Too soon for Delia to brag about his filly

ALBANY, Calif. - Trainers hate comparisons. Is that improving colt the next Big Brown? Is that maiden sprinter who galloped home in eye-popping time the next Lost in the Fog?

In the case of trainer Bill Delia, is Be So Special the next Bai and Bai?

"I've had a couple people say she reminds them of Bai and Bai, but I don't want to say that," said Delia, who trained Bai and Bai for her first start. She went on to become a multiple stakes winner, earning $677,758. "Bai and Bai was real special."

Be So Special won her second straight race last Wednesday at Golden Gate Fields in a one-mile starter allowance for 2-year-old fillies despite drifting out at the top of the stretch under Alex Bisono. Be So Special graduated at a mile over the turf and has 2 wins, 2 seconds, and 1 third in 5 starts.

"She came out of the race very good," Delia said of Be So Special, a BnD Chase Thoroughbreds homebred by Richly Blended. "I think we'd like to run in a first-level allowance race next. I don't want to go in a stakes. I really want to go on the grass. I don't know if we'll get a lot of grass races this time of year."

Despite her antics at the top of the stretch, Be So Special looked a winner all the way through the stretch. "She's only 2 years old, and she's still green," Delia said. "I think she was bothered when the horse on the lead [Starship Countess] drifted out a bit, and then she began drifting. Alex still had a lot of horse left."

If the allowance doesn't fill, Delia said he would consider running Be So Special in the $75,000 Corte Madera Stakes at one mile here Dec. 13.

Specht's entry dead heats for win

Steve Specht had only one complaint after two horses he trains, Shes a Lucky Wager and Lady Railrider, hit the wire together in Sunday's sixth race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance.

"I've dead-heated before, but not with myself," said Specht. "I just wish I hadn't sat on my hands. I thought about playing an exacta with them but I didn't do it."

Shes a Lucky Wager (16-1) paid $14.80. Lady Railrider, the lukewarm 7-2 favorite, returned $5. The $1 exacta of Shes a Lucky Wager to Lady Railrider paid $37.10. The Lady Railrider-Shes a Lucky Wager exacta paid $25.

Shes a Lucky Wager rallied four wide into the lane from 10th place and grabbed the lead nearing the wire under Luis Martinez. Lady Railrider, who stalked the pace and was passed by her stablemate in the stretch, got her nose down on the wire at the same time for Frank Alvarado.

Stone fills in for Wrona

With track announcer Michael Wrona heading to Churchill Downs for a one-week tryout there, Travis Stone, the regular announcer at Louisiana Downs, will serve as Golden Gate's track announcer this week. Louisiana Downs is not currently racing.

Churchill is seeking an announcer to replace Luke Kruytbosch, who died in July. He had been the voice of Churchill Downs since 1999 and also called races at Turf Paradise. Frank Mirahmadi, the voice of the Northern California fair circuit, is calling races at Turf Paradise.

Stone had his tryout at Churchill last week, and is one of five announcers vying to fill the position.

A 24-year-old native of New York, Stone got the job at Louisiana Downs six months after graduating from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

"I'm awfully excited about coming out west and calling at Golden Gate Fields," said Stone. "I love race calling and I love horse racing. It's exciting to be able to share my passion for horse racing with fans at different racetracks."

* With For Contrast lighting up the tote board at $121.40 for trainer Ellen Jackson and jockey Barrington Harvey in Sunday's eighth race, and Jo's Wild Abandon returning $65.40 in the ninth for trainer Gil Matos and jockey Juan Ochoa, the pick six, not surprisingly, carried over and will be worth $12,659 Wednesday.

* The San Mateo Jockey Club, the simulcast facility at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds, officially opens Wednesday. It was open for a preview on Breeders' Cup Day.

* Alex Bisono sustained bruises in a Saturday spill and was off his mounts Sunday. He has no mounts Wednesday and is scheduled to ride Blackjack Ketchum on Thursday.

* Golden Gate offers an umbrella giveaway Saturday.