FRANKLIN, Ky. – Seventy-two hours after Sunday racing at Kentucky Downs was postponed because of torrential rain, the 10-race card will be run as scheduled under much drier conditions Wednesday.
Track officials canceled early Sunday, knowing they could move the program to Wednesday with no changes to the original entries. Scratches submitted for Sunday were rescinded, with a new scratch time for Wednesday reset to Tuesday morning.
All things considered, the scheduling alteration seems fortunate, if not a bit inconvenient, for some horsemen and fans. Kentucky Downs somehow dodged a bullet Saturday, when heavy rain led to flooding conditions in Louisville, Lexington, and other areas to the north. A stakes-rich card, including meet showcase the Kentucky Turf Cup, went off as planned Saturday.
The move to Wednesday was not a major ordeal for trainer Chris Block, who arrived here Sunday from Chicago and planned to pass the interim time mostly at the Keeneland sale in Lexington.
“Hopefully the course dries out by Wednesday,” said Block, who will send out Captivating Moon as the lukewarm morning-line favorite for the Wednesday co-feature, the $400,000 Dueling Grounds Derby.
Captivating Moon is one of 10 3-year-olds in the fifth running of the Dueling Grounds Derby (race 9), which directly follows its sister race, the $300,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks (race 8). Both will be run at the once-around distance of 1 5/16 miles at this turf-only track.
Bred and owned by the Lothenbach Stables, Captivating Moon will be making his 12th career start, and has knocked heads with some real standouts in his division, including Gidu, Analyze It, and Maraud. The late-running colt was a creditable fifth in his last race, the Grade 1 Secretariat, over his home course at Arlington Park.
Block pointed out that Captivating Moon handled soft turf well when he dead-heated for second in the grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day.
“He’s pretty honest and turf-course indifferent,” Block said. “He ran over a bog on Derby Day, and he seemed to get through it okay. He is one-dimensional, but going this distance, that might be just fine. He just gallops along, and then it takes him a few strides to get going when he tries to quicken. If he’s able to keep on trucking, he might just be able to run ‘em down.”
Florent Geroux, who enjoyed a big Saturday in winning two stakes, including the Kentucky Turf Cup on Arklow, will have the mount on Captivating Moon. They break from post 7.
Bandua, one of the chief threats to Captivating Moon, will start right alongside in post 6. A two-time winner from his four starts in Ireland, all for owner Calumet Farm, Bandua made his North American debut in the Aug. 11 Secretariat, outrunning his nearly 40-1 odds in finishing third behind Carrick and Analyze It.
Other major players in the Dueling Grounds Derby include Channel Cat, a solid fourth two starts back in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby for Todd Pletcher; Reride, most recently fourth to his Steve Asmussen stablemate Tenfold in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga; and the uncoupled Mike Maker duo of Jailhouse Kitten and Cullum Road.
As competitive as the derby appears, the Oaks and its field of 12 3-year-old fillies probably is more so.
Pamina and Princess Warrior, the respective 2-3 finishers in the Grade 3 Pucker Up on the Aug. 11 Arlington Million undercard, figure among the top contenders in the fourth running of the Oaks. The Michael Dickinson-trained Pamina, with Geroux riding from post 3, has earned a higher Beyer Speed Figure with each start and has never been worse than second in five career races.
Other considerations in a deep cast include Heavenly Love, who won a maiden race in eye-catching fashion here last September before winning the Grade 1 Alcibiades on the dirt at Keeneland; Osare, a half-sister to 2016 3-year-old champion Arrogate who will have Jose Ortiz riding for Jonathan Thomas of Catholic Boy fame; Smart Shot, a troubled ninth in the Pucker Up following back-to-back victories for Calumet and trainer Rusty Arnold; and the Maker trio of Malibu Saint, Rahway, and Sippin Kitten.
The Dueling Grounds Oaks and Dueling Grounds Derby anchor a Wednesday card that starts at 1:25 p.m. Central. Four qualifying events (races 3-6) toward the Dec. 1 Claiming Crown, each with a $100,000 purse, also are part of a busy program.
Purses for the derby and Oaks are heavily supplemented by bonus incentives from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Between both races, all but one starter – Zero Gravity, a longshot Florida-bred in the derby – are Kentucky-breds.
The Wednesday forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 81.
After Wednesday, only the closing-day Thursday card will remain at this five-day meet, with the $400,000 Ramsey Farm and $300,000 Franklin-Simpson serving as co-features. Churchill Downs opens its 11-day September meet Friday.
Every good Saratogian knows that their home and the surrounding region lays claim to a number of delicious food inventions. From pie à la mode (see saratoga living‘s “The Best Of Everything” issue for more) to half moons (don’t confuse them with New York’s iconic black-and-white cookies) and yes, even the perennially popular potato chip (see our “I Do!” issue), all have ties to this general area of Upstate New York. While it might only have a Saratoga-specific legend tied to it at the moment, local restaurant Esperanto would like to add the Doughboy to that list of historic culinary creations—and it’s attempting the feat with a little bit of marketing magic.
