CYPRESS, Calif. - The $75,000 Beverly Lewis Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Los Alamitos was scheduled to be run Saturday but did not draw sufficient entries on Wednesday and has been postponed. Los Alamitos may try to bring it back for Sunday.
The race had 15 nominations, but only four fillies had reportedly been entered when the decision was made to scrap the race. If the race is held on Sunday, it will fill a void on the track’s calendar. No stakes was originally scheduled for Sunday.
Cathryn Sophia came out of her easy 6 1/2-length win in the $150,000 Princess of Sylmar last Saturday at Parx Racing in fine shape, according to trainer John Servis, and is ready for her meeting with undefeated champion Songbird in the Grade 1 Cotillion on Sept. 24.
“It worked out perfect,” Servis said. “She came out of the race great, she got a good number. I’m excited about the prospect of racing against Songbird. It’s been a long time coming.”
DEL MAR, Calif. – With Honors, who remained unbeaten with her victory in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf on Monday, will have her final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in the $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes on Oct. 10 at Santa Anita, according to Alex Solis Jr., the racing manager for owner-breeder LNJ Foxwoods.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Klimt and Straight Fire, the one-two finishers, both came out of the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Monday well and are being pointed to the Grade 1, $300,000 FrontRunner on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita, their connections said Tuesday.
Klimt, a son of Quality Road, followed up his victory in last month’s Best Pal with an even more impressive score Monday. His trainer, Bob Baffert, believes he will do even better with more distance.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The Del Mar summer season that ended on Monday featured some of the best stakes racing in the track’s history, which propelled the track’s business to a strong finish, but not enough to make up for a sluggish start, leaving Del Mar’s average all-sources handle and attendance below those of the prior summer.
In addition, Del Mar had a rash of equine fatalities that caused animal rights protesters to speak out last month at a California Horse Racing Board meeting, and several, carrying placards, protested outside the track on Monday.
Jockey Laurent Beaucamp was in critical but stable condition Tuesday morning in the intensive care unit at Saint Barnabas/Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J., following a Monday riding accident at Monmouth Park.
Beaucamp, 41, was aboard Irresistible Me in the sixth race at Monmouth. He was attempting to come through along the inner rail in upper stretch of the first-level optional-claiming sprint on turf when his horse appeared to hit and then jump the temporary rail. Beaucamp was thrown hard to the ground and Irresistible Me then tripped over the rail and fell.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It was another sensational Saratoga summer for the New York Racing Association as all-sources handle was the second-highest in track history.
All-sources handle for the 40-day meet was $647,322,503, a less than 1 percent decline from last year’s figure of $648,272,805. (These figures do not include international handle, which for 2016 has not yet been calculated).
Three Rules isn’t the only Florida-based 2-year-old unbeaten in four starts. The filly Cajun Delta Dawn also has yet to lose after a quartet of races, and after scoring three narrow wins, she dominated her rivals Saturday in the $300,000 Susan’s Girl division of the Florida Sire Stakes.
The winner’s share of the purse gave her and owner Curtis Mikkelsen $381,105 in earnings, about $500 more than Affirmed winner Three Rules has earned and the biggest 2-year-old bankroll in North America this year.
Three Rules didn’t break the clock this time, but his win Saturday at Gulfstream in the $300,000 Affirmed division of the Florida Sire Stakes was dominant, and if Three Rules holds his form, he is in for an even richer payday Oct. 1 in the $500,000 In Reality division of the Florida Sire Stakes.
