INGLEWOOD, Calif. - You've got to love a 93-year-old guy who will tell anyone who walks by the exact day and date he will be 94, and does it without a flicker of a doubt.
"That was an early birthday present," said Sam Longo after watching Lazy Slusan win the Milady Handicap on Sunday at Hollywood Park. "I'll be 94 on July 29."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - With apologies to Thomas Wolfe, you can go home again. Or at least you can drop by for a visit and leave with a souvenir.
If the face attached to the trainer of Frankly My Dear looks familiar, it should. Mike Stidham spent his formative years in Southern California, trying to make a name for himself in a climate that was mostly inhospitable to anyone not named Whittingham, Barrera, Frankel, or McAnally. Stidham was in his early 20's at the time.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Does he have another classic surprise in store?
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who trained four of the last seven winners of the Belmont Stakes, startled everyone last spring by capturing the final leg of the Triple Crown with the 18-1 Commendable. Lukas caught many unaware in 1996, when Editor's Note won the Belmont, and though Tabasco Cat won the Preakness in 1994, expert opinion was fairly unanimous that he would not stay the Belmont trip of a mile and a half. But Tabasco Cat was clearly best that afternoon, in defeating Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin among others.
Horseplayers around the country who are serious enough about the game to be reading this newspaper have many reasons to be looking forward to Saturday's races at Belmont Park. There's the rubber match between Point Given and Monarchos in the Belmont Stakes, an undercard full of other big-name horses in significant stakes races, a $250,000-guaranteed pick four, and a $1 million-guaranteed pick six.
ELMONT, N.Y. - In an era of specialization, Chris Clement appears to have carved out a successful niche for himself on the grass.
He trains for a number of European owners who enjoy racing a few horses in the United States. In Europe, the main thrust in racing is the classics. If a horse is a classic winner or classic-placed, he or she can be retired almost immediately and bred. Opportunities in racing are limited for older horses who are not classic winners.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Pat Day was still one winner shy of the 8,000 mark late Thursday morning when he was asked to sort through the 7,999 he already had on the books and come up with the one that meant the most.
There were plenty from which to choose. He could have gone way back to July 29, 1973, at Prescott Downs in northern Arizona and a horse called Forblunged. That was his first winner. The purse was $631.
It may seem hard to imagine that Maryland horseplayers could become even more cynical and distrustful than they are now, but the state's racing industry is about to take an action sure to enrage and alienate customers. At the urging of the racetracks' management, the Maryland Racing Commission has passed a rule permitting two or more horses with the same trainer in the same race to run as separate betting interests. The change will go into effect as soon as a legislative committee in Annapolis goes through the formality of approving it.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Time is running out for Harry Mangurian Jr.
North America's leading breeder the past two years and a prominent figure in the industry for more than three decades, Mangurian has yet to win an Eclipse Award, though his homebred horses continue to record accomplishments.
Mangurian's latest triumph came in the Grade 1 $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on Memorial Day, captured in dramatic fashion by the 56-1 Exciting Story.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Maybe I'm missing something. I was led to believe that horses who win lots of races are a good thing, deserving of praise and a degree of recognition. I was under the impression that such animals, given the right kind of attention, can be transformed into the superstars that horse racing so badly needs to tickle the national fancy.
Apparently, I have been misled. Otherwise, instead of moaning over the lack of a Triple Crown winner, everyone would be talking about Hallowed Dreams.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - This is supposed to be an exciting week for the top mares in Southern California. They are being prepared for the Milady Handicap on Sunday at Hollywood Park, a race that usually impacts the national consciousness. A Gleam beat Two Lea in the first one back in 1952. Things haven't slipped much since then.