SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After D’ Oratory experienced a tough trip in a one-turn race at Belmont Park in May, trainer James Bond told owner Thomas Farone that he would prefer to put away the 4-year-old filly until Saratoga when she would be able to race around two turns.
"I was hoping we’d be able to run her two times at Saratoga," Bond said.
The purse of last month’s Greenwood Cup Stakes, a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In race at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania, is being withheld because of the result of a postrace drug test on the winner, A.U. Miner, according to the horse’s trainer and his legal counsel.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – That David Jacobson reached in and claimed Mabou for $30,000 out of a steeplechase race here at Saratoga earlier this summer was noteworthy in itself. According to Bill Gallo, director of racing for the National Steeplechase Association, it was only the third claim in a steeplechase race at Saratoga in the last 34 years and the first here since 2004.
That Jacobson wheeled his new acquisition back in three weeks to win the Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Steeplechase Handicap on Thursday was nothing short of amazing.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Jose Valdivia, Jr., best known for winning the Belmont Stakes in June on Ruler On Ice, is returning to Southern California on a full-time basis next week after a 16-month absence, he said on Friday.
Valdivia, who has a home in Southern California with his wife and two children, said he plans to ride at Del Mar beginning Friday. He will ride at the Los Angeles County Fair meeting in Pomona in September, with an occasional trip to the East Coast that month for stakes.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Monmouth Park is battening down every hatch in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Irene.
Monmouth canceled racing and ontrack simulcasting for both Saturday and Sunday. In addition, there will not be any training Sunday morning and the Woodbridge, N.J. offtrack wagering outlet will be closed. The scheduled Sunday feature, the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher for fillies and mares has been postponed until Sept. 3. The race, which had attracted six runners, will be redrawn.
The lost cards will be made up later in the meet.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Bourbon Bay may ruin trainer A.C. Avila’s weekend.
A four-time graded stakes winner on turf, Bourbon Bay was entered for Sunday’s $1 million Pacific Classic on Wednesday and then entered on Thursday for Sunday’s $200,000 Del Mar Handicap over 1 3/8 miles on turf. Since horses are allowed an entry in only one race on the same day, trainer Neil Drysdale chose the Del Mar Handicap for Bourbon Bay.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The California Horse Racing Board approved an operating license for the Santa Anita autumn meeting from Sept. 30 through Nov. 6 on the condition that the track expand distribution of television pictures through cable, satellite, or electronic sources before the scheduled start of the meeting.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Added distance, a wet track, and the potential for more speed in the field could help Super Espresso turn the tables on Ask the Moon when those two meet for the second time this meet in Sunday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Personal Ensign Invitational at Saratoga.
FORT ERIE, Ontario – Rick Cowan, chief operations officer at Fort Erie, has introduced a number of changes during his two-year tenure at Fort Erie, including the opening of the trackside Tiki Bar.
“To be honest, it was an experiment worth trying,” said Cowan.
“It has turned out to be very successful and fans certainly appreciate the chance to sit outdoors, enjoy the racing, and then be entertained by some excellent bands on Tuesday evenings.”
Another change Cowan initiated last year and expanded in 2011 was the concept of twilight racing, with first post at 4 p.m.
St. John’s River is getting a 60-day vacation following her fifth-place finish in the Alabama and will then “crank up” for the Fair Grounds meet, said her trainer, Andrew Leggio Jr. Earlier this year, the filly ran second in the Kentucky Oaks and won the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks.
St. John’s River was shipped from Saratoga to the Lexington, Ky., farm of her owner, Dede McGehee, this past week, arriving Thursday. In the Grade 1 Alabama on Aug. 20, she ran an uncharacteristic fifth at 4-1.
