Multiple Grade 1 winner Caleb's Posse powerfully returned to the Oaklawn workout sheet Saturday in his first drill since a close runner-up finish in this four-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap March 3 in New York.
Union Rags, the early favorite for Grade 1 Florida Derby, went to the track at Palm Meadows Saturday morning for an easy five-furlong workout in preparation for Gulfstream Park's signature race on March 31.
Castellano set the standard on the 72nd day of live racing. He shared the previous record of 97 with Jerry Bailey (1996 over 64 days), Wigberto Ramos (1991 over 81 days) and Julio Pezua (1987 over 50 days).
Grade 1 winner Giant Ryan had his final workout Saturday morning in preparation for the Group 1, $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen, covering a half-mile on the fast track at Calder in :47 3/5 in advance of his seasonal debut under the lights at Meydan Racecourse on March 31.
Kiaran McLaughlin reached a personal landmark Friday when Que Posse won the 8TH race at Aqueduct to give the trainer his 1,000th career North American victory.
As the connections of Alpha ponder their next step with their Kentucky Derby prospect, it is business as usual at Kiaran McLaughlin's barn at Palm Meadows Training Center.
Gemologist had not raced since November 26, when he captured the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. The Tiznow colt had recently posted a pair of bullet drills, however, and was sent off as the 3-5 favorite. Currency Swap, sidelined for more than six months since his victory in the Grade 1 Hopeful, rated as the 6-5 second choice.
John Forbes, president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, was enthusiastic about participating in the TAKE2 program.
Eleven of the 13 contestants in Saturday's Grade 2, $500,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/rebel12">Rebel Stakes </a>are based locally at Oaklawn Park, but Southern California invaders Sabercat and Secret Circle are the top draws in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Derby prep race for three-year-olds.
The outcome of the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 10 did nothing to make trainer Patrick Byrne second guess the decision to skip it in favor of the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 31.
In response to its popularity among horsemen over the past three years, the Breeders' Cup board of directors has again approved an early foal nomination program deadline which allows for a $100 discount off the standard $500 nomination fee for all foals nominated electronically by August 1 to the Breeders' Cup program.
<i><b><font face="Arial" size="4">KENTUCKY DERBY REPORT</font></b></i>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.horseadoption.com">New Vocations</a> will host "Thoroughbreds For All!" -- an evening of education and fellowship for people who favor off-the-track Thoroughbreds combined with an invitation for equestrians to shop in Kentucky for the Thoroughbred of their dreams -- on April 28 shortly following the Rolex cross country at 5 p.m. (EDT).
A total of 95 fillies have been entered for the Group 1, £350,000 Epsom Oaks, highlight of Ladies Day at the Derby Festival at Epsom Downs on June 1. The figure is two more than the 2011 entry and way ahead of the 2010 total of 77.
The 2012 Sam Houston Race Park Thoroughbred meeting concluded on March 12 with a 35 percent increase in live handle and a 40 percent spike in daily average attendance.
Champion female sprinter Musical Romance experienced a troubled trip when opening 2012 in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Sprint, grabbing a quarter and ripping off a shoe at the start, but the five-year-old will look to rebound when she lines up for Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/insideinformation12.htm">Inside Information</a> at Gulfstream Park. The Bill Kaplan-trained mare will square off against 10 rivals, including the top four finishers from the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie Stakes on February 29.
Late-blooming five-year-old Ellafitz will aim for a career high note as well as her fourth straight stakes victory Saturday when facing five challengers in Santa Anita's 75th running of the Grade 1, $300,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/santamargarita12.html"> Santa Margarita Stakes</a>, the season's racing highlight for older fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles.
Only four other distaffers will line up against reigning Horse of the Year Havre de Grace on Saturday in Fair Grounds' $150,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/noladies12.html">New Orleans Ladies</a> going 1 1/16 miles. The Larry Jones trainee will break from post 2 with regular rider Ramon Dominguez in the saddle.
A nuclear scan has pinpointed the start of a stress fracture in Animal Kingdom's hind end that will not require surgery.
The perfect Kentucky Derby appetizer returns May 3 as Churchill Downs stages its third annual Taste of Derby -- a celebration of cuisine and racing on the eve of the Kentucky Oaks. Taste of Derby attendees will mingle with horse racing and Hollywood celebrities and savor exquisite cuisine and delectable wines from racing destinations across the country as nationally-renowned chefs serve samples of their regional specialties.
