Fri, 09/07/2012 - 14:46

Hastings: Versatile Evelyn's Dancer will be tough in B.C. Oaks

Hastings
Evelyn's Dancer wins the Emerald Downs, the first middle-distance stakes for 3-year-old fillies of the Hastings meet.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Evelyn’s Dancer has easily handled the local 3-year-old fillies at Hastings while giving away significant amounts of weight. In her last start she packed 125 pounds and conceded from 10 to 16 pounds while winning the Hong Kong Jockey Club. How tough will she be at equal weights in the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks on Sunday? In a word: formidable.

The 1 1/8-mile Oaks drew seven horses and goes as the fifth race on a 10-race card that includes the Grade 3, $200,000 British Columbia Derby.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 14:39

Columbus Futurity closing-day highlight as Nebbraska racing season concludes

COLUMBUS, Neb. – The Nebraska racing season concludes with the $15,000-added Columbus Futurity on Sunday. A field of eight Nebraska-bred juveniles will go six furlongs on the closing-day card at Columbus’s Agricultural Park.

Go Gold won his career debut in the Lincoln Futurity on June 24 going 4 1/2 furlongs for trainer Ron Westermann. His only other start came here Aug. 19, when he finished a non-threatening fourth in the Club House Special.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 14:39

Fairplex: Mile High Magic the standout, but the price is short

Shigeki Kikkawa
Mile High Magic will be a heavy favorite in Sunday's Jim Kostoff Stakes.

POMONA, Calif. – Wagering value might be hard to find Sunday in $50,000 Jim Kostoff Stakes at Fairplex Park, home of the Los Angeles County Fair race meet.

Mile High Magic towers over four rivals in the 6 1/2-furlong stakes race for 3-year-olds, and he would be a tempting proposition at even-money. But the program odds are expected to drop.

Mile High Magic could start at odds-on.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 14:38

Emerald Downs: Muckleshoot Tribal Classic field small but competitive

AUBURN, Wash. – Only four horses will compete Sunday in Emerald Downs’s championship event for horses bred in Washington, the $40,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic at 1 1/16 miles. The centerpiece of Washington Cup Day – six stakes races for statebreds worth a total of $215,000 in purses – the Muckleshoot will go as the third race on a nine-race card that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 14:34

Belmont: Hessonite could hold distance edge over rival in Hettinger

Tom Keyser
Hessonite wins the Yaddo Stakes under Ramon Dominguez.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer David Donk is hopeful he has found the one thing that may give his filly Hessonite an edge over Gitchee Goomie in their ongoing rivalry: distance.

Sunday, when the two New York-bred fillies meet for the fifth time this year – and sixth time in 11 months – in the $150,000 John Hettinger Stakes at Belmont Park, it will be the first time at 1 1/8 miles. Though Hessonite has yet to race beyond 1 1/16 miles, Donk has been looking forward to stretching the daughter of Freud out in distance for a long time.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 14:24

Belmont: Street Game back where he runs best for Ashley Cole

Tom Keyser
Street Game brings a 4-for-5 record on Belmont's turf into the Ashley Cole Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Street Game’s fifth-place finish in the West Point Stakes was one of the few blemishes on what was an otherwise terrific Saratoga meet for trainer Phil Serpe. Though Serpe, who went 7 for 31 at the Spa, may not have wanted to leave upstate New York, he is viewing the change of venue to Belmont Park as a positive for Street Game when he runs in Sunday’s $150,000 Ashley T. Cole Stakes.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 14:20

How to bet the Hastings Pick 4 for Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012

Here's my race-by-race rundown of Sunday's pick four at Hastings on Sept. 9, 2012. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com. The bets are in $0.50 increments and my budget is $100.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 13:50

Hastings: Taylors Deal in peak form for British Columbia Derby

Coady Photography
Taylors Deal heads a potent three-horse entry that figures to go favored in the British Columbia Derby.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Six stakes totaling $600,000 will be offered Sunday on the richest card ever held at Hastings, which includes the jewel of the meet, the Grade 3, $200,000 British Columbia Derby.

Trainer Tim McCanna, who is shipping Italian Boy from Emerald Downs to run in the 1 1/8-mile feature, summed up how the B.C. Derby looks on paper.

“That is one of the toughest derby fields I’ve seen up there in a long time,” said McCanna.

Thirteen horses were entered but only 12 will be permitted to start. They will all carry 126 pounds.

Fri, 09/07/2012 - 12:03

Evangeline Downs: No major injuries reported after four-horse spill

Reports were still limited Friday morning, but it appears all riders and horses escaped serious injury after a nasty spill in Thursday night’s 10th and final race at Evangeline Downs.

Thu, 09/06/2012 - 17:29

Belmont: Dullahan likely headed for Joe Hirsch

Benoit & Associates
Dullahan, winning the Pacific Classic under Joel Rosario, could make his next start in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Sept. 29.

ELMONT, N.Y. − Trainer Dale Romans said he is leaning toward starting Pacific Classic winner Dullahan in the Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational here on Sept. 29.

Romans said the Joe Hirsch makes sense because “we’d probably be leaning toward running in the Turf at the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. The Grade 1 Jamaica, restricted to 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles, is also possible.