Sat, 01/03/2015 - 18:09

Longshots create carryovers in pick five, pick six

ARCADIA, Calif. - There is a pick five carryover of $392,387, a pick six carryover of $87,742, and a super high five carryover of $41,273 for Sunday’s nine-race program at Santa Anita after a string of upset winners on Saturday’s card

Most pick five tickets were eliminated early when Empowering Force ($48) and Well Maybe ($82) won the first two races. It was not easier in the later races in the sequence with wins from Justification ($27.20), Mio Me ($8.40), and Athens ($62.20) in the third through fifth races.

Sat, 01/03/2015 - 09:13

Jockey Frey breaks collarbone in spill

Jockey Kyle Frey broke his right collarbone and bruised his back when his mount, Generous George, fell in the seventh race at Golden Gate Fields on Friday.

Frey was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland, Calif., for further evaluation. Generous George sustained a fracture above the knee on his left front leg while approaching the turn in the six-furlong race and was euthanized.

Majestic Cat tripped over the fallen runner, but neither he nor his rider, Pedro Flores, was injured.

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 15:58

History Challenge: Jerome Stakes has always attracted the best

Leonard Walter Jerome was a grandiose figure in New York City in the last half of the 19th century. He made and lost fortunes in the stock market and was heavily involved in railroads and Thoroughbred racing.

Jerome was adored by thousands and had “fewer enemies than most men in his position,” wrote historian David Black in his 804-page biography of August Belmont I, “The King of Fifth Avenue,” published in 1981. However, Black wrote, Jerome “suffered as badly as August did from that terrible disease ... called exuberance.”

Thu, 01/01/2015 - 11:47

Horses at Calder remain on the grounds

Calder Race Course in south Florida had not taken any action Thursday morning to enforce eviction notices to horses on an area of the backstretch that the track has closed despite the expiration of a lease on the area, according to horsemen’s officials.

Approximately 200 horses remained in the affected area Thursday morning, according to Phil Combest, the president of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. The area, which has approximately 700 stalls, was the subject of a lease between Calder and Gulfstream Park that expired at midnight Wednesday.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 16:58

Gallardo continues hot riding with five wins

Antonio Gallardo continued to win races at a torrid clip at Tampa Bay Downs on Wednesday, scoring with five of his eight mounts on the nine-race card.

Gallardo is now 33 for 106 at the meet, a winning average of 31 percent. He leads the rider standings by 16 wins over Daniel Centeno.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 14:49

NYRA establishes workout rules

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following the ontrack death last Saturday of Wicked Irish – a horse who had not raced in two years and who showed one workout in the interim – the New York Racing Association on Wednesday announced new workout criteria for horses who race at its three racetracks.

A horse coming off a layoff of 90 days or more and racing at Aqueduct, Belmont or Saratoga must have three published works, including one of at least a half-mile, and must have two works within 30 days of the start.

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 11:29

Stanley, Radosevich top standings at Mahoning Valley's first meet

Angel Stanley won 24 races from 112 mounts at Mahoning Valley's inaugural meet.

Angel Stanley and Jeff Radosevich captured the riding and training titles at Mahoning Valley Race Course’s inaugural meet that ended Tuesday.

Stanley, 41, rode 24 winners from 112 mounts to finish two ahead of Terry Houghton. Christian Pilares, the 2014 leading jockey at Mountaineer Racetrack, finished third with 20 wins.

For Stanley, the title capped off a career resurgence which saw him lead all riders at Hazel Park, his fifth leading rider title in Michigan, and win more than 100 races in a year for the first time since 2009.

Mon, 12/29/2014 - 12:38

DRF past performances to note first-time geldings

Daily Racing Form has added a citation in past-performance information indicating when a horse is running for the first time as a gelding.

Mon, 12/29/2014 - 11:36

Jockey Suarez shot after allegedly breaking into apartment

Angel Suarez, a finalist for the 2012 Eclipse Award for top apprentice jockey, was in critical condition Monday after being shot in an apartment that he broke into near Parx racetrack in suburban Philadelphia on Sunday night and allegedly assaulting two people in it, according to Bensalem, Pa., police.

Sat, 12/27/2014 - 13:46

Taris out for first half of 2015 with ankle injury

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Taris wins the Wide Country Stakes at Laurel by 5 1/2 lengths in January.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Taris, purchased for $2.35 million in November, will be sidelined until the second half of 2015 after injuring an ankle during a second-place finish Friday in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita.

On Saturday, trainer Simon Callaghan said the injury was diagnosed in the hours after the La Brea, adding Taris will undergo surgery Monday to stabilize her right front ankle. Callaghan described the injury as a non-displaced condylar fracture that will require the insertion of screws to repair the break.