Mon, 11/13/2017 - 11:00

McPeek moves on after naproxen positives

Keeneland/Coady Photography
Auntie's the One will be re-entered at the maiden-special race level on Wednesday at Churchill.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Horseplayers who saw Auntie’s the One win a $65,000 maiden-special race last month at Keeneland may be surprised to see the 3-year-old entered for the same condition Wednesday at Churchill Downs.

A post-race urine test found Auntie’s the One to have metabolites of naproxen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication illegal for race day. It’s a Class C medication that mandated the Kentucky stewards disqualify the filly from the Oct. 19 race, with the purse redistributed accordingly and trainer Ken McPeek fined $500 without being suspended.

Sun, 11/12/2017 - 07:31

Jockey Reyes released from hospital after spill

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Apprentice rider Luis Reyes was released from Jamaica Hospital on Saturday night after having gone down in an ugly spill in the second race at Aqueduct earlier in the day.

Blake Dutrow, Reyes's agent, confirmed that Reyes had escaped the fall with no fractured bones.

Reyes was aboard Hy Brasil, who was rallying to contention in the stretch of the one-mile grass race for $40,000 claimers when he broke down in his right front, throwing Reyes forward to the turf. Hy Brasil, who was euthanized after the race, may have kicked Reyes when he went past.

Sat, 11/11/2017 - 10:12

Sharp Azteca points to Cigar Mile

Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Sharp Azteca returned $3 as the favorite in the Kelso Handicap.

Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Sharp Azteca will be pointed to the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec. 2, trainer Jorge Navarro said Friday evening.

Sharp Azteca joins what is shaping up as a deep field for the Cigar Mile. Others pointing to the race include Breeders' Cup Sprint third-place finisher Mind Your Biscuits; Practical Joke, who is undefeated in races around one turn; Bold Ruler winner Tom's Ready; Fayette runner-up Neolithic; and Summer Revolution.

Fri, 11/10/2017 - 14:46

Proud and Fearless, Untrapped among big names for Land of Enchantment card

Dustin Orona Photography
Untrapped, winner of the Oklahoma Derby, will be pointed to the Zia Derby on Nov. 22.

Proud and Fearless will attempt to give trainer Larry Jones his second win in five runnings of the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks later this month. Jones captured the race in 2014 with Cassatt.

The Zia Park Oaks is the richest Thoroughbred offering of the Hobbs, N.M., meet. It is being showcased on a Nov. 22 card of nine stakes. The annual Land of Enchantment program is worth $1.2 million, with six of the stakes for Thoroughbreds and three for Quarter Horses.

Fri, 11/10/2017 - 14:36

Stall heads to Fair Grounds with talented foursome

Keeneland/Coady Photography
C Z Rocket rallied from well back to win a first-level allowance race at Keeneland on Oct. 11 in only his second start.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When trainer Al Stall Jr. leaves Monday for his hometown of New Orleans, it will be with arguably his top four horses having won their last starts here in Kentucky.

Money Flows (Wednesday) and Behavioral Bias (Thursday) were allowance winners here this week, while the undefeated C Z Rocket, an allowance winner Oct. 11 at Keeneland, could make his third career start on closing weekend of the Churchill meet. Yockey’s Warrior, an Oct. 22 allowance winner at Keeneland, is the other member of that talented foursome.

Fri, 11/10/2017 - 14:30

McCraken withdrawn from consideration for Clark Handicap

Barbara D. Livingston
McCraken, pictured at Saratoga in August, will get some time off before embarking on a 4-year-old campaign.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – McCraken has been declared from consideration for the Grade 1 Clark Handicap as a terrific cast otherwise takes shape for the showcase event of the Churchill Downs fall meet.

Trainer Ian Wilkes said he was not satisfied with a half-mile work Tuesday by McCraken, leading him to decide to turn out the colt until early next year.

“I don’t want to force anything upon him, so I think some time off will do him good,” Wilkes said.

Thu, 11/09/2017 - 13:36

Skye Diamonds targets Santa Monica Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Skye Diamonds, among the top contenders for the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, was a $40,000 claim in August 2016.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Skye Diamonds, fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last week, will make her next start in late January in the Santa Monica, a seven-furlong graded stakes race for older female sprinters at Santa Anita, trainer Bill Spawr said Thursday.

Santa Anita has yet to release its stakes schedule for the winter meeting, but the Santa Monica usually is run in late January – it was run this year on Jan. 21 – and the timing suits Spawr, who likes to space Skye Diamonds’s races.

Thu, 11/09/2017 - 13:36

Moonshine Memories resting up for sophomore season

Emily Shields
Moonshine Memories had an ideal trip in winning the Chandelier Stakes on Saturday.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Moonshine Memories, beaten as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last Saturday, was on her way to Florida on Thursday for a 60-day freshening at Bridlewood Farm before embarking on her 3-year-old campaign, trainer Simon Callaghan said.

“She came out of the race great,” Callaghan said. “We thought this would be a good opportunity for her to go back to Bridlewood, get some time off, eat some grass, relax. She’ll come back in just after the first of the year.”

Thu, 11/09/2017 - 13:36

Paradise Woods to cap year in La Brea Stakes

Emily Shields
Paradise Woods won the Zenyatta Stakes by 5 1/4 lengths on Saturday.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Paradise Woods, who finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff last week, will turn back to seven furlongs for the La Brea Stakes on opening day of Santa Anita’s winter meeting Dec. 26, trainer Richard Mandella said Thursday.

Wed, 11/08/2017 - 15:36

The Tabulator eyeing Springboard Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
The Tabulator training at Del Mar ahead of the 2017 Breeders' Cup Classic.

STICKNEY, Ill. – The Tabulator faded to fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but the colt’s connections probably will give him one more chance to shine this year.

While no final decision has been made, The Tabulator is tentatively scheduled to start Dec. 17 at Remington Park in the $400,000 Springboard Mile, trainer Larry Rivelli said.

“Soundness-wise he came back great,” said Rivelli, who has The Tabulator back with his string at Hawthorne.