Trainer Bob Baffert wanted to get a strong workout into Triple Crown winner American Pharoah on Saturday at Del Mar, and he got what he desired, with a six-furlong drill officially timed in 1:11.40 that came on a morning when training was delayed owing to lightning strikes in the area.
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Quality Lane benefited from a fast pace to win the $49,000 Northlands Park Oaks at Northlands Park on Friday evening. She paid $11 as the third choice in the one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies that drew seven horses.
Lovely Maria came out of her fifth-place finish in the Delaware Oaks last week in good shape and is pointing to the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga, according to trainer Larry Jones.
A big recent winner at Los Alamitos could prove key for a late pick three on the Sunday card (races 7-9) that also incorporates a competitive Grade 2 San Clemente renewal and a contentious, full-fielded restricted claimer.
So much for the hope that rain would stay away through Saturday and leave the turf portion of the Indiana Derby card alone. Nope. Indiana Grand is getting pounded again Friday, the $100,000 Ta Wee Stakes late in the card had to be taken off turf, and I think it is highly doubtful that grass racing will be conducted Saturday.
The California Horse Racing Board moved closer to altering rules for disqualifications at its monthly meeting on Friday. The racing board introduced new terms for riding rules with the intent of clarifying incidents of interference and to give stewards the ability to penalize jockeys repeatedly cited for careless riding.
Trainer Graham Motion voiced concern Thursday about Tiger Ride’s wide draw in the $100,000 Ta Wee Stakes on Friday at Indiana Grand, but Mother Nature took care of that. Tiger Ride drew post 12, but heavy mid-card rain forced the Ta Wee from turf to dirt, which led to several scratches, moving Tiger Ride into post 8. Yet as dominant as the filly was in the Ta Wee, the starting gate from which she departed probably didn’t matter.
The Winners Foundation, which provides substance-abuse counseling for California racetrack and backstretch employees, is running low on funding, the California Horse Racing Board was told on Friday.
Handle on all horse races in California rose by 3 percent in the first half of 2015, to $1,553,197,536, according to figures released by the California Horse Racing Board on Friday.
