Wooden Phone, who beat two-time Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) winner Tiznow in the Strub Stakes (gr. II) last February, heads a field of eight entered in Saturday's $200,000 San Pasqual Handicap at Santa Anita.
Team Valor's Bella Bella Bella has bent sent off favored in both her career starts and that trend will likely continue in Sunday's $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (gr. III). Golden Ballet Stakes winner Bella Bella Bella will face just three rivals -- one per Bella -- in the 1 1/16-mile Santa Ysabel, two maiden winners and the maiden Gaslamp Girl.
Jockey Jorge Chavez guided 6-year-old mare Batique to her second straight grade III turf stakes win in Friday's $100,000 Honey Fox Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Earlier on the card, Coolmore Lexington Stakes (gr. II) winner Keats went wire-to-wire to win a 1 1/16-mile "non-winners of three other than" allowance by 10 1/4 lengths.
A successful Breeders' Cup and strong meets at Saratoga and at Aqueduct this fall helped the New York Racing Association achieve gains in on-track handle and total handle for the year.
Claiborne Farm, which announced last year that it would reduce the numbers in its racing stable, plans offer to up to a dozen of its 2-year-olds at public auction in 2002.
The New Jersey Assembly tabled a bill Thursday that would have provided $18.2 million to the horse racing industry, including $11.7 million for the Thoroughbred industry. The measure, which passed the Senate and two Assembly subcommittees in December, is expected to come up for a vote Monday, the final day of the session.
Fairy King Prawn, a two-time Horse the Year in Hong Kong, underwent surgery Friday to repair an injured suspensory ligament and splint bone.
The attached list of racing organizations and officials were invited to attend a one-day workshop for the purpose of determining if agreement could be reached as to the need for a uniform policy for racehorse medication in the United States, and if so, where agreement can be reached on elements of such a policy. The workshop consisted of two segments: a two-hour open session briefing by experts on topics pertinent to the purpose of the Summit, and an intensive seven-hour workshop for the invited representatives which was conducted by a professional facilitator from outside the racing industry.
Uniformity among testing procedures and the development of a broad-based funding mechanism to support expanded testing programs and research were among 21 recommendations made by Racehorse Medication Summit report released today.
Gemstar-TV Guide International's stock is tumbling this week because of doubts that the company can protect its interactive programming guide patents in a key court case, according to analysts. Gemstar is the parent company to the TV Games Network, a horse racing network and interactive wagering service.
Sailor's Warning, a graded stakes placed son of Storm Cat, will stand in 2002 at Sam Fieramosca's Colonial Farms near Colt's Neck, N.J. His fee will be $3,500.
Calder Racecourse experienced gains in on-track attendance and wagering and overall handle during the 52-day Tropical at Calder meet.
Three industry officials gave their views Thursday night on issues they expect will figure prominently in 2002. It came as no surprise the issues are medication, economics, and legislation.
