Castleton Lyons announced on Friday that Gio Ponti will stand the 2016 breeding season at the Lexington, Ky., farm for a fee of $12,500 and Justin Phillip will stand for $5,000.
Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Mass., will hold six days of live racing in the summer and early fall of next year under a plan approved by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday.
The midway point of the Churchill Downs fall meet could prove a key starting point for a come-backing turf standout named Sky Captain.
The matter of Pretty N Cool carrying her speed two turns is a worry for next month, at the next track. There will be no concerns when she changes surface again in the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, a seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar on Sunday.
American invader Cactus Kris nailed Endless Light on the wire to win the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion Stakes on Oct. 18 at Woodbine, and will be looking to double up in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Bessarabian Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares on Polytrack.
Trainer Brian Michael saddles Six Spot (#6, ML 10-1) in Friday's fourth race at Churchill Downs, a 1 1/8-mile claiming race on turf. Since Jan. 1, 2014, Michael is winning at a 26 percent clip in route races, for a return on investment of $3.98. Check out the Positive ROI report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
Beer: How I'd play Aqueduct for Saturday, Nov. 14
BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, November 14th by Bob Fierro and Jay Kilgore.
Chris Wittstruck, writing for the U.S. Trotting Association website, won the 2015 Stanley Bergstein Writing Award, which is sponsored and presented by Barry Irwin and Team Valor. The award was announced Thursday night at a ceremony at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky sales pavilion in Lexington.
On a night when Wiggle It Jiggleit was supposed to be the star attraction, Mission Brief stole the show in one of four Matron stakes for 3-year-olds at Dover Downs on Thursday night. The trotting filly sensation set a world record of 1:50 2/5 while winning by almost six lengths over nemesis Wild Honey.
