Sat, 05/28/2011 - 17:18

Woodbine: Fifty Proof shows versatility by taking Eclipse

Michael Burns
Fifty Proof, whose previous best races had been on turf, upsets the Eclipse at 10-1.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario—The former turf expert Fifty Proof won his first stakes on Polytrack at Woodbine in Saturday's Grade 3, $171,900 Eclipse.

Fifty Proof ($22.70) tracked the heavily favored Exhi through honest fractions in the 1 1/16-mile route, before assuming command at the head of the stretch. He opened up a daylight lead at the eighth pole, and then held off Don Cavallo to prevail by a half-length, in a time of 1:42.56. Stunning Stag edged out So Elite for third, and Exhi faded to trail the six-horse field.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 16:19

Parx: Indian Legend by a nose in My Juliet

Trainer Cynthia Reese has thought all along that her 4-year-old filly Indian Legend was pretty talented.

“But you don’t know how much class they have until they look a good horse in the eye,” Reese said.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 16:16

Finger Lakes scene of Lisa's Booby Trap's return

Barbara D. Livingston
The 4-year-old filly Lisa's Booby Trap will make her first start since last September in Tuesday's sprint feature at Finger Lakes.

One of racing’s best feel-good stories of 2010 took place last summer when owner-trainer Tim Snyder, down on his luck and without a horse to call his own, spent his last $2,000 to buy a filly who was blind in one eye and burdened by a club foot and bad shoulder. It became a rags-to-riches saga when Lisa’s Booby Trap – named for Snyder’s late wife and a gentleman’s club in Florida – reeled off four straight victories to begin her career, capped by a six-length score in the restricted Loudonville for New York-breds at Saratoga.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 16:13

Lincoln: Horse-for-the-course Bach's Homebrew looks tough in Big Red MIle

Bach’s Homebrew puts his perfect record over this track on the line when he heads a full field in the $20,000 Big Red Mile Stakes for older Nebraska-breds on Monday at Lincoln Race Course.

Bach’s Homebrew was 3 for 3 over this track last year as a 3-year-old, sweeping the Journal Star, Lincoln Breeders’ Special, and Lincoln Derby for trainer Larry Staroscik. He returned in fine fashion this year with a victory in the Ogataul Stakes at Fonner Park on March 26, then was fourth against stakes caliber-company in an open allowance there on May 1.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 16:10

Thistledown: Pay the Man, Slides Choice clash once more in Angenora

The rivalary between Pay the Man and Slides Choice, the top two Ohio-bred females, will continue in Monday’s $50,000 Angenora Stakes at Thistledown. The six-furlong sprint has a field of seven.

Pay the Man and Slides Choice have been battling tooth and nail for the past several years, with Slides Choice having come out on top in their last two encounters, the Best of Ohio Distaff and the Rose DeBartolo Memorial, both at nine furlongs here last fall. In those races, the pair hooked up right from the start and raced as a team throughout to be separated by a neck and a nose.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 15:48

Remington Park: Cold Granite Stone rock-solid against Oklahoma-breds

Cold Granite Stone has become increasingly tough to beat in the Oklahoma-bred ranks. His last four wins have come against such competition, among them the $280,000 Remington Park Quarter Horse Derby in April.

Monday, it will be back to the statebred ranks for Cold Granite Stone in the $50,000 Jack Brooks. The race is one of four Oklahoma-bred stakes on the final card of the Remington meet, with the holiday Monday program to start at 1:30 p.m. Central.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 15:36

Canterbury: Humble Smarty faces plenty of early pressure in Honor the Hero

Humble Smarty, winner of last year’s Claiming Crown Rapid Transit, will lead a field of nine in the $35,000 Honor the Hero Turf Express on Memorial Day at Canterbury Park.

While Humble Smarty’s greatest success has come over the dirt, he has hit the board in half of his 10 grass starts. He can be expected to go to the front from his rail post in Monday’s five-furlong race under hot jockey Dean Butler.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 15:19

Belmont Stakes: Mucho Macho Man gets new shoes

Tom Keyser
Mucho Macho Man lost shoes in both the Louisiana Derby and Preakness.

ELMONT, N.Y. - As well as Mucho Macho Man ran in the Louisiana Derby despite losing a left front shoe, it wasn't a trend his connections were hoping to set. So after Mucho Macho Man lost his right front shoe in the Preakness, trainer Kathy Ritvo felt she had to make a change.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 14:59

Lone Star: Wasted Tears has tough assignment seeking three-peat in Ouija Board

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – The odds would seem to be against a mare trying to win the same graded race for the third year in a row following a six-month layoff. But when the mare is Wasted Tears, the task seems doable Monday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Ouija Board Distaff.

The Ouija Board, at a mile on turf for fillies and mares, is part of a card of six stakes worth $1 million at Lone Star Park. The Million Day program has been a Memorial Day staple for years, and Wasted Tears has been part of Texas’s richest Thoroughbred day of racing since 2009.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 14:54

Prairie Meadows: Native Ruler a standout

Jeff Coady/Coady Photography
Native Ruler, with Terry Thompson riding, wins the King Cotton.

ALTOONA, Iowa – The Prairie Meadows march towards the June 24-25 Iowa Festival of Racing continues Memorial Day evening with a pair of six-furlong stakes, the $60,000 Prairie Express and the $60,000 Prairie Rose.

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