OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If he doesn’t get into the Kentucky Derby, Adventist likely will make his next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on May 14, trainer Leah Gyarmati said Sunday.
The results of Saturday’s Arkansas Derby – won by Creator – dropped Adventist from 20th to 23rd on the points list established by Churchill Downs to determine the field for the Derby in the likely event that the race draws more than the maximum of 20 starters.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Despite the allure of $100,000 purses, the first two races for 2-year-olds on this circuit drew small fields.
New York Racing Association officials announced in December that they would be offering six $100,000 juvenile maiden races, three for each gender. The races are lead-ins to the $200,000 Astoria Stakes, for fillies, on June 9 and the $200,000 Tremont, for males, on June 10, both at Belmont Park. The races this week at Aqueduct will be followed by similar races at Belmont in early and mid-May.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Go Around gave breeder and owner Peter Vegso a meaningful victory when he scored by a neck in the $75,000 Tampa Turf Classic for Florida-breds on April 9 at Tampa Bay Downs, and his connections believe that he’s a horse on the rise. Go Around, a 4-year-old colt by Medaglia d’Oro, is being pointed to the Grade 3, $150,000 Fort Marcy Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for older horses at Belmont Park on May 7.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A day like Saturday at Keeneland isn’t the kind you’ll ever forget – even if you’re a trainer as accomplished as Neil Howard.
Before a near-record crowd of 38,863 on a perfect spring afternoon, Howard won the Saturday opener with Kentucky Oaks prospect Dream Dance, then won the Grade 3 Ben Ali some three hours later with a surging 4-year-old named Eagle.
“It’s cliché, but you really are always happy to win, especially on a big day like that at Keeneland,” Howard said Monday back at his Churchill Downs base.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For all the impressive stakes performances here over the weekend, led by Miss Temple City in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile and Tepin in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, there also were some notable efforts in the allowance ranks.
In fact, the May 21 Preakness got a prospective starter when Stradivari earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a first-level, 1 1/8-mile allowance by 14 1/2 lengths Sunday under John Velazquez. Trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed Monday that he will consider the Preakness or the May 14 Peter Pan Stakes for the 3-year-old Medaglia d’Oro colt.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As the final days leading up to the Kentucky Derby began to tick down, trainer Steve Asmussen said that next week will be the time to tighten the screws on his Louisiana Derby winner Gun Runner.
On Monday, Gun Runner worked an easy five furlongs in 1:00, earning the day’s bullet move for the distance at Churchill Downs. Gun Runner, with Florent Geroux aboard, broke off about a length behind workmate Gold Hawk and ticked off splits of 12.80 seconds, 24.40, 36.40, and 48. He hit the wire two lengths in front and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.20.
The Grade 2 Charles Town Classic on Saturday has long been the spring goal for Page McKenney. But his path to the $1.25 million race has changed several times, and he comes into the 1 1/8-mile Classic off a seven-furlong sprint and a 10-week break.
Now 6, Page McKenney has won five of his last six races for owner Adam Staple and trainer Mary Eppler. He was beaten a nose after stumbling at the start of his lone loss during that stretch.
Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville opens a 120-day meet Tuesday looking stronger and stronger among second-tier Midwestern racetracks.
With Illinois racing still reeling and Prairie Meadows in Iowa just trying to hold the status quo, the niche Indiana Grand has carved since harness racing moved exclusively to Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand became the state’s sole Thoroughbred track in 2013 has only grown wider in the regional marketplace.
CYPRESS, Calif. - At 6, Boozer may be on the verge of a career change.
Saturday at Los Alamitos, Boozer won the third stakes of his career in the $100,345 Bertrando Stakes for California-breds, his stakes debut on dirt. The win left trainer Mark Glatt contemplating other stakes on dirt in coming weeks, such as the $150,000 Tiznow Stakes for California-breds at a mile at Santa Anita on May 28.
“It adds another dimension,” Glatt said of the win. “It gives us other options.”
