Strangles Outbreak at Saratoga Triggers Weekend Scratches at Monmouth Park

This marks the second outbreak at Saratoga in recent months and has already led to a wave of scratches at Monmouth Park. Track announcer Matt Dinnerman noted there will be scratches in multiple races throughout the weekend.

Saturday’s featured race, the Tale of the Cat Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for 3-year-olds, is among the most impacted. Morning-line favorite Uncatalyzed, trained by Chad Brown, will be scratched due to quarantine and safety protocols. He was listed at 5/2 and figured to take a lot of money in the betting. Other notable scratches include the George Weaver-trained Golden Channel and Danny Gargan’s Mythical Man, both set at 6/1, who are also unable to run under the current restrictions.

With those horses out, favoritism will likely shift to Soleil Volant, trained by H. Graham Motion and ridden by Monmouth’s leading jockey, Paco Lopez. The Karakontie 3-year-old gelding has been working at Fair Hill and is cross-entered in Saturday’s American Derby Stakes at Churchill Downs. If connections decide to send him to Louisville, favoritism may land on Outrunner, trained by Jorge Duarte Jr. and ridden by Sonny Leon.

Other notable scratches over the weekend include the Tom Morley-trained Pookie and the Chad Brown filly Midnight Memories. Both were originally slated to run on Sunday in the Boiling Springs Stakes, a $100,000 turf event for 3-year-old fillies at the same 1 1/16-mile distance. More money is now likely to be poured in on Brown’s other trainee, Growth Trajectory, set at a morning line of 5/2.

It is unclear how long it will take for restrictions to be lifted, but with the highly contagious illness continuing to spread, things may remain on hold. Continue to check for updates throughout racing over the weekend for additional scratches at multiple tracks.

Monmouth Park’s marquee race, the Grade 1 Haskell on July 19, is fast approaching. As the situation continues to unfold, hopes are that the outbreak is contained in time to avoid any disruption to one of the summer’s biggest racing days.