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.
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.