Delaware Park will hold a life celebration Saturday for former track outrider Steve Kisielewski, who died March 4 at age 68.
Kisielewski, a former jockey, was the lead outrider at Delaware Park from 1986 until he retired in 2007. A native of Derry, N.H., he began riding in New England in the 1960s and competed at Narragansett Park, Suffolk Downs, Rockingham Park, Shenandoah Downs, and Green Mountain, among other tracks.
Unrivaled took a successful first step for his new owner, Team Valor International, winning a first-level allowance at Parx Racing on Sunday by five lengths. The victory came on the heels of a 15-length Parx maiden score.
We will learn more about Unrivaled in his next race, which is likely to come April 4 in either the Blue Grass at Keeneland or the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Finnegans Wake has emerged over the past three months as the best long-distance turf horse in California, and he will seek to retain that position when shooting for his fourth straight victory Saturday in the Grade 2, $200,000 San Luis Rey Stakes, the highlight of the weekend’s stakes action at Santa Anita.
Jockey Corey Lanerie continued his good success here this winter riding a pair of winners on Saturday including the very promising 3-year-old filly Taylor S in the Any Limit Stakes. The Kentucky-based Lanerie has made south Florida his winter home for the past three seasons and continues to build his win total each successive year. He is eighth in the standings at the current meet with 28 victories.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Nothing generates more interest and excitement this time of year more than a 3-year-old that can run.
On Saturday, trainer Gerald Bennett sent out Fast Flying Rumor to make his third start since being claimed for $25,000. After breaking well, Fast Flying Rumor was content to sit just off the pace outside under Daniel Centeno in the 6 1/2-furlong first-level optional $75,000 claiming sprint. When Centeno let Fast Flying Rumor know it was time to get serious, the response was something to see.
One only has to think back to this past Saturday to find the last California shipper to win Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes, a race champion American Pharoah dominated in the slop. But to recall the last California invader to win the Spiral at Turfway Park requires a much longer memory or an expansive Internet search.
Not since 2000 – when President Bill Clinton was still in the White House – has a California shipper won the Spiral. That year, Globalize scored for Jerry Hollendorfer.
Approximately 50 jockeys have notified management at Parx racetrack outside Philadelphia that they will not ride beginning this weekend unless the track rescinds a demand that jockeys indemnify Parx as part of a new insurance policy, according to the Jockeys’ Guild.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – In the aftermath of champion American Pharoah starting his 3-year-old season Saturday with a 6 1/4-length win in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, trainer Bob Baffert said he was pleased with how the race developed for the comebacking American Pharoah and how the horse emerged from the Rebel.
American Pharoah was making his first start since a Sept. 27 win in the Grade 1 FrontRunner. He set a controlled pace before pulling clear in the Rebel, covering the 1 1/16 miles on a sloppy track in 1:45.78.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Two-time Eclipse Award winner Main Sequence worked seven furlongs in 1:27 around the dogs on Monday at the Palm Meadows training center in his final major tune-up for the rich Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan on March 28.
