Sat, 01/10/2009 - 00:00

Four in a row for Ultra Blend

Odds-on favorite Ultra Blend scored her fourth straight victory as she won her stakes debut with ease in the $75,000 Tiburon Stakes, a six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday.

Content to sit behind pacesetting Joe'sgirlisgolden, who was hustled to the lead early, Ultra Blend ($3.60) easily took control of the race as she rallied from the three path midway around the turn. She pulled even with the leader leaving the quarter pole and increased her advantage through the lane despite veering in slightly in midstretch.

Sat, 01/10/2009 - 00:00

Good and Lucky turns tables

NEW ORLEANS - Good and Lucky's love affair with Fair Grounds continued Saturday when he won the $75,000 Louisiana Handicap by one length over Secret Getaway, reversing the exacta from the Nov. 29 Tenacious Handicap.

Sat, 01/10/2009 - 00:00

Gonzalez learns to take short route

OLDSMAR, Fla. - It was another workmanlike victory for Luis Gonzalez when he piloted Pepperup Notion ($17.60) to an upset in Friday's third race at Tampa Bay Downs. But the manner in which he got the job done was a perfect example of the "new" Luis Gonzalez.

Sat, 01/10/2009 - 00:00

Mixed findings in Fair Grounds herpes case

NEW ORLEANS - A sick horse at Fair Grounds has tested positive for the equine herpesvirus in one of two herpes tests administered on Thursday at the Louisiana State University equine clinic in Baton Rouge, La. The horse, from the barn of trainer Frank Leggio, tested positive for the non-neurological, or so-called "live strain" of the virus, in a nasal-swab test, but a blood test produced a negative result, according to Dr. Tom David, the equine medical director for the Louisiana State Racing Commission.

Sat, 01/10/2009 - 00:00

World Series of Handicapping postponed

A winter storm that dumped snow and freezing rain on central Pennsylvania forced Penn National Race Course to call off its Saturday night program of live racing and reschedule the 2009 Winter World Series of Handicapping.

The one-night handicapping contest, which allows players to participate at the track or any of its four offtrack betting facilities in the state, was rescheduled for Jan. 24.

First prize in the World Series of Handicapping is an all-expenses paid trip to the Coast Casinos Horseplayers World Series in Las Vegas from Feb. 19-21.

Fri, 01/09/2009 - 00:00

Santa Anita carryover tops $1.2 million

ARCADIA, Calif.-For the third consecutive day, no one hit the pick six at Santa Anita on Friday, leaving a carryover of $1,210,707 for Saturday's nine-race program.

Interest should be extremely high on Saturday's pick six, which covers the fourth through ninth races. Bettors could add another $2 million to the carried over pool.

Here are the early scratches for Saturday's pick six races.

Fri, 01/09/2009 - 00:00

Torres out after injury found

Jockey Francisco Torres, who is in the midst of a strong meet at Fair Grounds, will be out of action approximately four weeks after suffering a broken collarbone.

Torres was injured during training hours Thursday when the horse he had just guided through a five-furlong gate workout collapsed while she was pulling up from the work. The filly fell on Torres, who was taken to University Hospital in New Orleans, where a set of X-rays revealed no broken bones.

Fri, 01/09/2009 - 00:00

Lebron back on top after New York experiment

Jockey Victor Lebron won three races from 38 mounts during the time he rode over the Aqueduct inner track this winter. Thursday at Turfway, he surpassed that total in a single evening, winning four races from six mounts.

The 24-year-old jockey, whose family resides in the Florence, Ky., area near Turfway, is back where he calls home, and back winning races. So much so that Lebron entered Friday night's card at Turfway as the leading rider of the winter/spring meet, which began Jan. 1, following the holiday meet in December.

Fri, 01/09/2009 - 00:00

Lofty goals for Seattle Smooth

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - As Tony Dutrow gets set to bring one Grade 2 stakes-winning filly back to the races Sunday at Aqueduct, there is another Grade 2 winner in his care that he is equally, if not more, enthusiastic about bringing back later this year.

Seattle Smooth, who ended her 3-year-old season with a victory over Proud Spell in the Grade 2 Cotillion at Philadelphia Park, has been jogging for three weeks at Aqueduct. She will shortly begin galloping and Dutrow is hoping to bring her back to the races in April.

Fri, 01/09/2009 - 00:00

Kip Deville, Einstein on collision course

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The decision to shorten the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf from 11 to nine furlongs this winter may pay quick dividends with the possibility that the race could attract two of the premier turf horses in training in the U.S., Kip Deville and Einstein.

Trainer Rick Dutrow confirmed on Friday that Kip Deville will make his 2009 debut in the 1 1/8-mile GP Turf. That sets up a possible rematch with two-time defending GP Turf champion Einstein, whom Kip Deville defeated last spring in the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile.