Sun, 06/09/2013 - 10:37

Belmont Park: Point of Entry to have surgery on 'slight' condylar fracture

ELMONT, N.Y. – Point of Entry emerged from his victory in the Manhattan Handicap on Saturday at Belmont Park with a “slight condylar fracture” of his left hind cannon bone, trainer Shug McGaughey said Sunday morning at Belmont.

McGaughey said Point of Entry was to leave Sunday for the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., where noted surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage would perform surgery this week. McGaughey said he believed only one screw might be needed to close the fracture, leading to hope that Point of Entry could return to racing.

Sun, 06/09/2013 - 09:55

Prairie Meadows: Ice Hockey gets first stakes victory in Cyclones Handicap

Jack Coady/Coady Photography
Ice Hockey wears down the pacesetter on his inside, Beware the Devil, to win the Cyclones Handicap by a head Saturday night at Prairie Meadows.

ALTOONA, Iowa – Ice Hockey, under a determined effort from jockey Israel Ocampo, wore down 29-1 pacesetter Beware the Devil to garner a head victory in Saturday night's featured $75,000 Cyclones Handicap at Prairie Meadows.

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 20:29

Ruidoso Derby: Wicked Courage extends winning streak to seven races

Wicked Courage won his seventh consecutive race on Saturday, when he proved a neck best in the Grade 1, $822,753 Ruidoso Downs Derby for Quarter Horses. The purse for the 400-yard race was a record, and Wicked Courage earned a first-place check of $345,557 for his latest win in a streak that started last September at Will Rogers Downs.

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 20:26

Belmont Stakes: Orb's late run just wasn't there

Tom Keyser
“It looked like turning for home he got a little tired,” jockey Joel Rosario said of Orb’s Belmont.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Five weeks after flying through the final furlong to become a Kentucky Derby winner, Orb floundered in the final three-sixteenths of a mile in Saturday's 145th Belmont Stakes, trudging home a well-beaten third behind Palace Malice in the last leg of the Triple Crown at Belmont Park.

Despite having a strong early pace in which to close, Orb couldn't deliver the same scintillating move he made in the Kentucky Derby, and was unable to pass Oxbow, the Preakness winner who was part of the early pace, for second. Orb was beaten five lengths.

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 20:21

Hollywood Park: Sarach displays new tactics to take Honeymoon Handicap

Benoit & Associates
Sarach, ridden by Martin Garcia, takes the Honeymoon Handicap.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Sarach went to the lead for the first time in her career in Saturday’s $150,750 Honeymoon Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park, a strategy that proved to be the winning move in the Grade 2 race for 3-year-old fillies over 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Ridden by Martin Garcia, Sarach ($18) led by as much as a length on the backstretch and maintained that advantage in the stretch to win by a length over Scarlet Strike, the 4-5 favorite. Sarach set a modest pace of 24.09 and 48.28 seconds and finished in 1:48.73.

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 20:08

Colonial: Inti upsets Zeke Ferguson Memorial on opening day

There’s something about racing in June at Colonial Downs that brings out the best in Inti.

An 8-year-old gelding whose first two starts this season were lackluster, Inti regained the good form he showed last June when he won a first-level allowance by upsetting Colonial’s opening-day feature, the Grade 3, $50,000 Zeke Ferguson Memorial Hurdle on Saturday.

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 19:42

Pimlico: Russell, Vazquez finish atop standings

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Juan Vazquez (left) finished as leading trainer and Sheldon Russell topped the jockey standings at Pimlico's 36-day spring meet.

Jockey Sheldon Russell and trainer Juan Vazquez won individual titles at the 36-day Pimlico spring meet that ended Saturday.

Russel, 25, topped the jockey standings for the second time in three years with 28 first-place finishes, two more than both Xavier Perez and apprentice Victor Carrasco.

Vazquez earned his first training title in Maryland by winning 22 races, six more than Scott Lake. Dane Kobiskie (14), King Leatherbury (14), and Hugh McMahon (13) rounded out the top five.

PTK LLC topped the owner standings with 14 victories, three more than the Jim Stable.

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 19:25

Belmont Stakes complete order of finish

2013 Belmont Stakes order of finish
Finish, Horse, Jockey
1. Palace Malice, Mike Smith
2. Oxbow, Gary Stevens
3. Orb, Joel Rosario
4. Incognito, Irad Ortiz Jr.
5. Revolutionary, Javier Castellano
6. Unlimited Budget, Rosie Napravnik
7. Overanalyze, John Velazquez
8. Vyjack, Julien Leparoux
9. Golden Soul, Robby Albarado
10. Will Take Charge, Jon Court
11. Giant Finish, Edgar Prado
12. Midnight Taboo, Garrett Gomez
13. Freedom Child, Luis Saez

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 18:53

Belmont Stakes: Palace Malice puts away Preakness winner Oxbow

ELMONT, N.Y. – It was an illuminating day at Belmont Park. The sun came out, and the light went on.

After a storm pummeled the area Friday, the sun shined bright on the old New York home of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon. And Palace Malice added to the wattage, the light finally coming on for a colt held in high regard for months by his trainer, Todd Pletcher.

Sat, 06/08/2013 - 18:37

Calder: Black Diamond Cat upsets Ponche; Jackson Bend fifth

Coady Photography
Black Diamond Cat, with Luca Panici aboard, rewards his backers with a $29.20 payoff for winning the Ponche Handicap.

Black Diamond Cat rallied for a 1 3/4-length win Saturday in the $75,000 Ponche Handicap at Calder Race Course, as Jackson Bend, the multiple Grade 1 winner making his first start since coming out of retirement, was fifth. The Ponche was one of four stakes on the card, all designed as preps for the Summit of Speed program that will be run at Calder on July 6. It is expected to produce starters for the Grade 2, $350,000 Smile Sprint Handicap.