Crowned Dancer, among the leaders of Southern California's Triple Crown hopefuls last year, will attempt to show he belongs with the best of this year's 3-year-old crop in Saturday's $500,000 Lone Star Derby (gr. III).
Jockey Tony Farina, who rode Brancusi, was upset with criticism leveled at him after a foul claim by jockey Kent Desormeaux, aboard Crowned Dancer in Saturday's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
D. Wayne Lukas has decided Ten Cents A Shine will race in Kentucky this weekend instead of his original plan of running the colt in Arkansas. Crowned Dancer is also slated to run at Keeneland Saturday.
Trainer Christopher Paasch is a new resident of Lexington, Ky.
Paasch and his partners have recently purchased a tract of the old 505 Farm and have renamed it Victory Haven Training Center.
Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Jerry Bailey teamed up to win Saturday's San Rafael Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita with favored Rojo Toro, a newcomer to the 3-year-old picture, less than a month after the pair lost undefeated early Kentucky Derby favorite Vindication to injury.
The Bobby Frankel-trained Peace Rules, twice a stakes winner on turf, and stakes winners Spensive and Sum Trick head a field of nine entered in Saturday's $200,000 San Rafael Stakes (gr. II) for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita.
There was sunshine on a cloudy day for trainer Christopher Paasch at Hollywood Park, where a rainstorm forced closure of the track for works.
The $250,000 Del Mar Futurity (gr. II) lost one of its prime prospects Saturday when trainer Christopher Paasch announced that Crowned Dancer, the winner of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, is sick with a virus and will not make the race on the final day of the meeting, September 11.
Florida-bred Crowned Dancer led throughout under Alex Solis to win the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (gr. III) at Hollywood Park on Saturday, upstaging the Bob Baffert-trained Kafwain, the even-money favorite in the six-furlong event for 2-year-olds.
Oberwald, winner of the Haggin Stakes with Victor Espinoza aboard, will get a new rider in Eddie Delahoussaye for Saturday's $100,000 Hollywood Juvenlie Championship (gr. III). In his last start on Father's Day, June 16, Oberwald won the Haggin Stakes, the same race his sire, Swiss Yodeler, captured in 1996.
