LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Edgar Morales, on his way to an Eclipse Award nomination, also is looking to accomplish something that has been done only once in Churchill Downs history – lead the rider standings as an apprentice.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Odanis Acuna, an exercise rider for trainer Kenny McPeek, suffered fatal injuries Saturday at Churchill Downs when the horse he was breezing before dawn broke down in both front legs.
Acuna incurred head and neck injuries that proved fatal, said McPeek.
Acuna, a 42-year-old native of Cuba, had worked for McPeek for about 10 years. He also worked for a local horse-feed company.
“Obviously, everyone is extremely upset about this,” he said. “Odanis was a fantastic person and one of the hardest-working people you'll ever meet. It's a real tragedy.”
DEL MAR, Calif. – Veteran jockey Stewart Elliott will have surgery to remove his appendix in the coming days and will not ride the Del Mar fall meeting, his agent, Nelson Arroyo, said Friday, opening day of the meet.
Arroyo said Elliott has been told he will sidelined for a month and thus will not be returning before the Del Mar meet ends Dec. 2.
Elliott, 53, is best known for winning the Kentucky Derby on Smarty Jones in 2004. He has won 4,827 races. He rode through the end of the Santa Anita meeting last Sunday but took ill this week.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Two military veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder who are using retired racehorses to help them cope will be hosted at Del Mar on Sunday and Monday through the generosity of trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who along with his wife, Janet, provided a major portion of the seed money for Down the Stretch Ranch, which is based in Washington state.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Hunt didn’t make it to Kentucky for the Breeders’ Cup. Isotherm did but might as well have stayed home, as he was no factor in the Dirt Mile. It was not a particularly memorable Breeders’ Cup for trainer Phil D’Amato, but he’s ready to regroup with both of those runners at Del Mar, as both are among those he expects to run in graded stakes at the end of the season here.
Hunt was intended for the Mile on turf but did not travel to Kentucky when he spiked a temperature.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Brad Cox said Friday that no decision has been reached on whether Monomoy Girl will resume serious training toward the Jan. 26 Pegasus World Cup, or if the star filly will be turned out ahead of a later 4-year-old campaign.
“We’ll probably revisit it in a week or so,” Cox said.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Some trainers bring their entire barn to Del Mar for the fall meet; most only ship in. Richard Mandella brought half his barn, “just enough for a good excuse to stay,” he said.
Mandella, whose main residence is not far from Santa Anita in Pasadena, has a home near here in Cardiff by the Sea. But, as his fellow Hall of Famer Woody Stephens used to say, Mandella is here for the reason, not the season.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Keibar Coa was to ride opening day at Del Mar on Friday, head to Gulfstream Park on Saturday, but be back for Sunday’s races and will ride here this meet, his agent, Joe Griffin, said Thursday morning.
Coa, 26, has won 179 races in a career that began in earnest in 2012. He rode at Delaware Park this summer and fall, his last mount there on Oct. 20, and has had one mount since, riding in a stakes race at Santa Anita for trainer Tom Proctor.
“He’s out here with Proctor,” Griffin said.
Kentucky Downs officials announced this week that Michael Wrona will be the race-caller for the 2019 meet, replacing John Lies, who had called since 2008.
Wrona, 52, has become one of the preeminent callers in American racing as the announcer at Santa Anita and Golden Gate. “We are very excited to have somebody with Michael Wrona’s level of expertise and stature coming to work our meet as we continue to find ways to enhance the Kentucky Downs experience,” said Ted Nicholson, general manager of the turf-only track in south-central Kentucky.