SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Overshadowed by the euphoria of Classic Causeway’s upset victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on July 9, was the disappointing ninth-place finish in the same race of stablemate Tiz the Bomb, who was beaten 13 1/2 lengths as the 5-1 third choice in the 12-horse field.

Much was expected from Tiz the Bomb since he was previously a stakes winner on turf and finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last November at Del Mar.

Ken McPeek, the trainer of Tiz the Bomb, said that the horse did not ship well from Kentucky to New York.

This weekend, New Mexico-based trainer Todd Fincher can be found in several places, such as airports throughout the Southwest, the paddock at Del Mar and Ruidoso Downs, and driving the highways leading to and from Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico.

Fincher’s racing week began in the best place possible, the winner’s circle at Del Mar on Thursday after an impressive win by Slammed in an allowance race for fillies and mares.

By Sheri Riddoch

Plate Trial Stakes
Winner: Sir for Sure
Trainer: Mark Casse
Jockey: Declan Carroll
Owner: Heste Sport Inc
Beyer Speed Figure: 83

SARATOA SPRINGS, N.Y. – An emotional George Weaver reported Thursday that his wife, Cindy Hutter, has started to show some progress in her long battle to recover from a significant brain injury suffered in a riding mishap on the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga on July 3.

Hutter is currently recuperating at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, where she was transferred from Albany Medical Center a little over a week ago.

The 28-day Belmont Park fall meet will be run at Aqueduct as the New York Racing Association embarks on a multi-phased renovation of Belmont Park. The meet runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 30.

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has added nine stakes to its schedule for the 2022-23 season opening in December, and the move expands the rich calendar to 45 stakes worth a record $13.7 million, the track announced Thursday.  

Oaklawn opens for a 68-date on Dec. 9 and will race through May 6. 

Churchill Downs Inc. had net income of $339.3 million in the second quarter of 2022, a record, though those results reflected an estimated net gain of $193.6 million on the sale of 115 acres of land on its Calder property in Miami, according to financial statements released on Wednesday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, unraced since finishing sixth in the June 11 Belmont Stakes, will ship within the next few days to Churchill, where he will be sent through two works before moving to Saratoga for his next start in the Aug. 27 Travers.

Rich Strike had a five-furlong breeze in 1:03 Tuesday at the Mercury training center on the outskirts of Lexington, Ky.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It appears the precious commodity of time will enable Churchill Downs to host its first Arlington Million Day as planned.

All systems are go for Aug. 13, when four of six stakes on an 11-race Churchill card will be run over the turf course, which has had sufficient time to stablize after going unused since June 10. Nominations were released Tuesday for those stakes, led by the Grade 1 Arlington Million and Grade 1 Beverly D.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – For all the winning that trainer Steve Asmussen has done – he has compiled a record 9,846 wins and counting through Tuesday – there are some losses that stick with the Hall of Fame trainer.

The defeats Epicenter suffered in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness earlier this year are two of them.

“I’ll never get over them,” Asmussen said here earlier this week. “Never. Never. Never. I’m not over Curlin’s Derby, I’m not over Creator’s Derby. Why would I be over Epicenter’s Derby?”