Fri, 03/21/2014 - 16:36

Santa Anita: Baltas bags three winners on Thursday card

Shigeki Kikkawa
Richard Baltas won with Silk in Silver, Rangi, and Our Glitter Ball on Thursday at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Richard Baltas had his first three-win day on Thursday at Santa Anita, a milestone that was not a complete surprise.

Baltas said Friday he was optimistic that Silk in Silver ($3.80) and Rangi ($6.80) could win the first and seventh races on Friday, but that a win in the fourth race by Our Glitter Ball ($20.40) was a pleasant surprise.

“I thought I’d win two,” Baltas said. “The other filly is coming around, but I think mentally a little behind.”

Baltas, 52, saddled his first winner in 1991, and has a 27-horse stable at Santa Anita.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 16:32

Hollywood Park: Officials announce retroactive purse hike

The final meeting at Hollywood Park last autumn ended with a purse underpayment of more than $500,000 that will be distributed in coming weeks, according to Joe Morris, president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

The purse payments will be made to owners who had horses earn purses in overnight races.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 16:23

Los Alamitos: Track seeks stakes nominations

Scott Martinez/Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos (pictured) has assumed five weeks of racing in July and December previously held at Hollywood Park.

Los Alamitos is accepting nomination for three lucrative Thoroughbred races in July and December.

The $500,000 Los Alamitos Derby at 1 1/8 miles will be run on July 5. The Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby takes the place of the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park as the top main track race for 3-year-olds in the summer in Southern California.

Los Alamitos has assumed five weeks of racing in July and December previously held at Hollywood Park.

Regular nominations for the Los Alamitos Derby close on May 1.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 16:16

Golden Gate Fields: Patrick Mackey named racing secretary

Patrick Mackey, who has served as assistant racing secretary for the New York Racing Association, Arlington Park, Hawthorne Race Course and Gulfstream Park, was named the racing secretary at Golden Gate Fields on Friday.

Mackey, 36, will replace David Jerkens, who recently accepted the position of racing secretary at Del Mar. Mackey will begin work at Golden Gate on March 27 and have a chance to work with Jerkens for six weeks.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 16:08

Aqueduct notes: Risky Rachel targets Broadway

SV Photography
Risky Rachel is scheduled to start in the Broadway Stakes on March 29 at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Risky Rachel, who returned from a 15-month layoff to win two stakes at Tampa Bay Downs this winter, has returned to New York, where she will take aim at next Saturday’s Broadway Stakes at Aqueduct, a race she won in 2012.

Risky Rachel, a 7-year-old daughter of Limehouse owned and bred by Sanford Bacon, suffered a tendon injury when finishing fifth in the Iroquois Stakes at Belmont in October 2012, according to her trainer, Juan Coronel.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 15:52

Aqueduct: Princess of Sylmar, Havana back in New York for Pletcher

Barbara D. Livingston
Princess of Sylmar was based at the Palm Meadows training center all winter but has returned to New York for trainer Todd Pletcher.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher sent his first shipment of graded stakes horses back from south Florida to New York earlier this week, including Grade 1 winners Princess of Sylmar and Havana.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 14:21

Gulfstream Park: Itsmyluckyday at ‘110 percent’

Barbara D. Livingston
Itsmyluckyday came out of his fourth-place finish in the Gulfstream Park Handicap in good shape, trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Itsmyluckyday finished a tiring fourth while making his first start since June in the Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 8 and has bounced back “110 percent,” trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said.

Itsmyluckyday lost the second half of his 3-year-old campaign last year when he fractured his pelvis during the Grade 3 Pegasus at Monmouth Park.

[Clocker Reports: Get Mike Welsch’s clocker reports from Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows]

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 14:16

Gulfstream Park: Declan’s Warrior fresh in return

Barbara D. Livingston
Declan's Warrior finished second in his first start since last August.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Most everybody was surprised to see Declan’s Warrior fighting for the lead under jockey Jose Lezcano when launching his comeback from a seven-month layoff in Thursday’s eighth race. But nobody was more surprised than his trainer, Nick Zito, who was hoping to see him laying several lengths off the pace in his first start since being eased after running less than a quarter-mile of the Grade 1 King’s Bishop last August at Saratoga.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 13:36

Fair Grounds: Fields taking shape for Louisiana Derby card

Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography
Albano is among eight 3-year-olds considered probable for the March 29 Louisiana Derby.

Intense Holiday, Albano, and Vicar’s in Trouble – the first three finishers in the Risen Star Stakes – are among eight 3-year-olds headed to the Louisiana Derby, Fair Grounds stakes coordinator Scott Jones said Wednesday. The others are Commanding Curve, Gold Hawk, In Trouble, Louies Flower, and Rise Up.

Fri, 03/21/2014 - 13:34

Los Alamitos: Dont Walk Peacefully on the improve

Dont Walk Peacefully was a quiet fourth in his debut in a maiden race for 2-year-olds for trainer Jose De La Torre at Los Alamitos in August.

When he won his second start, which came last Sunday in a division of the time trials for the $202,100 El Primero Del Ano Derby, a lot had changed.

De La Torre is gone, denied stalls by Los Alamitos management for a series of clenbuterol positives in recent years. Dont Walk Peacefully is now trained by Danny Montes and has been gelded since his debut.