Tue, 04/02/2013 - 13:40

Gulfstream Park: Busted Again tops Cibelli's pair in Thursday feature

Barbara D. Livingston
Busted Again's maiden win (above) came last winter over the Gulfstream strip.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jane Cibelli and owner Goodwood Racing Ltd. were deprived of a lucrative payday when their Swear Me In was disqualified from first and placed third following her apparent victory in Sunday’s Secret Grace Stakes. On Thursday, Cibelli and Goodwood will attempt to get back some of that lost swag when they send out Busted Again as the likely favorite against just five foes in a $62,100 optional-claiming race that serves as the main event on the penultimate program of the 2012-13 Gulfstream Park season.

Tue, 04/02/2013 - 13:21

Aqueduct: Martin liking new filly's chances

Barbara D. Livingston
Promise Me a Cat won 2 out of 2 over Aqueduct’s main track in 2012.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Five evenly matched fillies and mares square off at Aqueduct in Thursday’s $75,000 Break Through overnight stakes at six furlongs.

Carlos Martin will have the strength-in-numbers angle working in his favor, as the Brooklyn-born trainer sends out the uncoupled duo of D’princess and Promise Me a Cat.

Tue, 04/02/2013 - 12:42

Golden Gate: Long layoffs can't stop Six Votes

Six Votes was overlooked in the wagering at 11-1 when he took on six rivals here last Friday in a $12,500 claimer.

He was plenty fresh.

Six Votes was making his first start since Sept. 24, 2011, which in turn was his first start since Oct. 28, 2010. That makes three starts in almost 2 1/2 years, separated by 11 months and 1 1/2 years.

Ridden by Francisco Duran, Six Votes held off odds-on favorite Stone Hot in a stretch-long duel and wound up winning a three-way photo over Stone Hot and Traweek.

Tue, 04/02/2013 - 10:52

2013 Horsemen's Park Stakes Schedule

2013 Racing Dates

May 10 - 12 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

Post Times

6:00 p.m. CT (Friday); 2:00 p.m. (Saturday, Sunday)


Handicapping Information

Tue, 04/02/2013 - 09:39

Oaklawn Park barn fire extinguished without any injuries

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - A small fire in barn 2 at Oaklawn Park on Tuesday morning was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries to humans or horses.

The fire broke out between 6:45 and 7 a.m. in one of the upstairs sleeping rooms, according to David Longinotti, assistant general manager for racing at Oaklawn.

The horses were evacuated as Oaklawn maintenance crew members began putting out the fire. They were then joined by members of the Hot Springs Fire Department. The firetrucks left the stable area just before 8 a.m. Tuesday training was only briefly delayed.

Mon, 04/01/2013 - 17:24

Gulfstream attracts 20,000 for Florida Derby Day

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park set an attendance mark and fell just shy of matching a record handle on Florida Derby Day.

A crowd estimated at 20,382 packed the facility on Saturday, surpassing the previous mark of 18,224 (since the current facility opened in 2006) set here last year on Florida Derby Day. Total handle on the 13-race program was $24.67 million, including wagers from Latin America, all but equalling last year’s record $24.69 million handle. Ontrack handle of $1.37 million was up 7 percent over 2012.

Mon, 04/01/2013 - 17:17

Calder Derby attracts Speak Logistics

Tom Keyser
Speak Logistics will run Saturday in the $250,000 Calder Derby rather than try for Kentucky Derby points in the Blue Grass.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. opted to pass a last chance to get Speak Logistics eligible for the Kentucky Derby when he decided to forgo the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 13 for Saturday’s $250,000 Calder Derby. Speak Logistics, who has earned 11 Derby qualifying points, will be the heavy favorite to win the opening-day feature at Calder.

Mon, 04/01/2013 - 17:09

Gulfstream Park: Capt. Candyman Can retired

Barbara D. Livingston
Capt. Candyman Can has been retired and will be trained to become a stable pony.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Ian Wilkes announced that his Grade 1 winner Capt. Candyman Can has been retired following his sixth-place finish in Saturday’s Sir Shackleton Stakes, a race he’d won here two years earlier.

Capt. Candyman Can, now 7, gave Wilkes the first Grade 1 win of his career when he was placed first on a disqualification in the King’s Bishop at Saratoga in August 2009.

“He bled in the race today, and we don’t want to do anything to hurt this horse,” Wilkes said. “He’s been a lot of fun for us, and he holds a special place in my heart.”

Mon, 04/01/2013 - 16:55

Santa Anita notes: Game On Dude still sharp

Shigeki Kikkawa
Game On Dude went an easy half-mile in 47.40 seconds under Mike Smith at Santa Anita on Monday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Game On Dude won the Santa Anita Handicap for the second time last month, and he continues to train strongly in preparation for his next start, the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic on April 20. On Monday morning at Santa Anita, he went an easy half-mile in 47.40 seconds under regular rider Mike Smith, who was just back from riding Royal Delta in the Dubai World Cup.

Game On Dude went effortlessly, by himself.

“He’s doing so good,” said his trainer, Bob Baffert.

Baffert double-teaming Beholder

Mon, 04/01/2013 - 16:16

Gulfstream Park: Rattlesnake Bridge wins off 16-month layoff

Michael Amoruso
Rattlesnake Bridge, in his first race since the 2011 Breeders' Cup, edges Rightfully So in an optional claimer on Saturday.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Lost among all the hoopla surrounding the Florida Derby and all the other graded stakes action here Saturday was the outstanding training job turned in by Kiaran McLaughlin to bring Rattlesnake Bridge back from a 16-month hiatus to register a game head decision over Rightfully So going one mile under second-level optional-claiming conditions.