DEL MAR, Calif.-Del Mar announced on Friday that purses will be cut by 3.5 percent for the final three weeks of the meeting, effective Aug. 13.
The reduction was caused by a downturn in ontrack business and stagnant account wagering business in California, track officials said.
Rubber ($24.40) closed strongly in the stretch under jockey Angel Rodriguez to win Thursday night's $60,000 Jennie Wade Stakes for filly and mare sprinters at Penn National Race Course.
A 5-year-old mare who came into the five-furlong race just 2 for 18 lifetime on grass, Rubber came from seventh in a field of eight to draw clear by 1 1/4 lengths, covering the five furlongs in 56.12 seconds over yielding turf.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - At 6-1, Any Limit may have been the longest price on the tote board in Friday's $150,000 Honorable Miss Handicap, but she won like a 3-5 shot, drawing away through the stretch to a surprisingly easy 5 3/4-length victory over Zada Belle in the Grade 2 dash for fillies and mares.
John Passero, the New York Racing Association's director of racing surfaces since 2005, will leave that position at the end of the Saratoga meet, it was announced Friday.
Passero, 66, will be replaced by Glen Kozak, who has worked as the vice president of facilities and racing surfaces for the Maryland Jockey Club since 2004.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - It is always a special occasion when a young apprentice jockey boots home his first winner. When it happens twice on the same day, well, that practically qualifies for a state holiday given Louisiana's rich heritage in producing successful riders.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Some horsemen like to "take a look" at a stakes race with a prospective starter. They will enter the horse in the stakes, and if the scenario doesn't look right, scratch with no excuse required, and no penalty. But to "take a look" at the Arlington Million costs $5,000 in pre-entry money, which is why pre-entries for the Million usually - barring injury or illness - represent what comes out when final entries are taken Wednesday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Cryptonite Kid showed plenty of potential on the turf last year, finishing fourth in the open Summer Stakes and a close second in the restricted Cup and Saucer.
Now, with just two starts under his belt this season, Cryptonite Kid will be looking to parlay that promise into a major victory in Sunday's $500,000 Breeders' Stakes, the 1 1/2-mile turf race that is the final leg of the Triple Crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.
AUBURN, Wash. - Most fans expected to see a season-long rivalry in Emerald Downs's 3-year-old colt and gelding division this year, but they assumed it would be between last year's juvenile rivals Gallon and Margo's Gift. As it turns out, it's between Gallon and the surprising Fear No Evil.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia Gondola should appreciate the class relief when she drops into a $20,000 claiming race for fillies and mares that have never won two races on Sunday at Hastings. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint attracted seven horses and goes as the seventh race.
EDMONTON, Alberta Robo Willie, a drawing-off winner of the six-furlong Edmonton Juvenile on July 9, heads a field of eight colts and geldings in the 6 1/2 furlong Birdcatcher at Northlands Park on Sunday.
The $50,000 Birdcatcher failed to attract a single Alberta-bred, thus the $26,000 offered in supplemental bonus money will be carried over to next season.