The "feel good" story of the 2013 Saratoga meet ....... PAYNTER

The world of thoroughbred racing has it's ups and downs. Unfortunately, most of the time though we hear about the "dark side" or bad things that surround the sport we know and love. It's sad the with the world wide web and many media outlets today, the things that put racing in a bad light are the ones that get the most attention. Today, I have one of those "stories" that is the exact opposite! It's about the strength and courage of the equine beast. The thoroughbred who showed great talent on the track, but had to overcome great odds to return back after fighting for his life. This is the "feel good" story that should be more heard of, than the negative ones.

Last spring during the Triple Crown trail, a late blooming three year old arrival on the scene in California . After breaking his maiden first asking in February, he jumped into stakes action in the grade I - Santa Anita Derby . Naturally, it was tough sledding for him going from a sprint victory to a two turn event against seasoned three year old runners. But this did not deter this son of Breeder's Cup Classic winner; Awesome Again. He would regroup and run a good second on a sloppy surface at Churchill Downs and then win a entry level allowance race on the Preakness undercard. This would give him the foundation he was lacking after initially being "thrown to wolves" after his maiden win.

It was now on to the "big time' for this colt after his talented stablemate had to go to the sidelines. It was time for PAYNTER to show his stuff in the "Test of the Champions" in the Belmont Stakes. That he would do and nearly pulled off the victory getting beaten late by Union Rags coming up the rail. I was there to see this race and thought, next time out that he would be very tough to beat! His next start and ultimate goal was the summer time Derbies. He would race in the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park . There he would run his career best with a nearly four length victory as the odds-on favorite. It would be on to the Mid-Summer's Derby with this victory, but something happened to derail this dream. Something no one saw coming.

Just a few days after his Haskell victory, Paynter got sick and had suffered colitis. This is a common disease in horses where they have a sudden onset of severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, shock, and dehydration. A very serious disease, it can kill a thoroughbred quite quickly. Unfortunately, surgery was required for him and soon another disease cropped up which sometimes goes hand in hand with major surgery. Paynter was showing signs of laminitis also, which comes from unable to move during a traumatic injury or surgery. The blood flow is cut off the horses legs and the hooves. It's also called "founder and is usually fatal. Now, Paynter was fighting for his life!

He had surgery to repair the infected area and the next few days and weeks would be crucial for his survival. But, Paynter was a fighter and he started to show signs of improvement with weight gain. It was a long road ahead, but he was on his way to at least living. His owners were so impressive with how quickly he was recovering, that they decided to start him training again to race. By early spring, Paynter was getting back to his old self on the track and was scheduled to return to the races by early summer. On June 14th at Hollywood Park , the circle was completed with him returning in the starting gate and winning his first race in nearly a year! Paynter had made the return, that so many people thought he could not do. He recently was second in a stake at Del Mar and today comes to Saratoga to run in the Woodward Stakes. We get to see this now, very talented four year old colt who had overcome great odds to become a winner again! It's a special day at the Spa and a special "feel good" story has unfolded. I'll be rooting for Paynter today in the Woodward Stakes and I bet a lot of other people will be rooting too!

Mark Hoffman's 2013 graded Travers Stakes selections

War Dancer (#7) Garcia / McPeek (15-1)

Some would say that this is a tough spot to ask a horse to do something he hasn't done before in his career; break his maiden on dirt in a grade I event, but the entry of this son of War Front fascinates me in this spot. He has proved that he can get the mile & quarter distance, but the main track is the question. I couldn't separate the three classy betting interests, so I'm taking a leap of faith with this longshot!

Orb (#2) Rosario / McGaughey (4-1)

The Kentucky Derby hero has been training well since his no factor 3rd place finish in the Belmont Stakes, has a series of bullet works both here and at Fair Hill and his short freshening coming off a tough Triple Crown trail will be to his benefit today, improvement expected.

Verrazano (#3) Velazquez / Pletcher (2-1)

This talented three year old has been rock solid all year but in one start (Kentucky Derby) , his last race in the Haskell Stakes was a monster effort and best yet (116 Beyer speed figure) today he tries once again to get the "classic" mile and a quarter distance, definitely the "horse to beat" and moves to the top of the three year old class with a victory today.

