Fairplex Park was at the center of the California Horse Racing Board's attention once more Thursday. Just a couple of months after the CHRB turned down a proposed lease of the Los Angeles County Fair's end-of-summer racing dates to Hollywood Park, Fairplex issues were in the middle of things once more -- on a couple of fronts.
The verdict is in and Madame Pietra has been flown to Florida to participate in the Filly and Mare Sprint on Sunshine Millions Day.
Continental Red is considered the best of the California-bred handicap horses and he will try to extend that supremacy to the East Coast in Saturday's $1 million Ocala Breeders Sales Classic at Gulfstream Park on Sunshine Millions Day.
Thursday morning found Elaine's Angel, a top California contender in the $350,000 Franks Farms (Filly & Mare) Turf, safely bedded down in Barn 11 on the Gulfstream Park backstretch.
Champion Xtra Heat has been immortalized as a bobblehead doll. The Maryland Jockey Club will distribute 4,000 Xtra Heat bobbleheads to paying customers attending the February 17th racing program, a card featuring the General George Handicap (gr. II).
Istintaj, a son of Nureyev and multiple grade III winner on the dirt, will stand his first season at Hartley/De Renzo Walmac South near Ocala, Fla.
Graded stakes winners Most Feared and Lone Star Sky lead a field of 11 three-year-old hopefuls set to begin their trail towards the Triple Crown in the $100,000 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday.
Buoyed by a 22% gain in off-sitse wagering on its signal, Tampa Bay Downs will raise overnight purses by 6% effective Jan. 30, track general manager Peter Berube said.
Kentucky-bred Estimraar continued his ascent at Nad al Sheba racecourse with a 1 3/4-length victory over State Shinto in the Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (UAE-III), a prep for the $2-million Godolphin Mile (UAE-I) won last year by Grey Memo.
Chestnut colt, foaled April 20, 2000
Distorted Humor--Belle's Good Cide, by Slewacide
Bay gelding, foaled March 12, 2000
Siberian Summer--Valley Deb, by Debonair Roger
Dark bay/brown colt, foaled Jan. 19, 2000
Seattle Slew--Star of Broadway, by Broad Brush
Arlington Park announced that Frank G. Gabriel Jr., who was named executive vice president of racing operations last Nov. 4, will add the role of racing secretary to his current list of duties.
Attorneys for the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association will file for an injunction in the next few days to stop the "recapture" payment made annually to the state's racetracks from the horsemen's purse fund since 1995.
In the first weekly installment looking at leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby, Vindication tops the list compiled by Steve Haskin, senior correspondent for The Blood-Horse.
Already? Is it really time to start smelling roses again, even though the scent of pine and eggnog still permeates our living room? Is it premature to start thinking Kentucky Derby while there are Christmas tree needles still embedded in our carpet?
Chestnut colt, foaled Feb. 28, 2000
Will's Way -- Olympio, by Tippecanoe Creek
Chestnut colt, foaled Feb. 25, 2000
Storm Cat -- Beware of the Cat, Caveat
Bay colt, foaled Jan. 26, 2000
A.P. Indy -- Dance With Grace, by Mr. Prospector
Bay colt, foaled Feb. 7, 2000
Elusive Quality -- Tin Oaks, by Deputy Minister
Gray/roan colt, foaled Feb. 11, 2000
Majestrian--Davistalu, by Petersburg
Chestnut colt, foaled March 17, 2000
Benchmark--When and Where, by Siyah Kalem
Dark bay/brown colt, foaled April 5, 2000
Wild Again--Alvear, by Seattle Slew
Gray/roan gelding, foaled May 23, 2000
Touch Gold--Punchbowl, by Two Punch
Dark bay/brown colt, foaled April 2, 2000
Gulch--Rogue Girl, by Sham
Chestnut colt, foaled March 28, 2000
Unbridled's Song--Majestical Moment, by Magesterial
Chestnut colt, foaled April 20, 2000
Montbrook--Bold Burst, by Dahar
Chestnut colt, foaled March 13, 2000
Mr. Greeley--Thorough Fair, by Quiet American
Dark bay/brown colt, foaled Jan. 24, 2000
Devil His Due--Aunt Mottz, by Honey Jay
Chestnut colt, foaled April 26, 2000
Jules--Hold to Fashion, by Hold Your Peace
Chestnut colt, foaled April 26, 2000
Jules--Hold to Fashion, by Hold Your Peace
Bay colt, foaled Jan. 8, 2000
A.P. Indy--Ecoute, by Manila
Dark bay or brown colt, foaled April 27, 2000
Unbridled--Toussaud, by El Gran Senor
Bettors on May 16-17 will be able to play the new "head-to-head wager" that debuted at the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. The wager will be offered on the Preakness Stakes, Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, Pimlico Special, and other stakes at Pimlico Race Course those two days.
Michael Tabor, who has owned such notable Kentucky Derby prospects as Thunder Gulch and Johannesburg, has purchased Lion Tamer from Peachtree Stable for an undisclosed amount.
The arctic weather sweeping the country has caused Oaklawn to cancel its opening weekend. No races will be run Friday, Saturday, or Sunday because the racing surface at the Hot Springs, Ark., track is frozen. The track is open for simulcasting.
A Vermont legislator has introduced a bill to authorize year-round simulcasting with the ultimate goal of reopening Green Mountain Park, a racetrack that closed in 1992.
A total of 96 California and Florida breds were entered for Saturday's $3.6 million Sunshine Millions eight-race series at Gulfstream and Santa Anita.
Trainer: Richard A. Violette, Jr.
Owner: Ralph M. Evans
Jockey: Jose L. Ortiz
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