<i><b><font face="Arial" size="4">AQUEDUCT NOTEBOOK </font> </b></i>
The Blood-Horse's annual review of North American purses from the pages of the March 10, 2012, edition.
Betfair US and Hollywood Park on Tuesday announced the completion of a ground-breaking agreement intended to transform the customer experience for racing fans at the historic venue, online and on television. Under the terms of the five-year deal, the venue will be renamed "Betfair Hollywood Park" in the first naming rights agreement ever for a horseracing venue in the United States.
Gulfstream Park will host the 14th running of the Claiming Crown on the opening day of its 2012-13 meet on December 1. The 2012 event will see a significant increase in purses to $850,000 for seven races with the individual race purses ranging from $100,000 to $200,000. In addition to the six Claiming Crown races conducted at the 2011 event, the Tiara for fillies and mares on the turf will return this year.
Gulfstream Park will offer fans a week of activities and attractions leading up to the $1 million Florida Derby on Saturday, March 31, including a concert by a mystery Grammy-winning country artist as well as golf and poker tournaments, a cocktail party with jockeys serving drinks, and the official Florida Derby cocktail party with live and silent auctions.
<i><b><font face="Arial" size="4">SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK </font> </b></i>
Dennis J. Manning's first-time starter Crafty Unicorn stayed close to the early pace of the 23rd running of the $100,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/obs12race4.pdf">OBS Championship Stakes</a>, contested Monday at the Ocala Training Center in Florida. Crafty Unicorn fought to the lead along the inside in the stretch and beat Burn the Mortgage by 1 3/4 lengths, with Moon Traveler checking in third.
Reigning Horse of the Year Havre de Grace put in her last workout in advance of Saturday's $150,000 New Orleans Ladies this morning at Fair Grounds, breezing five furlongs in :59 3/5 with regular exercise rider Jen Brasser aboard. The five-year-old mare worked in company with an unraced three-year-old filly, Just Jan, who went the same distance in 1:00 under Rosie Napravnik while breezing to the inside of Havre de Grace.
Bob Baffert's highly-regarded Fed Biz has been ruled out of Kentucky Derby consideration, the Hall of Fame trainer revealed to <i>Daily Racing Form</i> Monday.
Champion Animal Kingdom will miss his intended start in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup on March 31 after developing lameness in his left hind leg over the weekend at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida.
Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) on Monday reported business results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Monday that an updated set of racetrack safety and integrity standards has been circulated to members of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, and that it is now available for public comment. After finalization, the compliance standards will serve as the basis for future racetrack Alliance accreditation, including the re-accreditation of tracks previously accredited by the Alliance. The Alliance, formed in October 2008 with the goal of establishing national uniform standards in the areas of safety and integrity, includes 55 racetracks in North America and every major national horsemen's organization. Twenty-two racetracks have been accredited to date by Alliance safety teams.
Pinnacle Racing and Bill Kaplan's five-year-old mare Musical Romance closed out an Eclipse Award campaign in 2011 winning the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs on November 4, but her 2012 season debut did not go well when she finished fourth in the Florida Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Sprint at Gulfstream Park on January 28.
Friday's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/gpalw3-16-12.htm">3RD</a> race at Gulfstream Park looms as a battle of the unbeatens, as Gemologist and Currency Swap are set to kick off their sophomore campaigns in this one-mile allowance.
There's a buzz back at the barn of Jinks Fires this spring a year after the magical run by Archarcharch that culminated in a victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby for his longtime clients Bob and Val Yagos. This time another set of longtime owners are eagerly hoping Kid Sidney can make up for lost time and get into the Grade 2, $500,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park on Saturday.
George and Mary Clare Schmitt's Izzy Rules lived up to her name, and her 6-5 favoritism, in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/lasflores12.pdf">Las Flores Stakes</a> at Santa Anita Park. Grabbing command soon after the start, the Jeff Bonde trainee led all the way home to finish the 6 1/2-furlong, fast track event in 1:14 2/5. The five-year-old daughter of Peace Rules paid $4.60, $3.20 and $2.80 to her faithful supporters.
