Thu, 05/30/2013 - 15:55

Remington: Gilbreath loaded for bear on rich Quarter Horse program

Trainer Sleepy Gilbreath will attack Remington Park’s richest program in history on Saturday night with such prominent runners as Ochoa, the all-time leading earner among Quarter Horses, and Cold Cash 123, the World Champion of 2011. The horses lead a cast of six starters Gilbreath will have in five Quarter Horse stakes on the card that are worth a combined $1.7 million. The program includes the Grade 1, $1,075,260 Heritage Place Futurity, while top older horses have a chance at a berth into the Champion of Champions in the Grade 1, $250,000 Remington Park Invitational.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 15:47

Hastings: Williams, back from Woodbine, is happy to be home

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Danny Williams is happy to be back in British Columbia after spending the last 12 years as a jockey agent at Woodbine. Williams is hoping for a good effort from a horse he trains, Proxyman, in his debut Saturday in the second race at Hastings.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 15:24

Belmont Park: Readtheprospectus, Awesome Vision enter Commentator in top form

[bc_video_id:293872:]ELMONT, N.Y. – It would appear that the best New York-breds in training are either sprinters or turf horses, leaving a void in the traditional handicap division of route horses.

It is a void that 4-year-olds Readtheprospectus and Awesome Vision may be ready to fill. Readtheprospectus has won five consecutive races, while Awesome Vision has won three of his last four starts. The two head a field of six entered in Saturday’s $150,000 Commentator Handicap, the richest, though not the most compelling, of seven stakes offered on New York Showcase Day.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 15:05

Suffolk Downs begins meet; casino decision expected by March

With the Massachusetts Gaming Commission planning to award the sole destination casino resort license designated for the Boston area by March of next year, there is optimism about the future of Suffolk Downs as the track opens its 78th season Saturday.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 14:50

Arapahoe: Ingrid Knotts lineup mostly returning from long layoffs

Most of the fillies and mares running in the $35,000 Ingrid Knotts at Arapahoe Park on Saturday face the same obstacle – the race will be their first start back following a long layoff. In all, a field of six will go in the six-furlong stakes that is restricted to horses bred in Colorado.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 14:21

Delaware Park: Win Willy goes for $1M mark in Joe French Memorial

Horse-for-the-course Win Willy will try to surpass $1 million in earnings when he faces nine other older horses going 1 1/16 miles on dirt in the $50,000 Joe French Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park.

The 7-year-old Win Willy, with 10 career victories and $985,437 in earnings, has 4 wins and 2 seconds in 7 lifetime starts at Delaware.

Last season, Win Willy won two stakes at Delaware and was a close second in the French. Although 0 for 4 this year, he ran well enough to pair up 94 Beyer Speed Figures in back-to-back stakes at Oaklawn Park in January and February.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 14:05

Prairie Meadows: Mile, Panthers put 3-year-olds in spotlight

Coady Photography
King Henny will take a third crack at succeeding at two turns in the Prairie Mile on Saturday.

ALTOONA, Iowa – With the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks and Grade 3 Iowa Derby looming on June 29, 3-year-olds come to the fore at Prairie Meadows for Saturday’s $60,000 Prairie Mile for both sexes and $60,000 Panthers Stakes for females.

The Prairie Mile drew a field of eight headed by Black Bear, who makes his stakes debut after dominating at Oaklawn Park in his only two starts, and King Henny, who will be contesting his eighth straight stakes race.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 14:05

Woodbine Oaks prospect Pink Trillium adapts well to Polytrack

Michael Burns
City Wolf, shown winning the 2011 Durham Cup, will seek to snap a seven-race losing streak in Sunday's Vigil Stakes.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Sean Smullen does most of his training at Frank Stronach’s nearby Adena Springs Farm, where he oversees a constant stream of horses coming in from the racetrack and then shipping back to their various trainers here at Woodbine.

But Smullen also maintains an ontrack operation, which is overseen on a daily basis by his assistant Patrick Dixon, and while his charges often are not at the top of the stable’s hierarchy, he also has been known to have a runner in his stable.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 14:05

Monmouth Park: Hop Skip and Away in another John J. Reilly attempt

Nikki Sherman Photography
Hop Skip and Away has hit the board in the last three runnings of the John J. Reilly Handicap.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – For years, the $60,000 John J. Reilly Handicap for New Jersey-breds was a reunion for popular Monmouth Park veterans like Joey P. and Who’s the Cowboy.

Most of the old favorites have faded from the scene, giving way to the next generation of statebred handicap runners for Saturday’s renewal.

Hop Skip and Away is the link to the race’s recent past. An 8-year-old gelding trained and co-owned by Joe Pierce Jr., he hit the board in the last three Reillys. He was second last year following third-place finishes in 2010 and 2011.

Thu, 05/30/2013 - 13:59

Pimlico: Mettee can jump-start meet with Cerro in Canonero II

Barbara D. Livingston
Cerro will race with blinkers for the first time on Saturday.

Rick Mettee sent out his first two starters as the trainer for Team Valor International this week, picking up a pair of second-place finishes, one in a maiden claiming race at Parx and the other moved up by disqualification in the Little Silver Stakes at Monmouth Park.