Finger Lakes

Outlandishly high amounts of money that were bet into exotic pools at Thoroughbred and Standardbred tracks across the country during a several-hour time window Wednesday might have been the result of a feeding frenzy of opportunistic gamblers trying to take advantage of an alleged "glitch" in the FanDuel Racing account wagering system that debited only the base cost of a wager from a customer's account instead of correctly pricing multiple-combination bets at much higher amounts. Although both FanDuel executives and state regulators were largely mum on the subject of the...

Soloshot (Solomini) was the short favorite at even-money for this stakes debut, but produced an effort similar to her career debut, going coast-to-coast in the Lady Finger S. to become Solomini (by Curlin)'s first stakes winner. A dominant 7 3/4-length victress at first calling Aug. 27 in an off-turf baby dash at Saratoga against a state-bred maiden field, Soloshot broke like one here and quickly establish control over the pace from two off the rail. Putting a comfortable margin on Redwineandwhiskey (War Dancer) entering the straight, she responded when roused...

Canigetaloan (Leofric) had to lay it all down, but gamely managed to fight off a familiar foe in a wild finish to break his maiden, score his first black-type victory in the Aspirant S., and tally the first stakes winner for his freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}) all at once. Debuting in the same Aug. 11 state-bred maiden at Saratoga as Trust Fund (Practical Joke), who would go on to win by 2 1/4 lengths, Canigetaloan came out on the better end of the photo for second and would...

The two jockeys currently ranked second and third for wins this season at Finger Lakes are both facing sanctions for their roles in two separate races last week in which one rider was piloting a long shot that altered course while the other rider was aboard the beaten favorite. According to a stewards' ruling posted Aug. 8 on the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) website, jockey John Davila, Jr., who has been riding at Finger Lakes since 1983, has been fined $500 "for riding in manner contrary to the...

A proposed change to claiming rules in New York would double the time that a claimed horse must refrain from racing outside the state, from 30 to 60 days. In addition, in an effort to make it easier to acquire Thoroughbreds via claims, another proposed change would extend time periods for owners to be eligible to claim horses. Those measures, plus several other tweaks to the "Who may make claim" rule 4038.1, were advanced by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) at Thursday's monthly meeting. There was zero discussion...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. Kentucky Track: Churchill Downs at Ellis Park Date: 06/18/2023 Licensee: Reyluis Gutierrez,...

It was starting to look like time had finally caught up with the old war horse Dr Blarney (Dublin). He came into an allowance race Monday at Finger Lakes having lost six straight, understandable considering the horse is 10 and made his debut in 2015 at Monmouth Park. But the pride of the Massachusetts breeding program was back on his game, winning by a length under jockey Jackie Davis. It was the ninth straight year in which he had won at least one race. "He's stayed relatively sound all these...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 06/04/2023 Licensee: Flavian Prat, jockey...

Ron Walker has been named The Jockey Club steward for Finger Lakes Racetrack and will take the place of Samantha Randazzo, who was appointed as The Jockey Club steward for The New York Racing Association tracks. Walker has been involved with horse racing since 1981 and has been an owner, breeder, trainer, and racing official. Prior to becoming steward at Finger Lakes, he was the state steward for the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, spent nine years as the presiding steward for the New Mexico Racing Commission and also worked as...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week.   CALIFORNIA Track: Del Mar Date: 08/07/2022 Licensee:  Kent Desormeaux, jockey...

N Y Riesling became the first winner for his New York-based freshman sire Redesdale (Speightstown) Tuesday at Finger Lakes. He was a well-beaten eighth on debut behind a 'TDN Rising Star' performance from next-out GIII Sanford S. third Andiamo a Firenze (Speightstown), a half-brother to GISW Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior), at Belmont June 3. Favored at 6-5 as part of an entry while facing easier company, the chestnut went straight to the front, ticking off a :22.97 opening quarter. Showing the way into the lane, N Y Riesling kept on...

2nd-Finger Lakes, $28,635, Msw, 7-18, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.55, sy, 9 3/4 lengths. CUZ UR PRETTY (f, 2, Sharp Azteca--Without the Risk, by Majestic Warrior) became the 12th winner for her red-hot freshman sire (by Freud) with an authoritative debut victory. The 2-1 shot contested the early pace, but was squeezed back entering the turn and settled into a stalking third. She rerallied along the rail and bound clear into the lane before splashing home to score by 9 3/4 lengths. Puzzle (Brethren) rallied from last to be second. Cuz...