Racing resumes with mandatory payouts

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following a 10-day holiday break, racing resumes at Aqueduct on Thursday with an eight-race card that includes mandatory payouts in both the early and late pick-five wagers as well as the Empire 6. The Empire 6, on races 3 through 8, will begin the day with a carryover of $139,360.

Thursday’s card is topped by a first-level allowance race for fillies and mares going six furlongs, and Letmetakethiscall will try to avoid bouncing following a career-best performance winning a second-level New York-bred allowance here on Nov. 20.

Letmetakethiscall, a 5-yearold daughter of Take Charge Indy, won that race by 6 1/4 lengths, earning a career-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Normally, I’d be afraid of the horse bouncing, but we’ve had a month between races and I was able to get three good works into her,” trainer Jimmy Ferraro said.

Ferraro claimed Letmetakethiscall for $40,000 at Saratoga and had her in a race at Belmont in September. Letmetakethiscall was scratched at the gate when the track vet believed she sat down in the gate as another horse acted up. Ferraro believed she should not have been scratched.

Ferraro didn’t run Letmetakethiscall until Oct. 17 and felt she was short fitness-wise for that race in which she finished a well-beaten seventh.

“The longer you have a horse the more you learn about it, and we started to train her a little harder and it seems like she’s responded,” Ferraro said. “She blew the field away the last time.”

Ferraro also entered Dovey Lovey, who finished fifth in this condition on Dec. 5. Ferraro said that for the time being there is no other spot for Dovey Lovey.

Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci also entered two, but since he named Jose Lezcano on both Jump for Joy and Glass Ceiling, he will have to scratch one. Kantarmaci said Monday he plans to start Glass Ceiling.

Glass Ceiling fell a head short to Kansas Kis in this same condition in her first start off the claim for Kantarmaci. In that race, Glass Ceiling was saving ground, then had to go around a tiring longshot and was parked five wide at the quarter pole.

“She had a bad spot in the race,” Kantarmaci said. “She had to sit behind a horse slowing down on the rail and then she had to go outside. She lost easy two or three lengths in that race.”

Glass Ceiling will break from post 5 under Lezcano.

Palomita, trained by Chad Brown, comes off a secondplace finish in this condition at Churchill Downs on Nov. 19. Lucky Dime, trained by Bill Mott, makes her first start since she won her maiden at Gulfstream Park 11 months ago.

Mad Maclean, whose better races have been on turf, completes the field.

First post Thursday is 12:50 p.m.