Hammers Vision will go back to the grass off a solid showing in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Saturday at Woodbine in the Grade 2 Summer, a one-mile stakes for 2-year-olds that is a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In qualifier for the Juvenile Turf.
Bob Pandolfo's Sharp Horses and Track Trends for September 3 to 6, 2015.
Bill Mott doesn’t start a lot of horses at Indiana Grand, but when he does, he prefers to win. In July, Mott sent Tiz Shea D to win the $500,000 Indiana Derby, and on Wednesday, the Mott-trained Courtier bagged the $200,000 Centaur Stakes, a one-mile grass race for 3-year-olds. Courtier got a great trip under Joel Rosario and beat Granny’s Kitten by 1 1/4 lengths, with Quality Bird another nose back in third and Saham a head farther behind in fourth.
Garnet Barnsdale's analysis of the Friday 9/11 card at Mohawk Racetrack.
Brewster Smith's analysis of the Friday 9/11 card at Yonkers Raceway.
The final crop of the prematurely deceased world champion and sire Rocknroll Hanover will go under the hammer at the Lexington and Harrisburg sales in October and early November. That crop, despite numbering just 44 in total, features some spectacular individuals and pedigrees, and for the first time all have Pennsylvania eligibility.
Download DRF Plus handicapping reports for Thursday's races, including DRF Bets GamePlan, the Positive ROI Report, and Key Race Report.
Heading into Friday’s four Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championships for 2-year-olds at The Meadows, there are four horses that have managed to reach September of their initial year on the racetrack without tasting defeat. In an era where there is so much pressure put upon young horses from the moment the opening bell rings, it’s incredible for any horse let alone four to have reached this stage letter perfect. That said, the perfect quartet have their toughest tests in Friday’s $350,000 finals.
An adjunct to the Kentucky Legislature voted on Tuesday to find “deficient” a rule allowing racetracks to card races open only to horses that have not received a raceday administration of the anti-bleeding medication furosemide, placing the implementation of the rule in jeopardy.
Gross all-sources handle at the Ellis Park meet that ended Monday in western Kentucky was up 8 percent over 2014, increasing to about $33 million from $30.5 million, but daily average handle of about $1,064,500 was down nearly 2 percent because there were 31 racing dates this year compared with 28 last year.
