HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Nick Zito will be the first to admit that he’s not shy about taking on the underdog role in major 3-year-old races, as he did this past season with Giuseppe the Great, who finished third as a 47-1 outsider in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and second at 14-1 and 30-1 in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 2 Woody Stephens.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine announced that the 159th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate will be Saturday, June 30.
The last time the Queen’s Plate was contested on a Saturday was in 1981. It was run on a Sunday this season. Woodbine also moved the Woodbine Mile to a Saturday two years ago.
“There are both historic and business reasons we moved the Queen’s Plate to Saturday,” said Jim Lawson, chief executive officer of Woodbine Entertainment Group.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse has won the Woodbine training title in each of the past 10 seasons, but holds just a two-win lead over Norm McKnight heading into the season’s final weekend.
Casse has 93 wins heading into Friday’s card and will run one horse Friday, plus five horses entered across three races Saturday. McKnight has 91 victories and has five horses entered in four races Friday and three horses entered in two races Saturday.
It all could come down to Sunday, when Casse has horses entered in three races and McKnight has horses entered in six races.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Melmich pursues his fourth graded stakes win of the season in the closing-day feature Sunday at Woodbine. The Grade 3, $125,000 Valedictory Stakes is for 3-year-olds and up over 1 3/4 miles on Tapeta.
Melmich, over six starts, suffered his first defeat of the season in the Grade 2 Autumn Stakes on Nov. 12, when he finished second behind Gigantic Breeze. Gigantic Breeze came within .22 of a second from breaking the 1 1/16-mile track record. With Melmich just one length behind, trainer Kevin Attard said he was pleased with the performance.
Jeff Runco has long dominated the trainer standings at Charles Town and wrapped up his 12th consecutive title months ago. On Saturday, he sent out the 4,000th winner of his career when Vua Saigon won the fifth race at Laurel Park.
Vua Saigon, who was ridden by seven-pound apprentice Luis Rodriguez, paid $13.20 in the $16,000 claiming race
"This is one of the highlights of my career," Runco said. "It's nice to get it here at the big track, Laurel, but I am very grateful to my home track of Charles Town."
Los Alamitos canceled its Friday afternoon Thoroughbred card, with a track official stating concern for the greater Southern California racing community following a devastating fire at the San Luis Rey Downs training center on Thursday afternoon.
Horses were evacuated from San Luis Rey after a raging fire struck the northern San Diego County facility. An estimated 25 horses were lost in the fire. Others were not accounted for Thursday.
Thursday evening, many trainers with horses at San Luis Rey Downs were busy with the relocation of stock to Del Mar.
Several barns were destroyed and an unknown number of horses died after a fast-moving fire moved through the San Luis Rey Downs training center in San Diego County on Thursday afternoon, according to horsemen on the property.
Trainer Scott Hansen said late Thursday afternoon that he feared his 30-horse stable lost as many as 10 horses.
Hansen was at Los Alamitos for races on Thursday and was in contact with a member of his stable staff who said a majority of their horses were released from their stalls and set loose on the property to get away from the burning barn.
A fire late Wednesday night at Laurel Park in Maryland claimed the life of one horse, Pappa Portmore.
The fire started in a tack room sometime after 10 p.m. – the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department tweeted that it was responding to the fire at 10:23 p.m. – before spreading to the adjacent stall that the gelding had recently taken up residence in, having been claimed Dec. 1 by trainer Anthony Farrior. There was no structural damage to the fire-retardant barn. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Actress, the dominant 8 1/4-length winner of the Grade 3 Comely Stakes on Nov. 24 at Aqueduct, will be pointed to the Grade 3, $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic on Jan. 28 at Sam Houston, trainer Jason Servis confirmed Thursday.
Servis said the timing and the 1 1/16-mile distance of that race fits into the schedule for Actress, whom Servis hopes to get to the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn in April.
Servis said that Actress would do her training in New York for now.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On Thursday, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin shipped promising 2-year-olds Avery Island and Dream Pauline from Belmont Park to south Florida. One established star who stayed behind, at least for now, was Takaful, who could make his next start in New York.
Takaful won the Grade 1 Vosburgh on Sept. 30 at Belmont Park to earn a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar. Takaful did not run well in the Sprint, finishing last of 10 without an apparent excuse.
