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.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Ashleyluvssugar, a two-time stakes winner at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Santa Anita this year, is making a racing sentimentalist of trainer Peter Eurton.
After Ashleyluvssugar won the $200,000 Charles Whittingham Stakes on Sunday, Eurton set his sights on the track’s most historic turf race – the $150,000 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at about 1 3/4 miles June 28.
“Who wouldn’t want to win the San Juan?” Eurton said.
Eurton never has had a runner in the San Juan Capistrano, which was first run on turf in 1954, the year the track’s turf course opened.
OPELOUSAS, La. – Power Alert, winner of three of his four U.S. starts, is set to square off against defending champ Heitai and six others in Saturday’s $300,000 Evangeline Turf Sprint at Evangeline Downs. The five-furlong dash will anchor an 11-race program which has a first-race post time of 3:05 p.m. Central. The Evangeline Turf Sprint will also be the final leg in a $100,000-guaranteed all-stakes pick four.
A food truck festival at Monmouth Park played a big role in drawing more than 60,000 people to the track over the three-day weekend.
The combined Saturday, Sunday, and Monday attendance was up 37 percent over last year, according to track officials. The total handle of $15 million for the three days increased by 22 percent. The three-day ontrack handle of $2.2 million was up 15 percent.
Parx-based trainer Cathal Lynch said Danzatrice, winner of the Parx Oaks, would run in the Grade 1 Acorn on the Belmont Stakes undercard next Saturday. Lynch said he spoke with Gainesway Stable owner Antony Beck and his racing manager John Fort on the decision.
“We know it will be a very tough race, but we’re going to give it a go,” Lynch said. “Trevor McCarthy is going to ride.”
Kentucky Oaks runner-up Shook Up, as well as multiple graded winners Birdatthewire and Condo Commando are expected for the Acorn.
