Malibu Prayer, who ended her 3-year-old season with a pair of stakes wins in one-turn mile races, makes her 4-year-old debut in Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000
Vagrancy Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Malibu Prayer drew post 4 in the seven-horse field, which includes Tar Heel Mom and Hour Glass, the one-two finishers in the Grade 2 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct on April 17. Hour Glass and Malibu Prayer are both trained by Todd Pletcher, but will run as an uncoupled entry.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Ironman Jon, the lightly aced New York-bred who ran a creditable third in the Grade 3 Westchester on April 30, will miss Monday's Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap after suffering an apparent foot injury after working a strong five furlongs Wednesday at Belmont Park.
Following the renovation break, Ironman Jon completed a five-
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Kinsale King, winner of the $2 million Golden Shaheen in Dubai in March, will need a new jockey for his next scheduled start, in the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 19.
Garrett Gomez, who was aboard Kinsale King in Dubai, is likely to have riding obligations at Colonial Downs in Virginia that day, according to his agent, Ron Anderson.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Gail Cox continued her early-season surge when sending out Jesters Jazz to upset the $126,200 Lady Angela under regular rider Tyler Pizarro on Monday.
The seven-furlong Lady Angela, for Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies, was the second start of the season and the third in the career of Jesters Jazz.
"I was a little surprised - I thought there were some pretty nice horses in there," said Cox.
"Tyler was extremely confident going into the race. I was a little more reserved."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Less than a week after coming into the D. Wayne Lukas barn, Mine That Bird had his first timed breeze when
going three furlongs in 35.20 seconds early Wednesday over a fast track at Churchill Downs.
Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby, has not raced since finishing ninth in the Nov. 7
The privately held casino company Harrah's Entertainment has reached a second deal to buy Thistledown racetrack near Cleveland, but this time at roughly half the price.
Harrah's prevailed in a private auction in New York on Tuesday over Penn National Gaming Inc. to buy the track from MI Developments with a final bid of $43 million, according to officials close to the auction. The auction was scheduled after Harrah's scuttled a deal struck last year to buy the track for $89.5 million because of changes on the Ohio gambling landscape.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Workin for Hops seized the early advantage, opened up a big lead into the homestretch, and won Saturday's $100,000 Arlington Classic by more than two lengths. And now Workin for Hops will move on to the . . . on to the . . . on to the who-knows-what.
The Arlington Classic is the first leg of Arlington's Mid-America
Triple for 3-year-old grass horses, but this year the second leg, the Grade 2, $300,000 American Derby, doesn't come around till July 17, a gap of seven weeks. That's because the American Derby is part of
MIAMI - When trainer Phil Gleaves originally made the decision that his son Schuyler would be the first priority in his life, he knew the consequences that choice could have on his business. But now that Schuyler has turned 10, Gleaves has started thinking about possibly expanding his stable once again. The stable is led by Mambo Meister, who will attempt to complete a sweep of the first two graded stakes of the meeting when he starts as the highweight and favorite in Monday's $100,000
Memorial Day Handicap.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Dubious Miss, winner of the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes last month at Keeneland and one of the leading prospects for the June 12 Stephen Foster, underwent arthroscopic ankle surgery Tuesday morning and is out of action indefinitely.
Trainer Paul McGee said Dubious Miss came out of a Saturday workout at Churchill Downs with filling in an ankle.
"Obviously, it's very disappointing because he had been doing so well," he said.
