Palm Meadows to remain open during summer

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Meadows training center will be kept open throughout the summer for the first time since the facility opened in 2002. One horseman who’s already availed himself of the opportunity to stable at the Boynton Beach location this summer is Carlo Vaccarezza, who sent out a pair of winners from Palm Meadows over the weekend at Gulfstream Park, including Little Michelle in Saturday’s Gracie Handicap.

“I’m 2 for 2 since I shipped up there,” said Vaccarezza, who also sent out Little Chris A to win a high-priced maiden race last Friday. Vaccarezza had been stabled exclusively at Gulfstream Park since taking out his trainer’s license during the fall of 2013 and said he wishes now that he’d made the move to Palm Meadows earlier.

“It’s closer to my house and to my restaurant,” he said. “It’s much quieter up there for the horses. You get to train on a turf course three days a week. There’s a starting gate there three days a week, and they also have the round pens, which is perfect for turning horses out every day. Little Michelle loves it there. I had to give her plenty of time off after she bled in a race last summer. Now, she’s come back to win off a nine-month layoff and then this stakes, with the help of a perfect ride by Tyler Gaffalione.”

Palm Meadows has a 1 1/8-mile main track, a seven-furlong turf course, and a one-mile jogging track. It has been the winter home of six Kentucky Derby winners: Funny Cide (2003), Barbaro (2006), Street Sense (2007), Big Brown (2008), Super Saver (2010), and Animal Kingdom (2011).

P.J. Campo, vice president of racing for The Stronach Group and general manager of Gulfstream Park, cited several reasons for keeping Palm Meadows open this summer.

“We were originally going to shut it down on June 30, and it just didn’t make sense to close the place for only a couple of months since we’re expecting a lot of the northern outfits to start shipping back here early this year, some as soon as after the Saratoga meet ends,” said Campo. “We are also overfilled at Gulfstream, and this gives me an outlet to send horses when we start some of the barn renovations we have planned during the summer.”

Along with Vaccarezza, other trainers with horses stabled at Palm Meadows include Giuseppe Iadisernia, Chuck Simon, Wesley Ward, Michelle Nihei, and Angel Penna.

Vaccarezza said Little Mike will join his stable at Palm Meadows at the end of the month. Little Mike, a four-time Grade 1 winner, has not started since winning the Little Pidgeon Stakes here last May.

“He’s at J.J. Crupi’s farm in Ocala and is doing phenomenal,” said Vaccarezza. “By being at Palm Meadows, I can train him both on the dirt and the turf, which might be a little easier on him. At the moment, I’m planning on pointing him right for the Arlington Million.”

Little Mike won the Arlington Million in 2012.

Salutos Amigos possible for Smile

Campo said he did some recruiting for the rich Summit of Speed card on a recent trip to New York and Maryland and is looking forward to the big event July 5 that includes a pair of Win and You’re In races for the Breeders’ Cup, the Grade 2 Smile Sprint and Princess Rooney handicaps.

“I talked to many horsemen up north who seem interested in coming down for the Summit of Speed,” said Campo. “Among them was David Jacobson, who is thinking about sending Salutos Amigos for the Smile.”

Nominations for the Summit of Speed close June 21.

◗ There will be a mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 jackpot on Friday. Campo said this is because of the way the racing calendar was broken up when The Stronach Group originally applied for racing dates with the state. He said the Tropical Park meeting officially begins Saturday.