Thu, 07/27/2017 - 14:06

Tatters to Riches brings fast works, high hopes into debut

DEL MAR, Calif. – The 2-year-old Tatters to Riches is giving jockey Tyler Baze an excuse to dream.

“We’re definitely hoping he’s a Breeders’ Cup and a Derby horse next year,” Baze said Thursday.

Tatters to Riches has impressed Baze in morning workouts, leading to high hopes for the colt’s debut in a maiden special weight race at six furlongs in Saturday’s first race at Del Mar. Purchased for $1 million at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. auction of 2-year-olds in training in April, Tatters to Riches will be favored in a field of six.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 17:50

Higher Derby revenues contribute to record second-quarter net income for CDI

Churchill Downs Inc. had record net income of $78.3 million in the second quarter of 2017, in large part due to higher revenues for the company during Kentucky Derby week and a strong performance for its account-wagering operation, according to financial documents released by the company late on Wednesday.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 16:06

Mo Town fires bullet work at Saratoga

Barbara D. Livingston
Remsen winner Mo Town is targeting a seven-furlong allowance race at Saratoga on Aug. 5.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Mo Town, the Grade 2 Remsen winner who has yet to find his form at 3, worked a strong five furlongs in 59.33 seconds Wednesday morning over the Oklahoma training track.

With Javier Castellano aboard, Mo Town went in splits of 12.37, 24.16, and 35.85. He got his last quarter in 23.48. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.53 and seven-eighths in 1:25.96.

“He worked very good,” Castellano said. “I liked the way he galloped out.”

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 16:00

Albertrani likes Bowling Green distance for Sadler's Joy

Lauren King/Coglianese Photos
Sadler's Joy followed up his Pan American win with back-to-back third-place finishes.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It took Sadler’s Joy several starts to figure things out. It was last August, here at Saratoga, when he won a maiden race by two lengths. It started a period where he won four races from five starts, including the Grade 2 Pan American at Gulfstream Park.

Coming off third-place finishes in his last two starts, Sadler’s Joy hopes a return to Saratoga marks a return to the winner’s circle in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Bowling Green Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 16:00

Mo Cash will need versatility in speed-filled Amsterdam

SV Photography
The 3-year-old Mo Cash will put his perfect record on the line in the seven-furlong Big Drama.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The last time Ronald Spatz remembers being in Saratoga was 1977 when he was the groom for the 3-year-old filly Herecomesthebride, who finished fourth in the Grade 1 Test.

Forty years later, Spatz is hoping for a better result Saturday when he sends out his first horse at Saratoga as a trainer, Mo Cash, in the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 15:56

Whitmore out of Vanderbilt with foot issue

Barbara D. Livingston
Whitmore (No. 5) and A. P. Indian (far right) finish first and second in the Maryland Sprint.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Saturday’s Grade 1 Vanderbilt Handicap was drawn Wednesday with eight starters, but lost one of its major players earlier that morning when trainer Ron Moquette withdrew Whitmore from consideration for the race due to a minor foot issue.

Moquette said Whitmore, who would have been the 123-pound highweight if he started, had a pulse in his foot Wednesday caused by an injury he believed his horse incurred on the flight from Kentucky the previous day.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 15:50

Retama schedules six stakes during meet

Retama Park near San Antonio will have six stakes for Thoroughbreds during its meet, which opens Sept. 1.

James Leatherman, the track’s racing secretary, said the El Joven and La Senorita, which are longtime fixtures for 2-year-olds on turf, are scheduled for Oct. 14. The Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Stakes and Fiesta Mile will share a card Oct. 21. Retama also has a pair of 2-year-old divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes on Nov. 4.

Leatherman said Retama will race Friday and Saturday nights through Nov. 11.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 15:40

Lone Star asks for 50 days of Thoroughbred racing next year

Lone Star is scheduled to close its Thoroughbred meet Sunday and plans to run a similar meet next year, according to information provided by director of racing Bart Lang.

Lone Star has asked the Texas Racing Commission for a 50-date Thoroughbred meet for 2018. The season would open April 19 and race through July 29.

Lone Star also has requested a 26-date Quarter Horse meet for 2018, from Sept. 14-Nov. 10.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 15:40

Ivan Fallunovalot works for Remington comeback

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Ivan Fallunovalot has won six of his seven starts since August 2015.

Ivan Fallunovalot, a multiple stakes-winning sprinter who captured the Grade 3 De Francis Memorial Dash last November at Laurel, had his first work since March on Sunday at Lone Star Park. He went three-eighths under jockey Rita Helton in 33.80 seconds, the fastest of 27 works at the distance.

Wed, 07/26/2017 - 15:36

Fear the Cowboy hits the road again, this time to Mountaineer

Barbara D. Livingston
Fear The Cowboy paid $9.20 in winning the Skip Away Stakes on Saturday.

Fear the Cowboy will be breaking new ground in his career when he runs next month at Mountaineer Park. It will be the first West Virginia start for the 5-year-old horse, who has spent most of the spring and summer at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La.

“He’s run at 11 different racetracks,” trainer Efren Loza Jr. said.

Loza said Fear the Cowboy is targeting the $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes on Aug. 5. The horse is coming off a second-place finish by a head to Eagle in the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial Stakes on July 15 at Indiana Grand.