OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Upset victories by Lady Milagro ($104.50) and M B’s Munning ($67.50) on Friday at Aqueduct resulted in the pick six not being hit for a second straight card, meaning there will be a carryover of $108,589 into Saturday’s 10-race program.
Lady Milagro’s victory came in the $150,000 Autumn Days Stakes and left no live pick six tickets heading into the final race of the sequence. The consolation payout in the pick six (5 of 6) returned $14,056.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Entertainment has announced the promotions of Tim Lawson and Bill McLinchey to vice president positions.
Lawson has been promoted to vice president of Thoroughbred racing, and McLinchey has become vice president of Standardbred racing.
Jockey Cristian Torres was to begin working horses at Oaklawn Park on Thursday, according to agent Cody Autrey. The meet opens Dec. 8.
“He’ll be back here, ready to go,” Autrey said Tuesday.
Torres has a few out-of-state engagements in late November and in December. The rider has stakes mounts on the Land of Enchantment card Nov. 28 at Zia Park, the Claiming Crown card Dec. 2 at Fair Grounds, and the Springboard Mile program Dec. 15 at Remington Park.
Touchuponastar is likely headed back to Louisiana-bred company at Fair Grounds after winning his first race against open foes in the $100,000 Delta Downs Mile.
Owner Jake Delhomme said Tuesday a couple of races are being debated for Touchuponastar, including the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic on Dec. 9 at Fair Grounds.
“We’ll let him tell us when he’s ready,” he said.
Last racing week at Churchill Downs saw trainer Kenny McPeek unleash a flurry of 2-year-old winners, the best of whom might well have been Thorpedo Anna.
After debuting at Keeneland on Oct. 26 with an 8 1/2-length win going seven furlongs in a restricted maiden race, Thorpedo Anna returned Nov. 10 at Churchill in a one-turn mile first-level allowance race and won by nine, her Beyer Speed Figure rising from 76 to 85. It will not take long for the filly to make her stakes debut.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While trainer Chad Brown typically puts his turf horses in hibernation for the winter, Implicated will be an exception to the rule.
Implicated was making only her second start of the year when she won Saturday’s Grade 3 Pebbles Stakes at Aqueduct, so she will be kept in training for at least another start or two this winter.
While Brown does not have a specific race picked out, Implicated would be eligible to face 3-year-old fillies again in the Tropical Park Oaks on Dec. 23 at Gulfstream Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Patience has paid off for Signator who looks to be reaching the potential his connections hoped for after he won his maiden as a 2-year-old last fall at Aqueduct.
On Sunday, Signator drew clear to a 2 1/2-length victory in a race that will likely have him stakes-bound for his next start. Though the horse is headed to South Florida this week to continue training, trainer Shug McGaughey mentioned the $150,000 Queens County Stakes on Dec. 31 at Aqueduct as a potential spot for his stakes debut.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 27 is the main early season target for White Abarrio in 2024, it is still not certain whether the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner will make a start before then or not.
Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. maintains he is comfortable training White Abarrio up to that race and said over the weekend that the horse would remain based at Santa Anita until such time as he would ship to Saudi Arabia, which may not be until mid-February.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Mike Iavarone has been trying to win the Pegasus World Cup Turf since the race was rebranded from the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in 2019. He hasn’t come close.
Next Shares went winless in three tries. Flavius finished last in 2022. Master Piece ran seventh in January.
Master Piece may have earned another shot at the Pegasus Turf with his victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Red Smith Stakes at Aqueduct.
The board of the Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association on Friday approved an extension to its existing agreement allowing Turf Paradise to import full-card simulcasts to Dec. 31, according to the executive director of the organization.
The extension was passed by a “slim margin” of the 10-person board, according to Leroy Gessman, the Arizona HBPA’s executive director. The current extension was set to expire on Sunday, which would have led to a blackout of full-card simulcasts at the state’s 37 off-track betting locations.
