State of Play won a photo over Ill Conceived after the pair hooked up leaving the half-mile pole Saturday in an exciting renewal of the $75,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park
Regardless of one’s expectations, Hansen’s three-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct proved that reports of the demise of last year’s 2-year-old champion colt were a bit premature.
Trainer Mike Harrington said he is considering starting Creative Cause, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs last fall, along with Empire Maker in next Saturday's San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita.
Battle Hardened, who broke his maiden in the Grade 3 Risen Star Stakes, will take his next big step on the Kentucky Derby trail next Saturday when he returns to Tampa Bay Downs for the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby.
Union Rags was challenging the mutuel field for favoritism as betting closed Friday in the first of three days of wagering into Pool 2 of the 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
The mutuel field closed as a slight 3-1 favorite over the top individually listed option, Union Rags, when Pool 2 of the 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday
Owner Barry Schwartz hopes to make it back to the Wood – and perhaps the Derby – this year with the lightly raced The Lumber Guy, who coming off a victory in the seven-furlong Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel on Feb. 25 is being pointed to the $1 million Wood at Aqueduct on April 7.
Those who liked the chances of Union Rags enough to bet on him at 7-1 in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager are probably very happy. His odds should be significantly lower, perhaps only half of that price, in Pool 2 that closes Sunday.
Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class.
’ll Have Another, who is being pointed to the Santa Anita Derby after upsetting the Grade 2 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 4, will work six furlongs after the seventh race on Saturday, trainer Doug O’Neill said.
