BALTIMORE - Todd Pletcher had a day to forget Friday.
Early in the morning, Pletcher had to scratch Behindatthebar from Saturday's Preakness Stakes due to a bruised foot. A few hours later, Pletcher had to scratch A. P. Arrow from Friday's $250,000 Pimlico Special when the colt displayed signs of the intestinal disorder colic following a van ride down from New York.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - For the first time in about 20 years, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will be running a string of horses out of Arlington Park, and not just with a handful of stalls set up to accept shippers from Mott's regular Midwest stable at Churchill Downs. Mott has 24 stalls on the Arlington backstretch, almost all of them already are full, and the Mott stable figures to be a regular participant in Arlington races this summer.
"We needed a place for a few horses to go, and it seemed like Arlington had worked for us before," Mott said.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Disfunction has been an overachiever thus far in his career.
And now trainer Julia Carey has decided to give her stable star his first taste of stakes competition in Monday's Grade 3 Vigil.
"He certainly doesn't owe us anything," said Carey, 54, who trains Disfunction for owners Joe Doi and Weila Ye.
"He's done nothing but surprise us, from day one."
The drama sapped from the Woodlawn Stakes by the scratches of program favorites Hatta Fort and Prussian was salvaged to a degree when Termsofengagement, last of six for most of the way, surged to a mild upset in the $50,000 race at Pimlico.
BALTIMORE - Student Council entered Friday's $250,000 Pimlico Special as the only Grade 1 winner in the field and he left the race the same way.
Under Shaun Bridgmohan, Student Council rallied from well off the pace and was able to run down front-running Gottcha Gold to win the Grade 1 Pimlico Special by a neck at soggy Pimlico. Gottcha Gold finished 5 3/4 lengths ahead of Sir Whimsey, who was followed by Temporary Saint, Grasshopper, Ryan's for Real, and Xchanger.
AUBURN, Wash. - When trainer Bud Klokstad claimed Reba Is Tops for $17,500 here at Emerald Downs last July, he had no inkling that she would become the highweight and probable favorite for Sunday's $50,000 Hastings Park Handicap for fillies and mares at six furlongs.
"I was just hoping she would be worth the money," said Klokstad. "That's all I ever hope for when I claim a horse. Sometimes you get lucky."
Palanka City lived up to her 1-2 billing as she rolled past pace-setting Casanova Killer outside the sixteenth pole and cruised to a 5 1/2-length victory in the Grade 3, $100,000 Miss Preakness Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
Casanova Killer held second by 4 3/4 lengths over Beau's Valentine. Story of a Lion and Kosmo's Buddy completed the order of finish. Passion and Hadavision were scratched.
The victory was the fifth from 10 career starts for Palanka City, a daughter of Carson City owned by William Stiritz and trained by Terry Gestes.
EAST BOSTON, Mass. - The roller coaster ride of Michael Gill is ready to take off again, as the 2005 Eclipse Award-winning owner relaunches his operation this year at Suffolk Downs.
Gill, 51, a New Hampshire native, went through a tumultuous decade in the sport. Within a year of getting involved with racing, the man who grew up sneaking into Rockingham Park was training his own horses only to be handed a three-year suspension when a barn search turned up syringes.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - After nine starts, Indian Sun has yet to win a stakes, and yet to indicate to owner Cecil Peacock and trainer Dan Hendricks what kind of surface he prefers.
Stakes-placed on both turf and synthetic tracks, Indian Sun may answer that question in Saturday's $100,000 Will Rogers Stakes at Hollywood Park. The Grade 3 Will Rogers is run at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds and is the second race on an 11-race program that begins at noon.
Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La., moves into its 35th season of racing Saturday under new ownership, with a new hotel on the property, and a Win and You're In race on its Super Derby undercard. The track has also tweaked its post times, made some adjustments to its stakes schedule, and lured some sizeable new outfits from Texas.