Every year since 1979 Parx Racing and Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, has played host to the state’s premier race, the Pennsylvania Derby (G1). Though the track has changed names over the years, the “PA Derby” has remained a hallmark of Thoroughbred racing in the state due to its hefty purse of $1 million and its oftentimes prestigious entries. In recent years some of the top 3-year-olds in the country have been drawn to the race with the allure of winning a chunk of that hefty purse, and this year was no different. On Sept. 20, a field of 10 took a shot at victory, including one of the top names from the Triple Crown season.
Baeza came into the race finishing in second in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), third in both the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) and another second in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2). His top foes from those races, Sovereignty and Journalism, were nowhere to be found at Parx. The race still provided some tough competition for him, though. Gosger, runner up in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and Haskell Stakes (G1); Magnitude, who finished third in the Travers Stakes (G1); and Goal Oriented, who was just a neck behind Gosger in the Haskell Stakes (G1), all tried to take the win themselves. None would best him this time, though.
Galloping at the back of the field for the majority of the race, Baeza made his move on the far turn and never looked back. After putting away Goal Oriented mid-stretch, not even a late explosion from Magnitude could stop him from getting “his moment in the sun,” said Parx track announcer Jessica Paquette. He hit the wire 2 ¼ lengths ahead of Magnitude in second, stopping the clock at 1:48.03. Two lengths behind Magnitude was Goal Oriented in third and pacesetter So Sandy held on for fourth.
Ridden to victory by Hector Berrios, owned by C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine, and trained by John Shirreffs,. Baeza’s breakthrough brought his trainer one of the most exciting moments of an already incredible career.
“Today was one of the most exciting races I’ve participated in, to tell you the truth,” Shirreffs said after the race. “Just because of all the hope we had for Baeza, all that build-up. Working at the barn, working with him, being in the Belmont and the Kentucky Derby, it was just like this is it today.”
Berrios, who has ridden Baeza in five of his starts, knew it was going to be their race when his mount started to roll for home.
“Once he responded and I saw the other horses, I said, ‘It’s our win. Our race,’” he recalled in a post-race interview. He was certainly right, and the victory put Baeza in the same history book as his sire McKinzie, who won this race in 2018.
No Breeders’ Cup plans have been made for the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) winner as of now, but Shirreffs did say that he always looks forward to a shot at Sovereignty. He could have that shot should he send his newest star to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in November, but for now his team will bask in his graded stakes breakthrough, as will all of Pennsylvania’s horse racing fans.
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