Queen’s Plate highlights stakes slate
The 156th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate headlines the 2015 stakes schedule at Woodbine Racetrack, which comprises 102 races worth more than $20 million.
Alex CampbellFeb 25, 2015
The 156th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate headlines the 2015 stakes schedule at Woodbine Racetrack, which comprises 102 races worth more than $20 million.
Jerry Lambert, best known for riding Hall of Famer Native Diver in the 1960s and for winning a celebrated match race aboard Convenience against Typecast in 1972, was found dead Monday at Magali Farms in Santa Ynez, Calif., where he had been working, according to a release put out Tuesday by Santa Anita. Lambert was 74.
For The Great War, the road to the Kentucky Derby requires snow tires. Rather than decamp to South Florida for his Derby preps, The Great War was purposely kept in the cold climes of Kentucky, where trainer Wesley Ward keeps 20 of his runners during the winter.
Amulay, beaten three straight times at odds of 2-1 or less, will try to make amends Friday when she heads a field of seven entered in the $69,000 feature going one mile at Aqueduct.
Verraco will start in a first-level optional $80,000 claimer for 3-year-olds on dirt at Santa Anita on Friday after an impromptu election among owner Deron Pearson, trainer Jim Cassidy, and jockey Elvis Trujillo.
While the annual United States Harness Writers Dan Patch Award Banquet on Sunday was hardly chock-full of surprises, attendees got to see something that many bettors, fans and hands-off owners rarely get to witness—those behind the scenes taking care of the horses or driving are indeed people! They love the sport and are passionate about what they do.
A racing career could hardly begin more auspiciously than Khozan’s, but both the colt and his trainer, Todd Pletcher, are about to confront a hard reality. “History is against him,” Pletcher acknowledged, “but maybe he can be the one to overcome it.”
Itsaknockout, still unbeaten after being placed first via disqualification in the Fountain of Youth last Saturday, is the lone newcomer to this week’s Derby Watch top 20.
One of the more puzzling results of the nearly 3-month-old championship meet at Gulfstream Park came in a Feb. 5 allowance when Wind Racer ran second at 1-10 odds in a five-horse field.
Derick Giwner's analysis of the Thursday 2/26 card at The Meadowlands.