INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A contract dispute between the Thoroughbred Owners of California and four account wagering providers over revenue distribution showed no signs of ending on Thursday, leaving many out-of-state bettors unable to bet on Hollywood Park races for the second consecutive day via the Internet or telephone.
The four account wagering providers are TVG, Twinspires.com, XpressBet and Youbet.com. Other account-wagering companies were not affected.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Hello Broadway wilted under the bright spotlight of the Grade 1 Champagne last month. Sunday, he will try to make amends when he runs back in an interesting renewal of the Grade 3, $100,000 Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct.
A half-brother to Nobiz Like Shobiz, Hello Broadway was a gritty neck winner of a seven-furlong maiden race at Saratoga, beating next-out winner Imperial Council. Hello Broadway jumped right into the Champagne, where he finished fifth, 9 1/2 lengths behind Vineyard Haven.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trainer Rob Gilker was glad jockeys Frank Fuentes and Dave Wilson weren't listening that closely when he gave them prerace instructions prior to the Fantasy and Ascot Graduation stakes last weekend at Hastings.
Gilker instructed both Fuentes, who rode Fashionable Affair in the $108,138 Fantasy on Saturday, and Wilson, who was aboard Tommy Danzigger, in the $107,674 Ascot on Sunday, to have their horses on or near the lead.
As it turned out, both Fashionable Affair and Tommy Danzigger came from well off the pace to score upsets.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Desert Code, the upset winner of the inaugural $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita on Oct. 25, may go after another seven-figure turf sprint this fall - the $1.54 million Hong Kong Sprint on Dec. 14.
Trainer David Hofmans said he is strongly considering sending Desert Code to the Far East for the Hong Kong Sprint, which is run over 1,200 meters, or about six furlongs on turf.
"There is nothing else for him," Hofmans said. "It's either this or wait until Santa Anita."
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Fair Grounds meeting is beginning earlier than usual this year, on Nov. 14, and trainer Malcolm Pierce has started putting together his shipping plans for his annual sojourn there.
Pierce, who fashioned a 16-for-63 record at the 2007-2008 Fair Grounds session, will send as many as 30 horses there in an attempt to better that mark this time around.
But in the meantime Pierce and his wife and assistant, Sally, will be active in the closing weeks of the Woodbine meeting.
MIAMI - After seeing pretty much the same faces week in and week out since the meet began in late April, local fans will get some fresh faces along with a taste of what lies ahead for south Florida in the coming months when Calder holds its Florida Million program here next Saturday.
One weekend you're taking a swing at a $2 million purse alongside Hollywood celebrities. The next week you've got a shot at a fat purse in a statebred stakes race with a horse making a career debut.
That's the seven-day swing facing owner Walter Downey and his Tea Party Stable. After having Fabulous Strike finish fifth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint last Saturday, Downey has State Rep going in the $50,000 Norman Hall Stakes for Massachusetts-bred 2-year-olds this Saturday at Suffolk Downs.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Total handle from all sources on the live Fort Erie meet this year, with its 80 live racing days used in a direct comparison with the corresponding number in the 84-date 2007 season, dropped 9 percent from just under approximately $71.5 million to slightly over $65 million.
Overall, the average daily handle was off $80,869 per day, a corresponding 9 percent drop.
The average daily ontrack handle declined from $81,148 to $67,757, down 16.5 percent.
Offtrack handle on Fort Erie races averaged $745,547, down 8.3 percent from last year's $813,026.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Stardom Bound, winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita on Oct. 24 and the clear leader of the nation's 2-year-old filly division, was sent to Kentucky Wednesday with the intention of being sold at Sunday's November selected mixed sale at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, trainer Christopher Paasch said.
Paasch and owner Charles Cono met Tuesday to discuss whether to offer Stardom Bound in the sale or retain the filly for the 2009 season.
The Texas Racing Commission on Wednesday unanimously gave approval for a portion of the canceled Sam Houston Race Park meet to be held at Retama Park near San Antonio. Plans are in place for 43 of the 65 lost dates to be run from Nov. 20 through Feb. 28, 2009. The remaining 12 dates have been canceled. The meet follows the close of the Retama season on Nov. 15.
