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Hollywood announces slimmer stakes schedule
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Hollywood Park, in an effort to protect overnight purses, has responded to the declining economy by shuffling its stakes calendar for the 60-day spring/summer meet, which begins April 21. [more]
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Calder offers Road to the Derby promotion
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Calder Casino & Race Course will host a "Road to the Kentucky Derby" promotion this spring. Calder's promotion will focus on four key prep races for the Kentucky Derby (G1) and feature expert handicapping analysis, food and beverage specials, a scratch-off game, and drawings for prizes -- including a trip to this year's Kentucky Derby. [more]
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Rachel Alexandra to face four in New Orleans Ladies
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The reigning queens of American racing, RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) and Zenyatta (Street Cry [Ire]), will both make their highly-anticipated seasonal debuts on Saturday, with Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra up first in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies S. at Fair Grounds. [more]
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Rachel turns in final breeze for New Orleans Ladies
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Horse of the Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro), with regular exercise rider Dominic Terry aboard, on Monday put in her final timed workout in advance of Saturday's $200,000 New Orleans Ladies, going four furlongs in :49, breezing, over the fast main track at Fair Grounds. [more]
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Zenyatta assigned 127 pounds for Santa Margarita
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Unbeaten champion ZENYATTA (Street Cry [Ire]) will tote the top weight of 127 pounds when she makes her comeback in Saturday's $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational H. (G1) at Santa Anita. The John Shirreffs mare will be conceding at least eight, and possibly as much as 19 pounds, to her rivals, depending on the composition of the field when entries are taken on Wednesday. [more]
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Fair Grounds slashes purses of three stakes
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Fair Grounds will reduce the purses of three stakes races still to be run this season -- the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), the Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial H. (G2) and the New Orleans H. (G2) -- by $100,000 each, to $300,000. [more]
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Arlington offers automatic berths for International Festival races
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Arlington Park officials announced Monday that the track will offer automatic starting berths into the Arlington Million and other International Festival of Racing events plus waive entry and starting fees for the winners of selected Group 1 races overseas as well as the top finishers in the track's local Festival prep races. [more]
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'All others' closes as 3-1 favorite in Pool 2; Eskendereya next at 5-1
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Fountain of Youth S. (G2) hero ESKENDEREYA (Giant's Causeway) emerged as the solid individual choice to win the $2 million guaranteed Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 1, but the "All Others" betting interest remained the overall fans' choice as Pool 2 of Churchill Downs' 2010 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) ended its three-run early Sunday evening. [more]
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Blind Luck rates as 4-1 favorite in Oaks future wager
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She suffered a surprising defeat over the weekend, but the faith of racing fans in BLIND LUCK (Pollard's Vision) was unshaken as trainer Jerry Hollendforfer's filly was a start-to-finish favorite in Churchill Downs' three-day 2010 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (KOFW) when the betting pool concluded Sunday evening. [more]
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Eskendereya leads busy Pletcher worktab
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Trainer Todd Pletcher sent out a brigade of workers, including several major Kentucky Derby (G1) hopefuls, at Palm Meadows on Sunday. [more]
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Lookin at Lucky still likely for Rebel; Blind Luck targets Fantasy
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Trainer Bob Baffert left the door slightly ajar for 2009 two-year-old champion male LOOKIN AT LUCKY (Smart Strike) to make his three-year-old debut in Saturday's San Felipe S. (G2) at Santa Anita, but reiterated that he was more likely to ship to Oaklawn Park for the Rebel S. (G2) on the same day. Both are 1 1/16-mile events. [more]
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Gotham top three could renew rivalry in Wood; Buddy's Saint scheduled to breeze
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The top three finishers from Saturday's Gotham S. (G3) -- AWESOME ACT (Awesome Again), YAWANNA TWIST (Yonaguska) and NACHO FRIEND (Friends Lake), respectively -- could all square off once again at Aqueduct in the April 3 Wood Memorial S. (G1). [more]
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Rachel Alexandra keeps her cool at Fair Grounds
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Horse of the Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) was "right back at it again" during her regular gallop Sunday morning, according to Fair Grounds clocker Billy Pettingill. [more]
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Rachel Alexandra 'on the muscle' in gallop
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Horse of the Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) had an "exceptionally good gallop" Saturday morning at Fair Grounds, one week before her upcoming engagement in the March 13 New Orleans Ladies S., according to Fair Grounds clocker Billy Pettingill. [more]
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Imbongi hangs on in Zabeel Mile; Hills prevails in jockey challenge
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum and B. Clements' IMBONGI (Russian Revival), who missed by inches in the February 19 Al Fahidi Fort (UAE-G2), came out on the winning side of a close finish in Friday's $250,000 Zabeel Mile (UAE-G2) at Meydan. Although that turf contest was the highlight of the evening, the program also featured the inaugural Meydan Masters international jockey challenge, won by Englishman Richard Hills. [more]
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Team Valor, Barber acquire Motovato
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Team Valor International and Gary Barber have purchased Grade 3 winner MOTOVATO (Proud Citizen) from the Estate of Edmund Gann. The five-year-old bay will remain in the care of trainer Marty Wolfson, who will point the Kentucky-bred for the March 13 Gulfstream Park H. (G2). [more]
