This weekend at Laurel Park, jockey Victor Carrasco is scheduled to resume riding for the first time since injuring his right foot Aug. 7. At the time of his injury, Carrasco was leading the Laurel rider standings.
Carrasco was injured when his mount threw him and stepped on his foot en route from the paddock to the racetrack. Carrasco was cleared to begin riding by his doctors Monday, according to his agent, Tom Stift.
The Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion, which top the biggest card of the year at Parx Racing next Saturday, are coming up as must-see events, with Nyquist and Exaggerator on target for the Derby and a salty group of at least four expected to take on the undefeated Songbird in the Cotillion.
The Grade 2 Derby, a 1 1/8-mile race, will have a purse of $1.25 million if both Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and Preakness winner Exaggerator start. The Grade 1 Cotillion is worth $1 million and will be run at 1 1/16 miles.
What a View, the winner of the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile and two other stakes this year, will return from a summer break in the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 8, trainer Kenny Black said.
What a View has not raced since winning the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at Santa Anita on April 9. A 5-year-old gelding, What a View was sidelined with foot problems in the spring and resumed training in July. Black said What a View is a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.
The stakes winners Ralis and Twentytwentyvision are scheduled to start in the $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita on Oct. 2, which could lead to an appearance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.
Twentytwentyvision, trained by Richard Mandella, won the Rolling Green Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Golden Gate Fields on Sept. 5, his first win in four starts this year. Earlier this year, Twentytwentyvision was second or third in three graded stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Dallas Stewart is undecided on whether to run Forever Unbridled once more before the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, with the 4-year-old filly having recently returned to the Churchill Downs work tab.
“I might run her in the Beldame or Spinster, or I might just train her up to the race,” Stewart said this week at Churchill before heading up Interstate 64 for another session of the Keeneland yearling sale. “It all depends on a few different factors.”
Virtually every record was smashed at a Kentucky Downs meet that ended Thursday as the turf-only track in south-central Kentucky continues to win over fans and horsemen with its huge purses, big fields, and unique brand of racing.
A five-day meet that began Sept. 3 consisted of 50 races that drew all-sources handle of more than $22.5 million, reflecting an increase of nearly 34 percent over the 2015 gross handle for 48 races. The per-day average was slightly more than $4.5 million.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita’s newly installed turf course was tested for the first time on Thursday when Curlin Rules worked a half-mile under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.
The workout was the first time a horse had been exercised on the surface since it was installed in June. The previous course was replaced after showing signs of significant wear and tear.
The new course will be used for the first time in races when the Santa Anita autumn meeting opens on Sept. 30. Santa Anita will host the Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 4-5.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Accelerate, the winner of the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 26 in his stakes debut, worked six furlongs in 1:13.20 at Santa Anita on Thursday in advance of the $200,000 Los Alamitos Derby on Sept. 24.
The Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles and is the richest race of the three-week Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Los Alamitos.
CYPRESS, Calif. – Perfect Pic could have a rapid career ascension in the coming weeks.
The flashy winner of a maiden race in her debut at Del Mar on Aug. 26, Perfect Pic will be favored to win an optional claimer at six furlongs at Los Alamitos on Saturday. A win could lead to a start in the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 1.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Runhappy took a major step toward his eagerly awaited return to action when breezing six furlongs in 1:14.40 on Thursday over a fast track at Churchill Downs, the site of his next scheduled start.
With regular rider Edgar Prado in from Maryland, Runhappy was breezing for the fourth time since recovering from a couple of physical setbacks that have precluded the 2015 sprint champion from racing since December. The colt will breeze once more, most likely at Keeneland, before making his comeback here Oct. 1 in the Grade 3, $100,000 Ack Ack at one mile.
