Sun, 05/14/2023 - 18:30

Dr. Schivel ends layoff, preps for True North with easy allowance triumph

Grade 1 winner Dr Schivel is training for a spring return to racing.
Barbara Livingston
Dr. Schivel was given a 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his allowance-race victory on Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The two-time Grade 1 winner Dr. Schivel returned from a layoff of more than 13 months to easily beat two rivals in an allowance race at Santa Anita on Saturday, a victory that in one regard took the 5-year-old’s career to a new level.

Dr. Schivel ran six furlongs in 1:09.19, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 105.

The win served as a prep for the Grade 2 True North Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Belmont Park on June 10. The $250,000 True North will be on the undercard of the Belmont Stakes, and is expected to draw a strong field of sprinters.

Fri, 05/12/2023 - 14:44

Lord Miles breezes, likely for Belmont Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Lord Miles breezed a half-mile in 49.50 Friday morning at Gulfstream Park, his first work since being scratched from the Kentucky Derby.

Lord Miles breezed four furlongs in 49.50 seconds late Friday morning at Palm Meadows, his first work since being scratched from the Kentucky Derby by Churchill Downs officials following the sudden deaths of two of his stablemates in races run at the track during the first two cards of the current meeting. 

Lord Miles, who earned his way into the Derby lineup by virtue of his upset victory in the Grade 2 Wood, shipped back to South Florida earlier this week along with the rest of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.’s horses who were stabled at Churchill Downs at the time of the incidents.

Thu, 05/11/2023 - 17:50

MonmouthBets app gives N.J. residents more fixed-odds wagering options

BetMakers, the fixed-odds betting partner of Monmouth Park in New Jersey, launched a mobile betting app on Thursday for making fixed-odds wagers on horseracing tracks in the U.S., limited to New Jersey residents, the company said.

Thu, 05/11/2023 - 15:21

Jockey Orozco recovering at home after nasty spill

Jockey Irving Orozco is aiming for an early summer return to riding after sustaining fractured ribs and a punctured lung when he was unseated at Golden Gate Fields on April 29.

Orozco was hospitalized for five days following an incident in which Crazy Dreams sustained a fatal leg injury in the Lost in the Fog Stakes for sprinters. Orozco was under observation at a hospital for blunt chest trauma and broken and bruised ribs.

Thu, 05/11/2023 - 15:14

Senor Buscador works, being pointed to Hollywood Gold Cup

Coady Photography
Senor Buscador wins the Curribot at Sunland Park in March. He is 5 for 10 in his career, including a win in the Ack Ack at Churchill Downs.

The three-time stakes winner Senor Buscador will start at 1 1/4 miles for the first time in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 29, a chance to test the 5-year-old’s ability against some of California’s leading older horses.

Trained by Todd Fincher for Joe Peacock, Senor Buscador has had mixed results in two starts this year. Senor Buscador won the minor Curribot Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Sunland Park on March 5, and was a troubled fourth in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on April 22.

Wed, 05/10/2023 - 16:09

Three jockeys suspended for Aqueduct rides

Susie Raisher/NYRA
Dylan Davis was suspended seven calendar days for his ride on Lifetime of Chance (right) in the $200,000 Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes on April 22.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Several riders are serving days for penalties assessed to them by the stewards for careless riding during the Aqueduct meet.

Jockeys Dylan Davis and Samy Camacho were suspended by the stewards for careless riding, as it related to the $200,000 Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes on April 22 at Aqueduct. Davis rode Lifetime of Chance to a neck victory over Bank Frenzy, ridden by Camacho.

Wed, 05/10/2023 - 15:59

Beren seeks more Belmont success in Runhappy

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Beren looks to continue Belmont domination in Saturday's Runhappy Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In 2021, the Parx Racing-based Beren won two stakes at Belmont Park, the Gold Fever and the off-the-turf Paradise Creek.

Saturday, he returns to Belmont for the Grade 3, $175,000 Runhappy Stakes scheduled for six furlongs on dirt. Beren, trained by Butch Reid, comes into the Runhappy off a third-place finish in the Page McKenney Stakes at Parx. In that race, he was beaten three-quarters of a length by Twisted Ride, who was supplemented to this race. Twisted Ride has won four consecutive races for trainer Michael Moore.

Wed, 05/10/2023 - 15:48

Peter Pan lacks standout

Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photos
Classic Catch, trained by Todd Pletcher, adds blinkers in Saturday's Peter Pan.

ELMONT, N.Y. ­– Nine 3-year-olds were entered Wednesday for Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes, but there does not appear to be an obvious favorite.

Trainer Todd Pletcher entered the pair of Classic Catch and Go Soldier Go. Classic Catch finished fifth in the Wood Memorial, rallying from 10 lengths back to finish 5 1/2 lengths behind Lord Miles. Pletcher is adding blinkers to Classic Catch’s equipment.

Wed, 05/10/2023 - 15:38

Verstappen heads quartet from Elkhorn in Man o' War Stakes

Coady Photography
Verstappen, winner of the Grade 2 Elkhorn, will run in Saturday's Grade 1 Man o' War Stakes at Belmont Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. ­– Led by upset winner Verstappen, four of the top six finishers from the Grade 2 Elkhorn on April 22 at Keeneland will meet again in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park.

Verstappen, trained by Brendan Walsh, beat Red Knight by a head in the Elkhorn, run at 1 1/2 miles. Channel Maker, the turf champion of 2020, finished fourth, while Howe Street, the 2-1 Elkhorn favorite, ran sixth.

Wed, 05/10/2023 - 15:15

Pleasanton to add $150K stakes, richest in Northern California fair history

The stakes schedule for the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif., this summer has been enhanced to include the $150,000 Pleasanton Mile, a newly created race that will be the richest in the history of the Northern California fair circuit.

The Pleasanton Mile will be run on July 9 for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and 70 yards. The race is part of the closing day of the county fair’s four-week meeting, which begins on June 16. The July 9 program will include the $75,000 Everett Nevin Stakes for 2-year-olds at 5 1/2 furlongs.