Today was kind of bittersweet. We broke a Indiana Bred 2 Yr. Old maiden at Churchill for $30,000 claiming today, which was good. We moved up to 185 on the National Trainers List and now have 42 wins so far this year.

The partnership that owned MOCHA QUEEN sold her at Keeneland today. And unfortunately for not a lot of money ($6500) considering she won right at $400,000 in her racing career. We bred her to some of the best stallions going and she just never produced anything of great value. We have had her since birth and she has been with us at the farm and racetrack her entire life. Myself, Jack Danehy and partners planned the mating that produced her. Now we think she is headed for Saudi Arabia.  We still have a few of the family left and hope to see some of the quality MOCHA QUEEN possessed come out in them and their offspring. We wish her well.

The stable has topped the goal of a Million in earnings for 2015. Now we  need to work on the wins.

The Keeneland November sale is half over and the prices are generally up. Next week the prices are usually lower on the mares, but the next couple of days there are a lot of race horses in the sale.

Remember the bottom purse for ($5,000 claiming) at Oaklawn is $21,000. Maiden specials are $68,000 which is higher than any other track at that time of year.

We ran a second this week at Aqueduct with a New York Bred named ROOFTOP VIEW. It was his third start, first time two turn, first time grass. He was at the astronomical price of 88 to 1. He paid $63.00 to place and $27.00 to show; an even $90.00 for a $2.00 combo. I think this is the highest price for a horse we ran that hit the board this year. We did have a $104.00 winner last February.

We are less than $5000 away from reaching our goal of one million in purse money for the year. We have won 41 races so far this year. We ended the meet at Indiana Grand with 32 winners. We are already planning for next year.

Churchill has three more weeks of their fall meet, which is an exceptional meet to claim horses (and we have already claimed one).

The Breeders Cup is this weekend and also the last weekend of Indiana Grand (which will affect us more than the Breeders Cup).

The Breeders Cup should be quite the affair being at Keeneland. They have built a ton of temporary suites for extra seating. They have a tail gating section that they have sold as well. There is no parking on the grounds, so everyone is being bused in from various locations. Plus there is a football game on Saturday Night where Tennessee plays UK in a town that is already difficult to get around in. Should be a traffic nightmare, but hoping for the best.

Tickets are the most expensive they have ever been for this event. But, I will be at Indiana Grand for closing night and we are running quite a few horses.

Friday they have the dirt mile which is always a very good race, but there is a trick to this one. Since Keeneland is a mile and a sixteenth race track and they never run mile races there until this year it will start in front of the grandstand and end at the 16th pole. That will be a very short run to the turn so anyone in the outside half of the field will be in a very tough spot to get to the first turn. That is a very interesting catch to the race. LEAH will be tough to beat in the mile.
The distaff on Friday is an exceptional race. Very evenly matched. I like SHEER DRAMA, but I don’t like her 14 post position. So I will go with YAHILWA, she will be 20 to 1.

Another big race today are the Juvenile Grass Races.  Since we got the 2 to 3 inches of rain earlier this week the grass should be soft and as usual should play toward the Europeans.

Saturday’s card is suppose to have good weather, but rain in the late afternoon. In the Juvenile Fillies, I like NICKNAME. We do some boarding and layup work for her breeder sometimes and I do think she will run a big race here.

The Turf sprint would be UNDRAFTED who is owned by NFL Football Player Wes Welker. He won in America and England.

My pick for the Filly and Mare Sprint is LA VERDAD which just won last Saturday at Belmont with a back up for FIORETTI which is a local Kentucky horse ridden by Sophie Doyle.

The filly and mare Turf should go to the Europeans as well.

The Breeders Cup Sprint, a great race. The 3 yr. old RUNHAPPY won its last four starts. One of those races was an allowance at Indiana Grand and it is locally trained by a small female trainer. I also like WILD DUDE who will be coming off the pace.

In the Turf Mile the win should go back to the Europeans. The Europeans will eat this turf up.

The Juvenile Dirt, GREENPOINTCRUSADER should get the nod, with EXAGGERATOR my second choice.

The Breeders Cup Turf, GOLDEN HORN which is the best horse in Europe this year.

The Breeders Cup Classic, its hard to root against AMERICAN PHAROAH. I think that HONOR CODE will be right there at the end too.

This is just one persons opinion.

As soon as the Breeders Cup is over, Churchill Downs opens it’s fall meet on Sunday, November 1st which is absolutely one of the best places to claim due to the shortness of the meet. The November Sales start on Sunday for two weeks, and is another great place to increase your stable.

Good Luck to all. Bet aggressively.

We had a winner today with BAY FINN for Dr. John Fike. I jumped to 198 for money won in the North American Trainer Standings. Still working on getting to the Million, but we will get there. Hopefully before the month ends.