Fri, 06/15/2012 - 12:25

Churchill Downs: Twinspired long overdue to clear second allowance condition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jim Shircliff has two daughters. Harvey Diamond has two grown children and three grandkids. These longtime friends and their families would like to share a Father’s Day gift Sunday at their familiar stomping grounds of Churchill Downs: a long overdue victory by Twinspired in one of the co-features of a 10-race card.

Fri, 06/15/2012 - 12:08

Parx: Perfect Officer, Bridgetown exit tough company for Parx Dash

Barbara D. Livingston
Bridgetown has had 10 workouts leading up to his return in Saturday's Grade 3, $125,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs.

Perfect Officer and Bridgetown, each coming off a good effort in separate Grade 3 races that produced multiple next-out winners, meet in Sunday’s $150,000 Parx Dash Handicap, a five-furlong sprint on turf.

The 6-year-old Perfect Officer rallied to get up by a nose in the Grade 3 Shakertown at Keeneland two months ago. The horses who finished fourth, fifth, and sixth all returned to win next time out, including Great Attack in the Grade 3 Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard.

Fri, 06/15/2012 - 12:06

Northlands: Claresmiezie looks too classy for Chariot Chaser rivals

Four-Footed Fotos
Claresmiezie will make her 2012 debut in an allowance race Sunday at Hastings.

Claresmiezie lost some luster when she lost for the first time in Western Canada in the $50,000 Ross McLeod at Hastings May 19. Nonetheless, she figures to be a heavy favorite when she returns to Northlands Park in the six-furlong Chariot Chaser Handicap Sunday. The $50,000 feature for 3-year-old fillies drew five horses and it will be interesting to see how Claresmiezie bounces back from her defeat.

Fri, 06/15/2012 - 12:04

Hastings: Orchid's Silver should have no problem with Vancouver Sun distance

Four-Footed Fotos
Orchid's Silver won the 1 1/8-mile Ballerina last year.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – There are no real standouts in the older filly and mare division at Hastings this year and a case could be made for any of the seven horses entered in the $50,000 Vancouver Sun at Hastings Sunday. The 1 1/16-mile feature is the first middle-distance stakes race for the division at the meet and the added distance should help Orchid’s Silver, who won the Grade 3 Ballerina in her final start of 2011.

Fri, 06/15/2012 - 12:03

Assiniboia: Schillerthekiller at his best for Free Press

Schillerthekiller, invading from Canterbury Park, will be tough to beat in Sunday’s Free Press Stakes at Assiniboia Downs if he can duplicate his latest effort.

The six-furlong Free Press, the first stakes race of the meeting for 3-year-olds and upward, has attracted a field of seven and offers a purse of $30,000. Post time for the first of nine races on the Father’s Day card is 1:15 p.m. Central and the Free Press goes as race 8.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 23:01

Indiana Downs: Racing commission closes track until it can address horsemen's safety concerns

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission has ordered Indiana Downs in Shelbyville, Ind., to suspend its meet until the commission can inspect the racing surface and verify that it is safe. The commission's order is the result of a request by the Indiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.

Races at Indiana Downs have been canceled for Friday and Saturday. The soonest the track could reopen is Monday, June 18.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 22:28

Golden Gate offers $75,000-guaranteed pick four on Sunday, closing day

Golden Gate Fields winds up its winter-spring meeting Sunday with a $75,000-guaranteed all-turf pick four.

The pick four, conducted on races 7-10, begins with three 1 1/16-mile turf races and concludes with a five-furlong sprint on the turf. Eight runners are entered in the seventh race, 10 in the eighth and nine in both the ninth and 10th.

Seven of Sunday’s 10 races will be contested on the turf.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 18:50

Hollywood Park: Zazu to miss Vanity

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Zazu, the winner of three graded stakes, will be withdrawn from Saturday's $250,000 Vanity Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park because she is "off behind," trainer John Sadler said on Thursday afternoon.

"She's out," Sadler said. "We did a preliminary diagnosis with X-rays, which were negative. We'll do a nuclear scan on Tuesday."

A nuclear scan is a more elaborate test, which can detect the presence of more minute injuries than a conventional X-ray.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 17:47

Saratoga television schedule set

The NBC Sports Group finalized its lineup of five television shows that will originate from Saratoga this summer.

The NBC Sports Network will televise Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave on Aug. 11 and the Grade 2 Adirondack and Grade 2 Saratoga Special – both races for 2-year-olds _ on Aug. 12. Those shows will air from 6-7 p.m. Eastern and be preceded by Olympic coverage.

On Aug. 18, NBC Sports Network will broadcast the Grade 1 Alabama and Grade 1 Sword Dancer in a one-hour telecast from 5-6 p.m. Eastern.

Thu, 06/14/2012 - 17:37

Belmont Park: Aruna targets New York Handicap

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Aruna, with Ramon Dominguez riding, wins the Sheepshead Bay,

ELMONT, N.Y. - Aruna, winner of the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay on May 26, will make a return trip to Belmont Park for the Grade 2, $200,000 New York Handicap on June 30, trainer Graham Motion said.

Motion said that his main summer objective for Aruna is the Beverly D. at Arlington Park on Aug. 18, but he doesn’t want to wait that long to run her back.

“It’s a long wait from the Sheepshead Bay,” Motion said. “It makes sense for her to have another race in between.”