Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is expected to return to his home in Louisville, Ky., over the weekend after spending time at a Bensalem, Pa., hospital, but he most likely will miss the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Lukas, 80, has been hospitalized since last Saturday night after experiencing a dangerous drop in heart rate. He was in the area to run horses in the Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion at Parx Racing.
Classy Class is scheduled to arrive from Maryland on Friday at Remington Park for a start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Wednesday.
The catalog for the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale is now available online, with 1,485 horses cataloged over four sessions.
A pair of invaders from Canada will meet a quartet of juveniles trained by Justin Evans in the $55,000 Manzano on Friday at the Downs at Albuquerque.
Trainers Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher will each send out a pair of juveniles in the Grade 3, $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes, a race that is a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Classic Point, away from the races since March when she won the Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes, returns in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap seeking her fourth consecutive victory.
Rock Fall looks to be a solid favorite in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Vosburgh Stakes at six furlongs. But trainer David Jacobson isn’t conceding anything to Rock Fall. Jacobson will send out Salutos Amigos and Stallwalkin’ Dude against Rock Fall in the Vosburgh.
Hot Stones, the dominant 9 1/4-length winner of the Saratoga Dew Stakes for New York-breds at Saratoga, will take on Grade 1 winners Wedding Toast and Curalina in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Stakes.
Saturday, Big Blue Kitten and Slumber will be in the starting gate for the fourth consecutive time when they face the surging Red Rifle, the consistent Twilight Eclipse and four others in the Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park.
For many of the elite grass runners preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31, this weekend is a time for workouts leading to their final prep races next week. But not all of the top prospects are staying in the barn during the afternoon.
