There will be a public memorial service held Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame for Richard Hamilton, a longtime steward for the New York Racing Association, who died on April 18. He was 76.
After he left his job as steward in 1995, Hamilton served as communications officer at the museum.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Last summer, trainer Tom Bush was inadvertently among those not informed when a decision was first made to make the Oklahoma turf course available at a special time for horses preparing for Grade 1 stakes. The unfortunate omission came just one week before the Bush-trained Get Stormy was scheduled to run in defense of his title in the Grade 1 Fourstardave.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The imposing speedster Jenna’s Wabbit will negotiate seven furlongs Wednesday night at Woodbine in the $125,000 Deputy Minister. Despite carrying 128 pounds, he should be odds-on in the stakes for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Riding the River was moving into uncharted territory in stretching out to 1 1/8 miles on the turf for this past Sunday’s $322,200 Nijinsky Stakes. But Dave Cotey, who trains the 5-year-old Riding the River and owns the gelding in partnership with Hugh Galbraith and Jim McNair, had been reasonably confident that the gelding would handle the distance.
“I thought he would because of the way he got 1 1/16 miles on the Polytrack, around two turns, as a 3-year-old,” said Cotey. “Usually, you can stretch a little on the turf.”
The Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa is going old school during its three-week meeting with five-day race weeks, and track officials hope having the only turf course on the California fair circuit will allow them to fill races. Santa Rosa opens its 15-day meet on Wednesday and races Wednesdays through Sundays until the meet ends Aug. 12.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Owner Martin Schwartz has a long history of buying horses based in Europe, bringing them to the United States and winning graded stakes with them.
Schwartz hopes that Samitar can follow in the hoofprints of Stacelita, Angara, and Gorella when she makes her North American debut in Wednesday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Lake George Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga.
A solid eight-horse field which includes six graded or group stakes winners was entered for the Lake George, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles over the Mellon Turf Course.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Similar to his champion stablemate Acclamation, Norvsky has proven very good at defending titles in stakes races.
Acclamation, the champion older male of 2011, won the Grade 1 Eddie Read Stakes for the second straight year on Saturday. Earlier this year, he won the Grade 1 Charles Whittingham Handicap for the third consecutive year.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Gabriel Charles on Saturday was trainer Jeff Mullins’s first 2-year-old winner of the meeting. Even with that distinction, he is not considered Mullins’s top prospect in the division.
Next Saturday in a maiden race, Mullins starts the highly regarded 2-year-old Dry Summer, who was fourth in his debut at Betfair Hollywood Park on July 1.
Complete coverage of racing at Del Mar: News, PPs, and video
DEL MAR, Calif. - The 3-year-old filly Winding Way is bound for a stakes later this summer after extending her unbeaten streak to two races with an easy win in an optional claimer on Saturday.
Owned by breeder B. Wayne Hughes, Winding Way ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.87, winning by 7 1/4 lengths. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 97.
“All I have to do is feed her,” Gaines said. “She’s so amazing.”
AUBURN, Wash. - Three horses with designs on the Grade 3 Longacres Mile finished heads apart Sunday in the $50,000 Mt. Rainier Handicap at Emerald Downs. Hudson Landing, making his first local start, prevailed by a head over the fast-closing St Liams Halo, with Winning Machine another head back in third. The winner ran 1 1/6 miles on a very fast track in 1:40.77 and paid $5.40.
