MIAMI - Silver Tree and Soldier's Dancer. That will be the marquee matchup on Saturday's outstanding Florida Million card at Calder, which also features the return of the undefeated 2-year-old filly sensation Frolic's Dream along with appearances from such notable invaders as Like Now, Icy Atlantic, Peach Flambe, Christmas Ship, and Actin Good.
In all, eight Florida-bred stakes worth a total of $1.2 million will be decided on Saturday's 12-race program.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The brilliantly fast Two Step Salsa, third in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and a favorite for the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes come opening day at Santa Anita, has been sold by owner-breeder Jeff Nielsen (Everest Stables) and is now owned and trained by A.C. Avila.
The sale and barn transfer, which took place Oct. 31, was confirmed Tuesday by Avila and Two Step Salsa's former trainer Julio Canani. Avila said he was the sole buyer, but added that his ownership of the 3-year-old Petionville colt may only be temporary.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Nick Gonzalez stable will be losing one of its most productive and popular members as My List has been injured and forced into retirement.
"She'll stay here a month and then go to Three Chimneys in Kentucky," said Gonzalez, who has trained My List throughout her career.
"She's been entered in the January mixed sale at Keeneland."
My List, bred in Kentucky, was purchased for $1,200 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Sale in October 2005.
Peppers Pride came into the Zia Park meet with two objectives. The first was to set a modern North American record for consecutive wins. She checked that off her list last month, when she won her 17th straight race in a $35,000 optional claiming allowance Oct. 4.
Live handle from all sources at Hastings in 2008 was almost identical to 2007. Total live handle this year was $49,716,774 compared with $49,724,506 in 2007.
There were three more days in 2008, which corresponds to a 4 percent drop in the daily average. The average daily handle in 2008 was $700,236 compared with $731,242 a year ago.
Ontrack business was off 7 percent, $16,647,925 compared with $17,893,203. The daily average of $234,479 was down 11 percent.
The daily purse distribution went up 20 percent from $92,234 in 2007 to $110,818 in 2008.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - There were two shippers for Sunday's six-furlong Ontario Fashion at Woodbine, and Miss Macy Sue, the more accomplished of the pair with 11 wins and earnings of $867,230, caught the public's eye as the 8-5 choice.
But it was Porte Bonheur, a 3-year-old filly trained by David Duggan in New York, who stole the spotlight in the $163,500 Ontario Fashion with an emphatic 1 1/2-length score under rider Channing Hill.
STICKNEY, Ill. - It's almost hard to know where to begin. Let's just say that the trainer Christine Janks had a remarkable Saturday at Hawthorne.
The most obvious fact is that Janks-trained horses won three of the six Illinois-bred stakes races, a rare feat on its own. But in the last two of those triumphs, Janks actually sent out the exacta, with Nicks beating Pretty Jenny in the Powerless Handicap, and Stop a Train holding off Modjadji in the Illini Princess, the afternoon's final stakes.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Winning three races on a Stars of Tomorrow program at Churchill Downs not only means a trainer is having a good fall, but also that he's likely to have a good winter and spring. So when Dale Romans won three races Saturday, it wasn't difficult for him to add 2 and 2.
"It means I've got a lot to look forward to," he said with a grin.
Romans won maiden races with Glacken Queen and Jazzandthemagician, then topped off a memorable afternoon when Sara Louise won the Grade 3 Pocahontas Stakes with authority. All 11 races Saturday were restricted to 2-year-olds.