CYPRESS, Calif. – They have been running Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos since 1951, have mixed in Thoroughbreds over the years, and once had harness racing here, too. But when you drive down Katella Avenue and reach the turnoff for the racetrack, an electronic sign at the corner boasts that Los Alamitos is the “home of California Chrome.”
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
ARCADIA, Calif. - The undefeated Bayern had his final workout before next Saturday’s $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park at Santa Anita on Sunday, working seven furlongs from the gate in 1:23.80.
Ridden by Gary Stevens, Bayern was exercised in company, starting at the six-furlong pole, and working past the wire to the seven-eighths pole, at the start of the clubhouse turn.
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Wicked Strong came out of his 3 1/2-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct “a little tired” but otherwise in good order, according to trainer Jimmy Jerkens, who added that he will wait until as late as possible to ship his horse to Louisville for the May 3 Kentucky Derby.
Rick Violette, the trainer of Wood runner-up Samraat, also said his horse came out of the race well and he too would wait until the Monday before the Derby to ship his horse to Churchill Downs.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Ride On Curlin completed his major preparations for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on Sunday morning, when he breezed seven furlongs in 1:26.80 at Oaklawn Park. He will come into the 1 1/8-mile race off a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn. The Arkansas Derby closes out the Oaklawn meet Saturday.
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Champion Will Take Charge was assigned the high weight of 123 pounds for the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 12, while one of his rivals from last year, Moreno, is next on the list at 118. Oaklawn Park’s racing office released the weights Saturday. Entries for the 1 1/8-mile race will be taken Wednesday.
Will Take Charge has been pointing for the Oaklawn Handicap. It will be his third start of the year, following runner-up finishes in the Grade 1 Donn at Gulfstream and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. Both races went in track-record time.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Secret Circle drew the rail for the Grade 3, $300,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Thursday. He’s part of a six-horse field that includes Louisiana-bred sprint sensation Heitai.
Secret Circle is the 123-pound highweight for the Count Fleet, which will be his second start since the Breeders’ Cup. In his seasonal debut, he was second by a neck in the Grade 2 Palos Verdes at Santa Anita on Feb. 2. Secret Circle is no stranger to Oaklawn, as he won the track’s Grade 3 Southwest and Grade 2 Rebel in 2012.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - On Fire Baby and Rose to Gold put in final works for the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap within minutes of each other after the renovation break Saturday at Oaklawn. The mile and a sixteenth race for fillies and mares is to be run Friday as part of the annual Racing Festival of the South.
Richard W. “Dickie” Small, who trained Broad Brush and Concern to major victories during a 40-year training career that earned him immense popularity and admiration from his peers in Maryland and beyond, died late Friday night from complications stemming from a lengthy struggle with cancer. He was 68.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Thundergram will add blinkers for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby after turning in an impressive work in the equipment Saturday at Oaklawn Park. He was one of several horses tuning up for the $3.3 million Racing Festival of the South, which features nine stakes over the final week of the meet. The series closes with the Arkansas Derby on April 12.
Oaklawn’s track was rated “fast” for works Saturday on a clear, 45-degree morning.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Chantal Sutherland-Kruse is relocating to Canada for the start of the Woodbine season on April 12, she said Friday.
Sutherland-Kruse, best known in California for winning the 2011 Santa Anita Handicap on Game On Dude, plans to ride at Santa Anita through Sunday. She will travel to Woodbine on Monday and begin working horses at the suburban Toronto track on Tuesday in advance of the race meeting.
“I’ll be ready for opening day,” she said. “An opportunity came up, and my husband is supportive. We’ll be commuting a bit, maybe him more than me.”
