OLDSMAR, Fla. - Trainer Lonnie Arterburn's family tree reads like something from the Who's Who of Racing.
Arterburn's father, Jack, was a top rider before retiring. His uncle, Damon "Buster" Pollard, was a well respected trainer on the West Coast for a number of years, and his brother-in-law, jockey Russell Baze, has led the country in races won numerous times and is the all-time winningest rider in the history of the sport with more than 10,300 career victories.
NEW ORLEANS - Was that actually Honest Man out there in the Mineshaft Handicap on Saturday afternoon at Fair Grounds? It hardly seemed possible that the horse who had set a scorching pace a month ago in the Louisiana Handicap was rating down the backstretch a couple lengths off a notably slow pace. And the change in style produced a much better result, with Honest Man, third in the Louisiana, making a decisive move off the far turn on his way to a 4 1/4-length win in the Grade 3, $125,000 Mineshaft.
Beulah Park canceled racing Saturday due to unsafe track conditions. The track was thawing unevenly after a winter storm dumped a foot of snow and a half-inch of ice on the track last week. It was the eighth full day that has been canceled due to weather and/or track conditions this meet. In addition, three other cards were canceled after the first race.
Beulah has run a total of 10 days since opening Jan. 10. Racing was canceled this week after the first race on Monday and Tuesday and full cards were scrapped on Wednesday and Saturday. All eight races were contested Friday.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Old Fashioned could have as many as eight or nine rivals in the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes, one of two major stakes for 3-year-olds on deck next holiday weekend at Oaklawn Park.
Rachel Alexandra, the winner of the Grade 2 Golden Rod, will head the $50,000 Martha Washington on Sunday, Feb. 15.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Until last month, trainer Ruben Cardenas was unsure how he was going to make ends meet. He was down to just a few horses and was seeking a part-time job to support his wife and four children. He said he was thinking of taking a job driving a horse van.
Not much came of that, which for Cardenas turned out to be a stroke of good luck. About the same time, he met Michael Gonzalez, a horse owner from Puerto Rico.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The connections of the Grade 1-winning sprinter Fabulous Strike are still debating whether to run their gelding in the $2 million Golden Shaheen in Dubai next month or stay in the United States for a campaign that would include a start in the $150,000 General George Handicap at Laurel Park on Feb. 16.
Trainer Todd Beattie had previously said he would go to Dubai provided he received an invitation. Fabulous Strike did receive an invitation last week, but Beattie said he and owner Walter Downey are still discussing what to do.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Tale of Ekati is the marquee name pointing for next Saturday's Grade 2 Richter Scale Handicap here. But the two-time Grade 1 winner could have his hands full in his 2009 debut with Ikigai, runaway winner of the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Handicap earlier in the Gulfstream Park meet.
Trainer Marty Wolfson confirmed that Ikigai would return in the seven-furlong Richter Scale shortly after the horse breezed a half-mile in 49.80 seconds over his home base at Calder on Friday morning.
If you Google the name Leandro Goncalves, you will find a 35-year-old Brazilian actor with a single film credit from a 2002 movie called "Cidade de Deus."
No telling whether that Goncalves is an up-and-comer in his line of work, or just a one-time bit player who wouldn't even make the D-List, but another Leandro Goncalves from Brazil is doing a great job of working his way into the pop culture at Turfway Park.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Woodbine will be shuffling its major turf stakes this year, with an eye toward the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. In 2008, the Cup was held Oct. 24-25 at Santa Anita.
The major changes involve Canadian International Day, which will be held two weeks later than last year on Oct. 17, and Woodbine Mile Day, which has also been moved back two weeks to Sept. 20.
Woodbine's 2009 schedule includes 103 stakes worth a total of $22.7 million for the 167-day meeting, which runs from April 4 through Dec. 6.