ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Steve Asmussen barn, which has won a pair of 2-year-old filly stakes at Woodbine with Juliet's Spirit, will be looking to get its 2-year-old colts on the stakes scoreboard here in Saturday's Silver Deputy.
The Silver Deputy, a 6 1/2-furlong overnight stakes, attracted a field of six, including the uncoupled entry of Dryden and War Lap from Asmussen's local string.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia What R the Odds figures to be a prohibitive favorite in the $50,000 Lassie Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Hastings on Saturday.
The 6 1/2-furlong Lassie drew four horses. Realistically, only P. S. Good N Ready has any chance of upsetting What R the Odds.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Gary Barber, who with his brother Cecil is atop the owners' standings at Del Mar, said Wednesday he and his brother were "shocked by the comments of Richard Shapiro and Rick Arthur" at the California Horse Racing Board's medication committee meeting on Tuesday regarding the state's evolving steroid policy.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Between them, Mast Track and Well Armed have won the two most recent major stakes for older horses on the main track in California. Mast Track won the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on June 28, and Well Armed won the $300,000 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 19.
They will meet for the first time in Sunday's $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The race distance of 1 1/4 miles, and their similar running styles, will pose a test.
DEL MAR, Calif. - A lot can happen in four years. Prepare for another Olympic games, complete a presidential term, or, in the case of trainer Dan Hendricks, come to the sober realization that the rest of your life will, indeed, be spent in a wheelchair.
"After four years, it's setting in. I'm accepting it, pretty much," Hendricks, 49, said at his Del Mar barn. "I'm accepting everything that goes along with being paralyzed. It's getting easier to live with. Still, it's not something you want to go through. That's for sure."
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In Court Vision, both owner Michael Iavarone and trainer Bill Mott have a starter for Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes. Neither saw the need to have a second one.
Thus, Iavarone decided not to enter Acai and Mott will leave You and I Forever in the barn Saturday when the 139th Travers Stakes is run at Saratoga. Both horses will be pointed to the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park on Sept. 1.
Maryland horsemen used to travel a circuit that included stops at Havre de Gras, Bel Air, Cumberland, Hagerstown, and Marlboro.
The last bullring left in the state is Timonium, which held its inaugural meet in September 1887.
Timonium's five-furlong track opens Friday for a seven-day meet that runs in conjunction with the Maryland State Fair. First post time is 1 p.m. Eastern this Friday through Sunday, and Aug. 29 through Labor Day.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - A couple of familiar names top the list of Louisiana state racing commissioners recently appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Ray Tromba, former general manager of Louisiana Downs, will represent Bossier Parish as one of the 12 board members of the commission. Tromba was at the helm of Louisiana Downs for 16 years, first as general manager and then as vice president of racing operations after the track was purchased by gaming giant Harrah's. He was instrumental in the legislative process to secure slot machines at the state's four racetracks.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Tin Cup Chalice received a $250,000 bonus from the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund for his thrilling head victory over That'srightofficer in Wednesday's $150,000 Albany Stakes at Saratoga. Everybody who witnessed the performance will agree he deserved every penny of it.
The Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Fairplex Park in Pomona from Sept. 5-22 will feature 17 Thoroughbred stakes during its 16-day run, but the track has changed its policy from past years of having a stakes each day.
In an effort to promote the final weekend, Fairplex Park is offering two stakes on Sept. 20, including the $100,000 Pomona Derby, and four stakes on the final Sunday, Sept. 21, including the $125,000 Ralph Hinds Pomona Invitational and $100,000 Las Madrinas Handicap for fillies and mares.
