Churchill Downs
Weather: Clear
Temp: 44
Track: Fast
Turf: Firm
LOUISVILLE, KY. - The grass course was open for business during training hours at Churchill Downs on Tuesday, but the only trainer opting to take advantage of the opportunity was Ian Wilkes, who sent out his Breeders’ Cup Turf hopeful, the Brazilian-raced and -bred Quarteto de Cordas, to breeze in company shortly before 10 a.m.
Jockey Angel Serpa will represent Laurel Park and the United States during the 16th China Wuhan International Horse Racing Festival in China on Oct. 25-27.
Serpa, 30, was an Eclipse Awards finalist for apprentice jockey in 2010. He is in the midst of a comeback after breaking his ankle in a gate accident at Laurel last December. He returned to riding in late June and is 6 for 61 since.
“Since I came back from the injury, I feel good,” Serpa said. “It hurts a little bit when it’s cold, but right now I’m feeling great and we keep going. Never give up.”
Delaware Park officials reported a 17 percent increase in handle during its 81-day season, which concluded Saturday. In a release, the track said it had total all-sources handle of $112 million, up from $95.7 million in 2017.
The handle increase came despite fewer turf races at the meet and a drop in average starters per race.
Kevin DeLucia, senior vice president of racing/finance, attributed the handle increase to several factors.
When John Davila Jr. came to Finger Lakes in 1991, he was 26 years old and looking for direction. He had won a grand total of 37 races while bouncing back and forth between his native Puerto Rico and the United States and realized time was running short if he was going to make it as a jockey.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Pat On the Back, winner of the $300,000 Empire Classic on Saturday’s Empire Showcase Day program, could make his next start in the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile on Dec. 1 at Aqueduct, trainer Jeremiah Englehart said.
“We always wanted to try him in open company in a one-turn mile,” Englehart said Sunday, the day after Pat On the Back beat Can You Diggit by 1 1/2 lengths in the Empire Classic, a one-turn, 1 1/8-mile race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Monday was pretty much a carbon copy of the previous morning weather-wise, clear and cold, with the temperature a crisp 36 when the track opened for training at 5:30 a.m. and frost warnings up for the region until 9 a.m.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Back-to-back allowances will be the highlights Thursday at Keeneland as the days continue to dwindle at the 17-day meet. First post for a nine-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.
Race 8, a $73,000, third-level sprint, serves as the nominal feature. Mines and Magic, beaten a nose for this same condition last month at Churchill, is among a handful of viable contenders in a field of 11 fillies and mares, along with Nineteenth Street, Annathela, and Thirteen Songs.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Miguel Mena will make his long-awaited return to the saddle when riding Wildwood Dancer in the first race Thursday at Keeneland.
Mena, who will turn 32 on Nov. 6, suffered fractures of his right ankle and heel in a March 15 race spill at Fair Grounds, where he had been leading rider at the time. He has undergone an arduous rehabilitation process and has been exercising horses at Churchill for several weeks.
Mena intends to ride sparingly over the next couple of weeks before leaving early for Fair Grounds, which starts Nov. 15.
Maximus Mischief recorded the highest Beyer Speed Figure by a 2-year-old this year on Saturday at Parx Racing when he won a first-level allowance race by six lengths. The victory came three weeks after he scored an easy 8 3/4-length victory in his debut.
