High Noon Rider’s performance in the $250,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Sunday will help determine the path for the horse next year at 3, said trainer George Weaver. High Noon Rider will be making his two-turn debut after winning a maiden special weight race at Aqueduct in his most recent start Nov. 19.
CYPRESS, Calif. – When D. Wayne Lukas arrives at Los Alamitos on Thursday in advance of Take Charge Brandi’s appearance in Saturday’s $350,000 Starlet Stakes, he may need a moment to gain his bearings.
Much has changed since Lukas was based at Los Alamitos in the 1970s, and since he raced a small stable of Quarter Horses there in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
On Tuesday, Lukas noted that there are few familiar faces left from his early days.
“I know it’s changed,” he said. “D. Wayne Lukas might be the answer to a trivia question.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Among the new additions to the local jockey colony this winter is Rafael Hernandez, who wasted little time in making his presence felt by guiding St. Borealis to victory from post 14 in Saturday’s Claiming Crown Tiara. Hernandez came to town at the behest of trainer Wesley Ward, who found the nine-year veteran while running horses this summer in the Midwest.
St. Borealis was the fourth stakes winner Hernandez has ridden for trainer Mike Maker and owner Ken Ramsey.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It was only appropriate that Todd Pletcher would win the first race of the 2014-15 Gulfstream Park championship meeting. Costenia cruised to an entry-level allowance win in the first race Saturday, underscoring that Pletcher is back in full force seeking an unprecedented 13th training title here this winter.
The West Virginia Racing Commission has approved a 220-day racing season at Charles Town in 2015, although a shorter meet likely will be run.
Under state law, Charles Town must apply for at least a 220-day season. The track reported that it has reached an agreement with the local division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association to reduce the number of days to 193 and has requested the commission amend the schedule.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – At age 94, Jerry Bozzo may well be the oldest active trainer in North America. What is certain is that Bozzo will be the oldest trainer to win a stakes race at Gulfstream Park in 2014 if his homebred 3-year-old filly Flutterby can repeat her last race and defeat nine rivals in Wednesday’s $50,000 Golden Beach Handicap.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The popular Sunshine Millions program will undergo some changes when contested at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 17. Purses for the five stakes races on the card have been reduced by $350,000 in total, that money withdrawn by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association to be reallocated to other Florida-bred stakes during the year.
As a result, the Sunshine Millions will no longer be carded exclusively for Florida-breds but will also be open to horses bred in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Atreides bounced back from his only loss in five career starts and earned a berth in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope on Jan. 10 by overcoming early trouble to register a 4 1/2-length victory over Dudeman and six other overmatched 3-year-olds in Sunday’s $50,000 Aventura Handicap.
Atreides, now 4 for 4 at Gulfstream, suffered his only setback in his previous start, finishing a disappointing sixth as the even-money favorite following a rough trip in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby.
La Verdad raced 13 times between November 2013 and this Thanksgiving, using her blazing speed to win five stakes. Trainer Linda Rice is giving La Verdad some time off but intends to race her in 2015.
La Verdad, 4, tired while facing males in the slop in the Fall Highweight Handicap on Thanksgiving. She has since been sent to Patty Hogan’s Fair Winds Farm in New Jersey for a breather and is scheduled to rejoin Rice’s stable in February.
As the week began, New York Racing Association stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes had five probable starters for the $100,000 Queens County Stakes on Saturday.
The expected runners are Micromanage and Percussion for Todd Pletcher, Stormin Monarcho (David Jacobson), Elnaawi (Kiaran McLaughlin), and Don Dulce (Jason Servis).
Stormin Monarcho enters in sharp form, having won stakes at Penn National, Laurel Park, and Delaware Park since September. Jacobson also could start Wealth to Me, an optional-claiming winner in the slop at Laurel Park last Saturday.
