Whenever a 3-year-old looks good winning a race at this time of year, and the connections aren't as high-profile or deep-pocketed as, say, Sheikh Mohammed bid Rashid al Maktoum, you can bet your last dollar that the phone is going to ring soon.
So when a colt with untapped potential named Parade Clown won the WEBN Stakes last Saturday at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., it didn't take long for the calls to come in from folks with Kentucky Derby fever.
ARCADIA, Calif. At the least, the 2008 campaign of Euroglide was a puzzle. At times, it seemed like a crisis.
A gelding who won the first two starts of his career as a 3-year-old in 2007, Euroglide showed no desire to compete on the racetrack last year, finishing fifth, ninth, and being pulled up in his first three starts.
"He was afraid to run," trainer Peter Eurton said. "He wasn't enjoying himself. He went the other direction and got nervous."
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer O.J. Jauregui said Friday he would scratch Merus Miami from Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields.
Jauregui said the colt had a small abscess in his left front foot and had missed two days of training. He said that he would likely point the stakes-winning colt, who finished third in the California Derby, to the Grade 3, $200,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 28.
"The main thing is to make sure he's okay and then go from there," Jauregui said. "There are a lot of races for 3-year-olds."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita will have a two-day pick six carryover of $353,751 on Friday after a lack of winning favorites on Thursday made the bet too difficult for bettors to solve.
Friday's pick six covers the third through eighth races on a program that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific.
The pick six races include two races on turf, although they could be switched to the main track if the forecast for wet weather is accurate. The four main-track races include three races around two turns and one sprint.
Fasig-Tipton Company Inc. will team with the New York Racing Association to develop a "festival of racing" at this summer's Saratoga meet. Events are expected to include a jockey challenge, best-turned-out horse contest, a speaker series featuring racing figures, and a handicapping contest.
ALBANY, Calif. - One year ago, Autism Awareness unexpectedly stepped into the spotlight by winning the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby in a $126 upset.
On Saturday he will take on the multiple graded-stakes winner El Gato Malo in the $50,000 McCann's Mojave on the El Camino Real undercard at Golden Gate Fields. Five older runners will compete in the 1 1/16-mile event.
Both Autism Awareness and El Gato Malo went to the sidelines last year after scoring derby victories.
Well-traveled Miss Missile will make her seasonal debut in the $10,000 Bold Accent Stakes at Fonner Park on Saturday.
A 4-year-old daughter of Golden Missile owned and trained by Charles Smith, Miss Missile visited four states and a foreign country last year while racking up 5 wins from her 12 starts.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Colonel John will start in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7 with only one race in the preceding four months, a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26.
Despite the absence of an active campaign, trainer Eoin Harty insists that Colonel John will be ready for the Big Cap over 1 1/4 miles.
"He will not be short," Harty said.
To ensure that, Colonel John worked seven furlongs in 1:25.87 between the third and fourth races at Santa Anita on Thursday.
The New York Racing Association canceled Thursday's Aqueduct card due to high winds. Although temperatures were in the low 50s, sustained winds were blowing 30 miles per hour at 9 a.m. with stronger gusts possible.
Aqueduct will be open for simulcasting Thursday with free admission and parking.
Fabulous Strike will forgo a start in the $2 million Golden Shaheen next month in Dubai and instead will accept a 127-pound weight assignment for Monday's Grade 2, $150,000 General George Handicap at Laurel Park.
In choosing the General George, trainer Todd Beattie said both he and owner Walter Downey had reservations about what effects a round-the-world ship to Dubai and back would have on their horse the remainder of the year.