Fri, 12/31/2010 - 13:22

Jockey Berrio suffers stroke

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Omar Berrio was hospitalized Thursday night after suffering a stroke following the races at Santa Anita.

Berrio, 42, rode Celtic Princess to a front-running victory Thursday in the seventh-race feature at Santa Anita. When he arrived home in nearby Temple City about 6 p.m., Berrio’s wife Karina suspected something was amiss.

“I saw it in his face; he said he felt weak on the left side of his body,” she said.

Karina drove Berrio to Arcadia Methodist Hospital, where he was diagnosed with having suffered a stroke.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 12:57

Gulfstream requests longer meet for 2011-2012

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park filed an application with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Friday to reopen for live racing on Dec. 2 of this year, a decision that could lead to a potential dates conflict with neighboring Calder Race Course, which has already applied to run its traditional dates in 2011.

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 08:27

Jannas Pride stretches streak to four in Red Hedeman Mile

Jannas Pride won his fourth consecutive race on Thursday, when he rallied for a 1 1/2-length win over Deity in the $120,000 Red Hedeman Mile at Sunland Park. It was another neck back in third to Desert Gulch in the one-mile race for 2-year-olds bred in New Mexico.

Jannas Pride ($3.80) settled in fifth early in the race, run under snowy conditions, while Silent Sunday showed the way through six furlongs in 1:12.09. Jannas Pride moved to the lead in the stretch, and went on to cover the distance on a track rated fast in 1:40.33.

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 16:57

Laurel begins 49-day winter meet

Until last week, when the Maryland Jockey Club and its owners, MI Developments and Penn National Gaming, reached an agreement with the state’s horsemen, there was a veil of uncertainty whether there would be any live racing in Maryland in 2011. But Laurel Park will open its gates Saturday for a 49-day meet that runs through March 26, the start of a 146-day season divided into three meets at Laurel and Pimlico.

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 16:47

Work will determine Comma to the Top's next start

Benoit & Associates
Comma to the Top, winning the CashCall Futurity, will make his 2011 debut Feb. 12 in either the Robert Lewis at Santa Anita or the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields.

ARCADIA, Calif. − Comma to the Top, the top 3-year-old in California, will make his 2011 debut Feb. 12 in a stakes at Santa Anita or Golden Gate Fields.

Trainer Peter Miller said Wednesday that the $250,000 Robert Lewis Stakes over 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita or the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby over 1 1/8 miles at Golden Gate Fields will be Comma to the Top’s next start.

The decision will be based on how Comma to the Top works later this month on Santa Anita’s newly installed sand-and-clay track, Miller said. The El Camino Real is run over a Tapeta synthetic surface.

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 16:31

Turf gives rivals best shot in Blushing K.D.

Never Retreat and Category Seven are set to renew their New Orleans rivalry in the $60,000 Blushing K.D. Handicap on Saturday at Fair Grounds – but only if Mother Nature is in a benevolent mood.

The Blushing K.D. is carded for fillies and mares about 1 1/16 miles on turf, but a cold front is forecast to pass through New Orleans on Friday night, bringing with it a chance for the sort of heavy rain Fair Grounds has mainly dodged this meet. If the forecast holds, the Blushing K.D. will wind up on the main track, which will make for an entirely different race than the one on paper.

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 16:08

Dominguez would prefer to see Nicole H relax in Interborough

Barbara D. Livingston
Nicole H may change tactics as the heavy favorite in the Interborough Stakes.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though pleased that Nicole H won last month’s Garland of Roses Handicap, jockey Ramon Dominguez was somewhat disappointed by the manner in which it was accomplished.

Hoping to get Nicole H to relax, Dominguez instead found himself and his filly dueling for the early lead. Nicole H was simply too good for the competition that day and drew away for a 2 1/2-length victory. Saturday, Dominguez may try to employ different tactics while hoping for the same result when Nicole H meets four opponents in the $65,000 Interborough Stakes over Aqueduct’s inner track.

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 15:47

Western Prospector gets stakes try in Holiday Cheer

When Western Prospector won a maiden race in his second start in April 2009 at Keeneland, covering six furlongs on Polytrack in a quick 1:09.64, he appeared a horse destined for stakes.

It’s just taken him while to make it there. But the time has finally come Saturday – 18 races after that maiden win – when he squares off against Tend and five other rivals in his first stakes appearance in the $50,000 Holiday Cheer at Turfway Park.

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 15:35

Arthur's Tale makes jump to stakes in Count Fleet

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Tom Albertrani will saddle Arthur's Tale for his stakes debut in Saturday's $65,000 Count Fleet at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Arthur’s Tale has the pedigree, connections, and price tag to be a significant horse. A nonfactor in his first three starts, Arthur’s Tale stepped up with a visually impressive maiden victory when stretched out around two turns for the first time in his last outing.

On Saturday, Arthur’s Tale moves into stakes company for the first time when he meets six rivals in the $65,000 Count Fleet – the first dirt stakes of the year for 3-year-olds – at a mile and 70 yards over Aqueduct’s inner track.

Thu, 12/30/2010 - 15:16

Quiet Temper takes on elders for first time in Stage Door Betty

Barbara D. Livingston
Now age 4, Quiet Temper will begin her quest for success in the filly-mare division in Saturday’s Grade 3 Stage Door Betty Handicap at Calder.

MIAMI – The American Graded Stakes Committee stripped Calder’s next renewal of the Stage Door Betty Handicap of its graded status last month. But from the looks of the field for this edition of the Stage Door Betty, to be run Saturday, the committee just might want to re-evaluate its decision.

The Stage Door Betty was moved from its original spot on Dec. 18 to New Year’s Day, but because it had been scheduled to be run in 2010, the committee has allowed it to remain a Grade 3 for Saturday’s running. It will be ungraded when it is run next.