As written for the book “Old and New Friends,” published in 2016 by DRF Press.
ELMURST AND FRIENDS – Our Mims Retirement Haven
Elmhurst
Dark bay or brown gelding, 1990, by Wild Again – Mimbet, by Raise a Native
Hey, there, admirers!
I can see you gawking at my photo, thinking how good-looking I am. I’ve earned my nickname here at Our Mims Retirement Haven – The King of Hearts (although I’m not sure why they sometimes also call me the Clown Prince . . . hmmm).
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The latest weather forecast for the first Saturday in May in Louisville calls for highs in the upper 70s and abundant sunshine. In any other year, such a prediction would send giddy ripples throughout the city of Louisville, reverberating especially strongly in the management suites beneath the two green-and-white spires at 700 Central Avenue, the address of Churchill Downs.
But this is not any other year.
The New York Racing Association said Wednesday that in light of the coronavirus pandemic, it has prepared a plan to be reviewed by state officials to allow it to resume operations at Belmont Park and Saratoga without fans in attendance.
NYRA said racing at those venues could be conducted in a similar fashion as to what took place over a three-day period in March at Aqueduct when fans were not permitted on-site.
The Nebraska Racing Commission granted Fonner Park’s request to run an additional 12 racing days following the scheduled conclusion of its 2020 race meeting on April 20.
Fonner will continue racing through May 31, continuing its Monday-through-Wednesday three-day race weeks, after the commission voted 5-0 to approve Fonner’s request.
The Finger Lakes Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association will distribute $25 to every trainer for each horse started at the track’s meet last year and $100 for each start made by an owner, the association announced Tuesday.
The distributions are an attempt to provide cash to horsemen at a time when racing has been stalled at nearly every major racetrack in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic. Finger Lakes has suspended racing indefinitely, and a casino at the track that provided massive subsidies to purses also has been shuttered.
As written in 2016 for the book “OLD AND NEW FRIENDS,” published by DRF Press.
Gander, 1996 gray or roan gelding by Cormorant – Lovely Nurse, by Sawbones
The near-white gelding stood on three legs near the Saratoga finish line, his fourth held up by exercise rider Simon Harris. Trainer John Terranova stood by the horse’s head, calming him, as the siren wailed its familiar warning. Passing riders looked over and more than a few, no doubt, recognized the old warrior.
Fonner Park in Grand Island, Neb., has requested a 12-racing-day extension of its ongoing 2020 racing season.
Fonner’s race meet began Feb. 21 and was scheduled to conclude April 29, but Fonner has asked the Nebraska Racing Commission to consider granting the track four more three-day racing weeks (Monday through Wednesday) during the month of May, according to Chris Kotulak, Fonner’s CEO.
The Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission ordered Remington Park to pull its jackpot-style Sooner 6ix bet from its menu on Friday after a bettor filed a formal complaint with the commission about a payout that occurred a week earlier.
The Belmont Park spring-summer meeting will not begin on April 24 as scheduled, but multiple sources have indicated that the New York Racing Association is hopeful of being able to open the meet – without spectators – at the end of May or early June.
On Thursday, the NYRA officially announced the start of the meet would be delayed “due to the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic,” according to a press release.
The release did not address a timeframe for the start of the meet, which was scheduled for 51 days from April 24 through July 12.
