The prospect of rain forcing turf races onto dirt Saturday at Santa Anita takes at least one appealing race out of Weekend GamePlan consideration, while a paucity of positive vibes in two stakes at Laurel and simply a paucity of entrants in the Gravesend at Aqueduct eliminates those three stakes. That leaves us at Gulfstream, which has several playable fields, and Oaklawn, where a touch of value might be unearthed in their feature.
Harlan’s Holiday
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Coming off a last-to-first victory in the $100,000 Dave’s Friend Staks at Laurel Park just one week ago, the 9-year-old gelding Greeley and Ben is being wheeled right back in Saturday’s $150,000 Gravesend Stakes at Aqueduct.
A combination of a five-horse field and how well Greeley and Ben appeared to come out of the Dave’s Friend were impetus to run him in the six-furlong Gravesend, trainer Horacio DePaz said.”
“We’ll try something a little bit out of our style, but those older horses seem to do okay with that,” DePaz said.
Running Bee has won his last two starts impressively, albeit those races were 13 months apart. If he can remain on a consistent racing schedule, Running Bee could be a welcome addition to a North American older male turf division seeking new blood.
Saturday, Running Bee will try to build off his sharp allowance win last month at Aqueduct when he starts in a seemingly competitive 10-horse field assembled for the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
The trainer Alice Cohn operates just about the most mom-and-pop operation imaginable. Cohn, who has 10 starters during 2023, hasn’t won a stakes race since 2005. Cherie DeVaux has more than 300 starters this year. She trained a stakes winner just last Saturday.
Both women send out plausible winners of the $100,000 Woodchopper Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds, but where DeVaux’s entrant, Northern Invader, projects as an underlaid favorite, the Cohn-trained Point Proven is a value-laden contender.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The first invitation list for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 27 is due out next week. The list figures to be partially determined by the outcome of Saturday’s $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park, a race that shares top billing with the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale on an outstanding 11-race program that begins at 12:10 p.m.
The Harlan's Holiday is part of a Rainbow 6 wager that has a mandatory payout on Saturday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The first race on a weekend program is an unusual spot for a graded stakes at a major racetrack, and a turf sprint is an odd spot for the comeback of a top dirt sprinter.
Both peculiarities are in play Saturday at Santa Anita. The Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes, on the downhill turf course, was placed at the front of the card to beat the rain. As for the return of Forbidden Kingdom, graded stakes winner on dirt, the turf stakes was the only available race.
A potential surface change for Saturday’s Grade 3 Robert Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita may not affect the participation of Lakota Spirit, who has run well on turf and dirt in recent starts.
Other leading prospects, such as Oakhurst and Yerwanthere, could miss the $100,000 race for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles if excessive rain leads to a decision by track officials to switch the race from turf to dirt.
Three stakes winners square off in Saturday’s $100,000 Gin Talking for 2-year-old fillies racing seven furlongs at Laurel Park. The Gin Talking shares top billing on the nine-race program with the $100,000 Heft for juveniles, also at seven furlongs.
Trainer Butch Reid seeks his second Pennsylvania-bred stakes winner this week with Carmelina after Uncle Heavy captured Wednesday’s Wait for It at Parx Racing.
Tina Marie Bond, a horse owner and the wife of trainer H. James Bond, was elected president of the New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, which was announced Wednesday evening.
Bond, who previously served as the co-vice president of NYTHA, defeated trainer Chad Summers. Both were vying for the job held for six years by Joe Appelbaum, who did not run for re-election as he explores other opportunities.
The New York Racing Association has scheduled 195 days of racing in 2024, a 3.4 percent decrease from the 202 days scheduled in 2023, according to the schedule released Thursday by the company.
As has been expected, all racing downstate in 2024 will be held at Aqueduct as the massive renovation project at Belmont Park continues. Ultimately, it is the expectation that all downstate racing will be conducted at Belmont Park starting in 2026 or 2027.
