Defending Champion Rider Dethroned Irad Ortiz Jr. Last Winter HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Having regained his top spot at one of the most prestigious and competitive racing meets in the country, jockey Luis Saez is back in South Florida with sights set on a fourth Championship Meet title at Gulfstream Park. The 71-day Championship Meet kicks off Monday, Dec. 26 and runs through Sunday, April 2, 2023. Two $100,000 turf stakes highlight the opening day program – the Tropical Park Derby for 3-year-olds and Tropical Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

Endorsed Returns to Winner’s Circle, Expressman in Friday Feature HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Pegasus World Cup (G1) hopefuls Simplification, O’Connor, Skippylongstocking and Super Corinto are four of the 17 horses nominated for the $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3), to be run Dec. 31, while Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) two-time defending champion Colonel Liam is one of 29 nominations for the Fort Lauderdale (G2), also contested on New Year’s Eve.

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will have two chances in Monday’s $100,000 Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream Park to get off to a fast start for the 2022-2023 Championship Meet on the Opening Day program. McGaughey is scheduled to send out a pair of highly promising fillies in Allen Stable Inc.’s Personal Best and Phipps Stable’s Surprisingly, in the 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf that will co-headline Monday’s 10-race program with the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds.

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson’s Axthelm, who debuted at Gulfstream before making his next three starts in Kentucky, has returned for the South Florida’s racetrack’s opening day of the 2022-2023 Championship Meet Monday. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief is scheduled to face 11 other 3-year-olds in the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes that will co-headline a 10-race program with the $100,000 Tropical Park Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

20-cent Rainbow 6 Carryover $12,0033               HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – St. Elias Stable’s Dr Post, a multiple Grade 1 stakes-placed son of Quality Road, is scheduled for a return to Gulfstream Park Thursday to make his first start of 2022 in the Race 7 feature. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Dr Post broke his maiden in his second career start March 29, 2020 and came right back to win the Unbridled Stakes at Gulfstream a month later. The now 5-year-old went on to finish second in the Belmont Stakes (G1) behind Florida Derby (G1) hero Tiz the Law.

Versatile Mare Returns in Saturday’s $100,000 Abundantia HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – When Miss Auramet is in the Gulfstream Park entries, you won’t find Eddie Plesa Jr. glued to the Weather Channel. The notion of scratching the 6-year-old daughter of Uncaptured from Saturday’s $100,000 Abundantia won’t even cross the mind of the highly respected South Florida-based trainer should adverse weather conditions force the five-furlong stakes for fillies and mares to be taken off the turf and transferred to the Tapeta surface.

Lynch-Trainee at Home on Gulfstream Turf HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – William Branch’s Carotari, a winner of three turf sprint stakes at Gulfstream Park the past few years, has returned to South Florida with high expectations from trainer Brian Lynch. Carotari is scheduled to defend his title in the $100,000 Janus, a five-furlong turf stakes for 3-year-olds and up, will co-headline the closing-day program of the Sunshine Meet at Gulfstream Park with the $100,000 Abundantia, a five-furlong turf stakes for fillies and mares. The 2022-2023 Championship Meet gets underway Monday.

Rider Set Single-Season Marks for Purse Earnings, Stakes Wins HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – With the 2022-2023 Championship Meet days away, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is back at Gulfstream Park looking for a strong finish to what has been an historic, record-breaking season. Ortiz, 30, arrived in South Florida in mid-December in a familiar position – leading all jockeys in North America in both wins and purses earned, having topped the 300-win mark for an eighth straight year.

Successful Business Venture Keeping Him Busy Rainbow 6 Jackpot Hit for $137,119 Payoff HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – It was just a few months ago that Rajiv Maragh contemplated a return to riding. His name even made it onto an overnight at Gulfstream Park. “I was in Jamaica for two months and they had a big race coming up and I got the itch,” he recalled, standing outside the Gulfstream Park walking ring. “I had never ridden at home at [Caymanas Park]. I wanted to get a few mounts here and then ride that race. But…”