ARCADIA, Calif. - Training will not be conducted on the main track at Santa Anita on Monday morning in anticipation of a series of rain storms that is expected to last through the week.
There is concern among track officials that the storms could lead to further disruption of training and possibly to the racing schedule later in the week.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The undefeated mare Zenyatta will run as a 6-year-old in 2010.
Owners Jerry and Ann Moss made the decision Saturday after watching Zenyatta train at Hollywood Park and after consulting with trainer John Shirreffs.
"She looked radiant, she looked fantastic," Jerry Moss said Saturday at Santa Anita, adding that he and Ann "are in the business to have fun."
It was widely believed that Zenyatta was retired from racing after winning the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7, her 14th consecutive win.
Tin Top Cat held off favorite Bella Diamante by a neck to win the $60,000 Genesis at Delta Downs on Friday night and give her trainer, Bret Calhoun, and jockey, Bobby Walker Jr., a sweep of the two stakes on the card. Earlier in the night, Calhoun and Walker teamed to win the $60,000 Triple Sec with Coyote Legend.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Keith Brackpool was elected chairman of the California Horse Racing Board on Friday, replacing owner-breeder John Harris, who did not seek re-election and said he will leave the board as a commissioner in coming months.
Brackpool, 52, is the chairman and chief executive of the Los Angeles-based Cadiz Inc., a land and water company. In addition, Brackpool owns the Manhattan Beach (Calif.) Country Club and is a friend and campaign supporter of Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Jockey Luis Quinonez might have had a little help from the heavens at Oaklawn Park on Friday, when he guided Shotgun Gulch to a nose victory over favorite Decelerator in the $50,000 Dixie Belle. The race was the highlight of an opening-day program that drew 20,311 patrons, and following it Quinonez was quick to dedicate the win to Gerry DiLaura, his agent of 18 years who died in December.
Fair Grounds postponed the start of its Friday evening race card by one hour because of a local power outage. With power restored at 4:35 p.m. Central, the track was poised to run its first evening card, with first post moved back to 6 p.m.
The power went out at the track - and in many places in New Orleans - just before 4 p.m. Central, about an hour before the scheduled first-race post time of 5 p.m.
Friday's card was to be the first of three evening programs offered at the 2009-2010 meet.
Trainer Mike Stidham is firming up plans for his old and new talent - the graded stakes winner Tizaqueena and the 3-year-old Workin for Hops.
Off since finishing 10th in the Las Palmas Handicap on the Breeders Cup' undercard last November, Tizaqueena is being pointed toward the Marie Krantz Memorial Handicap here on Jan. 30, Stidham said.
Tizaqueena worked five furlongs Wednesday in 1:01.80, the eighth fastest of 70 at the distance.
"She is training nicely," said Stidham. "The Marie Krantz is a good spot for her first race back."
NEW ORLEANS - The betting handle on races at the ongoing Fair Grounds meet continues to decline from last meet. All-sources daily handle dropped 28 percent in December compared to December 2008, coming on the heels of a 31 percent drop in November.
The Santa Anita jockey colony and track management, in conjunction with the American Red Cross, will coordinate fund-raising efforts Sunday to assist victims of the earthquake that devastated Haiti on Tuesday.
In a statement, the track's president, Ron Charles, said Santa Anita began planning relief efforts the day of the quake, and were soon joined by jockeys. Charles was contacted Thursday by jockey Alex Solis, who said "a number of jockeys would be interested in donating mount fees or a percentage of their winnings . . . to try and help."
Prairie Meadows will run an extended Thoroughbred meet during the summer of 2010 in an effort to attract more horsemen to the Iowa racetrack.
The Iowa Racing Commission on Thursday granted Prairie Meadows 103 days of racing in 2010, but that total will be split among Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and Standardbreds. Prairie's Thoroughbred meet will span 67 days, from April 24 to Aug. 7 before giving way to a Quarter Horse meet and 10 days of harness racing in October.
