AUBURN, Wash. – After entries for the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile were drawn Thursday, Emerald Downs linemaker Rob Rao installed Stryker Phd the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Sunday’s main event. The late-running Stryker Phd has earned his lofty standing, and then some, winning six consecutive stakes races at Emerald Downs, including the 2014 Longacres Mile and, in his most recent start, the 1-1/16-mile Mt. Rainier Handicap in a six-length romp.
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Saturday has been designated as Allen Jerkens Day at Saratoga, to commemorate the life of the Hall of Fame trainer who died earlier this year in Florida.
A ceremony will be held with Jerkens family in the winner’s circle which will include replays of Jerkens’s greatest races and a video tribute from those who knew him well. There will also be a commemorative cover and a special section devoted to Jerkens in Saturday’s program.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Wednesday that the much-anticipated debut of Jess’s Dream, the 3-year-old son of Curlin and Rachel Alexandra, should not be too far off.
Jess’s Dream has had three works since shipping to Saratoga from Belmont earlier this summer, with the latest one going five furlongs in company with McLaughlin’s highly regarded 3-year-old maiden Markings in 1:00.14 last Thursday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – King Kreesa did not receive the respect he obviously deserved in his last two starts, and he rewarded his backers with generous odds of 17-1 and 6-1 for his victories in the Grade 3 Poker and the Forbidden Apple stakes at Belmont Park.
On Saturday, King Kreesa figures to garner a lot more support despite moving up against even stiffer competition in the one-mile Fourstardave, which attracted a field of nine plus the main-track-only entrant Weekend Hideaway.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Pizza Man is the lone cross-entry in the four International Festival of Racing events Saturday, but owner Richard Papiese told Arlington officials he is 99 percent sure he will opt for the Arlington Million over the American St. Leger.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Ron Paolucci has been known to make some unconventional decisions as a racehorse owner. Some of his moves with Ria Antonia and War Story raised eyebrows among the less adventurous, and now he’s sending a longshot to Chicago with hopes of upsetting the prestigious Beverly D. Stakes.
Paolucci instructed trainer Peter Walder to scratch Maid On a Mission last weekend from a $75,000 stakes at Gulfstream Park and run her instead in the Grade 1, $700,000 Beverly D. Stakes on Saturday at Arlington Park.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Gabriel Charles, a Grade 1 winner in July who underwent colic surgery last Saturday, will remain at a veterinary clinic in Bonsall, Calif., until at least late August, said trainer Jeff Mullins.
Gabriel Charles was rushed to the clinic after showing signs of distress after training last Saturday, Mullins said. Surgery was conducted that afternoon.
Mullins described Gabriel Charles’s condition as “day to day.”
Churchill Downs on Wednesday released the schedule of points races that will determine eligibility for the 2016 Kentucky Derby, with the lone change being a doubling in points for the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile from 10 to 20.
Otherwise, the schedule of 35 races remains virtually the same as it has since the points system was first implemented leading into the 2013 Derby, although Churchill also announced Wednesday a modification to the tiebreaker rule for two or more horses with the same number of points.
The Maryland Jockey Club has started construction on the second of three new 150-stall barns at Laurel Park.
“We’re looking forward to completing the barns by the spring of 2016,” said Sal Sinatra, the Maryland Jockey Club’s general manager.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Rattataptap lost all chance for a win in the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes at a mile on turf June 27 at Del Mar when she was stuck in traffic with a quarter-mile to go. She finished fourth, a performance good enough to merit a start in the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf Saturday.
The Senorita was a source of frustration for trainer Phil D’Amato, who watched Rattataptap miss by 3 3/4 lengths to Prize Exhibit despite the trouble.