The snowbirds are returning to Florida in full force for the winter, including horsemen from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Canada who flooded the entry box for Saturday's card at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar.
Kingsport ($12.60) held off a charging Born in a Breeze to take the $125,000 Sir Barton Stakes on Wednesday night at Woodbine.
Favorite Tale came into Wednesday night’s $200,000 Fabulous Strike Handicap at Penn National as the horse to beat and turned in a solid performance to take down the win.
Mobile Bay edged Pain and Misery by a nose to win the $200,000 Zia Park Derby on Wednesday. The race was one of eight stakes on the program. The richest event on the third annual Land of Enchantment card was the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks, won by Lavender Chrissie.
Lavender Chrissie became a stakes winner on Wednesday, darting to a three-length win over 4-5 favorite Calamity Kate in the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks. The race was the centerpiece of a program of eight stakes worth a cumulative $1.2 million. The program was the most significant of the meet at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M.
Woodbine will operate a 133-day Thoroughbred meet in 2016, pending approval from the Ontario Racing Commission.
Derick Giwner's analysis of the Saturday 11/28 card at The Meadowlands.
Matt Rose's analysis of the Saturday 11/28 card at Yonkers Raceway.
Jeremey Day's analysis of the Saturday 11/28 card at Balmoral Park.
While it is great for owners and horsemen that harness racing purses are supplemented by casino revenue, the ultimate survival for the sport needs to be based on handle. When the No. 1 pari-mutuel handle track in the industry (Meadowlands) is losing money, clearly there is a problem.
