Retired rider Kevin Whitley was inducted into the Finger Lakes Hall of Fame on Monday by the local division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Whitley, 60, was on hand for the day’s races and honored at a dinner in the evening.
Whitley won or shared nine riding titles at Finger Lakes between 1981 and 1992. He led the standings for five consecutive years from 1986-90.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sunday’s Grade 2, $202,000 King Edward was the first stakes tally for Grand Arch, who looks to be coming into his own this year at age 5. Grand Arch saved ground on the turn under David Moran before splitting horses in the stretch, and then collared the leading favorite Excaper in the final strides of the one-mile turf event.
Trainer Brian Lynch said Grand Arch will stick to local turf stakes this summer, with the next stop being the Grade 2 Nijinsky, a 1 1/8-mile event on July 19.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A field of approximately 16 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds looks to be taking shape for the $1 million Queen’s Plate, the centerpiece of the meet here July 6.
A maximum of 17 runners will be allowed to run, and career earnings will be the determining factor for any horses on the outside looking in.
Todd Pletcher-trained Plate Trial winner We Miss Artie is the leading money winner among the nominees, with $699,000. Lexie Lou, the dominating Woodbine Oaks winner, isn’t far behind, with $649,250 in earnings.
Twelve European-based horses were among the 28 3-year-olds who were offered invitations to the inaugural $1.25 million Belmont Derby and $1 million Belmont Oaks. Both Grade 1 races, which could each have as many as 14 horses, are scheduled for 1 1/4 miles on turf and will be run at Belmont on July 5.
Saying he wants to emphasize quality over quantity, Martin Panza, the senior vice-president of racing operations for the New York Racing Association, said he plans to run fewer flat races at the upcoming Saratoga meet compared to last year.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Bahamian Squall, who has started just once since finishing a troubled sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, worked a sharp half-mile in 47.42 at Gulfstream Park on Monday in preparation for the $75,000 Housebuster Stakes here on July 5.
Working over a racetrack rated good after having been inundated by rain this past week, Bahamian Squall went an opening quarter in 23.92 then picked up the pace without being asked to the wire, coming home in 23.49 before galloping out a very strong five-eighths in 59.73 and pulling up six furlongs in 1:12.60.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Untapable had her final work leading into Saturday's Mother Goose Stakes, breezing a half-mile in 49.60 seconds at Churchill Downs early Monday. She is scheduled to be flown to New York the following morning for the Grade 1, $300,000 Mother Goose, a 1 1/16-mile one-turn race at Belmont Park.
On a humid morning over a fast track and with exercise rider Angel Garcia up, Untapable went without company in splits of 13.20 and 25.40 seconds, with a five-furlong out time of 1:03, according to Churchill clocker John Nichols.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Top Fortitude, a stakes winner in May who was second June 7 in the Woody Stephens Stakes at Belmont Park, is being pointed for the $500,000 Los Alamitos Derby on July 5, trainer Kory Owens said Sunday.
The Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby will be run over 1 1/8 miles and will be the longest race of Top Fortitude’s career. In the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes over seven furlongs, Top Fortitude closed from ninth in a field of 13 to finish 7 1/2 lengths behind the runaway winner Bayern.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Wildcat Red, who has not started since finishing 18th in the Kentucky Derby, worked five furlongs in 1:02.56 over a muddy track shortly after the renovation break Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park. The Hutcheson and Fountain of Youth winner will launch the second half of his 3-year-old campaign here Saturday in the $75,000 Quality Road Stakes.
The 3-year-old stakes winners Can the Man and Dance With Fate recorded fast workouts on Saturday in advance of expected appearances in stakes on July 5.
Can the Man, who won the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita on June 7, worked five furlongs in 58.80 seconds, the fastest of 49 works at the distance. Trainer Bob Baffert said the $500,000 Los Alamitos Derby over 1 1/8 miles on July 5 is a goal for Can the Man, who races for Kaleem Shah.
