Edgard Zayas Puts Finishing Touches on Riding Title Friday

Edgard Zayas Puts Finishing Touches on Riding Title Friday
5-Time Royal Palm Meet Winner Out of Town Saturday and Sunday
Saturday’s 20-Cent Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $50,000

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Having sewn up his ninth career riding title at Gulfstream Park heading into closing weekend, jockey Edgard Zayas will miss the final two days of the Royal Palm Meet with lucrative out-of-town engagements.

Zayas won Race 7 Friday with 4-5 favorite Violence and Peace ($3.60) and finishes with 93 wins from 447 mounts (20.8 percent), holding a comfortable 19-win margin over runner-up Emisael Jaramillo, and more than $3 million in purse earnings. It is the fifth time the 32-year-old native of Puerto Rico has led the spring-summer standings following previous titles in 2024, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

“It’s been a good summer. I had a lot of support from everyone, to be honest,” Zayas said. “It was a little different. I felt like a lot of the nice horses I was riding left here so we were scrambling around picking up other ones, but it’s been a good meet. I’m very thankful for the support from all the trainers and owners. It’s been great.”

Long the go-to rider for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who is two racing days away from a 13th consecutive Gulfstream meet title, Zayas won five stakes at the Royal Palm Meet – the Game Face (Luvumorgan), Musical Romance (Haulin Ice), Smile Sprint (Implementation), Soldier’s Dancer (Prevent) and Successful Native (And Uwish).

Represented by agent Tito Fuentes, Zayas was an Eclipse Award finalist for champion apprentice of 2013 and won his first Gulfstream riding title at the 2014 summer-fall stand, now known as the Sunshine Meet. The 2025 Sunshine Meet opens Sept. 5 as a prelude to the 2025-2026 Championship Meet, the country’s premiere winter race gathering.

“I feel like it’s almost here,” Zayas said. “Hopefully we’ve got some good momentum for the Championship Meet and we can have another good meet.”

Following Friday’s races, Zayas was on a 7 p.m. flight to Saratoga where he is named in 11 of 13 races for such trainers as Joseph, Hall of Famers Todd Pletcher and Mark Casse, another South Florida regular in Carlos David, Mike Maker and Rusty Arnold.

“I’m really looking forward to [Saturday],” Zayas said. “I’ve ridden there before but not the whole card. It’s going to probably feel like home. We’ve got some live ones, so hopefully we can come away with a couple winners.”

Zayas will be reunited with two he rode at Gulfstream, Be Your Best in the Flower Bowl (G2) and Rojo Rita in the Prioress (G3), and is also named on Spirit Doll in the Spinaway (G1). All three are trained by Joseph.

During the 2024-2025 Championship Meet, Zayas and Be Your Best won the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G2) and Suwannee River (G3). Since then she was eighth in the Jenny Wiley (G1), won the Gamely (G1) and was third in the Beverly D (G2). Be Your Best is co-second choice on the morning line at 5-2 in a field of nine.

“I’m really excited, to be honest. We’re 2-for-2 on her,” Zayas said. “I think the mile and three-eighths will fit really nice for her. She looks like she’s the speed of the race, so hopefully we can get out there and keep rolling.”

Zayas was up for Rojo Rita’s first two races, a debut win last November and the Feb. 1 Forward Gal (G3) where they finished sixth but were disqualified to 11th for interference. They are rated at 5-1 on the morning line, back on the main track after two turf seconds.

“I think she’s finally maturing,” Zayas said. “Going back to the dirt, I think that was always the original plan with her. The way she disappointed when she was running on the dirt that’s why they brought her to the turf. But she proved she was very, very fast. They’re bringing her back to the dirt and hopefully she runs the race that we all expect.”

Zayas will be riding Sunday at Kentucky Downs, where he is named in five races including Joseph-trained Lorenz in the $500,000 NTL Tight Spot overnight handicap.

“This is home base for me, and we can just go wherever we can,” he said. “That’s the way we’ve been doing it the past couple years and we’ve been doing good, so we’re going to keep doing it.”

Saturday’s 20-Cent Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $50,000

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to grow to an estimated $50,000 Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved Friday for the first racing day following last Sunday’s mandatory payout.

Saturday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 6-11, headlined by the $70,000 Black Diamond Cat Handicap in Race 10. Joe Orseno-trained Hades, who was disqualified and placed second in the July 29 Tackleberry Handicap, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/16-mile handicap for 3-year-olds and up. In the 1 1/8-mile Tackleberry, the 4-year-old son of Awesome Slew dueled throughout before holding on to prevail by a neck over Catalytic, who would be placed first. Antonio Sano-trained Catalytic returns in the Black Diamond Cat while receiving three pounds from Hades, the 123-pound highweight.

In the Rainbow 6, the 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 usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Notes: Seven-pound apprentice Yolber Torres doubled Friday aboard Just Take Notes ($21.20) in Race 2 and Blast Radius ($23.20) in Race 8.