SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Jockey Club’s annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Sunday here will mark two transitions for the company, one real and one intangible.
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DRF Past Performances
Remington Park in Oklahoma City announced that all overnight purses will be increased 10 percent for the meet that opens next Friday. The 67-date season runs through Dec. 13.
The boost starts with the first card of the meet at Remington, which operates an ontrack casino. Purses are now projected to average $230,000 a program. Maiden special weight races for open company will be worth $33,000, while maiden special weight races for Oklahoma-breds will have a purse of $42,750. In addition, the increase puts purses for open allowance races at $44,000.
DEL MAR, Calif. – California Chrome, the 2014 Horse of the Year, continues to improve from a cannon-bone bruise that ended his current season, trainer Art Sherman said this week.
Sherman said California Chrome remains at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., and is on schedule to return to training at his Los Alamitos stable in late October.
“He’s put on about 25 pounds,” Sherman said.
Sherman said California Chrome is not being ridden and is having pasture time daily.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Michael Dubb, who heads the group that owns Magna Light, has withdrawn his appeal of the disqualification of that horse from first place in the Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga on July 25.
Further, Dubb said he apologized to the stewards for comments he made after the race suggesting that his trainer, Rudy Rodriguez, is treated unfairly, and that the disqualification came about in part because of Rodriguez’s Hispanic background. The stewards on Thursday confirmed that Dubb apologized to them in person.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On the eve of his induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, King Leatherbury was asked what he was most proud of in his 57-year training career.
“Winning races, that’s all,” Leatherbury said. “Winning races. At the beginning of every meet, the objective was to be leading trainer.”
Win races? How about 6,457 wins, fourth all time. Leading trainer? How about 52 training titles on the Maryland circuit and four more at Delaware Park.
Michael Dickinson’s decision to resume training after a seven-year absence should not be taken lightly. He does not do things halfway. Dickinson’s goal is for Act 2 of his career to be more successful than his first.
That sets the bar high since Dickinson earned his “Mad Genius” nickname by turning some remarkable feats. Dickinson has 587 victories in North America, a 23 percent win rate, and more than $20 million in purse earnings. As was the case before he stopped training, Dickinson’s operation will be based at his 250-acre Tapeta Farm in Maryland.
Handle on U.S. races in July was up 1.4 percent compared with betting during the same month last year, but the number of races run was up 2.2 percent, despite a sustained falloff in the past year in the number of races and race days held by U.S. tracks, according to figures released Wednesday by Equibase.
Handle was $903.7 million during July, compared with $891.1 million in July 2014. U.S. tracks ran 4,257 races last month, compared with 4,164 last July. Both months had eight weekend dates.
Happy My Way, the champion Florida-bred sprinter and older male of 2014, has been euthanized after being injured in the West Virginia Legislature Chairman’s Cup at Mountaineer Park on Saturday.
Happy My Way finished fifth in the 4 1/2-furlong sprint. Trainer Joe Orseno said he came out of the race with a knee fracture. Happy My Way was sent to Hogan Equine in New Jersey to have surgery, but the injury could not be repaired.
“We were going to do whatever it took to save him,” Orseno said. “He was such a terrific horse. I’ve been crying for two days over this.”