Wed, 01/04/2012 - 15:13

Laurel: Rapid Redux digs deep for 22nd straight; will continue to race

Barbara D. Livingston
Rapid Redux wins his 22nd straight race under a well-timed ride by jockey J.D. Acosta.

New year, same old result for record-setting Rapid Redux, who dashed to his 22nd consecutive victory in the sixth race on Wednesday at Laurel Park.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 15:05

Golden Gate: Daily averages up for the year

Golden Gate Fields showed increases in average daily and total ontrack handle and attendance in 2011.

Average daily ontrack attendance jumped 8.8 percent over 2010, from 2,403 to 2,616.

Average daily ontrack handle improved 2.8 percent, from $436,986 to $449,315.

The all-sources daily handle – which includes ontrack, satellite location, and account betting, showed a 3.4 percent increase in average, from $1,792,436 in 2010 to $1,852,932.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 14:42

Gulfstream: Utley out for fresh career

Barbara D. Livingston
Utley was seventh, three lengths behind the winner, in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Utley, whose only previous appearance in this country came in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, will try to kick-start what has been a somewhat disappointing career to date against first-level allowance competition in Friday’s $53,500 main event at Gulfstream Park.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 14:25

Atlantic City Race Course to hold six-day meet

Atlantic City Race Course will conduct a six-day, turf-only race meeting in 2012. The track's 66th season will be held from Friday to Sunday, April 27-29, and Tuesday to Thursday, May 1-3. Last year, Atlantic City held a six-day meet from April 28 to May 3.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 14:16

Golden Gate: Trujillo off to winning start

The call down the stretch of Saturday’s first race at Golden Gate Fields by the track’s announcer, Michael Wrona, summed up the story of the day.

“Victor Trujillo really has begun his training career with a bang,” said Wrona, as Summers Peace won a $50,000 optional claimer on the turf.

The victory was the second in two days for Trujillo, who finished second last Thursday with the first horse he officially saddled, Hot Chaco.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 12:45

Gulfstream Park: Sheppard taking his time with Ever So Lucky

Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
Ever So Lucky is on a farm recovering from bone bruising in a leg, and may return in the Hutcheson.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Ever So Lucky is one of the more exciting prospects in the class of 2012. But trainer Jonathan Sheppard is in no rush to put his star back into serious training just yet.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 11:18

Turfway Park: Jockey Bonnie Castaneda out of coma, will have surgery Friday

Jockey Bonnie Castaneda is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday at University Hospital in Cincinnati to repair two broken vertebrae she suffered in a spill at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky on Sunday.

Castaneda, 50, moved her arms and legs and was responsive Tuesday after being in a coma for about 48 hours, according to her husband, trainer and former rider Marco Castaneda.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 10:03

Rapid Redux, foot healed, to run at Laurel

Barbara D. Livingston
Rapid Redux wins his 19th race of the year Tuesday, tying Citation's modern-day United States record. The victory was Rapid Redux's 21st in a row.

Rapid Redux was en route from trainer David Well’s home base in Pennsylvania to Laurel Park in Maryland on Wednesday morning, his injured hoof healed enough for him to participate in Laurel’s sixth race, in which he’ll be heavily favored to win for the 22nd time in a row.

Wed, 01/04/2012 - 09:40

Santa Anita: Trainer Humberto Ascanio recovering from stroke

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Humberto Ascanio, a former assistant to Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, is recovering from the effects of a stroke suffered on Dec. 30 and will at least temporarily disband his 12-horse stable, according to his son, Matthew.

Ascanio, 64, is undergoing rehabilitation at Arcadia Methodist Hospital and has shown improvement in recent days. Initially, Ascanio lost some movement on the right side of his body, but has since shown progress.

Tue, 01/03/2012 - 16:08

Hawthorne: Longer meet results in average handle dip

STICKNEY, Ill. – A return to a five-day race week boosted gross handle at the Hawthorne Race Course 2011 fall-winter meet that ended Dec. 31, but average daily handle at the track fell compared to the 2010 fall-winter meeting.