Portal Maya Seeks First Black-Type Success in the Apertura

Only the stakes panorama rescues the short, low-quality program that will be offered this Saturday at Libertador y Dorrego

Portal Maya comes into the race off a victory in the Handicap Ráfaga on dirt / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

The 2026 season at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo will get underway this Saturday with a card salvaged only by its graded stakes. Just 10 races—almost all of them low-level conditionals—round out an odd and concerning doubleheader, coming on the heels of Friday’s dismal program at San Isidro.

Many may agree that quality should take precedence over quantity, but when both quantity and quality are lacking, the result hardly resembles a coherent plan. Handle may rise or fall, but the deeper issue is that Argentine racing has, in recent years, become a patchwork of alternative categories and races for older stock, leaving precious little room for the upper tiers. Then we wonder why our horses are running less and less…

Shortly before the Clásico Buenos Aires (G3, 1600m, turf), fillies and mares aged three and up will clash in the Clásico Apertura (G2, 2200m, turf), a race that at least promises an engaging spectacle thanks to the parity among its nine participants—none of whom has yet won at this level.

For a winner’s purse of a meager ARS 13,960,000 (stakes increases were virtually nonexistent in the second half of 2025), this could be a golden opportunity for Portal Maya, who comes off a victory at the same distance in the Handicap Ráfaga, albeit on dirt.

That afternoon, the Stud As de Picas runner defeated Foggy of Song by a length while carrying a light 53 kilos and conceding two pounds to that rival, whom she meets again here, this time at weight-for-age.

Fillies such as Lysva, Invocación, Doña Lucila and Miss Kalima have the credentials to be involved, particularly if they can capitalize on the weight spread. Narayana, Satya and Pasaron Cosas also line up, each bringing experience that could prove decisive in a wide-open renewal.