Racing Secretary Jason Teague has every right to be pleased with how entries went for Alberta Fall Classic Day this Saturday at Northlands Park.
“We were thrilled to see such great support,” he said. “The betting public is going to love the field sizes and the competitiveness of the races.”
MIAMI – Midnight Serenade is a Florida-bred but unfortunately for his connections, trainer Steve DiMauro and owner-breeder Leanne Robbins, the 2-year-old gelding is not eligible for the Florida Stallion Series. That makes Saturday’s $100,000 Foolish Pleasure Stakes the main goal at the moment for the steadily improving Midnight Serenade, who figures to be the slight favorite against five well-matched rivals in the first of four stakes events on Calder’s 12-race Festival of the Sun Preview program.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Todd Pletcher won last year’s $250,000 Summer Stakes with the brilliant Pluck, who went on to capture the Grade 2 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. He has another potential rocket for Saturday’s renewal of the Grade 3 event at Woodbine, Finale, who captured his two turf races by a combined 16 lengths.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Sassou was on a roll last winter, winning three straight races on grass in Southern California before he ran into a couple of tough ones in Burj Dubai and Noosa Beach in his next two starts on dirt. He will try to get back on the winning track when he runs in a $25,000 claiming race that serves as Saturday’s feature at Hastings. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew seven horses and Sassou is clearly the one to beat despite a lengthy layoff.
Tannat, sharp winner of a classified allowance race for Manitoba-breds last time out, will be well-backed to repeat in Saturday’s J.W. Sifton at Assiniboia Downs.
The J.W. Sifton, a 1 1/8-mile race for Manitoba-bred 3-year-olds, offers a purse of $50,000 and attracted a field of seven.
Tannat will be stretching back out off that win at 7 1/2 furlongs but should have no difficulty with the distance.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario —Trainer Mark Casse will run four nice prospects – Northern Passion, Sky Dreamer, Spirited Miss, and Quality Lass – in Saturday’s $200,000 Natalma, a one-mile turf stakes at Woodbine. The Grade 3 event for 2-year-old fillies is a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In race, with the winner gaining inclusion and a paid trip to the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4.
Teton Classic, an impressive winner in his career debut in late July, will attempt to outdo his older brother when he steps up to face stakes company in the $100,000 Charles Town Juvenile, the richest of five supporting stakes on the Race for the Ribbon card featuring the Charles Town Oaks.
Post time for the 11-race program begins an hour earlier than usual at 6 p.m. Eastern. The Juvenile goes as race 7 and begins an all-stakes pick four that culminates with the $400,000 Charles Town Oaks.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs hosted a media conference Thursday morning in the stable area to commemorate the reconstruction of the barns that were damaged in the June 22 tornado that tore through parts of Louisville, citing the efforts of numerous individuals and agencies in a rebuilding process that took less than three months and may wind up costing as much as $1.5 million.
Churchill will begin its fall meet Oct. 30, with the Breeders’ Cup set for Nov. 4-5.
POMONA, Calif. – It was an evening of firsts Wednesday at Fairplex Park, where pick six bettors on Thursday can chase the remains. A large pick six pool will be up for grabs after a series of middle-price winners caused a two-day carryover of $143,230.
Wednesday’s firsts included the initial twilight card at the Los Angeles County Fair, the maiden Runstevierun ($27.60) scoring his first career win in a stakes, and jockey Jose Valdivia winning for the first time since returning to Southern California.
