Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

Santa Anita again is Mandella's world

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Richard Mandella hopes it doesn't take 10 years for the Breeders' Cup to return to Santa Anita.

In 1993, the last time the Breeders' Cup was held here, Mandella won two Breeders' Cup races and four overall on the card. Saturday, Mandella trumped that accomplishment by winning four of the eight Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita, capped by an upset victory by Pleasantly Perfect ($30.40) in the $4 million Classic.

"I think they just ought to move it here, myself," Mandella said.

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

Payoffs both big and small on day

ARCADIA, Calif. - It was almost impossible. It was too easy. From wagers such as the Breeders' Cup pick six and future wager, to head-to-head wagering that requires nothing more than one horse finishing ahead of another, Breeders' Cup 2003 offered something for everyone.

Horseplayers poured $4,489,454 into the Breeders' Cup pick six pool, and a series of upsets sliced things down to just one winning ticket. It returned $2,687,611.60. Five winners paid $18,663.80.

The winning payoffs were much shorter in head-to-head wagering.

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

Randaroo ends Castillo's drought

ELMONT, N.Y. - Randaroo emerged from a four-way scramble for the lead to set a pressured pace around the turn, opened up a clear lead in midstretch, and staved off a rally from 1-2 favorite Shine Again in Saturday's $150,000 First Flight Handicap at Belmont.

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

Keeneland: M B Sea stuns Tenpins

M B Sea ended the Keeneland fall meet on a surprising note by defeating heavily favored Tenpins by a length in the 45th running of the $163,800 Fayette Stakes.

Owned by Mike Bruder and trained by Dale Romans, M B Sea, a 4-year-old colt by 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Alphabet Soup, returned $71.40 as the longest shot in a field of seven older horses. Always in a good tracking position under Craig Perret, M B Sea finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.30 over a fast track.

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

Woodbine: Favorite prevails

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Winter Garden ($3.50) seized command in midstretch en route to a workmanlike victory in the $136,125 Ontario Fashion Handicap.

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

College Honor takes Bergen County

College Honor ($14) took command out of the gate and never looked back, winning the $40,000 Bergen County Stakes by a head at The Meadowlands on Friday night. Trained by Richard Vega and ridden by Nick Santagata, College Honor covered the five furlongs over a firm turf course in 56.47 seconds. Running Furiously completed the $86.20 exacta, and Impolite was third.

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

Gorham has strong duo

MUSKEGON, Mich. - Trainer Bob Gorham will have a powerful one-two punch when Great Lakes Downs ends its 2003 meeting Tuesday evening.

Rockem Sockem and Heza Mountain Man should be the favorites in the $34,888-added Michigan Futurity, which was split after 14 2-year-old Michigan-bred colts and geldings were entered.

All entrants will carry 122 pounds in the seven-furlong races, which will be the first two of the 11-race card.

Rockem Sockem had one of the best performances of the meet, winning his division of the Michigan Sire Stakes by 12 lengths.

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

Skymaster gives Parisi's stable a lift

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Paul Parisi has more on his mind than trying to win races.

Parisi, like many trainers based in New Jersey, thinks a lot about the winter that is rapidly approaching. He will head to Florida, but he doesn't have enough stalls there. Parisi needs 11 at Gulfstream Park, and he was allocated only four.

"Worrying about it really eats me up inside," Parisi said. "My stock fits down there. I've got horses ready to go down there and run."

Sat, 10/25/2003 - 00:00

'Send 'Em' looks tough

MUSKEGON, Mich. - Michigan Sire Stakes winner Send 'Em Pakin and Gold Ginny head their respective divisions in the $34,425-added Michigan Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Great Lakes Downs on Monday. The seven-furlong race was split after 15 fillies were entered, and will be run as the first and second races on the 10-race card.

One of two stakes winners in the second division, Send 'Em Pakin won the $74,550 Sire Stakes, her first career stakes, by 2 1/4 lengths. Tommy Molina will ride Send 'Em Pakin.

Fri, 10/24/2003 - 00:00

Amid change, one constant

Churchill Downs
A crane lifts an officials' box in place as part of major renovations that won't be complete until 2005.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Change abounds at Churchill Downs these days. The patchworked pattern of a 130-year-old frontside finally is yielding to modernity, and the ongoing construction has left the grounds in a state of transition that by 2005 will result in a spanking-new state-of-the-art facility.

Indeed, with the demolition that began hours after the track ended its spring meet July 6 already complete, the Churchill landscape is now dominated by the sights, sounds, and inconveniences of major reconstruction.