Esperanto has started a rebranding campaign of its delectable cream-cheese-and-chicken-filled snack to the “Oboy”—also styled with an umlaut over the second “o”—in an effort to take the baked snack regional and, hopefully, at some point, national. (The restaurant’s even dropped an origin video.) “We’re in a great position because we have a really good crew that manages the restaurant,” says Esperanto’s Co-owner, Will Pouch, who helped found the restaurant in 1995. “I’ve really been able to turn my attention to putting a great business plan together around the Oboy.”
The idea of the Doughboy, as it was called until just last month, lies with Pouch, his wife, Belinda, and one of his old professors and close friends, Sheldon Soloman, a popular psychology professor at Skidmore College. “Sheldon had this idea of a cream-cheese-and-chicken filling, but he didn’t really have a use or an application for it. I urged him to make it anyway,” says Pouch. “I kind of knew instinctively to just wrap it in pizza dough [and] make it into a chicken cheese roll.” So Pouch combined Soloman’s filling with his tireless testing and experimenting, and before too long, they had perfected the snack that would become the Doughboy. Shortly before the snack’s invention, Pouch and his wife, along with Sheldon and his wife, Maureen, had conveniently opened up Esperanto, and they thought it would be a perfect signature item to offer the public. Boy, were they ever right. The truth is, almost from the very beginning, keeping up with the incredible demand for Doughboys was, ironically, one of Esperanto’s biggest challenges (it’s just one restaurant with a four-person kitchen, after all). Pouch says that he knew he had something big when, in the early days, they kept running out, and people would get angry and, sometimes, fistfights would even break out over the day’s last Doughboy.
Esperanto Co-owner Will Pouch is hoping that the Doughboy, now being rebranded as the “Oboy,” will become as popular regionally and possibly, nationally, as it has been in Saratoga Springs. (Esperanto)
Skip ahead 23 years and the Doughboy has now been officially recast as the Oboy. “We’ve changed it to Oboy mostly because we’re going farther and wider,” says Pouch. “Plus, the name’s already taken.” To fans of the old name, it’s sad but true; in many neighboring states, a “Doughboy” is a popular treat at state and county fairs, a square of fried pizza dough with powdered sugar on top.
To Pouch, the name-change was a natural one, and he and Belinda are already opening up a separate but affiliated baking company called the Red Brick Bakery in Mechanicville to finally produce Oboys on a commercial scale and with a variety of fillings. Even though the new bakery won’t be ready until this December or January of next year, the Oboy is already catching on in other regions of New York. “Just this morning at my yoga class, somebody told me that they were up in North Creek and they had Oboys at the Stewart’s store there,” says Pouch. “So we’re already spreading out over the region, thanks to Stewart’s.” Pouch plans on taking the product to other popular convenience store chains such as Jiffy Mart (where Oboys are already available in Troy) or WahWah in New Jersey, where there’s a large potential customer base of Skidmore alumni who are already familiar with the Oboy’s (née Doughboys) gooey, cream-cheesed-filled goodness (they’re a regular item on campus now; I know I certainly ate my share when I was a Skidmore student).
As for locals, who’ve loved and known the baked snack as a Doughboy for 20-plus years now, some like the name change and some are having a hard time with it, says Pouch. “Customers tell me that they’ll always refer to it as a Doughboy. But I don’t mind; we’re just happy to serve it.”
Hmm, Oboy or Doughboy? The debate might just become a new chapter in regional New York food lore.
I’m not going to lie: I was a little nervous—and I normally don’t get nervous too easily—going into my interview with Peter W. Mullin. He’s not the type of person guys like me normally get to spend the better part of a Friday afternoon with. Not only is he a highly successful businessman and über-generous philanthropist, but he’s also a legend in the world of automobile collecting. For one, he’s the name behind California’s renowned Mullin Automotive Museum (and he’s planning a second one in England). He’s also the President of the American Bugatti Club, a collective of Bugatti enthusiasts who own some of the most sought after and expensive automobiles in the world. And of course, he himself owns a panoply of priceless autos—including one which he co-owns, an ultra-rare 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantics, one of just two in existence (the other one’s owned by Ralph Lauren). The latter was to be on display this past Saturday, September 8, at the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where my magazine, saratoga living, was set to be the title sponsor. In short, there were a lot of reasons to be nervous.
I was set to meet Mullin and his wife, Merle, who’s also his racing companion, a fellow philanthropist and artist/designer, in their suite at the Marriott on Excelsior Avenue here in Saratoga Springs, where the entire American Bugatti Club was staying for its first-ever tour of the city (and New York State, for that matter). At around 4pm on Friday, the hotel was a madhouse of activity—and from the way the Marriott’s staff kept mentioning the Mullins’ names, I knew I was going to be meeting nothing short of American royalty. Again, another reason to be nervous. Thankfully, all my nerves were completely unnecessary; the Mullins were incredibly charming people, who welcomed me and saratoga living photographer, Katie Dobies, into their suite as if we were old friends. We ended up spending two hours with the couple, discussing everything from their collections to their philanthropic work.
