Jockey Manny Franco Dominates at Belmont at the Big A Spring-Summer Meet
(Elmont, NY) In a thrilling display of skill and consistency, jockey Manny Franco emerged victorious as the leading rider at the Belmont at the Big A spring-summer meet, which ran from May 2 through Sunday. This marks Franco’s first-ever spring-summer title at the prestigious New York Racing Association (NYRA) circuit.
The 29-year-old Franco, who was also the leading rider on the NYRA circuit in 2018-19 and 2023, capped off a highly successful Aqueduct spring meet with an impressive performance at the Belmont at the Big A spring-summer meet. During the 35-day meet, which included the four-day Belmont Stakes racing festival at Saratoga, Franco recorded an impressive 41 wins, 41 seconds, and 25 thirds from 210 mounts, amassing $3,148,141 in earnings.
“It’s special. I have never won this one before, so it’s amazing,” Franco said. “I’m so happy to have the opportunity from the owners, trainers, and my agent John Panagot. He’s the man behind the scenes. We just hope to keep this momentum going into Saratoga, and hopefully we get some more winners.”
Franco’s victories were highlighted by a pair of stakes wins aboard the New York-bred Spirit of St Louis, who captured the off-the-turf Kingston Stakes at Saratoga and the Hudson Valley Stakes on closing day at Aqueduct. The talented jockey also secured stakes triumphs with Dancing Buck in the listed Elusive Quality, Drake’s Passage in the state-bred Commentator, and Rotknee in the state-bred Affirmed Success.
“Spirit of St Louis is a special one. I won twice on him at the meet, and he’s just an amazing horse,” Franco said. “All the wins mean a lot to everyone. I’m just happy to be in this position and to ride horses day in and day out. Here in New York it’s the toughest rider colony, and to be at the top is unbelievable. I’m still in the clouds.”
Franco’s impressive performance earned him a win rate of 19.5 percent and an in-the-money rate of 51.0 percent, cementing his status as one of the top riders on the circuit.
Irad Ortiz Jr. finished second in the standings with 37 wins, while Flavien Prat came in third with 34 wins.
On the training front, four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Chad Brown claimed his eighth spring-summer meet title at Belmont at the Big A, further solidifying his dominance in the New York racing landscape. Brown, who has been the leading trainer on the NYRA circuit since 2015, posted 32 wins from 130 starters, earning $4,007,955 in purse money.
Brown’s stakes wins were led by Grade 1 triumphs with Randomized in the Ogden Phipps and Chili Flag in the Just a Game, in addition to several other graded and state-bred stakes victories.
In the owners’ standings, Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables claimed their 27th title at a NYRA meet, recording 14 wins from 54 starts and earning $1,571,023 in purse money. Their stakes wins were led by Brown-trained horses in the Ogden Phipps, Sheepshead Bay, Dwyer, and Wild Applause.
As the racing season shifts to the prestigious Saratoga summer meet, all eyes will be on Manny Franco and the powerhouse connections of Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables to see if they can continue their dominance on the New York racing stage.
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