Thu, 01/12/2023 - 14:15

Los Alamitos cancels Saturday and Sunday programs due to anticipated wet weather

Los Alamitos will not race on Saturday or Sunday evening in anticipation of wet weather in Southern California.

The track made the announcement after receiving approval from the California Horse Racing Board. The decision was finalized before entries for either card were taken.

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Thu, 01/12/2023 - 14:12

Queen Goddess, Speaking Scout will compete on Pegasus World Cup card

Benoit Photo
Queen Goddess will head to the Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf following a 2 1/2-length victory in the Robert Frankel (above).

Queen Goddess, winner of the Grade 3 Robert Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 31 and two other stakes in her 10-race career, will start in the Grade 3 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 28, her richest race since October 2021.

Wed, 01/11/2023 - 15:36

Kentucky Derby: Woodford Reserve extends sponsorship through 2027

Barbara D. Livingston
Churchill Downs was able to hold the 2022 Kentucky Derby without attendance restrictions for the first time since 2019.

Woodford Reserve, the bourbon brand sold by Brown-Forman, has reached an agreement with Churchill Downs Inc. to extend its presenting sponsorship of the Kentucky Derby through 2027, the companies announced on Wednesday.

Wed, 01/11/2023 - 15:26

Pegasus World Cup field stays intact; new invitees for Pegasus Turf

Kim Pratt
Katie Tolbert gallops Cyberknife prior to the Pennsylvania Derby in September.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The updated list of invitees to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 28 was released Wednesday by the Gulfstream Park racing office with no changes made to the original group named a week earlier. The lineup is headed by Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Cyberknife, Grade 1 Awesome Again winner Defunded, Grade 1 Clark Stakes hero Proxy, and the $2.3 million earner Art Collector.

Tue, 01/10/2023 - 15:56

Two Emmys on target to launch comeback in Colonel E.R. Bradley

Four Footed Fotos/Doug Clark
Two Emmys returned $4.20 in winning the Outbound Ike at Hawthorne on Saturday.

Two Emmys is closing in on his fourth season of racing at Fair Grounds, with the Jan. 21 Colonel E.R. Bradley a likely comeback spot pending his final timed workout or two, trainer and principal owner Hugh Robertson said Tuesday.

Two Emmys has gone 3-3-1 from nine Fair Grounds grass starts, finishing second to Colonel Liam in the 2021 Muniz Memorial and winning the Muniz, Fair Grounds’ most important turf race, last March over Santin.

Tue, 01/10/2023 - 15:47

Barkley may run maiden winner Forest Chimes in Rachel Alexandra Stakes

Coady Photography
Spooky Channel and jockey Julien Leparoux win the Sycamore Stakes on Friday at Keeneland.

The last week of 2022 proved especially satisfying for the Jason Barkley stable at Fair Grounds.

On Dec. 26, Spooky Channel, now 8, returned from a 14-month layoff to win the $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes. On Dec. 31, Barkley sent 2-year-old filly Forest Chimes into her career debut, a two-turn maiden-special-weight race she won by 7 1/2 lengths. Racing over a good, sealed dirt surface, Forest Chimes clocked 1:47.34 for 1 1/16 miles and earned a 79 Beyer Speed Figure.

Tue, 01/10/2023 - 15:34

Cleared to resume training, Extra Anejo heads to New Orleans

Coady Photography
Extra Anejo en su llamativo debut de octubre en Keeneland

Extra Anejo, the highly promising newly turned 3-year-old, is on his way to Fair Grounds from Kentucky after being cleared this week to resume training.

Late last year, Extra Anejo had successful surgery to remove a bone chip from a hind ankle. Monday, Extra Anejo had a PET (positron emission tomography) scan and after a full evaluation of the colt’s condition, noted veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage gave the go-ahead for Extra Anejo to go back into training with Steve Asmussen.

Mon, 01/09/2023 - 13:40

Loggins, Extra Anejo still on the shelf

Coady Photography
Extra Anejo en su llamativo debut de octubre en Keeneland

In a perfect world, Extra Anejo and Loggins would have been the two most exciting 3-year-old colts training at Fair Grounds at the start of 2023. In this world, neither colt is training at all right now, and every day that circumstance prevails, the chances of either making major races this spring diminishes.

Loggins hasn’t raced or even worked since he finished a tough second, beaten a neck by Forte, in the Oct. 8 Breeders’ Futurity. Forte went on to beat Cave Rock in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and is all but certain to be named champion 2-year-old of 2022.

Mon, 01/09/2023 - 13:30

Hoosier Philly could return in Rachel Alexandra Stakes

Coady Photography
Hoosier Philly ganando el Golden Rod S. el año pasado

Wonder Wheel, who is exercising at trainer Mark Casse’s Casse Farm in Florida toward her 3-year-old debut, overcame a tough trip to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. A two-time Grade 1 winner during 2022, she’s sure to be named champion 2-year-old filly at the Eclipse Awards later this month. But you can bet your last dollar that Tom Amoss would not – as trainers are wont to state – trade places with anyone when it comes to 3-year-old fillies of 2023.

Mon, 01/09/2023 - 12:26

Jerome one-two finishers headed in different directions

Chelsea Durand
Lugan Knight (right) returned $9.30 in winning the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It is likely Lugan Knight and Arctic Arrogance, the one-two finishers from Saturday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, will go their separate ways for their next starts.

Lugan Knight, who beat Arctic Arrogance by a half-length in the Jerome, was scheduled on Tuesday to return to Kentucky, where he is based with Justin Curran, assistant to trainer Michael McCarthy.

McCarthy indicated after the Jerome that a potential next start for Lugan Knight is the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes, like the Jerome, a one-turn mile, on March 4 at Aqueduct.