Mon, 02/10/2025 - 14:24

Disco Time skipping Risen Star

Coady Media

Brad Cox said Disco Time "had a little setback" but will be back on the Derby trail soon.

Disco Time, 3 for 3 to start his career and a late-rallying winner last month in the Lecomte, has been notably absent from the Fair Grounds work tab since that race and is not entered in Saturday's Risen Star Stakes.

“He’s fine. We just had a little setback with him,” said Brad Cox, who trains Disco Time for his breeder, Juddmonte.

Disco Time won a pair of one-turn races in Kentucky before closing from 10th to win the Lecomte with a modest 77 Beyer. Cox said the colt is in training and will be pointed toward the Louisiana Derby, Arkansas Derby, or Blue Grass.

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 14:11

Built a surprise entry in Risen Star Stakes

By Marcus Hersh

Jan Brubaker/Hodges Photography

Built's Kentucky Derby aspirations motivated his connections to enter him in the Risen Star.

In the days after Built struggled home second on Jan. 18 in the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds, trainer Wayne Catalano deemed the horse an unlikely runner in the Risen Star Stakes. Built had scored a sharp victory a month earlier in the Gun Runner, and Catalano figured he’d bring a fresh horse into the Louisiana Derby on March 22.

But there’s been a change of plans. Built showed up in the entries when the Grade 2, $500,000 Risen Star was drawn Saturday, and Catalano said the intention is to run.

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 13:30

Civaci gets three days, Jackie Davis gets four

By David Grening

Julie Wright

Jockey Sahin Civaci will be suspended for three days after failing to ride his mounts to the wire in two separate instances.

Jockey Sahin Civaci has twice been cited by the New York stewards for “failing to put forth his best effort” costing his horses a placing in two races at Aqueduct, according to two stewards rulings.

The stewards fined Civaci $2,000 for his ride on Asset Management in the second race on Feb. 1. Asset Management finished fifth, beaten a nose for fourth. The difference in purse money for the connections between fourth and fifth place in that race was $1,480.

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 13:01

Owner-turned-trainer Steven Schauer off to solid start in 2025

By David Grening

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Steven Schauer has made a pretty nice transition from owner to trainer.

Schauer, who, as an owner raced under the moniker The Players Group, took his wife Carmen’s advice last year and took out his trainer’s license. After losing with his first six starters, Schauer has started 2025 with three wins from three starters.

“It’s challenging,” Schauer said. “So far, so good. I can’t complain.”

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 12:45

Colloquial to bypass Triple Crown for one-turn options

By David Grening

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Despite earning a 106 Beyer Speed Figure in his maiden win, Colloquial will not target the Triple Crown races and instead will start in one-turn races.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though Colloquial ran the fastest Beyer Speed Figure earned by a 3-year-old this year, his connections are not looking to make him into a Kentucky Derby candidate.

Colloquial, who earned a 106 Beyer for his seven-length romp at Aqueduct in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race last Friday, will return to trainer George Weaver’s South Florida base at Palm Beach Downs this week and will likely be kept at one-turn races at least through the first half of the year.

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 11:00

Straight No Chaser drills for Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Saudi Cup card

By Steve Andersen

Barbara D. Livingston

Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and champion Straight No Chaser was scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia Tuesday after five-furlong work on Sunday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – On Sunday at Santa Anita, Straight No Chaser, the champion male sprinter of 2024, worked five furlongs in a quick 59 seconds. On Tuesday, Straight No Chaser was scheduled to be flown to Saudi Arabia for the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Feb. 22.

The difference in Sunday’s work compared to recent workouts was the presence of a stablemate, trainer Dan Blacker said.

“I gave him some company and gave him something to focus on,” Blacker said. Straight No Chaser “finished very well.”

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 10:57

Big races on turf, dirt in There Goes Harvard's plans

By Steve Andersen

Barbara D. Livingston

There Goes Harvard earned a career-high 100 Beyer Figure for his San Marcos win. He is being considered for the San Luis Rey on turf and Hollywood Gold Cup on dirt.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Accomplished in stakes on turf and dirt in a lengthy but disrupted career, There Goes Harvard, winner of Saturday’s Grade 3 San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita, could appear in a diverse list of races at Santa Anita this spring.

One short-term option is the Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf on March 22. Later in the spring, the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on dirt is a possibility and a race the 7-year-old horse won in 2022.

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 18:48

Colloquial earns 106 Beyer, tops by a 3-year-old, in Aqueduct maiden win

By David Grening

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Colloquial wins a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race by seven lengths Friday at Aqueduct.

Colloquial’s return to the races was worth the wait.

Away since he was beaten a nose by Mentee in a five-furlong maiden race at Aqueduct in June, Colloquial returned to the races Friday at Aqueduct, winning a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race by seven lengths over One Nine Hundred. It was 12 lengths back to the third-place finisher Fanatical.

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 14:28

Mi Hermano Ramon to target Kilroe Mile

By Steve Andersen

Debra A. Roma

Mi Hermano Ramon finished fourth in the Pegasus World Cup Turf despite a less than perfect trip.

Mi Hermano Ramon, winner of the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar in November and fourth in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, is a probable starter in the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on March 1.

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 14:24

Belmont renovation project on schedule, on budget; new foundation poured

By David Grening

Christine Kozak

Looking from the infield toward the end of the far turn shows Belmont’s four new racing surfaces, which include a Tapeta surface, two turf courses, and a dirt track.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The renovation project at Belmont Park is on schedule, New York Racing Association officials said during a tour of the facility this week.

The foundation for the new, smaller building was poured about three weeks ago and the first pieces of steel for the five-story building, which is expected to be 275,000 square feet, could be put in starting in March.

Meanwhile, work on the four racing surfaces, including the new synthetic track, has been moving along, with the process of installing new drainage and irrigation systems the focal point of construction.

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