Jockey Angel Stanley finished two wins in front of Jeffrey Skerrett, 100-98, to claim the riding title at Pinnacle Race Course, which concluded its meet on Monday.
Stanley started the final day leading by one. He won three races on the card, with Skerrett winning twice, including one race by disqualification. They went into the last race with Skerrett looking for a tie. Stanley rallied for a neck win on Foxy Missy ($11.80) to claim the title.
Saturday at Lone Star Park, a group of 150 horseplayers will be competing for six spots in the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas in January.
The handicappers earned a seat in the local qualifier for their performances in three handicapping contests held earlier this year at Lone Star. The first, on Feb. 7, was won by Les Harris. David Brown won the second on April 4 and Steve Hanna took the third on July 25.
From each of the three tournaments, the top 50 players advanced to Saturday's qualifier.
Jockey Yuri Yaranga reached a personal milestone last week when he captured his 1,000th win at Beulah Park.
Yaranga, 48, a native of Lima, Peru, has had a long career in horse racing, but didn't begin in the United States until 2003.
Yaranga took out his apprentice license in 1978 and rode in Peru until 1990, then began a training career. He trained horses all over South America.
"Some of my good horses ran in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, along with Peru," he said.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Purses at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting have been cut by approximately 10 percent for the remainder of the meeting, which runs through Nov. 8, the track announced on Wednesday.
Track management cited declining handle as the reason for the cuts. In a statement, Santa Anita officials said all-sources handle was down 12 percent compared with the 2008 Oak Tree meeting.
The reductions take effect with Saturday's races, and do not affect purses for the Breeders' Cup races on Nov. 6-7.
Trainers named Bassett seem to have an edge in lucrative autumn futurities at Los Alamitos.
John Bassett has won three runnings of the Los Alamitos Two Million, most recently in 2005 with Value the Man. His 25-year-old son, Joe, won the 2006 running with Blues Girl Too.
On Oct. 30, Joe Bassett will be after his first Golden State Million Futurity win with three starters in the field of 10: fastest qualifier Cash for Cottontail, Dash Back Perry, and Nighttime Lines.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The Empire Classic at Belmont Park is worth twice as much money as the Iroquois, but that isn't why trainer Karl Grusmark is planning to run his 4-year-old filly Weathered against the boys on Saturday rather than the girls.
"It's the distance," Grusmark said.
Vineyard Haven, a two-time Grade 1 winner in New York, will challenge older horses for the first time in Saturday's Frank De Francis Dash at Laurel Park.
The Grade 1 Dash, a six-furlong race worth $300,000, headlines a 10-race card that includes two $50,000 stakes for Maryland-breds, the Twixt and the Find Handicap.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Larry Jones, retirement just over the horizon, is hoping to complete a career circle when he sends out Just Jenda as part of a big field of 3-year-old fillies Saturday in the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland.
Jones got his first Keeneland stakes winner when Josh's Madelyn captured the Raven Run at the 2004 fall meet. Since right about then, Jones has been one of the most successful and spotlighted figures in North American racing as the trainer of star horses such as Eight Belles, Hard Spun, Proud Spell, and others.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Malcolm Pierce soon will begin gradually winding down his operation here, preparing for his annual excursion to New Orleans and the Fair Grounds meeting. But regardless of what may happen here between now and the closing-day program of Dec. 6, the 2009 meeting here will go down as the best for Pierce and his wife and assistant, Sally.
Perf, a 3-year-old filly whose only two previous victories came on the synthetic Tapeta surface at Presque Isle Downs, relished the switch to real dirt at Mountaineer Racetrack.
Stepping up to stakes company for the first time while still eligible for a second-level allowance, Perf ($19.40) outdueled 4-5 favorite Hungry Tigress through the stretch to score a six-length victory in Tuesday night's $75,000 Autumn Leaves Stakes for fillies and mares.
