INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Jockey Joel Rosario, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, and owner Ron Valenta’s La Canada Stable continued the domination of their respective categories at the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting that ended on Sunday.
Rosario won his third consecutive riding title in Southern California, and fifth title at the last six meetings.
Racetracks and off-track betting locations in California will be able to import 18 more simulcast races each day from out-of-state tracks under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday.
The bill raises the limit on out-of-state simulcasts from 32 to 50. Racetracks and off-track sites had lobbied for the increase, in part because account-wagering companies that take bets from California bettors are not limited in the number of simulcast races they can offer, putting the bricks-and-mortar sites at a disadvantage.
Catlaunch passed the $1 million dollar mark in career earnings with a wire-to-wire 3 3/4-length victory in the $50,000 George Lewis Memorial Stakes at Thistledown on Saturday. Busha chased the winner all the way and finished second in the 1 1/8-mile race for Ohio-breds, a nose in front of Raise the Reward.
A 10-year-old gelding by Noble Cat out of Skilaunch, Catlaunch is a perfect 4 for 4 in stakes this season and boosted his career earnings to $1,011,844.
The last Ohio-bred millionaire was Harlan’s Holiday.
AUBURN, Wash. – You Me and Ema B atoned for a last-place finish in her previous start with a handy victory Saturday in the $50,000 Boeing Handicap at Emerald Downs. It was the fourth victory in five career starts for You Me and Ema B, a 4-year-old filly owned and trained by Margo Lloyd and ridden by Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo.
AUBURN, Wash. – Carrabelle Harbor, the leading 2-year-old filly at Emerald Downs in 2010, pushed her way to the top of the 3-year-old filly division with a hard-fought victory Sunday in the $50,000 Kent Handicap. Carrabelle Harbor ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.73 on a track labeled wet-fast to defeat 4-5 favorite Class Included by a length. She paid $15.
AUBURN, Wash. – Zayda, elevated to first via disqualification in his previous start, didn’t need any help from the Emerald Downs stewards on Sunday. Well handled by jockey Leslie Mawing, Zayda rallied from last place in a 12-horse field to win the $50,000 Seattle Slew Handicap by 2 1/4 lengths over 2-1 favorite Couldabenthewhisky, who had a troubled trip and finished second.
Usually, the battle for leading rider at a particular race meet is rather mundane and often is decided long before the last race is run.
But the leading rider at the Belmont spring/summer meet wasn’t decided until the last sixteenth of Sunday’s nightcap and the 526th race run at the meet, when Ramon Dominguez guided Aprilymayjune past Javier Castellano and Ms Diller to win by 1 1/4 lengths. The victory gave Dominguez his 71st win of the meet, two more than Castellano. Had Ms Diller won, Dominguez and Castellano would have tied at 70 wins apiece.
INGLEWOOD, Calif.- It may not be the worst four-letter word used to describe a racehorse, but trainer A.C. Avila and jockey Chantal Sutherland said the same thing about Imponente Purse in separate conversations after Sunday’s $100,000 Sunset Handicap at Hollywood Park.
“He’s lazy,” Avila said.
INGLEWOOD, Calif.- Majestic City is unbeaten in three starts and is proving to be much more than a 2-year-old speedball.
Extending his winning streak to three races, Majestic City stalked pacesetter Night Tide for the first half-mile and closed well through the stretch to win the $100,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship at Hollywood Park on Sunday.
Majestic City ($3.80) ran six furlongs in 1:10.45 under jockey David Flores, who accented the win with a fist pump as the colt reached the finish.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Pender Harbour, with Luis Contreras in the saddle, survived a stirring stretch battle from between rivals and prevailed over a game Bowman’s Causeway and the early stretch leader Oh Canada, to win the $500,000 Prince of Wales on Sunday at Fort Erie.
