Fri, 01/04/2013 - 16:15

Hollywood Park reports sharp increase in business for fall meet

Boosted by a sizeable increase in betting through account-wagering systems, the 2012 autumn meeting at Betfair Hollywood Park showed an increase in average daily handle of 13.8 percent, according to a statement released by the track on Thursday.

The statement revealed limited parimutuel and attendance data. The track said average handle from all sources was $9.15 million, compared to $8.04 million at the 2011 meeting. Data was compiled for the 24-day meeting that ended on Dec. 16, and from simulcasting revenue through Dec. 23.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 16:01

Santa Anita: Beholder's sharp work shows she's ready to roll in Santa Ynez

Tom Keyser
Beholder's first start since she won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is scheduled for the Jan. 21 Santa Ynez.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Beholder, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in November, zoomed five furlongs in 58.80 seconds at Santa Anita on Friday, leading trainer Richard Mandella to pronounce her ready for her 2013 debut later this month.

Beholder will start in the $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs for 3-year-old fillies on Jan. 21. A leading candidate for the title of champion 2-year-old filly of 2012, Beholder has not started since the BC Juvenile Fillies.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 15:33

Gulfstream Park: Exclusive Love gets green light only for grass

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Baffle Me, winner of the Gala at Belmont Park in late October, is among the contenders in Sunday's turf feature at Gulfstream Park.

Mark Casse will send out the uncoupled duo of Exclusive Love and Eagle Hall in the allowance feature Sunday at Gulfstream Park, provided wet conditions don’t force the race to the main track. By the sound of it, Exclusive Love could take plenty of beating when breaking from post 1 in the 10th of 11 races at the south Florida track, a $60,500, third-level allowance with an $80,000 claiming option.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 15:32

Santa Anita: Mizdirection gets another shot on the hill in Monrovia

Tom Keyser
Mizdirection, winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, runs Sunday in the Monrovia, then will stretch out to a mile in the Buena Vista.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Mizdirection will make fewer right-hand turns this year than in 2012, when she won three sprints on Santa Anita’s right-turn-left-turn hillside turf course, including a season-ending triumph in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

The 2013 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita remains the autumn objective for Mizdirection, but her path to that goal may change this season. The Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes on Sunday could be the last sprint Mizdirection makes on her favorite course until fall.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 15:19

Aqueduct: Wildcat's Smile gets more weight for rematch with Morrow Cove

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Wildcat's Smile wins the Sarcastic Stakes on Dec. 15 at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Dominic Galluscio is closing in on a personal milestone of 1,000 career victories, standing at 991 following Johannesburg Smile’s victory here Friday from which he was claimed for $100,000 by Mike Repole.

Galluscio has won a plethora of New York-bred stakes throughout his career and believes he would have already hit the 1,000-win plateau if he hadn’t opted to take some chances with some of those horses.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 14:52

Fair Grounds: Latest 'Bean' horse off to quick start with Louisiana Futurity win

Lynn Roberts/Hodges Photography
Sunbean (right) wins the male division of the Louisiana Futurity. He is the fifth stakes winner out of the former low-level claimer X Strawdnair.

NEW ORLEANS – Evelyn Benoit said she was cooking a pot of beans when she came up with the name Mean Butterbean for the first foal out of X Strawdnair.

Mean Butterbean was a fast money-maker for Evelyn and Maurice Benoit’s Brittlyn Stable, and brothers and sisters produced by the mare – all with “bean” in their names – have continued the family tradition.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 14:42

Colonial Downs: Virginia Derby, Colonial Turf Cup get purse cuts

The two biggest races of the summer at Colonial Downs will take substantial purse cuts as part of the 2013 stakes schedule announced earlier this week.

The Colonial Turf Cup, restored to Grade 2 status for this season, has taken a $200,000 hit and will now be worth $300,000. The Grade 2 Virginia Derby will now offer a purse of $500,000, a reduction of $100,000.

According to a press release, the purse cuts were necessary to “help boost the level for overnight races.”

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 14:05

Los Alamitos: Flame N Flash formidable against females in Charger Bar

Flame N Flash, the filly who almost stole the $750,000 Champions of Champions against older males last month, reverts to the female division for Sunday’s $100,000 Charger Bar Handicap at Los Alamitos.

For her 4-year-old debut, Flame N Flash will be favored to win her third major race in the last year. She won the La Primera Del Ano Derby last April and the Grade 1 Mildred Vessels Handicap in September.

In the Champion of Champions over 440 yards, Flame N Flash led by a neck midway through the race, but was caught in the final strides by Rylees Boy, losing by a head.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 14:04

Sunland: Forest Mouse brings consistency to Winsham Lad

Coady Photography
Forest Mouse won the 1 1/8-mile Zia Park Distance Championship (above) and turns back to a mile for the Winsham Lad on Sunday.

Forest Mouse has been a significant player in the New Mexico handicap ranks since moving to the state last February. He has finished first or second in his eight starts, and on Sunday will be seeking his second consecutive stakes win when he goes to post as the probable favorite in the $50,000 Winsham Lad at Sunland Park.

“Ever since he’s joined our barn, we have had nothing but fun with him,” said Henry Dominguez, who trains Forest Mouse for Parnell Thomas.

Fri, 01/04/2013 - 10:44

Santa Anita: Nonios injured, out for several months

Tom Keyser
Nonios (above), the sixth-place finisher in the BC Classic, is expected to face Game On Dude and Richard's Kid in the Native Diver on Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Grade 1-placed Nonios, who was a candidate for the Strub series this winter at Santa Anita, will be sidelined for several months, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Friday morning.

“He has an injury and we need to turn him out,” Hollendorfer said, declining to be more specific. “He doesn’t have any fractures or a bowed tendon, but he’s going to be out for a few months. He could make it back by the end of the year.”