SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Ian Wilkes was obviously disappointed in Fort Larned’s fifth-place finish as the 6-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Whitney here earlier this month. But instead of looking back on what might have been, Wilkes is thinking ahead to what he hopes will be a bounce-back performance for the reigning Breeders’ Cup Classic champion in Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodward.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Fed Biz set a track record for seven furlongs on Sunday at Del Mar in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes, but since there are no Breeders’ Cup races this year at seven furlongs, or on a synthetic surface, two BC options are being considered, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert.
DEL MAR, Calif. – With six straight wins, five this year, including three in Grade 1 company, Game On Dude has put himself in position to be named Horse of the Year at year’s end, a feat he could have pulled off in both 2011 and 2012 had he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Craig MacPherson picked a good time to get on a roll with stakes horses. Just around the corner is the biggest day of the year at Hastings, when the Grade 3, $150,000 British Columbia Derby will headline six stakes totaling $650,000 on Sept. 8. Also on the stakes-rich card is the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Dimension became the first runner to start for trainer Conor Murphy when he finished fourth in a third-level allowance race at Keeneland last fall. On Sunday, Dimension became Murphy’s first stakes winner when he turned back all challengers for a 2 1/4-length victory under jockey David Moran here in the Grade 2, $201,600 Play the King.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Bearrock N Roll had a hard time keeping up in a quickly run sprint in his last start but looks like the one to beat in a $17,500 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles that will serve as Wednesday’s seventh-race feature at Hastings. The first of eight races goes at 1:50 p.m. Pacific.
DEL MAR, Calif. – As Del Mar heads into the final seven days of a meeting that ends on Sept. 4, it continues to show gains for both overall handle and ontrack handle, and is almost even in ontrack attendance, all compared to its 2012 numbers.
Del Mar through Sunday – the end of the sixth week of racing – is averaging $12,775,374 per day in handle, an increase of 6.8 percent over last year. Del Mar handled $19.7 million on Sunday’s Pacific Classic card, one day after the track had to refund $1 million in wagers owing to a starting-gate malfunction in Saturday’s final race.
DEL MAR, Calif. – High expectations turned to reality when Sunday Rules won a maiden special weight race for California-bred 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar in her debut Aug. 3.
“She flew around the track,” trainer Mike Mitchell said. “She blew us away. It was not a surprise, but it made me very happy.”
Calder Race Course in Miami will cut overnight purses by 12 percent beginning Aug. 30 because of a drop in business due to head-to-head competition with nearby Gulfstream Park and a loss of revenue from simulcast fees, the track announced Sunday.
Take your pick in a $12,500 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as the feature race at Northlands Park on Wednesday. The one-mile race goes as the seventh race, and it is hard to take a firm stand on any of the nine horses entered. Post time for the first of eight races is 6 p.m. Mountain.
