Who owns the racing game? The answer to that question should be the deciding factor when it comes to who makes the critical decisions on how the sport is managed – and that includes whether the sport should seek federal help to set up a national test lab and establish federal guidelines for all states that conduct Thoroughbred racing if those states want their tracks to be able to simulcast races across state lines.
While Well Said made a name for himself on the track by winning over $2.5 million during his two years of racing, he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire as a sire. That could be about to change if Control The Moment, the probable favorite in Saturday’s C$685,000 Metro Final for 2-year-olds at Mohawk, has his usual way with the field.
JK Endofanera will be looking for his third consecutive win when he faces nine rivals in Saturday’s C$685,000 Canadian Pacing Derby at Mohawk Racetrack.
Constitution, a multiple Grade 1 winner on dirt who has been away from the races since February, will make his return on Monday in the Grade 2, $250,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap on turf at Saratoga.
Trainer Kim Hammond saddles Limerick Lady (#1, ML 7-2) in Wednesday's ninth race at Indiana Grand, a five-furlong optional claimer on turf. Since Jan. 1, 2014, Hammond is winning at a 33 percent clip when saddling a horse switching from route to sprint, for a return on investment of $10.00. Check out the Positive ROI report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
Bootleggers Wife will be a short price when she runs in the $50,000 Bird of Pay Stakes at Northlands Park on Friday night. Not only is Bootleggers Wife a standout in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies, there are only four horses in the field.
Line of Best Fit’s tactical speed is one of her most effective weapons, and she could dominate the front-end proceedings in Friday’s Woodbine headliner, a second-level optional claimer for fillies and mares.
Goldies Nugget (#3, ML 5-2) returns in Wednesday's fifth race at Presque Isle Downs, a one-mile allowance on the all-weather track. It will be his first start since finishing fourth by 1 1/2 lengths in a claiming race Aug. 17 at Presque Isle Downs. The first-, second-, and third-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts. Get the Key Race report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
Hall of Fame driver Steve Condren said winning his first Metro Pace Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack would be nice, especially at this stage of his career, but he counts being able to drive horses at all as a bonus after his 2011 battle with colon cancer.
The Saratoga meet has been a series of starts and stops for me. I started off slow, made a nice move to come back, and then was called out of town regarding a family matter. I returned home after a five-day layoff, and it took me about a week to get my rhythm back. Then I had to leave town again for business. This time upon my return, I did not find my mojo.
