INGLEWOOD, Calif. - No one hit the Pick Six on Tuesday, the opening-day of Hollywood Park's fall meeting, so there is a carryover of $90,654.45 for the next day of racing here, Thursday. Wednesday is a dark day.
The Pick Six on Thursday encompasses races three through eight. Most of the fields are small, and several have short-priced favorites who look difficult to oppose.
Here is a brief review of those Thursday races:
MIAMI - A battle of unbeatens is always a special event, whether the arena is a football field, basketball court, boxing ring - or the racetrack. On Saturday at Calder, the much-anticipated meeting between undefeated 2-year-olds Sir Oscar and Wynn Dot Comma will finally take place.
Sir Oscar and Wynn Dot Comma will put their unblemished records on the line in the $150,000 Jack Price Stakes. The seven-furlong dash is not the richest of the six stakes on the $1 million Florida Million Day program, but it is certainly the most intriguing.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It hasn't been for lack of trying that Beauty on Duty hasn't run since winning her maiden by 9 1/4 lengths on Aug. 1 at Saratoga.
"Her nickname around the barn is MTO," said trainer James Bond, meaning that he has entered Beauty on Duty in several turf races as a main-track-only runner. "We had her in a bunch of spots, but we just couldn't get her in."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When Salty Farma competes in Thursday's featured ninth race at Churchill Downs, no changes of equipment will be noted. Salty Farma, having worn blinkers in her last 14 races, will wear blinkers again in the one-mile turf race.
Those who take a closer look will notice something different, however. She will be equipped with a different set of blinkers, with a larger cup over her right eye.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Neil Drysdale was concerned early Tuesday morning that a crucial race for Sarafan on Thursday would not fill, so he decided to help his cause by entering a second horse. Some cajoling from Hollywood Park's racing office with other trainers paid off, too, and a five-horse field was cobbled together, much to Drysdale's relief.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The likely presence of strong favorites in Saturday's $100,000 Hollywood Prevue Stakes and Sunday's $100,000 Moccasin Stakes should result in small fields for both weekend stakes races for 2-year-olds at Hollywood Park.
Lion Heart, an impressive debut winner last month at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting for trainer Patrick Biancone, heads the probable field for the Hollywood Prevue, a seven-furlong race for 2-year-olds that serves as a prep for the $200,000 Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 20.
ALBANY, Calif. - Northern California horses ran one-three in Saturday's Cal Cup Sprint, and the trainers of those horses, Jeff Bonde and William E. Morey, were naturally pleased with their efforts.
The Bonde-trained Green Team won the race, running his fourth straight triple-digit Beyer since being claimed for $32,000 at the Solano County Fair. He finished two lengths in front of Summer Service, who was a half-length in front of the Morey-trained Trapper. The time for the six furlongs was 1:07.98.
"He came with his best race at the right time," said Bonde.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The 2004 California Cup at Santa Anita will be moved to mid-October in an effort to boost customer interest in the day, according to a top official.
Ontrack attendance at Saturday's 14th running of the California Cup, a day for California-bred horses, was 18,029, an all-time low. The overall handle of $16,074,662 was the fifth highest in history, but a substantial drop from $19,834,206 in 2002.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Martin Ciresa has purchased Presidentialaffair twice. On Tuesday, he was rewarded for his persistence.
Under Richard Migliore, Presidentialaffair took control soon after the start and held on for a neck victory over Thunder Blitz in the Grade 3, $110,300 Stuyvesant Handicap before a Veterans Day crowd of 4,398 at Aqueduct. Gander, who stalked Presidentialaffair for more than six furlongs, faded to third. Saarland, the 6-5 favorite, finished sixth of eight.
Betting at Delaware Park on its live racing and simulcast races declined 3.8 percent this year from last year, according to figures released by the track Tuesday.
Average daily handle on live and simulcast races was $1.9 million during this year's 141-day meet, compared with $2.0 million last year during a 141-day meet. Total handle declined to $272.1 million from $282.7 million. A spokesman for Delaware said the track does not separate live handle from simulcast handle.
