Saratoga: Rice sees a 'small chance' of winning training title
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Although Linda Rice worries about lack of depth compared to rivals Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher, she gives herself a “small chance” to win the Saratoga training title.
The early days of the meet suggest the race will be tight. Through the first nine days, Todd Pletcher has seven wins, one more than Rice and two more than Chad Brown and Joe Sharp. Steve Asmussen, Miguel Clement and George Weaver are right behind with four victories apiece.
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Rice knows what it takes to capture the crown. She became the first woman in the modern era to top the standings at a major track when she edged Pletcher, 20-19, in 2009 despite sending out only 75 starters, 60 fewer than her high-powered rival. She staged a dramatic rally two years ago, producing five victories in the last two days in a surge that included the finale, to tie Brown at 35.
“I’ve managed to win and tie training titles here, so that’s very special to me,” Rice said. “We’ve managed to do it at Belmont and Aqueduct as well, but there’s always a little extra excitement to Saratoga.”
Rice noted that Pletcher has so far been aggressive in his placement of horses in claiming races and been rewarded for that, winning races even as the horses went to different barns after being claimed. She saidBrown has “an army of fantastic horses.”
But Rice added, “I have a chance. It might be a small chance, but it’s a chance. I don’t have the numbers Chad or Todd do, but I’m not completely out of it.”
Rice has been a year-round force in New York in recent seasons with her intense focus on the claiming game, her ability to make remarkably astute claims and to find races in which they can flourish.
She expects to showcase one of them, Sheriff Bianco, at the end of this month. Rice claimed the now 7-year-old New York-bred gelding for $30,000 on July 9, 2022, out of a race at Belmont Park for state-breds who had not won two races. His earnings have reached $820,543.
“He’s been very good to us. He’s been a good claim,” she said of the seven-furlong specialist. “He might not be at his peak at this point, but he’s still pretty useful.”
Rice went to $80,000 to take St. Benedict’s Prep out of an April 13, 2024, race at Keeneland, also for non-winners of two. The now 5-year-old mare has seven wins and been second eight times in 27 starts for earnings of $614,715 on behalf of owner Ronald Stewart. She most recently took third in the black-type Regret Stakes on July 20 at Monmouth Park. She is expected to start in an allowance race at Saratoga later in the stand.
Another Rice trainee to watch is El Grande O, a New York-bred who is coming off a layoff and training forwardly for owner Barry Schwartz. The 4-year-old Take Charge Indy colt has been very consistent, hitting the board 13 of 15 times with five wins and an equal number of runner-up efforts in banking $549,670.
Some of the pressure Rice feels at Saratoga stems from her desire to reward local owners who covet victories at the iconic track. One of those is Roddy Valente, a veteran owner who asked his trainer earlier in the year to claim horses for him whom she thought could succeed at Saratoga.
With that in mind, Geez Eloise was claimed for $35,000 on April 4 at Oaklawn Park. She rewarded that move with a victory in the eighth race Sunday at Saratoga, leading to a packed winner’s circle celebration.
No one felt more gratified than the trainer. “We try to make sure we perform well for (the owners),” Rice said. “We try to make it fun and exciting for them.”