SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Adding spice to an already solid card at Saratoga, there will be a pick six carryover of $309,846 into Saturday’s 11-race program.
The pick six starts with race 6 (3:53 p.m. Eastern) and includes three stakes races – the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Grade 2 Bowling Green, and Grade 2 Jim Dandy, the latter of which will have a four-horse field.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – V. E. Day, the 2014 Travers winner, worked a stamina-building six furlongs in 1:14.17 on Friday over Saratoga’s main track in preparation for next Saturday’s Grade 1 Whitney Stakes.
With Kelvin Pahal in the irons, V. E. Day went in fractions of 25.63 seconds, 37.51, and 49.08 and galloped out seven furlongs in 1:28.16.
Trainer Jimmy Jerkens said he was happy with what he saw and believes that despite V. E. Day having had only two starts this year, his fitness level is where it needs to be to face a star-studded cast shaping up for the Whitney.
Trainer Peter Walder could have graded stakes starters on two fronts Aug. 15. He said Come to Mischief is on deck for the Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga, while Maid On a Mission is possible for the Grade 1, $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park.
“I might need to clone myself,” said Walder.
The California Horse Racing Board has rejected a request by Patrick Valenzuela to allow the troubled jockey to resume his career.
In a closed hearing at Del Mar on July 17, the racing board rejected the opinion of a hearing officer, who recommended that the 52-year-old Valenzuela be allowed to ride. The decision was announced in a statement released by the racing board Friday.
Valenzuela’s case before the hearing officer was held earlier this year.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Mike Pender was fined $5,000 on Thursday after reaching a settlement agreement with the California Horse Racing Board regarding an infraction for benefiting financially while under suspension in 2014, according to a ruling issued by Del Mar stewards.
Pender was suspended 21 days and fined $5,000 last year for having five horses test positive for Class 4 medications in a 12-month period ending June 15, 2014. During the suspension, Pender issued “billing for training services,” according to steward Scott Chaney.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Wild Dude and Masochistic, the first two finishers in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on July 26, are going their separate ways. Wild Dude is a candidate for the $250,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs Aug. 22. The Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth for the BC Dirt Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 30.
“That looks like a logical spot,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.
The Bing Crosby win gave Wild Dude an automatic berth for the BC Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Moulin de Mougin, who won the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar in 2014 and three other races in a 16-race career, has been retired because of concern over the condition of an ankle, trainer Richard Mandella said.
Moulin de Mougin left Mandella’s barn at Del Mar on Thursday for owners Jan Van de Bos and Robert Naify’s property in central California.
DEL MAR, Calif. – A six-furlong turf workout at Del Mar on Sunday will determine the next start for Grade 1 winner Stellar Wind.
Trained by John Sadler for Kosta and Pete Hronis, Stellar Wind was a notable absentee from Saturday’s $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, the top race of the summer meeting for fillies and mares.
Sadler said he is considering races such as the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks at 1 1/8 miles on turf or the $100,000 Torrey Pines Stakes at a mile on dirt.
“It depends on whether I want to stay on turf or dirt,” he said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey Manny Franco, involved in a frightening spill here Wednesday, will be off his mounts until next Wednesday, according to his agent, Angel Cordero Jr.
:: Saratoga: Watch the Saratoga Video Report hosted by Mike Welsch
Franco sustained only a swollen right calf and had general body soreness as a result of the spill. He did not sustain any other serious injuries despite getting stepped on by two trailing horses.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Wicked Strong, last year’s Jim Dandy Stakes winner, worked five furlongs in 1:00.19 over Saratoga’s main track Thursday in preparation for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Whitney Stakes on Aug. 8.
Equipped with blinkers and working at 9:30 a.m. – 45 minutes after the track reopened after renovation – Wicked Strong went his first quarter in 24.69 seconds and got his final three furlongs in 35.50. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.67 under regular exercise rider Kelvin Pahal.
