Mark Dedomenico, an influential heart surgeon and longtime Thoroughbred owner who was a member of the partnership that raced the legendary filly Blind Luck, died on Saturday in Washington state.
Dedomenico was 87. His death was announced by Emerald Downs officials on Sunday.
As a horse owner, Dedomenico raced frequently in the Pacific Northwest and California. He owned the Pegasus training center in Redmond, Wash., which opened in 2005 and is held in high regard throughout the West Coast.
Stronghold, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April, is on schedule for the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 after working five furlongs in 59.80 seconds there on Sunday.
Stronghold had the fastest of 58 recorded works at the distance.
“His last two works have been pretty sensational,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “I‘m happy with the way we’re going.”
Stronghold worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds at Santa Anita on Dec. 1.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Brad Cox will do his best to find a way to keep his trio of undefeated graded-stakes-winning fillies separated as they attempt to make their way to the May 2 Kentucky Oaks.
Muhimma, gate-to-wire winner of Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle, will join her undefeated stablemate Good Cheer at Payson Park in Florida in the coming days while Cox plots out a campaign for those two as well as the three-time Grade 1 winner Immersive, who is stabled at Fair Grounds.
Skipping the Breeders’ Cup last month helped the 2-year-old filly Tenma finish the year with a sharp win in Saturday’s Grade 2 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos, and secure a place among the national prospects in the 3-year-old filly division for 2025.
Tenma had her first start on Saturday since she finished a well-beaten third to stablemate Non Compliant in the Grade 2 Oak Leaf Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Oct. 5.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert passed on the BC Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar on Nov. 1 with Tenma in favor of the Starlet.
The New York-based trainer Orlando Noda will begin serving a 90-day suspension this week after an appellate court judge denied Noda’s appeal of penalties handed him by the New York State Gaming Commission for alleged mistreatment of a horse during summer 2021.
In addition to the suspension, officially listed for action detrimental to the best interest of racing, Noda will have to pay a $5,000 fine and take part in an anger management program.
Noda, in an attempt to address backstretch rumors, announced his suspension on the social media platform X late Saturday night.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The eventual return to the races of Fierceness and Mindframe as well as the re-emergence of Locked should give trainer Todd Pletcher a strong hand in the older male dirt division in 2025.
Locked, sidelined by a ligament injury in a knee for most of his 3-year-old season, won Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Cigar Mile in just his second start of the year.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Fierceness, the champion 2-year-old male of 2023 and a contender for 3-year-old divisional honors in 2024, will start his 4-year-old campaign in the spring and thus will not be considered for the $3 million Pegasus at Gulfstream Park or a Middle East trip this winter, his connections said Sunday.
Fierceness, while being turned out for a 60-day period in Kentucky following his game runner-up performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 2, underwent an elective surgical procedure on a hind ankle, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Oaklawn drew an estimated ontrack crowd of 13,000 for its season opener Friday, while handle on the track’s 10 races from all sources was more than $7.1 million.
The crowd for Saturday was an estimated 15,500, while handle on the 10-race program was more than $6.1 million from all sources, according to figures released by the track.
The claiming game is underway, with 11 horses haltered over the first two dates for more than $192,000 in transactions between stables.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The $150,000 Advent victory by Kale’s Angel on Friday at Oaklawn Park was about so much more than his becoming a stakes winner, proving he could handle dirt, and possibly setting himself up for a two-turn test in a prep for the Arkansas Derby.
The win was for Kale Robinson.
Robinson, 17, died in February. Tom Kagele, a relative who co-owns Kale’s Angel, named the horse for the teenager who was a competitive fisherman based in Texas.
