Mr Money Bags has maintained peak form for years and he continued his winning ways Saturday night with a three-length victory in the $100,000 Spirit of Texas at Sam Houston Race Park.
The race was one of seven stakes on the annual $700,000 Texas Champions Day. The races were all restricted to Texas-breds and each was worth $100,000.
NEW ORLEANS – The morning after a five-win day that included victories in the Louisiana Derby and Fair Grounds Oaks, trainer Steve Asmussen on Sunday understandably was still letting the joy of it all wash over him.
“Better than well!” he said. “It’s awesome. Awesome horses make for good days.”
In the tumultuous spring of 2019, when racing at Santa Anita was briefly suspended following a series of equine fatalities, then-California Horse Racing Board chairman Chuck Winner frequently spoke with government officials in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., providing updates on proposed equine-safety measures.
One of those conversations was a conference call with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“What Chuck had was the credibility to have a frank conversation with a U.S. senator and be trusted,” former racing board executive director Rick Baedeker said Thursday.
Attorneys for the trainer Bob Baffert on Thursday filed an appeal of a judge’s decision earlier this week to deny him a stay of a 90-day suspension set to go into effect on April 4, seeking an emergency injunction.
Four top Kentucky Derby prospects heretofore trained by Bob Baffert, including the highly regarded Messier, have been moved in advance of upcoming stakes, with the hope they can earn enough points in their next starts to run in the Derby on May 7, according to Tom Ryan, who oversees the wide-ranging partnership that owns the colts.
NEW ORLEANS – Kenny McPeek thinks big. The veteran trainer has private facilities in both Kentucky and Florida, isn’t shy about running in Europe, or placing fillies against males, or heading down to South America to buy imports. Couple that with his well-known knack for picking out young horses at moderate prices, Curlin being the best of that long list, and he’s a force to be reckoned with wherever one turns at the track or the sales ring.
Grindstone, memorable winner of the 1996 Kentucky Derby, has died at age 29. Oakhurst Equine Veterinary Services of Newberg, Ore., which stood the stallion for more than a decade, reported his passing on Wednesday on its social media channels.
“Thank you for providing us with a thrill of a lifetime,” Oakhurst posted. “You changed our lives when you joined us and will always be missed.”
Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement to purchase a Churchiljust over the border from Massachusetts, with the intention of installing historical horse racing machines at the facility, the company announced on Tuesday.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In a release, Churchill said that the operation, Chasers Poker Room in Salem, N.H., “has led all New Hampshire charitable gaming operators in both gaming revenue and local charitable contributions.” The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, Churchill said.
