ARCADIA, Calif. - Sweet Return's luck may have run out when post positions were drawn for Saturday's $350,000 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita.
The winner of the Hollywood Derby and San Marcos Stakes in recent months, drew the outside post in the 14-horse field in the Kilroe, which is run on turf. Trainer Ron McAnally said winning from there will be difficult.
"It's a bad post," McAnally said.
Other top contenders also have flaws in their game plans, making the Kilroe a wide-open race.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The three winning tickets worth $1,567,984 each from Santa Anita's pick six on Wednesday were cashed on Thursday and ranged in cost from $64 to $2,160.
The $64 ticket was purchased through the New York OTB network. A winning $288 ticket was purchased at Viejas Casino in Alpine, Calif., near San Diego. It was cashed on Thursday afternoon by a nine-person partnership, according to Santa Anita officials.
The $2,160 ticket was cashed Thursday at Churhill Downs Trackside in Louisville, Ky., Santa Anita officials said.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - With Evening Attire and Snake Mountain not running, and Rogue Agent injured, Saturday's $75,000-added Stymie Handicap at Aqueduct has come up light.
, a winner of his last two starts over the inner track, is the 118-pound highweight and likely favorite. Eight were entered in the 1 1/8-mile Stymie, the final stakes at the inner-track meet.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Patrick Biancone's top Kentucky Derby prospect, the undefeated Lion Heart, is generating a lot of buzz as he prepares for his 2004 debut in Saturday's San Rafael at Santa Anita. Pomeroy, another talented but less-hyped 3-year-old in Biancone's barn, is also getting ready to return to the races.
From California on Thursday, Biancone said Pomeroy, who has not run since September, is likely to start in the Grade 3, $200,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 20.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Barclay Tagg has laid out a tentative spring/summer schedule that would take Funny Cide to the three tracks in which he made his mark as a 3-year-old.
Tagg said Funny Cide, winner of last year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness, was in good order after his third-place finish in Sunday's roughly run New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds and is being pointed to the Grade 3, $200,000 Excelsior Breeders' Cup Handicap at Aqueduct on April 3. A year ago, Funny Cide finished second behind Empire Maker in Aqueduct's Wood Memorial.
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Feb. 7 Ms. Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs was not just an opportunity to earn black type and the winner's share of a $10,000 purse; it was the only guaranteed prep for this Saturday's one-mile Mary Goldblatt Stakes for Oregon-breds.
SEATTLE - A bill seen by some as vital for the health of the Washington Thoroughbred industry passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 79-17 Wednesday.
The legislation would legalize account wagering in Washington, allowing Emerald Downs to negotiate with advance deposit wagering firms for source-market fees on bets originating in the state. It would also allow full-card simulcasting at the track's satellite sites and remove restrictions on the days per week and hours per day in which parimutuel wagering may be conducted.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - There was a decided lack of interest in Saturday's Bonnie Miss Stakes. Only five fillies were entered for the event - a surprising development considering that it has Grade 2 status, offers a lucrative $200,000 purse, and is the premier race for 3-year-old fillies at Gulfstream Park.
But the short field is certainly not a problem for trainers Allen Jerkens and Carl Nafzger, who will send out the two most likely winners, , in the 1 1/8-mile Bonnie Miss.