Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Horsemen seek dismissal of Churchill suit

A consortium of groups representing horsemen have asked a Kentucky judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Churchill Downs Inc. on the grounds that the horsemen have an ironclad right to block the export of racetrack signals to out-of-state locations.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Rain clouds seem to follow Prussian

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Prussian returns to the scene of his dominant debut win nearly a year ago in an attempt to turn around what has thus far been a frustrating 3-year-old season when he runs in the $80,000 Majestic Light, the supporting feature on Friday's Saratoga card.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Young trainer has six for Crown card

SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Justin Evans couldn't wait to start training racehorses, but about a week after getting his trainer's license at age 18, he was ready to head home to Chino Valley, Ariz.

"Conditions were pretty tough for a kid just starting out," Evans said.

Evans eventually persevered through his struggling start at Turf Paradise - and today he is very glad he did. At age 27, he is contending for leading trainer at Canterbury Park, where on Saturday he will have six runners in the 10th Claiming Crown.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Precious Kitten coming for Beverly D.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Arlington Million Day does not feel quite right without Bobby Frankel in the mix, and Frankel said Wednesday that he will have at least two and perhaps three runners here for the Aug. 9 Million card.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Top barns join Claiming Crown mix

SHAKOPEE, Minn. – The Claiming Crown apparently has become so entrenched in the collective conscience of American horseplayers that Roman numerals are now attached. Claiming Crown X, or the 10th running, is set for Saturday at Canterbury Park, where 64 horses were entered Wednesday for the seven-race series.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

True Metropolitan leads westward trip

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - True Metropolitan, who had not lost two straight races since opening up his 2006 campaign with three defeats, was the runner-up for the second straight time here in last Sunday's $151,200 Seagram Cup.

"He was the best horse - he just ran a little bit farther than the other horse," said trainer Terry Jordan, who had watched True Metropolitan finish a head back as the Seagram Cup runner-up after Artie Hot slipped up the rail for the stretch drive.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Carriage Trail just gets up

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When Carriage Trail got beat in the Mariensky Stakes at Belmont Park three weeks ago, jockey Edgar Prado told trainer Shug McGaughey he waited too long to make his move.

In Wednesday's $84,250 De La Rose Stakes at Saratoga, Prado could not have timed his move any better.

Prado swung Carriage Trail out into the four path turning into the stretch and the 5-year-old mare made a big move inside the sixteenth pole to run down Trouble Maker in the final jump to win the De La Rose by a nose. It was a length back to Medley in third.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Six likely to challenge Big Brown

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The field for the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Sunday at Monmouth Park is coming into clearer focus.

Big Brown, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner who is making his first start since being pulled up in the Belmont Stakes, remains the headliner for the biggest event of the meet.

The roster of challengers continues to shift. As of Wednesday, Monmouth racing secretary Mike Dempsey projected a field of seven.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

More than 500 yearlings for F-T Texas sale

Fasig-Tipton Texas has cataloged 506 horses to its annual summer yearling sale, which will be held at Lone Star Park on Aug. 25-26. The sessions begin at 10 a.m. Central each day in the sales pavilion on the Lone Star backstretch.

Wed, 07/30/2008 - 00:00

Hip injury sidelines jockey Herber

For jockey Don Herber, the season at Columbus came to an end before the first race was run last weekend when he suffered a hip injury in a morning accident July 22 that hospitalized him for more than a week.