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November 14, 2005
BRAVO NAILS 10TH RIDING TITLE; HONORS
TO SERVIS & OCEAN VIEW
Big M.com
Joe Bravo secured his tenth Meadowlands
riding title, and a pair of first-time winners were also end of
meet honorees, when thoroughbred racing at the East Rutherford
track drew to a close on Saturday night, November 12, 2005.
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Top training honors went to
Jason Servis, and the Ocean View Stables of Toms
River, New Jersey claimed the top owner title.
Bravo, 34, the most dominant rider on the New Jersey
circuit since winning his first Meadowlands crown in
1991, finished the season with 24 wins, 24 seconds and
19 thirds from 118 starts for earnings of $881,774.
He also has 12 Monmouth
Park crowns to his credit. This fall,
he prevailed over apprentice Channing Hill with 19
wins, Rajiv Maragh with 17 wins and Chuck Lopez and
Jose Lezcano, with 16 each.
Bravo won at a 20 percent clip and finished
in-the-money with 57 percent of his mounts.
"I'm just lucky to get to ride the horses that I do,”
said Bravo. “I have to thank all the owners and
trainers who have confidence in me and let me go out
there and do what I do. It's an honor and I'm happy
that I was able to win the title. Hopefully, I'll be
back next year and can do as well again."
West Virginia-born Jason Servis, 48, a lifelong
horseman and former jockey’s valet, opened his public
stable in December of 2001 and scored his first
victory in March of 2002 with Hattab Be You at
Aqueduct. Most of the horses in his 30-horse stable
are owned by Dennis Drazin, Char-Mari Stable and the
LaMarca Stable.
“It’s like a dream,” said Servis after Minor’s Gold
won the second race on Saturday night. “I should play
the lottery!”
Servis completed the Meadowlands fall thoroughbred
meet with 15 wins, seven seconds and four thirds from
38 starts and purse earnings of $345,402 to claim his
first training title. He won at a formidable 39
percent rate and finished in-the-money with 68 percent
of his starters.
“All those years working in the jocks’ room, now my
ship’s come in,” he said with a wide grin.
Trailing Servis in the trainer standings were Timothy Hills with 10 winners, Todd Pletcher with
eight and four trainers tied with seven winners:
Patrica Farro, Gregory Sacco, Jim Ryerson and Dennis
Manning.
For Dr. Joseph Birnbaum of Toms River, New Jersey,
whose nom de racecourse is Ocean View Stables, the
leading owner title was a big surprise.
“I’ve owned and bred horses for about 25 years,” the
endocrinologist said. “I got into it because of my
ex-wife. I’m interested in the breeding and racing
almost all homebreds. I do all the pedigree work. I
find it is relaxing, compared to medicine.”
As a solo practitioner with a busy practice, Dr.
Birnbaum does not always get to the track to see his
horses compete at the Meadowlands, often watching the
races on the Internet.
“I’ve got about 20 horses running and 13 broodmares at
Colonial Farms [in Colts Neck,
New Jersey],” he noted. “I’ve
been very lucky picking out cheap studs who become
something big later. The ones I pick are generally
[standing for stud fees of] $10,000 or less.”
The Ocean View horses are split among three trainers –
Glenn Thompson, J. Willard Thompson and Russell Cash.
“[The late] Buddy Raines used to train all my horses,
I’d even say he trained me in the horse racing
business,” Dr. Birnbaum added.
Ocean View Stables completed the meet with seven wins,
one seconds and six thirds from 43 starts for earnings
of $226,843. Three owners were tied with four winners
each: Mac Fehsenfeld, Edward P. Evans and Joel A.
Kligman.
Highlighting the 25-date meet
were more than $2 million in added money races,
including four graded stakes.
On October 7, Edward P. Evans’ Tap Day captured the
track’s signature event, the Grade 2 $500,000
Meadowlands Breeders’ Cup, by three lengths over 5-2
favorite Alumni Hall with another length and a quarter
back to Purge. Eibar Coa was in the saddle for the
winning effort on the Mark Hennig-trainee. “He had a
lot of work to do at the eighth pole, but he was
ready,” said Hennig. “Those were two very nice horses
in front of him. He had an edge because he’s run here
before and he likes the track.” The time of the mile
and an eighth on the main track was 1:48.4.
For three-year-olds the
high point of the season was
the Grade 3 $250,000 Pegasus Stakes on opening night
of the meet, September 30. Elisabeth H. Alexander’s
Magna Graduate held off 50-1 shot
Crown Point to win by a length
and a quarter. The mile and an eighth was clocked in
1:47.2.
Network was another five and three-quarter lengths
back in third.
“He was very impressive,” said John Velazquez, who
road the winner for trainer Todd Pletcher. “We
inherited the lead a little earlier than I would have
liked, but when the other horse came at him, he
responded right away.”
A pair of Grade 3 stakes on the turf – the Cliff
Hanger and the Violet -- each with a purse of $150,000
and carded at a mile and a sixteenth, were among the
meet highlights.
