ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Retired jockey Paul Souter, who posted 928 career riding wins, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award.
The treasured award is given to the person, Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular rider in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to Thoroughbred racing. It is named in memory of the Cuban-born Gomez, who died of complications after a three-horse accident in the 1980 Canadian Oaks at Woodbine.
The odds were already stacked against the European shipper Heart of Honor going into the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. But any chance the horse may have had was hampered when he acted up some in the gate and broke slowly away from it.
Heart of Honor finished fifth, beaten 8 3/4 lengths by Journalism, in the nine-horse field. It was a respectable enough effort for trainer Jamie Osborne to continue on toward the June 7 Belmont Stakes.
Don Combs, who trained 1970 Kentucky Derby winner Dust Commander, died Sunday at age 86 in his native Lexington, Ky. The cause of death was a stroke, according to the Thoroughbred Daily News, which first reported his death.
Dust Commander was purchased as a yearling by Robert and Verna Lehmann, who had bought a farm in Kentucky a few years prior. The Illinois-bred was originally trained by Billy Turner before being moved to Combs in September of his 2-year-old season. Combs, 31, had hung out his own shingle just three years prior, and operated a public stable at Keeneland.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The five winners of Saturday's stakes for California-breds at Santa Anita are bound for the Del Mar summer meeting, with one prominent runner likely to also start at Los Alamitos next month.
Not all are likely to run in stakes in their next appearances. Private Gem, winner of the $100,500 Thor’s Echo Stakes for sprinters, and Santa Barbarian, the surprise winner of the $126,500 Snow Chief Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf, will be considered for allowance races.
Crazy Mason, the Grade 2 Carter Stakes winner, was among the near 300 horses who put in workouts Sunday morning at Belmont Park, breezing a half-mile in 47.60 seconds over the training track. It was the fifth fastest of 227 works at the half-mile distance.
Crazy Mason, trained by Gregg Sacco, is being pointed to the Grade 3, $400,000 True North Stakes at Saratoga on June 7.
Sacco had a horse, Arcadian, break off in front of Crazy Mason “just to give him a little target. The gallop out was good, he cooled out great.”
Carl Spackler, arguably the top male turf miler in North America, has been sold by Bob Edwards to Yulong Investments and will be heading to Australia by way of Royal Ascot.
Carl Spackler, an Irish-bred son of Lope de Vega when trained by Chad Brown, is a three-time Grade 1 winner, having captured the Fourstardave and Coolmore Turf Mile last year and the Maker’s Mark Mile this year. Carl Spackler’s only loss in his last four starts was a sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, in which he was beaten 2 3/4 lengths by More Than Looks.
Christophe Clement, a native of France who became one of the most successful trainers in in North America over the last three decades, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 59.
Clement’s passing was announced Sunday afternoon with a social media posting that was written by Clement.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Those who waited around in the cold and rain from the time the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga opened at 5:15 a.m. until Sovereignty finally made his appearance nearly 4 1/2 hours later were rewarded for their patience. The Kentucky Derby winner got the better of no less a workmate than Arthur’s Ride after breezing a very impressive-looking five furlongs in 1:02.45 over a surface officially labeled “good” throughout the course of the morning.
Rodriguez and Baeza both turned in serious workouts Friday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for scheduled starts in the $2 million Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 7.
Rodriguez, the Wood Memorial winner who scratched from the Kentucky Derby due to a foot issue, went seven furlongs in 1:24.80. Santa Anita clocker Dane Nelson caught Rodriguez’s first five furlongs in 59.60 seconds.
Trainer Marcus Vitali, who in the summer of 2022 was suspended by the New York Racing Association from participating at its tracks, has a horse entered to run Friday at Aqueduct.
Vitali has a valid license issued by the New York State Gaming Commission, and NYRA accepted his entry of Classy Lass for Friday’s fifth race, a $17,500 claiming race on the dirt.
