Thu, 10/25/2012 - 16:46

Beulah Park: Revitalized Pay the Man must beat Caviar N Champagne and Patrick Valenzuela

Pay the Man will try to win her third consecutive Scarlet and Gray Handicap on Saturday at Beulah Park when she takes on nine other Ohio-bred fillies and mares at six furlongs.

Adding interest to the race is that Patrick Valenzuela is expected to be at Beulah to ride Caviar N Champagne, Pay the Man’s chief rival. According to Jeremiah Englehardt, trainer of Caviar N Champagne, Valenzuela is a friend of the horse’s owner, Laura Pavlish, who races as Luch Racing Stable.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 16:40

Hoosier Park: Meet closes with four statebred stakes

Indiana-breds are the focus on the final card of the Hoosier Park racing season Saturday evening. A pair of $84,000 2-year-old events and a pair of $200,000 races for older horses highlight the 14-race program that also includes three Quarter Horse stakes. Both the Frances Slocum for Indiana-bred fillies and mares and the To Much Coffee for older horses had purses of $88,000 until they were boosted to $200,000 this year. Both will be contested at 1 1/16 miles.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 16:33

Hawthorne: Bucks Boy pace should set up Suntracer's late run

Four Footed Fotos
Suntracer wins the Carey Memorial. He will face easier company on Saturday.

Uno Pecador has never looked much like a stakes horse during his 53-start career, and he has only a slim chance of winning the $125,000 Bucks Boy Handicap, but that doesn’t mean his presence won’t be felt. All front-running speed, Uno Pecador should hook up with Mr. Mischief to ensure a strong pace in the Bucks Boy, and barring trouble, that should send favored Suntracer into the winner’s circle.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 16:28

Delta Downs: Heavy On Themister has big shoes to fill in Gold Cup

Lynn Roberts/Hodges Photography
Populist Politics (above) looks like the biggest threat to Heavy On Themister in the $100,000 Gold Cup at Delta Downs.

The $100,000 Gold Cup at Delta Downs on Saturday night ushers in something of a new era for Louisiana-bred racing: Life without Star Guitar. The one-mile race is for 3-year-olds and up bred in Louisiana, the division Star Guitar dominated from 2009 until his retirement this summer, when he won the 22nd stakes of his career in the $100,000 Louisiana Legends Classic at Evangeline Downs.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 16:15

Breeders' Cup Classic: Richard's Kid stays on course

ARCADIA, Calif. – Doug O’Neill had his priorities Thursday. First up was to work a number of his horses at Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup, including Richard’s Kid and Handsome Mike, both of whom will run in the $5 million Classic on Nov. 3.

Next was to get out of here and head up to San Francisco to watch his beloved Tigers in Game 2 of the World Series against the Giants.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 16:10

Belmont: Little Drama can make the grade in Bold Ruler

Tom Keyser
Little Drama enters the Bold Ruler off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Vosburgh.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Little Drama won’t likely reach the heights of his champion older brother Big Drama, but he could very well earn his first graded stakes victory Saturday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park.

Little Drama enters the Bold Ruler off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Vosburgh, run at six furlongs, here on Sept. 29. An inside post position led trainer Michael Mareina to instruct jockey Rajiv Maragh to send Little Drama away from the gate and he got caught up in speed duel before fading in the stretch.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 15:46

Belmont Park: Arena Elvira faces obstacles in bid to repeat Turnback the Alarm victory

Barbara D. Livingston
Arena Elvira will be making her first start in 189 days when she defends her title in the Turnback the Alarm.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though few trainers are as adept at successfully bringing a horse back off a long layoff as Bill Mott, there are a couple of reasons to take a shot against Arena Elvira when she attempts to repeat in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap off a 189-day layoff.

When Arena Elvira won last year’s Turnback the Alarm, the race was run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns at Aqueduct. This year, the Turnback the Alarm has returned to Belmont and will be run at 1 1/16 miles around one turn.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 15:16

Laurel: Lady Baltimore the most challenging handicapping puzzle on De Francis undercard

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Silver Screamer was claimed for $20,000 out of a win at Saratoga in 2011 and has gone on to become a Grade 3 winner in the Eatontown (above).

Of the 14 fillies and mares entered in the main body of the Lady Baltimore Stakes at Laurel Park, eight have finished first or second in a Grade 3 turf stakes this season. That makes the 1 1/16-mile Lady Baltimore perhaps the most challenging race for handicappers on the Saturday card.

The Lady Baltimore is one of five turf stakes worth $150,000 apiece on a Fall Festival of Racing program topped by the $350,000 Frank De Francis Memorial Dash on the main track. The Lady Baltimore goes as race 7 on a card that starts at 12:35 p.m. Eastern, 35 minutes earlier than usual.

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 15:09

Breeders' Cup Turf: Bourbon Bay takes a shot on home course

Benoit & Associates
Bourbon Bay has won five of nine starts at 1 1/2 miles, the distance of the Breeders' Cup Turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The 6-year-old Bourbon Bay is most at home on Santa Anita’s turf course, the venue of six of his seven career stakes wins.

That familiarity is why owner David Heerensperger and trainer Neil Drysdale are willing to try the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf here Nov. 3. The location of the race and potential field are reasons enough to start Bourbon Bay, the senior member of the likely starters.

“That’s why we’re looking at it,” Drysdale said. “We don’t feel it’s a super tough field.”

Thu, 10/25/2012 - 14:51

Laurel: De Francis Dash offers price-shopping opportunity

Mike Montgomery
Immortal Eyes is being wheeled back eight days after winning his third 4 1/2-furlong stakes of the season at Charles Town.

Among the 11 sprinters entered in Saturday’s $350,000 Frank De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park, nine have posted at least one Beyer Speed Figure between 92 and 98 in their last two races. With so little difference among the contenders, the six-furlong De Francis Dash might be the kind of race where it pays to shop for good odds.

The De Francis Dash is the last and richest of six stakes on a Fall Festival of Racing program that begins at 12:35 p.m. Eastern, 35 minutes earlier than usual. The five undercard stakes are all scheduled for turf and worth $150,000 apiece.