Racing Spotlight: Somelikeithotbrown, Jareth Loveberry, Karl Broberg

Racing Spotlight is a weekly series that highlights a horse, jockey, and trainer with insightful information to help our players be informed.

This week, we look at Somelikeithotbrown, who returns to stakes company after setting a course record at Pimlico; Jareth Loveberry, who leads the standings at Arlington; and Karl Broberg, who recently became the 13th North American trainer to earn 4,000 wins.

Horse spotlight: Somelikeithotbrown

Somelikeithotbrown looks to stay hot in the Wise Dan S. (G2) at Churchill on Saturday. The five-year-old cruises into the race after a one-length victory in the Dinner Party S. (G2) at Pimlico on the Preakness S. (G1) undercard, where he set a course record and earned his second Grade 2 win.

As a freshman, the bay placed second in Grade 3 races at Saratoga and Belmont before taking third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). At three, he earned a 3 1/4 length decisive victory in Turfway’s Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), and at four he won Saratoga’s Bernard Baruch H. (G2).

Inconsistencies have peppered the way, but trainer Mike Maker says he couldn’t be training any better. Throughout his career, Somelikeithotbrown has earned $842,838 from a 7-4-2 record in 19 starts. Jose Ortiz retains the mount.

The field of 10 includes challenger Set Piece, trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, who will try for his first graded victory after two impressive wins in minor stakes.

Somelikeithotbrown’s name is a play on his sire, Big Brown, and his dam, Marilyn Monroan, who also produced stakes winner Jolting Joe. A Hot Brown is a signature Louisville open-faced turkey, bacon, and tomato sandwich with Mornay sauce.

The Wise Dan is one of seven stakes on the closing-day card at Churchill Downs. The program also features the Stephen Foster S. (G2), Fleur de Lis S. (G2), and Bashford Manor S. (G3).

Jockey spotlight: Jareth Loveberry

Jareth Loveberry sits atop Arlington’s jockey standings, leading in both wins and purse earnings. In a season where he has won at a 29% rate, Loveberry finished in the top three 64% of the time.

He is defending his 2020 Arlington title, when he finished the meet with 56 victories and won six races on the Aug. 6 card. Last year was his first full season to ride at the Chicago track, and Loveberry came for the opportunity to ride first call for perennial leading trainer Larry Rivelli.

Loveberry has fallen in love with Arlington, referring to it as “one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to.”

The 33-year-old grew up in Michigan, and he started competing at Great Lakes after graduating high school, riding his first professional race on his birthday.

Since then, Loveberry has ridden extensively at Mountaineer, Remington, Canterbury, and Oaklawn. In addition to Arlington, he has won leading rider titles at Canterbury.

This week, in a triumphant return to Canterbury, Loveberry and Rivelli teamed up on 15-1 King of Miami in the Mystic Lake Derby, edging out heavily-favored T D Dance for Brad Cox and Florent Geroux by a nose.

Loveberry is 11 victories away from 1,500 career wins, and he has earned almost $26 million.

He is married and has two children.

Trainer spotlight: Karl Broberg

Karl Broberg became the 13th North American trainer to amass 4,000 wins on June 11 at Prairie Meadows. Broberg, 50, reached this milestone in 12 years of training, and he has ranked first or second in wins since 2013. Throughout his career, he has won at a 24% rate and finished in the trifecta 56% of the time.

Broberg recorded his first win as a trainer at Retama Park. In addition to Prairie Meadows, he currently has strings at Lone Star, Louisiana Downs, Evangeline, and Canterbury. He added New York to his repertoire in the fall: he started runners at Belmont, won four at Aqueduct, and has been allotted stalls at Saratoga.

The trainer formerly ran an advertising agency named End Zone Athletics—which is the banner Broberg races under as an owner—that specialized in high school sports. Success led him to purchase horses, and three years later, he decided to train them.

The claiming ranks have provided the backbone of his operation. On Twitter, he addressed “trolls reminding us of our Graded Stakes tally of 0 (so far) and to them I say that also matches our number of suspensions.”

Broberg has won leading training titles at Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs, Louisiana Downs, Lone Star Park, Prairie Meadows, Remington Park, and Sam Houston.