Hovdey: Proctor goes acoustic at Fair Hill
Tom Proctor, the latest trainer to hang his shingle at the idyllic Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, had one serious concern. “I was afraid it might be too quiet,” Proctor said.
Jay HovdeyApr 03, 2015
Tom Proctor, the latest trainer to hang his shingle at the idyllic Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, had one serious concern. “I was afraid it might be too quiet,” Proctor said.
Captain Serious returned from a 75-day layoff with a sharp 4 1/4-length victory in a New York-bred allowance Thursday at Aqueduct.
Brian Lynch did quite well last year shipping horses to New York from his Canadian base. From 20 starters, he won five races, including four stakes, and his horses finished in the money 55 percent of the time.
Keeneland bore the brunt of a heavy spring rainstorm Friday when turf races were forced to a sloppy main track and conditions were initially miserable for the opening of a 15-day spring meet.
Each week DRF Harness will bring you PA Harness Week. This 30-minute show highlights the best of Pennsylvania harness racing as well as what is happening on the national scene.
The $1 million Hambletonian and filly companion stake, the $500,000 Hambletonian Oaks, will be raced on Saturday afternoon, August 8, at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The 90th edition of the classic event will feature eliminations and the final on the same day.
Smart Strike’s death March 25 due to complications from laminitis brought an end to one of the most complete résumés a modern Thoroughbred has known. A product of Canada’s most prominent modern family, Smart Strike lived up to expectations on the racetrack, becoming a Grade 1 winner in the U.S. He then became a cornerstone member of a deep stallion roster at Lane’s End in Versailles, Ky., where he led the North American sire list twice by earnings and sent out high-level runners in every division laid before him. By the time his number was called, he had just about done it all.
It’s Santa Anita Derby Day, meaning more races than usual, and thus likely more options than usual. That said, a couple of maiden races start the day, the opener looking like a difficult maiden claimer and race 2 appearing to be dominated by heavy chalk NEVER ENDS, so you might have to wait a bit to find some price potential.
For more than five years, there has been no doubt that Galileo is the best sire in Europe and indeed the world. Dubai World Cup day, though, highlighted the stallion many consider the second best in Europe, Dubawi, who sired his second World Cup winner in Prince Bishop and was the only stallion to have two winners on the day.