Thu, 05/17/2012 - 13:18

Preakness 2012: I'll Have Another will keep tabs on Bodemeister

Barbara D. Livingston
I’ll Have Another goes for another blanket of flowers Saturday at Pimlico in the Preakness.

BALTIMORE – It seems that no matter what I’ll Have Another does, he has to do it again. He has won 4 times in 6 starts, including his last three, the most recent being the Kentucky Derby, in which he outran 19 other 3-year-olds.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 13:14

Pimlico: Casino Host enters Dixie on the rise

[bc_video_id:252139:]BALTIMORE − After an underachieving 3-year-old season, Casino Host has run two races this year that suggest he could be a significant player in the older male turf division.

He will try to continue his ascension Saturday, when he takes on 10 rivals in the Grade 3, $300,000 Dixie, the richest of six undercard stakes on Pimlico’s 13-race Preakness Day − and closing day − card.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 13:13

Hollywood Park: Include Me Out fresh for Everett Handicap

Shigeki Kikkawa
Include Me Out is among the favorites for Saturday's Grade 2 Marjorie Everett Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Include Me Out has compiled a perfect record around two turns this year, giving owner Samantha Siegel and trainer Ron Ellis the needed encouragement for Saturday’s $150,000 Marjorie Everett Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Wins in the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes for 4-year-old fillies over 1 1/16 miles in January and the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational against older mares in March at Santa Anita have left Include Me Out with the role of leading older female in Southern California.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:59

Lone Star: Aces N Kings gets prep in Saturday allowance

Aces N Kings, who has a summer goal of making the $50,000 Assault on the main track at Lone Star Park on July 7, will take a step toward that race Saturday when he runs in an allowance feature at the Grand Prairie, Texas, track. The race will be run over 7 1/2 furlongs on turf and it is restricted to 3-year-olds and up bred in Texas.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:57

Will Rogers Downs: Ransom Roberto tops Cherokee Nation Classic Cup

Ransom Roberto has made the unlikely leap from $5,000 claimer to multiple stakes winner. On Saturday, he can push his earnings past $300,000 when he runs in the $55,000 Cherokee Nation Classic Cup at Will Rogers Downs.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:51

Charles Town: Russell Road shortens up in It’s Only Money Stakes

The millionaire Russell Road will shorten up to 4 1/2 furlongs for only the second time in his long career when he faces six other West Virginia-bred sprinters in the $50,000 It’s Only Money Stakes at Charles Town.

The 6-year-old Russell Road, who is 20 for 33 lifetime, is more comfortable with his off-the-pace style going seven furlongs, the distance at which he scored by 4 1/2 lengths in his 2012 debut in the April 14 Confucius Say. But he did win last year’s running of the It’s Only Money as a follow up to his 2011 win in the Confucius Say.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:49

Delaware Park: Win Willy needs pace help in Joe French Memorial

Oaklawn Park/Coady Photography
Win Willy will be hoping for a contested pace in Saturday's $50,000 Joe French Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park.

Win Willy, a Grade 2 winner in his last start of 2011 but beaten nearly a combined 20 lengths in his first two comeback races this season, will try to regain his form in Saturday’s $50,000 Joe French Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park.

Although the 6-year-old Win Willy owns back class, as a deep closer he will be at the mercy of the pacesetters in the 1 1/16-mile Joe French, and the race flow doesn’t appear to set up in his favor.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:46

Monmouth Park: Presious Passion returns in Elkwood Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Presious Passion will make his first start since January 2011 in Saturday's $75,000 Elkwood Stakes at Monmouth Park.

It has taken a great deal of time and a surgical procedure, but Presious Passion is finally ready to resume racing.

Unraced since January 2011, the 9-year-old Presious Passion will launch his comeback Saturday at a distance far less than he usually prefers in the $75,000 Elkwood Stakes at Monmouth Park.

A confirmed front-runner who won back-to-back runnings of the Grade 1 United Nations in 2008 and 2009 during a career in which he has earned $2.6 million, Presious Passion will use the one-mile Elkhorn as a stepping-stone to the Grade 2, $200,000 Monmouth Stakes on June 10.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:45

Northlands: Gitter Done Girl can fire fresh

Ny Randy Goulding

Gitter Done Girl looks as good as any in Saturday’s feature at Northlands Park. The six-furlong second-level allowance race drew seven hard-to-separate fillies and mares and will go as the seventh race on an eight-race card that starts at 1 p.m. Mountain.

In a race where most of the horses entered will be making their seasonal debut, it might be worth looking at which trainer has the best numbers with horses returning from extended layoffs.

Thu, 05/17/2012 - 12:28

Calder: Trip for A.J. tries to honor late owner in Sara's Success

MIAMI – The racing world lost one of its greatest sportsmen when Peter Fuller died earlier this week. But his legacy will be carried on Saturday at Calder by Trip for A.J., a Fuller homebred who will be one of the choices in the $55,000 Sara’s Success Stakes.