HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Triple Crown nominee Crupper earned a Preakness berth for his win in the $200,000 Bathhouse Row Stakes last Saturday at Oaklawn Park and will be considered for a start in the 3-year-old classic, according to his trainer, Donnie Von Hemel.
Crupper emerged from the Bathhouse Row in good order and is now settled in at Churchill. Von Hemel and Robert Zoellner, who bred and owns Crupper, will be debating a start in the Preakness.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Grade 1 winner Saudi Crown and the 3-year-old colt Munnings Challenge have been two of the most notable winners trainer Brad Cox has had at the current Oaklawn Park meet that closes May 2.
Saudi Crown launched his 6-year-old season here March 5 with a ratings handicap win over 1 1/16 miles, earning one of the meet’s best Beyer Speed Figures, a 101. Saudi Crown then traveled to Keeneland and won the Grade 3 Commonwealth over seven furlongs April 4. For his next start, the $3.6 million earner could return to Grade 1 company, according to Cox.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will conduct races for four days – from April 30 to May 3 – and run a twilight program on May 1 in conjunction with Kentucky Derby week at Churchill Downs.
The track announced earlier this spring that racing will be held on Thursday, April 30 as a makeup for weather-related cancellations since late December. The April 30 program will be run on conjunction with a program at Churchill Downs that includes three stakes, which could lead to strong simulcast handle.
On May 1, Santa Anita will begin its live program at 3:15 p.m. Pacific.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Phil D’Amato said earlier this week that he has added the multiple stakes winner Majestic Oops to his Kentucky-based stable.
Majestic Oops, a 6-year-old California-bred mare, has won 9 of 36 starts and earned $1,064,808. She was previously trained by Dan Ward, who recently accepted a position as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in Kentucky.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Almendares and King of Gosford, first and fourth in the Grade 3 American Stakes at Santa Anita last Saturday, will represent trainer Phil D’Amato in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf on May 25.
D’Amato has won two of the last four runnings of the Shoemaker on turf, including last year with King of Gosford. He has won the race five times in his career since 2014.
Eliseo Ruiz has been suspended 30 days for his controversial ride aboard Bailout Billy at Parx Racing on March 31, in which the jockey is said to have “failed to give his best effort and failed to use proper diligence.”
Ruiz was riding the front-running 4-year-old filly in a first-level allowance and carried a two-length lead into the stretch, but he elected to not use his crop as several rivals began making up ground in the six-furlong sprint.
Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville will reduce the takeout on all of its daily double wagers to 15 percent starting with its race card on Tuesday, the track has announced.
Horseshoe offers rolling daily doubles throughout its cards. The previous takeout for most of the track’s daily doubles was 21.5 percent.
At the start of its meet this year on April 7, Horseshoe reduced the takeout on its final daily double, which has a $5 minimum bet, to 15 percent. Track officials said that the response to the wager led to the decision to reduce the takeout for all the doubles.
A federal bankruptcy judge in Illinois on Monday approved up to $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing for Hawthorne Racecourse. However, the judge scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday to set a date for when the track must be sold if it is to continue operating as a racetrack.
Churchill Downs plans to offer head-to-head matchups and odd vs. even wagering during its upcoming 44-day spring meet, including on the May 1 Kentucky Oaks and May 2 Kentucky Derby cards, the track said on Monday.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Journalism has emerged from his third-place finish in the Grade 2, $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap in excellent condition and will now get settled back into his routine at Santa Anita, trainer Michael McCarthy said.
The winner of last year’s Preakness was launching his season in Saturday’s blockbuster matchup that 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner White Abarrio captured by two lengths over 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to Journalism, who earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 106.
