DEL MAR, Calif. – Sweet Lulu, who remained unbeaten with a hard-fought victory in the Test Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, is likely to be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Tuesday on a national teleconference.
The BC Filly and Mare Sprint, like the Test, is at seven furlongs on dirt.
The Oklahoma Racing Commission has awarded Remington Park in Oklahoma City a 67-date meet for Thoroughbreds for 2014 from Aug. 15 through Dec. 14. The track also was granted a 50-date meet for Quarter Horses from March 7 to June 1.
Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., was awarded a 32-date meet for Thoroughbreds from March 3 to May 17. The track’s meet for Quarter Horses is set to run 28 dates next year from Sept. 6 to Nov. 8.
Jockey Jamie Theriot will miss the remainder of the Louisiana Downs meet due to injuries he sustained in a spill at the Bossier City, La., track Friday. He is the fourth-leading rider at Louisiana Downs, which closes its meet Sept. 22.
Theriot, 34, was thrown from his mount in the third race when the horse broke down. He was transported to Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport and underwent a series of tests. Theriot was accompanied by friend and retired jockey Ronald Ardoin.
Trainer Eric Guillot said the mouth abscess that nearly forced him to scratch Moreno from last Saturday’s Travers finally popped open on Tuesday morning, which should allow him to send his 3-year-old star back to the track by the end of the week.
Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Mass., and its partner Caesars Entertainment have reached an agreement to provide millions of dollars in annual payments to the city of Boston if the partnership’s bid to build a casino at the track is successful, the two sides announced on Tuesday.
DEL MAR, Calif. – A Toast to You and Summer Exclusive were second and fourth, respectively, in a turf sprint on Aug. 7, their first start following vacations, so their trainer, Peter Miller, is expecting improved performances from both when they meet again in a similar five-furlong allowance in the featured eighth race on Thursday at Del Mar.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Raymond Bulgado, an exercise rider employed by trainer Nick Zito, suffered a fractured neck but did not sustain severe head trauma as the result of a spill during training hours Monday at Saratoga, according to a co-worker.
Bulgado remained hospitalized at Albany Medical Center on Tuesday in critical condition, according to hospital officials.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – While most of the attention on his stable will be focused on Paynter in Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodward, owner Ahmed Zayat is likely to double his chances to win Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego on the same card at Saratoga.
As of Tuesday, Zayat was planning to run both Fast Bullet and Justin Phillip in the $500,000 Forego, a potent 1-2 punch that figures to be heavily favored in the seven-furlong race.
DEL MAR, Calif. – As Del Mar headed into the final days of its meeting, John Sadler found himself atop the trainers’ standings, leading both Bob Baffert and Doug O’Neill, 23-18, prior to Wednesday’s races. Should Sadler retain his lead through the end of the meeting next Wednesday, it would mark his third title here in the last six seasons. He also won it in 2008 and 2009.
There’s a new kid in town who is quietly attracting the attention of Northern California trainers.
Ricardo Gonzalez is an 18-year-old apprentice who still gets a seven-pound weight break. And for someone who doesn’t even have a driver’s license, he’s showing he can definitely get around on a horse, having won races at Turf Paradise, Northern California fair tracks and, most recently, Golden Gate Fields.
