Orlando Paraliticci, a Florida veterinarian, was caught on raceday in January administering an untested substance that purports to block pain to a horse trained by Jane Cibelli, leading to his ban from Tampa Bay Downs and an ongoing investigation, according to documents prepared by state investigators.
AUBURN, Wash. – Trainer Howard Belvoir has had an eventful summer at Emerald Downs. His stable star, Wasserman, capped his career with a victory at age 11 before an injury sent the 2008 Longacres Mile winner into retirement, and on Aug. 17, Belvoir was inducted into the Washington Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Dance Card won four consecutive races topped by the Grade 1 Gazelle in her 3-year-old season and appeared to be one of the more intriguing fillies and mares to watch in 2013. But ankle chips prevented Dance Card from making an impact in the distaff division this year.
On Saturday, her abbreviated 4-year-old campaign is set to launch in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap at Belmont Park.
Although entries were taken Wednesday for a 13-race card Saturday at Charles Town that features 11 stakes, the fields for the $400,000 co-features remain in flux because of multiple horses cross-entering other six-figure events this weekend in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and New York.
The Researcher, for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs, drew a full field of 10, plus one also-eligible. The female companion to the Researcher, the seven-furlong Charles Town Oaks, attracted 10 3-year-old fillies, plus a pair of also-eligibles.
ELMONT, N.Y. – From what he has seen in the mornings, trainer Todd Pletcher believes Shanghai Bobby is ready to flash the form that made him last year’s champion 2-year-old male when he returns to the races in Friday’s $100,000 Aljamin Stakes at Belmont Park.
“I think the way he’s trained indicates to me he’s as good as he’s ever been or possibly even better but there’s no information like a race,” Pletcher said Wednesday at Belmont.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tevis McCauley has racked up 104 wins and $2.2 million in stable earnings since taking out a trainer’s license in August 2009. That means he is only about 3,250 wins and $250 million shy of what Todd Pletcher has amassed in his 17 years of training.
More Than Even will attempt to win her fourth consecutive race Friday night at Remington Park in Oklahoma City in the $50,000 Te Ata Stakes. The seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies is one of two stakes on the card. The $50,000 Tishomingo is led by Grade 2 Risen Star alumnus Agent.
BOSSIER CITY, La. – With the arrival of fall this weekend, the thoughts of many people with ties to Arkansas turn to football and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. For trainer Al Cates and his large contingent of Arkansas horse owners, however, thoughts of wild pigs take on a completely different tack – the Razorback and Lady Razorback futurities.
POMONA, Calif. – The summer campaign by Curvy Cat turned out to be too ambitious.
Curvy Cat faced the circuit’s leading female sprinters Reneesgotzip and Gypsy Robin, and her the best finish in three Del Mar starts was a distant third in an allowance.
Friday at the Los Angeles County Fair, Curvy Cat gets relief. She drops into the $50,000 Bangles and Beads Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong stakes for fillies and mares that sets up a big closing weekend for the Jerry Hollendorfer stable.
