Wed, 10/02/2013 - 16:28

Keeneland: Wise Dan's repeat bid in Shadwell highlights FallStars Weekend

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The premise of FallStars Weekend at Keeneland is self-evident, although some years are better than others. And with Wise Dan heading the roster of FallStars entrants as Keeneland opens its 17-day fall meet Friday, let there be no doubt that this is a banner year.

Wise Dan will bring his 2012 Horse of the Year title and a nine-race winning streak from his Rice Road stable Saturday as a heavy favorite to repeat in the $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, one of five Grade 1 races during the three-day FallStars schedule.

Wed, 10/02/2013 - 16:06

Retama Park: Turf course and new general manager ready for meet opener

Retama Park near San Antonio will open its 26-date meet Friday night with a later post time, a new general manager, and a possible Breeders’ Cup rooting interest in Got Shades. The track also has made a strategic change to its stakes schedule, drawn notable new stables, and is to race on turf from its opening after being unable to do so for the first three weeks of the meet a year ago.

Wed, 10/02/2013 - 15:50

Keeneland notes: Ramseys targeting their own fall-meet record

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ken Ramsey wanted to know: What’s the record for the most wins by an owner at a fall meet at Keeneland?

“Whatever it is, we’re going to try to break it,” Ramsey said Wednesday from his Nicholasville, Ky., farm.

Wed, 10/02/2013 - 15:44

Keeneland: Wise Dan scares few away from Shadwell Turf Mile

Michael Burns
Wise Dan, the reigning Horse of the Year, won the Woodbine Mile last time out.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Wise Dan has been assigned the outside post in a field of 10 older horses entered in the Grade 1, $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, the richest race of the Keeneland fall meet and one of five graded stakes on a sensational Saturday program.

Wise Dan, the reigning Horse of the Year, will have John Velazquez aboard in the Shadwell, a two-turn race he won last year as a 3-5 favorite. The 6-year-old gelding has won his last nine races and surely will be a huge favorite again as he makes his final start before the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita.

Wed, 10/02/2013 - 15:30

Santa Anita: No Jet Lag ambitiously spotted in City of Hope Mile

ARCADIA, Calif. – No Jet Lag faces the toughest turf milers in California in Saturday’s $150,000 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita. It is not the racing program that trainer Simon Callaghan envisioned after No Jet Lag won his American debut in an optional claimer at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 11.

That race was intended to be a prep for the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 1, but No Jet Lag could not get a berth in the stakes even after the race was divided. A 3-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding, No Jet Lag began his career in England, where he won two minor races in 2012.

Wed, 10/02/2013 - 14:56

Florida notes: Apprentice Worrie breaks through with unusual double

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Jockey Andre Worrie showed up at work on Sunday still looking for his first career victory. A couple of hours later, Worrie had not one but two winners on his r é sum é after registering an unusual riding double comprising victories at two different tracks within little more than an hour.

Wed, 10/02/2013 - 14:27

Woodbine: Frostad targets Mazarine Stakes with maiden Spanish Flower

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Mark Frostad won two runnings of the Mazarine Stakes during his term as trainer for Sam-Son Farm, with Silken Cat scoring by 3 1/4 lengths in 1995 and Hello Seattle romping by 14 in 1999. But whereas Silken Cat and Hello Seattle were odds-on favorites coming off impressive wins, Frostad’s candidate for this year’s Mazarine will be looking for her first victory.

Tue, 10/01/2013 - 17:51

Breeders' Cup Classic: Mike Smith regains mount on Game On Dude

Shigeki Kikkawa
Game On Dude's Beyer Speed Figure for his Pacific Classic victory was changed from a 109 to a 113.

Game On Dude, who bypassed the Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday to train straight into the Breeders’ Cup Classic, picked up the pace of his training on Tuesday morning at Santa Anita with a six-furlong drill in 1:12. It was his third drill since his victory in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. His previous two drills were at a half-mile.

Tue, 10/01/2013 - 16:23

Belmont: DRF Plus handicapping report for October 2, 2013

 

Race 1

Analysis

Race 1 I like SURPRISE KITTY (#3, 3/1) in the first, although her 3/1 price on the morning line doesn’t excite me.  I think her last race, which was first back from an almost six month break, is a better effort than it may appear on paper, even though she was a beaten favorite for a lower claiming tag.

Tue, 10/01/2013 - 15:39

Arlington Park: Daily average handle drops 7 percent

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Average daily betting handle during the 89-day Arlington race meet that ended Sunday fell below $3 million for the first time since 2010, the year the track experienced a 27 percent decline in average daily all-sources handle.

Average daily all-sources handle fell 7 percent this year compared to 2012, dropping from $3,201,354 to $2,975,431. Ontrack average daily handle dropped 5 percent, to $379,846, while out-of-state handle on Arlington’s races was down 8 percent, to $2,370,289.