ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Charlie Lopresti won last year’s Woodbine Mile with Turallure, who went on to finish the closest of seconds in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs.
And while Turralure had his troubles this year, going to the sidelines in early July, Lopresti is planning to return with an equally formidable competitor in Wise Dan.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. – Canterbury Park will showcase statebred talent on Minnesota Festival of Champions Day on Sunday. Over $400,000 in purses will be up for grabs on the 11-race card, which includes two Quarter Horse and six Thoroughbred stakes, many of which will help to determine Minnesota divisional championships.
Post time for Festival Day is 1:30 p.m. Central. Canterbury Park concludes its meet Monday with a Labor Day card.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Ralph Biamonte sends out favored Jenna’s Wabbit and longshot Run in Aruba in Sunday’s $125,000 Vice Regent Stakes at Woodbine, and the personable trainer thinks they both should acquit themselves well in the one-mile turf route for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.
For the most part, Jenna’s Wabbit has used his breakaway speed to win six of nine outings. He is unbeaten in three starts this year, including sprint stakes scores on the Polytrack in the Achievement and Deputy Minister.
FORT ERIE, Ontario – Alamanda Drive, a 6-year-old mare who is 4 for 17 on the turf, heads a field of 12 fillies and mares for Sunday’s $30,000 Labatt Cup at Fort Erie. The 1 1/16-mile turf race is restricted to horses who have run at least three times this year at Fort Erie.
Alamanda Drive, trained by Marilyn McMullen, went gate-to-wire two starts back over one mile while competing without the price in a second-level optional $20,000 claiming race.
DEL MAR, Calif. – My Best Brother got the best of Old Time Hockey on opening day July 18 in a division of the Oceanside Stakes, but then Old Time Hockey hung a nose on My Best Brother in the La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 11. Round Three of their budding rivalry is Sunday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Del Mar Derby, but this field has quite a bit of depth, including Eastern invader Howe Great, and Midnight Crooner, who won the other Oceanside division.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The remnants of Hurricane Isaac could affect Arlington’s featured race on Sunday.
Race 7, a third-level optional $80,000 claimer for fillies and mares, is carded for about one mile on turf, but with the scattered bits of Isaac forecast to wander into the Chicago area this weekend, turf races could easily wind up on the main track.
Spurious Precision, the leader of the 2-year-old division coming off his extremely impressive victory in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special earlier in the meet, breezed an easy half-mile in 48.12 seconds over the main track on Friday. The work was the first for Spurious Precision since the Special.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Lucky Chappy is surely one of the best 3-year-olds not to have won a race this year. He will attempt to remedy that dubious honor Sunday at Saratoga when he takes on nine rivals in the $150,000 Saranac.
[Complete coverage of racing at Saratoga: News, PPs, and video]
DEL MAR, Calif. - For the second time in less than a week, there is a two-day carryover in the pick six at Del Mar.
Going into last Sunday’s program, the pick six carryover was $570,012. For Friday’s seven-race program, the pick six carryover is $432,260.
Friday, the pick six covers the second through seventh races on a program that begins at 4 p.m. Pacific. The pool of new money could approach $2 million.
[Complete coverage of racing at Del Mar: News, PPs, and video]
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When Chad Brown examined the speed figures Wednesday night for the horses entered to run in Thursday's Grade 2 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga, he was hoping that his horse, Balance the Books, could draw into the field from the also-eligible list.
Though at first he wanted a few scratches so the horse wouldn't break from too far outside, Brown decided that one scratch would be enough.
