Woodbine Harness: Saturday 11/21 Analysis
Garnet Barnsdale's analysis of the Saturday 11/21 card at Woodbine Harness.
Garnet BarnsdaleNov 19, 2015
Garnet Barnsdale's analysis of the Saturday 11/21 card at Woodbine Harness.
Last year at this time trainer Ron Burke was sending out an arsenal in the TVG Final at The Meadowlands. His Sweet Lou defeated Foiled Again in the final at The Meadowlands in a race dominated by his large stable. This year’s $400,000 TVG Final on Saturday night is reduced in numbers to six with Burke only allowed two spots on the dance floor.
Jockeys Sebastian Saez and Sophie Doyle escaped serious injuries in a fifth race spill at Churchill Downs on Thursday that left Saez with a broken collarbone and Doyle with bruising and soreness, their agents said.
Jeremey Day's analysis of the Saturday 11/21 card at Balmoral Park.
Michael Anifantis has been named the new director of racing at Monmouth Park. He will replace longtime department head Mike Dempsey, who announced this week that he would be retiring at the end of the year.
Grade 3 winner Chitu will debut at stud during the 2016 breeding season at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., for an advertised fee of $3,000.
Departing is a major coup for the $250,000 Delta Mile. The earner of $1.7 million lends star power to the race, which is one of seven stakes supporting the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot on Saturday.
If horse racing would like to adorn its product with the French tricolor in solidarity and sympathy with a nation traumatized by terrorist attacks, look no further than Saturday's Red Carpet Handicap at Del Mar.
Purse and points. It's what the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot field is chasing on Saturday. The winner takes home $600,000, while the race's first four finishers pick up Kentucky Derby eligibility points on a scale of 10-4-2-1. Exaggerator invades from southern California for the offering at slots-rich Delta Downs in Vinton, La., while Sunny Ridge is in from New York.
Heitai has won 15 of his 32 career starts, and at five furlongs, there are few faster horses anywhere in the land, but his first start since July comes Saturday at Fair Grounds over three-quarters of a mile, and that sixth furlong, on many occasions, has been Heitai's undoing.