Tue, 07/16/2013 - 15:28

Saratoga: Vyjack getting ready to restart in Jim Dandy

Barbara D. Livingston
Vyjack, under trainer Rudy Rodriguez, works out on Saratoga’s main track Tuesday morning.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A disappointing Triple Crown campaign behind him, Vyjack will look to restore his once-lofty reputation when he runs in the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on July 27.

[SARATOGA 2013: Complete meet coverage, exclusive DRF videos]

Tue, 07/16/2013 - 15:26

Del Mar: Apprentice Irving Orozco gets chance to pursue his dream

Shigeki Kikkawa
Irving Orozco, 19, finished 12th in the Hollywood Park rider standings with 12 victories from 81 mounts.

DEL MAR, Calif. – There is not much in the area surrounding the California high desert town of Victorville, where apprentice jockey Irving Orozco grew up. That barren atmosphere benefited a young Orozco about five years ago.

All of 14 years old at the time, Orozco, with the aid of a little brother, put saddles on the family’s racing Quarter Horses and galloped them on a gravel and dirt road adjacent to the family ranch.

“I’d go about a half-mile down the road and come back,” he recalled. “There were no cars.”

Tue, 07/16/2013 - 15:19

Suffolk Downs: Injured jockey Andria Terrill released from hospital

EAST BOSTON, Mass. – Andria Terrill was being released from Massachusetts Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and was headed to her seasonal home near Suffolk Downs to continue her recovery from three skull fractures suffered in a spill at the track July 8.

“Just waiting to get out and for the patient print outs,” texted the jockey.

“She’s in good spirits and is looking forward to going home and then getting back to work,” said her agent, Eddie Smith.

Tue, 07/16/2013 - 15:17

Del Mar: Middie ships west to avoid Wise Dan in Eddie Read

Tom Keyser
The Kentucky-based Middie is among six horses listed as probable for Saturday's Eddie Read.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Philip Oliver is based at Keeneland, so he gets a daily dose of watching Wise Dan train, let alone having to run against him. In an effort to get as far away from Wise Dan as possible, and take advantage of a race that is coming up light in terms of entries and talent, Oliver is sending Middie to Del Mar for the Grade 1, $300,000 Eddie Read Stakes on Saturday.

Tue, 07/16/2013 - 14:35

Laurel Park: De Francis Dash Day moved to September

Laurel Park has repositioned its Fall Turf Festival from late October to opening weekend and clustered all its stakes on six Saturdays from mid-September through late December.

The Maryland Jockey Club released a schedule of 29 stakes worth a collective $3.25 million for the fall meet on Tuesday after reaching agreement with both the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and Maryland Horse Breeders Association. The schedule was approved by the Maryland Racing Commission.

Tue, 07/16/2013 - 12:43

Delta Downs stakes schedule to be worth $4.37 million

The Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot on Nov. 23 and the $200,000 Louisiana Premier Night Championship on Feb. 1 will again anchor the richest cards offered during the Delta Downs meet that opens Oct. 11. The Vinton, La., track, which announced its 28-race, $4.37 million stakes schedule on Tuesday, will race 88 dates through March 15, 2014.

Purses are projected to average $245,000 a day this meet, said Chris Warren, director of racing operations for Delta.

Tue, 07/16/2013 - 11:37

Monmouth mutuel teller jailed on sexual misconduct charges

Monmouth County police have arrested a mutuel teller at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., after receiving multiple complaints that he groped women and stuffed betting vouchers down their shirts, according to the county prosecutor’s office.

Jeffrey L. Bork, 65, a resident of nearby Eatontown, has been charged with criminal sexual misconduct following his arrest on Saturday. According to a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, Charles Webster, officers received an initial complaint about Bork on Saturday and are following up on two similar complaints.

Mon, 07/15/2013 - 21:47

Northlands Park cancels part of Monday card due to track conditions

Northlands Park canceled the last five races on its Monday afternoon program due to extremely sloppy and potentially unsafe track conditons.

Racing was scheduled to resume at Northlands on Wednesday evening.

Entries for Friday's card had been slated to close Monday, but the box will remain open through Tuesday morning.

Mon, 07/15/2013 - 16:43

Del Mar: Undrafted, Den's Legacy head divisions of Oceanside Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Undrafted is the likely favorite in Wednesday's first division of the Oceanside at Del Mar.

DEL MAR, California – The stakes program for Del Mar 3-year-olds is all about turf, the preferred surface for both favorites Wednesday in split divisions of the Oceanside Stakes on opening day of the summer meet.

Undrafted is 2 for 2 on turf and the horse to beat in race 6. Den’s Legacy returns to turf for the first time since winning a Grade 3 last fall. He is favored in race 9.

Mon, 07/15/2013 - 16:35

Del Mar: All Squared Away injured, out of Eddie Read

Coady Photography/Keeneland
Peter Miller paid only $1,000 to purchase All Squared Away, who will run in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby.

DEL MAR, Calif. - All Squared Away, who would have been one of the leading contenders in the Grade 1, $300,000 Eddie Read Stakes for older turf horses on Saturday at Del Mar, suffered a condylar fracture to his right front ankle on Sunday morning during a workout at Betfair Hollywood Park and was to undergo surgery Monday afternoon, trainer Peter Miller said Monday morning.

“The good news is that it’s non-displaced, but it’s really disappointing, because I think he was the horse to beat in the Eddie Read,” Miller said.