SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It’s been quite the whirlwind month for jockey Chris Elliott – and July isn’t over.
Elliott, who began the month as an apprentice jockey, won stakes without the weight allowance at Prairie Meadows and Saratoga within a two-week period. In between, he narrowly escaped injury after being unseated a quarter-mile into the first race of the traditional Saratoga meet on July 10.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The speedsters Bentornato, Howard Wolowitz, and Gabaldon, who could be major factors in their respective divisions during the second half of the season, arrived here from South Florida earlier this week. All three are likely to make one start at this meet, according to their trainer, Jose D’Angelo.
After winning the $100,000 Wolf Hill at Monmouth Park last weekend, trainer Michael Salvaggio Jr. said that 5-year-old gelding Fierce and Strong will make his next start against statebred rivals in the $75,000 Marshall Jenney Stakes at Penn National on Aug. 15.
“I always thought he was going to be a better route horse, but I’m not so sure now,” Salvaggio said. “It almost looks like he might be a better sprinter, so for right now, we’re probably looking to keep him sprinting.”
When Eric Johnston left his hometown of Grantville, Pa., in the 1980s, he thought he was leaving for good. His career in the racing industry kept him elsewhere for decades, but when he finally returned to Penn National Race Course in 2014, his old home was familiar and foreign all at once.
Thistledown racetrack outside Cleveland, Ohio, has canceled its Wednesday and Thursday race cards, according to a notification the track sent to Equibase, among concerns about rocks in its racing surface.
The track had already canceled its Monday and Tuesday cards when the notification went out. According to Heriberto Rivera Jr., the Jockeys’ Guild representative who is working with the track’s riders, rocks began appearing in the surface on Monday, and despite some work on the surface Monday and Tuesday, the situation had not been resolved.
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has moved its Rebel Day card to a Sunday spot on the calendar and boosted the purse of the Fantasy Stakes to a record $1 million from $750,000 in the most significant changes to its more than $18 million stakes schedule announced Tuesday.
The 64-date season opens Dec. 12, with a “holiday meet” that extends to Jan. 4. Following a three-week winter break, the meet resumes Jan. 30 and continues to May 2.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Derek Ryan said Book’em Danno exited his popular and impressive 2 1/2-length victory over Mullikin in Saturday’s Grade 2 Vanderbilt in good order but remained noncommittal about what the future might hold for arguably the leader of the sprint division at the midway point of the season.
Book’em Danno earned a career- and division-best 111 Beyer Speed Figure for his effort in the Vanderbilt while keeping his record unblemished in four starts at six furlongs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – White Abarrio turned in arguably his most impressive work since his disappointing fourth-place finish in the Met Mile six weeks earlier when breezing four furlongs in 48.42 seconds with regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard Monday. White Abarrio, who galloped out six furlongs in a strong 1:13.16, is being pointed to the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 2.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After winning his first Churchill Downs training title this spring, Joe Sharp has carried his momentum into the opening two weeks of the Saratoga meet, winning with five of his first 12 starters, including an impressive allowance victory by the promising New York-bred Bosun here Saturday.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The Mark Glatt-trained La Wally made a solid debut to win a five-furlong maiden race for 2-year-old fillies Saturday, gaining a spot on the list of candidates for the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 6.
La Wally ($14.20) stalked the pace and needed the entire stretch to reach the front, winning by a nose over even-money favorite Cherry Cider. Ridden by Antonio Fresu, La Wally was timed in 58.25 seconds.
“It took her every bit of the five-eighths to get up,” Glatt said. “I was a little bit concerned you could catch a fast horse in a five-furlong race.”
