It would be fair to say the jockey-trainer team of Jose Ortiz and Cherie DeVaux has done well in turf races this Fair Grounds meet.
The two have teamed up with 13 Fair Grounds grass starters, and eight have won. A bettor who played all of them to win would have nearly doubled their money.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Holy Bull winner Burnham Square and the exciting prospect River Thames are two of four 3-year-olds who competed here Saturday who could possibly return in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 1 or await the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 29.
Woodbine has announced the proposed date for this year’s 166th running of the King’s Plate is Saturday, Aug. 16 and the track also gave an update on the status of turf racing for this year.
The 2024 Plate was scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17, but that card was canceled after the fifth race due to torrential rainfall. The $1 million Plate was run the following Friday.
Trainer Peter Miller was fined $5,000 earlier this month after reaching a settlement agreement with the California Horse Racing Board for violating a rule stating that trainers must have horses in their custody at the time of an entry.
Chasing Liberty won the $100,000 Bob Bork Texas Turf Mile on the undercard of the Houston Ladies Classic last Saturday. It was his third stakes win following the National Thoroughbred League Juvenile Sprint on Sept. 1 at Kentucky Downs and the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes in his prior start Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Manny Franco was aboard for the Bob Bork.
Recharge is recharging at her base of Sam Houston Race Park following her win in the track’s Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic last Saturday.
“That was significant,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “We had targeted that – got the [prep] race in at Houston, let them come to her.
“We’ll graze her and pet on her for a little while now.”
Skelly, the $1.7 million earner who was freshened following an uncharacteristic 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, is now back in training, according to trainer Steve Asmussen.
“He just came back in,” Asmussen said. “He’s at the Fair Grounds.”
Skelly, now 6, is a six-time stakes winner for Red Lane Thoroughbreds.
Tiztastic is no stranger to winning rich races, with more than $900,000 in earnings just six starts into his career. It’s a bankroll that could grow substantially later this month, as he is under serious consideration for the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 22.
Freshly crowned Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna got a little more serious prepping for her eagerly awaited 4-year-old debut, working four furlongs in 47.18 seconds shortly after the renovation break here Friday.
Going in company with her Grade 2-placed stablemate Common Defense, Thorpedo Anna posted a 23.06 opening quarter split and galloped out five-eighths in 1:00.59, holding a slight edge to the wire while going along very easily throughout.
