Fri, 03/11/2016 - 14:30

Stevens, Prat will ride at Keeneland

Benoit & Associates
Gary Stevens plans to ride in Kentucky from mid-April through Kentucky Derby Day, May 7.

Jockeys Flavien Prat and Gary Stevens, who have combined to win 11 stakes at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, will ride the majority of April at Keeneland.

Stevens, who leads all jockeys with seven stakes wins at this meeting, said on Friday that he will ride at Santa Anita through the end of the meeting April 10 and be based in Kentucky through Kentucky Derby Day, May 7.

Stevens will miss the three-week spring meeting at Los Alamitos from April 14 to May 1. The Keeneland meeting runs April 8-29. Churchill Downs opens its spring-summer meeting April 30.

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 13:40

Ralis among large cast expected for Rebel

Barbara D. Livingston
Grade 1 winner Ralis is among a group of 10 to 12 3-year-olds expected for next Saturday's Rebel Stakes.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Large fields have been the norm for the first pair of preps for 3-year-olds at this Oaklawn meet, and more of the same is expected next Saturday for the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel.

The group of probables for the 1 1/16-mile race includes Ralis, the winner of last year’s Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga, and Discreetness and Suddenbreakingnews, who won Oaklawn’s Smarty Jones Stakes and Grade 3 Southwest. Entries will be taken Wednesday.

“I look for 10 and would not be surprised if 11 or 12 showed up,” said Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope.

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 12:36

Parx raises value of 10 stakes to $100,000 from $75,000

Parx Racing has scheduled 31 stakes worth a cumulative $6 million for its 2016 season. The schedule is similar to last year, but the bottom stakes purse has been raised from $75,000 to $100,000, and the Grade 2, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby will follow the Travers at Saratoga by four weeks rather than three weeks, as it did in 2015.

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 12:09

Jones makes stakes plans for I'm a Chatterbox, Jensen

Barbara D. Livingston
Grade 1 winner I'm a Chatterbox will be pointed to the Grade 3 Doubledogdare at Keeneland on April 22.

Trainer Larry Jones said the Grade 1-winning filly I’m a Chatterbox likely will make her 2016 debut in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare on April 22 at Keeneland.

“We’re kind of eyeballing that one,” Jones said.

The 3-year-old colt Jensen, a two-time winner at this meet, will makes his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Spiral on Polytrack at Turfway Park. Jones pointed out that Jensen is a grandson of Hard Spun, who was undefeated on synthetics.

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 12:04

Nates Mineshaft retired

Barbara D. Livingston
The 9-year-old Nates Mineshaft holds the Fair Grounds track record for 1 1/8 miles.

The multiple graded stakes winner Nates Mineshaft, who holds the track record for 1 1/8 miles at Fair Grounds, has been retired, trainer Anne Smith said. He’s 9.

Nates Mineshaft, who was a ridgling, has been gelded. How and where Nates Mineshaft, who is owned by Windy Hill Farm, will spend his retirement hasn’t been decided, Smith said.

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 11:40

Majestic Harbor defies Father Time

Alexander Barkoff/Hodge Photography
The 8-year-old Majestic Harbor (right) can become a millionaire if he finishes fourth or better in the March 26 New Orleans Handicap.

NEW ORLEANS – Majestic Harbor, who is getting ready for the New Orleans Handicap, is sending out positive signals to trainer Paul McGee.

“He rides his bicycle to and from the track,” McGee said, explaining that Majestic Harbor pumps his legs energetically, “dancing and prancing.”

It would be understandable if Majestic Harbor, 8 years old and having made 39 starts, had lost a bit of enthusiasm for being a racehorse. But that’s not what McGee is seeing.

Thu, 03/10/2016 - 13:49

Steady rain forces cancellation of Oaklawn's Thursday card

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., canceled its nine-race program on Thursday due to a saturated surface. The area has had steady rain since Tuesday, and in that time, the surface has taken more than five inches of rain, according to a release from Oaklawn.

“The safety of the horses and riders is always our first concern,” said David Longinotti, director of racing for Oaklawn. “The rain began about 3 p.m. Tuesday and has barely stopped since.”

Wed, 03/09/2016 - 16:04

Candy My Boy earns shot at Louisiana Derby

Candy My Boy, who held admirably for fourth in the Risen Star after setting a very strong pace, worked an easy half-mile in 50.60 seconds last weekend at Fair Grunds and is likely to make his next start in the Louisiana Derby.

“If everything goes right, he probably will [run],” said trainer Roger Brueggemann. “He probably deserves another shot.”

Wed, 03/09/2016 - 16:01

Amoss unsure when Mo Tom will work next

Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography
Mo Tom wins the Lecomte in January at Fair Grounds.

Mo Tom continues to do well in his daily training and came out of a sharp half-mile workout last Saturday at Fair Grounds in good shape, and while Tom Amoss isn’t certain whether Mo Tom will have one or two more works before the Louisiana Derby, Mo Tom won’t be working again on Saturday.

“We have a lot of bad weather coming in tonight, and it’s going to be around for a while,” Amoss said Wednesday. “It’s still up in the air when he’ll work again.”

Wed, 03/09/2016 - 15:55

Gun Runner remains sharp in five-furlong workout

Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography
Gun Runner wins the Risen Star at Fair Grounds on Saturday.

Gun Runner, the Risen Star Stakes winner, worked five furlongs in company with the filly Adore on Monday at Fair Grounds, going the distance in 1:01.40. It was Gun Runner’s second five-furlong work since he won the Risen Star by a half-length while making his first start in almost three months.

“It was spot on, and the horse is really doing well,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “We feel great about him coming out of the Risen Star.”