Tue, 08/05/2008 - 00:00

Spaghetti Mouse wins B.C. Cup Classic

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Hometown hero Spaghetti Mouse became the all-time leading British Columbia-bred money-earner with a dramatic victory over Texas Wildcatter in the $107,894 British Columbia Cup Classic at Hastings on Monday. The Classic was the feature race on B.C. Cup Day, which included seven stakes races for British Columbia-bred or B.C.-owned horses.

Tue, 08/05/2008 - 00:00

Del Mar carryover of $140K for Wednesday

DEL MAR, Calif. – There will be a carryover of $140,095 seeding the pick six on Wednesday at Del Mar when the seaside track begins Week 4 of its meet, the result of no one sweeping the wager on Monday.

There is an eight-race card on Wednesday, so the pick six will begin with the third race. Post time will be approximately 3 p.m. Pacific.

The day's feature is the Grade 3, $150,000 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. There are 11 runners in that race, one of several races in the pick six sequence with large, wide-open fields.

Tue, 08/05/2008 - 00:00

The beginning of the end for Bay Meadows

The final two-week race meeting at Bay Meadows begins Wednesday, when the San Mateo County Fair meeting - better known as the Bay Meadows Fair - begins its 10-day run. The last day of racing at Bay Meadows, which opened in 1934, will be Aug. 17, confirmed F. Jack Liebau, president of the Bay Meadows Racing Association.

"I would say this is it," said Liebau, who has run Bay Meadows since 1993. "I don't have another Hail Mary left."

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 00:00

Curlin work draws Asmussen's praise

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - While the mystery of where and when Curlin will start next was scheduled to be cleared up by majority owner Jess Jackson on a national conference call Tuesday afternoon, there is little mystery about how the reigning Horse of the Year is training.

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 00:00

Matt's Broken Vow pulls away in Derby

Matt's Broken Vow, benefiting from a heads-up ride by Assiniboia's leading jockey Alan Cuthbertson, outran fellow Woodbine invader Bonanza for a 5 1/4-length victory in Monday's $100,000 Manitoba Lotteries Derby.

Owned by Robert Mitchell and trained by Josie Carroll, Matt's Broken Vow pressed the slow pace of Mr Exspeedient in the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds before moving to the lead around the far turn and turning back the brief challenge of Bonanza.

"The pace was really slow; he usually lays farther back," said Cuthbertson, who won his first Manitoba Derby.

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 00:00

Seaside Retreat sets record with Nijinsky win

Seaside Retreat ($12.60) broke the 1 1/4-mile course record Monday at Woodbine, taking the $305,900 Nijinsky Stakes over favored Strike a Deal.

A shipper from the United States, Seaside Retreat assumed an early stalking position under Patrick Husbands in the Grade 2 event as Strike a Deal set slow fractions while being pressed along the inside by another American shipper, Independent George.

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 00:00

Big Brown, weather help fuel record day

OCEANPORT, N.J. - A picture-perfect day with remarkably low humidity for summertime on the Jersey Shore, the traditional cap giveaway, and the lure of Big Brown in the Haskell Invitational produced a stellar Sunday afternoon at Monmouth Park.

Haskell Day attracted 45,132 fans, the best turnout in four years for the meet's premier event.

The total handle was a record $17,642,954, the highest for a non-Breeders' Cup card at Monmouth. It blew away the old mark of $14.1 million on last year's Haskell Day.

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 00:00

Yankee Bravo making return on turf

DEL MAR, Calif. - Earlier this year, Yankee Bravo did just enough to keep him on track for the Triple Crown races. After beginning his career on turf, he made a successful switch to dirt and synthetic surfaces, with a win in the California Derby at Golden Gate, a third-place finish in the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, and a fourth in the Santa Anita Derby.

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 00:00

Million field looks like 8 or 9

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - While last Friday's Arlington Million pre-entry deadline has long since come and gone, the composition of the field for Saturday's Million remained - to a somewhat surprising degree - in flux as of Monday.

Mon, 08/04/2008 - 00:00

Wesley overcomes slow pace

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Mark Hennig was getting a little nervous as he watched a series of slow fractions posted on the tote board while Wesley was still "looking at all of them" after the opening six furlongs of Monday's National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga.

Not to worry.