LEXINGTON, Ky. – And speaking of the Breeders’ Cup …
Sunset Glow and Osaila, both with big Breeders’ Cup efforts on their past performances, are among an oversubscribed group of 3-year-old fillies set to go postward Saturday in the last of 16 stakes at the Keeneland fall meet, the Grade 3 Valley View Stakes.
Obviously, Undrafted, Ageless, and Lady Shipman were among 19 horses pre-entered in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, but the lineup for the Oct. 31 race could undergo changes before the 5 1/2-furlong dash is run at Keeneland. Final entries for the race, which will be limited to 14 starters and two also-eligibles, will be taken Monday.
ELMONT, N.Y. – After a failed attempt at winning a Grade 1, Hot Stones is back with New York-breds at Belmont Park on Saturday, when she heads a field of 10 entered in the $250,000 Empire Distaff at 1 1/16 miles.
The last time she faced New York breds, Hot Stones won the Saratoga Dew Stakes by 9 1/4 lengths at Saratoga. She ran in the Grade 1 Beldame, finishing last, 13 lengths behind the winner, Wedding Toast.
ELMONT, N.Y. – The gang will not all be there in the $200,000 Mohawk Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for New York-breds on Saturday at Belmont Park.
King Kreesa, who won this race in 2013, has been turned out for the year after finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland, trainer David Donk said. He is expected back in 2016.
That will leave familiar foes Kharafa and Lubash to duke it out in the Mohawk. Kharafa beat Lubash by 1 1/4 lengths in this race last year and most recently beat him again in the Ashley T. Cole here Sept. 29.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Saratoga Snacks will try to win the Empire Classic for the second time in three years when he heads a field of nine entered for Saturday’s running at Belmont Park. The $300,000 Empire Classic is the richest of eight stakes – all for New York-breds – on an 11-race card known as Empire Showcase Day.
Purses total $1.75 million for the eight stakes. First post will be 12:25 p.m. Eastern, 30 minutes earlier than usual.
Since Maram won the inaugural running of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2008, two European-based horses have won the one-mile race. Flotilla was the first in 2012, and Chriselliam won it in 2013.
Flotilla paid $24.80, and Chriselliam returned $15.80 on a $2 wager. Actually, the only favorite to win the Juvenile Fillies Turf was Lady Eli, who was nothing less than sensational last year. She paid $6.80.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The defections of defending champion Work All Week and Rock Fall paved the way for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Sprint to oversubscribe, with 21 horses pre-entered for the event, all but guaranteeing a full field when the gates open for the always-frenetic, six-furlong dash on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Keeneland.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – There weren’t many surprises when pre-entries were released Wednesday for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, which shapes up as one of the more fascinating races on Breeders’ Cup weekend.
Cavorting, Stonetastic, La Verdad, Taris, and Judy the Beauty form a core of favorites in a deep cast that also includes such accomplished fillies as Artemis Agrotera, Dame Dorothy, and Merry Meadow. In all, 15 were pre-entered in a seven-furlong race limited to 14 starters.
The stage is set for a European-American throwdown Oct. 31 in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland. Of the 20 pre-entries, led by Win and You’re In challenge winners Stephanie’s Kitten, Watsdachances, Photo Call, and Legatissimo, there is a close split of European- and American-based runners, with the Americans outnumbering the Europeans 11-9.
It has been a year of change in Maryland racing, and the results were clear to see last Saturday at Laurel Park.
Maryland Million Day is one of the most popular days on the calendar, but a year ago, Laurel was showing its age. The facility had been neglected and looked dingy and out of date.
Fast forward 12 months, and the first floor, where most people congregate, is almost unrecognizable. There is new flooring, fresh paint, and the bar areas have been remodeled. The food court actually looks appetizing.
