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for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com juLY 30, 2015 • The CourieR SUN 47 sports WITH TRADE DEADLINE NEARING, METS MAKING UPGRADES Big names line up for the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course this weekend Saratoga Race Course will be the focus of the racing Florida Derby in March, while Frosted rebounded world this weekend as the Grade 2 Jim Dandy from a disappointing winter to take the TwinSpires. Stakes is set to pay out $600,000 in preparation for com Wood Memorial and run fourth in the Kentucky the Grade 1 $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 29. Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes. Saturday’s Jim Dandy Stakes is expected to Unraced since finishing last of 18 in the Derby, draw a solid lineup including Grade 1 winners Upstart beat Frosted in the Grade 2 Holy Bull Texas Red, Materiality and Frosted, as well as and came in second in both the Florida Derby Grade 2 winner Upstart. and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. Grade 2-placed Texas Red won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at odds of Frammento and Easy Goer Stakes winner Japan 13-1 last fall and has run second in both his starts this are also expected, while Belmont third-place year, the Grade 2 San Vicente and Grade 3 Dwyer. finisher Keen Ice and Grade 3 Pegasus runner-up Materiality has been off the board since winning the Tekton are possible. Noticeably absent from the Jim Dandy Stakes is Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, who will be running on Sunday in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. Other races on Saturday’s card at Saratoga include the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap for sprinters with Stonestreet Stables’ Rock Fall looking to stretch his winning streak to six in the six-furlong event; the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam for 3-year-old sprinters; and the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green on the inner turf. BY THE QUE NS COURIER STAFF editorial@queenscourier.com @QueensCourier Having already acquired a bullpen pitcher and two infielders, the Mets—in their first playoff push since they left Shea Stadium—are looking for more help. Reportedly, the franchise—which, as of the afternoon of July 28, sat two games behind the first place Washington Nationals—is looking to acquire an outfield bat to put a charge as the Amazins’ look to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Several baseball writers have linked the Mets to ongoing talks for outfielders including Justin Upton of the San Diego Padres, Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds and Gerardo Parra of the Milwaukee Brewers. Newsday reported on July 28 the team may wait until up to the trade deadline at 4 p.m. on July 31 to make another trade. Meanwhile, showing that the team wasn’t sitting on its hands as many fans feared, the Mets picked up right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor-league pitching prospect Casey Meisner. A former Yankee, Clippard — who had 17 saves for the A’s prior to the trade — is looked to help reinforce a Mets bullpen led by closer Jeurys Familia and Bobby Parnell. The trade came four days after the Mets acquired infielders Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson from the rival Atlanta Braves for two minor-league pitchers. The new additions, combined with the Mets’ promotion of outfield prospect Michael Conforto, put a charge into what had been one of the weakest lineups in baseball. Conforto went 4 for 4, and Johnson added a home run, in a 15-2 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 25, while Uribe hit a walkoff single to give the Mets an extra-innings 3-2 victory on July 26. The Mets wrap up a three-game series against the Padres as Citi Field on July 30 before the Nationals come to Queens for a critical three-game showdown this weekend. Photo via Facebook/New York Mets Michael Conforto is contributing early to the Mets’ playoff push.


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