INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Two Step Salsa has been the hottest 3-year-old at Hollywood Park this summer.
Yet, he is something of an unknown factor in Saturday's $350,000 Swaps Stakes, the championship race of the meeting for the division.
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DRF Past Performances
DEL MAR, Calif. - The carnival rides, fried Twinkie stands, and livestock exhibitions took up all the space at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for three weeks through last Sunday, but the transformation to Del Mar's racing season, which begins Wednesday, was going full steam ahead Thursday morning, when the main track opened for training and most of the remnants of the fair were gone.
July is no time for handicappers or horsemen to get comfortable. Or have you forgotten what happened one year ago at Del Mar?
Last summer at Del Mar, the brand-new Polytrack racing surface was a joy for horses during the cool morning training hours. The surface was quick, kind, and safe. Horses and trainers both loved it.
The installation of Polytrack prior to the 2007 Del Mar season forced handicappers to reconsider certain "rules." Whereas early pace runners often dominated on dirt at Del Mar, horses with more stamina thrived over the new synthetic surface. The era of automatic gate-to-wire winners quickly dissipated, and the Polytrack final times were extremely slow by Southern California standards.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Not Bourbon breezed four furlongs in 47.20 seconds on the main track at Woodbine on Wednesday morning and then drew post 7 here in the late-afternoon draw for Sunday's $500,000 Prince of Wales.
A field of eight was announced for the 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales, which follows the Queen's Plate as the second leg of the triple crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.
Not Bourbon, winner of the 1 1/4-mile Queen's Plate at Woodbine on June 22, was made the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the Prince of Wales and will be looking for his fourth consecutive score.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Bill Heiligbrodt has an eye for young talent. Through the years he has campaigned a large number of 2-year-old stakes winners, and back in 1998 he made the decision to send horses to a then 32-year-old Steve Asmussen, who has since become one of the winningest trainers in North America.
Jockey Mike Ziegler had a consecutive riding triple last Sunday at Arapahoe Park, becoming the first rider of the meet to accomplish the feat. He started the streak in the fifth race aboard Princess Hailey ($10); followed by a convincing score on Sunny Serenade ($10.40), and capped it off with a 14-length romp in the Arabian Cobra Derby on Caitlyns Hot ($3.80).
Purses for the Oklahoma Classics Day program at Remington Park on Sept. 27 will total a record $535,000 after seven of the eight restricted stakes making up the card were boosted by $5,000 each. The increase impacts all of the races except the featured $100,000 Classic.
The purse boost has pushed the value of the Distaff, Sprint, Filly and Mare Sprint, and Filly and Mare Turf to $65,000 each. The purses for both the Juvenile and Lassie are now $55,000. All of the races are restricted to horses bred in Oklahoma.