Post positions were drawn for the 90th edition of the Hambletonian on Monday afternoon. Two eliminations along with a $1,000,000 final will be contested at the Meadowlands Racetrack on Saturday August 8, as part of a huge 16-race card.
The two Chicago-area Thoroughbred tracks have asked the Illinois Racing Board to approve 2016 live racing schedules that would further reduce the number of live racing dates on the struggling circuit.
Rajiv Maragh, who suffered serious back injuries when his mount Yourcreditisgood fell during the running of the fifth race on July 10 at Belmont Park, was fitted with a back brace after consulting with a specialist in New York on Monday.
Trainer Chad Brown entered five horses on Monday for Friday’s $200,000 National Museum Hall of Fame Stakes but remained undecided how many of that group will actually compete in the Grade 2 event for 3-year-olds on the grass.
Rock Fall, who won Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt by a nose over The Big Beast, will likely skip the Grade 1 Forego here on Aug. 29 and instead point to the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park on Sept. 26, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Some very good horses have failed in the Haskell Invitational only to turn back in distance and win the Grade 1 King’s Bishop. And none of them had to face a Triple Crown winner. Competitive Edge will likely look to add his name to a list that includes Hard Spun, Tale of the Cat, and More than Ready if he, as is expected, runs in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop at seven furlongs here on Aug. 29.
Stopchargingmaria chased, caught, and beat champion Untapable in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee, and they are headed for a rematch in the Grade 1, $750,000 Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Aug. 29.
Jill Jellison, who rode for 30 years, primarily on the New England circuit, died last week following a long battle with cancer. She was 51.
A couple of fillies who competed in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup, Stonetastic and Unbridled Forever, have chosen the same spot to finally get their 2015 campaigns under way: Wednesday’s $100,000 Shine Again Stakes at Saratoga. Stonetastic and Unbridled Forever top a field of 11 fillies and mares who’ll go seven furlongs in the Shine Again, which could serve, for some, as a prep for the Grade 1 Ballerina on Aug. 29.
Seven of the 10 expected entrants for the Whitney, which offers a fees-paid berth into the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, are Grade 1 winners, including last year’s Whitney winner Moreno, who could be sent off at double-digit odds in this year’s renewal.
