Recepta, a graded stakes winner and multiple Grade 1-placed runner, had to be euthanized last week after developing laminitis, a complication from the fractured pelvis she suffered in a training accident during the summer at Saratoga, trainer Jimmy Toner said Thursday.
“It’s really very unfortunate,” Toner said. “It was a freak accident, and then she got laminitis.”
DEL MAR, Calif. – The purse for the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint has yet to be released, though the other 12 Breeders’ Cup races have had their purses released, the California Horse Racing Board said on Wednesday.
Purses are often held up if there is an issue with a post-race test. Asked if that was the case regarding the Sprint, Mike Marten, a spokesman for the racing board, said, “We cannot comment.”
“We cannot confirm at this time whether or not the purse for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint is being held due to a failed drug test,” Marten said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Not This Time, one of the early favorites for the 2017 Kentucky Derby, has been retired to stud at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., after being diagnosed with a soft-tissue injury to his right foreleg. The stunning announcement of the colt’s retirement was made Monday afternoon by Taylor Made.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pool 1 in the 2017 Kentucky Derby Future Wager opens Thursday at noon Eastern for a four-day run with the mutuel field in its customary position as the favorite. The first of four Derby futures pools is being offered concurrent to the Derby Sires Future Wager.
The field, the 24th or “all others” option, is listed at 5-2 by Churchill Downs linemaker Mike Battaglia, followed by Classic Empire at 8-1. He is followed by Mastery at 12-1 and six more horses at 15-1.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A 10-race Wednesday card at Churchill Downs will be highlighted by a couple of allowance races – but only if you ignore the gorilla in the room.
A 2-year-old filly named Harambe will make her career debut in the third race, a $15,000 maiden-claiming sprint – which wouldn’t qualify as news if not for her name. People on social media have been going crazy since discovering a racehorse has been named for a gorilla now famous in death.
“I named her Harambe for fun,” said trainer Murat Sancal. “I like that kind of thing. People will remember.”
Sunday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct, which featured a pick-6 carryover of $101,393, was canceled due to a forecast of high winds.
According to Martin Panza, the senior director of racing operations for the New York Racing Association, the national weather service called for winds between 40 and 50 miles per hour during racing hours, making it potentially hazardous for jockeys and horses.
The pick-6 carryover will be available on Wednesday, the next scheduled day of live racing at Aqueduct.
The cost of general-admission tickets for both the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks next year at Churchill Downs will rise substantially from the price this year, according to a press release from the track Thursday.
The Grade 3, $250,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park on Saturday has drawn a strong field of nine. But the field could lose a few starters because Mid-Atlantic horsemen have two other sprint stakes to choose from over the coming days.
The De Francis is one of three options between Saturday and Thanksgiving. The $200,000 Fabulous Strike will be run at Penn National next Wednesday night, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Fall Highweight will be held at Aqueduct the next day. All three races are for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs.
Horses who last raced in California, Kentucky, and New York are set to descend on the rural community of Vinton, La., next Saturday for the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot. On Friday, 10 were entered for the race, led by Grade 2 Saratoga Special winner Gunnevera.
The Jackpot, for 2-year-olds, will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the six-furlong oval at Delta.
Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form and Claire Novak of the BloodHorse each won 2015 Breeders’ Cup Writing Awards, which were presented to them at the recent National Turf Writers and Broadcasters annual dinner at the Altadena Town and Country Club in Altadena, Calif.
