For the 15th time in as many years, the mutuel field is the favorite in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which closed Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern following a three-day run that drew a combined handle of $621,493.
Hurricane Lake has a good chance to win the first stakes race of his career Sunday when he takes on six others in the $50,000 Curribot at Sunland Park. The 1 1/16-mile race is for 3-year-olds and upward.
Others set to start include Ol Winedrinker Who, winner of the $150,000 Zia Derby in December, and Red Lead, a multiple stakes winner of nearly $700,000.
The Grade 1-placed filly Magical Moon will be getting a second chance to show she can handle dirt in Sunday’s $47,000 feature at Fair Grounds. Her first experience on dirt didn’t go so well.
Debuting in a five-furlong maiden race last June at Churchill Downs, Magical Moon finished fifth, beaten by 6 3/4 lengths.
“We don’t know why she ran like that the first time,’’ trainer Al Stall Jr. said. “It was a bad race to boot. Maybe she doesn’t like the dirt, but I’d be shocked if she doesn’t.’’
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Will Take Charge on Friday took another step toward a start in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest when he breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:00.80 at his Oaklawn Park base. The move was the second fastest of 23 at the distance. The Southwest is the second leg of Oaklawn’s series for 3-year-olds, and is to be run Feb. 18.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Pianist defeated a stakes-quality field under allowance conditions when she captured the main event over the turf on Thursday. Pianist, a 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready trained by Chad Brown, rated off the early pace of Baffle Me before wearing that rival down en route to a 1 3/4-length victory, the fourth win on the card for jockey Javier Castellano.
A pair of late-season stakes for New York-bred 2-year-olds are the only changes planned for the 2013 season at Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack.
As additions to the 13 stakes presented in 2012, the Tin Cup Chalice for colts and geldings and the Shesastonecoldfox for fillies will be contested as part of a stakes triple-header on Sept. 28. Both races will be contested at six furlongs and be worth $50,000.
As usual, the season’s highlights will be the $200,000 New York Breeders’ Futurity on Sept. 28 and the $150,000 New York Derby on July 20.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Discreet Dancer, who had been idle since finishing third behind Union Rags as the odds-on favorite in the 2012 Fountain of Youth, made a triumphant return on Wednesday when he rallied to a hard-fought head decision over Candyman E in a second-level optional claiming dash. He covered the six furlongs in 1:09.34 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 98.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said that if Discreet Dancer comes out of the race well he could come back in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap at a mile on March 9.
Jockey Kayla Stra, who gave birth to a son in November, won the first race of her comeback in Thursday’s fourth race aboard Wild in the Saddle.
The victory was not without a few anxious moments. Wild in the Saddle ($19.60) won the six-furlong race for $12,500 claimers by a head over No Tricks for Jack. The result was subject to a stewards’ inquiry regarding close contact between the two, but the order of finish was not changed.
The presence of a pesky No Tricks for Jack, who was ridden by Tyler Baze, was more of a fear for Stra than the inquiry.
New York Racing Association steward Braulio Baeza Jr. has been appointed chairman of the newly established Equine Safety Review Board, which will review and assess fatal equine racing and training injuries at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga.
Tampa Bay Downs has barred a private veterinarian, Dr. Orlando Paraliticci, from its grounds, the track’s general manager, Peter Berube, confirmed Friday.
Paraliticci was barred Feb. 3, Berube said. He declined to discuss the reasons behind the order, but said that the track’s decision will be discussed during a hearing that will be held “sooner rather than later.”
Paraliticci did not immediately respond to a phone message left at his veterinary practice.