Peter, who’s tall and has a quiet demeanor, made his fortune in the financial services and insurance industries through his company M Financial Group, which he founded in 1978. (He’d been a consultant in the industry since ’69.) He’s also the Chairman of Mullin Barens Sanford Financial, an executive compensation consulting firm. But Mullin plays just as hard as he works. His other greatest passion has always been collecting classic automobiles, specifically those produced by the French automaker Bugatti. He has one of the world’s largest privately held collections of rare, classic autos, including 35 Bugattis (you don’t become President of the American Bugatti Club by accident—though he tells me that he did accidentally miss the meeting where his top title was announced). Peter’s collection is so expansive, in fact, that in 2010 he founded the aforementioned Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA, not only so he could house all of his priceless automotive works of art, but also so that he could display them to car enthusiasts the world over. And then there’s that Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. One of automaker Jean Bugatti’s final creations—he died in a car accident at just the age of 30 in 1939—the Atlantic is nothing short of the car collecting “Holy Grail”—or Mona Lisa, as he puts it. To that end, Peter tells me that the sleek, opalescent blue Bugatti is one of his personal favorites in his collection (it’s only eclipsed by his love for his 1937 Type 150CS Teardrop Talbot-Lago, but that’s another story).
Peter Mullin, with his wife, Merle, flanked by his co-owned Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic (blue) and Ralph Lauren’s (black) at the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival. (Katie Dobies)
You’d think that someone with this kind of priceless automobile and collection, valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, would want to keep them under lock and key, with 24/7 surveillance, somewhere safely off the grid. But Peter has an altogether different philosophy about his collection. “[They’re] valuable collectibles, for sure, but they were made to drive,” he says. “They were made to be seen rolling through the streets.” Peter’s even been known to purchase cars that are tabbed for others’ private collections that he knows will be kept out of sight, so that he can do the opposite with them. “I think that cords around cars and alarms that go off if you get too close [to them] are just not the way we think about [cars],” says Peter, who was advised to install these kinds of security measures at his own automobile museum but refused. “Our experience is that the public has been very careful and respectful [of the cars],” he says.
Given that spirit of sharing, Peter and Merle came to Saratoga to help oversee the International Bugatti Tour’s debut visit here and the Club’s first time in the US in a decade. The Tour is a weeklong rally—a sort of scenic road trip for classic car enthusiasts—which includes daily excursions and pit stops at important locations and businesses throughout Saratoga, the Adirondacks and surrounding areas. For instance, the day I interviewed Peter and his wife, the Tour had driven to Utica to see Phaeton Motors Limited, a collectible and classic car trading company and museum, and the previous day, had made the trek up to Blue Mountain Lake to visit its Adirondacks-focused museum. “Our drive through the Adirondacks was just spectacular, so enchanting,” says Merle.
This year’s International Bugatti Tour includes more than 80 Bugattis from 14 countries, as well as a number of special events celebrating the timeless beauty of the Bugatti brand. One such event took place this past Saturday, as the Club paraded their Bugattis from the Saratoga Spa State Park through Downtown Saratoga. Earlier that day, the Club also put on an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime showcase of their automotive wares during the Grand Tasting at the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival, which ran from September 7-9. And that 1936 Atlantic? It’s normally on display at Mullin’s museum in California, but it was brought to Saratoga and the Festival, parked right beside the reflecting pool at the Hall of Springs, along with its jet-black, Ralph Lauren-owned counterpart, the first time in 15 years the two autos have been displayed anywhere together. The International Bugatti Tour chose Saratoga because of the Festival itself, says Mullin—classic car collectors love wine, too—and for the Spa City’s proximity to the 10th US Bugatti Grand Prix, which ran from August 29 to September 3 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT. Peter says he had passed through Saratoga before, but this is the first time he and his wife have really had a chance to soak it in and experience Saratoga’s elegance (from what they tell me, they’re loving it). Peter, who’s also a collector of Art Deco antiques—whether that be furniture, fixtures or works of art—particularly enjoys the diversity of architectural styles along North Broadway and throughout the city, the restored homes with their manicured lawns and gardens and lawn jockeys. “It’s just a whole different slice of Americana, and you never see anything like it on the West Coast,” says Peter, who was born in Pasadena and still lives, at least for part of the year, in California.
