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Brown clinches Aqueduct spring meet training title; Carmouche takes riding title

by Mary Eddy

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown notched his second consecutive Aqueduct spring meet title when he conditioned 13 horses to victory over the 15-day meeting. Brown also took last year’s spring meet with 10 victories.

Brown completed the meet with $1,018,560 in total purse earnings and a record of 39-13-9-5, boasting a win rate of 33.33 percent and an impressive in-the-money percentage of 69.23. The 44-year-old conditioner also captured the 2018 Aqueduct spring meet and has been the leading trainer at NYRA each year since 2015.

“I'm very pleased with the meet,” Brown said. “As always, I'm extremely appreciative of the efforts of the horses and my team, who do a great job. NYRA put together a really good book of races and stakes program for the month of April at Aqueduct, and it was something we really pointed towards.”

Brown and Klaravich Stables enjoyed a successful closing weekend at the Big A, sending out Unanimous Consent to remain undefeated in the $100,000 Woodhaven on Saturday and Consumer Spending to take the final stakes of the meet in the $100,000 Memories of Silver on Sunday.

Other meet highlights for Brown include a game runner-up effort from Grade 3 Withers winner Early Voting in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 9 and a prominent allowance score with stakes-placed Pipeline that garnered a 102 Beyer Speed figure on April 22.

“We plan a lot in the winter time to come north and run at our home base of New York for better prize money, so it's nice when your patience is rewarded,” said Brown.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher finished in second with a record of 30-8-3-6 and $966,268 in total purse earnings, followed by Jeffrey Englehart in third with a 23-7-3-1 record and $233,790 in purses.

It was a battle to the wire between jockeys Dylan Davis and Kendrick Carmouche for the leading rider title with Carmouche coming out on top with 19 victories to earn his second title at NYRA, finishing one win ahead of Davis.

Carmouche finished the meeting with a record of 62-19-6-8 and $919,463 in earnings, while Davis wrapped up with a 104-18-17-17 record and $1,170,049 in earnings. Trevor McCarthy finished third with a 105-15-17-16 record and $1,060,496 in purses.

Carmouche, a 38-year-old native of Vinton, Louisiana, entered the card two wins ahead of Davis and had his lead cut to one after Davis won the opener aboard Fast N Fearious. Carmouche returned his lead to two with a win aboard Love’s Misery in Race 2 before Davis piloted Subsidize to victory in Race 4. Carmouche’s one win advantage held steady to the end of the nine-race card, giving Carmouche his first riding title since guiding 23 horses to victory to earn top honors at the 2020 Aqueduct fall meet.

“I’m very grateful for all the trainers and everybody who put in the work to give me the support to ride these horses and the confidence,” said Carmouche “That means a lot to me and my family and I’m ready for the next title.

“Each one is a memorable win,” Carmouche added. “It brings out more confidence in yourself that you can compete each day.”

Carmouche, who rode 42 less mounts than Davis throughout the meet, said he appreciates each opportunity to ride.

“I’m at the point at my age where I don’t want to ride that many,” Carmouche said. “Six or seven is good for me, and I want to make the best of each mount. Every mount, I try my best to win and at the end of the day, I really just want to make it back safe.”

Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables came out on top as leading owner with each of their seven winners trained by Brown. In all, the outfit posted a record of 23-7-6-1 with total earnings of $669,920. Klaravich Stables also secured the 2021-22 Aqueduct winter meet title with 10 wins.

“Seth Klarman is extremely patient and we do a lot of long-term planning together for the stable and our first area of interest is always to support New York first as we start to map out our schedule for our horses, being that's where our base is and who accommodates us year round,” Brown said of his longtime client. “We're very happy to participate in the program and enjoy our partnership in working with NYRA management and their schedule of races.”

Darryl E. Abramowitz finished second behind Klaravich Stables, posting a 5-4-1-0 record with $130,700 in earnings. Repole Stable was third with a 11-3-1-2 record and $248,015 in earnings.

Live racing resumes Thursday on Opening Day of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park with a nine-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern. 

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.