River Downs has been able to fill its races every day despite a variety of obstacles.
River Downs is running nine days by itself this April, when in the past the track was part of the 7&7 program with Thistledown, meaning River is running more races than in the past.
Indiana Downs, which opens Friday, is only 1 1/2 hours away, giving horsemen another option.
Crimson King Kat, who had established himself as the top Iowa-bred 3-year-old of last year before knee surgery ended a promising campaign, indicated that he's going to be a force this summer in the older Iowa-bred ranks when he finished second to the top local sprinter Wild L on opening weekend.
Crimson King Kat, who last year won the Gray's Lake and placed in two other stakes, has never been worse than second in 10 lifetime starts. Trainer Kelly Von Hemel will point him toward the $65,000 John Wayne Stakes on May 17.
As of Wednesday, three shippers were expected for Fonner Park's signature event, Saturday's $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
Wayzata Bay is the expected morning-line favorite from trainer Judi Hicklin's barn in what is shaping up to be a field of eight to 10. He will van over from Hicklin's base at Prairie Meadows on the morning of the race. Wayzata Bay comes into the race off a March 8 win in the $65,000 Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay.
Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo., will conduct 20 stakes for Thoroughbreds during its mixed-breed meet that opens May 24. The track is scheduled to run 36 dates, through Aug. 10.
There are also nine stakes on tap for Quarter Horses, the richest of which is the Grade 2, $125,000 Mile High Futurity. It will share a card with the $30,000-added Gold Rush Futurity for Thoroughbreds on the closing-day program.
Jockey Francisco Torres has been issued a license by the Louisiana Racing Commission and has resumed his riding career at Evangeline Downs following a nine-month suspension.
Torres, 38, is a winner of almost 2,000 races and $35 million in purses. The native of Mexico had not ridden since July 2007 after the Illinois Racing Board suspended his license for violation of their substance abuse policy. He was ranked second in the rider standings at Arlington Park at the time of his suspension.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Going Ballistic registered the biggest victory of his career when going from turf to dirt. Saturday, he will be making the same kind of surface switch when he starts as one of the top choices in the Grade 3, $300,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park.
The one-mile race for 3-year-olds and up is the richest of four stakes on a card designed to produce starters for the Lone Star Million Day program of stakes here May 26. There will be three $50,000 stakes supporting the Texas Mile on Saturday.
James Bracken, a former jockey agent and trainer who is a member of the Calder Race Course Hall of Fame, died on Saturday at his home in Florida, according to the racetrack. Bracken was 90.
Bracken led the trainer standings by wins at Calder four times, capturing the 1984 and 1985 titles for the Calder summer meets and the 1984-85 and 1989-90 Tropical-at-Calder fall and winter meets. He is currently fifth on the all-time races-won list for the Calder meet, and eighth on the all-time winner list at Tropical at Calder. He was inducted into Calder's Hall of Fame in 2000.
The Ontario division of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society has instituted a new bonus program for Ontario-sired foals racing in their home province.
The season-long competition, announced in a press release Monday, will award $10,000 plus a $2,000 breeding certificate to a registered Ontario sire to the top-ranked horse in each of six divisions, and $5,000 plus a $1,000 breeding certificate to the second-ranked horse in each division. The divisions are: 2-year-old fillies, 2-year-old males, 3-year-old fillies, 3-year-old males, older fillies and mares, and older males.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A slow start and a wide trip contributed to the runner-up comeback by odds-on Brother Derek on Sunday at Santa Anita. He finished second in an allowance race that was his first start in more than 14 months. Still, trainer Dan Hendricks considers it a mission accomplished.
"We're back racing, and that's what he wanted to do," Hendricks said, relieved that the 5-year-old finally is back in action.