Thu, 07/30/2015 - 13:36

O’Neill’s bounty includes stakes-caliber filly Land Over Sea

Benoit & Associates
Doug O'Neill's five winners Wednesday at Del Mar included the maiden 2-year-old filly Land Over Sea, a horse he feels could be good enough to reach this fall's Breeders' Cup.

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.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 21:36

Del Mar pick six pays $57,658 to 34 winners

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.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 21:08

Del Mar: O'Neill sets record with five-winner day

Benoit and Associates
Doug O'Neill celebrates his fifth winner on the Wednesday Del Mar card.

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.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 15:46

Brown bringing two horses apiece for Million, Beverly D.

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Big Blue Kitten is one of two horses trainer Chad Brown plans to run in the Arlington Million..

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.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 15:41

March known quantity for Amsterdam

Debra A. Roma
March (right) edges Cinco Charlie in the grade 2 Woody Stephens at Belmont.

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.”

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 15:36

Jacobson hoping for boost from Salutos Amigos

Taylor Ejdys/Equi-Photo
Salutos Amigos, easy winner of the Mr. Prospector under Cornelio Velasquez, could ship to Florida for next Sunday's Smile Sprint.

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.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 14:46

Attendance, handle decline through first nine days

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.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 14:31

Fame and Power preps for El Cajon in Friday allowance

Barbara D. Livingston
Fame and Power earned a 99 Beyer Figure for this victory in the Sir Barton at Pimlico.

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.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 14:30

Warren’s Veneda set for rematch with Beholder in Clement Hirsch

Benoit & Associates
Beholder (right) wins the Adoration Stakes over second-place finisher Warren's Veneda on June 13 at Santa Anita.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Warren’s Veneda could not lose in the winter, winning three consecutive stakes at Santa Anita. She could not win in the spring and early summer, losing three consecutive stakes.

On Saturday, Warren’s Veneda starts in her third Grade 1 race of the year in the $300,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares at Del Mar. Trainer Craig Lewis is braced for a loss, though not because of Warren’s Veneda’s recent setbacks.

Lewis said Wednesday the presence of two-time champion Beholder makes the Hirsch a difficult assignment for Warren’s Veneda.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 14:26

Hayward, former DRF and NYRA exec, injured in bike-car collision

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Charlie Hayward, a former executive for Daily Racing Form and the New York Racing Association, suffered a fractured pelvis when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle Saturday.