Mr Freeze redirected to Runhappy Met Mile

LOUISVILLE, Ky, – Dale Romans considered Mr Freeze for the 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster before deferring to the July 4 Runhappy Metropolitan Mile at Belmont Park. The 5-year-old horse was scheduled to work Tuesday at Churchill after having last breezed June 6.

“We’re going to New York because of the shorter distance,” said Romans. “The mile is just a better fit.”

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Meanwhile, after an 0-for-20 start to the spring meet, Romans has won with five of his last 15 runners. His two winners Sunday allowed him to regain the top spot (742-741) in his back-and-forth battle with Steve Asmussen as the all-time leading trainer in track history.

All five of the Romans winners were ridden by Joe Talamo, who has broken out of a slump of several weeks by riding 11 winners since June 12 (eight at Churchill and three at Indiana Grand). Talamo was the winning jockey Saturday when Moon Over Miami gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his 5,000th career victory.

New futures pools ahead

Churchill announced last weekend that three more Future Wager pools will be offered toward the rescheduled Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, starting this weekend with Pool 5.

Pool 5 opens Friday at noon Eastern and runs through Sunday at 6.

Pool 6 will be held July 17-19 and Pool 7 from Aug. 7-9. A Kentucky Oaks pool will coincide with Pool 6.

Refunds are not being made on any of the first four pools, even with the altered timing of the Derby and the Sept. 4 Oaks.

◗ A late-morning downpour led to 25 scratches on the 10-race Sunday card, including 11 of the original 17 entries in the sixth race, which was forced off the turf.