Peter tells me that he caught the car-collecting “bug” at a young age from his father, who was a chemical engineer for Mobil. But maybe not how you might imagine it. “My father would drag me along to car- and boat-related [shows], not really to look at the cars and boats but to look at the viscosity of the oil,” Peter says, with a laugh. “And I would say, ‘Dad, why are you talking about that? Look at this gorgeous thing here.’ So I maybe helped him appreciate what we were looking at, and he helped me appreciate how they worked. So that was a good trade.” Merle got the bug after meeting her husband in ’94. “I liked pretty cars, but I thought cars were to get you from point A to point B,” she says. Though she hasn’t had it quite as long as her husband has, Merle’s got the collecting bug bad now—so much so that she’s organized a women-only classic car rally for enthusiasts called “It’s All About The Girls!,” which held its first rally in 2011 in Tuscany, Italy, where the Mullins own a home. “I was one of the few women among this whole group who drive—I actually co-drive with Peter a lot,” says Merle about what spurred the idea for the rally. “So when we came up with this idea—when our husbands were all sitting in a corner, nose to nose, talking about cars—we said, ‘Why don’t we do one ourselves?’” Peter was very supportive of the idea from the start, and why wouldn’t he be? He loves driving with his wife. To wit, for their first wedding anniversary, he bought her a white 1957 Thunderbird, the car Merle used to drive in her teens (talk about romantic!). So far the It’s All About The Girls! rallies have been a massive success, regularly bringing in 60-plus women with either their own car collections or partner collections. The women then drive 30 collector cars across some of the most beautiful and relaxing countrysides on the planet. Last year’s rally was in Provence, France.
Peter Mullin, maybe the car world’s most famous collector, is the founder of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA. (Katie Dobies)
However, the Mullins’ interests aren’t just limited to classic car collecting and the thrilling cross-country rallies that come with it. That philosophy of sharing Peter mentioned earlier extends into his and his wife’s philanthropic work. “We both have a strong interest in giving back to our community and beyond it, because we feel very appreciative of the blessings in our lives,” Merle says. “And so it’s very important to keep on returning the blessings.” In this spirit, the Mullins have a long list of charitable organizations, museums, hospitals, schools and universities that they’ve supported and even chaired over the years. Peter continues to serve on the board of prestigious institutions such as the Guggenheim Foundation, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and the Music Center Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Los Angeles Music Center where Peter has served as Chairman for 27 years now. Those are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Mullins never stray too far from the world of automobiles, though, even when it comes to philanthropy. The Mullins have invested heavily in ArtCenter College of Design in Peter’s hometown of Pasadena (he made a substantial monetary gift to ArtCenter in 2013, the largest in the college’s history). A number of the auto industry’s leading designers, who currently work for top luxury automakers such as BMW, Mercedes and Volvo, are ArtCenter alums. The Mullins are even in the planning stages of opening up a new school within the college—the Mullin School of Transportation—a program focusing on the future of transportation design. They’re hoping to bring in students from around the world to learn how to develop new generations of cars and other modes of transportation.
With so much on their plate, it’s a wonder the Mullins have any spare time to relax. And yet, they keep rolling along to the next project or destination, and I can imagine this won’t be the last time we see them in Saratoga. I’m hoping that they come back next summer—or even sooner. Who knows? Maybe that Atlantic (and its friend) will be guests at many more Saratoga Wine & Food Festivals to come. I’ll be there to marvel at them—and catch up with my new friends, Peter and Merle.
European champion Lady Aurelia will be offered at this year’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale, set for the night of Nov. 4.
Lady Aurelia’s retirement from racing was announced in July. The 4-year-old daughter of Scat Daddy will be consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales as agent for Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Farm and co-owner Peter Leidel.
“Lady Aurelia is a truly special offering based upon her accomplishments around the world, highlighted by two wins at Royal Ascot,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said in a release. “She has the potential to become a broodmare of historic proportions.”
Lady Aurelia, who was trained throughout her career by Wesley Ward, was a 7 1/2-length debut winner at Keeneland, establishing a track record. She then made her first trip to Royal Ascot, blitzing the field by seven lengths in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes. She went on to a summer campaign with a victory in the Group 1 Prix Morny in France and a third-place finish in the Group 1 Cheveley Park in England. Her campaign garnered a Cartier Award as Europe’s outstanding 2-year-old filly, making her the first American-trained horse to win one of those awards.
Lady Aurelia returned as a 3-year-old with a victory in the Giant’s Causeway Stakes at Keeneland, then made a return trip to Royal Ascot, defeating older males in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes. The filly was beaten a nose in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York over the summer. Lady Aurelia finished 10th as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. She was winless in two starts this year, finishing second in the Giant’s Causeway and seventh in her defense of the King’s Stand.
Lady Aurelia is out of D’ Wildcat Speed, who was Horse of the Year in Puerto Rico. Stonestreet purchased the mare for $1 million at the 2005 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, and she has produced four winners from five starters, including stakes-placed Titletown Five. D’ Wildcat Speed has a yearling filly by Munnings who Stonestreet withdrew from the upcoming Keeneland September yearling sale.
“Lady Aurelia is the embodiment of Stonestreet’s breeding program,” Banke said. “A brilliant filly out of a champion, she took on all comers across the globe at the pinnacle of our sport.”
Not only are the top three finishers from the Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth back in the $100,000 Royal Delta Stakes on Sunday, but the race shape in the Sunday feature at Belmont Park looks much the same as in the July 29 Molly Pitcher.
Favored Divine Miss Grey got caught up in a hot pace and faded to third in the Molly Pitcher. Berned, who got a great trip under Joe Bravo, bid off the far turn, opened a clear lead at the stretch call, and held on by three-quarters of a length over late-running Dreamcall.
