HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Dame Marie is stakes-tested and coming off a strong second-place finish in her 2013 debut earlier in the meet. But trip players may take a chance at beating the likely favorite with Cosmic Energy when the pair rematches under optional claiming conditions in Sunday’s $57,500 feature at Gulfstream Park.
ALTOONA, Iowa – Prairie Meadows, whose stakes program rose to new heights in 2012, will begin its 67-day Thoroughbred season April 19 with a similar look as last year. Racing will be conducted from Thursday to Sunday each week until Aug. 10.
The lone exception to the schedule is that there will be racing Wednesday, July 3, to accommodate the track’s fireworks show.
Turfway Park has canceled its Friday night card due to expected cold temperatures. Single-digit wind chill temperatures are forecast for northen Kentucky on Friday evening.
The facility will be open for simulcasting Friday. Racing is expected to resume as scheduled on Saturday with a 1:10 p.m. Eastern first post.
While there are no Zagoras in this year’s 14-horse Endeavour field on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, an Irish-bred filly named Dealbata makes her first start since September for trainer Chad Brown. The runner-up in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel at Belmont Park in her last start, Dealbata looks like a graded-stakes-quality mare.
A winner of three of five outings in France, Dealbata took the Mohegan Sky Stakes at Belmont in her U.S. debut, then was a fast-closing second in the De la Rose Stakes at Saratoga. In the Noble Damsel, she rallied to be beaten 1 1/2 lengths.
Heavy On Themister and his 32-year-old trainer, Shawn David, registered the richest wins of their careers in December, and on Saturday night they will be out to trump themselves in the $200,000 Premier Night Championship at Delta Downs.
The Championship leads a $1 million card of races for Louisiana-breds, six of them stakes and four others starter races. Heavy On Themister should go favored in the main event after rallying for a one-length win in the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds on Dec. 8.
Solar Charge, who has been chasing such talented sprinters as Delaunay and Gold Element in his last couple of starts, will shake those rivals Saturday night when he moves to turf for the $50,000 Bucharest at Sam Houston Race Park. The five-furlong race is for 4-year-olds and up bred in Texas.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct isn’t a restricted race, there’s a pretty good chance it will be won by a New York-bred.
Three of the six-horses entered in the six-furlong Toboggan are New York-breds, including logical contenders Mine Over Matter, Head Heart Hoof, and Johannesburg Smile.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Beginning next week, Aqueduct will implement a four-day race week for February and March, shaving six days off its winter schedule, it was announced Thursday.
The request by the New York Racing Association to reduce its schedule was formally approved by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board at its final meeting Thursday. It must get final approval by the Franchise Oversight Board, expected to be a fait accompli.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – The $150,000 Florida Oaks, which has been reinstated as a Grade 3 this season, and the Grade 3, $150,000 Endeavour, which was won last season by eventual Eclipse Award-winning turf mare Zagora, are the supporting features on the Tampa Bay Downs Festival Preview Day card Saturday.
Both mile-and-a-sixteenth turf races are interesting affairs and offer attractive wagering possibilities. The feature race is the Grade 3, $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes for 3-year-olds.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – San Pablo has invaded from Florida to lead a field of five older horses in the $100,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn on Saturday. The race also drew the first three finishers from last month’s Fifth Season, which Donoharm won by a neck over Skyring. Win Willy was another half-length back in third in an effort that moved him within $32,113 of $1 million in career earnings.
The Essex is the first major race in Oaklawn’s handicap series. It continues with the Grade 3, $150,000 Razorback on March 9 and the Grade 2, $500,000 Oaklawn on April 13.
