WP Welcomes Blood-Horse Editor Frank Angst & Jockey Julio Felix Thursday, August 4, 2022

Frank Angst is the features editor for the Blood-Horse. He also knows his way around the tracks he covers and the shortest route to a betting window. He’s not afraid to give his opinion on a horse and back it. Frank will join the show to give his analysis of another sensational card that will be presented on Saturday, with no less than five stakes races, four of them graded. The “main event” if there is one, would be the $1,000,000 Whitney for older horses at 1 1/8 miles. The obvious “good thing” would be now-trained Todd Pletcher charge Life Is Good, a freakishly fast son of Into Mischief who sports a near-perfect lifetime record and earnings of $3,551,700. But hold on a second you chalk-searching souls – this is a talented field and we are, after all, at Saratoga. A sizeable field will go on the greensward at 1 3/16ths mile Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational. The top four finishers of the Belmont Derby will enter the starting gate for a rematch. The front end of this all-stakes pick-3 is the Longines Test. It is hard to make a case against Matareya who is undefeated in four career starts this year. The Brad Cox trainee has made picture perfect progression in 2022 with an allowance win followed by wins in a Grade 3-2-1. Only the curse of Saratoga looks like it will stop this filly. Jockey Julio Felix is a name you should be familiar with if you have been a fan of racing in the Midwest over the past two decades. A natural born athlete from a family of ten, he was raised in the Virgin Islands – not the most smoothly paved road to success in the U.S. Growing up his sport of choice was baseball, where he rose to be the starting pitcher representing the Virgin Islands against rival Puerto Rico. That game outgrew him, and his size and athleticism fit the saddle perfectly. Julio has a wonderful story of overcoming challenges as a young rider, but with his talent apparent, he was chosen to ride in the most prestigious Governor’s Cup of St. Croix/St. Thomas for his first career victory! Since then, he has been looked upon as a beloved success story and sports hero by the people of the Virgin Islands. Felix was part of a three-man triumvirate along with owner/breeder Ron McKay and trainer Mike Nance that won over 100 stakes races among his 3,355 career victories and nine riding titles at Thistledown. Felix moved his family to the Chicago area where he made a good living riding primarily at Arlington Park. Julio will not only discuss his career in racing, but the impact the closing of Arlington Park has had on his life and many others in aspects of the game who called the Chicago circuit their home.