Fri, 05/10/2024 - 15:18

Powell gearing up Air Force Red, Anisette for Memorial Day Grade 1s

Benoit Photo
Trainer Leonard Powell is pointing Anisette to the Gamely on May 27. She hasn't raced since winning the Grade 1 American Oaks in December.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The May 27 program at Santa Anita could be an A-plus day for trainer Leonard Powell.

Powell has ambitions to sweep the two Grade 1 turf races on Memorial Day with Air Force Red in the Shoemaker Mile and Anisette in the Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles.

Both races are worth $300,000, and both of Powell’s runners have delivered outstanding performances in recent starts.

Fri, 05/10/2024 - 11:53

Pretty Mischievous back galloping

Barbara D. Livingston
Pretty Mischievous finished third in the La Troienne, her first start of her 4-year-old season.

Pretty Mischievous managed a third-place finish making her 4-year-old bow in the La Troienne, but she was beaten more than five lengths, earned just an 86 Beyer Speed Figure, and did not run to her best form.

“I thought she ran well, but I don’t know that she’s in love with the slop,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “That, and she’ll probably improve from the run. She might have gotten a little tired at the end. It looked at the quarter pole like she was going to be competitive. She at least showed us she’s trained on.”

Fri, 05/10/2024 - 11:53

O'Neill to send Vlahos, Raging Torrent to Woody Stephens

Barbara D. Livingston
Raging Torrent popped a 104 Beyer Speed Figure, winning the first race after the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Vlahos, making his first start since being purchased following a blazing career debut that earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, finished a gallant third on Kentucky Derby Day after contesting a strong pace in the Pat Day Mile. But he was not the fastest 3-year-old one-turn dirt horse of the day for trainer Doug O’Neill.

In Saturday’s 13th race, following the Derby, Raging Torrent went wire to wire in a first-level allowance, winning by more than eight lengths, his seven-furlong time of 1:21.13 good for a 104 Beyer.

Fri, 05/10/2024 - 11:53

Xigera fine after misfire in La Troienne

Barbara D. Livingston
For her next start, Xigera is possible for the Shawnee Stakes on June 1 at Churchill Downs.

The bad news is Xigera was all but eased making her first start as a 4-year-old in the Grade 1 La Troienne on May 3 at Churchill. The good news is her connections found nothing wrong with the filly.

Thu, 05/09/2024 - 14:30

Purses at fair meet down from 2023 but higher than Golden Gate

The Pleasanton fair will run from June 14 through July 7. Pleasanton will then hold a fall meet from late October to mid-December.

Purses at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton this summer will be lower than the corresponding meeting in 2023 by a range of 3.8 to 8.6 percent, but higher than the current meeting at Golden Gate Fields.

Overnight purses have been cut by $1,000 per race, affecting some categories more significantly than others. A first-condition allowance race will be worth $26,000, down from $27,000 last summer, a decline of 3.8 percent. The same race at Golden Gate Fields has a purse of $23,500.

Thu, 05/09/2024 - 14:21

Linda's Gift held out of Santa Barbara in favor of the Gamely

Benoit Photo
linda's Gift has won three stakes in a row, the Santa Ana (above), the Astra, and the Red Carpet.

Linda’s Gift, the winner of three consecutive stakes for fillies and mares in Southern California since late November, is a glaring absentee from Saturday’s $100,000 Santa Barbara Stakes at Santa Anita.

It will not be long before the 5-year-old Linda’s Gift is racing again. Trainer Richard Mandella said on Thursday that Linda’s Gift is a candidate for the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes, a $300,000 turf race for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on May 27.

Thu, 05/09/2024 - 12:25

Handle up despite Tampa Bay Derby Day debacle

Tom Keyser
Tampa Bay Downs averaged 4.02 million in handle per day. Total purses at the meet were up 26 percent.

Total handle during the recently concluded meet at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., was up 2.4 percent, according to the track, despite wet weather and a communications outage on the track’s biggest day of racing.

Total handle for the 90-day meet was $361.5 million, the track said, with average daily handle of $4.02 million.

Wed, 05/08/2024 - 13:57

Golden Gate to run seven-race card Friday

Barbara D. Livingston
To make up for two days of insufficient entries, Golden Gate will hold a seven-race card Friday.

Golden Gate Fields will run a seven-race program on Friday after failing to draw sufficient entries on two Fridays in the last month.

Racing was not held on April 19 and May 3 because of a lack of race-ready horses. The track’s horse population has decreased in recent months in advance of the permanent closure of Golden Gate Fields on June 9.

Friday’s program drew 43 entrants.

Wed, 05/08/2024 - 13:53

Talamo to return to riding in California

Coady Photography
Jockey Joe Talamo will return to California this summer, where he will ride the Del Mar meet.

Jockey Joe Talamo, who has won 2,334 races in his career through Tuesday, will resume riding in Southern California on a full-time basis later this month, according to his agent, Marty McGee.

Talamo, 34, will be represented by agent Rene Amescua in California. Talamo plans to ride the final weeks of the current Santa Anita meeting, which ends on June 16 before focusing on the Del Mar summer meeting, which runs from July to 20 to Sept. 8.

In his last summer of riding at Del Mar in 2019, Talamo finished fourth in the standings with 23 wins.

Wed, 05/08/2024 - 11:30

Broadway Venus to get break after no stakes races at Santa Anita

In winning the season’s first 2-year-old race for fillies at Santa Anita on May 3, Broadway Venus became the third debut winner from five runners produced by the mare Star of Munster.

Broadway Venus also is the first 2-year-old winner to go on vacation. Due to an absence of local opportunities, she was sent to a layup facility for a month of downtime.

“There are no options,” trainer Ryan Hanson said. “If you win a 2-year-old maiden race [in spring], the next chance for California-breds is not until Aug. 4 at Del Mar. It’s a big problem we have out here.”