ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Eclipse Award voters found themselves in a quandary after Starine surfaced from relative obscurity last fall to win the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Arlington Park. Ultimately, voters gave the divisional championship to Golden Apples, whose victory in the Beverly D. was a crucial factor.
This year, with the filly-mare turf division again up for grabs, the Beverly D. could again be huge.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - For days, Arlington racing officials were expecting two horses from Christophe Clement and one from Bobby Frankel for the Beverly D.
But when entries were taken Wednesday morning, those numbers were flip-flopped. Clement entered only Dress to Thrill while leaving out Voodoo Dancer, and Frankel decided to enter both Heat Haze and Tates Creek.
In all, a field of eight was entered in the 14th running of the Grade 1, $700,000 Beverly D.
Voodoo Dancer most likely would have been the favorite.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Cuvee rebounded from a tough-trip third-place finish in the Bashford Manor with an overpowering 7 1/2-length victory in Wednesday's Grade 2, $150,000 Saratoga Special at sloppy Saratoga.
Breaking alertly under jockey Jerry Bailey, Cuvee outsprinted Pomeroy to a one-length lead after running an opening quarter-mile in 21.28 seconds. He maintained that advantage through a half-mile in 44.51 seconds and drew off with Bailey only waving the whip at him through the stretch. Pomeroy, the 8-5 favorite, finished second, 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Limehouse.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The last really good turf mare Harvey Vanier came up with was Wade for Me, whose win in the 2000 Modesty Handicap here earned her a start in the Grade 1 Beverly D.
The caliber of horses in the race proved too demanding for Wade for Me, who wound up seventh, and it was perhaps with that performance in mind that the Vanier barn passed on this year's Beverly D. with Beret, its talented turf mare this season. Instead, Beret finds a much cozier spot here Friday in the $75,000 Estrapade Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile grass race that drew a field of nine.
Jockey Tyler Baze on Wednesday said he expects to return to riding next week after suffering injuries to his left foot in a dramatic five-horse spill at Del Mar on Monday.
Jockeys Anthony Lovato and Jose Silva suffered similar back injuries in the accident. Lovato is expected to be out for a month, according to his agent, Tommy Ball. Silva, who does not have an agent, was not taking calls at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla at midday Wednesday.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Fleetstreet Dancer, who has been second in three stakes races in the last year, may make his next start in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 24, trainer Doug O'Neill said.
O'Neill said the participation of the 5-year-old Fleetstreet Dancer depends on the size of the field for the richest race of the meet. As of Wednesday, there were four probables for the Classic - Candy Ride, Kudos, Medaglia d'Oro, and Milwaukee Brew.
"If it's a short field and we can get part of the purse, we'll take a look at it," O'Neill said.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Baptize, the winner of five turf stakes in 2000 and 2001, makes his California debut and first start for a claiming price in a $68,000 optional claiming race at Del Mar on Friday.
Baptize, 5, has not started since finishing sixth in an allowance race at Keeneland in April, his only start of the year. Previously trained in the East by Bill Mott and James Bond, Baptize is now trained by Bobby Frankel and is owned by Gary and Mary West. He has won 7 of 17 starts and $534,196.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - The local horsemen's association and the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority reached a tentative agreement Wednesday afternoon covering the purse structure for the September dates at Monmouth Park.
Under the agreement worked out between Bruce Garland, senior vice president of the sports authority, and Dennis Drazin, the horsemen's legal council, Monmouth would race five days a week in September for $250,000 per day.
Monmouth had guaranteed purses of $300,000 a day for the traditional core meet, from the weekends of Memorial Day to Labor Day.
