HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - With mounts on Win Willy and Jazzin' Okie in this weekend's stakes at Oaklawn Park, jockey Cliff Berry could be padding his lead in the standings. He was up by four wins heading into Friday's program, which is scheduled to be the first of the race week after a snowstorm forced the cancellation of the card here Thursday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Since upsetting the Grade 3 Queens County Stakes at 19-1 on Dec. 11, More Than a Reason has run into one stakes horse from the Todd Pletcher barn after another. On Friday, when More Than a Reason runs in the $49,000 allowance feature at Aqueduct, he won’t have to face any runners from the Pletcher barn.
The inclement weather that has blanketed the Southwest has led the connections of Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Chamberlain Bridge to enter the horse in Saturday night’s $75,000 Rail Splitter at Sam Houston Race Park rather than wait for a planned start in next weekend’s $60,000 Colonel Power at Fair Grounds.
The Rail Splitter, at five furlongs on turf, will be the horse’s first race since the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6. It is intended to serve as his springboard to the Group 2, $1 million Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan Race Course in Dubai on March 26.
There will be a sharing of wealth Friday afternoon at Fair Grounds, if not necessarily among all horseplayers, then certainly among many horsemen. Half of a 10-race card at the New Orleans is comprised of allowances, including two for Louisiana-breds, with more than $200,000 in purse money being offered in those races alone.
When Blazin Son was gelded last fall, it was not an ideal situation for owner-breeder Vessels Stallion Farm and trainer Cody Joiner.
Being by top stallion First Down Dash and out of Blazin Fire, the 2007 champion aged mare, the then 2-year-old Blazin Son had massive potential as a sire. But he did not have the race record.
Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia, plagued by moisture in the base of the racing surface that alternates between freezing and thawing, expects to resume live racing on Saturday after scrapping its fifth consecutive program on Wednesday.
The latest cancellation was the 10th time since Jan. 29 that Parx has either not been able to race or has run three races or fewer. During that time, seven cards have been canceled and just six total races were collectively held on three other days. Parx has not run a full card since Jan. 25.
Pennsylvania shipper Hygh Jacque, stepping up slightly in class off a series of sharp races at Penn National and Parx Racing, used her speed to wire the field in Tuesday night’s $35,200 Snowflake Handicap for fillies and mares at Charles Town.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Last month’s Grade 3 Marshua’s River has already come up a key race, with also-rans Cherokee Queen and Trip for A.J. having since returned to win stakes races in their next starts. That should make Quebrada Shiner, who finished eighth but fewer than four lengths behind the winner in the Marshua’s River, a good fit when she comes back in Friday’s $61,500 main event at Gulfstream Park, scheduled to be run at a mile on the turf under high-priced optional claiming and allowance conditions.
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has been forced to call off Thursday’s racing program due to a snowstorm that moved into the area Wednesday morning. It is the seventh cancellation of the meet that opened Jan. 15, which is a record for Oaklawn.
Wine Police, who looked like one of the better 2-year-olds at Saratoga last summer, is working steadily at Fair Grounds toward his 2011 debut.
“We’ve got a couple easy five-eighths in him,” trainer Steve Asmussen said last week.
Breezing again Monday, Wine Police got a little more serious, going five furlongs in 1:01.80, two full seconds faster than his work the week before.
Asmussen said last week that Wine Police was “still probably three weeks to a month away” from racing. Asmussen said his intent was to bring Wine Police back in an entry-level allowance race.