Bradley Thoroughbreds, Steve Laymon and Jerry & Ronald Frankel's Dayatthespa was all out to hold a closing Regalo Mia in Sunday's Grade 3, $150,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/herecomesthebride12.pdf"> Herecomesthebride Stakes</a> at Gulfstream Park. With Javier Castellano aboard, the Chad Brown-trained daughter of City Zip was a neck clear on the wire while finishing the nine-furlong, firm turf affair in 1:47 1/5.
"We talked about it before the race," Motion said, "and decided the logical spot for him, if he did well today, would be to go to the Blue Grass, and see where we go from there."
When Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein's Miz Ida powered home with a late-running three-quarter-length victory in Saturday's $75,000 Allen LaCombe Memorial at Fair Grounds, winning trainer Steve Margolis was quick to bring attention to the filly's namesake.
Santa Anita will present its fifth annual "Santa Anita Uncorked" wine and culinary festival on March 25. The event will be staged in the track's paddock gardens area beginning at noon (PDT) and will feature a wide array of boutique and hand-picked wine selections, cuisine sampling from 14 popular local restaurants, a paddock art show and a full day of exciting Thoroughbred racing.
Mucho Macho Man grazed on a small patch of grass on the Gulfstream Park backstretch Sunday, stopping on occasion to bask in the morning sun and calmly survey his surroundings outside Barn 4.
Mucho Macho Man continued to establish himself as a serious player in the older horse division Saturday, posting a convincing victory in the Grade 2, $300,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/gphcp12.pdf">Gulfstream Park Handicap</a>. A smart winner of the 1 1/8-mile Sunshine Millions Classic January 28, the leggy bay colt cut back powerfully to a one-turn mile while extending his win streak to three. Ramon Dominguez was up for trainer Kathy Ritvo.
Anita Cauley's homebred On Fire Baby was sent off the 2-5 favorite in Saturday's Grade 3, $125,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/honeybee12.pdf">Honeybee Stakes</a> at Oaklawn Park, but the gray miss had to work for the win as 3-1 second choice Amie's Dini refused to yield in the lane. It was only nearing the wire that On Fire Baby managed to pull away, posting a two-length victory under jockey Joe Johnson to return $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10 to her backers.
The San Felipe was widely viewed as the deepest Derby prep race so far this season. Despite the withdrawal of Out of Bounds, who is sidelined by a fractured ankle, and Fed Biz, who had a minor hiccup but is still on the trail, the 1 1/16-mile test lured a terrific group of classic hopefuls.
Pin Oak Stable's homebred Alternation continued his progression toward the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap with a wire-to-wire score in Saturday's Grade 3, $125,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/razorback12.pdf">Razorback Handicap</a> at Oaklawn Park.
Prospective made his move to the lead on the far turn, was headed in midstretch by a surging Golden Ticket, then came back again to prevail in Saturday's Grade 2, $350,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/tbderby12.pdf">Tampa Bay Derby</a>. Winner of the Grade 3 Grey Stakes at two and second in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes in his previous start, the Mark Casse-trained colt likely guaranteed himself a spot in the Kentucky Derby field by increasing his graded earnings to $365,452.
Gold Mark Farm's Grade 2 Nashua Stakes winner Vexor makes his three-year-old debut in the $50,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/obssprintc&g12.html">OBS Sprint Stakes</a> as OBS holds its 23rd annual Day of Champions race card on Monday.
Mikhail Glinka foreshadowed what Master of Hounds would accomplish two races later in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta. Interestingly, both had been stablemates under the tutelage of Aidan O'Brien, and neither had managed to win since the summer of 2010. Mikhail Glinka last visited the winner's circle after a photo-finish score in the Group 3 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot.
Shivananda Parbhoo's Trinniberg is a colt to be reckoned with in the major three-year-old sprints later this year after an impressive 2012 debut in Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brisnet.com/edgeped/swale12.pdf">Swale</a> at Gulfstream Park. Making his first start since November and racing without blinkers for the first time, the son of Teuflesberg assumed command at the start, led by a length through splits of :22 3/5 and :45, and exploded through the stretch to win by six lengths under Willie Martinez. Final time for seven furlongs over a fast track was a sharp 1:21 3/5. Trinniberg, sent off at 7-1, returned $17.20, $9.60 and $6.40.
