Fri, 12/15/2023 - 14:05

Lone Rock waiting for spot at Old Friends

Barbara D. Livingston
Lone Rock was retired last summer and currently lives on at Arkansas farm as he waits for his spot at Old Friends.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Lone Rock, the top-class marathon runner who was retired over the summer, is on a waiting list to join his fellow retirees at Old Friends in Georgetown, Ky., according to his longtime trainer, Robertino Diodoro.

Lone Rock, a multiple Grade 2 winner of $1.4 million, raced some at Oaklawn during his career and in December 2021 captured the local Tinsel Stakes. He now lives on a farm not far from the track.

Old Friends admits approved horses as space permits, said Barbara Fossum, who is the organization’s horse intake manager.

Fri, 12/15/2023 - 14:00

Interborough likely last stop for Dr B

Barbara D. Livingston
Dr B won her second consecutive Go for Wand on Dec. 2 at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Dr B, who won the Grade 3 Go for Wand Stakes here Dec. 2, is likely to run in the $150,000 Interborough Stakes on Jan. 20 and then be retired, her trainer, Butch Reid, said Friday.

Reid and part-owner Chuck Zacney had indicated the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel Park in February was a goal in 2024, but in order to get to a top-flight stallion she will be retired before February, Reid said.

Dr B, who won the Go for Wand two years in a row, has a record of 6-7-2 from 22 starts and earnings of $583,240.

Fri, 12/15/2023 - 13:50

Ain't Broke puts it together for Rice

Coady Photography
Ain't Broke has won three straight. In her most recent start she went from last to first in an eighth of a mile.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Linda Rice appears to have found herself another stakes-caliber female sprinter in Ain’t Broke, who was visually impressive winning a second-level allowance Thursday at Aqueduct.

Ain’t Broke, a 4-year-old daughter of Dialed In, made an eye-catching last-to-first move from the three-eighths pole to the quarter pole, then sustained her run to the wire to win by five lengths.

Thu, 12/14/2023 - 14:45

Palma resumes training, rebuilding stable

Hector Palma never went away.

Through the late summer and early fall, the 86-year-old Palma kept a presence at Santa Anita, notably in the mornings at Clocker’s Corner, while serving a provisional suspension issued by the Horseracing Welfare and Integrity Unit in August after one of his starters tested positive for methamphetamine.

In September, four of Palma’s employees were suspended from 30 to 90 days after they tested positive for methamphetamine and/or amphetamine, according to rules published by California Horse Racing Board stewards.

Wed, 12/13/2023 - 17:04

Heroic paddock captain John Shear dies at age 102

john Shear at SA Oct 1 2021
Emily Shields
As paddock captain, John Shear was credited for protecting a child from a runaway horse in 2011. He suffered significant injuries in the incident.

John Shear, a former rider who worked at Santa Anita in various capacities for nearly 60 years, including as paddock captain well into his 90s, died on Tuesday from natural causes at a rehabilitation facility in Arcadia, Calif.

Shear was 102. His death was announced by his family through a statement issued by Santa Anita. Shear would have been 103 next month.

Wed, 12/13/2023 - 13:00

Bus Buzz, Echo Zulu continue to recover after undergoing surgery

Benoit Photo
Bus Buzz has been moved from the Chino Valley Equine Clinic to the farm of his owner-breeder, Terry Lovingier.

At a veterinary clinic and a local farm in Southern California, the 2021 champion Echo Zulu and 2023 stakes winner Bus Buzz continue to recover from injuries sustained at Santa Anita earlier this fall.

Bus Buzz was pulled up in early stretch of an allowance race at Santa Anita on Nov. 3 when he sustained a foreleg injury that required surgery to perform an arthrodesis, which fused the affected joints. The surgery was conducted at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.

Wed, 12/13/2023 - 12:25

Details emerge on Golden Gate purse cut; many stakes slashed

Shane Micheli/Vassar Photography
Overnight purses will be cut 25 percent and six-figure stakes such as the California Derby and All American Stakes have been scrapped for 2024.

Overnight purses have been slashed 25 percent for the forthcoming winter-spring meeting at Golden Gate Fields as the flagship Northern California track deals with a purse overpayment of approximately $3 million in advance of its scheduled closure on June 9.

The reductions affect all levels of races and were made in an attempt to recoup the massive debt caused by a reduction in mutuel handle.

A maiden race worth $30,000 at the autumn meeting that ended on Sunday will have a purse of $22,500 at the start of the winter-spring meeting that begins on Dec. 26.

Mon, 12/11/2023 - 13:45

Rice getting closer to Jacobson's record for NYRA wins in a year

Hot Fudge wins Garland of Roses at AQU Dec 9 2023
Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Hot Fudge gave trainer Linda Rice her 157th win on the New York Racing Association circuit this year. The record is 164.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Hot Fudge gave trainer Linda Rice her 2,400th career win when she captured Saturday’s Garland of Roses Stakes. It also was Rice’s 157th win on the New York Racing Association circuit this year, moving her within seven of David Jacobson’s single-year record of 164.

Hot Fudge ran in the Garland of Roses eight days after she won an allowance race at Aqueduct in her first start off a near six-month layoff.

Mon, 12/11/2023 - 13:45

White Chocolate eyes stakes after allowance win

White Chocolate - not winner - at AQU Oct 7 2023
Barbara D. Livingston
White Chocolate could make her next start in either the Interborough at Aqueduct or the What a Summer at Laurel Park.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – White Chocolate is likely headed back to stakes company after a decisive 3 1/2-length victory in a first-level allowance race run at Aqueduct on Sunday.

One of three winners ridden on Sunday’s card by Romero Maragh, White Chocolate broke running from her outside draw, set some solid early fractions, and galloped home a decisive winner. She ran six furlongs in 1:10.58 and earned an 86 Beyer Speed Figure. That number equaled her career best, also earned over a sloppy track.

Mon, 12/11/2023 - 13:45

P Mutter Pickle tries to build off runaway debut win

P Mutter Pickle wins maiden at AQU Nov 19 2023
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
P Mutter Pickle rolled to a handy 8 1/4-length victory in her career debut. She meets winners for the first time in Thursday's third race.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – P Mutter Pickle, an eye-catching debut winner of a New York-bred maiden race for 2-year-old fillies on Nov. 19, will face winners for the first time in a first-level allowance race Thursday at Aqueduct.

A daughter of Vino Rosso trained by Phil Antonacci for Stuart Grant’s The Elkstone Group, P Mutter Pickle galloped to an 8 1/4-length victory while being geared down late by Irad Ortiz Jr. She ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:18.33 and earned a 66 Beyer Speed Figure.