Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore will be deeded to the state, rebuilt, and converted to a year-round racing facility run by a not-for-profit operator under the recommendations of a task force that issued a report Friday to the Maryland’s legislature.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Winter hibernation is not a thing that happens in Thoroughbred country, with the arrivals of baby racehorses keeping foaling staffs busy around the clock and preparations for the breeding season entering crunch time. Breeders and agents will be bundled up and traversing the Keeneland campus – itself plenty busy with construction – for this week’s January horses of all ages sale, one of the final opportunities to add broodmares to a roster before the season.
The polished manner in which Kopion won a maiden race at Del Mar in November has left trainer Richard Mandella hoping Sunday’s Grade 3 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita will be the launch of a memorable 2024 season.
“She’s always trained like a real good one,” Mandella said. “She’s done everything right.”
Kopion, an Omaha Beach filly owned by Spendthrift Farm, won her debut Nov. 26 by closing from fourth in a field of six to lead in early stretch. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Kopion cruised to a comfortable 3 3/4-length win as the 3-10 favorite.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Last month’s Grade 2 Remsen Stakes appears to have produced two Kentucky Derby contenders in Dornoch and Sierra Leone, who were separated by a nose in the nine-furlong race at Aqueduct.
Drum Roll Please, the third-place finisher in the Remsen, will try to jump on the Triple Crown trail Saturday when he heads a five-horse field entered in the $150,000 Jerome Stakes, a one-turn mile race at Aqueduct.
The 5-year-old mare Oeuvre has won 13 of her 17 starts over the last two calendar years. She easily won the $100,000 Nelson J. Menard Memorial last January at Fair Grounds. But Oeuvre did not come close to winning her most recent race, and since bettors generally overvalue last-out performance, Oeuvre might be a fair price as she tries to repeat in the Menard on Saturday.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Lovely Ride appears to have a distinct tactical advantage in the $150,000 Pippin, a race for fillies and mares that she will attempt to win for the second year in a row Saturday at Oaklawn.
Lovely Ride looks like the controlling speed in the 1 1/16-mile race that drew four others, including Butterbean, Ice Orchid, Misty Veil, and Tiz a Macho Girl.
Lovely Ride will break from the rail under Cristian Torres, who was aboard last year when Lovely Ride wired the field in the Pippin.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are no fewer than a half-dozen horses coming out of Breeders’ Cup races launching their 3-year-old campaigns in one of the three stakes events that highlight Saturday’s 11-race program at Gulfstream Park.
The most promising horse just may be Juvenile Turf Sprint runner-up Valiant Force, who figures to be one of the shortest-priced favorites of the meet despite switching to the main track for the first time while making his local debut in the $100,000 Limehouse Stakes.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Even though Santa Anita eliminated the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at one mile from its 3-year-old program, the series will begin Saturday in familiar fashion, with a formidable favorite in a small field.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up Muth is favored in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes, a seven-furlong race moved from its traditional spot in late January/early February. The elimination of the Sham, and earlier scheduling of the San Vicente, was due to financial considerations.
Even with short fields, potential value beckons in featured New York and California races on the first Saturday of 2024. Meanwhile, in Florida, a live filly in her stakes debut should be a square price.
San Vicente
Muth is the 600-pound gorilla in the seven-furlong San Vicente. Is he quite as good as his speed figures, and is Muth invulnerable?
