PORTLAND, Ore. - Houston Shuffle stayed undefeated and extended his winning streak to three in last Saturday's $16,740 Bill Wineberg Stakes for Oregon-bred 2-year-olds.
Under leading rider Juan Gutierrez, who rode with a neck injury incurred in a gate mishap earlier in the day, Houston Shuffle assumed a short lead at the start and held steady to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths over the fast-finishing Tom Won in 1:13.16 for six furlongs.
If life on the road has taken a toll on 2-year-old filly America America, it did not show last Saturday night. In her 16th start of the year, she turned in her most impressive effort when she beat male rivals in the $150,000 Sam Houston Texan Juvenile at Sam Houston Race Park.
A group of 10 new tracks are in the process of joining the Southern Racing Cooperative, the coalition of 17 tracks from middle America that on Tuesday remained locked in a simulcast rate conflict with Churchill Downs Simulcast Network.
Many of the new tracks are small, but when they are tied together with the existing membership, the cooperative accounts for close to $1 billion a year in handle, according to a release issued by the group. The new tracks will not be named until an application period of about two weeks is complete.
Miesque's Son, a former Three Chimneys stallion who stood the 2003 breeding season at Lakeview Farm in California, has been sold to Societe d'Exploitation des Haras to stand at stud in France, according to syndicate manager Robert Clay. Miesque's Son, an 11-year-old son of Mr. Prospector out of Miesque, is the sire of six stakes winners, three of them group winners.
Imperial Dancer came from last to first to take the Group 1, $341,000 Premio Roma at the Capannelle on Sunday by three lengths from local favorite Altieri. Ridden by Ted Durcan for trainer Mick Channon, Imperial Dancer, a British-bred son of Primo Dominie, covered 1 1/4 miles on very soft turf in 2:01.60. . . . Canterbury Park Holding Corp., owners of a racetrack and card club in Shakopee, Minn., reported earned net income of $575,547 on revenues of $14,981,550 for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2003.
Old dog Dickinson learns new tricks
LAUREL, Md. - The mad genius struck again.
Trainer Michael Dickinson, who won the 1998 Breeders' Cup Mile with Da Hoss, who had made one start in two years, did that feat one better Saturday, winning the Grade 1, $300,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park with A Huevo, who had just two starts in four years prior to Saturday.
With no resolution to a simulcast rate dispute, the Churchill Downs Simulcast Network signals were withheld from the 17 tracks that make up the Southern Racing Cooperative for the third straight day on Saturday.
Despite the standoff, negotiations continued Saturday evening and seem to be progressing, according to officials from both Churchill and the cooperative.
Paul Patton, the Democratic governor of Kentucky whose eight-year tenure will end Dec. 9 when Ernie Fletcher, a Republican, takes office, has reappointed eight serving members of the Kentucky Racing Commission on Friday. The appointments could, however, be erased when the new administration takes over.
The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which represents state trainers and owners, has voted to try to stop the Maryland Jockey Club from simulcasting out-of-state races.
MTHA directors took the 11-1 vote Wednesday night and informed the MJC about it Thursday in a letter. The cessation in simulcasting would begin Nov. 30, the day after the MJC plans to close the Pimlico stables for the winter.
NEW YORK - The Eclipse Award voting is being changed this year, eliminating the three-bloc voting system and changing the way award finalists are determined.
The changes were approved by the Eclipse Awards steering committee during a conference call on Monday. Members of the steering committee include representatives from the Daily Racing Form, the National Thoroughbred Racing Associations, and the National Turf Writers Association.
