HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - No one has planned a benefit outing for Todd Pletcher. There will be no pity parties, no wakes. In terms of the Eclipse Awards, his streak of dominance ended when he did not make the list of finalists for 2008, and yet nobody would dare say that Pletcher's time has come and gone.
GROVE CITY, Ohio Beulah Park canceled live racing Wednesday due to an impending winter storm expected to dump up to six inches of snow on the Columbus area Wednesday afternoon.
We just felt it was best for all involved, said Joe Deluca, steward and track superintendent. "We have a lot of trainers ship in and that would make it really difficult for them."
Racing is scheduled to resume on Friday with the first post at 1:15 p.m.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Point Encounter did not stay long on the Kentucky Derby trail.
Less than three weeks after a splashy debut established the colt as a top prospect for the spring classics, Point Encounter is out of the picture. Trainer Carla Gaines said Tuesday the 3-year-old was injured and would be turned out for an indefinite period of time.
"He's off the Derby trail; he jumped off real quick," Gaines said.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - With the stable area nearing capacity, work tabs growing longer, and wet-paint signs dotting the grandstand, Oaklawn Park looks ready to reopen. The track's 105th season begins Friday, and as of Tuesday morning there were close to 1,400 horses on the grounds, according to Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope.
"By Thursday, we should be at 1,500," he said - the maximum number of horses that can be housed on the backstretch.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - He fills his big brother's old space, Stall 4 in Barn 7 at the Palm Meadows training center. But Nicanor, an unraced 3-year-old, obviously has a long way to go to fill his big brother's shoes.
Nicanor is by Dynaformer out of the Carson City mare La Ville Rouge, making him a full brother to the legendary Barbaro. His connections are the same: Roy and Gretchen Jackson will race the colt in their Lael Stable silks, and Michael Matz trains him.
ALBANY, Calif. - Saturday's $100,000 California Derby at Golden Gate Fields figures to be a legitimate test for 3-year-olds with Kentucky Derby dreams.
As the field began to take shape early in the week, three stakes winners and a pair of stakes-placed runners appeared set for the 1 1/16-mile event that serves as a prep for the Grade 3, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 14.
The caliber of competition will give trainers an indication of whether they should make the next step on the arduous trip to Louisville for the first Saturday in May.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Ken McPeek continued his early domination of the local 3-year-old division when Theregoesjojo easily defeated a strong field of first-level allowance runners going seven furlongs last Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Theregoesjojo's 2 3/4-length victory over Quality Road and Obligingly came on the heels of victories by the McPeek-trained Free Country and Danger to Society going 1 1/8 miles under similar allowance conditions last Thursday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Though weather could always alter plans, it appears as though the promising 3-year-old Haynesfield will make his next start in the $100,000 Whirlaway Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 7.
Carol Seaver, racing manager for owner Harvey Weinstein's Turtle Bird Stable, said the Whirlaway is a logical spot provided Haynesfield doesn't have to leave trainer Steve Asmussen's New York stable due to inclement weather.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The maiden win by Brother Keith in his career debut at Churchill Downs on Nov. 8 came at an ideal time for trainer Bobby Frankel.
A week before that race, Frankel and his partners had sold leading 2-year-old Vineyard Haven to Godolphin Racing. While replacing Vineyard Haven, who eventually became a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding 2-year-old, will not be easy, there is optimism surrounding Brother Keith's potential.
Brother Keith starts in Saturday's $100,000 San Rafael Stakes at a mile - an important test, Frankel said.
GROVE CITY, Ohio Beulah Park canceled races 2 through 10 Monday after the jockeys deemed the track unsafe after the first race.
Beulahs general manager, Mike Weiss, blamed uneven thawing from a winter storm that hit the area Sunday afternoon.
I am sure it will be fine tomorrow, said Weiss. We will work on it the rest of the day and tomorrow to make sure it is.
Racing is scheduled to resume Tuesday, first post at 1:15.