Palace Malice (#8) Smith / Pletcher (5-2)

Winner of both the Belmont Stakes and Jim Dandy Stakes has stepped it up after a sub par effort in the Kentucky Derby flashing early speed, proven he handle this distance and track, if he wins this race today, he becomes the top three year old runner in the nation, a must use here!

Transparent (#9) I. Ortiz / McLaughlin (10-1)

Had a nice victory in the restricted Curlin Stakes over the track earlier in the meet.....but was disqualified to 5th place due to interference on the far turn while making his move, may get lost in the wagering here and is dangerous off that last effort, price play here!

Will Take Charge (#5) Saez / Lukas (10-1)

Improved effort in last start finishing full of run in the Jim Dandy Stakes with late close for 2nd at 17-1, with Oxbow out for the year...... this is Lukas' only chance in the Mid Summer's Derby, the question is can he repeat that effort in grade I company & stretching out to this distance?

Romansh (#1) Castellano / McLaughlin (12-1)

Placed 1st in the Curlin Stakes after stablemate was D.Q. with wide rally after stumbling at the break, impressive effort first time versus winners, he is uncoupled today & will be a big price today!

Moreno (#6) J. Oritz / Guillot (12-1)

Pace setter in the Jim Dandy Stakes faded to third late, will be the target to chase and is very questionable going this distance, pass on him in your exotics.

Golden Soul (#4) Albarado / Stewart (20-1)

His only claim to fame is a "suck-up" 2nd place finish in the Kentucky Derby on the sloppy sealed surface, this plodder was no factor in the Belmont Stakes or Haskell Stakes, EASY toss for me here!

Travers '82 ........ a "redux" in 2013????

Well, unlike the past few running's of the Mid-Summer's Derby ; The Travers, we get the best three year olds of 2013. With the expectation of Oxbow and Normandy Invasion, all the other cast of characters are here. It's a big difference from last year with the historic "dead heat" between Alpha and Golden Ticket where each horse has done very little on the track since then and also three year's ago where Afleet's Express upset the field and was never heard from again. Yes, it seemed the days when "great" three year old runners like; Easy Goer, Holy Bull, Point Given and Bernardini had become a thing of the past!

This year we are very lucky to have the Kentucky Derby winner, the Belmont Stakes winner, the Haskell Stakes winner and Jim Dandy winner. Three very worthy and logical favorites that will make up the top three betting interests. All three have done very little wrong and seem not to have holes in the resume. Palace Malice won the final leg of the Triple Crown and came back to win the prep race for today; the Jim Dandy Stakes. Verrazano was quite impressive in the Haskell Stakes and his only question is the mile and a quarter distance. Orb won the Kentucky Derby at this distance and like the other two runners have been consistent all this year. I see these three runners all being in the betting range of 8-5 and 5-2. It's makes it tough for me to rate one above the other.

Looking back at the history of the Travers Stakes when three similar talented horses faced off, I went back to 31 years ago in 1982. That year, all three Triple Crown race winners appeared in the Mid-Summer's Derby . The Kentucky Derby winner; Gato Del Sol, Aloma's Ruler winner of the Preakness Stakes and Conquistador Cielo all made it Saratoga on August 20th facing off in a historic edition of this race. This was the first time that this happened and all eyes were on these three runners. But, a horse from Canada named; Runaway Groom, who himself was quite capable shipped down to the Spa and beat all three runners in a major upset. After watching the race, I thought to myself; can this same thing happened again this year?

The ONLY other day of racing that matters.......during the 40 days at the Spa!

Usually mid July and all of August, the racing focus and my columns are on the 40 days of racing at Saratoga . The Haskell Stakes at Monmouth and Arlington Million Day are the only times I stray away from the best thoroughbred racing in the world! The ONLY wagering I concentrate on is the Spa, very few other plays are made during this special time of the year. Today is one such day, when the finest grass thoroughbreds in the world gather in Chicago for the Arlington Million and three other turf stakes. Big fields and plenty of inexpensive exotic wagers are available on their biggest event of the racing season.

