Fri, 08/02/2013 - 22:52

Del Mar: Pick six carryover for Saturday reaches $619,482

DEL MAR, Calif. - The pick six proved impossible to solve for the second consecutive day at Del Mar on Friday, leading to a massive carryover of $619,482 for Saturday’s 10-race program.

Here is a glance at the scratch time changes from Friday for Saturday’s program.

The pick six begins in the fifth race, which will go off at approximately 4 p.m. Pacific. The race is a one-mile optional claimer on the main track, which features the United States debut of Holding Glory, a Group 1 winner in Brazil earlier this year.

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 22:46

Del Mar: U’narack strong in the stretch of Real Good Deal

Benoit & Associates
U'narack, with Julien Leparoux aboard, scores at 5-1 in the Real Good Deal for California-breds.

DEL MAR, Calif. - From his vantage point behind the leaders aboard U’narack in Friday’s $200,000 Real Good Deal Stakes at Del Mar, jockey Julien Leparoux liked his position with a quarter-mile remaining.

“I knew they weren’t going to stop,” he said. “I was confident.”

From his vantage point in the grandstand watching U’narack, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was growing increasingly nervous with a quarter-mile remaining.

“I was not confident,” Hollendorfer said. “I was hoping he wouldn’t get caught in there. He kind of looked like he had a lot of horse.”

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 19:31

Del Mar: Gomez gets conditional permission to resume riding

Barbara D. Livingston
Jockey Garrett Gomez finished 12th in the national purse standings in 2012.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Jockey Garrett Gomez, who has not ridden since July 14 after undergoing recent treatment for alcoholism, was given conditional approval to resume riding at Del Mar on Wednesday, pending the results of a urine test this weekend, track stewards said on Friday.

Gomez participated in a 90-minute hearing with stewards Scott Chaney, Kim Sawyer and Tom Ward on Friday, to discuss his absence on the opening days of the current meeting, which began on July 17.

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 17:07

Saratoga: Delaunay out for turnaround in Vanderbilt

Barbara D. Livingston
Delaunay works at Saratoga getting ready for his role as highweight in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt.

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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Delaunay lost his air of invincibility when he was upset by Gentlemen's Bet in the Iowa Sprint Handicap. He will try to get it back, and a little measure of revenge in the process, when he takes on Gentlemen's Bet and three other rivals in Sunday's $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. The Grade 1 fixture will be contested at six furlongs.

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 16:53

Saratoga: Silverette takes Caress Stakes in turf debut

Tom Keyser
Silverette, under Robby Albarado, wins the Caress for her fifth victory in 10 starts.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. _ Based on pedigree and a couple of “phenomenal” workouts on the Oklahoma grass course, trainer Dale Romans was confident Silverette would be able to make the switch from dirt to turf in Friday’s $100,000 Caress Stakes at Saratoga.

Did she ever.

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 16:40

Saratoga: Rocco proving he can compete with the sport's best

Barbara D. Livingston
Joe Rocco Jr. returns aboard Lighthouse Bay after winning the Grade 1 Prioress.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When George Weaver decided at the last minute to run Lighthouse Bay in the Grade 1 Prioress Stakes here on July 27, he had many riders from which to choose.

He selected Joe Rocco Jr.

“I was looking at what I had available; I was like, this is going to be a great fit,” said Weaver, who had been impressed with Rocco this winter at Gulfstream. “I was really happy about it. Sometimes you ride jockeys and you don’t always get the jockey you want. I didn’t feel like I was taking a backseat at all. I was extremely confident that he could get it done.”

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 16:19

Woodbine: Nipissing makes turf debut in Wonder Where

Michael Burns
Woodbine Oaks winner Nipissing breezed a half-mile in 48.20 seconds Sunday in preparation for the July 7 Queen's Plate.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Oaks winner Nipissing returns to action Sunday in the $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, the third leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara, a lucrative series for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 16:13

Sunland Park Derby tops $3.1M stakes schedule

The Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby will again serve as the centerpiece of the Sunland Park stakes schedule that features 32 races for Thoroughbreds worth more than $3.1 million. The New Mexico track, which also hosts a number of major stakes for Quarter Horses, begins a 76-date mixed meet Dec. 6. The season continues through April 15, 2014.

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 16:12

Emerald Downs: Ward inspired by quest for Longacres Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
Sage Valley, with Cornelio Velasquez riding, pulls clear in the James Marvin on Saratoga’s opening-day card.

AUBURN, Wash. – Politicallycorrect, a stakes winner in Oklahoma and California and most recently a close second in a stakes at venerable Saratoga, arrived at Emerald Downs on Friday to begin preparations for the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile on Aug. 18. It’s a race his trainer, Northwest native Wesley Ward, would dearly like to win.

“As anyone who grew up in the Northwest knows, you’ve got the Kentucky Derby and you’ve got the Longacres Mile,” Ward said this week from his home base in Florida. “I’m real excited about it. I think I’ve got a really good chance to win the race.”

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 15:57

Arlington Park notes: Stephanie’s Kitten looks headed to Beverly D.

Barbara D. Livingston
Stephanie’s Kitten, with Kelsey Danner riding, trains at Saratoga on Wednesday getting for her Diana start.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Stephanie’s Kitten, one of the top older turf mares in the country, is likely to make her next start Aug.  17 in the Beverly D. Stakes despite having just raced July 27 in the Diana Stakes at Saratoga.