ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Costalivin overcame traffic problems to land his first stakes Wednesday night at Woodbine in the $126,200 Deputy Minister.
Daniel Be Good established quick fractions of 22.80 and 45.62 seconds in the seven-furlong sprint for Ontario-bred 3-year-olds. Costalivin trailed the eight-horse field on the backstretch, before looming into contention on the turn.
Tom Aronson, a longtime racing consultant who had served as a vice president for programming and product development for Churchill Downs Inc. since March 2007, was among personnel laid off Wednesday by the Louisville, Ky.,-based company.
Aronson confirmed Wednesday that he no longer was with the company and that he intended to resume his role as president of the Racing Resource Group, a consulting company he founded in 1989. Churchill has a longstanding policy of not commenting on personnel matters in cases of layoffs and firings.
The New York State Racing and Wagering Board will scratch True Quality out of Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Jaipur Stakes at Belmont Park because of "insufficient proof" that Paraneck Stable no longer has ownership interest in the colt, according to a board spokesman.
Costa Rising, who gained notoriety outside of his home state of Louisiana back in 2007 when he put up two of that year's best Beyer Speed Figures, has been retired, his trainer, Glenn Delahoussaye, said on Wednesday.
Costa Rising has a torn ligament that would require an extended layoff, so the decision was made to retire him, said Delahoussaye.
A 6-year-old son of Royal Strand owned by Charles Castille, Costa Rising will stand at stud in Louisiana.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Owner-trainer Juan Olmos appears to have another talented 2-year-old in his barn in Huitzilopochtli. Last year Olmos campaigned the local juvenile champion, El Sinaloense. Huitzilopochtli took over the top spot in the local 2-year-old colts and geldings division with a 1 1/2-length win over Dyna Stroll in the $54,000 River Rock Resort Stakes last Sunday.
Unbridled Belle can put herself and trainer Todd Pletcher into the Delaware Park record book in Sunday's $1 million Delaware Handicap.
Established as the 2-1 favorite on the track's morning line when entries for the Grade 2 race were finalized Wednesday morning, Unbridled Belle will attempt to become the sixth two-time winner of Delaware's most prestigious stakes. No horse has accomplished the feat since Nastique in 1988 and 1989.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The long-awaited launch of the California mini-satellite system begins Friday, with the opening of a betting parlor in the Commerce Casino, near downtown Los Angeles.
Commerce officials plan to open the mini-satellite for Friday's Hollywood Park evening program and intend to have a more full-scale opening for Wednesday's opening day at Del Mar.
With the Summit meeting at Thistledown ending Friday, Ernesto Oro has the riding title all wrapped up with a 48-30 lead over Weldon Cloninger Jr. the leading rider at last year's meet.
"This feels good," said Oro, a native of Peru. "I've had a very good meeting."
For the ninth consecutive season, the Summit meeting will have a different riding champion.
Trainer Ray Tracy Jr. won his 1,000th Thoroughbred race Tuesday at Prairie Meadows when Samara Street cruised home by 12 lengths over a field of maiden claimers. Samara Street is a daughter of the stakes-winning mare Miss Guts, also trained by Tracy.
Tracy began his career in 1983 under the tutelage of his father, looking after a string of Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds in his home state of Montana. His brothers Greg and Jim have also enjoyed successful careers as horse trainers.
David Anderson saddled 38 winners to capture his eighth straight trainer title at Lincoln State Fair and his 12th title since 1992.
The 37-day meet concluded Sunday with a second consecutive year of strong increases in attendance. Attendance for the meet fell just short of 90,000, up 6 percent from 2008 and an increase of more than 24 percent since 2007. Mutuel handle ontrack was up 7 percent this year, at $2,134,332, and up 17 percent since 2007.
