CHICAGO - The key numbers in Hawthorne's featured fourth race on Wednesday are 3, 2, 1, and 48.60.
Three is the number of starts Bet on Joe has made at Hawthorne; two is the number of his wins; one is the number of his place finish there; and 48.60 is the time of Bet On Joe's workout Oct. 6, the fastest of 50 half-mile breezes at Hawthorne that morning.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Spectacular Moon, the longest shot in the field of nine juvenile fillies, charged down the center of Belmont Park's sloppy main track to beat Feline Story by a neck to win the Grade 2, $150,000 Astarita Stakes.
After breaking inward and bumping with Cosmic Wish, Spectacular Moon dropped back to eighth, about 13 lengths out. Spectacular Moon advanced into contention along the inside and was then tipped six wide for the stretch drive. She outkicked Feline Story in the final furlong to get up in time.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Summer Mis prevailed in the closest finish in the 23-year history of the Grade 3 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes, winning by a head in a four-horse photo at Keeneland.
Don't Countess Out saved second by a nose over late-running Born to Dance. Bauhauser, the 8-5 favorite in a field of 10 fillies and mares, was a neck back in fourth.
Summer Mis ($25.80), always close to a pace contested by Bauhauser and Don't Countess Out, finished in 1:09.77 for six furlongs over a fast track. Don't Countess Out, a 7-1 shot, completed a $206.80 exacta.
Southern Tour ($7.80) made her return to dirt a success in a three-quarter-length win over Coastalota in the $35,000 New Braunfels Stakes, at six furlongs for fillies and mares. It was another two lengths back in third to Discos Pearl.
One start earlier, in an allowance at Louisiana Downs, Southern Tour made a rare start on turf and finished sixth.
ANDERSON, Ind. - Ellens Lucky Star lived up to the role of odds-on favorite with a 4 1/2-length win against nine rivals in the $38,800 Merrillville Stakes for Indiana-bred fillies and mares on Saturday night.
Ellens Lucky Star, 4, has made a strong return to the races. She started once as a 2-year-old and did not race in 2002. This year, she is 3-1-3 in seven starts.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - British Columbia Derby winner Roscoe Pito led all the way over a sloppy track to win the Grade 3, $127,190 Premier's over older horses.
The 4-5 favorite, Roscoe Pito broke sharply and quickly opened up a two-length advantage while being stalked by Futural. Roscoe Pito held off 33-1 longshot Blowin in the Wind, whose late move came up a head short. Futural finished another half-length back.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Decarchy, the winner of the Grade 2 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in 2002, has been bought by Dennis Narlinger and Rich and Gaby Sulpizio as a stallion prospect, and will be pre-entered for the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.
Decarchy finished fourth in the Grade 2 Kelso Breeders' Cup Handicap at Belmont Park on Oct. 4. He was second in the Grade 1 Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar in late July.
ARCADIA, Calif. - After finishing behind Breeders' Cup hopefuls Tates Creek and Musical Chimes in the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Stakes on Sept. 28, Red Rioja has an easier task in Wednesday's second race at Santa Anita. She faces four opponents in a $65,000 optional claimer over a mile on turf.
"It's still not easy to win a race around here," said her trainer, Ben Cecil.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Picking winners must have been a particularly tough chore at Keeneland last week, at least as the afternoons wore on. The pick six jackpot was barren last Wednesday, but after five straight days of going unhit, the carryover following the Sunday card had crept up to $90,030, a fair amount for a track that typically attracts minimal action on the pick six.