Fri, 05/08/2015 - 12:36

Beholder improves; may target Adoration

Shigeki Kikkawa
Trainer Richard Mandella said Beholder is more likely to remain in California for the Adoration Stakes than to ship to New York for the Ogden Phipps..

ARCADIA, Calif. – Beholder, the two-time champion who was to miss Saturday’s $300,000 Vanity Stakes at Santa Anita because of a fever, might have a summer campaign in Southern California.

Fri, 05/08/2015 - 12:01

Ami's Flatter targets Marine Stakes

Michael Burns
Ami's Flatter will likely make his next start in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes at Woodbine on May 16.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Queen’s Plate winter-book favorite Ami’s Flatter has not raced since finishing third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 28 and likely will make his next start in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes at Woodbine next Saturday, trainer Josie Carroll said.

Fri, 05/08/2015 - 11:26

Romans barn regroups after disappointing Derby weekend

Barbara D. Livingston
Molly Morgan wins the La Troienne Stakes by three-quarters of a length Friday at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Oaks undercard.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dale Romans has his stakes contingent preparing for the next round of battle after a somewhat disappointing Kentucky Derby weekend that was salvaged by a Grade 1 victory for the stable.

A triumph by Molly Morgan in the Grade 1 La Troienne on the Kentucky Oaks undercard helped take some of the sting out of a fifth-place finish by Birdatthewire in the Oaks, a seventh by Keen Ice in the Derby, and defeats for five other Romans runners in stakes during the two-day extravaganza.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 15:31

Palace Malice will have to do some running in Diablo

Barbara D. Livingston
Palace Malice (above) must face Grade 1 winner Palace and Grade 3 winner Clearly Now in the Diablo Stakes on Sunday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – After a minor foot issue forced him to scratch Palace Malice from the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes last weekend, trainer Todd Pletcher was scrambling to find a back-up plan to get the horse ready for next month’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.

Sunday’s $100,000 Diablo Stakes at six furlongs at Belmont Park became Plan B, but it did not come up easy.

Palace Malice was one of eight horses entered Friday for Sunday’s Diablo Stakes, including Grade 1 winner Palace and the multiple Grade 3 winner Clearly Now.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 15:25

Pimlico Special up next for Commissioner

Barbara D. Livingston
Sr. Quisqueyano (right) finishes second to Commissioner in the Grade 3 Skip Away on March 28 at Gulfstream.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Commissioner, the runner-up in last year’s Belmont Stakes and the winner of the Grade 3 Skip Away Stakes at Gulfstream on March 28, will make his next start in the $300,000 Pimlico Special, trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Meanwhile, Race Day, the winner of the Razorback and Oaklawn Park handicaps in his last two starts, will be aimed at either the Met Mile or the Stephen Foster, Pletcher said.

Lynch on the grounds

Brian Lynch has brought in the first six of what will eventually be 30 horses to Belmont Park.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 12:26

Bettor-friendly changes and the return of Joe Bravo

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Horses train at Monmouth Park this week preparing for the track's 70th season of racing, which begins Saturday.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – When Monmouth Park begins its 70th season Saturday, there will be a few tweaks that should appeal to bettors, a new face in the announcer’s booth, and the return of a local hero to the jockey colony.

At the same time, Darby Development, which operates the track for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, continues to work on legislative initiatives intended to guarantee long-term financial stability for the industry. The New Jersey horsemen’s group has leased Monmouth Park from the state since 2012.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 15:35

Hawthorne business continues to decline

All-sources average daily handle on Hawthorne races at this winter-spring meet dropped 11 percent from the same meet last year, continuing a steady decline in business at the Chicago-area track over the last few years.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 15:21

Peter Pan attracts only five

Coady Photography
Wolf Man Rocket, gives trainer Bob Baffert the first of two wins in stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday's program in the Northern Spur.

ELMONT, N.Y. – One week after winning his fourth Kentucky Derby, trainer Bob Baffert will try for the biggest race run for 3-year-olds this week when he starts Wolf Man Rocket in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park. The Peter Man is run at 1 1/8 miles around one turn.

The Peter Pan, the local prep for the Belmont Stakes on June 6, drew a field of only five. Trainer Todd Pletcher has the uncoupled entry of Two Weeks Off and Madefromlucky. Trainer Mark Casse supplemented Conquest Curlinate, while Bill Mott entered Tiz Shea D.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 15:16

Hardest Core to launch season in Man o’ War

Four-Footed Fotos
Hardest Core, shown winning the Arlington Million, is back in Chester County, Pa., where he will begin jogging in January towards his 2015 campaign.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Hardest Core, the upset winner of last year’s Grade 1 Arlington Million, will make his seasonal debut in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park.

The Man o’ War will be a homecoming of sorts for Hardest Core, who began his career in the barn of New York-based trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, winning two of three starts over the Belmont turf, including a maiden score May 31, 2013.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 14:50

Milligan barn has big plans

Dustin Orona Photography
Texas Air provided trainer Allen Milligan with his first graded stakes victory in the Texas Mile.

Trainer Allen Milligan is on the move. He won the first graded race of his career last week at Lone Star Park with Texas Air. He has Haveyougoneaway on deck for an opening-weekend stakes at Ruidoso Downs. And he’s looking at sending a small division of horses to Del Mar.

Milligan, 48, took down the co-richest race of the Lone Star meet last Friday night when Texas Air closed from off the pace to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile. The horse will be pointed for a sweep of the meet’s biggest prizes later this month in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap.