Del Mar has postponed laying grass on its new turf course by 48 hours, to Wednesday, the track announced on Friday.
Over the winter, Del Mar expanded its turf course to accommodate larger fields. Installation of the new sod has been delayed to prepare the base and because of “more extensive preparation requirements,” according to a statement.
The sod is scheduled to arrive at the track at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, and be installed that morning.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Admiral can hit the Triple Crown trail if he wins a $58,000 allowance race at Santa Anita on Sunday.
Trained by Bob Baffert, The Admiral won a maiden special weight race over seven furlongs on Feb. 15 in his last race, his fourth career start. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90.
In his preceding race, The Admiral ran seventh in a maiden race over 1 1/16 miles, the distance of Sunday’s race.
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The initial game plan as it pertained to Sheikh Mohammed’s 4-year-olds Romansh and Long River was to keep them separated, which explained why Long River stayed in New York for the early part of the winter while Romansh was based in south Florida.
While Long River improved his résumé with a pair of victories at Aqueduct, Romansh’s stock dropped somewhat with a last-place finish in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream.
Retired trainer Larry Robideaux Jr., trainer Bret Calhoun, and Proud Spell, who swept the Fair Grounds Oaks/Kentucky Oaks double in 2008, were inducted Wednesday into the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame.
Robideaux, who retired in 2012 with 1,963 career victories, won the Fair Grounds Oaks with My Charmer in 1972 and with Honest and True in 1980.
“The biggest thrill I ever got in horse racing was winning with a first-time starter, any first-time starter,” said Robideaux, 80. “That means I did my job.”
NEW ORLEANS – Apprentice jockey Ashley Broussard points to several factors behind her recent run of success at Fair Grounds.
“More experience and a lot stronger now than when I first started,” Broussard said. “Better horses. A little bit of everything.”
A 21-year-old native of Youngsville, La., Broussard is having the most productive month of her young career. Entering Friday’s racing, she had 5 wins, 2 seconds, and 6 thirds from 22 mounts in March.
Bayern, the unbeaten 3-year-old scratched from the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 8, has resumed racetrack exercise, trainer Bob Baffert said.
Baffert said Bayern was sent to the track Wednesday. Owned by Kaleem Shah, Bayern beat maidens by 3 1/4 lengths in a race over seven furlongs in his debut Jan. 4 and won a one-mile allowance race by 15 lengths Feb. 13.
Baffert said Bayern will be considered for two $1 million races in early April – the Santa Anita Derby on April 5 or the Arkansas Derby on April 12.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The 155th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate headlines a 2014 Woodbine stakes schedule that includes 102 races worth almost $20 million.
The Queen’s Plate will be the featured race on the July 6 card that also includes three graded stakes: the Grade 2 Dance Smartly, Grade 2 Highlander, and Grade 3 Singspiel.
The $500,000 Breeders’ Stakes completes the Canadian Triple Crown at Woodbine on Aug. 17, while the middle jewel, the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, will be run at Fort Erie on July 29.
Miss Serendipity is entered in Saturday’s $350,000 Santa Margarita, but trainer Ron McAnally said Thursday that the 6-year-old mare is likely to run in the $200,000 Santa Ana Stakes on turf Sunday instead.
“More than likely, it will be the turf,” McAnally said. “She won her big race in Argentina on the grass. The owner will be here Friday, and we’ll make a decision.”
Ciao Bella Luna is the rare Kentucky-bred eligible to race in stakes for California-breds.
The 4-year-old filly is by the California-based stallion Tribal Rule. A few years ago, conditions for California-breds were broadened to include California-bred and California-sired horses. The new restriction allowed Ciao Bella Luna to start in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint here Jan. 25, a race she won.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Game On Dude, who won the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap for a record third time March 8, will start in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on April 19, trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Thursday.
He described Game On Dude’s status for the rich race over 1 1/8 miles as “definite.”