On paper, there is plenty of pace in the Royal Delta, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race restricted to horses who haven’t won a Grade 1 or a Grade 2 during 2018. Divine Miss Grey will be susceptible to negative race dynamics again, while Berned and Dreamcall should get good runs. The difference from the Molly Pitcher will be in price, with Berned and Dreamcall, 4-1 and 5-1 last time, going down and Divine Miss Grey’s odds rising.
Post time for the Royal Delta, race 8, is set for 5:18 Eastern. Divine Miss Grey was entered for the main track only Saturday at Parx Racing in the Dr. James Penny, but that turf race is expected to remain on grass.
KEY CONTENDERS
Dreamcall, by Midnight Lute
Last 3 Beyers: 85-83-79
◗ She was coming fastest late in the Molly Pitcher and would have caught Berned in a few more strides. It’s possible her sustained run – which also was effective two starts ago at Prairie Meadows – will be abetted by the vast Belmont Park oval.
◗ She has never raced at Belmont but has been based with trainer Steve Asmussen’s string there since before the Molly Pitcher and has logged four interim works over the main track.
Berned, by Bernardini
Last 3 Beyers: 87-78-88
◗ Talented enough, but her ideal distance range appears to be narrow. She struggles to muster the speed to win against fast horses at seven furlongs and doesn’t solidly stay two turns at the graded-stakes level.
◗ Bravo has ridden Berned the last three times (and has two wins), which is important since her run must be properly timed. He just got it right at Monmouth and can’t afford to pounce on the pace too soon Sunday with Dreamcall looming behind.
◗ Didn’t fire in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont in June but won her maiden over the surface.
Divine Miss Grey, by Divine Park
Last 3 Beyers: 77-95-83
◗ Prolific winner (9 for 19) just doesn’t rate much going long and lacks the stamina to go a fast pace and stay this distance. She’ll need to ease off the speed of Come Dancing and try not to take too much outside pressure from Frostie Anne to race efficiently.
FRANKLIN, Ky. – It’s nice to have a side gig. Chris Block has made a name for himself as a perennial top trainer in his native Illinois, but his occasional trips to the Kentucky-Tennessee border have been quite productive, too.
Since 2008, Block has netted five wins and five seconds from just 16 starts in stakes at Kentucky Downs, and he’ll be looking to pad that statistic Sunday when he saddles Captivating Moon as a lukewarm morning-line favorite for the $400,000 Dueling Grounds Derby.
“It’s been a good place for me,” said Block, who will be on hand at this turf-only track after flying Sunday morning from Chicago Midway Airport into nearby Nashville, Tenn. “I’ve always had a lot of grass horses, so it’s been a great fit. Hopefully, we can keep that positive trend going.”
Captivating Moon is one of 10 3-year-olds in the fifth Dueling Grounds Derby, which directly follows its sister race, the $300,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks, on a terrific 10-race card. Both races will be run at the once-around distance of 1 5/16 miles.
Bred and owned by Lothenbach Stables, Captivating Moon will be making his 12th career start after knocking heads with some real standouts in his division, including Gidu, Analyze It, and Maraud. The late-running colt was a creditable fifth in his last race, the Grade 1 Secretariat, over his home course at Arlington Park.
“He’s pretty honest and turf-course indifferent,” said Block, noting that Captivating Moon ran fine over a soft turf course when he dead-heated for second in the Grade 2 American Turf on Kentucky Derby Day. “He is one-dimensional, but going this distance Sunday, that might be just fine. He just gallops along, and then it takes him a few strides to get going when he tries to quicken. If he’s able to keep on trucking, he might just be able to run ‘em down Sunday.”
Florent Geroux will have the mount on Captivating Moon, and they break from post 7. One of the chief threats will start alongside in post 6: Bandua, who was relegated to an also-eligible list Saturday when entered by trainer Dermot Weld against older horses in the Kentucky Turf Cup. A two-time winner from four starts, all in Ireland for owner Calumet Farm, the gray colt was making his North American debut when he outran his nearly 40-1 odds and finished third behind Carrick and Analyze It in the Aug. 11 Secretariat.
Other major players in the derby include Channel Cat, a solid fourth two starts back in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby for Todd Pletcher; Reride, most recently fourth to his Steve Asmussen stablemate Tenfold in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga; and the uncoupled Mike Maker duo of Jailhouse Kitten and Cullum Road.
As competitive as the derby appears, the Oaks and its field of 12 3-year-old fillies probably is more so.
Pamina and Princess Warrior, the respective 2-3 finishers in the Grade 3 Pucker Up on the Arlington Million undercard, figure among the top contenders in the fourth running of the Oaks. Pamina, with Geroux riding from post 3, has earned a higher Beyer Speed Figure with each passing start for trainer Michael Dickinson and has never been worse than second in five career races.
