A record 3,600 applications for 2,000 available stalls were received by Turf Paradise as the Phoenix track gets ready to open its 54th meet. The 156-day stand begins Oct. 2 and runs through May 2, 2010.
There will be 30 new trainers with stalls this meet, hailing from places such as Kentucky, Iowa, and Michigan, the track said.
Turf Paradise and other racetracks in Arizona have been pushing to get slot machines, and the track's owner, Jerry Simms, said the number of stall applications may be a reflection of horsemen anticipating future purse boosts from slots money.
Monmouth Park will integrate six steeplechase races into its 10-race program on Sept. 26, a card that includes two $200,000 divisions of the NATC Futurity on the flat.
The $70,000 Metcalf Memorial Novice Stakes at 2 1/4 miles over National Fences will be the richest of the steeplechase races, preps for the Oct. 17 meet at Far Hills, N.J.
While many tracks, most notably Saratoga, offer a jump race on their program, this marks the first time a steeplechase card will be blended with flat racing at a parimutuel track, according to the National Steeplechase Association.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Cross Every Bridge has done just that with noteworthy success thus far in his career.
But tempering that statement is the fact that the career of Cross Every Bridge, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Mark Frostad, has spanned just two starts and his foundations will be seriously tested in Saturday's $200,000 Play the King.
The Grade 2 Play the King, a seven-furlong turf race that is the major local prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile on Sept. 20, will mark the stakes debut for Cross Every Bridge.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Stop us if you've heard this one before. A 3-year-old owned by Robert LaPenta, trained by Nick Zito, and ridden by Alan Garcia is a longshot in a Grade 1, $1 million race. He uses his speed to establish a clear lead, is never challenged, and rolls to a 5 1/4-length victory.
One year after Da' Tara went gate to wire to upset the Belmont Stakes at 38-1, LaPenta, Zito, and Garcia are back in Saturday's $1 million Travers with the speedy Our Edge, who will attempt to duplicate Da' Tara's improbable feat at long odds.
DEL MAR, Calif. -
Humberto Ascanio, assistant trainer to Bobby Frankel, said that Midships spiked a 102-degree fever and had a presence of mucus on Thursday when entries were taken.
"I can't run him with a temperature," Ascanio said.
Midships was scheduled to undergo a blood test on Thursday to determine how to treat his illness, Ascanio said. It is likely that the 4-year-old will not start again until the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting, which begins on Sept. 30.
You can't knock a guy for going into the family business after trying his hand at law enforcement. It just isn't often that riding horses at Suffolk Downs is the safer of two career options.
Apprentice jockey Robert Serrano says following in his family's footsteps has him much more at ease than a career catching crooks.
"This is my dream," said the 28-year-old native of Valley Stream, N.Y. "I know it's ironic to choose this path, but just a short time made me realize I couldn't live the life of a cop."
With 10 entrants participating in six of the seven Thoroughbreds stakes races on Iowa Classic Night at Prairie Meadows, the Kelly Von Hemel stable looks to have a busy Saturday.
In the Cradle for 2-year-old colts and geldings, Von Hemel has The Boot and Launch Light. The Boot won his maiden locally on Aug. 17 by a half-length. Launch Light journeyed up to Canterbury Park for the Brian Barenscheer Juvenile on Aug. 9 and ran well when second, beaten a head. Unfortunately, he was disqualified for interference at the top of the stretch and placed seventh.
