Wrona begins three-week stint as Santa Anita announcer
Michael Wrona will begin a three-week span as track announcer at Santa Anita on Thursday, replacing Frank Mirahmadi ,who will take Wrona’s place at Golden Gate Fields.
Steve AndersenJan 03, 2016
Michael Wrona will begin a three-week span as track announcer at Santa Anita on Thursday, replacing Frank Mirahmadi ,who will take Wrona’s place at Golden Gate Fields.
Flamboyant's win in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes will lead to a start in the $200,000 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on Feb. 6, trainer Paddy Gallagher said.
Sea of Erin turned in one of the more impressive efforts of the week here, rating in midpack before drawing off to win a $20,600 maiden special weight race by three lengths on the turf Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs. Ridden by leading jockey Antonio Gallardo, he paid $5.80 as the favorite in a field of nine and stopped the clock for 1 1/16 miles in 1:38.79.
Mongolian Saturday isn’t coming to Tampa Bay Downs after all, after the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner missed a scheduled workout Sunday due to body soreness, according to Santiago Aragon, assistant to trainer Enebish Ganbat.
The Maryland Jockey Club tracks of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course had all-sources handle of $404 million last year, an increase of 20 percent over the $338 million wagered in 2014, according to track officials. In-state handle on the MJC tracks was up 6 percent, increasing from $25.4 million to $27 million.
Richard Wheeler, a racing official at Southern California tracks for nearly 40 years, died Saturday after a recent illness, according to Santa Anita officials. He was 69.
Flexibility had proven himself one of the better prospects heading into the winter by virtue of consecutive runner-up finishes behind the well-regarded Mohaymen in the Nashua and Remsen stakes at Aqueduct. There was no one of Mohaymen’s quality in this race, leaving Flexibility the 1-2 favorite against seven rivals. He won easily, but not much was learned from this race as he was supposed to beat this bunch, and he’ll never get a better trip than he got this day.
A happy chord of nostalgia was struck Saturday night when Serene Melody ended her racing career with a perfect-trip victory in the $50,000 Wintergreen Stakes at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky.
Though La Verdad still is scheduled to be bred to Medaglia d’Oro in 2016, she is likely to race once or twice more before then.
African Rose surpassed $500,000 in career earnings Saturday at Sunland Park, where she closed for a 2 1/2-length win over Chanteline in the $65,000 Bold Ego Handicap for fillies and mares.