Wed, 03/25/2015 - 21:40

Shared Belief headed for Charles Town Classic

Benoit & Associates
Shared Belief is under consideration for the Oaklawn Handicap and the Charles Town Classic.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Shared Belief, winner of two major stakes for older horses this year at Santa Anita, will make his next start in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on April 18.

Alex Solis II, a member of the partnership that owns the 4-year-old gelding, said on Wednesday evening that a decision was finalized on Shared Belief’s next start earlier in the day.

The Charles Town Classic and the $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap in Arkansas on April 11 had been considered as options for Shared Belief's next start by the partnership and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 16:58

Purse increase for final days

Oaklawn Park will raise purses between $1,000 and $2,000 per race for the final 10 dates of the meet, the track announced Wednesday. The increase will go into effect Saturday. It is the third purse increase of the meet, and it will make for allowances as high as $72,000 in value and maiden special weights worth a record $66,000. The bottom-level purse will be $21,000.

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 16:56

The Truth Or Else adds blinkers for Wednesday breeze

Barbara D. Livingston
The Truth Or Else will start in Saturday's Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Grade 1-placed 3-year-old The Truth Or Else breezed five furlongs in company in 1:00.40 on Wednesday at Oaklawn. He worked in blinkers with the intent of adding them for the Arkansas Derby, said trainer Ken McPeek. Jockey Calvin Borel was aboard for the move, which came first after the renovation break.

The Truth Or Else was the runner-up in the Grade 3 Southwest at Oaklawn in February, and in his last start, he was fourth to American Pharoah in the local Rebel on March 14.

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 16:24

Riposte, Tabreed meet again in Orchid

Barbara D. Livingston
Riposte (right), a multiple Grade 2 winner last year, will make her second start of the season in the Orchid.

Riposte and Tabreed, separated by a neck when second and third behind Irish Mission in the Grade 3 The Very One, top the field for Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Orchid Stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Gulfstream Park.

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Riposte, a multiple Grade 2 winner last year, was making her first start in eight months in The Very One.

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 16:23

72-hour surveillance before Santa Anita Derby, Oaks

ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita will conduct video surveillance for 72 hours before the race for all runners in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby and $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks on April 4, the track announced in a brief statement on Wednesday.

This will be the third consecutive year of surveillance in advance of those races. Surveillance will begin on Wednesday, April 1, the day entries are taken for both Grade 1 races.

Raceday surveillance is commonplace for approximately six hours in advance of major stakes here. 

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 16:16

Twilight Eclipse major threat in Pan American

Barbara D. Livingston
Twilight Eclipse will look to snap a seven-racing losing streak in Saturday's 1 1/2-mile Pan American.

Twilight Eclipse did not follow Main Sequence to Dubai for Saturday’s Sheema Classic, so his path to the winner’s circle became that much easier for Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Pan American Stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Gulfstream Park.

Twilight Eclipse has lost seven straight races since winning the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida here in February 2014. In his last five races, Twilight Eclipse has been defeated by Main Sequence by a combined four lengths.

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 16:06

Coffee Clique ends long layoff in Honey Fox

Barbara D. Livingston
Coffee Clique will make her first start since winning the Just a Game Stakes last June in Saturday's Honey Fox.

Coffee Clique, not seen since winning the Grade 1 Just a Game at Belmont Park last June, makes her return to the races in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Honey Fox Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Brian Lynch said Coffee Clique was experiencing bone remodeling last summer and was given the remainder of the year off. Had she required surgery, Lynch said, Coffee Clique would have been retired.

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 15:40

Van Dyke will ride Include Betty in Oaklawn's Fantasy

SV Photography
Include Betty, winner of the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, will be ridden by Drayden Van Dyke in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn.

Jockey Drayden Van Dyke will ride Include Betty in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park on April 4, according to his agent, Sarah Wolfe.

Trained by Tom Proctor, Include Betty won the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 31 and was fifth in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at that track March 7.

Wed, 03/25/2015 - 15:24

Bejarano appeals three-day suspension

Leading jockey Rafael Bejarano has been granted an appeal of a three-day suspension for careless riding last weekend at Santa Anita, according to his agent, Joe Ferrer.

Bejarano was cited for his ride aboard Jazzy Josh in the Pasadena Stakes last Saturday. Jazzy Josh, who was near the front early, finished eighth. Bejarano was cited for failing to maintain a straight course through the stretch and causing interference. Turning into the stretch, Jazzy Josh drifted slightly to the inside. The stewards did not conduct an inquiry, and no rider lodged an objection.