OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Mike Miceli won with his first starter of 2019 and it proved to be a harbinger for the 72-year-old trainer, who has a relatively small stable.
Miceli, a former jockey who in 1974 won the Haskell and Travers aboard Holding Pattern, is enjoying one of his best years in three decades of training. Miceli’s 20 wins from 73 starters and purse earnings of $707,341 this year are second only to his numbers of 2003 when he won 23 races and his horses earned $793,338.
Imperial Hint is scheduled to have a final pre-race breeze this weekend at his winter base at Tampa Bay Downs for the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream Park as trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. looks ahead to what could be another big year for the horse he has dubbed “The Little Rocket.”
Imperial Hint will ship across the Florida peninsula next week from Tampa in Oldsmar, Fla., for the Mr. Prospector on Dec. 21. Carvajal said that seven-furlong race will be the last for Imperial Hint before he goes to Saudi Arabia for the $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Feb. 29.
New York-based trainer Jeremiah Englehart will have a division of horses at Oaklawn Park for the first time when the Hot Springs, Ark., meet opens Jan. 24.
Englehart said Tuesday he will have a 24-horse stable at Oaklawn. In the past, the trainer had sent a few runners to town for stakes.
“I liked the atmosphere and what they’re doing for racing,” he said.
CYPRESS, Calif. - The final call of announcer Ed Burgart’s 40-year career will be Sunday evening’s Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity for Quarter Horses. As the race begins, Burgart is likely to start with his familiar description, “And away they go!”
The 400-yard race will take about 19.5 seconds. After the race, Burgart will introduce the winner’s circle ceremony, review the prices of the final race and conclude with a good night message.
The West Virginia Racing Commission on Tuesday approved Charles Town’s 2020 racing schedule, which includes added racing dates, higher purses for a number of stakes, and three additional afternoon programs.
Charles Town will race 173 dates in 2020, an increase of nine over what it was granted a year ago. As usual, the centerpiece of the meet will be Grade 2 Charles Town Classic, which will offer a purse of $1 million, the same as in 2019.
Stormy Liberal, the champion turf male of 2018 and winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in 2017 and 2018, has left trainer Peter Miller’s stable for David Scanlon’s farm in Ocala, Fla., after an apparent dispute arose between Miller and co-owner David Bernsen regarding the 7-year-old gelding’s future.
Rockingham Ranch, led by Gary Hartunian, announced in a message on Twitter on Tuesday that Bernsen has purchased Rockingham Ranch’s interest in Stormy Liberal.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Stormy Rush has been retired to a life of leisure, but Woodbine’s other venerable 11-year-old, Occasional View, could be back for another campaign next year if all is well.
Stormy Rush was claimed by trainer Lorne Richards for True North Stable for $62,500 in September 2012. He went on to win seven races for them, most notably the $75,000 Lincoln Stakes at Gulfstream in 2014.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. worked Chance It a sharp five furlongs in 59.41 with jockey Tyler Gaffalione aboard at 7:45 a.m. on Monday, it was with the express purpose of running his star 2-year-old in Sunday’s $400,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park. But those plans changed abruptly a couple of hours later after Joseph received a text from Dr. Patty Marquis, the head veterinarian at Gulfstream Park.
Wednesday’s main event is a good one, a high-level optional-claiming test carded at 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf which drew a field of six led by two-time graded stakes winner Frostmourne, who has not started since October of 2018.
Embolden, a stakes winner whose recent starts have come in New York, is headed to Oklahoma. Trainer Michael Stidham said Monday that Embolden is being pointed to the $400,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park. The race, which will close out the meet Sunday, awards its top four finishers points for the Kentucky Derby on a sliding scale of 10-4-2-1.
