Thu, 03/29/2012 - 15:42

Santa Anita: Bodemeister looks headed to Arkansas Derby instead of Santa Anita Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. – Bodemeister, the runner-up in the San Felipe Stakes on March 10, will make his next start in the $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 14, Jimmy Barnes, trainer Bob Baffert’s assistant said on Thursday.

Bodemeister was being considered for the Arkansas Derby or the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 7 before the decision was made to send the colt to Oaklawn Park. In recent days, Barnes has been in regular contact with Baffert, who is in Dubai for Saturday’s Dubai World Cup.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 15:42

Gulfstream Park: Awesome Maria looks tough to beat in Rampart

Barbara D. Livingston
Awesome Maria will be a heavy favorite in Saturday’s $150,000 Rampart at Gulfstream Park.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Saturday’s $150,000 Rampart at Gulfstream Park had been shaping up to be an awesome race, both literally and figuratively, with the undefeated Eclipse Award winner Awesome Feather expected to square off against defending champion Awesome Maria at 1 1/8 miles in the Grade 3 fixture for older fillies and mares.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 15:23

Santa Anita: Oaks favorite Eden's Moon looks much the best

Shigeki Kikkawa
Eden's Moon, under Matt Garcia, scores in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes for 3-year-old fillies.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The progress that Eden’s Moon has made at Santa Anita this year has jockey Martin Garcia thinking of glory in the Kentucky Oaks in early May.

“She looks pretty good the way she’s been running,” Garcia said. “We’re praying that she stays sound and keeps improving. She had three starts and I think she will.”

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 15:10

Oaklawn, Little Bird, Spadra head Rainbow divisions

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – There will be a double Rainbow at Oaklawn Park on Saturday.

Little Bird gets a rematch with Primetime Dreamer in the $60,000 Rainbow for 3-year-olds, while Spadra seeks the second stakes win of her career in the $60,000 Rainbow Miss for 3-year-old fillies. Both races are at six furlongs and restricted to horses bred in Arkansas.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 15:07

Santa Anita: Starlight Magic returns for Evening Jewel Stakes

Benoit & Associates
Starlight Magic will make her first start since the fall in Saturday's $200,000 Evening Jewel at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Starlight Magic was sidelined last fall with minor bone chips in an ankle and knee after winning the California Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita. She picked a good time to be injured.

Five months later, Starlight Magic is ready to resume racing at an ideal time for a 3-year-old California-bred filly. She starts in Saturday’s $200,000 Evening Jewel over 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita, a race that is part of the newly created Golden State Series for statebreds.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 14:42

Gulfstream Park: Brilliant Speed returns in Appleton Stakes

Tom Keyser
Brilliant Speed starts his 2012 campaign in the Grade 3, $100,000 Appleton Stakes.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Though he is best known for his victory in the Blue Grass Stakes last spring and a subsequent third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes, it is on turf where Brilliant Speed seemed most effective in 2011. He developed steadily all year long, and by the fall was good enough to finish third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf behind two European invaders.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 14:31

How to bet Gulfstream Park's Saturday Pick 5 - March 31, 2012

Here's my race-by-race rundown of Saturday's pick five at Gulfstream Park on March 31, 2012. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 14:12

Aqueduct: Opus A faces two hurdles in Plugged Nickle

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Opus A, a dominant winner of New York-bred stakes in her last two outings, heads the field Saturday in the $75,000 Plugged Nickle Stakes for fillies and mares at Aqueduct.

The Plugged Nickle is the featured event on the last card of the week at the Big A. The track will be dark Sunday in observance of Palm Sunday.

Opus A, a 5-year-old trained by Rick Violette, is in the best form of her life, and figures to be favored against five rivals in the one-mile race on the main track.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 13:48

How to bet Fair Grounds Sunday Pick 4 - April 1, 2012

Here's my race-by-race rundown of Sunday's pick four at Fair Grounds. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com.

Thu, 03/29/2012 - 13:45

Tampa Bay: Slander seeks second career win

Slander, a good-looking winner leaving the maiden ranks against $32,000 claimers early in the Tampa Bay meeting, tops an overflow field of fillies and mares on Saturday in what figures to be a highly competitive mile and a sixteenth turf test for $25,000 claiming routers who have not won two races.

From the powerful Leigh Delacour barn, Slander will have Daniel Centeno in the irons as she drops down from an even sixth-place finish in a first-level optional claimer. Slander came into that race, her first try against winners, off a six-week break.