Thoroughbred spotlight on New Jersey’s Haskell Invitational Stake
Sports analysts see the annual Haskell Invitational Stake as they see no other day in New Jersey. The brightness and enthusiasm on this day is unmatched by any other. The spotlight on the Monmouth Park starts building early in the morning of the day of the race and continues till after the stadium is filled with an audience of 45,000 to witness the race which starts with the best 3-year-old horses of the country. To date, 12 horse races have taken place at the Monmouth Park out of which, 2 were cancelled due to rain. The peak record of the audience attending the Stake was set in 2003 which soared to a crowd of 53,638 spectators. The thoroughbred racing reminds the patrons of the more than just a $1 million race as it is the most anticipated event in New Jersey.
Haskell Invitational 2010 managed to attract an audience of 40,904. The crowd at Monmouth bet $3,270,939 and an all-time record for Haskell handle was set at $4,463,736 worth of bets on the race. The winning jockey, Martin Garcia, was very confident that he was on the best horse which is popularly known as Lookin at Lucky. It was the first race in which the winners of the Kentucky Derby (Super Saver) and the Preakness (Lookin at Lucky) were running together. This is one of the main reasons why this particular event gained so much speculation. The winner of this race and prize money worth $1 million was moved to the head of the three-year-old class.
Lookin at Lucky’s California based trainer has trained 3 other Haskell winners, Point Given (2001), War Emblem (2002), and Roman Ruler (2005), yet he puts Lookin at Lucky at the top of the list. Lookin at Lucky went off as the 6–5 favourite. The winner colt managed to finish ahead of the pack by four lengths. It was the main fast track race and he covered the 1 1/8 mile distance in 1:49 4/5. Trappe Shot came at the second place, First Dude was the third and Super Saver finished on the fourth place.
Owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, Paul Weitman, and Jonathan Pippin, and trained by Bob Baffert, Lookin at Lucky is an American thoroughbred race horse. He was bought as a yearling for $35,000 at the Keenland September race in 2008. After the horse was trained to cover the 1/8th of a mile in 10.0 seconds, he was sold for $475,000 at the Keenland April Sale in 2009.
The first runners- up Trappe Shot is a Florida bred colt and is listed as the early co-second of the choice at the odds of 3-1. He seized the Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth on July 10. However, it hasn’t made it to any major stakes race in his five career starts till date. Fellow Florida bred colt, First Dude is improving in his finishes in different major stakes. He has only won one of his eight stars and has earned more than $460,000 in purses and is listed at odds of 6-1.
Trainers and veterans saw the field as one of the toughest since the event had the best 3-year-old out of the countries competing against each other. The event organizers and managers worked day in and day out to make it a success because it is one of the most important events in New Jersey. This is because most of the attention towards horse racing is drawn by the Saratoga Springs Racecourse in New York. The Haskell Invitational Stake this year is seen like the fourth jewel in the Triple Crown, since the top two finishers of the more famous Kentucky Derby and Preakness were a part of the competition. At the end of the day, tribute was paid to all those who made Monmouth Park a good experience for the spectators. The summer classic, Haskell Day 2010 was predicted as the most lucrative non-Breeder’s Cup in history with $2.552 million in purses. The track’s vice president and general manager Kulina felt the excitement when he saw the zeal of the spectators. When the charismatic runners emerged, the race was put at a place where it has been over the years.
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