Because of Wednesday's slow-moving winter storm that was expected to leave a foot of snow or more in the New York Metropolitan area while being accompanied by high winds, Aqueduct canceled Thursday's nine-race card.
Aqueduct was to be open for simulcasting on Thursday.
As a way of making up for some of the lost races, Aqueduct will card 10 races Saturday, Sunday, and for Monday's Presidents Day card.
Turfway Park officials announced Tuesday that the $50,000 Likely Exchange Stakes will be made up Saturday after originally being slated for last weekend, when both the Saturday and Sunday cards were canceled because of weather conditions. The $50,000 Dust Commander Stakes also will be run Saturday.
Turfway had announced Monday that the Likely Exchange would not be made up but ultimately was reversed.
"The decision came down to good customer service," said Bob Elliston, president of the Florence, Ky., track. "The horsemen are our customers."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Perhaps this weekend will go better for star jockey Julien Leparoux than last weekend.
Leparoux, who is based at Gulfstream Park this winter, arrived in Southern California last Saturday to discover the Santa Anita program, and his four scheduled mounts in stakes, were rained out due to a synthetic track that failed to drain sufficiently. Leparoux stayed for Sunday's Grade 2 San Antonio Handicap but finished fifth aboard Furthest Land, losing by three-quarters of a length.
Eighteen-year-old Alex Gonzalez took a giant leap of faith when he left his home in Florida in December to come to Northern California.
The move is beginning to pay dividends for the apprentice jockey, who won three consecutive races last Friday at Golden Gate Fields and is currently fifth in the jockey standings with 16 wins from 80 mounts.
As impressive as the wins were, what was equally important is who they came for: leading trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, Bud Klokstad, and Greg Gilchrist.
Churchill Downs officials planned to release Wednesday at noon Eastern the lineup of 23 separate wagering interests for Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, for which action has been reduced to three days from the traditional four.
Pool 1 will begin Friday at noon Eastern and run through 6 p.m. Sunday. Besides the 23 separate interests, the mutuel field, or the 24th "all others" option, will also be available. The field has closed as the Pool 1 favorite every year since Churchill inaugurated the parimutuel futures in 1999.
Beulah Park canceled racing Tuesday and Wednesday due to inclement weather. A winter snowstorm hit Columbus on Tuesday morning and is expected to leave as much as a foot of snow before leaving the area Wednesday evening.
Beulah plans to ask the Ohio Racing Commission to allow them to reschedule the lost days on Fridays in March. Racing is scheduled to resume Friday, with first post at 1:15 p.m.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Summer Bird was transferred from trainer Tim Ice to the barn of Tim Ritchey late Tuesday morning at Oaklawn Park following a decision by the colt's owners, K.K. and Vilasini Jayaraman. The champion 3-year-old of 2009, Summer Bird is one of 25 horses the couple is moving from Ice's care and distributing to at least five different trainers at Oaklawn.
Ritchey, who trained champion Afleet Alex, will also pick up five other horses for the Jayaramans. Summer Bird has been rehabbing at Oaklawn from a condylar fracture, and could resume training in mid-March.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The postponement of the Grade 2 Robert Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita to this Saturday because of significant rain last weekend may cost the Triple Crown prep a few starters.
Santa Anita canceled Saturday's program when approximately four inches of rain fell from early Friday to early Saturday. The track has rescheduled the three graded stakes from that program - the Lewis, Grade 2 Strub Stakes, and Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes - for this Saturday.
Prairie Meadows will host 33 stakes worth $2,295,000 during its 2010 meeting, the Des Moines-area racetrack announced last week.
The 2010 totals are down slightly from 2009, when Prairie had 39 stakes worth a little more than $3 million, but Prairie also has altered its basic racing schedule this year. Gone is the mixed Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred meet from past seasons, and in its place comes a 67-day Thoroughbred meet running from April 23-Aug. 7. Including the mixed meet in 2009, there were 82 days worth of Thoroughbred opportunities.
The field for Saturday's Grade 3 Sam Davis Stakes could be as small as six or as large as 12, according to Tampa Bay Downs stakes coordinator Mandy McKeever.
The Todd Pletcher-trained Rule, winner of the $750,000 Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes, is slated to make his 3-year-old debut in the Davis. Uptowncharlybrown, who has turned more than a few heads here winning his first two starts, is also pointing for the Davis, and signaled his readiness last Friday when he breezed six furlongs in a solid 1:14.80.