The one thing that has concerned me in recent years on this day was that NYRA would card their biggest older horse grass marathon race (the Sword Dancer Invitational) the same day as the Arlington Million. Fortunately with turf racing being a premium going distance of ground in recent years with major stars, this year's two fields have drawn nice big fields (both with 13 entries). Which brings up the question; why has the Breeder's Cup Turf field in recent years been under 10 runners? But more on that down the road when we get closer to that race in the Fall. Today we have two fantastic grade I races on the weeds and as a local handicapper would say; "the proper surface".

In this year's Million, there are six runners with European flavor with five of those making their U.S. debuts. The fine Arlington turf course, the prestige and one million payout are the reasons that this race is the premier turf race in the country. It's going to be the European flavor that I gravitate toward in the 31st edition of this race. My top selection draws the far outside post, he did race here stateside last year as a three year old in California and was successful. Grandeur (#13) trained by Jeremy Noseda makes his first start off the layoff today after a nice 2nd place finish in a group II event at York . Four for five at the mile and a half distance with two victories, this gray gelding gets the call for me at the 7/2 morning line odds. For 2nd in my exacta box; I'm going with another import, this time a Argentina bred who won a mile turf restricted stake at Del Mar recently. Indy Point (#7) trained by Richard Mandella (who has good success with these South American imports) wheels this colt back quickly after that July 24th victory. Although he has more victories on dirt, one of his two turf victories was at the Million distance.

With this 13-7 exacta box, I'll be using these three horses underneath in my exotics and multi-race plays; Rahystrada (#12) recent winner of the Arlington Handicap (prep race for this) and who has four victories in seven races over the Arlington turf course. Real Solution (#1) this Chad Brown / Ken Ramsey trainee was a even 3rd in the Manhattan at Belmont on a yielding surface. Lightly raced, this Pennsylvania bred who raced in Italy before coming stateside may improve today & Hunter's Light (#3) who gets lasix first time stateside for Godolphin and has back class in turf marathons in Europe .

My exotic play in the Arlington Million All-Stakes Pick Four starting in the 7th race is; 1/4 with 7/9 with 6/7 with 7/13 (50 cent play = $8.00 ticket) and "saver" ticket : 8 with 10 with 2/4 with 9/12 (50 cent play = $2.00 ticket).

First 20 days ....... in the books!

Today marks the mid way point in the 2013 historic 150th Saratoga Racecourse meet. The first 20 days have seemed like forever for me since the meet started the earliest in recent memory. The July 19th opening day Friday was a hot one, much like our summer has been most of this season. Though there was much fanfare about the "heat" and how it would effect the horses by the masses who know little about the sport, all the equine athletes who raced on the ninety degree open day card......survived! Once again the general public (and some media outlets) don't give enough credit to the horseman and people in charge of the thoroughbred product that runs racing in New York and throughout the country. NOBODY wants to see these thoroughbreds endangered in any way.

The one thing that did bother me though as I made the rounds throughout the Spa facility was, the many new food vendor trucks around the outside of the clubhouse and grandstand area. In recent years, NYRA was made a point of giving the racing public a wide variety of different food items. This is all well and good, but the number of mobile canteen food trucks is a little ridiculous. In the area around the carousel, where the handicapping seminars are and the NYRA pre-race show is taped, there are a half a dozen different food trucks lined up along the walk area behind the grandstand. It's a little overkill and space is taken away from the picnic area. What bothers me the most is with this influx of available food vendors, the possibly that in the future, NYRA may limit what items can be brought into the track. I hope I'm wrong, but the "flavor" of historic Saratoga has had a bit of it taken away with all these new vendors.

The one thing that Saratoga has always presented over Belmont and Aqueduct has been it's old time historic flavor. It has been even more apparent this year with the 150th celebration of the track. The entire calendar of events since this spring has been wonderful. We owe a big thank you of gratitude to Marylou Whitney and her husband John Hendrickson for all they have done for this historic birthday celebration. Last Saturday, the events on track before, during and after the races were what a day at the races should be like all the time. Showing the rich history, pageantry and beauty of thoroughbred racing and how it relates to the people involved. It was like going back in a time machine. THIS is how the sport should be promoted.