Other considerations in a deep cast include Heavenly Love, who captured a maiden race in eye-catching fashion here last September and then won the Grade 1 Alcibiades on dirt at Keeneland; Osare, with Jose Ortiz riding for Jonathan Thomas of Catholic Boy fame; Smart Shot, a troubled ninth in the Pucker Up following back-to-back victories for Calumet and trainer Rusty Arnold; and the Maker trio of Malibu Saint, Rahway, and Sippin Kitten.
The Dueling Grounds Oaks (race 8) and Dueling Grounds Derby (race 9) anchor a Sunday card that starts at 1:25 p.m. Central. Four qualifying events (races 3-6) toward the Dec. 1 Claiming Crown, each with a $100,000 purse, also are part of a busy program.
Purses for the derby and Oaks are heavily supplemented by bonus incentives from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Between both races, all but one starter – Zero Gravity, a longshot Florida-bred in the derby – are Kentucky-breds.
Both stakes are named for what this track was called from 1990 to 1997, when it was renamed Kentucky Downs by new ownership. The property was an actual “dueling grounds” in the 1800s partly because gun duels were legal in Kentucky but not in adjacent Tennessee.
The forecast for Sunday calls for cooling temperatures and a 90 percent chance of thunderstorms as the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon continue a northward trek.
Sunday is College Day at Kentucky Downs, with two $1,500 scholarships and 10 Microsoft Surface tablet computers being raffled off to registered students throughout the day. The drawings are sponsored by the track and the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.
After Sunday, only the closing-day Thursday card will remain at this five-day meet, with the $400,000 Ramsey Farm and $300,000 Franklin-Simpson serving as co-features. Churchill Downs opens its 11-day September meet Friday.
I remember the ’80s like it was yesterday. I was totally caught up in the G.I. Joe craze, and my older brother and I used to set up our vehicles and figures on the living room floor—he was always the good guy, while I was always Cobra, the terrorist organization plotting to take over the world (this was obviously a ploy to pick on me)—and by the time we were done battling it out, I would likely be in tears. Call it little brother syndrome.
In all seriousness, though, the ’80s were pretty much the most memorable era, especially in Saratoga Springs. I still dream about all the rows of toys that I could’ve bought at Toys For Joy on Broadway (basically, where the Gap parking lot is nowadays), or the epic World Wrestling Federation (WFF) bouts I caught on my rabbit-eared TV on Saturday mornings. Or the fact that the baseball cards of the Oakland Athletics’ José Canseco and New York Yankees’ Don Mattingly were too expensive to spend my allowance on at the Vault (still on Caroline Street!). But my favorite part of the ’80s was all the music that I listened to night and day on PIX 106.5 and was able to catch in delicious dribs and drabs on MTV at my grandparents’ house in Schenectady. I recently started building a Spotify playlist entitled “Will’s Childhood,” consisting of all the songs I can remember being on the radio when I was a kid. A short sampling: Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting,” Gloria Estefan’s “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” Aerosmith’s “What It Takes” and Warrant’s “Heaven.” Every time I crank one of these hits, I’m immediately transported back to my childhood.
If you’re jonesing for a sonic nostalgia trip, head over to Putnam Place this Saturday, September 8, at 8pm, where That 80’s Band—which consists of Michael Bruce (drums/vocals), Todd Minnick (bass/vocals), Derek Montanye (guitar/vocals), Kevin Hodge (keyboards) and Beth Zaje (vocals)—will be turning the Saratoga venue into an ’80s dance party. They’ll probably play more than a few songs that appear on my Spotify playlist, but just to give you a taste, they pull from the following artist’s catalogs: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Tears for Fears, Huey Lewis and the News (my brother and I wore our Sports and Fore! cassettes into the ground), Toto (“Africa,” anyone?) and one of my personal favorites, Phil Collins. (Watch the band perform another ’80s gem, Starship’s “We Built This City”—which features the greatest, most indecipherable lyric in the history of music, “Marconi plays the mamba”—above.)
Doors are at 7pm, with the show kicking off at 8pm sharp. Note that it’s a 21 and over show, but tickets are “pay what you want,” so if you still have one of those ’80s-era twenties jammed into those tight Springsteen blue jeans you haven’t been able to shimmy on since ’84, it’ll get you in. Hell, if you have G.I. Joe flag points, my guess is they’ll except those, too. I sure hope they do.
I used to teach music lessons (guitar and ukulele) on Saturdays in Schuylerville. On the drive there, I’d always pass this little white warehouse at the corner of Ballard Road and Route 50, maybe just a mile up the road from the Wilton Mall. The warehouse itself wasn’t anything extraordinary, but its yard always grabbed my attention. It was filled with imaginative sculptures made from found and repurposed metal objects, welded and twisted into alluring, abstract shapes, such as strange creatures or majestic horses (an obvious hat-tip to the area). It turns out that this otherworldly place is called Ballard Road Art Studio and is owned by artist miChelle M. Vara. Thankfully, she let me in.
