The wire came just in time for Valentine Dancer, who defended her title in the Cloverleaf Farms Filly & Mare Turf with an all-out effort in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions event at Gulfstream Park Saturday.
Saturday, January 29, 2005The Brazilian-bred Leroidesanimaux, who set a track record at Saturday's 1 1/16-mile distance on the Hollywood Park turf May 1, proved it was no fluke with a determined victory in the $400,000 Citation Handicap (gr. IT).
Sunday, November 28, 2004Trainer Bobby Frankel provided an encore for his Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) victory Saturday when Leroidesanimaux took over from pacesetter De Valmont in the stretch with Jon Court aboard and pulled away to win the Morvich Handicap (gr. IIIT) on the hillside at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita.
Saturday, October 30, 2004Two perfect tickets in Wednesday's Pick Six at Hollywood Park were each worth a record payout of $1,312,808.60. The previous Hollywood Park Pick Six record payout was $928,127.40, paid to one winner on July 21, 2002.
Thursday, May 20, 2004Pohave ended an eight-race losing streak at Hollywood Park, winning his first graded stakes in the $150,000 Los Angeles Times Handicap (gr. III) Saturday.
Saturday, May 08, 2004Leroidesanimaux won for the third consecutive time and broke a course record in the process when he went gate-to-wire Saturday to win the $110,900 Inglewood Handicap (gr. IIIT) by two lengths at Hollywood Park.
Sunday, May 02, 2004Jockey Jon Court, perennially one of the midwest's top riders, has moved his tack to Southern California to ride full time and will be represented by veteran agent Nick Cosato.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004Under a patient ride from substitute jockey Jon Court, Valentine Dancer split horses at the head of the stretch and stormed to a three-quarters of a length victory in the $500,000 John Deere Filly and Mare Turf on Sunshine Millions Day Saturday on the Santa Anita turf course.
Saturday, January 24, 2004Fleetstreet Dancer, winless for the past year, fought back like a champion in the shadow of the finish line, coming back under jockey Jon Court at odds of 48-1 to shock odds-on favorite Admire Don and win the $2-million Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-I) by a nose at a drenched Tokyo race course on Saturday.
Saturday, November 29, 2003Cappuchino, with Jon Court in the irons, overtook Pass Rush at the quarter pole and went on to post a two-length triumph in Sunday's $165,450 Ack Ack Handicap (gr. III) over a sloppy track on opening day of the fall meet at Churchill Downs.
Sunday, October 26, 2003A 10.4% drop in on-track wagering was more than offset by a rise in off-track simulcast betting at Ellis Park. The Henderson, Ky. track reported a 26.9% increase in all-source handle during the 41-day meet that concluded with the Labor Day card Monday.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003Excessivepleasure, ridden by Jon Court, upset 1-2 favorite Champali with a gate-to-wire track-record romp in the $250,000 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows Saturday night.
Saturday, July 05, 2003Janis R. Whitman's homebred Fiscally Speaking sprung a 47-1 upset in the $115,300 Aegon Turf Sprint (gr. IIIT) after surging past 2001 winner Morluc in the final strides at Churchill Downs Friday.
Friday, May 02, 2003Jockey Jon Court, trainer Bernie Flint, and owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey continued remarkable runs of success on the Kentucky racing circuit in 2002 and all have been named repeat winners of 13th Kentucky Thoroughbred Media awards that honor the jockey, trainer, and owner who collected the highest total of victories at Kentucky racetracks each year.
Thursday, March 20, 2003Jockey Lonnie Meche and 15-1 Indy Fire won Friday night's $70,000 Miss Indiana Stakes at Hoosier Park in just a head bob over Jon Court and Miss Dakota.
Saturday, November 16, 2002A full field of ten has been assembled for the third running of the $100,000 Michael Schaefer Mile Saturday at Hoosier Park.
Friday, November 15, 2002Trainer Steve Asmussen notched his third winner on Wednesday's Churchill Downs card when Full Mandate, with Donnie Meche aboard, seized the lead near the eighth pole and powered to a one-length victory over longshot Irish Legacy in the featured $43,400 allowance for 3-year-olds and up.
Wednesday, November 13, 2002Apprentice jockey John McKee rode Jenny's Prospector to an impressive win in the $100,000 Hoosier Debutante Stakes on Ladies Night Saturday at Hoosier Park.
Sunday, November 10, 2002Stonecrest Farm's Perfect Drift, who was making his first start since the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on June 8, took command at the head of the stretch and held off the fast-closing Easyfromthegitgo to win the eighth running of the $400,000 Indiana Derby (gr. III) by 3/4 of a length at Hoosier Park Saturday.
Sunday, October 06, 2002Ellis Park concluded its 41-day race meet with increased attendance and slightly lower total wagering. The totals for the meet, which ended with a Labor Day program on Sept. 2, shohwed a 3.1% increase in on-track attendance and a 2.1% decline in on-track betting. Overall wagering declined 3.6%, when compared to the 2001 meet.
Tuesday, September 03, 2002Trainer Carl Nafzger's pair of contenders for the Kentucky Oaks--Robert Manfuso's Belterra and Elizabeth Valando's Take The Cake--each worked five furlongs on Tuesday over a "fast" track at Churchill Downs.
Tuesday, April 23, 2002Robert T. Manfuso's unbeaten Belterra, a graded stakes winner as a 2-year-old last year, makes her 2002 debut against five rivals in Friday's $250,000 Bonnie Miss Stakes (gr. II).
Wednesday, March 13, 2002Jon Court, who parlayed a chance trip to Hoosier Park in the mid-1990s into a successful career as one of the top riders in Kentucky, has been named Kentucky Thoroughbred Media's jockey of the year for 2001. Court won 183 races in Kentucky last year.
Friday, March 01, 2002Churchill Downs-owned Ellis Park reported solid gains in key business categories for the meet that ended over the Labor Day weekend.
Wednesday, September 06, 2000