Irish Maxima capped a solid 3-year-old campaign in 2024 with a dominant 13 3/4-length victory in the Mrs. Claus Stakes at Parx on Dec. 31. On the surface – which was extremely sloppy that day – trainer John Servis said that race wasn’t as impressive as it may look on paper.
“For me, it’s a throw-out race because everything went to the lead that day and was running like wild,” Servis said. “I’m not going off that race.”
The Grade 2, $500,000 Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds ushers in a new, more important round of Kentucky Derby prep races. Thirteen were entered in the Risen Star but only one might prove a serious Derby horse.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – G W’s Girl and Innocence will each be looking for their second career stakes win Saturday when they meet in the $150,000 Dixie Belle for 3-year-old fillies at Oaklawn Park.
The six-furlong race also drew the stakes-placed runners You’ll Be Back, Whata Moon, and Spankerboom. The field of seven also includes recent Oaklawn winners Gunite Max and Miss Martini.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Patience has been a virtue for trainer Bill Mott when it comes to Grand Job, who since finally launching her U.S. career on Oct. 31 has scored a pair of one-sided victories. On Saturday, Mott’s wait to discover whether Grand Job can carry her abundant speed two turns will end when the promising runner stretches out to 1 1/16 miles and takes on 10 other fillies and mares in the Grade 3, $165,000 Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Can you teach an older horse new tricks? Graded stakes winner Confidence Game, looking for his first win in nearly two years, makes his first start on Tapeta on Saturday night in the $125,000 Dust Commander Stakes at Turfway Park. He is drawn outside in a field of 12 that includes several who have already proven themselves locally, including stakes winner Hush of a Storm.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Big City Lights has a few things going for him in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, which is like saying it was a little bit damp this week in Southern California. Gee, no kidding.
A heavy rainstorm was expected to subside before racing resumes Saturday, and in late afternoon, Big City Lights will find himself in a familiar position. The veteran is odds-on to score a repeat victory in the six-furlong Palos Verdes. Big City Lights is better this year.
Of the three runners with the fastest qualifying times for Saturday’s $175,300 Los Alamitos Winter Derby, Train B Taka has the least experience in major stakes.
Last April, in his second start, Train B Taka finished second by a nose in the $311,951 West Texas Futurity at Sunland Park. He did not start in another six-figure race for the remainder of 2024.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On paper, Mama’s Gold looks like a standout in Saturday’s $125,000 Say Florida Sandy Stakes for New York-breds at Aqueduct. He is coming off two monster races, both of which earned him triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures, has won four of his last five races against statebred competition, and has plenty of speed.
In 1998, Bill Knauf went straight from the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program to Monmouth Park in New Jersey. For the next 26 years, he steadily climbed the ladder, rising eventually to the track’s vice president of business development.
