Bill Gray, the Northern California owner and breeder, was on an airplane on the afternoon of Dec. 15 at the time his colt Drop Um was running the Bay Meadows Juvenile in Pleasanton.
“They were coming around the turn and the wifi went out on the plane,” Gray recalled on Friday. “I had to sit there for two hours to find out what went on.”
Jockey Kazushi Kimura was off his two mounts at Santa Anita on Friday after sustaining a minor leg injury in the starting gate on Thursday.
Kimura is booked to ride six races on Saturday, including the strong favorite Big City Lights in the $125,000 California Cup Sprint, but needed a day off on Friday to continue his recovery, according to his agent, Brian Beach.
“He’s not going to make it” on Friday, Beach said late Friday morning. “He’s still a little body sore. He doesn’t feel he can give 100 percent today.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Ferocious, who was multiple Grade 1-placed at 2 before suffering through an eventful trip in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, moved closer to his 3-year-old debut after breezing an easy half-mile in 48.17 seconds Thursday at Gulfstream Park. Ferocious is trained by Gustavo Delgado, who won the 2023 Kentucky Derby with Mage.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – White Abarrio completed serious preparations for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Thursday morning, breezing an easy half-mile in 48.27 seconds over a quicker-than-usual track at Gulfstream Park.
Going in company with regular workmate Silver Moonlight, White Abarrio posted a 24.40 opening quarter-mile split and was hard held to finish about a head in front while working nearest the rail. He then pulled away readily on the gallop-out, easing up five furlongs in 1:01.29.
Watchtower, the winner of the Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes at one mile in October but only fifth of 11 in the Grade 1 American Oaks on Dec. 26, will be sent to Gulfstream Park for the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at 1 1/16 miles on Jan. 25.
“She got invited and we’re going,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “She’ll probably be a longshot. The owners want to go and the horse is doing good.
“Not everyone gets invited.”
Inexperienced 6-year-olds are a rarity in American racing. By that age, many are well into their career or off the track.
Our Bucky Charm, who starts in an allowance race for California-breds at Santa Anita on Saturday, is an exception. A winner of his first two starts, Our Bucky Charm returns from a layoff of nearly eight months in the day’s sixth race for his third race.
“He’s a talented horse,” trainer Mike Puype said on Thursday. “He’s had minor issues that kept him from getting to the races.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Saudi Crown is in, Skinner is out, and Imagination remains on the fence. That was the latest update regarding the potential starting lineup for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup as of Wednesday, when the third and final invitation list for the big event was released by the Gulfstream Park racing office.
A trainer with a horse entered in the Lecomte Stakes related a recent conversation with another Fair Grounds horse person, the conversational companion suggesting connections of the 3-year-old colt Built might scratch the horse from the Lecomte because he drew poorly in post 13.
Built’s trainer, Wayne Catalano, reached Tuesday by phone, never mentioned the possibility of scratching.
“He seems to have a lot of talent. If you’re going to be a good horse, you’re going to have to overcome obstacles,” Catalano said.
A new era for Maryland racing will officially begin Friday when Laurel Park kicks off its first season under the control of a state-owned nonprofit company tied closely to the state’s horsemen.
Laurel has not raced since the end of 2024, when it was still nominally owned and operated by an entity owned by 1/ST Racing and Gaming. The racing license for that company has now been transferred to a company controlled by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority.
