Cox and Asmussen, to earn a $50,000 bonus. Maker registered wins with 2-year-old colt Catman (Kitten's Joy) in the Laurel Futurity S. and 3-year-old filly Evil Lyn (Wicked Strong) in the S. He also ran...

The summer meet at Laurel Park wrapped up Saturday with jockey Horacio Karamanos just holding his lead over Jevian Toledo to win the riding title in spite of failing to reach the winner's circle Saturday while Toledo won twice. Karamanos won 42-41 over Toledo. He ranked second in purse earnings with more than $1.35 million, while Toledo tallied $1.52 million. "I kept finishing second today," said Karamanos. "I couldn't win. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don't have the luck. That's what happened to me today. But it's the game....