Franco, Rice Capture Aqueduct Winter Meet Titles

Equestrian Manny Franco won the equestrian title in his fourth winter meeting at Aqueduct race trackhit 63 wins at the meeting that ran from January 1 to March 26. Linda Rice edged out all coaches with 37 wins, while Windylea Ranch took the title of NYRA circuit owner. their first with 12 wins.

Franco, who rode a winning pair in the March 26 closing date card, completed three wins over runner-up Dylan Davis and 20 wins over third-placed Jose Lezcano.

“That means a lot to me. This is why we’re here,” said Franco, who is represented by special agent John Panagot. “I wanted to be one of the top riders here on the New York circuit and I’ve worked hard to make that happen. I want to thank all the coaches and owners for their support. support me throughout the year. I’m happy to be back at the top again.”

The 28-year-old from Carolina, Puerto Rico, who equaled the NYRA record by winning with six out of seven mounts on January 6 at the Aqueduct, finished the meeting with a combined record of 246- 63-42-32 income $3,297,246.

He also added a five-day victory day on March 10 as part of a fantastic winter encounter that included victory over the hopeful Kentucky Derby (G1) impressions in Withers Stakes (G3). Franco’s other stake winners at the meeting were law professor -Queens County, Dr. Ardito – Haynefield, neural network -Gander, Rossa’s speed -Fix and Bold loom – Damon Ruyon.

“The Hit Show is one of the biggest wins, but every win here matters. I’m happy to have the opportunity to drive for everyone here in New York,” Franco said. “Every day you learn something new. You have to have the right horses and make the most of them. When that opportunity comes, you have to make it happen.”

Franco, who has been the NYRA lead driver since 2018-19, has won six previous meet-up titles, including the 2018 Winter and Fall Aqueduct; 2019 Aqueduct winter and spring; 2019 Belmont Park fall; and winter 2020 Aqueduct.

Rice, 59, won the Aqueduct winter conference title for the third time after past success in 2019-20. She has dispatched 37 winners, 14 more than runner-up coach Rob Atras and 21 more than third-placed Chad Brown.

Meet the highlights for Rice, who racked up seven consecutive winners in mid-March, including a stake win with blue -Interborough and naughty city center -Cicada, who had a perfect 3 at the meeting.

Rice also achieved success in the 2009 leadership meeting at Racecourse Saratoga in addition to topping the table at Spring 2011 Aqueduct (tie); 2011 Belmont spring/summer; 2012 Spring Aqueduct; 2017 Aqueduct spring (tie); Aqueduct winter 2019; winter 2020 Aqueduct; and 2022 Aqueduct collapses.

“It’s been a really good winter,” Rice said. “We had a nice fall and we had a nice meetup before that too. Then, going back and having a really fun winter get-together was great. We had a great get-together. a few equity winners, Betsy Blue and Downtown Mischief. But, in general, the entire warehouse and my entire staff worked really hard and it showed up in the afternoon.”

Rice started 142 horses with a 37-30-27 record and $1,952,790 earnings. Her runners posted win rates of 26.06% and 66.20% of the money.

Windylea Farm leads all owners with a 31-12-5-10 record and a total purse income of $473,760. A trio of horses posted a winning pair for Windylea Ranch at the meeting, including Super quality , Rock Jake And expulsion who won Career Best 100 Beyer Speed ​​Image in a state-breed option claimant on March 18.