HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - War Pass returned to the track on Wednesday for the first time since his baffling last-place performance in Saturday's Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. War Pass suffered his first career defeat, as the 1-20 favorite, in that race.
Trainer Nick Zito said War Pass galloped an easy mile at the Palm Meadows training center on Wednesday morning and that all appears well with his Eclipse Award winner at this time.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Though Rite Moment showed in the March 6 Limit Stakes that she may be better around two turns, her connections will cut her back to a one-turn sprint in Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Distaff Breeders' Cup Handicap.
The defection of Grade 1 winner Dream Rush from the Distaff, combined with the fact that owner Steve Sigler and trainer Gary Contessa already have a contender for the March 29 Next Move Handicap, made the six-furlong Distaff an attractive alternative for Rite Moment.
Portland Meadows recorded strong gains in average daily handle at its 61-day 2007-08 meeting, which ended March 11.
The track took in $32,444,670 in all-sources handle on its live races for a daily average of $531,880, up more than 22 percent from the $434,647 average daily handle at the 75-day 2006-07 meet.
Most of the gains came from out-of-state wagering on Portland Meadows races, which increased more than 24 percent, from $396,364 per day at the previous meeting to $492,799 at the recently concluded stand.
Hill 'n' Dale Farms has renewed its sponsorship of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile, run at Aqueduct in late November, the farm and the New York Racing Association announced Wednesday.
The renewal is a three-year deal, which extends through the 2010 running. Hill 'n' Dale, whose president is John Sikura, initially began sponsoring the race in 2005.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - When jockey Robert Colton stopped riding in 2002 to begin working more closely with the national Jockeys' Guild, it seemed unlikely that the rider, who was 46 at the time, would be back in the saddle at the age of 51. But on Friday, Colton will be looking for his second win of the Oaklawn meet when he rides Sentebale in the featured ninth race.
FLORENCE, Ky. - California shipper Medjool was assigned the far outside in a field of 12 entered in the Lane's End Stakes on Saturday, which, according to the colt's owner, is a more preferable draw than one of the inside posts.
"All the trouble he's gotten into, it's been because he's been trapped along the inside," said John O'Hara, whose Equine Prep Management owns Medjool. "He's one-paced, a grinder. Being out there won't hurt us at all."
Golden State Million runner-up Fighter on Fire tries to rebound from a troubled start in the Los Alamitos Winter Derby when he heads two trials to the Grade 1, $185,300 El Primero del Ano Derby on Friday night at Los Alamitos.
The top 10 qualifiers to the stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings qualify for the finals on April 11.
FLORENCE, Ky. - One need look no further than the Turfway Park morning line to see just how competitive the $500,000 Lane's End Stakes could turn out to be Saturday.
Seven of the 12 starters were listed at 8-1 or lower by track oddsmaker Mike Battaglia, an obvious hint that nothing stands out and more than a few are in with a solid chance.
Halo Najib is a lukewarm 7-2 favorite in a Grade 2 race that serves as the lone major Kentucky Derby prep of the weekend.
CALGARY, Alberta - The doors of Stampede Park, thought to be permanently shuttered for Thoroughbred racing at the conclusion of the spring meet last June, will swing open for another campaign Friday evening, the 118th year of racing on the grounds.
A new facility in nearby Balzac had been scheduled to replace Stampede Park as a Thoroughbred venue, but when that project fell behind schedule, Stampede was enlisted to host a 2008 spring meeting in a one-year contract negotiated last July.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Time is in Obrigado's favor as the 5-year-old gelding nears his second start of 2008 in Saturday's $200,000 San Luis Rey Handicap at Santa Anita.
A year ago this month, Obrigado was fresh from a win in the Grade 2 San Luis Obispo Handicap at Santa Anita when he was sent to Dubai for the $5 million Sheema Classic on the Dubai World Cup undercard.