SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After going back and forth between running and passing, trainer Steve Asmussen ultimately decided to run the champion Untapable in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Handicap at Saratoga.
The Shuvee will mark the first start at Saratoga for Untapable – last year’s champion 3-year-old filly – and marks the first meeting between her and fellow Eclipse Award finalist Stopchargingmaria, the winner of last year’s Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Following a $750,000 purse increase Wednesday, seven 3-year-olds signed up on Thursday to face Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
Upstart, whose trainer, Rick Violette Jr., committed to the $1.75 million Haskell on Wednesday, has been made the second choice on the morning line at 6-1. Track linemaker Brad Thomas made American Pharoah the 1-5 favorite.
Upstart is cross-entered in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga on Saturday but is expected to race at Monmouth Park instead.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The postscript to a record five-win day by trainer Doug O’Neill at Del Mar on Wednesday may be the long-term potential of one of the winners. The stable considers the 2-year-old filly Land Over Sea to be the sort of runner capable of starting in a Breeders’ Cup race at Keeneland on Oct. 30-31.
DEL MAR, Calif. -- The pick six at Del Mar paid $57,658 to 34 ticket-holders on Wednesday on a day when trainer Doug O’Neill won four of the races.
The pick six began with a two-day carryover of $562,765 from Sunday. Bettors added $2,591,332 to the pool on Wednesday.
Consolation tickets with five winners were worth $423.40.
DEL MAR, Calif. -- Trainer Doug O’Neill set a Del Mar and personal record on Wednesday, winning five races on a single card.
O’Neill, 47, had six runners on the eight-race program. He won the first race with Hye I’m Jack ($28.80), the third with Jimmy Bouncer ($8.60), the fourth with Tumbleweedprincess ($8), the fifth with Land Over Sea ($3.40) and the seventh with Lookin for Money ($10.80).
O’Neill’s only loss on Wednesday was with Housemaker, who finished second to Lookin for Money.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Chad Brown has trained one Arlington Million winner so far but will have two chances to take down his second Million when the race is contested for the 33rd time Aug. 15.
All along, Brown has been pointing Slumber for the race, and on Tuesday the New York-based trainer confirmed that he also will start Big Blue Kitten in the Million.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown wasn’t sure what to expect from March in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens at Belmont on June 6. Neither were the bettors.
Sent off at 10-1, March rallied from just off the pace to beat Cinco Charlie by a nose for his second straight graded stakes score. In April, he won the Grade 3 Bay Shore.
“On paper, it looked like his numbers were behind the other ones,” Brown said when asked about his feelings on March entering the Woody Stephens. “We gave him the opportunity to step up, and he did. You have to respect that about the horse.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It has not been a great summer in New York for David Jacobson. The leading trainer on the New York Racing Association circuit for the last three years, Jacobson endured a difficult Belmont spring-summer meet with just 16 wins and 21 seconds from 102 starters. Two summers ago, Jacobson won a record 44 races at the Belmont spring-summer stand.
He has not gotten off to a great start at Saratoga, going winless with his first 14 starters after running fourth and fifth in Wednesday’s second race.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Attendance and handle declined in the first nine days of the Del Mar meeting, according to data released by the track Wednesday.
Through Sunday, average ontrack handle was down 18.6 percent to $2,151,339, while all-sources handle, including simulcasting and account-wagering sources, was down 5.7 percent to $12,536,249. Average attendance was down 12.5 percent to 17,580. The meeting opened July 16.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Fame and Power, the winner of the Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico in May, starts Friday in an allowance race that could be a prep for the $100,000 El Cajon Stakes for 3-year-olds on Aug. 29.
Trained by Bob Baffert for Juddmonte Farms, Fame and Power was second as the 1-2 favorite after a slow start June 13 in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs, his most recent start.
