Gulfstream Today 12.19.24: Jockey Dylan Davis to Ride Four on Pegasus Preview Day

By David Joseph —-

GULFSTREAM TODAY

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Jockey Dylan Davis, wrapping up a career season, will make his 2024-2025 Championship Meet debut with four mounts on Saturday’s Pegasus Preview Day program at Gulfstream Park.

Davis, 30, is named in three of the five stakes – Digital Ops in the $165,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3), Grade 1 winner and 5-2 program favorite Win for the Money in the $215,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2), and Breath Away in the $140,000 Suwannee River (G3).

Digital Ops will be making his sixth start and first in stakes company. He owns two wins, both with Davis aboard – a June 30 maiden special weight and Oct. 26 optional claiming allowance, both at Aqueduct.

“I had booked Dylan to ride the race and I didn’t even know he had ridden the horse twice. It looks like a genius move but it was actually accidental,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “[Digital Ops is] kind of unknown. If you watch both of his [wins], he’s been on the lead and he’s ran well.”

From a racing family, Davis’ father, Robbie, rode 3,382 winners between 1982 and 2002 and sisters Jackie and Katie are active jockeys in Pennsylvania and New York, respectively. Dylan Davis has set career highs in 224 with 207 wins, $16 million in purses earned and 10 graded-stakes victories including the Saratoga Derby Invitational (G1) with Carson’s Run.

Starting in January, Davis will be full-time in South Florida for the duration of the Championship Meet, which runs through March 30. In his first full season of riding, Davis spent the winter of 2013-2014 at Gulfstream where he tied Jose Lezcano for seventh during the Championship Meet with 41 wins from 331 starts to go along with $967,028 in purse earnings.

For his career, Davis owns 1,473 wins and nearly $91 million in purses earned.

Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $75,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have an estimated jackpot pool of $75,000 for Friday’s 10-race program at Gulfstream Park.

A total of $64,277 was put into the popular multi-race wager Thursday, the first racing day since the Rainbow 6 was solved for a life-changing $489,592.94 payoff Dec. 15.

Friday’s sequence spans Races 5-10, kicked off by a 1 1/16-mile turf claimer for 3-year-olds and up that attracted a field of 10. Race 6 is a second-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going one mile on the main track where two of the top choices – 2-1 program favorite Positive Review and multiple stakes winner Lure Him In – are entered for a $62,500 tag.

Race 9 is an entry-level optional claiming allowance for Floirda-bred 3-year-olds and up traveling a mile and 70 yards on the all-weather Tapeta course. Dear Dad, second or third in five of seven lifetime starts with one win for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, figures prominently against seven rivals.

The feature comes in the Race 10 finale, a second-level optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the turf. An overflow field of 13 includes twice stakes-placed Root Cause, trained by Chad Brown; Random Harvest, undefeated in two starts for trainer Jimmy Toner; and 2023 China Doll winner Princess Bettina, racing for the first time since running sixth in the April 21 Santa Maria (G2) and moving to trainer Brian Lynch.

The Rainbow 6 carryover pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Sunday’s 50-cent Late Pick 5 of 1-2-3-7-7 returned $34,109.55 for tickets with all five winners.

Who’s Hot: Irad Ortiz Jr. added three wins to his Championship Meet leading total Thursday, taking Race 5 with Highway Harmony ($3.80) and sweeping the late double on Asher’s Edge ($5) in Race 8 and Strand of Gold ($7) in Race 9.

About The Stronach Group and 1/ST

The Stronach Group is a world-class technology, entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. The Stronach Group’s 1/ST business (pronounced “First”) is North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company and includes the 1/ST RACING & GAMING, 1/ST CONTENT, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY and 1/ST EXPERIENCE businesses, while advocating for and driving the 1/ST HORSE CARE mission. 1/ST represents The Stronach Group’s continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred racing and the ecosystem that drives it. 1/ST RACING & GAMING drives the best-in-class racing operations and gaming offerings at the company’s premier racetracks and training centers including: Santa Anita Park – home of The California Crown and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); the Maryland Jockey Club at Laurel Park, The Preakness Stakes, Rosecroft Raceway and Bowie Training Center (Maryland). 1/ST CONTENT is the operating group for 1/ST’s media and content companies including: Monarch Content Management, Elite, TSG Global Wagering Solutions (GWS) and XBTV. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is racing’s largest racing and gaming technology company offering world-class products via its AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, XB SELECT, XB NET, PariMAX and Betmix brands. 1/ST EXPERIENCE blends the worlds of sports, entertainment and hospitality through innovative content development, elevated national and local venue management and hospitality, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and procurement development. As the advocate for critical industry reforms and by making meaningful investments into aftercare programs for retired horses and jockeys, 1/ST HORSE CARE represents The Stronach Group’s commitment to achieving the highest level of horse and rider care and safety standards in Thoroughbred racing on and off the track. The Stronach Group’s TSG Properties is responsible for the development of the company’s live, play and work communities surrounding its racing venues including: The Village at Gulfstream Park (Florida) and Paddock Pointe (Maryland). For more information email david.joseph@gulfstreampark.com and visit www.1st.com or follow @1ST_racing on Twitter or @1stracing on Instagram and Facebook.