After being beaten in her seasonal debut, Pay the Man has won three straight races, including stakes in her last two starts. On Saturday, she heads a field of eight Ohio-bred fillies and mares in the $50,000 Rose DeBartolo Memorial Stakes at Thistledown.
Slide On Bye will have a couple of factors working in her favor Saturday night when she defends her title in the $50,000 Ricks Memorial at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. The one-mile turf race drew 11 fillies and mares, including 2009 Ricks winner Pleasantly Blessed.
Slide On Bye appears to have post position and pace in her favor. She will break from post 3, which is a much-improved post over her last start Aug. 19, when she finished fifth from the 11-hole in a 7 1/2-furlong allowance prep for the Ricks.
Coteau Kitten, winner of the filly division of the D.S. “Shine” Young Futurity in early July, returns to Evangeline Downs on Saturday night for the $50,000 Opelousas Stakes. She will face four rivals at six furlongs in the season’s final stakes event.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Washington Park Handicap offered a $300,000 purse as recently as 2007. The race wasn’t even run the next year, the purse sank to $200,000 in 2009, and it is down to $100,000 now, but the 2011 edition of the Washington Park, a Grade 3 over 1 1/8 miles on Polytrack, still came up with an appealing cast.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Killer Graces and Woebegon, impressive winners at the Hollywood Park spring-summer meet, start in Saturday’s $250,000 Del Mar Debutante with slightly dented reputations, fillies who were favored but beaten in stakes in their last starts.
The recent maiden race winners Dreamcaster and Weemissfrankie have yet to start in stakes, which is why one of the key questions in the Grade 1 Debutante will be whether their stakes-tested opponents have a real advantage.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – There will be plenty of stakes action here over the Labor Day weekend, beginning with Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Seaway and concluding with six yearling sales stakes on the Monday program.
The stakes in the middle is Sunday’s $125,000 Vice Regent, a one-mile turf race for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.
The Vice Regent has attracted a field of 11 that includes the undefeated Queen Street Beach.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Thanks to Hurricane Irene, the Saturday card at Monmouth Park wound up with a pair of graded stakes.
The Grade 3, $100,000 Sapling, the top event of the meet for 2-year-olds, was the scheduled feature. The washout of the Saturday and Sunday cards last weekend postponed the Grade 2, $250,000 Molly Pitcher for fillies and mares, creating this graded double.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The last two recipients of the Horse of the Year award have been females – Zenyatta in 2010 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009. The connections of Havre de Grace would like to keep that trend going.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Saturday’s $150,000 Seaway Stakes at Woodbine is a pivotal race for Embur’s Song. It will be her third start in Canada this year, which is the minimum number required to be eligible for a Sovereign Award as a Canadian champion. A victory in the seven-furlong Seaway will make her the leader in two Sovereign divisions, champion older female and champion female sprinter.
Despite losing to Midtown Bullet in an optional $40,000 claiming race Aug. 20, Salt Flat Speed is clearly the one to beat in the $50,000 Sun Sprint Championship at Northlands Park on Saturday. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up drew six horses and most of the arrows point to Salt Flat Speed as the winner.
