The Frank De Francis Memorial Dash, which was once of Maryland’s most prestigious stakes races, has been upgraded to a Grade 3 stakes, the owners of Laurel Park announced Thursday.
Since coming to the East Coast earlier this year, Room for Me is 4 for 4 when not competing in graded stakes and 0 for 4 in graded events. David Jacobson, owner and trainer of Room for Me, wouldn't mind seeing that trend continue in Saturday's ungraded $100,000 Garland of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct.
Trouble Kid was one of the most outstanding claims of 2015 and on Saturday he will return to his roots to lead the $110,000 Rapid Transit on the Claiming Crown card at Gulfstream Park.
Assuming it stays on grass, the Claiming Crown Emerald at Gulfstream Park is a real beauty. Horses convening from a variety of circuits make it a handicapper's delight, with nothing stronger than lukewarm favorites amid the 14-horse limit.
The Stronach Group, which owns a number of racetracks in the United States including Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park, filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that a fantasy horse racing site is in violation of federal law because its business is “indisputably a form of wagering on the results of horse races,” according to the suit.
For horseplayers, winter in south Florida officially begins Saturday with the opening of the 2015-16 Gulfstream Park championship meet. The 90-day session runs through April 3.
Trainer Rudy Rodriguez may not have claimed the New York- bred Royal Posse or stakes winner Mr. Palmer with the Claiming Crown specifically in mind. But in their present form, both figure to be major contenders when facing a dozen rivals in Saturday's $200,000 Claiming Crown Jewel, the marquee event on the 11-race opening day program of the 2015-16 Gulfstream Park Championship Meet.
In Saturday's Claiming Crown Rapid Transit at Gulfstream Park, I'm going with Ledokol, who has some performances that make him a legitimate win threat.
A California policy prohibiting inexperienced apprentice jockeys from riding 2-year-olds will prevent Rosie Higgins – wife of Kent Desormeaux – from riding in what would have been her first race on Saturday.
With her accomplished race record, Patriotic Diamond has risen to the fore of the California-bred 2-year-old filly division. She has yet to attempt what trainer Patrick Biancone believes will be her strength – racing at a mile or farther. Patriotic Diamond will start at a mile for the first time Saturday in the $100,000 Soviet Problem Stakes for California-bred 2-year-old fillies at Los Alamitos. By the Sunday Silence stallion Hat Trick, Patriotic Diamond will be favored in a field of eight.
