GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - One Lucky Buck will make his graded stakes debut later this month at Lone Star Park after winning his last three starts impressively. Thursday, his connections were trying to determine whether the start would come on dirt or turf.
Trainer Chris Hartman said the options are the Grade 3, $400,000 Lone Star Park Handicap or the Grade 3, $200,000 Dallas Turf Cup, both of which will be run on the Lone Star Million Day program May 26.
BALTIMORE - The 133rd Preakness will cap off what is perennially the best program of the year in Maryland racing. Eight stakes, five of them graded, and one starter handicap also are on tap on a marathon Saturday program that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
The Preakness has been carded as the 12th of 13 races. In reverse order, this is a rundown of the other stakes:
AUBURN, Wash. - Selections made with birthdates, addresses, and social security numbers surely outperformed those based on sound handicapping principles last week at Emerald Downs, and it wasn't any photo finish.
Favorites won 2 of the 28 races run during the three-day race week, and fully 19 of the winners were more than 5-1. Among the notable upsets, though by no means the most outlandish, came in the twin $50,000 stakes for 3-year-olds at six furlongs.
Some of the best Louisiana-breds in training will help open the Louisiana Downs meet on Saturday. The track has carded six statebred stakes worth a cumulative $300,000 for its opening-day program.
The 10-race card was drawn on Wednesday, and among horses entered were the stakes winners Tortuga Flats, Desert Wheat, Raspberry Wine, Tensas Yucatan, Brother Bean, St. Zarb, and Hisse.
The signal from Louisiana Downs is facing a blackout on all national account-wagering companies because of a dispute centering on the amount of money horsemen receive from bets made via those wagering companies, officials for the track and the local horsemen's group said Wednesday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In a meeting Tuesday night to discuss the ongoing dispute with Churchill Downs regarding revenue splits from Internet and phone wagering, a coalition of Kentucky horsemen's groups encouraged owners and trainers to remain committed to obtaining a greater share of the revenue.
The urging came the day before Churchill Downs dropped purses 20 percent, citing an anticipated downturn in handle as a result of horsemen blocking the Churchill signal and wagering from several national account-wagering services and Calder Race Course.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The $150,000 Marine, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds that will be renewed here Saturday, serves a dual purpose in the grand scheme of things here at Woodbine.
For American-breds, the Marine presents a rare local opportunity to run in a Grade 3 stakes here.
For Canadian-breds, the Marine can serve as an important stepping-stone to the $1 million Queen's Plate, a restricted 1 1/4-mile race here June 22.
Trainer Norm DeSouza be among those taking advantage of the Marine's open status when he sends out Mighty Vow.
Maryland-based mare La Chica Rica ($3.80) continued her success shipping to West Virginia when she won her third straight race on the road in Tuesday night's $75,000 Hancock County Handicap at Mountaineer Racetrack.
The 5-year-old La Chica Rica, trained by Crystal Pickett, led throughout the five-furlong sprint for fillies and mares and was hand-ridden to the wire by jockey Deshawn Parker while finishing three-quarters of a length in front of 5-2 second choice Pola's Place. The winner covered the distance on a fast track in 58.14 seconds.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - At age 5, Brother Derek was a fresh horse poised to play a key role in the handicap division this summer at Hollywood Park. But after one promising race, the 2006 Santa Anita Derby winner is sidelined again.
Brother Derek has not returned to the track since a runner-up comeback April 20 at Santa Anita, where he is stabled.
"His quarter crack opened up again, and I totally backed off," trainer Dan Hendricks said Tuesday.
It is not the first time the foot has given Brother Derek trouble.