Almost two months after his last start, Candy Boy was pronounced ready for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 5 after a quick six-furlong workout in 1:11.80 at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Twenty-four hours before he was scheduled to board a van headed for Aqueduct, Social Inclusion worked a half-mile in 46.90 seconds Saturday morning at cloudy, muggy Gulfstream Park.
Toast of New York, whose previous claim to fame was a romping $6,400 allowance-race win Nov. 1 over the synthetic surface at Wolverhampton in England, crushed 11 rivals in the UAE Derby on Saturday night in Dubai, winning by 2 1/2 lengths over Asmar.
The mutuel field is holding sway as the favorite after two days of wagering into fourth and final pool in the 2014 Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
While the list of outsiders for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby continues to grow, trainer Bob Baffert said Friday he is uncertain which of his Triple Crown hopefuls will run in California's richest race for 3-year-olds.
The mutuel field occupied its customary spot as the favorite after the first full day of betting into the fourth and final pool in the 2014 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which began a three-day run Thursday at noon Eastern.
The mutuel field occupied its customary spot as the favorite after the opening hours of betting into the fourth and final pool in the 2014 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which began a three-day run Thursday at noon Eastern.
Intense Holiday and Albano, separated by a nose at the end of last month’s Risen Star Stakes, renew their battle for New Orleans on Saturday at the Fair Grounds in the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby.
It can be argued that the form of last month’s Risen Star got a boost when fourth-place finisher Hoppertunity came back to win the Rebel, a point to consider since the first three finishers in the Risen Star are all back in this event. But I’m not buying that just yet.
There isn’t much marathon racing for horses in the United States any more, but there are more and more marathon days of racing, with two of the richest and longest on Saturday: A 14-race card at Gulfstream, beginning at noon Eastern and ending with the Florida Derby at 6:48 p.m., and a 13-race card at Fair Grounds that starts at 12:30 p.m. Central and features the Louisiana Derby at 6:10 p.m.
