Churchill Downs officials announced Thursday morning at a media conference that Mark Johnson, a 42-year-old native of Skegness, England, has been hired as the sixth race-caller in the history of the Louisville, Ky., track.
Johnson was selected over four other men who tried out for the position during the 2008 fall meet. The selection process had been ongoing since shortly after the meet ended in late November and was undertaken by a committee of track officials.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Thursday's program at Santa Anita features a pick six carryover of $103,256.
The pick six covers the third through eighth races on a program that begins at 1 p.m. There are not a lot of horses for bettors to consider. The pick six features two six-horse fields, one field with nine and three fields with 10. All six races are sprints, and two are run on the hillside turf course.
There were no early scratches for Thursday's program.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Trainer Larry Jones plans to slow down in 2009, but not anytime in the near future. He has got too many promising 3-year-olds in the hopper, and the most accomplished of the lot, Old Fashioned, is being pointed for the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 16.
"We'd love to do the Pletcher-Zito deal, see how many horses we can have that could be [Kentucky] Derby contenders," Jones said. "We're very blessed. We have a lot of good horses right now."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Jockey Martin Pedroza will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a fractured pelvis in a post parade accident Sunday, according to his agent, Richie Silverstein.
Pedroza, 43, remained hospitalized early Wednesday, having been transferred from an intensive care unit on Tuesday afternoon, Silverstein said.
Pedroza was injured when he was unseated from the longshot Humane as the horses walked onto the track before the ninth race. Pedroza fell heavily and may have been struck by Humane while on the ground, Silverstein said.
Trainer Larry Jones's stellar reputation with developing young fillies has a tendency to precede him these days, so it will be no surprise if the betting public falls in love with On the Menu in Friday night's $50,000 Genesis Stakes at Delta Downs. The Genesis is one of two seven-furlong, two-turn events for 3-year-olds slated for the evening, with colts and geldings getting their shot in the $50,000 Triple Sec.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The best 3-year-olds to come out of Oaklawn Park last year were fillies: Eight Belles, who ran second in the Kentucky Derby following her win in the Grade 2 Fantasy, and Pure Clan, her frequent rival who went on to win the Grade 1 American Oaks at Hollywood Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The expected slow start at this meet for jockey Anna Napravnik has been followed by the equally predictable fast recovery.
With three wins last weekend and an ever-expanding client base, Napravnik seems poised to make an impact in the Aqueduct jockey colony this winter, her first time on this circuit. After a 2-for-34 start, Napravnik is now 8 for 65 and is tied for eighth in wins in the standings.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Forest Command served notice he will be a force to reckon with in the handicap division this season when he drew away under jockey Edgar Prado to an easy victory over Dream Maestro in Wednesday's $44,000 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - No one has planned a benefit outing for Todd Pletcher. There will be no pity parties, no wakes. In terms of the Eclipse Awards, his streak of dominance ended when he did not make the list of finalists for 2008, and yet nobody would dare say that Pletcher's time has come and gone.
