Gulfstream leading rider Edgard Zayas will spend part of this final week of the Royal Palm meet at Kentucky Downs, but he has already wrapped up the title at Gulfstream.
Zayas had won 112 races from 442 mounts at the meet through Thursday, according to statistics from Equibase. Emisael Jaramillo ranks second in the standings with 87 wins from 371 starts.
The meet, which ends Sunday, started April 4.
Formidable Man, winner of the restricted Oceanside Stakes at a mile on turf on July 20, will be trainer Michael McCarthy’s sole runner in Sunday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Derby.
McCarthy confirmed Formidable Man’s participation on Wednesday. Earlier this month, McCarthy said that Endlessly, a two-time stakes winner earlier this year, will miss the $300,000 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
“He’s getting a small break,” McCarthy said.
Easter, the winner of two Grade 2 stakes last fall but winless in three starts this year, has been held out of Saturday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf and is scheduled to have his next start in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile on turf at Santa Anita on Sept. 28.
Trainer Phil D’Amato said the decision was based on Easter’s running style, which he thinks may be better suited to Santa Anita’s turf course.
Last December, El Encinal recorded a 14-1 upset in South America’s most prestigious race, the Group 1 Carlos Pellegrini Internacional in San Ysidro, Argentina.
The win changed the trajectory of El Encinal’s career.
With the victory, El Encinal earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 2, and resulted in the 4-year-old colt being relocated to the United States earlier this year.
A 4-year-old colt, El Encinal will have his first start in this country in Saturday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf.
Comedy Town has taken his game to a new level since moving to dirt this summer at Gulfstream Park and now the plan is to test the waters against graded stakes company.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Comedy Town is being pointed to the Grade 2, $350,000 Phoenix on Oct. 4 at Keeneland, going six furlongs against 3-year-olds and up.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When Rebel Red runs in the $150,000 Bernard Baruch Stakes on Sunday he will be making his first start since losing his left eye in a stall accident.
There have been some horses who have run well in their careers with just one eye, such as Pollard’s Vision, Patch, and Un Ojo.
“Horses that I know of always ran without an eye and they adjusted to it,” trainer Cherie DeVaux said. “This is a little bit different because he had run with full vision in both eyes. This is a significant change.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – If the last week of the meet could go as well as the first week did, trainer Cherie DeVaux could see her Saratoga summer go from good to great.
DeVaux won with four of her first 10 starters during opening week, but has gone winless with 18 runners since. However, DeVaux had six seconds and four thirds from those 18 starters, including runner-up finishes in the Grade 2 Shuvee (Shotgun Hottie), Grade 1 Fourstardave (More Than Looks ), and Grade 2 Lake Placid (She Looks Pretty). Vahva finished third in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Ballerina.
In 11 starts since early 2023, the brilliant mare Adare Manor has been ridden only by Juan Hernandez.
Through that span, Hernandez, the leading rider in Southern California, has guided Adare Manor to eight wins in 11 starts, including three Grade 1 victories at Del Mar and Oaklawn Park.
The success has left Hernandez confident Adare Manor can handle two challenges for the first time in Saturday’s Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar – facing males and racing at 1 1/4 miles.
Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville, Ind., has canceled a 10-race card scheduled to be run on Wednesday, citing high temperatures throughout the Midwest.
In a statement, the track said the decision to cancel was made in consultation with horsemen representing both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses and that the cancellation was a “joint decision among all groups.”
The heat index is forecast to exceed 105 degrees on Wednesday afternoon, which the track said was “an unsafe category.” The card’s first race had a post time of 2:10 p.m. Eastern.
Adare Manor, the leading older female in California, will race against males for the first time in her career in Saturday’s Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.
Trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the $1 million Pacific Classic a record seven times, said Tuesday morning that he plans to run Adare Manor and Reincarnate.
Adare Manor will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, while Kazushi Kimura has the mount on Reincarnate, Baffert said.
