Fri, 07/13/2018 - 12:36

Dowling, Upham honored by Texas Thoroughbred Association

Churchill Downs/Coady Photography
Patrona Margarita, winning the Pocahontas Stakes, will join stablemate Classy Act in the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 24.

Sue Dowling and Craig Upham of Stoneview Farm were named the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s members of the year during a banquet in June. Mary Ruyle, the organization’s executive director, said they were recognized for the attention they have brought to the Texas breeding program.

Upham is the breeder of half-siblings Texas Chrome, honored as the 2017 Texas-bred of the Year, and Patrona Margarita, the 2017 champion Texas-bred 2-year-old filly for her win in last year’s Grade 2 Pocahontas at Churchill.

Fri, 07/13/2018 - 12:30

Terra's Angel gets a break, might go in Remington Oaks

Benoit & Associates
Terra's Angel, named for the late daughter of co-owner Terry Eoff, wins the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf under Sasha Risenhoover on Monday.

The multiple stakes winner Terra’s Angel was scheduled to return to her Lone Star Park base Thursday night after spending the past month racing at Prairie Meadows, according to co-owner and trainer Terry Eoff. Terra’s Angel won the $65,000 Panthers on June 7 at Prairie and most recently finished an uncharacteristic ninth in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks on July 5.

“She got hit pretty hard coming out of the gate,” Eoff said. “She’s body sore pretty bad. We’re going to give her a little time off, get her back 100 percent.”

Fri, 07/13/2018 - 12:26

Stallion Texas Chrome might return to racing

Dustin Orona Photography
Texas Chrome became a millionaire after winning the Assault Stakes in July.

Texas Chrome might resume racing.

Owner Danny Keene said he is debating a comeback with the millionaire and multiple graded stakes winner, who was retired last fall and bred to about 25 mares this year in Arkansas while standing his first season at stud.

Texas Chrome, 5, has been galloping at Keene’s farm and training center in Hot Springs, Ark. He was retired last October with a hairline fracture in a knee. A few months prior, Texas Chrome became just the second Texas-bred to hit $1 million in earnings when he captured the Assault Stakes at Lone Star Park.

Fri, 07/13/2018 - 12:00

Gemonteer might hit the road for Hall of Fame Stakes

Kenny Martin/Bob Coglianese Photos Inc.
Gemonteer and jockey Miguel Vasquez win the Not Surprising Stakes by 4 3/4 lengths.

Gemonteer has come a long way in a short time.

Seven weeks after winning his career debut in game fashion April 29, Gemonteer became a stakes winner, and an impressive one at that, by drawing away to a 4 3/4-length victory over Shana Tova last Saturday at Gulfstream Park in the $100,000 Not Surprising Stakes. Gemonteer, a 3-year-old son of Distorted Humor trained by Jena Antonucci, earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

Patience has proven a virtue with Gemonteer, who was sent to Antonucci by owner Gelfenstein Farm late last season.

Fri, 07/13/2018 - 11:40

Red Ruby readying for meeting with top fillies in Alabama Stakes

Hoofprints, Inc.
Red Ruby ran her record to 4 for 6 with a dominant win Saturday in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As the Kentucky Oaks approached, the connections of Red Ruby dearly wanted her to prove she was among the top 3-year-old fillies in North America.

It wasn’t to be.

A minor injury stemming from a freak barn accident in March kept Red Ruby in her Keeneland stall on Oaks Day, May 4, as the filly just wasn’t quite ready to resume racing.

“It was painful to sit there and watch the Oaks,” recalled trainer Kellyn Gorder. “But, things happen for a reason, I guess. When you do right by the horse, it pays off, I think.”

Fri, 07/13/2018 - 11:40

Mine Inspector impresses in debut

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Vickie Foley has been fielding inquiries from would-be buyers after Mine Inspector raced to a 7 3/4-length debut victory last Sunday at Ellis Park. The 2-year-old colt broke poorly, yet still proved tons the best.

Jimmy McNerney, the race-caller at Ellis in western Kentucky, was among those impressed.

“Mine Inspector is running a ginormous race here!” McNerney shouted as the colt drew off under James Graham.

Fri, 07/13/2018 - 11:36

Sunday card features four allowances

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – An excellent nine-race card highlighted by no fewer than four allowances (races 4, 5, 7, 9) is on tap for Sunday at Ellis as the first three-day week of the 30-day meet comes to an end.

Crosswalk, a promising 3-year-old trained by Neil Howard, is the most prominent name on the card. Even though he is facing older horses for the first time, the City Zip colt figures as a solid favorite in race 5, a $44,000 second-level allowance at six furlongs.

Thu, 07/12/2018 - 17:48

Golden Gate gets conditional approval for meet to open Aug. 22

CYPRESS, Calif. – Golden Gate Fields received conditional approval to operate a six-week race meeting from Aug. 22 to Oct. 2, pending completion of a contract regarding labor costs between the racetrack and an association of Northern California county fairs.

Thu, 07/12/2018 - 17:09

Lakow returning to NYRA as racing secretary at Aqueduct, Saratoga

Benoit photo
Mike Lakow (right) poses with jockey Rafael Bejarano in 2014, when Lakow was racing director at Santa Anita.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Mike Lakow is coming home.

Lakow, the racing secretary at the New York Racing Association from 1995 to 2005, is returning to NYRA to be the racing secretary for Aqueduct and Saratoga.

This summer, Lakow will serve as the associate racing secretary at Saratoga as Martin Panza, the senior vice president of racing operations for NYRA, will write the condition books for the 40-day meet that begins July 20. Lakow will take over as racing secretary at Aqueduct when that meet begins Nov. 2.

Thu, 07/12/2018 - 15:36

Cohen denied New York jockey's license

Barbara D. Livingston
David Cohen broke both the fibula and tibia in his right leg when he was kicked by a horse in the paddock Saturday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York State Gaming Commission denied jockey David Cohen a license to ride in New York because he failed to comply with licensing requirements, according to a ruling issued on Thursday.

Cohen applied for a New York license on April 18 and was given what’s known as a valid receipt to ride while his application was reviewed. Cohen owes the commission some paperwork, and he may have an issue regarding financial obligations from a prior relationship, according to a source.

Cohen couldn’t be reached for comment.