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Four horses that recorded back-to-back
Woodwards at historic Saratoga won Horse
of the Year honors.
However, only two champions that captured
the race three or more times in its half-century-plus
history were declared the top thoroughbred
three or more consecutive years.
Forego prevailed in four straight Woodwards
ending in 1977, winning Horse of the Year ’74-76.
But the champion of champs a decade earlier
was Kelso, who set or equaled 15 track
records.
Kelso not only won the Woodward three
straight years ending in ’63, he
scored in the Whitney three times in odd
years beginning in ’61. His crowning
achievement most likely won’t be
broken: Horse of the Year five consecutive
times: ’60-65.
The son of Your Host, who raced for eight
years, retired after a single outing in ’66
as the leading money winner, with earnings
of nearly $2 million. What’s remarkable
is most of his 39 victories came in races
worth a maximum $100,000.
The likely favorite in the 54th Woodward,
which carries a purse hiked from $300,000
to $500,000, is Lawyer Ron. That’s
because the 4-year-old son of Langfuhr,
while winning the Whitney on July 28, broke
the track record for 1 1/8 miles, Saturday’s
distance.
The Woodward was staged from a mile to
1 ½ miles until ’90 when Dispersal
triumphed at 1 1/8 miles, the distance
for the past two decades. One of the biggest
upsets occurred in ’73 when Triple
Crown winner Secretariat lost to a 16-1
shot named Prove Out at 1 ½ miles.
In ’80, Spectacular Bid’s
final appearance was a rare walkover at
1 ¼ miles, the first since in 39
years since Calumet Farm’s Coaltown
victory in the Edward Burke Handicap at
Havre de Grace in Maryland.
Lawyer Ron will face four horses that
chased him in the Whitney: runner-up Wanderin,
third-place finisher Diamond Stripes; Brass
Hat, eighth; and Sun King, 10th in the
11-horse field.
On Sunday, Lawyer Ron breezed a half-mile
in 49 2/5 over Saratoga’s training
track rated good. Trainer Todd Pletcher
said he “went off nice and relaxed.
He finished up well and galloped out strong.
The training track was acceptable, but
there were some puddles and he went around
them.”
Horse of the Year could be decided on
Oct. 27 at Monmouth Park in the Breeders’ Cup
Classic when Lawyer Ron and Street Sense
clash.
Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense gave
Carl Nafzger his second Travers on Saturday
a week after his Lady Joanne took the Alabama
for 3-year-old fillies. It gave the trainer
a rare double, only the fifth since ’01
and the first in 31 years.
“Unbridled (’90 Derby and
BC Classic winner) was great,” Nafzger
said, “but I’ve never had anything
like Street Sense.”
Top challengers in the Woodward include
three horses that captured at least one
stakes race this year, including Wanderin
Boy. The son of Seeking the Gold won the
Alysheba by 4 ¼ lengths on May 7
in the slop at Churchill Downs.
Political Force, 3-2-1 in six starts this
year, comes off a Grade 1 victory in the
Suburban at Belmont Park on June 30. Corinthian,
a distant sixth in the Suburban, captured
the Metropolitan Mile a month earlier,
with Political Force the runner-up and
Lawyer Ron finishing third.
Wanderin Boy and Lawyer Ron would have
the upper hand if it were an off track
at Saratoga since each has two victories
on surfaces less than fast.
Saturday’s is named for a pillar
of racing, William Woodward Sr., chairman ’30-50
of the Jockey Club, the breed registry
for all thoroughbreds in North America.
His famous Belair Stud colors were victorious
631 times from ’23 to ’53,
when he died. His top horses included the
father-son Triple Crown winners Gallant
Fox in ’30 and his sibling Omaha
in ’35.
Several years later, Belair Stable, part
of Belair Stud, closed to end the oldest
continually operated horse farm in the
United States that dated back 250 years.
It was restored and is now a city museum
in Bowie, Md. hard cash!
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Posted on 8/27/2007 6:17:18 PM
Woodwards Horse Betting Trends - Saratoga
By Greg Melikov
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