ELMONT, N.Y. – When Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator turned the tables on Nyquist in last Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, it meant that for the first time under the current management team at the New York Racing Association, the Belmont Stakes will be run without a Triple Crown on the line.
Still, NYRA officials believe they have constructed a “must-see” card of racing that will draw interest from fans and bettors alike.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A field of eight fillies and mares will contest Thursday’s $43,000 allowance feature, with leading trainer Ralph Nicks holding the upper hand. He sends out a pair of promising 3-year-olds, Crowning Affair and Ad Lutem, each of whom scored an impressive maiden win here earlier this spring.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Chuck Simon has been one of the biggest advocates of summer racing on the south Florida circuit for the last two years. And his decision to stay here year-round certainly has paid big dividends this season.
Simon saddled his sixth winner from just 17 starters since the Gulfstream meet began April 6 when he sent out J C Monba to capture Saturday’s second race under a nifty, rail-skimming ride by jockey Matthew Rispoli. The victory was the 328th for Simon in a career that began at Churchill Downs in 1999.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Buff Bradley was at the bedside of his father when Fred Bradley died Friday at age 85 – just like they were together so often in life.
“I’d jump in the car and go to the races with my mom and dad when I was little, and my brother and two sisters would just want to stay home and tease the baby-sitter,” Bradley recalled with a smile this week at his Churchill Downs barn. “If it wasn’t for my dad being into horses, it’s very possible I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are two stakes races scheduled for the upcoming holiday weekend, the $75,000 Gleaming for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on turf Saturday and the $75,000 Tarpon for 3-year-olds at a mile on Monday’s Memorial Day program.
The stakes action really picks up the following Saturday, with seven stakes on the card, all of which serve as preps for stakes on Summit of Speed Day here July 2, including the Grade 2 Princess Rooney and Grade 2 Smile Sprint.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Mark Casse’s decision to leave horses in south Florida year-round for the first time this season has already had a major impact on the quality of racing at Gulfstream Park. Casse’s local stable includes the promising Conquest Pacemaker, a stakes winner at 3 who will launch his 4-year-old campaign as the heavy favorite in Wednesday’s $44,000 allowance feature at 7 1/2 furlongs on turf.
ARCADIA, Calif. – There was plenty of new activity at trainer Billy Morey’s stable at Santa Anita last weekend.
While Morey attended to the stakes-placed 3-year-old Midnight Ming, his wife, Elizabeth, unpacked boxes featuring stable emblems and other equipment needed for the 10 stalls that Morey’s runners will occupy.
Long a fixture in Northern California, Morey has had starters at Santa Anita in the past but is planning a more permanent presence this spring to diversify his stable on the state’s two circuits.
After splitting the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Exaggerator and Nyquist are still pointing to the Belmont Stakes on June 11, but the status of Nyquist became a bit uncertain on Monday when trainer Doug O’Neill revealed that the colt had a high temperature, necessitating a delay in his shipping from Pimlico to Belmont Park.
According to O’Neill, Nyquist had a temperature of “102 and change” on Monday, about two degrees above normal. He was not coughing but did leave some grain, O’Neill said.
Blood work was done, and the results “will tell us a lot,” O’Neill said.
The jackpot for the Golden Pick 6 at Golden Gate Fields went unclaimed for the 48th straight day Sunday when multiple bettors picked all six winners.
The Golden Pick 6 is a jackpot-style wager that pays out when only one ticket has all six winners. The jackpot pool going into Thursday’s card has now risen to $974,173.
The wager was last cashed on Feb. 27.
