Wed, 09/26/2018 - 12:20

New wagers, BC preps among fall meet highlights

Barbara D. Livingston
Santa Anita opens its 22-day fall meet Friday and will debut two new wagers on the card.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will launch a 20-cent jackpot pick six with the start of its 22-day autumn meeting on Friday, a season highlighted by Breeders’ Cup prep races over the next two weekends.

The Rainbow 6 has been popular at sister track Gulfstream Park and is being tried in Southern California for the first time on Friday. The entire pool is paid out if there is a single winner. If there is more than one winning ticket, 30 percent of the pool after takeout is carried over until there is a single winning ticket, or until a mandatory payout day.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 11:56

Foot abscess will keep Tatters to Riches out of Oklahoma Derby

Benoit Photo
Tatters to Riches scored his third career victory Aug. 25 in the Shared Belief Stakes.

ARCADIA, Calif. – A quarter crack and ensuing foot abscess has derailed Tatters to Riches, the California-based stakes winner who would have been among the favorites in the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday at Remington Park.

Trainer Jeff Mullins confirmed Wednesday that Tatters to Riches would not travel, and will be out of serious training until recovering from an abscess in his left front.

“If it was just a quarter crack, he’d probably be training already,” Mullins said. “With the abscess, it’s going to take longer.”

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 11:46

New York-bred millionaire Weekend Hideaway retired at 8

Barbara D. Livingston
Weekend Hideaway held off late challenges for a 1 1/4-length victory in Thursday's John Morrissey Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Weekend Hideaway, a New York-bred sprinter who won stakes races in seven consecutive years, has been retired from racing after being injured in his most recent workout, trainer Phil Serpe said Wednesday.

Serpe said Weekend Hideaway sustained a fracture of the inside sesamoid in a front leg. Weekend Hideaway had worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 on Saturday over Belmont’s main track.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 11:46

Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Distance change adds a wrinkle

Coady Photography
Sistercharlie returned $5.20 as the favorite after finishing in 1:56.77 over a course rated firm.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – More than the host site is changing when the Breeders’ Cup moves to Churchill Downs in early November. Also coming are several changes to race distances, notably in the Nov. 3 Filly and Mare Turf, which goes from last year’s 1 1/8-mile distance at Del Mar to a three-turn, 1 3/8-mile race at Churchill.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 11:40

Leslie Hulet, a top rider at Finger Lakes for nearly three decades, dies at 69

Former jockey Leslie Hulet, who for years was the all-time winningest rider at Finger Lakes and who won the Grade 1 Whitney in 1981 aboard Fio Rito, died last Friday at age 69.

Hulet was the leading rider at Finger Lakes six times. He held the record for wins at the Farmington, N.Y., track from 1999 until 2017, when John Davila Jr. passed him.

Hulet rode at Finger Lakes from 1972 until 1999. He is a member of the track’s Hall of Fame. He retired with 3,816 wins.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 10:56

Speedy Soul has look of a router

Michael Burns
Speedy Soul wins the 6 1/2-furlong Muskoka Stakes in August.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Joey Gee Thoroughbreds and trainer Andrew Smith won last year’s Victorian Queen Stakes with Line of Vision. They bypassed the six-furlong sprint for Ontario-sired 2-year-old fillies last Saturday with the unbeaten Speedy Soul, who will travel 1 1/16 miles in her next outing.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 10:56

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint: Preps should clear up field

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Mae Never No may be among a multi-horse contingent from trainer Wesley Ward for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, the new kid on the block for this year’s event, may have a mix of domestic and international talent for its inaugural running.

The Juvenile Turf Sprint’s addition to the Breeders’ Cup program was announced in February. The $1 million race, contested at about 5 1/2 furlongs, joins the lineup for a Friday card that also includes the $2 million Juvenile, $2 million Juvenile Fillies, $1 million Juvenile Turf, and $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 10:56

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies: Slow times make favorites hard to figure

Benoit Photo
Bellafina drew off to a 4 1/4-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante.

The favorites for the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies may be exceptional, yet neither filly ran exceptionally fast last time out.

Serengeti Empress won the Pocahontas Stakes by more than 19 lengths, but her 1:45.47 time in the 1 1/16-mile race at Churchill Downs earned a 78 Beyer that does not rank among the top two dozen figures this year by a juvenile filly on dirt.

Bellafina is slower still. Although she won the Del Mar Debutante by more than four lengths, her 1:25.51 time for seven furlongs earned a mere 75 Beyer.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 10:36

Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint: Baffert holds pair of aces

Debra A. Roma
Ballerina winner Marley's Freedom (above) may be joined by Bob Baffert stablemate Dream Tree in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bob Baffert already has enjoyed a huge year at Churchill Downs. The Hall of Fame trainer won the Kentucky Derby for the fifth time, and Justify went on to sweep the Triple Crown while using Churchill as a primary training base.

But wait, there could be more.

Wed, 09/26/2018 - 10:26

Contreras keeps the money local with Late Night Pow Wow

Coady Photography
Late Night Pow Wow paid $21.40 in winning the Charles Town Oaks on Saturday night.

When Charles Town holds its richer open stakes, horses typically ship in from out of town and walk away with the top awards. But on Saturday, in the $300,000 Charles Town Oaks, owner-trainer Javier Contreras scored one for the home team with the West Virginia-bred filly Late Night Pow Wow.

The victory was the first in a graded stakes for Contreras, who has been training since the mid-1980s.

“It means everything – that all the hard work we do is worth it, not just for me but for all my help,” Contreras said. “Sunday we were all so happy doing our jobs. It means a lot.”