An artist of many talents—welder, photographer, jewelry-maker, restorer—Vara has a theory as to why she’s drawn to found objects and, well, for lack of a better word, junk. “Objects carry energy and memory,” says Vara. “These objects have been used—they’ve been handled. I don’t know where they came from or what their past was. But as soon as I meet the objects, I know what it wants to be.” This passion for collecting and, in a sense, recycling found objects is what drew Vara to welding when she was only in her teens. Completely self-taught, she tried her hand at industrial and commercial welding gigs in order to financially support herself as an artist. This included everything from underwater welding to iron-working in a factory and breaking down old paper mills in Alabama. “I absolutely adore objects that are found or recycled,” says Vara, who tells me that she enjoys giving the objects “a new function” or getting observers talking about it in a new light. Found objects literally surround Vara in her workshop: She has a collection of broken tools, metal chains, bent bicycle gears, old car parts and rusted wires—as well as her own evocative, welded sculptures that rise from the scrap pile.
The grounds of the Ballard Road Art Studio. (miChelle Vara)
Vara was born in New Jersey and educated at a nontraditional Montessori school where her artistic inclinations were piqued by a photography class. It wasn’t long after this that she got her first paid job—at the age of nine, no less—hand-lettering signs on the Jersey Shore. After receiving a full scholarship and graduating from the prestigious Pratt Institute in Boston, Vara spent some time traveling and working odd jobs up and down the East Coast (including a stint in the circus). Then, in 1995, Vara chose to settle down in Wilton and open up the Ballard Road Art Studio. She handpicked the Saratoga area because of its proximity to one of her idols, the American abstract sculptor and painter David Smith. Arguably the most important metal artist and sculptor of the 20th century, Smith permanently relocated his successful studio in 1940 from the bustle of New York City to tiny Bolton Landing on Lake George. “The really interesting thing about this area is that we’re in between New York City and where David Smith spent his time,” Vara says. “So, for me, it’s almost like a mythological path from the City to David Smith’s space, and I think you find more metal sculptors in Upstate than you do anywhere.” To Vara’s point, C & C Specialty Iron, founded in 1994 and run by another welder and machinist, Chad Wilson, joined forces with her studio in 2000 to expand its operations and offer more custom welding projects to clients.
Unlike many artists, who produce works of their own mind and then sell their wares to interested buyers, Vara prefers to work almost exclusively with clients on commission-based pieces. “I know a lot of artists don’t, and don’t feel comfortable with it,” says Vara of commission-based projects. “However, there’s a synergy when you work with a client, and you’re trying to connect to a higher level of what they expect,” she says. And that template has worked out well for her; she’s not only been able to build out an expansive list of clients, but it’s also allowed her artwork and sculptures to reach a much wider audience. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and installed in public spaces and parks all around the world. She’s done everything from creating backdrops and scenery for Universal Studios and Disney to paying tribute to the World Trade Center in Albany. She’s even produced a traveling sculpture, entitled Embryo, that’s been exhibited at England’s Stonehenge (!), and has made stops in Germany and Plymouth (UK).
When Vara isn’t doing commissions for clients, you can find her producing a number of personal projects—one of which nods to that Montessori school education. She currently has a photographic series on display in Germany, part of a traveling exhibition called Hope is Maybe, which features a number artists whose work highlights or draws attention to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. “I like to do things that are activist-based,” she says. And she was recently invited to produce a piece for the Sculpture by the Sea series, which installs artists’ works of art at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. It’ll be on display from October 18 to November 4, and again next year, from March 1-18.
Exhibiting her work internationally is a tremendous honor—and it’s brought her around the world—but lately, Vara’s found it more difficult to leave her studio in Wilton for weeks on end. Not just because it’s her business, but because she loves it here so much. “This is a super area to live,” Vara says. “You can do anything: hike, swim, boat. And it’s all within five or ten minutes. Not too many places really have that.” Not to mention something as unique as the Ballard Road Art Studio or miChelle Vara. (Click on the photo at the top for a photo gallery of more of Vara’s work.)
ELMONT, N.Y. – Multiple circumstances worked against Dirty when he finished third to World of Trouble in the Quick Call Stakes last month at Saratoga.
First, Dirty broke through the starting gate prior to the official start of the race. He ran off briefly under jockey Jose Ortiz before being corralled by an outrider and brought back to be reloaded. During the race, Dirty had to chase the loose-on-the-lead World of Trouble around the yielding course before eventually getting beat two lengths by World of Trouble and losing second by a neck to Fig Jelly.
Circumstances could be different Saturday when Dirty takes on World of Trouble again in the $100,000 Allied Forces Stakes at Belmont Park. A field of seven was entered for the Allied Forces, scheduled for six furlongs over the Widener turf course. The Allied forces will go as the fourth on the 10-race card.
Though Dirty had previously won in front-running fashion, trainer Jeremiah Englehart was more impressed with the style he employed at Laurel, rallying from eight lengths off the pace to win a starter allowance by five lengths on June 22.
“That was really impressive,” Englehart said. “That’s something he’d rather do, be held together early on, sit, and come with one run.”
A contested pace would help Dirty do just that and a contested pace appears in the offing Saturday with Gidu and Colonel Tom in the field.
