Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Claiming Crown on tap as meet opens
HALLANDALE BEACH — Gulfstream Park will host many of the classiest, most accomplished thoroughbreds in the world, inaugurate the world’s richest race, the $12 million Pegasus, and host racing’s Oscars, the Eclipse Awards, during its prime winter season, which launches Saturday.
But for the fifth consecutive year, the opening day spotlight will be on bluecollar horses in the Claiming Crown. Nine stakes with cumulative purses of $1.1 million will be contested by horses who have raced with a sales price on them, some as low as $5,000, in the past two years.
The Claiming Crown, which was created in the Midwest in 1999, was in danger of extinction until Gulfstream stepped up five years ago and made it the centerpiece of the opening day program. Its full fields of competitive horses have made it one of the winter’s most popular attractions. Only one of Saturday’s stakes has fewer than 10 horses. Two are oversubscribed with 16 entrants and three others have prescratch fields of 14.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Pegasus on Jan. 28 is expected to feature a Breeders’ Cup Classic rematch between likely 2016 Horse of the Year California Chrome and Arrogate, who ran the fastest Travers in history in August then defeated California Chrome in the Classic.
Triple Crown-age colts will have their traditional series of preps leading up to the 66th running of the Florida Derby on April 1. They begin on Jan. 7 with the Mucho Macho Man, followed by the Holy Bull on Feb. 4 and Fountain of Youth on March 4.
Among the colts eligible for this series are Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion Classic Empire; Champagne winner Practical Joke, who suffered his first defeat in four races when he finished third at the Breeders’ Cup; Gunnevera, who took the Saratoga Special and Delta Jackpot after debuting at Gulfstream; and Three Rules, who swept the Sire Stakes series and easily handled Gunnevera twice this past summer. Last year Nyquist became the 23rd Florida Derby champion to double-up in the Kentucky Derby.
Todd Pletcher, whose potent stable doesn’t include many cheaper horses, won’t be represented in the Claiming Crown races. However, he will begin pursuit of his 14th Gulfstream trainers’ title with entrants in the first two events on the 11-race program.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey, gunning for a sixth straight owners’ title at Gulfstream, are the winningest owners of Claiming Crown races with 14. Ramsey, who said he buys horses all year with the Claiming Crown in mind, will be represented in five of Saturday’s stakes. He told the Racing Form that he has invited a big party of family and friends to Gulfstream and expects to take them to the winner’s circle at least once.
Ramsey’s entrant in the nominal feature, the $200,000 Jewel, Homespun Hero, is not expected to be among the favorites. This role will probably go to defending champion Royal Posse, who is on a threerace winning streak, all stakes. He has been first or second in 13 straight starts since being claimed for $20,000 in May 2015. A victory in the Jewel would drive his earnings over $1 million.
Also expected to be heavily supported is Maryland shipper John Jones, a fourtime winner since being claimed for $25,000 at Laurel in July.
A couple of horses who have been prospering on turf will attempt to transfer their form to the main track for the mile-and-an eighth Jewel. Diamond Bachelor has captured back-to-back grass stakes, The Vid and Mr. Steele. Bigger Picture won the Red Smith at Belmont and was second in the Sycamore at Keeneland, both Grade 3 stakes, in his two most recent starts.
Gulfstream will offer live racing Wednesday through Sunday, with the exception of some holiday weeks. First post time today is noon. Sunday first post will settle into its 12:35 p.m. norm.