A life-sized bronze of the legendary John Henry, the first horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap twice, will be unveiled in the paddock gardens after the third race on opening day of the track's upcoming season, Dec. 26.
The unveiling is part of a busy opening day at Santa Anita that also features the final public appearance of Zenyatta, two Grade 1 stakes races - the Malibu and the La Brea - and the popular wall-calendar giveaway.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Papa Clem, the winner of the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby and fourth in the Kentucky Derby earlier this year, will return from a layoff of nearly four months in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26, trainer Gary Stute said.
Papa Clem has not started since finishing seventh in the Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6. Owned by Bo Hirsch, Papa Clem was given a break away from the racetrack in late summer and early fall before returning to training. He had four workouts in November, including five furlongs in 59.80 seconds last Sunday.
PNEW ORLEANS - A week after her arrival at Fair Grounds, Rachel Alexandra has taken to her new routine of jogging on the main track in the mornings.
On Friday morning, after most works had been completed, Rachel Alexandra jogged the wrong direction once around the oval. With exercise rider Dominic Terry aboard and led by assistant trainer Scott Blasi on a pony, she made the circuit, at times nearly walking.
As she entered the track, Rachel Alexandra was bucking and reared back once, but Blasi and Terry kept her to the assignment.
Freddie Lenclud is going places. From country to country, state to state, racetrack to racetrack, the 22-year-old apprentice rider is on the move, courtesy of a profession he is growing into.
Having recently finished the Churchill Downs fall meet as the top apprentice with nine winners, Lenclud is currently living near and working at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. Around the first of the year, he will move to Oaklawn Park, the Hot Springs, Ark., track where the 2010 meet starts Jan. 15.
Lenclud's perpetual motion began when he was 14.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The $1 million Queen's Plate for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds has been pushed back next year to Sunday, July 4, from its usual date of the third Sunday in June, Woodbine officials said Friday.
While Woodbine did not give a reason for moving the date of the Queen's Plate, the running will coincide with a planned visit from Queen Elizabeth II, who will be in Canada from June 28 through July 6 and should be in Ontario on Queen's Plate weekend.
This would be the first time since 1997 that the queen is on hand for the Queen's Plate and the second since 1973.
The Louisiana Racing Commission has approved the super high five wager for the state, at the request of Fair Grounds in New Orleans. The bet, which requires horseplayers to pick the first five finishers in a race, will first be eligible to be offered on Dec. 20.
Jockey Corey Nakatani, a Southern California mainstay who has not ridden since Oct. 15, is changing circuits and will be riding at the Oaklawn Park meet that opens on Jan. 15, said Jay Fedor, who will be his agent. Following the Arkansas season, Nakatani plans to ride in Kentucky.
Apprentice jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. suffered three broken bones in his back - injuries more serious than originally thought - as a result of a spill at Aqueduct on Nov. 22 and will be out of action for several months, his agent, Ruben Munoz, said Thursday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Three California Horse Racing Board stewards denied a request from jockey Joel Rosario's attorney on Thursday to dismiss a case alleging that the jockey failed to put forth his best effort in a turf race at Del Mar on Sept. 6.
The case will resume Dec. 11, with defense testimony from Rosario and others. Rosario, the leading rider at the Del Mar meeting, could face a fine or suspension if he is found in violation of the rules.
