LOUISVILLE, Ky. – An incident prior to the first race May 21 at Churchill prompted a question as to what Kentucky stewards can do if part of a stable coupling is scratched at the gate, leaving fans who preferred the scratched half of the entry to be stuck with the lesser half.
The answer, according to chief steward Barbara Borden: nothing.
“We have no discretionary power in these cases,” said Borden.
Competitive Edge, the unbeaten winner of the Pat Day Mile in his most recent start, is more likely to run in the Grade 2, $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes for 3-year-olds on June 6 at Belmont Park rather than the Grade 1, $1.25 million Metropolitan Mile against older horses the same day, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Strict Compliance, a winner of consecutive races at Gulfstream Park and Keeneland this year, will make her stakes debut in Saturday’s $150,000 Penn Oaks at Penn National and not the $400,000 American Oaks at Santa Anita, trainer Chad Brown said on Wednesday.
“I decided not to put her on the plane,” Brown said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – He may be new to Kentucky racing fans, but this sure isn’t the first rodeo for Joe Kristufek, whose image and voice have become daily staples this spring at Churchill Downs by way of the simulcast signal.
Kristufek, 45, has been involved in racing as a writer, handicapper, and television personality since 1992, when he began working as a press-box aide at Hawthorne in his hometown of Chicago.
Finger Lakes has canceled its Friday card due to a lack of entries, according to track spokesman David Mattice. The first stakes of the meet, the $50,000 Susan B. Anthony, had been scheduled for Friday.
Racing is scheduled to resume at Finger Lakes on Saturday. The card will include the rescheduled Anthony, a six-furlong race for New York-bred fillies and mares. The Saturday card will be drawn Wednesday.
Finger Lakes is racing on a five-day-a-week schedule, with Wednesdays and Sundays dark.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Anybody looking for a reason to side against American Pharoah in his quest to win the Triple Crown in the June 6 Belmont Stakes surely couldn’t have found one after watching his half-mile breeze Tuesday morning from Churchill Downs.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The New York State Gaming Commission on Tuesday began posting on its website detailed weekly reports from the New York Racing Association tracks and hopes to do the same for Finger Lakes and the state’s seven harness tracks at a later date.
The reports, which were recommended by the Fan Advisory Council, will include detailed explanations of any stewards' rulings, inquiries and claims of foul. Further, the reports will also include certain wagering data, a list of horses claimed, and equine fatalities.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Saturday’s $400,000 American Oaks is the rare Southern California race with more shippers than local runners.
Of the seven 3-year-old fillies entered in the Grade 1 American Oaks, only two – Sharla Rae and Spanish Queen – are locally trained. The other five starters are based in Kentucky or New York.
Consumer Credit, Mrs McDougal, and Strict Compliance are trained by Chad Brown in New York, while Feathered is trained there by Todd Pletcher. Dating Lady Luck is trained in Kentucky by Al Stall Jr.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Kentuckian, winner of the Grade 3 Lazaro Barrera Stakes at Santa Anita on May 10, will make his next start in the $350,000 Los Alamitos Derby at the Orange County track July 4.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said earlier this week he plans to skip the $100,000 Affirmed Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles June 7 at Santa Anita with Kentuckian in favor of the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby, which is run at 1 1/8 miles.
“We’ve been pretty patient, and we know if we wait, he’ll run some nice races,” Hollendorfer said.
