Sun, 02/10/2019 - 12:28

Gray Attempt works for Southwest Stakes

Coady Photography
Gray Attempt works five furlongs in 1:00.20 at Oaklawn Park on Sunday.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Gray Attempt worked Sunday morning at Oaklawn Park for an intended start in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes, a Kentucky Derby points race scheduled for Feb. 18.

Gray Attempt, who is an individual interest in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, has won back-to-back stakes in his last two starts. He captured the $74,000 Sugar Bowl on Dec. 22 at Fair Grounds, then moved to two turns for the first time and picked up 10 points for the Kentucky Derby by wiring the field in the $150,000 Smarty Jones on Jan. 25 at Oaklawn.

Sun, 02/10/2019 - 11:27

Well Defined possible for Tampa Bay Derby

Tom Keyser
Well Defined was a 2 3/4-length winner of Saturday's Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes.

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Well Defined emerged from his breakthrough victory Saturday in the Sam F. Davis Stakes in good shape and could run back in four weeks in the Tampa Bay Derby, trainer Kathleen O’Connell said Sunday.

O’Connell did not fully commit Well Defined to the March 9 Tampa Bay Derby, saying the gelding “will let us know.” But the annual Tampa Bay Downs showcase clearly is a logical spot, given the way Well Defined dominated the 1 1/16-mile Davis from the start to earn a career-high 93 Beyer Speed Figure and 10 qualifying points toward the May 4 Kentucky Derby.

Sat, 02/09/2019 - 10:18

Lone Star Park Turf Handicap replaces Lone Star Park Handicap

The Lone Star Park Handicap has been replaced by a new turf stakes for fillies and mares as part of a number of notable changes to the Grand Prairie, Texas, track’s stakes schedule announced Friday night.

The Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile race that had been a staple in May, has been replaced by the $100,000 Lone Star Park Turf Stakes. The new offering for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, will be run May 27 at a mile on grass.

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 17:20

Longtime Ontario Thoroughbred owner Sam Lima dies

Michael Burns
Sam Lima (center) received a special Sovereign Award in 2018 for his contributions to racing.

A funeral will be held on Monday for longtime Ontario thoroughbred owner Sam Lima, who died on Wednesday.

Lima received a special Sovereign Award for his contributions to racing in 2018. He was the longtime president of the Toronto Thoroughbred Racing Club, and was a former vice-president and director of the Ontario branch of the HBPA.

Visitation for Lima will be at the Newediuk Funeral Home at 2058 Kipling Ave. in Toronto on Saturday from 6-9 p.m., and on Sunday from 2-4 and 6-9 p.m.

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 16:39

Purses trimmed for six stakes on 2019 Belmont spring/summer calendar

Barbara D. Livingston
Deauville wins the 2016 Belmont Derby. The purse for the Grade 1 race has been reduced to $1 million for 2019.

There will be 59 stakes worth $18.4 million offered at the 2019 Belmont spring/summer meet, according to a schedule released Friday afternoon by the New York Racing Association.

Six stakes are getting purse cuts including the Belmont Derby, for 3-year-old males, and the Belmont Oaks 3-year-old females. The Belmont Derby will be worth $1 million, down from $1.2 million from its previous three runnings. For its first two runnings, the Belmont Derby was worth $1.25 million.

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 15:36

Conquest Mo Money, standing in New Mexico, fully booked for 2019

Barbara D. Livingston
Conquest Mo Money has entered stud at McKenna Thoroughbreds in New Mexico.

Conquest Mo Money, the runner-up in the 2017 Arkansas Derby and Sunland Derby, has entered stud at McKenna Thoroughbreds in New Mexico. He is fully booked for 2019, according to a press release from the farm.

Conquest Mo Money’s campaign in 2017 also included a seventh-place finish in the Preakness, 6 1/2 lengths behind winner Cloud Computing.

Conquest Mo Money is a New York-bred son of Uncle Mo. He is from the female family of Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold.

Time off for Sheriff Brown

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 15:26

Caldwell leads owner standings after meet's first two weeks

Coady Photography
Danny Caldwell has won four of the last five owner titles at Oaklawn.

Danny Caldwell, who has won four of the last five owner titles at Oaklawn, led the Oaklawn standings after the first two weeks of racing. He has 40 horses in training at Oaklawn.

“Hopefully we place them in the right spots,” Caldwell said. “We’re going to try to win some races, make a little money. It seems like it’s getting tougher and tougher every year at Oaklawn.”

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 15:00

M G Warrior pointing to Razorback Handicap

Coady Photography
M G Warrior will enter the Razorback Handicap on Feb. 18 off a three-quarter-length allowance victory Jan. 26 at Oaklawn.

Following a sharp allowance win at Oaklawn Park, M G Warrior is headed to the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap on Feb. 18, trainer Dallas Stewart said.

“He’s coming off a two-race win streak with a very nice win at Oaklawn,” Stewart said of the 4-year-old colt. “We’re going to challenge him there and see what happens.”

The Razorback Handicap will share a card with the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes for 3-year-olds and the Grade 3, $200,000 Bayakoa for fillies and mares. All three stakes will be at 1 1/16 miles. Entries will be taken Friday, Feb. 15.

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 14:40

C Z Rocket trying two turns at last

Coady Photography
C Z Rocket wins the Kelly's Landing Stakes at seven furlongs. The six-furlong Thanksgiving Handicap will be the shortest race of his career.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – C Z Rocket will make his long-awaited two-turn debut Sunday in the eighth race at Oaklawn Park.

“We’ve wanted to run him around two turns ever since we bought him,” said trainer Al Stall Jr.

The eighth race Sunday is an allowance for 4-year-olds and up at a mile that drew Grade 3 winners Shotgun Kowboy, Colonelsdarktemper, and Limation. Adding further depth to the nine-horse field is High North, winner of last year’s Iowa Derby, and Exclamation Point, an undefeated half-brother to champion Classic Empire.

Fri, 02/08/2019 - 14:10

Game Winner, Instagrand might meet in San Felipe

Barbara D. Livingston
Instagrand worked six furlongs from the gate in 1:13.60 on Friday at Santa Anita Park.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The undefeated 3-year-olds Game Winner, Improbable, and Instagrand worked at Santa Anita on Friday morning, and a couple of them could be headed for the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 9.

Game Winner, the champion 2-year-old male of 2018, worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 in company with a stablemate. Unraced since a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2, Game Winner began two lengths behind his stablemate and drew alongside in early stretch.