As far as the equine athletes on-track, we've seen a lot of talented two year old runners. I knew we would because of the lack of "baby" races downstate at Belmont Park . The three year old runners in both sexes are gearing up for the Alabama and Travers Stakes in two and three weeks from now. We'll see the Kentucky Oaks winner; Princess of Sylmar, Kentucky Derby winner ; Orb and Belmont Stakes winner; Palace Malice plus the very talented; Verrazano who won the Haskell Stakes. Newcomer superstar; Cross Traffic has leaped onto the scene with his Whitney Stakes victory and how many times to you see the reigning Horse of the Year at Saratoga? Today Wise Dan meets his foes in the Fourstardave Handicap and totes the assigned high weight of 129 lbs. It may have seem like an eternity the first 20 days with the heat, but it was well worth it!

The name WHITNEY and it's rich Saratoga history!

With the rich historic past of Saratoga Race Course, there is one name that comes to mind, especially during this 150th anniversary celebration. A family that has major ties to thoroughbred racing at Saratoga the last hundred years. As owners and philanthropist to the sport, the Whitney's have been one of the most recognized names at Saratoga . CV Whitney was one of the most prominent thoroughbred owners since the turn of the last century. In 1928 the now famous race at Saratoga was named after his family; the Whitney Handicap. Through the years, many famous thoroughbred have won this mile and an eighth event for the older horses. Today, the Whitney Handicap is a major summer race with implications for the Breeder's Cup Classic ran in the Fall and usually winners of that race become candidates for "Horse of the Year".

CV Whitney past away in 1992, but his former wife; Marylou Whitney continues the tradition to the sport and along with her husband; John Hendrickson have made many generous donations for this year's 150th race course celebration. This weekend is exact date of the Sesquicentennial celebration for Saratoga Race Course and also marks the 86th running of the race named after the family that has done so much for thoroughbred racing and the City of Saratoga Springs .

This grade I race which is a Invitational, has had many famous horses win this two turn route event. Names like; Discovery (three time winner), War Admiral, Stymie, Kelso (also three time winner), Dr. Fager, Onion (who defeated Secretariat), Alydar, Lady's Secret, Personal Ensign, Easy Goer and many others. This year we have the returning winner of this race last year; Fort Larned . His victory last year propelled him into a Breeder's Cup Classic victory in the Fall. His last race at Churchill Downs in the Stephen Foster Handicap earned him a high Beyer speed figure of 115. His runner up foe in the Breeder's Cup Classic; Mucho Macho Man faces him again making his third start off a layoff and looks to improve to his 2012 form. Newcomer Cross Traffic looks to make his mark in grade I competition with his brilliant speed. The race may not have the current "Horse of Year" Wise Dan, but his stablemate; Successful Dan is a worthy opponent in this spot. Add grade I winner; Ron the Greek with last year's "dead heat" winner of the Travers Stakes; Alpha and you have assembled the best older handicap horses in the country!

This is a tough field, filled with speed. It looks like Cross Traffic may be the pace setter with Fort Larned and Mucho Macho Man not far behind. Successful Dan, Alpha and longshot Csaba will also be just behind the front runners. The closers like Ron the Greek and Fast Falcon will have an impact if the fractions are fast up front. Fort Larned should be the post time favorite, I expect him to be around 8-5 to 2-1 odds range. He is the "horse to beat" and must use in all exotics. The 2nd choice in the betting will be between, Cross Traffic and Mucho Macho Man. The speedy Pletcher trainee will be over bet in my opinion and must show he can get the route distance. Ron the Greek will be a solid price around 7 or 8-1 and the others will have double digit odds. I'm going to take a shot (one more time) with the closer; Ron The Greek. He needs to stay in contact with the field and if the fractions are quite quick up front, he can score the minor upset. Underneath him, will be both Fort Larned and Mucho Macho Man. The others finishing in the top two spots would be a surprise in my opinion.