The connections of Major Fed considered running the Ghostzapper colt in the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby on Sunday before deciding instead to train him straight into the Kentucky Derby.
“We’re happy with where we are with him and comfortable with the points situation,” said Travis Foley, assistant to his father, Greg Foley. “Everything’s goo,d and we didn’t feel like we needed the race in between.”
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
A full field is expected Sunday for the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, one of the final chances for a 3-year-old to earn his way into the 146th Kentucky Derby.
Even with Art Collector as a heavy favorite, racing officials at Ellis in western Kentucky were expecting a capacity field of 12 for the 1 1/8-mile race. Entries were to be drawn Thursday.
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
DEL MAR, Calif. – The first graded stakes races of the season for California 2-year-olds will be run this week at Del Mar, but the highly anticipated debut of Beholder’s first foal has been postponed until fall.
Q B One, the Uncle Mo 2-year-old colt and first foal from four-time champion Beholder, has been taken out of racetrack training and will not debut this summer as originally planned.
Laurel Park in Maryland has accepted entries for its first 2-year-old race this year, a five-furlong maiden race on Friday’s card in which all the entrants will be prohibited from receiving the anti-bleeding medication Lasix within 48 hours of post time.
Laurel Park has not written a race for 2-year-olds since restarting its race meet in late May, due to a prior disagreement with the state’s horsemen over the Lasix prohibition. However, three weeks ago, Laurel and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association reached an agreement allowing the prohibition through 2023.
Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., canceled its Tuesday card because of heavy rain from Tropical Storm Isaias, the track announced Tuesday morning.
A tweet from the Colonial Downs account said Tuesday racing had been abandoned "due to heavy rains" on Monday night. The Tweet said the card was to be made up on Sunday, Aug. 9.
Colonial now has canceled two of its first five programs this year. The opening-night card of July 27 was canceled because of dangerously hot temperatures. That program was made up on Sunday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – You knew it could be a great day for the Coxes last Sunday when Greg Cox won the second race with Soexotic. Six races later, his wife, Gail, took the $104,200 Victoria Stakes for 2-year-olds with the favored Ready to Repeat, a speedy son of More Than Ready who could be going places.
Ready to Repeat came close to breaking the course record when graduating second time out July 12 on the inner turf. After starting a bit slowly in the Victoria on the Tapeta, he went to the lead and never looked back to win comfortably with a 74 Beyer Speed Figure.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Paris Lights, winner of the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks here July 18, will be out of training for 60 days due to filling in a hock, said Elliott Walden, president and CEO of WinStar Farm.
Paris Lights is officially owned by WinStar Stablemates, a fan initiative that started 10 years ago and has turned into a racing syndicate that leases horses from WinStar Farm.
Del Mar has added a day of racing on Monday, Aug. 31, as a makeup for a weekend of racing lost in July after a coronavirus outbreak among jockeys, the track announced on Monday. There was no racing from July 17-19 because of the outbreak.
Del Mar previously added a day of racing on Monday, July 27, but is otherwise racing on a Friday-through-Sunday basis at the summer meeting through Sept. 7. In recent summers, Del Mar has raced five days a week, from Wednesdays-through-Sundays, but reduced the schedule this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Jagermeister made his career debut in July 2017 at Canterbury Park and won a 2-year-old maiden race by 11 1/2 lengths, earning an 81 Beyer Speed Figure. Valorie Lund trained Mr. Jagermeister, a son of Atta Boy Roy, whom Lund got to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 2010.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – They share the same passion, work ethic, and dedication for their job. It’s what makes working together quite comfortable for Robin Smullen and her niece Heather, two main components behind the development and success of Tiz the Law, the leading 3-year-old colt in the country.
“She’s a mini-me,” Robin said of Heather. “She feels the same things I feel, sometimes she feels more than what I feel and I feel a lot when I’m on a horse.”
