SR Photo

​Manny Franco top rider at Aqueduct spring meet; Linda Rice leads all trainers

by Mary Eddy

The 19-day Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet, which ran from March 30 to April 30, saw jockey Manny Franco and trainer Linda Rice repeat as the leaders in their respective divisions after taking the titles at this year’s Aqueduct winter meet. Franco paced all other riders to secure his second Big A spring meet riding title with 37 wins while Rice won her fourth Aqueduct spring meet training title with 17 wins. 

Franco, a 28-year-old native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, earned the eighth riding title of his career. He was the leading rider on the NYRA circuit in 2018-19 and in addition to his back-to-back meet titles this year, he has also won the 2018 Aqueduct winter and fall; 2019 Aqueduct winter and spring; 2019 Belmont fall; and 2020 Aqueduct winter. 

“I’m very grateful for the help of every owner and every trainer,” said Franco. “I’m just happy to keep with the momentum. It means a lot and I try to take advantage of every opportunity I have. It’s been paying off.” 

Among his meet highlights were stakes scores aboard Law Professor in the Excelsior, Big Everest in the Danger’s Hour, Balpool in an off-the-turf edition of the Memories of Silver, and Today’s Flavor in the state-bred Affirmed Success on Closing Day. He completed the meet with a 124-37-22-15 record and earnings of $2,078,457, good for a win rate of 29.84 percent and an in-the-money rate of 59.68 percent. 

“There were so many winners and I can’t just pick one standout,” said Franco. “Every winner means something, and I’m just grateful for all of them. Law Professor isn’t easy to ride sometimes, but I get along with him very well and he’s won both times I’ve been on him. I’m happy to ride him. I just want to keep winning and keep the momentum into Belmont.” 

Jose Ortiz finished second with a record of 65-16-17-10 while Kendrick Carmouche secured third with a record of 82-14-10-15. 

Rice, 59, enjoyed a record of 66-17-13-7 with $1,055,253 in total earnings, giving her a win rate of 25.76 percent and in-the-money percentage of 56.06. It was the 10th overall training title for Rice, whose other wins came at the 2009 Saratoga Race Course meet; 2011 Aqueduct spring [tie]; 2011 Belmont spring/summer [tie]; 2012 Aqueduct spring; 2017 Aqueduct spring [tie]; 2019 Aqueduct winter; 2020 Aqueduct winter; 2022 Aqueduct fall; and aforementioned 2023 Aqueduct winter. 

“It’s been a very good winter and spring. New York is a tough place, so I’m very excited about it,” Rice said. “Once we got through the winter meet I thought, ‘well that will be it for a while,’ but things fell into place and went well at the spring meet.” 

Rice’s meet was headlined by back-to-back graded stakes victories on April 7-8, beginning with Mommasgottarun, who wheeled back on five day’s rest to win the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap. Just 24 hours later, Joey Freshwater notched his first stakes score in the Grade 3 Bay Shore. She also celebrated a victory in the NYSSS Park Avenue when Les Bon Temps was elevated to victory for the third stakes win of her career. 

“That weekend with the two graded wins was amazing, especially since it was with horses we claimed for $50,000,” said Rice. “Tonal Impact and Majority Partner have run great, and those horses haven’t won stakes, but they’re horses we claimed last year and they have done super. I’m so proud of the horses, and my team has been working super hard. When you go to Belmont and Saratoga, the water gets so much deeper. We’re hoping to have some momentum and keep it going. We’ll do the best we can.” 

Rob Atras finished second with a record of 37-9-5-4 while Chad Brown finished third with a 37-8-7-9 record. 

Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables, who have been the leading year-end owner each year on the NYRA circuit since 2019, earned their 21st owners’ title at a NYRA meet. Klaravich Stables ended the meet with four wins, capped by an allowance victory on April 23 by the Chad Brown-trained Systemic Change. 

Klaravich Stables completed the meet with a record of 18-4-4-3 and earnings of $270,622. It was a five-way tie for second between Peter Brant, Beast Mode Racing, Ten Strike Racing, Madaket Stables and Roger Cimbora, Jr., who each posted three wins at the meet. 

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