ARCADIA, Calif. - In January, Bob Black Jack set a six-furlong world record of 1:06.53 in the Sunshine Millions Dash. On Friday, he won his first Grade 1 in the $250,000 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita.
In 2009, trainer Jim Kasparoff is ready to take on the world with Bob Black Jack.
Pending the results of a scheduled start in the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Dash on Jan. 24, Kasparoff hopes to take Bob Black Jack to Dubai for the $2 million Golden Shaheen for sprinters on March 28.
ARCADIA, Calif. Santa Anita opened its winter-spring meeting on Friday with an increase in ontrack attendance but a slight drop in handle from last year.
On a clear day with temperatures in the 50s cold for Southern California the nine-race program drew a crowd of 33,112, a gain of 9.8 percent over the 2007 opening-day audience of 30,156. By comparison, the 2006 meeting opened with an ontrack crowd of 32,931.
At an age when most mares have already been sent to the breeding shed, Afleet Angel is hitting her peak.
The 8-year-old Afleet Angel, a two-time stakes winner while racing on synthetic surfaces out of town, returns to her home track of Mountaineer Racetrack for Tuesday nights $75,000 New Years Eve Stakes.
The six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares drew a full field of 12, with four more on the also-eligible list.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Every year you can be sure of one thing: There will be new faces on the scene at Tampa Bay Downs. The lure of warm weather and a safe racing strip bring trainers and jockeys from all over the country. And every year there will be tales of those who came with high hopes only to leave town long before the meeting is done when their stables and runners didn't live up to expectations.
MIAMI - According to the Beyer Speed Figures, Notonthesamepage was the third-fastest 2-year-old in North America this year. That distinction was earned for the 104 Beyer Speed Figure he was assigned for setting a 4 1/2-furlong track record of 50.12 winning his maiden at Churchill Downs on April 30.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The racing campaigns of the older horse Lucky J.H. tend to be brief - and memorable.
He made only three starts in 2006, three in 2007, and three so far this year, with each campaign highlighted by at least a stakes placing, and in two of those years at least one stakes win.
When he returns from a layoff of more than eight months in Monday's $70,000 Impressive Luck Handicap at Santa Anita, Lucky J.H. will be after his fourth stakes win. The Impressive Luck is run over about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course.
The Riley Allison Futurity will be run for the 46th time on Tuesday as Sunland Park cards its final racing program of 2008. A field of eight 2-year-olds will do battle for the $100,000 purse at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Heading up this years edition of the Riley Allison is Retap. A well-traveled son of Tapit who is trained by omnipresent Steve Asmussen, Retap will be making his sixth start on Tuesday, all at different tracks.
ARCADIA, Calif.-A series of mid-priced longshots at Santa Anita on Friday, opening day of the winter-spring meet, led to a carryover of $171,220 for Saturday's nine-race program.
The pick six on Saturday covers the fourth through ninth races on a program that begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific. There are three stakes in Saturday's pick six races.
The fourth race, an optional claimer over a mile on turf, has drawn eight runners. Sartorial has been scratched. The morning-line favorite is Monterrey Jazz, who won the Grade 3 Texas Mile and Grade 2 Strub Stakes earlier this year.
ARCADIA, Calif.-Bob Black Jack's best asset - his devastating speed - helped the colt record his first Grade 1 win in Friday's $250,000 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita. There can be no doubting the quality of the field. The second- through fourth-place finishers are also Grade 1 winners - Into Mischief, Georgie Boy and Colonel John.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Even in face of an economic climate that has had tracks scrambling for customers and betting revenue, Santa Anita provided a glorious counterpoint on its opening day Friday. Under sunny skies, a crowd estimated by track officials at 33,000 showed up for the start of the 72nd winter meeting. Perhaps it was a temporary respite from the doom and gloom of these times, or the lure of seeing racing in such a magnificent setting. Maybe it was the free calendar. But Santa Anita was showing off on Friday.