Hotstufanthensome, ridden by Rajiv Maragh and trained
by Norman Pointer, overcame a soft course, constant
showers and an inquiry to win the Cliff Hanger on
October 22. He drew off to a 14 and a half-length
victory over Icy Atlantic with another half-length to
Stormy Ray in third. Hotstufanthensome, racing for
Lesley Steinger of
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, covered the distance in 1:47.1.
The fillies were on display in the Violet on October
21 and the victory went to Humoristic in 1:42.1. It
was Humoristic’s first stakes victory. Owned by Mrs.
Arturo Peralta Ramos, the filly is trained by Hamilton
A. Smith. Harry Vega was aboard for the three-length
victory over 6-5 favorite Delta Princess. Brunilda
was third, another half-length back.
On November 10, the Meadowlands hosted the Katrina
Invitational Jockey Challenge, bringing together
Louisiana
natives Kent Desormeaux, Craig Perret, Eddie Martin
Jr. and Mark Guidry along with Hall of Famer Gary
Stevens to compete against the local jockey colony and
sign autographs. The fundraising effort produced more
than $25,000 dedicated to help the recovery efforts
for Louisiana horsemen who suffered damage from
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Plagued by heavy rain and winds, the Meadowlands meet
was pared back by programs cut short [October 8 and
11] and five cancellations [October 12, 13, 14, 15 and
25].
On-track wagering for the 25 racing dates totaled
$9,169,883 and with the addition of wagering at more
than 350 simulcasting locations, the total handle was
$46,395,883.
While the daily average on-track attendance of 4,372
on a total of 109,309 was up 6.3 percent as compared
to 2004, wagering was off from 12 to 15 percent.
The average on-track handle was $366,795 [compared to
$418,276 in 2004] and the average total handle,
including wagering at simulcast locations, was
$1,855,835 [compared to $2,204,704 in 2004].
Purse distribution for the meet was nearly $8 million.
FINAL STANDINGS
Meadowlands 2005 Meet Leading Jockeys – September 30
to November 12, 2005
Name |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
$% |
Purses |
Joe Bravo |
118 |
24 |
24 |
19 |
20 |
57 |
$881,774 |
Channing Hill* |
114 |
19 |
17 |
20 |
17 |
49 |
$481,436 |
Rajiv Maragh |
109 |
17 |
20 |
15 |
16 |
48 |
$561,525 |
Charles C. Lopez |
101 |
16 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
45 |
$457,711 |
Jose Lezcano |
82 |
16 |
9 |
12 |
20 |
45 |
$430,286 |
Michael C. Baze |
115 |
15 |
11 |
14 |
13 |
35 |
$378,794 |
Aaron T. Gryder |
56 |
13 |
12 |
5 |
23 |
54 |
$413,463 |
Christopher P. DeCarlo |
44 |
11 |
10 |
4 |
25 |
57 |
$366,153 |
Elvis Trujillo |
73 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
12 |
38 |
$274,045 |
Alan Garcia |
56 |
9 |
9 |
6 |
16 |
43 |
$229,263 |
Jose A. Velez Jr. |
52 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
17 |
48 |
$334,592 |
Kyle Kaenel* |
53 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
17 |
34 |
$185,075 |
* Denotes Apprentice Rider
Meadowlands 2005 Meet Leading Trainers – September 30
to November 12, 2005
Name |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
$% |
Purses |
Jason Servis |
38 |
15 |
7 |
4 |
39 |
68 |
$345,402 |
Timothy A. Hills |
49 |
10 |
8 |
5 |
20 |
47 |
$276,900 |
Todd A. Pletcher |
38 |
8 |
10 |
4 |
21 |
58 |
$467,980 |
Patricia Farro |
57 |
7 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
49 |
$225,032 |
Gregory D. Sacco |
31 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
23 |
55 |
$159,265 |
Dennis J. Manning |
36 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
19 |
50 |
$178,770 |
James T. Ryerson |
35 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
20 |
34 |
$181,559 |
Kelly J. Breen |
45 |
6 |
10 |
2 |
13 |
40 |
$187,810 |
J. Willard Thompson |
64 |
5 |
13 |
13 |
8 |
48 |
$265,863 |
Edwin T. Broome |
26 |
5 |
8 |
3 |
19 |
62 |
$158,775 |
Glenn R. Thompson |
34 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
15 |
35 |
$167,799 |
Faustino F. Ramos |
21 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
24 |
43 |
$93,440 |
Mark A. Hennig |
16 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
31 |
44 |
$421,580 |
Meadowlands 2005 Meet Leading Owners – September 30
to November 12, 2005
Name |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
$% |
Purses |
Ocean View Stables |
43 |
7 |
1 |
6 |
16 |
33 |
$226,843 |
Mac Fehsenfeld |
23 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
17 |
52 |
$123,354 |
Edward P. Evans |
10 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
40 |
50 |
$387,520 |
Joel A. Kligman |
16 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
25 |
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