STICKNEY, Ill. - Who knows how Illinois Derby winner Recapturethe-glory might fare in the Kentucky Derby, and how meaningful his stopover at Hawthorne might prove after the dust settles. But another Hawthorne stakes graduate, Golden Velvet, most definitely bears watching as the major summer races approach.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The direction of Monterey Jazz's campaign this year will be determined by his performance Saturday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park. The race will be a rare start on dirt for him, and his first outside of California.
"This will kind of tell us which way to go," said Craig Dollase, who trains Monterey Jazz for A and R Stables and Class Racing. "The timing's right, and if he runs real well on this dirt track, which we hope he does, we'll come back and run him probably in the Met Mile."
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - My List ($13) overtook even-money favorite Bear Now in deep stretch to capture the $157,100 Whimsical Stakes at Woodbine on Sunday.
Things set up beautifully in the six-furlong sprint for My List, who raced well off a rapid pace set by the dueling leaders, Shot Gun Ela and Marina Ballerina. Bear Now loomed into contention on the turn, and went by Shot Gun Ela around the sixteenth pole.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - R Clear Victory took control soon after the start under Stewart Elliott and waltzed around Aqueduct's main track to a four-length victory in Sunday's $78,300 Kings Point Handicap for New York-breds.
Shuffling Maddnes, who made a huge move around the turn, settled for second by a head over Prince of Peace. Tommasi was fourth while Naughty New Yorker, the 3-5 favorite, failed to fire and finished last.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Sterwins, the longest shot in a field of six, circled the field and pulled away from heavily favored Go Between to post a 13-1 upset Sunday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland.
With Shaun Bridgmohan riding for Melnyk Racing Stables and trainer Malcolm Pierce, Sterwins returned $28.80 after winning his Polytrack debut by 3 1/4 lengths. Go Between, the 1-2 favorite, finished another 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Sir Whimsey in the 1 1/8-mile race.
"He's one of those horses that always makes a nice run at the end," said Bridgmohan.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Big Booster, the former claimer who revived his career with third-place finishes in three graded stakes in the last year, finally secured a big race win in Sunday's $250,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita.
With a last-to-first move in the final three-eighths under jockey Rafael Bejarano, Big Booster ($16) swept past six rivals to win the Grade 2 race over about 1 3/4 miles in 2:45.50.
The oddity that is the six-day meet at Atlantic City Race Course begins on Wednesday with a six-race card of turf races.
Atlantic City will card six races a day, all on turf, for five other days, with live racing April 23-25 and April 30-May 2. The only people who will be able to bet on the races are those who are on the grounds. And there's no stabling at the track other than a receiving barn.
The highlight of the meet will be the $50,000 Tony Gatto Dream Big Stakes, the closing-day feature at five furlongs.
ARCADIA, Calif. - After a series of meetings with trainers and owners at Santa Anita on Sunday, Frank Stronach, whose Magna Entertainment owns the track, said he was leaning toward going with a synthetic surface at the track rather than replacing it with a dirt surface, according to several people at the meetings.
The situation remains in flux, though, according to Ron Charles, Santa Anita's president. On Monday, Charles said Santa Anita will do "a number of tests on the existing track."
OLDSMAR, Fla. - With jockey Daniel Centeno and trainer Jamie Ness rewriting the record books this season at Tampa Bay Downs, it's easy to overlook the fact that other jockeys and trainers have been quietly having good meetings in their own right.