Frank Mirahmadi has been named the new track announcer at Turf Paradise, replacing Luke Kruytbosch, who died in July.
Mirahmadi, 40, is currently the track announcer at several fairs in Northern California, such as Stockton, which is currently racing. His main race-calling jobs have been at Hialeah and Louisiana Downs, where he called six seasons each. Mirahmadi also is an analyst for TVG, and had roles as race-callers in the movies "Seabiscuit" and "Ruffian."
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Apprentice jockey Melanie Pinto has started to make the local fans sit up and take notice as she has knocked off nine winners in the last two weeks with several of them at attractive prices.
Last Sunday, Pinto brought four runners to the winner's circle, and the previous week she scored with five longshots: Harvey's Victor ($27), Brooking ($46.80), Strathmore ($21.20), Dudley's Lawyer ($33.90), and Spiritwood ($15).
The $1.75 million Turf Festival remains the centerpiece of the Hollywood Park autumn meet, which begins Oct. 29. But one additional week of racing this year - eight weeks through Dec. 21 - has allowed racing secretary Martin Panza to constructively tweak the timing of the jam-packed 2-year-old stakes program.
Eight stakes for 2-year-olds are run each fall at Hollywood, and when the meet is seven weeks long (every other year), the program sometimes trips over itself. Not this time.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Though Lieutenant Ron has raced only twice, he has done enough for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin to consider him an upper echelon 3-year-old.
"We kid about there's Big Brown and there's Big Red, and we have Big Red," McLaughlin said. "And we really feel that way; he's a top horse."
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Stewart Elliott raised his right hand Monday, swore the oath of allegiance, and became a citizen of the United States.
"It's something I should have done a long time ago," Elliott said. "It would have saved a lot of aggravation."
Elliott, born in Toronto, is best known as the rider of the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Smarty Jones. Elliott was fourth in the Monmouth Park standings as of Friday.
There were two divisions of a 2-year-old Illinois-bred maiden race on the Thursday card at Arlington Park. The Meier family had both covered.
Jockey Randy Meier won race 6 on an unlikely victress, a 47-1 shot named Cielo Pintado. Two races later, it was Randy Meier's son Brandon Meier guiding Mustang Stacey to an open-lengths victory at a much, much shorter price of 3-1.
The decision by the connections of Travers runner-up Mambo in Seattle to bypass the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs next Saturday has flung the 1 1/8-mile race wide open.
"When this happened, we probably go from an eight-horse field to a 12-horse field," said Tommy Sibille, the stakes coordinator at Louisiana Downs.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Bird is the word for Sunday's Swynford Stakes here at Woodbine.
The $150,000 Swynford, a seven-furlong race for 2-year-olds that will play a supporting role to the Grade 2 Natalma, attracted a field of six, and Mine That Bird should be favored as he goes in search of his third straight victory.
Trained by Dave Cotey, Mine That Bird finished fifth in his debut, then won his maiden for a $62,500 claiming price over six furlongs and rallied for a two-length win in the 6 1/2-furlong Silver Deputy Stakes here Aug. 23.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Owner K.K. Sangara isn't taking any chances in trying to win the $250,000 B.C. Derby for the second year in a row. He is shipping in two horses for the derby, Wink at the Girls and Dancingall Theway.
Wink at the Girls is based in Southern California with trainer Rafael Becerra, and Dancingall Theway will be making the trip from Woodbine, where he is trained by Lorne Richards.
Sangara won the derby last year with Celtic Dreamin, who was trained by Becerra. In 2006, Richards shipped in Ok Nothanksforaskin, who lost by neck to Halo Steven.
Fair Grounds Race Course will boost overnight purses by some 20 percent for its 2008-2009 meet, the New Orleans track has announced.
In a press release, Fair Grounds said daily overnight purses will average about $300,000, significantly more than the $249,000 average during the 2007-2008 meet. At $300,000 a day, the overnight purse structure will be the highest ever offered in New Orleans.