OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Richard Dutrow Jr. dominated the inner-track meet by saddling 47 winners, including a recent stretch of eight straight days with at least one stakes or allowance win.
The spring meet may not be "all Dutrow all the time," but the 44-year-old trainer did win Aqueduct's spring meet title in 2001 and 2002. And judging from his entrants on Day 2 of this 38-day session, Dutrow-trained runners are still a major force to be reckoned with.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The field for Saturday's $1 million Florida Derby, which had been stuck at six after Master David's defection on Friday, could grow to as many as eight or nine by the time entries for the race are drawn at Gulfstream Park on Wednesday morning.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The pick six carryover of $219,649 for Wednesday's eight-race card at Santa Anita may not be as juicy as the $1.4 million carryover last week, but it offers bettors an enticing prize.
It is not an easy card to conquer, and pick six players are likely to spread their selections in several races.
The pick six covers the third through eighth races and consists of three turf races, two seven-furlong sprints, and the customary maiden claimer for sprinters in the last.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Southern Image will be pointed for the $750,000 Met Mile at Belmont Park on May 31 after his record-setting win in Saturday's $1 million Santa Anita Handicap.
"That's the inkling right now, and we'll see how he is in a few weeks," Machowsky said. "We'll pull the shoes off. He runs well fresh. He's proven that."
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - After a few weeks of above-normal temperatures and dry weather in New York, Mother Nature showed that she wasn't ready to lose her grip on winter. Monday, a slushy mix of rain and snow was falling at Aqueduct, but the poor weather wasn't expected to delay the opening of the main track on Wednesday.
Aqueduct's 38-day spring meet will get under way with a nine-race card, featuring a second-level allowance race for older New York-bred males going a mile. There is a pick-six carryover of $38,956.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Florida Derby week begins with a Jim Dandy of a feature Wednesday at Gulfstream Park.
, last year's Jim Dandy winner, makes his seasonal debut in a $46,000 classified allowance race at six furlongs. He will face seven rivals, including David's Expectation, the only horse offered for the optional claiming tag of $125,000.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Nevada Miss has post, pedigree, and preparation in her favor Wednesday in the featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park. But will she have pace?
"The worry is somebody shaking loose at a flat mile and controlling everything," said Lynn Whiting, who trains the late-running Nevada Miss.
Mae Hap is a serious candidate to do just that in the entry-level allowance for fillies and mares. But, a couple of starters in the one-mile race will be stretching out around two turns, and they could help make for some honest fractions for Nevada Miss.
ALBANY, Calif. - The two premier races of the Golden Gate Fields season are coming up, with the $200,000 Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby on Saturday and $125,000 Golden Gate Breeders' Cup Handicap on Sunday.
Although it was pushed back a week and will be run the same weekend as the San Felipe, a Grade 3, $250,000 race at Santa Anita, the El Camino will have a strong field and an interesting mix of local stars and shippers.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Edgar Prado received word Monday morning that he had officially picked up the mount aboard Tapit in Saturday's $1 million Florida Derby. He celebrated by winning three races that afternoon to move within six of his 5,000th career victory.
Prado was originally scheduled to ride Master David for trainer Bobby Frankel in the Florida Derby. He became available when Master David came down with a temperature and was declared from the race last Friday.