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Elton John, Santana headline Dubai World Cup concert
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On Friday, Meydan announced that international artistes Elton John and Santana will be performing live at the 2010 Dubai World Cup on March 27. The 15th running of the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) also marks the official launch of the world's largest integrated racing facility, the Meydan Grandstand and Racecourse. [more]
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Red Desire produces torrid late run in Maktoum Challenge Round 3
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Tokyo Horse Racing's RED DESIRE (Manhattan Cafe) wasn't able to beat two-time Japanese Horse of the Year Vodka (Tanino Gimlet) on the turf back home, but the four-year-old filly outkicked her convincingly on the Tapeta at Meydan on "Super Thursday." [more]
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Mendip romps in Al Bastakiya; Vale of York fifth
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The royal blue silks of Godolphin were carried to an impressive victory in Thursday's $250,000 Al Bastakiya at Meydan, but not by Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Vale of York (Ire) (Invincible Spirit), who ran evenly in fifth. [more]
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Presvis, Campanologist capture Super Thursday turf stakes
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The two turf events on Meydan's Super Thursday card yielded valuable clues for their corresponding stakes on the March 27 Dubai World Cup program. [more]
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Desert Party makes winning return; Cat Junior wires Burj Nahaar
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Godolphin's DESERT PARTY (Street Cry [Ire]) made a good-looking comeback in the $200,000 Mahab al Shimaal (UAE-G3) at Meydan on Super Thursday. Sidelined since his uncharacteristic 14th in the 2009 Kentucky Derby (G1), which he exited with an ankle injury that required surgery, the Saeed bin Suroor pupil showed no signs of rust to score a 1 1/4-length victory. [more]
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'Test of the Champion' highlights Belmont's spring/summer meet
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The New York Racing Association (NYRA) on Thursday announced the stakes schedules for the 2010 Belmont Park spring/summer meet and the Saratoga Race Course meet. [more]
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Oaklawn increases purses
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Once again bucking national economic trends, Oaklawn Park has announced across-the-board purse increases of approximately $10,000 per day for the second half of its 54-day racing season. The increase of $500 in all claiming races and $2,000 in all allowance and maiden special weight races -- an approximate 5 percent hike -- went into effect on Thursday's program. [more]
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Eskendereya commands respect in Pool 2 of Future Wager
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A dominating victory in the Fountain of Youth (G2) has made ESKENDEREYA (Giant's Causeway) the co-morning line favorite with champion LOOKIN AT LUCKY (Smart Strike) among individual wagering interests for Pool 2 of Churchill Downs' 2010 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW), but it's the mutuel field, or "all others," that will be favored again when the three-day pool opens its March 5-7 run on Friday. [more]
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Blind Luck is top individual in Oaks Future
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Three-time Grade 1 winner BLIND LUCK (Pollard's Vision) is the favored individual filly in Churchill Downs' 2010 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (KOFW), but oddsmaker Mike Battaglia believes that the mutuel field, or "all others," will be the favored betting interest when the three-day pool wraps up early on Sunday evening. [more]
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Keeneland offers annual pass
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Keeneland racing fans can, for the first time ever, purchase an annual pass -- good for general admission each day of both the 2010 spring and fall race meets -- for just $50. [more]
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Rachel Alexandra finishes fast in six-furlong breeze
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Horse of the Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) breezed six furlongs in company Tuesday morning, blowing past her stablemate nearing the eighth-pole and finishing in a final quarter-mile of :22 3/5 to post an official final time of 1:13 3/5 over the fast track at Fair Grounds. She recorded fractions in :13, :25 3/5, :38 2/5, :51 and 1:02 1/5, and the four-year-old filly galloped out seven-eighths in 1:26 2/5 and one mile in 1:41 1/5. [more]
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Rachel gallops; New Orleans Ladies field starts to take shape
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Horse of the Year RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) turned in a spirited gallop at Fair Grounds Monday morning, one day prior to her scheduled Tuesday work in preparation for her reappearance in the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies S. on March 13. The Steve Asmussen filly received her usual glowing report from Fair Grounds clocker Billy Pettingill. [more]
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Champion Flanders dead at 18
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FLANDERS (Seeking the Gold), the champion juvenile filly of 1994 and the dam of 2000 champion three-year-old filly Surfside (Seattle Slew), was euthanized in mid-February due to complications from a paddock accident, according to various reports. She was 18. [more]
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Compari dominates Crystal Water
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John Nicolette, Harris Farms Inc. and Donald Valpredo's homebred COMPARI (Redattore [Brz]) put on a front-running display in Sunday's $100,000 Crystal Water H. at Santa Anita, grabbing command soon after the start and posting fractions of :23 3/5, :47 3/5, 1:11 3/5 and 1:23 1/5 en route to a 3 1/4-length victory under jockey Garrett Gomez. [more]
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All Due Respect headed to Santa Anita Oaks
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Grade 3-placed ALL DUE RESPECT (Value Plus) is expected to challenge three-time Grade 1 queen BLIND LUCK (Pollard's Vision) in Saturday's $250,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G1) at 1 1/16 miles over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride. [more]
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Radiohead wins debut for Dutrow
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English Group 2 winner RADIOHEAD (GB) (Johannesburg), who was scratched from last Saturday's Hutcheson S. (G2), made his debut for Richard Dutrow exactly one week later in Saturday's 3RD race at Gulfstream Park. [more]
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