OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The stewards suspended apprentice jockey Jaime Torres 14 days for his ride aboard Central Speed in last Saturday’s second race at Aqueduct.
Torres allowed Central Speed to come in several paths, bumping Autumn, who unseated Jose Lezcano. Lezcano suffered a broken hand and is out indefinitely. As part of a chain reaction, Manny Franco was also unseated, but he was uninjured.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mage, runner-up despite a slow start and wide trip in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, will have the first of his three scheduled pre-Kentucky Derby workouts at Gulfstream Park this weekend, assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said Thursday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Gulfstream Park canceled live racing on Thursday and Friday in the wake of tropical-like storms and severe weather the Wednesday that flooded local streets as well as portions of the barn area. Simulcasting was also canceled here on Thursday.
There also were tornado warnings and the closure of schools throughout Broward County as well as Fort Lauderdale Airport.
Turf Paradise, the Phoenix racetrack that has struggled financially and operationally over the past five years, is in the process of being sold to a California real estate developer who has partnered with a racetrack official with experience in operating historical horse-racing machines.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Chad Brown will be looking to extend his dominance in the Grade 1, $600,000 Jenny Wiley when he is represented by the highly regarded Peter Brant pair of In Italian and Speak of the Devil among eight fillies and mares in the 1 1/16-mile turf race.
The status of Blue Grass third-place finisher Blazing Sevens will be monitored quite closely by those on the outside of the Kentucky Derby picture looking in, but don’t expect a decision on that colt’s status for a few weeks.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Lexington Stakes on Saturday often serves as a prep for the Preakness, not the Kentucky Derby. And that would most definitely apply in the case of Arabian Lion, one of 11 3-year-olds confirmed for the final qualifying race toward the May 6 Derby.
Arabian Lion, trained by Bob Baffert, lacks sufficient qualifying points for the Derby, helping to make that a moot point. But the May 20 Preakness remains in play, especially if the Justify colt runs big in the Grade 3, $400,000 Lexington at Keeneland.
There were no injuries in a barn fire Tuesday night at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., according to a statement released by the track. The fire destroyed the north end of the Wild Again barn, and horses and staff from the area were safely relocated to other barns. The fire started shortly before 7 p.m., and as of Wednesday morning the cause of the fire is unknown.
Oaklawn released the following statement:
Kenny McPeek can keep everybody else jammed up if he wants. There’s no looming timetable as to when the veteran trainer must decide whether Sun Thunder will be entered in the May 6 Kentucky Derby, and he can take pretty much all the time he needs.
Sun Thunder, a no-factor fourth by 6 1/2 lengths as a 13-1 shot last Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, is in the Derby if so desired. Owned by R.T. Racing Stable and Cypress Creek Equine, the son of uber-sire Into Mischief is 14th on the list of qualifiers with 54 points, safely above the 20-horse cutoff.
