Trainer Todd Pletcher sends out 'live' contenders in all four of Saturday's stakes at Gulfstream Park. That includes the $225,000 Richter Scale Breeders' Cup Sprint Championship Handicap (gr. II) when he saddles Marie and Aaron Jones' undefeated 4-year-old Half Ours with John Velazquez aboard.
Returning from a seven-month layoff, Keyed Entry went gate to wire to defeat four overmatched opponents in Saturday's $100,000 Deputy Minister Handicap (gr. III), the first of six graded stakes on the Gulfstream Park program.
Undefeated Discreet Cat will no doubt be challenged at some point. But Sunday's $155,800 Jerome Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. II) at Belmont Park wasn't it.
The untested, unbeaten and so far brilliant Discreet Cat puts his unblemished record on the line in Sunday's $150,000 Jerome Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. II) for 3-year-olds at one mile.
Like its ailing economy, racing in Japan is slumping. The Japan Racing Association reported a third consecutive year of declines in 2000 in both on-track attendance and total handle. With government-sanctioned wagering on soccer set to begin in Japan this year, 2001 promises to be a major challenge for the JRA.
