Eric Halstrom will leave his position as vice president and general manager for racing at Fair Grounds Racecourse and Slots on Oct. 1, Halstrom confirmed Friday morning.
Halstrom has worked at Fair Grounds in a similar capacity since 2008. He said he was leaving the job in New Orleans “for personal and family reasons.”
Fair Grounds president Tim Bryant said the track was in the early stages of finding a replacement for Halstrom, with the track’s 2013-14 meet scheduled to start Nov. 21.
Alsvid displayed significant talent last year at 3, when he defeated older horses in a pair of rich sprint stakes. But he took his game to a whole new level in his most recent start, when he put up a Beyer Speed Figure of 109 for a 16-length win in an optional claimer.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Christophe Clement won’t have time to enjoy the first Sunday of the NFL season as he will be the busiest trainer at Belmont Park, saddling runners in five of the 10 races on the card.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The board of directors of the Woodbine Entertainment Group has undergone a major reshuffling as David Willmot, Mark Frostad, and Bill Graham did not stand for re-election.
Blake Tohana was voted in as a new director and also was appointed as a member of the group’s audit committee.
The changes were announced in a press release early Friday afternoon.
The 3-year-old Silver Tongued will challenge older Ohio-breds and race beyond 1 1/16 miles for the first time in Sunday’s $50,000 Governor’s Buckeye Cup at Thistledown.
Silver Tongued is 3 for 4 locally. He won the $75,000 Best of Ohio J.W.Galbreath on his way to being named Ohio 2-year-old colt of the year last October. This year, he won the $75,000 Cleveland Gold Cup going 1 1/8 miles. In his most recent local outing, he finished sixth in the Ohio Derby.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Nick Gonzalez stable, which won the Queen’s Plate with Midnight Aria and finished second in both the Prince of Wales Stakes and Breeders’ Stakes with River Seven, has added a new 3-year-old shooter to its Woodbine string for owners Carlo and Lou Tucci.
B E Boston Strong, bred in Ontario by Chuck Fipke, checked in at Woodbine early Friday morning with an eye toward next Sunday’s Ontario Derby, a Grade 3, $150,000 race for 3-year-olds that is one of four stakes on the Woodbine Mile program.
POMONA, Calif. – Najran Breeze can breathe easier since throat surgery in spring. But has he improved enough to upset favored Anillo and win the $50,000 Jim Kostoff Stakes on Sunday at the Los Angeles County Fair?
His trainer, Robertino Diodoro, believes he has.
“He’s a different horse now,” Diodoro said. “And he loves the bullring. A good bullring horse runs through the turns.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Burns Turn and Miss Derek, both claimed for $75,000 at Santa Anita last spring, look like the main players in the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks at Hastings on Sunday. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies is one of six stakes totaling $550,000 on a stellar 10-race card that features the Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Derby.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – There is an excellent chance trainer Craig MacPherson will win his second straight Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Derby at Hastings on Sunday. Last year, he won his first B.C. Derby with Second City. This year, he’ll saddle the 5-2 morning-line favorite Reporting Star and the 7-2 second choice Bluegrass Pride.
