Entries for Monmouth Park’s All-Time Haskell Great Simulated Race promotion end Sunday.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Haskell Invitational, Monmouth Park has put together a virtual race video matching 12 of the best horses to have won the race. To participate in the contest, one must go to the Monmouth web site, where a video of the post parade can be viewed, and try to pick the "simulation superfecta."
DEL MAR, Calif. – Joe Turner had had eight months to grasp the brilliance of Sircat Sally, his undefeated filly who will be favored in Sunday’s Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap for 3-year-old fillies on turf at Del Mar.
Turner said with delight that Sircat Sally’s perfect record through seven starts is hard to grasp, leaving him to wonder how much more she can accomplish.
“I keep thinking that to myself,” he said this week. “When is she going to peak, or is there more to it?”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association would like to conduct night racing at Belmont Park, believing it could stimulate business and create new racing fans.
A bill was passed in the New York Senate in late June that would permit NYRA to conduct night racing twice a week at the Belmont spring and fall meets. However, similar legislation did not get through the Assembly. NYRA is hoping to get that done during the 2018 legislative session, but night racing likely would not come to fruition until the fall of 2018 at the earliest.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jamyson ‘n Ginger, recently purchased by Juddmonte Farms and transferred to trainer Chad Brown, did not enter Sunday’s Coaching Club American Oaks and instead will aim to the Grade 1 Test at seven furlongs on Aug. 5.
:: Saratoga Clocker Report: Get in-depth workout analysis for the 2017 summer meet
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Richard Migliore, who left his position as a racing analyst for the New York Racing Association two weeks ago, has been hired as the East Coast correspondent for XBTV, an online horse-racing network owned and operated by The Stronach Group.
During the Saratoga meet, Migliore will provide insight into morning workouts and interview trainers about upcoming races.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Salty already has lost twice to Abel Tasman in Grade 1 races this year, and she will try again when the two 3-year-old fillies head a seven-horse field for Sunday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga.
Salty will have some company in the starting gate from her own barn as trainer Mark Casse and owner Gary Barber supplemented Summer Luck and Corporate Queen to the 1 1/8-mile race, which serves as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Alabama on Aug. 19.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Faversham, a 2-year-old full brother to California Chrome, has gone to the sidelines with minor shin soreness and will get back to training in the fall, trainer Art Sherman said.
“He started to get a little shinny on me, and he’s a later foal than Chrome, so we’re giving him some time off at Harris Farm,” Sherman said.
Faversham was up to five furlongs in his workouts at Los Alamitos before the decision was made to give him time off. His last work was June 3, when he went five furlongs in 1:01.20.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Fresh off winning three races on opening day, jockey Flavien Prat was busy Thursday morning at Del Mar working several of his top stakes horses, most notably Battle of Midway.
Battle of Midway went seven furlongs in 1:26.40 in preparation for the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth on July 30. Battle of Midway, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, is scheduled for one more work here early next week before traveling to New Jersey.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After winning the Commentator Stakes at Belmont Park for the second straight year, the hard-knocking 7-year-old Weekend Hideaway is ready to kick off the Saratoga session the same way he did last summer, in the 6 1/2-furlong John Morrissey for New York-breds next Thursday.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The 2-year-old filly Just a Smidge ran to expectations in Wednesday’s fifth race for maiden fillies at Del Mar, scoring a hard-fought win over Tyfosha in what could be a preview of major stakes for the division.
Just a Smidge, the 2-1 favorite, and Tyfosha were within a head of each other before Just a Smidge drew off in the last sixteenth to win the five-furlong race by 1 1/4 lengths in 58.12 seconds. Tyfosha, the 5-2 second choice, was 7 3/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Varanasi, the 7-2 third choice.
