HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – X Y Jet, who was forced to skip the Breeders’ Cup Sprint due to a minor illness, was back on the work tab Sunday, breezing a very easy three furlongs in 38 at the Palm Meadows training center for trainer Jorge Navarro.
X Y Jet has not started since cruising to a 2 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream on June 30.
Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito is headed to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.
In a major winter circuit switch, he plans to have a 20-horse division at the upcoming meet, which opens on Jan. 25. Zito had previously wintered at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
“It’s a big change,” he said Monday. “We went to Florida for 30, 35 years.”
Zito said he would continue to have horses in New York this winter, with those runners stabled at Belmont Park.
The Arkansas Racing Commission met last week concerning casino gaming rules in Arkansas. The state’s voters passed a measure in November allowing for casinos in four counties, with one designated for Oaklawn Park. The commission is charged with adopting rules to put the gaming – which can include slot machines – in place, said agency attorney Byron Freeland.
Freeland said Arkansas rules will be modeled after gaming rules in place in Nevada.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For a fleeting moment one couldn’t have blamed trainer Kelly Rubley for thinking her star Divisidero might actually become a Breeders’ Cup winner after he rallied from near the middle of the soggy turf course to join the leaders at the top of the stretch in the Mile. Unfortunately, the wide trip from post position 13 in the 14-horse field took its toll and Divisidero finished fourth, beaten less than a length by winner Expert Eye.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There is a change of plans for Grade 1 winner Mind Control, who will now make his next start in the $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct on New Year’s Day instead of Sunday’s $400,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park.
Trainer Gregg Sacco said the logistics of shipping from New York to Remington Park in Oklahoma were unappealing, requiring either two flights and a three-hour van ride or a 21-hour van ride. Mind Control has been based at Belmont Park since shortly after he finished seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Ostrolenka, a multiple New York-bred stakes winner, was recently purchased privately by his original owner, Eric Fein, to be retired. He will reside at the Old Friends retirement facility in Lexington, Ky, confirmed Michael Blowen of Old Friends.
Fein purchased Ostrolenka privately following his fifth-place finish a $12,500 claiming race at Aqueduct on Nov. 28.
Ostrolenka, a son of Musket Man, raced 21 times for Fein and trainer Todd Pletcher, winning five including the Sleepy Hollow at age 2 and the Mike Lee at age 3.
Individuals or partnerships representing five horses have paid fees to secure a starting berth in next month’s Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, with another group paying for a slot without a named horse, according to the owner of the track and administrator of the race, The Stronach Group.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Curlin’s Approval will be off to the breeding shed this spring for a date with Triple Crown winner Justify. But before she leaves the racetrack, owner-trainer Happy Alter was hoping to add a couple of more graded stakes wins to her already impressive résumé, beginning here Saturday with the Grade 3 Sugar Swirl.
Unfortunately, Alter will have to wait for another day to get Curlin’s Approval back in the winner’s circle after she contracted a virus shortly after posting a bullet half-mile work in 46.47 under jockey Edgard Zayas at Gulfstream Park on Nov. 20.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has approved Woodbine for a 133-day campaign next season, while Fort Erie will again run a 40-day meet in 2019.
The 2019 Woodbine meet will begin April 20, while opening day at Fort Erie is May 28.
Woodbine will run on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for the majority of the season. Friday racing will kick off April 26, while Wednesday night racing will begin May 29. Woodbine will also run on four holiday Monday cards during the meet. Closing day is Dec. 15.
