Churchill Downs on Wednesday released revised and enriched stakes schedules for the 2004 spring and fall meets.
Purses for the 45 stakes will total a record $9,375,000, up from the estimated $8,575,000 paid out last year. Churchill officials recently announced the track will no longer host the $100,000 Hard Scuffle Steeplechase, but the new schedules include five new races and five races with increased purses.
In a move that will enable Portland Meadows to balance its purse account, the track was allocated up to $183,000 - the amount purses were overpaid as of Jan. 1 - from the Oregon Racing Commission on Wednesday.
The money, to be granted when the Portland Meadows meet ends in April, will come from revenue the commission derives from interstate account-wagering hubs located in the state. This is the first year that the track will receive funding from that revenue.
ALBANY, Calif. - Saturday's $60,000-added Miss California Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Golden Gate Fields may be in trouble.
Only three nominees are confirmed starters for the six-furlong race, which is listed as an overnight stakes. If the race doesn't get enough entries, it could be canceled or postponed.
Little Foxy Baby, Smoke Break, and Uppity Kitty are the three confirmed horses.
Trainer John Sadler said he would look at Santa Anita's next condition book before making a decision on whether to enter the stakes-placed Nicole and Ben.
Sir Cherokee and Private Emblem, both winners of the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby, will face each other in Saturday night's $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston.
The 1 1/8-mile race drew eight horses, including turf specialist Freefourinternet, the 119-pound highweight, whose last win was on dirt in an optional claimer at Fair Grounds.
Kentucky-based rider Willie Martinez has left Turfway Park to ride at Oaklawn Park, which opens Jan. 23. He will be represented by agent Gene Short.
Mark Johnston, another Kentucky rider who was thought to be moving to Oaklawn, will stay at Turfway instead, said his agent, Charlie Woods.
Training races at Retama for both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses will begin on Feb. 6, according to Retama Park general manager Bob Pollock. Retama, which began operating as a training center in October, will remain open for training until live racing resumes in July.
About 600 horses are on the grounds, and officials said that number could soon grow to as many as 900. Retama attracts a large number of young horses, and many use the training races to prep for debuts at Lone Star Park, Sam Houston Race Park, Remington Park, and Manor Downs.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - When Sunland Park director of racing operations Paul Ryneveld turned in his notice in late December to take a similar job at Emerald Downs near his hometown of Seattle, Sunland general manager Harold Payne didn't have to look far to find his new right-hand man. Dustin Dix, who had worked as mutuels manager at Sunland since August 2002, had all the qualifications for the job, which entails overseeing the racing side of Sunland's business.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Aqueduct has canceled its Thursday racing card due to a forecast that calls for brutally cold temperatures and snow. As a makeup date, Aqueduct will run a live racing card on Wednesday, Jan. 21, a scheduled dark day.
A decision on Friday's card will be made early Friday morning. Temperatures are not expected to get out of the mid-teens on Friday and the windchills are expected to be near or below zero.
Aqueduct will conduct 10 races on Saturday including the Affectionately and Aqueduct handicaps. Both races are Grade 3 events worth $100,000.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Rare is the two-time Grade 2 winner still eligible for a third-level allowance condition. So after entries were drawn for the Thursday program at Gulfstream Park, rival trainers had to cringe when the name of Roar Emotion popped up in the feature race, a $38,000 allowance for fillies and mares that have never won three races "other than."