World of Trouble made a successful turf debut when he won the Quick Call in front-running fashion over yielding ground at Saratoga. Trainer Jason Servis was confident that World of Trouble was bred to handle turf, he just wasn’t sure if he’d handle the soft going.
“I’d be curious how he runs on firm turf because it was deep that day,” Servis said.
Reed Kan, Weather Report, and Totally Boss also were entered.
KEY CONTENDERS
Dirty, by Maclean’s Music
Last 3 Beyers: 85-90-85
◗ Owns a win over the Belmont course and is likely to get firmer ground than he got in Saratoga.
◗ With Jose Ortiz out of town, Javier Castellano picks up the mount.
World of Trouble, by Kantharos
Last 3 Beyers: 92-86-92
◗ Was a relatively easy front-running winner in a 12-horse field in the Quick Call Stakes going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Saratoga.
◗ Went to the turf only after missing the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes on dirt early in July due to a temperature.
Gidu, by Frankel
Last 3 Beyers: 71-89-NA
◗ Back to sprinting on turf in the United States after running sixth in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup going six furlongs on a straight course at Royal Ascot, fourth in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame around two turns on turf, and seventh in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens on dirt.
◗ Won the Paradise Creek Stakes going seven furlongs on turf at Belmont in May.
FRANKLIN, Ky. – Mike Maker and one of his stable stars, Oscar Nominated, both will bring noteworthy streaks Saturday to the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup.
Maker, the leading trainer in Kentucky Downs history, has saddled the winner of the track’s annual showcase event the last three years, while Oscar Nominated is unbeaten over the undulating, irregularly shaped turf course.
“We’re working on keeping the streaks alive,” said Maker.
Oscar Nominated stands perhaps the best chance at victory as one of five older horses Maker has entered in the $750,000 Kentucky Turf Cup, which culminates a sensational 10-race program that starts at 1:25 p.m. Central. He and Bigger Picture will be among the favorites in the 1 1/2-mile race, while other Maker starters Bronson and Soglio will be longer shots in a full field of 12. The Maker-trained Markitoff is among the four also-eligibles for the race.
Oscar Nominated, owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey, won the Turf Cup last year, following back-to-back (2015-16) wins by Da Big Hoss for Maker in the race. In his only prior Kentucky Downs start, Oscar Nominated won the 2016 Dueling Grounds Derby.
“Obviously, he likes that surface,” said Maker.
Bigger Picture, a Grade 1 winner owned by Three Diamonds Farm, finished eighth in the Aug. 25 Sword Dancer at Saratoga after getting hit in the eye, Maker said.
“He’s running back a little quicker than we’d like, but he’s got a lot of back class to fall back on,” he said.
Besides the Maker contingent, other major players in the 27th Turf Cup include Manitoulin, in from New York for Jimmy Toner; Multiplier, in from California for Peter Miller; Nessy, winner of the San Juan Capistrano in April for Ian Wilkes; Arklow, a graded winner for Brad Cox; and Big Bend, winner of the 2017 Dueling Grounds Derby for Tom Proctor.
Markitoff will run in the Northern Dancer next Saturday at Woodbine, Maker said. Another also-eligible, Bandua, most likely will run here Sunday.
The Turf Cup purse includes $350,000 in bonuses from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Every horse in the lineup except the Brazilian-bred Some in Tieme is a Kentucky-bred.
The Turf Cup (post, 5:59) ends a pick five and a pick four made up entirely of stakes. Those preceding stakes are the KD Juvenile Turf Sprint (race 6), KD Ladies Turf (race 7), KD Ladies Sprint (race 8), and KD Turf Sprint (race 9).
Kentucky Downs officials are hoping Saturday will break the single-day track record for handle of $8,487,323, set on the 2017 Kentucky Turf Cup card.
With the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon heading in this direction as of Thursday, the outlook for Saturday called for a 60 percent chance of rain, with an increase to 90 percent for Sunday.
Several New York jockeys are scheduled to be in for the Saturday or Sunday cards, including Joel Rosario, who swept three straight graded stakes last Saturday at Saratoga – the Saranac, Spinaway, and Woodward.
Among the others are Jose Ortiz – who actually is riding the last four days of this meet – and Luis Saez, Joe Bravo, Junior Alvarado, and Kendrick Carmouche. Because of their varying schedules, no charter flight was arranged, so all will be flying commercial in and out of Nashville, Tenn., where the airport is less than an hour’s drive from Kentucky Downs.
Also named here this weekend are Drayden Van Dyke and Flavien Prat, one-two at the recently ended Del Mar meet, as well as Jose Valdivia Jr. and Tyler Gaffalione, the respective leading riders at Arlington Park and Gulfstream Park.
Among the locally based jockeys conspicuously absent this weekend is Corey Lanerie, who opted to serve a three-day suspension stemming from a Sunday riding infraction at Ellis Park. Lanerie will return to action when Churchill Downs starts its 11-day September meet next Friday (Sept. 14).
