ARCADIA, Calif. – Live racing Thursday at Santa Anita has been canceled due to a severe heat wave expected to bring temperatures of 108 degrees to the area.
Track president Tom Ludt said the decision to cancel was made after consulting with the Thoroughbred Owners of Caifornia, the California Thoroughbred Trainers, and the Jockeys' Guild.
“We felt with the conditions, and such a unique spike – 108 degrees – it was the right thing,” Ludt said.
Kip Levin, a former vice president of Ticketmaster, has been hired by Betfair Group to head up its U.S. operations, which includes Television Games Network and an online casino in New Jersey.
Levin, who spent 12 years in management positions at Ticketmaster, according to Betfair U.S., will fill a spot that has been vacant since September, when the former chief of Betfair U.S., Stephen Burn, abruptly resigned. Burn had been chief of Betfair U.S. since 2010, after almost seven years in various positions at the company.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Sahara Sky will not win the Met Mile again this year.
A post-race examination following his uncharacteristic seventh-place finish May 3 in a Grade 2 stakes at Churchill Downs revealed Sahara Sky was compromised by stomach ulcers. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and assistant Dan Ward decided to keep him in California.
“He’s never run a bad race until the other day,” Ward said. “I have to think [ulcers] would be his excuse.”
BALTIMORE – A first-time starter named Segovia accomplished something remarkable at Pimlico in the fifth race May 2. Segovia, last at the first call, rallied along the rail to win going away. And that was the remarkable part. Segovia remains the only horse this May to close along the rail and win at Pimlico.
BALTIMORE – Linda Rice, who will make her Preakness debut Saturday with Federico Tesio Stakes winner Kid Cruz, will train for a new racing syndicate, Lady Sheila Stable Two, it was announced Wednesday.
The stable, which will be managed by Sheila Rosenblum, will “rely significantly on female investors,” according to a press release issued Wednesday. The minimum investment in the stable will be $100,000.
Ride On Curlin, the seventh-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, worked four furlongs in 50.18 seconds Wednesday over Pimlico’s main track, according to Daily Racing Form. Pimlico clockers caught Ride On Curlin in 49.60 seconds.
DRF timed Ride On Curlin in fractions of 12.98 seconds, 25.16, 37.54, and had him galloping out five furlongs in 1:04.18. Exercise rider Bryan Beccia was aboard for the move, which occurred shortly after the track reopened following the mid-morning renovation break.
BALTIMORE – Since winning the Kentucky Derby, Art Sherman has been interviewed by NBC, Fox, TVG, HRTV, and members of print media, including a publication for those of the Jewish faith that wanted to know how this nice Jewish boy came to train the winner of the Derby.
Yes, little Arthur Sherman, born in Brooklyn, raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, didn’t grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer. Instead, this son of a barber became a jockey, then a trainer, owing to his size, 5-foot-2. His younger brother, Jack, became a psychologist. Art Sherman gravitated to the racetrack.
BALTIMORE – Art Sherman, 77, became the oldest trainer to win the Kentucky Derby when California Chrome prevailed at Churchill Downs, but he won’t be able to claim the same honor for the Preakness if the colt wins here Saturday.
::2014 PREAKNESS STAKES: Latest news, video, and more
The legendary James E. “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons was two months shy of his 83rd birthday when he sent out his fourth and final Preakness winner, Bold Ruler, in 1957.
BALTIMORE – Ring Weekend was scheduled to be the last Preakness starter to arrive at Pimlico. He was to ship down Thursday morning from his base at Fair Hill in northern Maryland.
This is standard procedure for trainer Graham Motion, who prefers to keep his horses at the bucolic training center as long as possible.
Ring Weekend would have run in the Kentucky Derby had he not come down with a temperature the Sunday before the race.
::DRF Live: Reporting and insight from the Preakness draw 6-7 p.m. ET on Wednesday
BALTIMORE – Pimlico announced last week that for the first time, it will offer a two-day pick-three wager ending with the Preakness. The 50-cent-minimum bet links the Pimlico Special (the 12th of 13 races Friday) with the Dixie Stakes and Preakness on Saturday.
Pimlico also will continue to offer its long-standing two-day double ($1 minimum) combining the Pimlico Special and Preakness.
