Within Range might be good enough to stand the jump in class when he runs in a first-level, $32,000 optional claiming race at Northlands on Monday. The one-mile feature for 3-year-olds drew five horses and heads a nine-race Canada Day holiday card that begins at 1 p.m. Mountain.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Monmouth Park officials said they plan to run on Saturday despite a water emergency in the surrounding area.
All residents of Monmouth County were advised to boil water before drinking, and all outdoor water use was banned.
The county-wide state of emergency was implemented after three water mains collapsed at a nearby treatment plant. It could be several days before normal water pressure is restored.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jockey Shane Sellers suffered a fractured right scapula in a freak accident Friday night on the Churchill Downs turf and will be out of action for five to six weeks, his agent, Fred Aime, said Saturday evening.
Sellers was injured when his mount, Voodoo Daddy, threw him when crashing into the temporary inner rail. Voodoo Daddy appeared well on his way to victory when holding an open lead in midstretch as the 3-5 favorite in the ninth race, a five-furlong turf allowance, before he shied inward when being struck with Sellers’s right-handed whip.
ALTOONA, Iowa - The 7-year-old Wiredfortwotwenty controlled the pace and responded gamely when challenged to fend off 2-5 favorite Rothko and win the $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap at Prairie Meadows. The Sprint was one of three stakes at Prairie Meadows Friday night, along with the $107,000 Iowa Distaff and the $90,000 Saylorville.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - John Scott is bound for a stakes at Del Mar later this summer after outfinishing Rail Trip, the winner of the 2009 Hollywood Gold Cup, in Thursday’s sixth race.
Ridden by Victor Espinoza for trainer Carla Gaines, John Scott led or disputed the pace throughout the 1 1/16 miles of the race, and held off Rail Trip to win the optional claimer by a half-length in 1:44.25.
“The horse is a fighter,” Gaines said.
AUBURN, Wash. – There’s warm, there’s hot, there’s red-hot, and then there’s Frank Lucarelli. The veteran trainer has been scalding over the past two weeks, winning with seven of his nine starters at Emerald Downs. And even that is selling Lucarelli short, since one of his losers ran second behind one of his winners. That makes it seven wins in eight races, helping Lucarelli build a 22-19 lead over Howard Belvoir and Tim McCanna in the Emerald trainer standings.
AUBURN, Wash. – A pair of restricted stakes for 2-year-olds headline a 10-race card Sunday at Emerald Downs, and with most of the runners making their first career start, handicappers will have to do some educated guesswork to identify the winners. First post is 2 p.m. Pacific, and the stakes – the $25,000 Son of Briartic for fillies, the $25,000 Slewdledo for colts and geldings – will go as races 7 and 9.
Of the 694 career wins Cody Autrey has compiled since he began training in fall 2000, just 33 have come with 2-year-olds. But that number should grow over the next few years. Autrey, who has operated an active claiming stable throughout his young career, is now making a deliberate effort to add more 2-year-olds to the barn’s mix.
Streakin’ Mohican made a splash in his Arapahoe Park debut last month, when he won a sprint stakes with a Beyer Speed Figure of 100. It was the horse’s first start for Robert Rosette and trainer Bill Brashears after being claimed in Southern California, and Streakin’ Mohican will be out to build on the success Sunday in the $40,000 Front Range at Arapahoe.
“We were pretty excited the day we got him, and just hope the magic keeps happening,” said Brashears.
