Rice becomes first woman to win Saratoga training title

Trainer Linda Rice is congratulated by NYRA officials Liz Bracken and Kim Justus (Courtesy of NYRA) While jockey Ramon Dominguez continued to dominate the competition in New York, winning the jockey title for the 36-day meet at Saratoga by a comfortable margin with 45 wins, a new face jumped to the top of the trainer standings. Linda Rice, with 20 wins, narrowly edged out Todd Pletcher in the final days of the meet to become the first woman to win a training title at the Spa. It was the first training title of any kind for Rice, 45, who started her own stable in 1987. “It means the world to me,” Rice said. “It has been a lot of work and a long time coming. It’s a real honor to compete at the greatest racetrack in the world and come out with the training title.” Things started out well when Rice won the first race of the meet with Good Prospect (Good and Tough) on July 29 and continued up from there. After going head-to-head with Pletcher, a six-time Saratoga training champion, Rice took the lead for good, 20-19, on Saturday when she saddled Gentle Ride (Mutakddim) to win the 12TH and last race of the evening.

“As we went later in the meet, I was one up, and then Todd was two up,” she
said. “Of course, I’m looking at the horses standing in my barn and not sure I
could follow through. I was concerned for the last couple of days because I
didn’t have the right horses in. I placed a few horses pretty aggressively last
week and it worked.”

All of Rice’s victories came on races carded for the turf, and she has a
stable of only 50 horses.

“I don’t think you can go into Saratoga and think you’re going to win the
training title,” she said. “It was a lot of fun. Todd, Steve Asmussen, Billy
Mott, Kiaran McLaughlin — they’re great horsemen; they have very nice horses
and nice stables. It’s not easy to win a training title at Saratoga, period.”

Nor is it easy to win a jockey title — not even for Dominguez, who set a
modern-day record for victories at the Belmont Park Spring/Summer meet with 98
total winners, having already broken Hall of Famer Angel Cordero Jr.’s mark of
92 set during the 1982 Belmont Park meet. Dominguez was also the leading jockey
at Aqueduct Racetrack’s inner track meet and the spring meet.

“I’m very happy to be able to finish ahead — this is the meet that everybody
wants to win,” Dominguez said. “I’m just grateful. Everybody in New York has
been very supportive and my business has been pretty big, so I just hope that
continues.”

Dominguez rode one winner on Monday’s closing day at Saratoga, but has
maintained a lead in the standings since August 26. He finished five wins ahead
of his nearest competitor, Alan Garcia, who rode 40 winners. 

For the second year in a row, Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey were the
meet-leading owners, sending out 13 winners from 60 starters, with eight
second-place finishes and four third-place finishes. Dominguez rode four of the
Ramseys’ starters this meet, finishing in the money all four times with two
wins, one second, and one third.

Ramon Dominguez receives his prize from NYRA CEO Charles Hayward (Courtesy of NYRA) Saratoga’s final handle and attendance figures surpassed projections prior to the meet and outpaced nationwide wagering statistics. Attendance was down 2.1 percent, on-track handle down 2.2 percent, and all-sources handle down 1.7 percent from 2008 totals, according to the New York Racing Association. NYRA officials speculated leading up to Saratoga’s July 29 opening that wagering would decline approximately 5 percent from 2008 figures. Equibase, the Thoroughbred industry’s official statistics-gathering organization, last Friday reported a year-to-date 11.1 percent decline in wagering nationwide compared to 2008 and a 12.5 percent decline in wagering in August over the same month last year. Full fields and brilliant late-summer weather defined the final week at Saratoga, capped by Saturday’s historic running of the Woodward S. (G1) when a (six-week meet) record final-Saturday crowd of 31,171 witnessed the breathtaking, incomparable performance of probable Horse of the Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d’Oro).

Attendance for the 2009 meet was 854,413, down from 872,627 in 2008, for a
daily average of 23,734 compared to 24,240, with one less Giveaway Day in 2009
over 2008. Attendance figures for Giveaway Days include patrons who pay multiple
admissions to obtain more than one giveaway item, either at the track entrance
or at the multiple admissions area inside the track. There were four Giveaway
Days in the 2009 meet compared to five in 2008.

On-track handle at Saratoga was $112,005,880,
down from $114,563,754 in 2008, for a daily average of $3,111,274 compared to
$3,182,327.

All-sources handle (which includes money bet on
Saratoga races from simulcast outlets nationwide) was $513,837,237, down from
$522,530,643 in 2008, for a daily average of $14,273,257 compared to
$14,514,740.

Average betting interests for the meet increased 3.1 percent (8.38 vs. 8.13) and
total betting interests increased 4.8 percent (3,058 vs. 2,919) from 2008, with
six more races run in 2009 over 2008 (365 vs. 359). Turf races totaled 164, with
29 taken off the turf, compared to 141 on and 38 off in 2008.

“By any measure, the 2009 Saratoga meet was an overwhelming success,” New
York Racing Association President and CEO Charles Hayward said. 
“Performances on the track were led by a history-making Woodward victory by
Rachel Alexandra, and attendance and total wagering far exceeded our
expectations. We thank our customers, our owners, trainers, and jockeys, and our
employees for their enthusiasm and participation.”

Thoroughbred racing moves downstate to Belmont Park for the 33-day Fall
Championship Meet beginning Friday, and running through October 25. With the
exception of Columbus Day week, live racing is conducted Wednesday through
Sunday with a first race post time of 1 p.m. (EDT). There will be live racing on
Columbus Day, October 12, with no racing on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 13
and 14. Racing will resume October 15.