LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pants On Fire, winner of the Grade 2 Monmouth Cup in his last start, is among the notable shippers expected next weekend for stakes that help open the new 12-day September meet at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Kelly Breen confirmed Friday that Paco Lopez will be in to ride Pants On Fire in the Ack Ack Handicap, one of four graded stakes set for the night card of Saturday, Sept. 7.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Why Katherine, coming off a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Royal North Stakes at six furlongs on the turf, looms as the one to beat here Sunday in the $100,000 Avowal Stakes.
The Avowal, an overnight stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs on the turf, attracted a field of eight, and Why Katherine drew well in the outside post.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Bob Tiller will be holding a strong hand in the $125,000 Vice Regent Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday, when he runs Langstaff, Jade Dragon, and Power Phil in the one-mile turf route for 3-year-olds.
Langstaff should be favored off his 3-for-5 record, which includes a fast-closing grass score in the six-furlong Bold Ruckus, another Ontario-sired stakes.
FORT ERIE, Ontario – One of the most memorable events at this 115-year-old racetrack came in 1961 when a gelding named Puss n Boots decided to go for a swim, veered off the turf course in a 1 1/16-mile race, and ended up in the infield lake.
A race named after Puss n Boots was subsequently started, and tradition calls for the winning connections to take a plunge in the infield lake to mark the event.
Wicked Courage has the highest earnings among Quarter Horses this year, at $825,404. The season will not be complete for owner Andrew Smith of Ardmore, Okla., unless Wicked Courage wins an historic running of the All American Derby at Ruidoso Downs on Sunday.
With a purse of $2,809,784, the All American Derby is the richest race in Quarter Horse history, surpassing the All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs, which will be worth $2.6 million on Monday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Ken McPeek will try to strike while the iron is hot when he wheels the Grade 1-placed Frac Daddy back on just one week’s rest in Sunday’s $150,000 Saranac at Saratoga.
Centre Court, winner of the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland in April, will not race again this year but plans call for her to be put back in training for a potential 2014 campaign, according to trainer Rusty Arnold.
After finishing last in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa here on Aug. 24, Centre Court was sent to the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. for an examination.
Caviar N Champagne goes for her third consecutive win when she returns from a two-month layoff in the $50,000 Rose Debartolo Memorial for fillies and mares at Thistledown on Sunday afternoon.
DEL MAR, Calif. – There is a pick-six carryover of $81,441 for Friday’s seven-race program at Del Mar.
The bet covers the second through seventh races on a program that starts at 4 p.m. Friday’s card launches the four-day holiday weekend, with racing continuing through Monday. The closing-day program is Wednesday, Sept. 4.
For Friday, there are large fields in the pick-six races.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When 34-1 shot Hunter Forward ran by 4-5 favorite Brandys Secret in deep stretch of Thursday’s 11th race, it created two happy bettors, who each collected $424,936 in Saratoga’s pick six.
There was a two-day carryover of $273,760 entering the card, and an additional $1,010,762 was wagered into the pool on Thursday.
The sequence of 8-4-7-6-1-2 included Nuffsaid ($16.40), Kingston Bay ($4.10), Coal and Ice ($10.80), Lady’s Lunar Luck ($11.40), Bashart ($7.70), and Hunter Forward ($71).
Both winning tickets were sold offtrack.
