HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Bruce Levine spent the better part of the last three months meticulously planning and then carrying out a training schedule designed to have his Kentucky Derby prospect Buddy's Saint fit and ready for a big effort right off the bench in last Saturday's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park. It took only 25 seconds for all those nerve-wracking preparations to have gone for naught.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Jockey Leandro Goncalves was scheduled to undergo his second hip surgery Tuesday, said his agent, Steve Elzey.
Goncalves had surgery Feb. 16 to shave painful bone spurs from his hip, and Elzey said the jockey is having the same type of surgery on his other hip this week.
"We're hopeful he'll be back in a couple of weeks," Elzey said. "He was on the stationary bike working out shortly after the first surgery, and his surgeon was amazed at how quickly he was recovering."
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Todd Pletcher may appear unflappable in public, but it's only because he tries mightily to keep his emotions in check, and on Saturday, knowing many of his Kentucky Derby prospects would be competing in just a few hours, the stress was written all over Pletcher's face.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A brief illness earlier this month may keep Kettle River from making his stakes debut in Saturday's $150,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita.
Trainer Eoin Harty worked Kettle River five furlongs in 59.80 seconds on Sunday, but said the colt returned breathing heavily.
"He had a pretty good blow after the workout," Harty said. "I missed a work last week. He got a little sick on me."
Turf Paradise canceled its second consecutive card Monday as the track was deemed unsuitable for racing after steady rains in the Phoenix area this past weekend and into Monday. Sunday's card also was canceled. This marks the fifth program of the meet lost due to weather.
Racing is scheduled to resume Tuesday with first post of 1 p.m.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Since Bourbon Bay was acquired in fall 2008, there has been talk in the Neil Drysdale barn that the gelding would thrive in marathon turf races.
The point was emphatically proven in Sunday's at Santa Anita. Bourbon Bay won his second consecutive race over 1 1/2 miles on turf, and first stakes, in the Grade 2 San Luis Obispo, pulling clear of seven rivals in the final furlong to win by 4 1/4 lengths.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - After winning three Kentucky Derby preps Saturday, including the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, what could trainer Todd Pletcher do for an encore? Just run one-two in Sunday's at Gulfstream Park with Starfish Bay and West Ocean while setting a new course record in the process.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A severe decline in handle through California's off-track wagering network in recent years is evidence that the state needs to develop a network of mini-satellites in card clubs and sports bars, according to David Israel, vice chairman of the California Horse Racing Board.
Freaky extended his winning streak to seven races and won his fifth Grade 1 in that span in Saturday's $228,450 Los Alamitos Winter Championship for older Quarter Horses.
The victory gave the 5-year-old gelding an automatic berth in the $750,000 Champion of Champions in December, a race he won last year en route to the 2009 World Champion title.
