LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Chip Woolley said he is planning to ship Mine That Bird out of Churchill Downs in mid-July for Mountaineer Park, where the 2009 Kentucky Derby winner will have two breezes leading up to his next scheduled start, the $750,000 West Virginia Derby on Aug. 1.
"Ideally, I'd like to breeze the colt twice over that track, so that means we'd have to leave out of here a couple weeks early," Woolley said.
Defending champion Joey P. will miss Saturday night's Charles Town Invitational Dash after undergoing colic surgery Thursday evening, according to a release from the racetrack.
The scratch of the 7-year-old Joey P., the second choice on the track's morning line at 3-1, leaves Florida shipper Ikigai, winner of the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream Park in January, as the clear-cut favorite for the 4 1/2-furlong Dash. Sea Dubai, the first horse on the also-eligible list, now draws into the main body of the field.
Raymond "Butch" Cook, the racing secretary at Indiana Downs and Hoosier Park in Indiana, has accused the owners of Hoosier of guaranteeing stall allocations to nine trainers in exchange for getting horsemen's support for legislation that would provide relief to the racetrack.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Hollywood Park has a two-day pick six carryover of $522,957 for Friday evening's program, the highest of the spring-summer meeting.
In addition, there is a carryover of $39,575 in the $1 super high five, which is offered on the final race.
Upset wins by Tidal Dance ($38.20) and Adam Suances ($36.80) in the first two legs of Thursday's pick six essentially clinched the carryover for Friday.
Friday's eight-race program begins at 7:05 p.m., Pacific. The first leg of the pick six is the third race, which is due off at approximately 8 p.m.
Legislation granting Hialeah Park in Hialeah, Fla., the right to hold live races and operate slot machines may pave the way to the track reopening for a brief Quarter Horse meet in December if the state can also reach an agreement with the Seminole tribe on a gambling compact.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Queen's Plate, with its pomp and circumstance, will attract a following beyond the usual racing sphere on the occasion of its 150th running here Sunday.
But while this Queen's Plate comes with plenty of allure, the Highlander, a Grade 3, $200,000 turf sprint for 3-year-olds and upward, actually is looming as the race of the day from a handicapping and wagering standpoint.
Three names known more for their exploits beyond New England are among the five inductees in the 2009 class of the region's Turf Writers Racing Hall of Fame.
Seabiscuit and jockey Chris McCarron, members of the National Racing Hall of Fame, will be honored along with trainer Ned Allard, breeder Gil Campbell and handicapper Dave Wilson next month as the latest inductees into the New England honor roll on permanent display at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.
MIAMI - In their younger days, the majority of the 11 horses entered for Saturday's $55,000 Reappeal Stakes at Calder were thought of as stakes-caliber performers, although few, if any, of the group have entertained top-level company lately. But one of them will become a stakes winner once again, whether the five-furlong Reappeal goes as scheduled on the turf or not.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Life Is Sweet, winner of three stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita earlier this year, is likely to make her next start against males in the $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on July 11, owner Marty Wygod said Thursday.
Wygod was at Hollywood Park to watch Life Is Sweet work six furlongs in 1:11. In her last start, Life Is Sweet finished second to reigning champion older female Zenyatta in the Grade 2 Milady Handicap here May 23. Zenyatta is expected to make her next start in the $300,000 Vanity Handicap here June 27.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The Monmouth Stakes was only a first step for Grand Couturier.
There are much bigger goals in sight for the 6-year-old Grand Couturier, including a bid for a rare Grade 1 hat trick at Saratoga: three consecutive wins in the Sword Dancer Stakes.
"To do that three years in a row would be tremendous," trainer Bobby Ribaudo said.
In that context, a rallying fifth in the Monmouth Stakes last weekend was a solid foundation.