The Week in Review: McPeek Always Makes Things Interesting

Kenny McPeek announced Saturday that his superstar 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will make her next start in the Aug. 24 GI DraftKings Travers S. McPeek had kept the decision to himself for a few days, but no one should have been surprised when he picked the Travers. That's McPeek's style, to be bold, to embrace a challenge to think outside of the box. There's no trainer like him.

He has pulled this trick off before, winning 2020 GI Preakness S. with the filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil).

“I just didn't know how good she is,” he said after the Preakness. “You've got to throw them in the ring sometimes to find out.”

And he doesn't care if his horse is 4-5 or 45-1. He wasn't afraid to run Sarava (Wild Again) in the 2002 GI Belmont S. He went off at 70-1, and won.

His 2024 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) was the only horse to run in all three Triple Crown races. When his horses are doing good, they're going to wind up in the entry box somewhere. He's not afraid of being second guessed.

“I do believe that if they're doing well, don't be scared to run,” McPeek told me in 2020. “We buy our racehorses to run not to just watch them train. I do think there is some over analysis, where people say, 'Oh, no, you're running them back too quickly.' When I first started training, it wasn't anything to run a horse back in 10 days, two weeks. Now it's almost as if they write you off if you do that. Four weeks is plenty of time. It's no problem, especially if a horse is healthy. I have always believed that when you have one that is doing well, you shouldn't hesitate.”

McPeek's job is not to promote the sport, but he takes on that task willingly. He understands that racing desperately needs more stars and more excitement and if he can fill the void he will. He's student of racing history and understands what a special feat it would be for Thorpedo Anna to win the Travers.

He's already talking about encouraging female patrons to wear pink to the race. He gets it.

“I think it's fun doing this kind of stuff,” he told the TDN's Tim Wilkin. “It just makes the sport more interesting, doesn't it?”

He continued:  “I spoke to [NYRA CEO] David O'Rourke last Sunday or Monday, reached out to him, you know how do we approach this if we do this? I'm a big believer that the sport needs stars. It needs to be promoted, it needs to be lifted. She can do that and we're lucky that she's there to do that. The Alabama was a race that is going to be really boring if I run in it. Nobody is going to run against me, I'm pretty sure of that. She could go out there and knock out a third one for us, but I don't think that's a big enough challenge for her.”

Some people want to compare Thorpedo Anna to Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro). It's way too early for that. Rachel Alexandra, by the end of her 3-year-old year, had beaten boys in the GI Preakness S., the GI Haskell S. and the GI Woodward. The Travers will be Thorpedo Anna's first start against males.

Thorpedo Anna has a lot of catching up to do, but, in her trainer, has someone who is eager to prove her greatness. Who knows where she will run next if beating the boys in the Travers? She's only a Grade I win or two from having a serious chance of becoming this year's Horse of the Year.

In modern times, the Travers has not been an easy race on fillies. From 1865-1903, six fillies won the Travers. The last filly to win the race was Lady Rotha in 1915 and she was placed first through disqualification. Only four fillies have run in the Travers since 1962 and none since Wonder Gadot (Meadaglia d'Oro) tried it in 2018 and finished last.

Saratoga 2024, in almost all respects, has gotten off to a good start. Now, you can add the Travers to a list of must-see races.

You can't say that Fierceness (City of Light), if he runs in the Travers, is back after his win in the GII Jim Dandy S. over Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) because you have no idea how he will run next time out. He could be the Fierceness we saw winning the Jim Dandy or the one who struggled so badly in the Derby. Still, he looms a major threat in the Travers. So does GI Belmont S. and GI Haskell S. winner Dornoch (Good Magic). And don't count out Mindframe (Constitution) or Sierra Leone, who is perpetually knocking on the door. It's going to be great race.

It's been 109 years since a filly won the Travers and the drought may soon be over.

The Chosen Vron is Unstoppable

The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) is not a serious candidate for Horse of the Year, even after he won the GI Bing Crosby S. on Saturday at Del Mar for the second straight year. He's a California-bred and the majority of his career starts have come against state-breds. He's not the type of horse Horse of the Year voters gravitate toward. None of which makes him any less special. You just don't get horses like this anymore.

He's six years old and has won 19 of 24 lifetime starts, including 17 stakes races. He's also beaten open company in the GIII San Carlos S., the GIII Affirmed S. and the GIII Lazarao Barrera S. Trainer Eric Kruljac had done a masterful job plotting out this horse's campaign and there's no reason to think he can't go on for two or three years more.

“I didn't say anything to [jockey] Hector [Berrios],” Kruljac said after the Bing Crosby when asked about giving his jockey instructions. “I have that much faith in him. I expected Baffert's horse [Jackstown] to go hard, but he didn't go that hard and the other speed didn't. He [Berrios] got out and had him in the thick of it. When it was time to move his hands, the rest was history. The other horses tried to keep up with him. He just wouldn't let them. It's one of his best races.”

Kruljac didn't say where The Chosen Vron will run next, but the GI Breeeders' Cup Sprint is definitely in the plans.

When It Comes to Safety, HISA Is Getting the Job Done

There are some legitimate reasons to be concerned about HISA and HIWU, none more troubling than their penchant for catching trainers who obviously don't cheat. They've been working on that and are trying to come up with some answers.

But the numbers keep telling us that HISA is making the sport safer, and nothing could be more important than that. Last week, HISA released the numbers for the second quarter of 2024. The fatality rate has declined for four consecutive quarters, including an approximate 49% decrease year over year in the second quarter of 2024. Racetracks operating under HISA's rules and running races in the second quarter reported 0.76 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts, compared to 1.48 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts in the second quarter of 2023.

Yes, HISA has made some mistakes and should have come up with a better plan when it comes to suspending trainers who are guilty of nothing more than to have a horse test positive due to environmental contamination. But the numbers on equine fatalities should be all anyone needs to know when it comes to either being pro or anti-HISA. Racing is safer now than it was before HISA took over and that should be all the reason you need to back what they are trying to accomplish.