DEL MAR, Calif.- Trainer Mike Pender has been suspended three weeks and fined $5,000 for five class 4 medication infractions in a 12-month period, Del Mar stewards announced in a ruling on Sunday.
Pender said on Sunday afternoon that he plans to appeal the decision. He said he reached the decision after discussing options with his attorney.
NEW ORLEANS – Citing the safety of both jockeys and horses, Fair Grounds management canceled Saturday’s Quarter Horse program following the fourth of 10 scheduled races. Heavy rains inundated the region Saturday morning and did not stop into the afternoon, resulting in flooding.
“After collaborating with the jockeys under these extreme conditions, it was decided to cancel the remaining portion of the program,” said Fair Grounds general manager Howard Withers.
The four Labor Day Monday stakes at Parx drew large, deep fields that should make them highly appealing to horseplayers.
The stakes, which offer a combined $1 million in purses, are carded as races 8-11 and will be run between 3:30 and 5:15 p.m. Eastern. First post Monday will be 12:25 p.m., and there will be a cooler-bag giveaway to recognize the 10th anniversary of Smarty Jones’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins.
An amendment providing for historical racing at Texas tracks passed on a 7-1 vote, with one abstention, during a Friday meeting of the Texas Racing Commission, according to the panel’s spokesperson, Robert Elrod.
Also during the meeting held in Austin, the requested 2015 dates for Lone Star Park near Dallas, Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, and Retama Park near San Antonio all received approval from the panel.
All wagers were refunded on the third race at Delaware Park on Thursday after a technical issue allowed betting to remain open after the race had started. The refunds totaled $148,376.
According to Chris Sobocinski, racing information coordinator at Delaware Park, it appears that everything was done correctly at the track but that the pools failed to close in a timely manner.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs has “no precise timetable for announcing the successor” to race-caller Larry Collmus “other than to say we’d rather see that announcement made sooner than later,” said Churchill vice president John Asher, who is helping to lead the search.
Asher wrote Friday in a lengthy email that there is “a considerable roster of voices currently on our radar,” and that he and other track officials are “very familiar with the talent pool.”
The 1973 Kentucky Derby was another classic “east-versus-west” confrontation. All eyes were focused on reigning Horse of the Year Secretariat and the pride of the West, Sham.
As expected, the two finished far in front of the other 11 starters in the 99th Derby. Little attention was paid to the gelding who finished fourth that afternoon, 11 lengths behind the winner.
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., anticipates distributing a record $23.5 million in purses during its 57-date meet that opens on Jan. 9, the track announced Thursday. It is the seventh straight year Oaklawn has been able to increase purses, bolstered in part by revenues from its ontrack gaming center that is in the process of being expanded for 2015.
The $1 million Claiming Crown will once again be the highlight on opening day when the 2014-15 Gulfstream Park Championship Meet kicks off Dec. 6.
The popular claiming series will feature some changes this season. Most significantly, there will no longer be separate trainer nominations as well as horse nominations. Last year, trainers paid a $100 fee to be eligible to nominate any eligible horses to the Claiming Crown, which operates under starter-allowance conditions. This year, regular nominations will close Nov. 8, with the deadline for supplemental nominations set for Dec. 3.
The new dirt surface at Keeneland officially opened before dawn Thursday, with horsemen giving it tentative praise as a new era got under way at the Lexington, Ky., track.
“I’d say it’s almost close to ideal,” said trainer Phil Sims, based at Keeneland for more than 30 years. “We went out on it a couple days ago for a little test run, and it’s really nice. It’s kind of dark in color, and I don’t think it’ll dry out like some tracks do. Obviously, time will tell, but so far, I think everybody’s real positive about it.”
