Sat, 05/28/2011 - 12:30

Belmont Park: Sands Point lacks speed, putting Winter Memories in a bind

Keeneland/Coady Photography
Winter Memories, with Jose Lezcano riding, wins the Appalachian.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The multiple graded stakes winner Winter Memories figures to be an odds-on favorite against five rivals in Monday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Sands Point Stakes at Belmont Park, but there are several reasons handicappers may want to take a stand against her.

MEMORIAL DAY RACING: Stakes schedule, contender replays, and news updates »

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 11:59

Mountaineer cards stakes double on Memorial Day

Tom Keyser
Kiss MIne, who led until the late stages of the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs earlier this month, returns to Mountaineer, where she won two stakes last season, for Monday's Decoration Day Handicap.

Two out-of-town horses with a record of success shipping to Mountaineer Racetrack figure to play prominent roles in Monday’s holiday stakes doubleheader, consisting of twin $75,000 races scheduled for one mile on turf.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 11:46

Emerald: Auburn first stakes test for 3-year-olds

AUBURN, Wash. – Still early in Emerald Downs’s 82-day meeting, the track’s 3-year-olds have yet to separate themselves in any meaningful way. The winnowing begins Monday, when a field of nine is scheduled to run 6 1/2 furlongs in the $50,000 Auburn Handicap. The Memorial Day program begins at 2 p.m. Pacific, and the Auburn is race No. 6 on an expanded 11-race card.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 11:29

Golden Gate: Berkeley draws veterans Bold Chieftain, Delightful Kiss

Benoit & Associates
Bold Chieftain will look to bounce back in Monday’s Grade 3 Berkeley.

Some old lions hope to be roaring at Golden Gate Fields on Memorial Day in the Grade 3, $100,000 Berkeley Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile Tapeta race.

All eight entrants have earned black type during their careers, seven having won stakes. There are two millionaires in the field, 8-year-old Bold Chieftain and 7-year-old Delightful Kiss. Both have won graded stakes as have Monday opponents Autism Awareness, who defeated Bold Chieftain in the 2009 Berkeley, and Our Nautique, who is coming off a victory on turf in the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile and is the one to catch in the Berkeley.

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 10:28

Belmont Park: Dominguez takes off mounts following Friday spill

ELMONT, N.Y. - Ramon Dominguez, the nation’s leading rider in wins in 2011, took off his nine scheduled mounts Saturday at Belmont Park due to stiffness in his neck as a result of a spill he was involved in during the running of Friday’s sixth race.

Dominguez is hoping to return on Sunday, according to his agent, Steve Rushing.

“He feels fine, no headaches or anything, it’s just his neck is pretty stiff,” Rushing said Saturday morning. “He felt all right last night, but when you’re in a spill like that you’re going to feel worse the next day.”

Sat, 05/28/2011 - 09:19

Penn National: Track record for Quantum Miss; Fabulous Strike fifth

In less than 30 minutes, Friday night's card at Penn National Race Course showcased the rise of one star and the descent of another.

Quantum Miss set a track record for six furlongs in dominating the $77,063 Wonders Delight for Pennsylvania-bred fillies, but Fabulous Strike, making the second start of his comeback following 15 months on the sidelines recovering from a tendon injury, faded to fifth as the 1-2 favorite in the $75,000 Changing Times for older sprinters.

Fri, 05/27/2011 - 17:58

Hollywood Park: Baffert plotting widespread strategy

Barbara D. Livingston
Plum Pretty, with Martin Garcia riding, wins the Kentucky Oaks.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Trainer Bob Baffert is preparing several leading horses in his stable for stakes in New York in June, but may not have a runner in the Belmont Stakes on June 11.

“I think I’ll be the undercard guy,” Baffert said.

Fri, 05/27/2011 - 16:26

Belmont Park: Banrock still in hunt for a win this year

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Banrock won the Kingston in 2008 and 2009.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Has Father Time caught up with the 8-year-old New York-bred Banrock, or is the eight-time stakes winner ready for a renaissance? That’s the question handicappers will have to debate when trying to decipher Sunday’s $100,000 Kingston Stakes at Belmont Park.

The Kingston, for New York-bred males, shares billing with the $100,000 Mount Vernon, for New York-bred females, on Belmont’s 10-race card. Both turf races have been shortened to one mile from 1 1/16 miles.

Fri, 05/27/2011 - 16:21

Met Mile: Four New York-breds entered - and one could be favored

Barbara D. Livingston
Haynesfield is expected to improve in his second start of the year and could be the Met Mile favorite.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Not too long ago, handicappers would have scoffed upon learning there were four New York-breds entered in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. But not only is one of the New York-breds the potential favorite for Monday’s 119th renewal of the Met Mile, but it’s difficult to readily dismiss any of the quartet’s chances in the race.

MEMORIAL DAY RACING: Stakes schedule, contender replays, and news updates »

Fri, 05/27/2011 - 16:03

Lone Star: Asmussen loaded for bear on Million Day

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Lone Star Million Day has traditionally been a big afternoon for trainer Steve Asmussen, who in 2004 won four of the six stakes that make up the richest Thoroughbred card in Texas.

Monday, he will be hoping for more Memorial Day success. Asmussen has starters in three of this year’s Million Day stakes, chief among them Thiskyhasnolimit in the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap. Asmussen’s other stakes starters will be Expansion in the $150,000 Dallas Turf Cup and Awesome Bet in the $200,000 Lone Star Derby.