Gamely could be Santa Barbara rematch

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - For many years, the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares on turf was a Memorial Day fixture at Hollywood Park, sharing the role of feature race of the day with the Shoemaker Mile.

This year, the Shoemaker is the only stakes on Monday's 10-race program. The $250,000 Gamely will be run this Saturday, and will get the singular billing that it deserves.

Even though it may not have a large field, the Gamely, which is run over 1 1/8 miles, will feature a strong group of fillies and mares. Magical Fantasy and Black Mamba, the first two finishers of the Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita last month, are expected to face Bel Air Sizzle, Diamond Diva, Foxysox, Tuscan Evening, and Visit.

Bel Air Sizzle was second in the Grade 2 Santa Ana Handicap at Santa Anita earlier this year, while Diamond Diva won the Grade 2 CashCall Mile last July.

Foxysox, who worked five furlongs in 1:01.40 at Santa Anita on Saturday, was fifth in the Santa Barbara. She won the Grade 3 Tuzla Handicap earlier this year.

Tuscan Evening won an allowance race on turf earlier this month. Visit was third in the BC Filly and Mare Turf last October and is winless in four subsequent starts.

Black Mamba was beaten a nose by Magical Fantasy in the Santa Barbara, her seventh race without a win at Santa Anita. At Hollywood Park last year, Black Mamba won the Grade 2 Beverly Hills Handicap. Trainer John Sadler hopes the shift in venue will favor Black Mamba.

"I think this is a more of a closer's track than Santa Anita," he said. "She's won on this course."

The main race Sunday is the $150,000 Honeymoon Handicap for 3-year-old fillies over 1 1/8 miles on turf. The race is a major prep for the $700,000 American Oaks July 5.

Mrs Kipling, the winner of the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes here on May 3, is expected to be favored in the Honeymoon, the longest race of her career. Trained by Neil Drysdale, Mrs Kipling is owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

No simulcasting on selected weekdays

Hollywood Park will not conduct live racing again until Friday evening, and has eliminated full-card simulcasting on three upcoming weekdays, the track said in a statement released Friday.

Hollywood Park offered simulcast betting last Wednesday, the first of four weekdays in which live racing was canceled because of an insufficient number of horses on this circuit.

The track does not intend to offer full-card simulcasting betting this Thursday, a day in which live racing has been canceled, or on two additional Wednesdays - June 3 and 10 - which were also original live racing dates.

There will be no live racing in California on Thursday. Golden Gate Fields is not operating, nor is the Quarter Horse meeting at Los Alamitos.

Hollywood Park has not announced whether it will resume a five-day racing week, or stay with a four-day schedule, from June 17 through the conclusion of the spring-summer meeting on July 19.

Two $70,000 stakes for 2-year-olds over 5 1/2 furlongs that were scheduled for June 3 and 10 have been pushed back a day. The Proctor Stakes will be run on June 4, while the Cinderella Stakes for fillies is rescheduled for June 11.