The Southern California Thoroughbred training roster recently lost two members with the retirement of Ray Bell and Eoin Harty’s decision to relocate to Kentucky on a full-time basis.
Bell, 71, had his final runner at Santa Anita in May and opted not to ship a small stable to Del Mar for the summer meeting. Harty, 62, had his final starter in California at the end of July. He is currently based at Turfway Park.
ELMONT, N.Y. - When Belmont Park reopens for racing in September 2026, the new building will not be a finished product, New York Racing Association officials said Wednesday, which will lead to limited patron access.
“It’s still going to be an active [construction] site,” NYRA president and CEO Dave O’Rourke said. “We’ll have the first two floors done. We’ll have to limit [access] to some extent. The real question right now is how much of the grounds [will be open] because we’ve got about 30 acres here so people will be able to watch the races.”
Richard Craigo, a leading equine tax attorney and a former regional president of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, died Oct. 6 at the age of 91, according to his friends.
Born in Hot Springs, Ark., in 1934, Craigo lived in Los Angeles for much of his life. As a tax attorney, he represented numerous clients in California racing, notably Bob and Beverly Lewis, Allen Paulson, Marty Wygod, Bill Shoemaker, and Charlie Whittingham, according to an obituary published by Santa Anita’s publicity department.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The recent training of the older sprinter Big City Lights is tempting trainer Richard Mandella into big ideas.
A winner of 7 of 13 starts, the 6-year-old Big City Lights is being prepared for a comeback likely to occur in the $100,000 The Chosen Vron Stakes for California-breds at seven furlongs on Nov. 8 at Del Mar.
However, the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar a week earlier has Mandella’s attention for Big City Lights’s first start since an easy win by 7 3/4 lengths in the California Cup Sprint for statebreds at Santa Anita in January.
ARCADIA, Calif. – A day after she worked a slow half-mile at Santa Anita, Om N Joy was confirmed for her first start outside of California in Saturday’s Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Keeneland.
Trainer Aggie Ordonez and the partnership that owns Om N Joy – Connie and Jerry Baker, Michael Golovko, and Terrence Scanlan – debated Sunday whether to skip the $400,000 Raven Run in favor of a start in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 1 at Del Mar but have opted for the trip to Kentucky.
Jockey Sahin Civaci, Canada’s 2024 Sovereign Award-winning rider, will begin riding in New York full-time beginning this week, according to Mike Sellitto, who will serve as his agent.
Civaci, currently third in the Woodbine standings with 89 wins, is named on one mount Friday and five on Saturday at Aqueduct.
Nutella Fella, the upset winner of the 2023 Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, is attempting another comeback.
Unraced since finishing fourth in the Grade 3 True North at Saratoga on June 7, Nutella Fella is being pointed to the Grade 3, $175,000 Bold Ruler Stakes at Aqueduct on Nov. 2. On Saturday at Saratoga, Nutella Fella worked a half-mile in 49.02 seconds over the Oklahoma training track, his fourth work since Sept. 20.
Trainer Gary Contessa said that Nutella Fella emerged from the True North with a foot abscess “that was deep embedded in his foot.”
Mo Plex, the Grade 3 Ohio Derby winner who finished seventh in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 20, is targeting either the $250,000 Empire Classic on Oct. 25 or the $200,000 Dwyer Stakes for 3-year-olds for his next start, trainer Jeremiah Englehart said Monday.
Englehart said the decision would come down to whichever he felt like was the “lighter race.”
The Empire Classic, run at 1 1/8 miles, is restricted to New York-breds but means facing older horses. The Dwyer, a one-turn mile, would give Mo Plex another chance to run in a race restricted to 3-year-olds.
Sunday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct has been canceled due to a forecasted nor’easter that was expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the New York City area, the New York Racing Association announced Saturday afternoon.
The National Weather Service has placed New York City under a wind advisory beginning at noon Sunday, with the forecast calling for sustained winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 mph. As much as a half-inch of rain also was in the forecast for Sunday, with more expected Sunday night into Monday.
