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The first dirt stakes of the season for California 3-year-old fillies always begins in predictable fashion, which bodes well for odds-on Explora in the $100,000 Santa Ynez Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita.
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Once a graded stakes contender, Call Me Fast seems to have found another way to shine late in his career. In his fourth start at Parx Racing for Jamie Ness, the 6-year-old gelding motored from well back to earn his second straight stakes victory in the $75,000 Kris Kringle on Wednesday.
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Flavien Prat came painfully close but ultimately fell just short of overtaking Irad Ortiz Jr. atop the earnings standings for North American-based jockeys in 2025.
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Greg Reinhart's analysis of the Friday 1/2 card at The Meadowlands.
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Kevin Plowcha's analysis of the Friday 1/2 card at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
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Sunland Park in New Mexico, which is under new ownership, opens a 55-date meet on Friday. The season runs through April 5.
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Express Kid, who picked up 10 points toward the Kentucky Derby with his win in the $300,000 Springboard Mile last month at Remington Park, will likely advance to another points race, according to trainer Wade Rarick.
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Sam Houston Race Park opens a 41-date meet Friday night with its Houston Racing Festival card right around the corner. The Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic and the $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup will again anchor the meet's richest day when the races are renewed Jan. 24.
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Lucille Ball won her career debut by 5 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct on Nov. 8, 2024 and hasn't been seen in the afternoon since. Friday, 14 months after that dazzling debut, Lucille Ball returns to the races in a first-level allowance race that serves as the feature on Friday's eight-race Aqueduct card.
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Theoretically, Friday's $86,000 allowance feature for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park is supposed to be a softer spot than the $175,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes carded here the following day. In reality, that might not be the case.
