LEXINGTON, Ky. – Vekoma earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure when securing a spot in the Kentucky Derby with his 3 1/2-length victory Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and will return to light training here midweek, trainer George Weaver said Sunday.
“He is well and happy,” said Weaver, who left Sunday for South Florida but planned to return here within a few days.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It was with a tempered enthusiasm gleaned from a lifelong existence in racing that Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott spoke about Tacitus and the Kentucky Derby the morning following the colt’s impressive victory in Saturday’s Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.
Despite the fact Tacitus established himself as a leading contender for the $3 million Derby on May 4 by overcoming trouble on the first turn to win the Wood by 1 1/4 lengths, Mott knows there’s a ways to go between now and the first Saturday in May.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Come Dancing earned a whopping 114 Beyer Speed Figure for her 7 3/4-length domination of Friday’s Grade 3 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct, putting her in rarified air and giving her connections something to think about when it comes to selecting her next start.
Rachel Alexandra earned a 116 Beyer Speed Figure in the 2009 Haskell. Come Dancing’s 114 equals the highest figure Beholder achieved, that coming in the 2015 Pacific Classic. Zenyatta earned a 112 Beyer winning the 2009 BC Classic.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Improbable and Gray Attempt had major works for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby and Country House was committed to the race in Friday developments for the centerpiece of the upcoming Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn Park.
The Racing Festival, which comprises six stakes worth a cumulative $3.6 million, runs from April 12-14. The Arkansas Derby – which carries points for the Kentucky Derby – will anchor the Saturday, April 13, card which also features the Grade 2, $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap and Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.
ARCADIA, Calif. -- Omaha Beach, in his final drill for the Arkansas Derby next Saturday, looked sharp on Saturday morning at Santa Anita when working five furlongs in 1:00.60 under jockey Mike Smith, who rode him to victory in a division of the Rebel last month and has the mount in the Arkansas Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockeys will not use or carry whips in races on April 12 at Santa Anita as part of a one-day experiment that foreshadows the expected implementation of a state rule later this year that largely bans the use of the whip in races.
In a one-page letter sent Friday, the Jockeys’ Guild informed the California Horse Racing Board, Santa Anita management, and the leadership of the Thoroughbred Owners of California of the plan.
The Fair Grounds 2018-2019 race meet that ended March 24 was the New Orleans track’s best in years.
Gross handle on 763 races during the 81-day meet was $231,683,712, a 17.3-percent increase over the $197,493,142 the track handled on 759 races during its 2017-2018 meeting. That’s the highest gross handle at Fair Grounds since the track handled more than $242 million during the 2011-2012 racing season.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Delta Prince, third in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park in January, worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 over Belmont Park’s training track Thursday morning. He is preparing for a start in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile next Friday at Keeneland.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Code of Honor, the Fountain of Youth winner and third-place finisher in the Florida Derby, was shipped to Keeneland from Payson Park in Florida earlier in the week, trainer Shug McGaughey said Friday.
“I just want to get him to Kentucky. Maybe a change in weather will jump-start him some,” McGaughey said Friday from Florida. “It’ll be hot and humid down here. I just want to see if I can get him to go to the next level.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Danny Gargan was hoping to come out of this weekend with a horse to run on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs. He already has a horse set to run on the first Friday of May under the twin spires.
Gargan, who was to run Tax in Saturday’s Wood Memorial, plans to run Divine Miss Grey, in the Grade 1, $500,000 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill on May 3. Gargan said he will also nominate Divine Miss Grey to the Grade 1 Humana Distaff going seven furlongs at Churchill, but is inclined to run in the 1 1/16-mile La Troienne.
