Sun, 03/10/2024 - 13:36

Sparkle Blue will likely target Modesty Stakes next

Tom Keyser
Sparkle Blue was given a 91 Beyer Speed Figure for Saturday's win in the Hillsborough.

OLDSMAR, Fla. - Lucrative pots in Kentucky await many of the undercard stakes winners from Saturday’s Tampa Bay Derby program, it’s just a matter of choosing whether to run at Keeneland, Churchill Downs or both.

Sparkle Blue, the front-running, half-length winner of Saturday’s Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes, is likely to make her next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Modesty Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 3, trainer Graham Motion said.

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 12:47

Domestic Product will likely race again before Derby, No More Time likely will not

Tom Keyser
Domestic Product (5), No More Time and Grand Mo the First each earned 82 Beyer Speed Figures for Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby.

OLDSMAR, Fla. - Domestic Product and No More Time, separated by a neck at the finish of Saturday’s Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby, will likely take different paths to the Kentucky Derby, their connections said Sunday.

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 11:23

Tampa Bay wants independent investigation of tote malfunction

Tom Keyser
Tampa Bay Downs ran Saturday's Tampa Bay Derby as a non-wagering event because of the tote-board breakdown.

Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., will seek an “independent, third-party investigation” of a meltdown of the bet-processing network on Saturday that resulted in the track having to run its most prestigious race, the Tampa Bay Derby, as a non-wagering event, the track’s general manager said Sunday morning.

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 11:09

Seize the Grey has Preakness possibilities, Lukas says

Coady photo
Seize the Grey defeated a deep field of 3-year-olds in a first-level allowance on the Rebel undercard Feb. 24 at Oaklawn.

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas knows a Preakness prospect when he sees one as a six-time winner of the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, and he’s hoping Seize the Grey could develop into a candidate for the race. The horse defeated a deep field of 3-year-olds in a first-level allowance on the Rebel undercard Feb. 24 at Oaklawn.

“He might be a Preakness horse,” Lukas said.

Seize the Grey has since come back and worked a sharp five-eighths, going in 59.60 seconds March 3 at Oaklawn.

Sun, 03/10/2024 - 11:05

Free Like a Girl possible for Apple Blossom Handicap

Coady photo
Free Like a Girl wins an allowance at Oaklawn Park on Friday.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The millionaire Free Like a Girl could be making a return trip to Oaklawn Park next month for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap.

Trainer Chasey Deville-Pomier said the Louisiana-bred is under consideration for the race following her allowance win over the local track Friday. She liked how Free Like a Girl had emerged from the race as of Saturday morning and said she was to ship to Evangeline Downs on Sunday.

Fri, 03/08/2024 - 15:30

Locked off Triple Crown trail with knee injury

Locked after BC Juvenile at SA Nov 3 2023
Debra A. Roma
Locked finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but has been unable to make a start as a 3-year-old.

Locked, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity last fall, is off the Triple Crown trail due to an injury to his left knee, Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which co-owns the horse with Walmac Farm, said Friday afternoon.

“Locked frayed a tiny part of a ligament in the upper part of his left knee,” Wellman said Friday.

Wellman said Locked will not undergo any surgery and that it will just take time for the ligament to heal. Wellman is hopeful Locked could be back for a late summer or fall campaign.

Fri, 03/08/2024 - 11:50

Saudi veterans White Abarrio, Book'em Danno on hold for now

White Abarrio and Book’em Danno were released from quarantine Thursday night following their trips to Saudi Arabia, and their trainers are not in a rush to return them to the races.

Fri, 03/08/2024 - 11:25

Arnold accepts seven-day suspension for Tramadol positive

Barbara D. Livingston
Rusty Arnold asserts that his horse Figgy tested positive for Tramadol through environmental contamination.

Trainer George “Rusty” Arnold began serving a seven-day suspension on Friday after one of his horses tested positive for Tramadol, a painkiller used in a variety of human medications, according to the trainer and records from the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit.

Fri, 03/08/2024 - 11:20

CHRB disqualifies Justify from 2018 Santa Anita Derby victory

The California Horse Racing Board has agreed to order the disqualification of 2018 Horse of the Year Justify from the 2018 Santa Anita Derby and pay $300,000 to the owner of the second-place finisher in the race, Bolt d’Oro, under a settlement reached earlier this week.

The settlement will require the redistribution of the Santa Anita Derby’s $1 million purse. Justify earned $600,000 for his dominating three-length win in the race but will now be placed last. Bolt d’Oro, owned by Mick Ruis, who earned $200,000 for his second-place finish, will be elevated to first.

Wed, 03/06/2024 - 13:30

Track Phantom, Hall of Fame may go separate ways

Mystik Dan wins the Southwest at OP Feb 3 2024
Coady Photography
Mystik Dan wins the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn by eight lengths. He is on schedule for the Arkansas Derby.

While Track Phantom and Hall of Fame worked five furlongs together on March 3 at Fair Grounds, the two Steve Asmussen-trained colts may or may not be racing together March 23 in the $1 million Louisiana Derby.