Trainer John Kimmel got a jump on the holiday travelers as he was driving to south Florida Monday morning, but his focus will be on New York Wednesday afternoon when he sends out Singsong in a $57,000 first-level allowance for New York-bred juvenile fillies on the turf.
Calamity Kate has had the bulk of her success on the front end, and she seems poised to return to that style of racing as the probable favorite Wednesday in the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks.
Acceptance has developed enough on the racetrack to start in Saturday's $300,000 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar. The Grade 1 Hollywood Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles on turf and will be the graded stakes debut for Acceptance, the California-bred champion 2-year-old male of 2014.
Javier Castellano, the reigning Eclipse Award-winning rider, and Victor Espinoza, who piloted American Pharoah to the Triple Crown, are two of the five finalists for the 2016 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, it was announced Monday by Santa Anita.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Saturday allowing New York racetracks to conduct live racing and take simulcast bets on Palm Sunday, lifting an unusual 42-year-old ban. Palm Sunday is March 20 in 2016.
Frivolous would be a solid favorite in the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap, the traditional Thanksgiving Day feature at Churchill Downs. But she may instead try male rivals the following day in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap.
Matt Rose's analysis of the Tuesday Afternoon 11/24 card at Yonkers Raceway.
Heart to Heart has plenty to be thankful for in the Grade 3, $100,000 River City Handicap on Thursday at Churchill Downs, as the champion colt faces a field devoid of committed speed and is likely to have ideal conditions on a turf course he is unbeaten on.
The Thanksgiving weekend is the biggest weekend of the year at Golden Gate Fields fall meet. On Saturday, Code Warrior heads the Golden Gate Debutante. On Sunday, G. G. Ryder will try to complete a sweep of Golden Gate's three graded stakes races for older runners in the Berkeley Handicap.
It is imperative for the horsemen to work closely with racetrack management. In a sense such cooperation should be to the benefit of both parties.
