ELMONT, N.Y. - Love Reigns was not one of the four horses trainer Wesley Ward sent to England for next week’s prestigious Royal Ascot meeting.
Ward said recent works put in by Love Reigns didn’t give him the confidence to take her to England. Last year, Love Reigns finished fourth in the Group 2 Queen Mary.
Ward said he would point Love Reigns to the $150,000 Coronation Cup on July 14 at Saratoga.
Becky Ryder, who has served as the director of the prestigious Keeneland Library for the past 13 years, will retire at the end of October and be succeeded by Roda Ferraro, who has done previous work for the library, Keeneland announced on Wednesday.
Ken Carson will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Texas Thoroughbred Association during its annual meeting and banquet on June 24 at Lone Star, the organization announced. Carson long managed Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas, and is closely affiliated with the Scharbauer family, who campaigned Alysheba.
Tracy Sheffield will be honored as the TTA’s member of the year. She has long spearheaded the Roses to Ribbon events that match racehorses set to retire with new owners. It’s held near the close of most meets in Texas.
Closing Act, a Texas-bred 2-year-old filly who won the $150,000 Astoria on Sunday at Belmont Park, could run back in New York, trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday. She has an option at Saratoga, and also one in her home state of Texas.
“She is eligible for the Sales Futurity at Lone Star,” Asmussen said. “I don’t know if I’d bring her back for that. We also have the Schuylerville at Saratoga."
The $150,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity is July 1. The Grade 3, $175,000 Schuylerville is July 13.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – The collective sigh of relief heard Tuesday among many sprinters based in the Midwest came after word that Skelly is going on vacation. The standout runner has won five straight races, his latest the $100,000 Speightstown Sprint at Lone Star Park.
Prior to the effort – for which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 102 - he zipped to four straight wins at Oaklawn Park. His run includes the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap for which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105.
ELMONT, N.Y. – It could be a fun summer in the 3-year-old division.
With three different winners of the Triple Crown races, seven different winners of Grade 1 stakes, and several other talented runners in the division, Grade 1 summer races such as the Haskell at Monmouth Park on July 22 and the Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 26 should be pivotal in defining a division leader.
ELMONT, N.Y. – In the coming months, Javier Castellano may have a difficult decision to make, whom to ride between Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo, should they show up in the same race such as the Travers Stakes on Aug. 26 at Saratoga.
Two summers ago, a struggling Castellano had an even more difficult decision to make – continue riding or retire.
ELMONT, N.Y – Equine fatalities took a backseat to the air-quality index in the days leading up to the Belmont Stakes. Just when it looked like two sensational days of racing were going to be completed without incident, there was a fatality in the 13th and final race on Saturday’s Belmont Park program.
ELMONT, N.Y. – From juvenile champion, to Florida Derby winner, to being scratched as the favorite on Kentucky Derby morning, the roller-coaster ride that Forte has been on during the opening half of his 3-year-old campaign didn’t quite end on the high note that trainer Todd Pletcher and his owners – Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola – had hoped for with his second-place finish in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.
ELMONT, N.Y. – There may have been a little more pep in her step Friday morning, as trainer Linda Rice walked from her barn on the Belmont Park backstretch to the training track to oversee her horses’ preparations for upcoming races.
On Thursday, Rice received word that an Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court recommended that a three-year suspension of her license handed down by the New York State Gaming Commission in May 2021 for “conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing” should be thrown out.
