DAY 8 of 57
FRIDAY'S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 3,800
FRIDAY'S TOTAL ATTENDANCE $4,306,576
FRIDAY'S ON-TRACK HANDLE $402,707
FRIDAY'S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $3,903,869
TODAY'S POST TIME 1:05 p.m. (Gates open 11 a.m.)
ADMISSION General admission, free; reserved seats, $4.50
PARKING $2 until 4 p.m.
TODAY'S SIMULCAST SCHEDULE Gulfstream Park, 11 a.m.; Aqueduct, 11:20 a.m.; Laurel Park, 11:25 a.m.; Tampa Bay, 11:35 a.m.; Fair Grounds, 12:30 p.m.; Santa Anita, 2:30 p.m.; Golden Gate, 2:45 p.m.; Penn National, 5 p.m.; Turfway Park, 5:15 p.m.; Delta Downs, 5:55 p.m.; Charles Town, 6 p.m.; Daytona Beach (greyhounds), 6:25 p.m.; Derby Lane (greyhounds), 6:30 p.m.; Southland (greyhounds), 7:15 p.m.; Los Alamitos, 8 p.m.
FRIDAY'S STARS
Three jockeys and one trainer won multiple races.
Jockeys David Cohen, Fernando De La Cruz and Declan Cannon won two races. Cohen, last year's riding champion, improved his season totals to 10 victories in 39 starts, which leads all jockeys. He won the first race with As Fast As You Can ($6.40, $4.00 and $3.00) covering 6 furlongs in 1:11.53. He won the ninth race with Executive Branch ($4.20, $3.20 and $2.40), covering 1 mile in 1:38.96.
De La Cruz improved his season totals to four victories in 40 starts. He won the fourth race with Zeroed In ($4.80, $3.80 and $2.80), covering 6 furlongs in 1:10.84. He won the fifth race with Beemie Award ($13.40, $5.60 and $4.20), covering 6 furlongs in 1:11.46.
Cannon won the sixth race with Special Reserve ($22.40, $6.60 and $3.80), covering 6 furlongs in1:10.50. He won the seventh race with Sara Sea ($42.00, $15.80 and $11.60), covering 6 furlongs in 1:10.79. On the season, Cannon has three victories in 21 starts.
Robertino Diodoro led all trainers with three victories. Diodoro improved his season-leading wins total to 13 victories in 32 starts. Diodoro won the first race with As Fast As You Can. He won the eighth race with What a Fox ($5.00, $3.20 and $3.00), covering 6 furlongs in 1:10.46, and the ninth race with Executive Branch.
MATH WIZARD RETURNING
Math Wizard is scheduled to return for the $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap on Feb. 17, a 1 1/16-mile race for 4-year-olds. Math Wizard finished fourth in the $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational in May. In 2019, he won the Pennsylvania Derby and had a fifth-place finish in the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
Co-owner Taylor Bassett said he hoped Math Wizard would get in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 29, but when it was apparent he wouldn't receive an invitation, the horse was rerouted back to Oaklawn.
Math Wizard also missed a potential start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 25 at Gulfstream, Bassett said, because of uncertainty involving an invitation to that race.
LAUGHING FOX COMES BACK
Laughing Fox, who won the 2019 Oaklawn Invitational, is scheduled to make his 2020 debut in Sunday's featured race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance for older horses.
Laughing Fox hasn't started since finishing ninth in the $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 24 at Saratoga to complete a compacted 2019 eight-race campaign. Laughing Fox was a three-time winner last year at Oaklawn, breaking his maiden opening day and claiming the closing-day Oaklawn Invitational to earn an automatic berth into the Preakness.
Laughing Fox ran three other times at Oaklawn, winning an entry-level allowance race before finishing seventh to Omaha Beach in the second division of the $750,000 Rebel Stakes and fourth behind Omaha Beach in the $1 million Arkansas Derby.
Information for this report was contributed by Oaklawn media department.
Sports on 02/08/2020