Kentucky Downs received permission Thursday from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to make up six races lost to a violent storm that occurred just after the fourth of 10 races was run Wednesday at the turf-only track in south-central Kentucky.
Three races will be added to each of the last two programs at the five-day meet, both of them Wednesdays (Sept. 18 and 25). The start time for the 13-race cards will be 12:35 p.m. Central, one hour earlier than what was originally scheduled.
POMONA, Calif. – Lightly raced Roundupthelute ran himself into Breeders’ Cup Juvenile consideration with a solid victory Wednesday evening in the $50,000 C.B. Afflerbaugh Stakes at the Los Angeles County Fair.
A 2-year-old colt sired by Midnight Lute, Roundupthelute ($4.80) and jockey Martin Garcia upset odds-on favorite Echo Zulu in the seven-furlong stakes, winning by two lengths in 1:24.97 for seven furlongs. Completing the order of finish after runner-up Echo Zulu was Brighton Star, Betting McCann Can and Mr Wild Kitty.
Jockey Ronnie Allen Jr. reached a personal milestone Wednesday evening by winning his 3,000th race aboard Ghost Flower ($6) in the second race at Presque Isle Downs.
Allen, 49, was excited after the race.
"It has been a long time coming,: he said. “I never thought I would reach 3,000 when I started. It is a good accomplishment for anybody.”
Ghost Flower is trained by Maria Bowersock, Allen’s fiancé.
Despite the fact that the only winning favorite in the sequence was first-time starter My Place, one bettor managed to successfully navigate through Wednesday’s pick 6, and thus became the first to hit the super-exotic wager at Belmont’s fall meet, collecting a cool $423,424.
After going un-hit opening weekend, there was a double carryover of $137,011 into Wednesday’s card.
The winning numbers were 7-6-7-5-4-5-10 for the sextet of Summerdale ($56), Chasing Moonlight ($11.80), My Place ($7), Princess Adelyn ($21.80), Cheyenne Nation ($14.40) and Ale ($10.40).
AUBURN, Wash. – Jeff Metz, seeking to capture the Emerald Downs training title in his first season here, will send out three starters Friday on Day 67 of the 75-day meeting, with his Barton Hill, a recent maiden winner at Portland Meadows, among the leading contenders in the featured sixth race for 3-year-olds. First post for the seven-race card is 6:45 p.m. Pacific.
POMONA, Calif. – Far from the big-league spotlight in early spring at Turf Paradise, trainer Molly Pearson was getting her 2-year-olds ready.
The group looked good, except for one. Miss Scatalicious looked exceptional.
“I had eight or nine babies, and she was outworking every one we had,” Pearson said.
By March, Miss Scatalicious already was working 35’s.
“I had her all paid up to the stakes in spring at Turf Paradise,” Pearson said. “But she was too nice to be running that early.”
The El Joven and La Senorita, a pair of one-mile turf races for 2-year-olds, will again highlight the stakes program at Retama Park near San Antonio, Texas, which opens its Thoroughbred meet Oct. 4. The season will run every Friday and Saturday night through Dec. 28.
The El Joven, for colts and geldings, and the La Senorita, for fillies, will each be worth $75,000 on Nov. 9.
Pucker Up Pete will be seeking to win his fifth straight race when he makes his stakes debut in Friday night’s $50,000 Remington Park Turf Sprint. The five-furlong turf race is for 3-year-olds and up bred in Oklahoma. Others making up the six-horse field include defending champ Conkigo and multiple stakes winner and first-time turfer Okie Ride.
Lone Star Park will again put on the richest race in Texas during its annual Quarter Horse meet that opens on Friday night. The Dallas area track is the home of the $1 million Texas Classic Futurity, a 400-yard race to be run on the closing program Nov. 9.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – From the sound of his name, you might imagine Solitary Ranger left the Arlington backstretch to roam the Great Plains in a dark, weather-beaten long coat. Nope – his departure Wednesday was on a horse van bound for Keeneland, where Solitary Ranger will make his next start after winning for the first time in the Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity last weekend.
