HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Silver City has been committed to the Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel at Oaklawn on March 14 after having also been under consideration for a start in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby the same day. Bret Calhoun, who trains Silver City, said the colt was to work at his Fair Grounds base next Saturday, then ship to Oaklawn on Tuesday.
"We know the horse runs well up there and decided to stay with that program," Calhoun said from Fair Grounds on Friday.
Retama Park near San Antonio reported solid handle figures during its first winter Thoroughbred meet, 43 nights added to the track s calendar after Sam Houston Race Park in Houston canceled its meet because of damage from Hurricane Ike late last summer.
Retama handled an average $984,355 a night on its live races from all sources, with $55,287 of that bet ontrack. During the 35-night fall meet that immediately preceded the winter season, Retama handled an average $690,016 a night on its live races from all sources.
NEW ORLEANS - Trainer Ralph Nicks believes Flying Pegasus is telling him that he is ready for next Saturday's Grade 2 Louisiana Derby.
"We're ready to go, the way he's acting," Nicks said.
Flying Pegasus has worked twice since finishing second in the Grade 3 Risen Star at the Fair Grounds. On Thursday, Flying Pegasus went five furlongs in 1:02.20, an exact replica of first work after the Risen Star.
"I was happy with the work," Nicks said. "He went fine and came out of it well."
A downturn in business has led to Turfway Park dropping two stakes and cutting overnight purses by 5 percent through April 2, the end of the winter-spring meet at the Florence, Ky., track.
The $50,000 Tejano Run, a 1 1/8-mile race for older horses scheduled for March 14, and the $50,000 Fairway Fun, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares on March 28, have been canceled. The five remaining races on the stakes schedule will be run March 21, Lane's End Stakes Day.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito will go global for the first time later this month when he sends Anak Nakal to Dubai for the World Cup.
Anak Nakal is coming off a seventh-place finish behind Albertus Maximus in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap. Albertus Maximus could ultimately wind up the favorite to win the World Cup.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Approximately $6 million in horsemen's funds distributed at Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita on Wednesday has been frozen by banks as part of the bankruptcy proceedings of the tracks' parent company, Magna Entertainment, said Drew Couto, the president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California.
Couto said the money was disbursed to horsemen prior to Magna's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware court on Thursday, but the checks cannot be cashed until the bankruptcy court allows the funds to be released.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The stakes for Gotham Day at Aqueduct got even higher when the pick six went unhit for a second consecutive day, resulting in a carryover of $109,079 heading into Saturday's 10-race program.
The pick six will start on race 5 and include the Grade 2, $250,000 Gotham for 3-year-olds and the Grade 3, $100,000 Toboggan Stakes for older sprinters. Those two races are also part of the guaranteed $250,000 pick-four pool on races 7 thru 10.
Snowbound Superstar, the two-time Quarter Horse distance champion, is expected to leave California this spring to find competition.
Trainer Paul Jones intended to start Snowbound Superstar in Sunday's $20,000 Moonshiner Handicap over 870 yards at Los Alamitos, but the race was not used because only five horses were entered on Thursday, track officials said. Jones said he had been told the race had drawn six entrants, and he was hoping it would be used.
Handle at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., is up 5 percent at the halfway point of the meet, which has led officials to make across-the-board increases to overnight purses. The track was to raise maiden special weight and allowance races $1,000 each beginning Friday, while all claiming races will be boosted in value by $300.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Trainer Will Phipps is enjoying his occasional trips to Tampa Bay Downs this meet. The trainer has sent out four runners at the current stand and the result has been four winners.
Phipps will attempt to keep his perfect record intact on Saturday in the $65,000 Challenger Stakes when he tightens the girth on Fierce Wind, a fast and talented runner who will be making his second start for Phipps since coming back from a long rehabilitation period.