WHO'S HOT
Queen's Plate-winning trainer Nick Gonzalez went 5 for 8 during the week of June 30-July 4 and vaulted into a tie for fourth in the standings with 19 wins. Leading trainer Mark Casse was 4 for 20 and has 32 wins from 203 starters.
Other hot trainers included Nick DeToro (2 for 2), Marty Drexler (2 for 3), and Mike DePaulo (2 for 4).
WHO'S HOT
After an uncharacteristically dry patch, trainer Scott Volk won with 3 of 9 starters between July 2-5, and he is in sixth place in the trainer standings, with seven wins from 35 starts.
Todd Pletcher also won three races over that stretch, including the $100,000 Choice Stakes with Fantastico Roberto and the Grade 3 Jersey Shore with Discreetly Mine. John Velazquez rode both horses and finished the holiday weekend with five wins from 15 mounts.
WHO'S HOT
New York-breds
As Harvey Pack was fond of saying whenever a New York-bred won against open company, "Circle marks the spot."
Indeed, the Fourth of July weekend was an historic one for the New York-bred program, as Haynesfield, Franny Freud, and Rightly So swept three graded stakes.
The Texas Racing Commission on Wednesday approved Retama Park's request to reduce its upcoming Thoroughbred meet from 30 nights of racing to 16. The season will begin a week later than originally scheduled, on Sept. 3, and run through Oct. 23.
Retama was originally scheduled to race from Aug. 27 through Nov. 6.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - There appears to be a definite women's movement going on this summer at Louisiana Downs.
Last Sunday, Cassandra Buckley became the fourth female apprentice jockey to win a race here this season. She joins Anna Roberts, Bethany Taylor, and Ashlea Trosclair. A fifth, Stephanie Sheroski, has also ridden here after making the occasional journey up from her home base of Evangeline Downs. All five were named on mounts Sunday and join Beverly Burress and Monica Stanley to make up what is believed to be the deepest women's riding contingent in the country.
AUBURN, Wash. - Trainer Frank Lucarelli is riding high these days, second in the Emerald Downs standings and headed toward what could be his best meeting ever. His barn includes two leading contenders for the Longacres Mile, a top prospect for the Emerald Derby, three top 3-year-old fillies, and a handful of fast 2-year-olds with stakes-caliber pedigrees. His barn is loaded. In many cases, if Plan A doesn't work out, he's got a Plan B.
Streakin Down will begin his bid for a second major stakes win on Friday, when he starts in the third of five trial races for the Grade 1, $800,000 Rainbow Derby for Quarter Horses at Ruidoso. The 10 fastest qualifiers will advance to the finals on July 24.
The race for leading rider at Lincoln Race Course has been a family act most of the season and the brothers Jake and Jordan Olesiak continue to duel with two weekends remaining in the 32-day season here.
The Olesiaks entered Monday's card tied at 31 wins each. Jake scored a riding double Monday to gain a 33-31 edge heading into this Friday's card, as Jordan opted to ride at Canterbury Park where he won both a Thoroughbred and a Quarter Horse race.