Sun, 10/08/2017 - 15:53

Next step for Diversify still a question

Justin N. Lane
Diversify earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Diversify was at the front of the stall looking for more when his caretakers arrived at the barn Sunday morning. Whether he will be given the opportunity to do more in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 4 has not been determined.

Diversify came out of his victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup in good shape, but trainer Rick Violette said he and owner Ralph Evans “will take our time” before deciding whether to run in the Classic.

Sun, 10/08/2017 - 12:30

Vale Dori to get freshening, skip Breeders' Cup

Benoit & Associates
Vale Dori, with Rafael Bejarano aboard, wins the Santa Margarita by 1 1/2 lengths.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Although she emerged as one of the country’s leading older females this season, the 2017 Breeders’ Cup is off the table for Vale Dori.

Trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Sunday that Vale Dori will be freshened for the winter meet at Santa Anita. She will not run this year in the BC Distaff or Filly and Mare Sprint.

“She needs a break. She’s not showing any energy,” Baffert said. “She ran hard all year, and I think she’s sort of tailing on me.”

Sat, 10/07/2017 - 14:00

Gunnevera works for Breeders' Cup Classic

Leslie Martin/Coglianese Photos
Edgard Zayas guides Gunnevera to victory in the Tangelo Stakes.

MIAMI, Fla. – Travers runner-up Gunnevera got a little more serious in his preparations for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4, working five furlongs in 1:00.75 over his home base at Gulfstream Park West on Saturday.

With jockey Edgard Zayas aboard, Gunnevera posted splits of 24 and 35.66 for his opening three-eighths before galloping out six panels in 1:14.63. He was pushed along early on after being chased and then joined inadvertently by an unidentified worker from another barn, who broke off behind Gunnevera at the six-furlong pole.

Sat, 10/07/2017 - 14:00

Arthemisa has course edge in Gulfstream West feature

Trainer Antonio Sano and jockey Edgard Zayas will team up with one of the favorites, Arthemisa, in Monday’s $42,000 main event carded at 1 1/16 miles on the turf under optional claiming and allowance conditions for fillies and mares. It’s the highlight of a special 10-race Columbus Day program.

Arthemisa has registered five victories, more than any other member of the nine-horse field, and is one of only two in the lineup with a win over the Gulfstream Park West turf course, along with Pat M’s Image.

Sat, 10/07/2017 - 13:46

Belmont, Yonkers team up for pick four

ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association and Yonkers will offer an all-stakes pick four wager next Saturday.

The wager will combine the $250,000 Harry Harvey Invitational Trot and the $1 million Yonkers International Trot with the Grade 3, $150,000 Futurity and the $200,000 Pebbles Stakes. Belmont Park will host the wager, which will have a 50-cent minimum and a 24 percent takeout rate.

Sat, 10/07/2017 - 13:46

Practical Joke gears up for Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
Practical Joke paid $6.00 in winning the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga on Saturday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Practical Joke, a three-time Grade 1 winner, worked four furlongs in 48.45 seconds Saturday morning over the Belmont Park main track as he continues preparations for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 at Del Mar.

Practical Joke worked in company with the 2-year-old maiden winner Engage, and the pair got their last three furlongs in 35.55 seconds and galloped out an additional eighth of a mile in 12.65. Engage is scheduled to run in the Grade 3, $150,000 Futurity here next Saturday.

Sat, 10/07/2017 - 13:36

Mind Your Biscuits sizzles in Breeders' Cup Sprint work

Barbara D. Livingston
Mind Your Biscuits, one of several New York-breds to fly the flag in national and international stakes company in recent years, wins the Belmont Sprint Championship.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Mind Your Biscuits picked up the pace in his preparations for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint by working a sharp half-mile in 46.72 seconds Saturday morning over the Belmont Park main track.

The move, timed in splits of 23.12 and 23.60, was done immediately after the track reopened following the 8:30 a.m. renovation break. Joel Rosario, the colt’s regular rider, was aboard for the breeze. Mind Your Biscuits galloped out five furlongs in 59.65.

Fri, 10/06/2017 - 17:14

Gulfstream posts spring and summer meet handle gains

Lauren King/Coglianese Photos
Curlin's Approval won the Grade 2 Princess Rooney in one of the highlights of the Gulfstream summer session.

MIAMI – The popularity of Gulfstream Park’s year-round racing program continues to grow, especially at the mutuel windows.

Total handle for the combined spring and summer meetings, encompassing 111 racing days from April 4 to Oct. 1, was $603 million, an increase of $46.9 million over the corresponding period in 2016 despite five fewer racing dates. The daily average handle of $5.44 million was an increase of nearly $640,000 daily over the previous year.

Fri, 10/06/2017 - 15:40

Juvenile winners point to Aqueduct stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Not all 2-year-olds are trying to make it to the Breeders’ Cup.

Last weekend, Avery Island and Navajo each won a maiden race at Belmont Park, and they are pointing to the opening-week juvenile stakes at Aqueduct.

On Sept. 30, Avery Island, a son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, won a 1 1/16-mile race by 5 1/4 lengths in his second start, after having finished seventh in his debut sprinting. Joe Bravo rode him in both starts. Avery Island will point to the Grade 2, $200,000 Nashua, a one-turn mile, on Nov. 5.

Fri, 10/06/2017 - 15:30

Knickerbocker tops Monday card

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Blacktype will try to capture his first stakes since winning the 2016 Commonwealth Turf Cup.

ELMONT, N.Y. – There will be a nine-race program at Belmont Park on Monday, Columbus Day, topped by the Grade 2, $200,000 Knickerbocker Stakes for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

A field of 11 was entered for the grass, with one entered in the event the race is transferred to the main track. Through Friday, there have been 101 turf races run at this meet with zero taken off the turf. There is rain in the forecast, however.