LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Todd Pletcher arrived fashionably late to this year's Kentucky Derby, shipping his two horses, Monba and Cowboy Cal, to Churchill Downs following their training at Keeneland on Wednesday morning.
So why did he wait so long?
"They wouldn't let me come in any later," said Pletcher, sounding more like Barclay Tagg, who until this year had usually been the last to arrive. "You had to be here today. I would have come Friday or Saturday if they'd let me."
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - A dispute between Chicago-based jockeys and some Illinois horsemen continued to simmer this week. Jockeys briefly walked off the job last Friday at Hawthorne, delaying the races there by some two hours while insisting that owners increase the fee paid to jockeys whose horses don't earn a piece of the purse. Now, the question is how the situation will carry over into the Arlington meet that begins Friday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Malcolm Pierce, riding the crest of solid meetings at Fair Grounds and Keeneland, checked back into Woodbine last Saturday.
"We had a great winter," said Pierce, 51, who recorded 16 winners from 63 starters at the Fair Grounds meeting, which began late last fall, and added 3 wins from 14 starts at Keeneland.
"It seems to be, so far, carrying on here."
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Monterey Jazz came into the Grade 3, $300,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park last Saturday with several questions to be answered.
He came out of the race with the year's second-highest Beyer Speed Figure, the 118 he earned for his eight-length romp. That is 1 point off the Beyer Figure of 119 that Commentator earned at Gulfstream Park for a 14-length win in a $100,000 optional claiming race at a mile in January.
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Thoroughbred racing returns to northeastern Ohio on Thursday when Thistledown begins a 122-day schedule that runs through Oct. 26.
For the third consecutive year, the number of racing days at Thistledown has been reduced. In 2005 Thistledown raced 187 days. That number was reduced to 156 in 2006 and to 136 last year. This year's 122-day schedule was agreed to after months of negotiations between the track's owner, Magna Entertainment Corp., and the Ohio Division of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association.
Legislation has been introduced in the Louisiana state senate to bring racing back to the old Evangeline Downs in Carencro, La.
The bill would reintroduce racing to Lafayette Parish without a vote by its residents. In 1997, Lafayette voters outlawed video poker, which prompted the construction of the new racing and gaming facility in nearby Opelousas, in neighboring St. Landry Parish.
Opposition to the new bill is stiff and includes Opelousas Mayor Donald Cravins Sr.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Only 59 horses posted timed workouts at Arlington on a cold, gray Tuesday morning, and even that was the highest number working on any given day since Arlington reopened its track for training last Wednesday. Still, the horses are out there - some 1,300 of them on the Arlington backstretch as of Tuesday afternoon - and 92 were entered Tuesday for Friday's opening-day program here.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Fire Wood would look better Thursday at Hollywood Park except for a conspicuous liability noted by trainer Ron Ellis: "He runs second a lot."
When he runs 1 1/4 miles on the main track Thursday in race 3, Fire Wood enters with 2 wins and 12 second-place finishes from 28 starts. Nonetheless, the 6-year-old Fire Wood looks like a logical contender in the second-level optional $62,500 claimer.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Larry Jones entered Eight Belles in Friday's $500,000 Kentucky Oaks just in case his filly drew a bad post in the Kentucky Derby. His insurance policy, however, arguably lost much of its value after Eight Belles was assigned the extreme outside post position in a full field of 12 3-year-old fillies drawn Tuesday at Churchill Downs for the Grade 1, 1 1/8-mile Oaks.
As expected, Jones entered Eight Belles in the Oaks along with Proud Spell, who will break from post 8 and will likely be favored should her uncoupled stablemate run in the Derby as planned.