Trainer Al Stall Jr. was surprised to hear his colt, maiden winner J. B.’s Thunder, had been made the 4-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity – a 1 1/16-mile race on Keeneland’s Polytrack that serves as a Win And You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Just don’t expect him to be surprised if J. B.’s Thunder wins it.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – The stakes are high for Musket Man on Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Monmouth Cup.
A win sends the 4-year-old Musket Man on to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Musket Man will head to Churchill Downs only if he delivers a victory in the race formerly known as the Meadowlands Cup.
With no Thoroughbred meet at the Meadowlands this fall, the 1 1/8-mile Cup relocated to Monmouth and was rechristened in honor of its new home.
Beginning with Alywyn in the $50,000 Duchess of York for fillies and mares at Northlands Park on Saturday, trainer Jim Meyaard is looking at a busy weekend.
Four of his stars are also set to go at Remington Park on Sunday, including No Hesitation, the Grade 3 Canadian Derby winner and a cinch to be named local horse of the year, and Professor Pollard in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby. Meyaard is also entering Andiotis in the $150,000 Remington Green, in which he will be trying turf for the first time.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – An appeal by owner Bruno Schickedanz to have his racing and stabling privileges reinstated at Woodbine has been denied by the Ontario Racing Commission.
The ruling, released by the ORC on Wednesday evening, comes in the wake of a two-day hearing held on Aug. 17 and Aug. 26 and consideration of subsequent submissions made by Frank Roth, the lawyer for Schickedanz; David McCutcheon, who represented Woodbine; and Angela Holland, counsel for the ORC.
FORT ERIE, Ontario – They call him the Bulldog.
Marty Mercieca has been riding Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses for more than 30 years, and the moniker comes from his tenacity.
Once the Bulldog sets his mind to something, he stays at it.
Mercieca began the 2010 racing season at the Fort. Working as his own agent, in the first few weeks he was aboard 21 runners, winning with three and placing five times.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Despite losing to Kimmyv when they met in the $75,000 Emerald Distaff at Emerald Downs on Aug. 22, Summer Song figures to be favored when they run in the Grade 3, $100,000 Ballerina at Hastings on Saturday. The 1 1/8-mile feature drew a full field of 12 fillies and mares, all carrying 123 pounds.
Horseplayers will get the class and the speed of Saturday night’s Grade 1, $463,185 Dash for Cash Quarter Horse Futurity for the price of one. Dominyun, who was beaten a head in the Grade 1, $2 million All American Futurity, and Jumpn Shake, who set the fastest qualifying time for the Dash for Cash, will start as a coupled entry in the Lone Star Park feature for owner Bobby Cox.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Classic Legacy, a 2-year-old colt who is undefeated in two starts, will be running for trainer Bob Tiller for the last time here in Sunday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Grey Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
A Florida-bred 2-year-old who was purchased for $55,000 in Ocala in August 2009, Classic Legacy has been sold since her last win here Sept. 22 and soon will be heading to California and trainer Bob Baffert.
The board of directors of Churchill Downs Inc. has extended the employment contract of chief executive officer Bob Evans through late 2016, according to documents filed with government regulators.
Evans, who was first brought in to Churchill in 2006, received the six-year extension Sept. 27, according to the filing. Under the agreement, Evans will continue to be paid $550,000 a year in base salary but will be eligible each year for a bonus worth 100 percent of his salary, up from a potential bonus of 75 percent of his base salary under the previous contract.