LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jerry Carroll said he would not have played the pick six last Friday at Keeneland if he had not noticed Thursday evening that 4 of 6 was good enough on that day's pick six.
"I had it twice Thursday," for $1,270 each, said Carroll. "So I decided I'd put it all back in on Friday."
It was another fortuitous decision for someone long known for his Midas touch. Carroll was the only winner the following day in a pick six that returned $237,019.60.
ALBANY, Calif. - Last Saturday's canceled stakes race left some bruised feelings but could result in a new approach to stakes at Golden Gate Fields.
The track canceled the $50,000 Albany on Sunday because there would have been only four betting interests. The Albany, a six-furlong sprint, was carded as an overnight stakes, which can be canceled in the event of a short field - unlike regular stakes, which are required to be run no matter how many horses are entered.
Facing a horrible economy and a potential disruption to account wagering, Hollywood Park will begin its fall meeting with an overnight purse structure approximately 7 percent lower than the 2007 fall meeting.
The condition book, detailing the likely races for the first two weeks of the meeting from Oct. 29 to Nov. 9, was published last week. The cuts vary from $1,000 for low-quality races to $4,000 for some allowance races.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Tell It As It Is recorded the biggest win of her career and provided a new career highlight for her trainer, Jim Smith, when scoring by a nose here in Sunday's $180,350 Maple Leaf Stakes.
Making her 14th career start Sunday for owner Richard Lister, Tell It As It Is had become a stakes winner in the $104,000 Tattling, an overnight stakes over 1 1/16 miles of yielding turf here June 18. She underlined her versatility in the Maple Leaf.
Minnetonka Mist had to work harder than expected to validate his 1-5 favoritism in the $81,478 colt-and-gelding division of the ATBA Sales Stakes at Turf Paradise on Saturday, while Bella Cardona posted a mild upset in the $91,625 filly division.
Ridden by Juan Rivera, Minnetonka Mist posted a front-running, three-quarter-length score, covering the six furlongs in 1:09.25. Hidden Bounty and Albacore Bob finished noses apart for second and third, respectively, in the field of 10 2-year-old males.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Backbackbackgone is as good in the autumn as he was in the spring.
Making his first start in nearly five months, Backbackbackgone held off a late rally from Charlies Moment to win Saturdays $80,100 Jack Goodman Stakes at Santa Anita. Backbackbackgone ($6) ran six furlongs in 1:08.85.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Jockey Emma Wilson won the $180,350 Maple Leaf Stakes for the third year in a row Sunday at Woodbine aboard Tell It As It Is.
Whitepark Bay set slow fractions while being pressed by Russian Rosie and Its True Love in the 1 1/4-mile event. Tell It As It Is rated kindly at the back of the pack until the far turn, where she began to mount a wide rally.
Tell It as It Is caught favored Arden Belle on wire, winning by a nose in a time of 2:04.99. Born to Be finished third in the seven-horse field of fillies and mares.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Mi Chiamano Mimi remained unbeaten after two starts with a front-running win in the $82,800 Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita.
Ridden by Garrett Gomez, Mi Chiamano Mimi zipped six furlongs in 1:07.93, outfinishing 3-5 favorite Alpha Kitten by 1 1/4 lengths. Toro Bonito finished third in the field of nine 2-year-old fillies.
Owned by Nathaniel Friedman and trained by Mike Mitchell, Mi Chiamano Mimi was not seriously challenged through the Anoakia. The filly was making her first start since winning an $80,000 claimer for maidens at Del Mar on Aug. 29.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Golden Yank, who since the spring has picked up checks in a series of 3-year-old stakes, put it all together on Sunday when he drove to a length and three-quarter win over favorite Tiz Now Tiz Then in the $350,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park. It was another 2 3/4 lengths back in third to Acting Zippy.
The Oklahoma Derby was one of four stakes on the card, with the races worth a cumulative $675,000.
LEXINGTON, Ky. British-bred Herboriste got a patient ride from Julien Leparoux when gliding past favored Palmilla to post a 1 1/2-length victory Sunday in the $150,000 Rood and Riddle Dowager Stakes on the Keeneland turf.
Herboriste raced in fourth for most of the 1 1/2-mile trip before easing out for the drive and edging clear from Palmilla, who had defeated her in July in the Robert Dick Memorial at Delaware Park. "She was relaxed all the way," said Leparoux.