Lady Tak proves she's the real deal
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Steve Asmussen felt the Grade 1 Test would enable Lady Tak to show how good a filly she could be. And on Saturday afternoon at Saratoga, Lady Tak did not disappoint him.
Pressing the pace from the outset under Jerry Bailey, Lady Tak took command of the $250,000 Test Stakes around the turn and powered home a 4 1/2-length winner over Kentucky Oaks and Acorn winner Bird Town. It was 1 1/2 lengths back to House Party in third.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The authorities are investigating a mysterious injury suffered on Friday by the Arabian horse Fire Mt. Mackie at the Sonoma County Fair.
The horse returned from the fifth race with a puncture wound in his right front leg. Cause of the wound remains undetermined, although there was early speculation the horse had suffered a wound from a pellet or BB gun.
DEL MAR, Calif. - "Seabiscuit" opened on two screens Friday at the Flower Hill Mall in Del Mar, just east of Interstate 5 on Via de la Valle. The fifth showing of the day was at 4 p.m., right when the first race of the day at Del Mar racetrack was being run a few furlongs to the west. In that vortex, the two worlds of Gary Stevens were colliding. You could see the celluloid Stevens on the screen, or see Stevens himself riding at Del Mar.
NEW YORK - The fairy-tale story of a "colt from nowhere," Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book, "Seabiscuit: An American Legend," must have been catnip to the movie industry. "All you need to make a movie is a gun and a girl," the director Jean-Luc Godard once said. To that, the people who made "Seabiscuit" would certainly add "and a horse."
And what a horse they have in Seabiscuit, "the little engine that could." Small, gangly, beat-up and beaten down, he is the loser as improbable winner, the Great Equine Hope - a Depression-era hero and a screen natural.
Let Ferdinand be the latest rallying point
Will a Ferdinand fund make a difference?
As a fan, follower, and supporter of Thoroughbred racing and the breed, I am keenly aware of the economic realities faced by those who may not necessarily have the assets of kings, but nonetheless invest their hearts and souls into the sport.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The California Horse Racing Board on Thursday voted to reduce the licensing fees for owners and trainers who send horses from out of state or other countries for the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.
The issue was approved after considerable debate.
Licenses typically cost $150 for owners and trainers, but a 120-day license costing $50 will be issued later this year that expires on Dec. 31.
Eddie Castro, an apprentice rider, rode five winners Friday at Calder, winning the third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and ninth races. It was the second time in a week Castro had five winning mounts on a Calder card. . . . The World Series Racing Championships, without a sponsor since Emirates Airlines withdrew after the 2001 series, has entered into a partnership with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. The partnership begins with Saturday's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot and will also include selected events in the series.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A mutuel clerk for the New York Racing Association was fined by the State Racing and Wagering Board and was also suspended five days without pay or benefits by NYRA for betting, a violation of state law.
Murray Lazarus, a mutuel clerk at Belmont Park, was caught making wagers on June 29 at Belmont, according to Jim Gallagher, vice president of regulatory compliance for the NYRA.
The Nebraska State Racing Commission voted 3-0 Wednesday to reject the application for a proposed simulcast facility and racetrack in Hastings, Neb., about 25 miles from Fonner Park. The plan was opposed by Fonner and the Nebraska Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, which cited a potential loss of more than 12 percent in Fonner's mutuel handle and a loss of purse money. . . .Two senior executives with Magna Entertainment Corp. have resigned, the company announced Thursday.
Breeders' Cup officials announced Wednesday that Dollar Bill has been scratched from Period 1 of the Breeders' Cup Future Bet. Trainer Bobby Frankel said Tuesday that Dollar Bill would be out of training for a few months. Although Frankel did not disclose the type of injury that necessitated the layoff, he stated that the injury was not serious.