OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Happy Medium is arguably the fastest horse on the grounds in New York, but his connections are in no hurry to plot out the gelding’s next race.
On Dec. 18, Happy Medium recorded his third consecutive blowout victory, taking a second-level allowance by seven lengths. He ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.88 and earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure, equaling the figure earned for his 9 1/4-length maiden win on Sept. 30 at Belmont Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The graded stakes classifications of two stakes run at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 – the American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies and Mathis Brothers Mile for 3-year-olds – have been restored to their original status by an oversight committee after the races were switched from turf to dirt because of inclement weather.
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ARCADIA, Calif. – Flightline, the brilliant and undefeated 3-year-old sprinter, was jogged at Santa Anita on Friday, his first day of racetrack exercise following a win by 11 1/2 lengths in his stakes debut in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs on Dec. 26.
Trained by John Sadler, Flightline is unbeaten in three starts by a combined 37 1/2 lengths. Sadler said earlier this week that Flightline will be raced sparingly in 2022 and does not have an immediate race goal. The colt had his debut at Santa Anita last April.
The end of 2021 treated trainer Neil Pessin pretty well. Happy American came within an inch of winning his first stakes in the Dec. 27 Tenacious, and a day later Audrey’s Time was much the best in the Spanky Broussard Memorial. And on Jan. 4, Pessin will welcome stable star Bell’s the One back into his Fair Grounds barn.
Kentucky Oaks hopeful Dream Lith is scheduled to arrive at Fair Grounds on Monday, according to her trainer, Robertino Diodoro.
She was freshened in Kentucky following her win in the Grade 2 Golden Rod on Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs. Dream Lith had been scheduled to join Diodoro’s barn at Oaklawn but is now headed to Fair Grounds as the trainer is setting up a small division in New Orleans.
Dream Lith could return to the races at either Fair Grounds or Oaklawn.
The global pandemic year of 2020 made a lot of people take stock of their position in the world. It happened for the jockey Reylu Gutierrez, but not just because of COVID-19.
Gutierrez was part of the tough Saratoga jockey colony during the 2020 racing season and came out of the meet with one winner from 84 mounts. A native of upstate New York, Gutierrez went home to Rochester and hung his tack at Finger Lakes, where his father, Luis, is a veteran trainer.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It’s always a good thing when a trainer sends the defending champ to run in a $1 million race, as trainer Todd Pletcher will with Colonel Liam in the Pegasus World Cup Turf here on Jan. 29. But it never hurts to have a little backup just in case, as Pletcher now has with Never Surprised, who also is being pointed for the Pegasus Turf following a one-sided victory in Sunday’s Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. -- For the second straight card the pick six at Aqueduct was not hit, resulting in a $195,762 carryover heading into Friday’s eight-race card.
Since Friday is the last day of the calendar year, there will be a mandatory payout in the pick six, which will begin on race 3 (1:44 p.m. Eastern) and includes the $100,000 Alex M. Robb Handicap for New York-bred males.
Emerald Downs has boosted the purse of the Grade 3 Longacres Mile to $150,000 for its Aug. 14 running. Last year, the Longacres Mile was worth $100,000.
The Longacres Mile tops a slate of 21 stakes worth a total of $1,245,000 at the 2022 Emerald Downs meet, according to a release from the Auburn, Wash., track. The 52-day meet begins May 15.
There are three other stakes on the Aug. 14 card: the $75,000 Emerald Distaff, $75,000 Muckleshoot Derby, and $75,000 Washington Oaks. The purse for each of those stakes has been raised $25,000 from 2021.
The Sunland Park Derby will be run for the first time in three years on March 27 as part of the New Mexico track’s meet that opens on Friday. The race that carries eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby was last held in 2019, when Cutting Humor won over Anothertwistafate.
Sunland Park, which is located right across the border from El Paso, Texas, will race 55 dates through April 3. The track has a mixed-meet format that features races for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.
