Fri, 09/24/2021 - 10:24

Maryland Racing Commission approves tougher corticosteroid regulations

Barbara D. Livingston
After a horse broke down training this week, horsemen voiced their displeasure with the cushion of the Laurel dirt track.

The Maryland Racing Commission has approved a motion to eliminate threshold levels for five corticosteroids after a number of horses tested positive for one of the anti-inflammatory medications, dexamethasone, over the past several months.

Thu, 09/23/2021 - 15:00

Arlington closure leaves gaping hole on Chicago racing landscape

Coady Photography
In February, CDI announced it was putting the 326-acre site on which Arlington sits up for sale.

A nine-race card Saturday brings the curtain down on the 2021 racing season at Arlington.

It’s nearly certain that curtain won’t be rising again – dark times in Illinois racing.

The Illinois Racing Board on Thursday handed out 2022 racing dates during its annual dates award meeting. Arlington and its parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., declined to apply for any.

Thu, 09/23/2021 - 14:26

Miss Amulet will soon join Callaghan's stable

Coady Photography
Miss Amulet, a Group 2 winner in Great Britain, finished fifth, beaten two lengths, in the Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson Stakes at Kentucky Downs in her U.S. debut.

Miss Amulet, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland last November, is scheduled to join trainer Simon Callaghan’s stable in early October.

Callaghan said in a text message on Thursday that Miss Amulet is currently based in Kentucky following a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson Stakes against males at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 11, her final start for trainer Ken Condon.

Thu, 09/23/2021 - 14:26

Moonlight d'Oro nearing return to racing

Benoit Photo
Las Virgenes winner Moonlight d’Oro, sidelined with a knee chip, will likely make her return next month at Santa Anita.

Moonlight d’Oro, unraced since a win in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes in Febrruary, is nearing a return to racing in the final weeks of the Santa Anita autumn meeting, which runs from Oct. 1-31.

“She’s still about three weeks away,” trainer Richard Mandella said on Thursday.

Owned by Spendthrift Farm and the My Racehorse partnership, Moonlight d’Oro won her stakes debut in the one-mile Las Virgenes in a manner that suggested she would play an important role in stakes for 3-year-old fillies in the spring. A bone chip detected in a knee put an end to those plans.

Thu, 09/23/2021 - 14:20

Apprentice Ortega had surgery on his pancreas after Del Mar spill

Apprentice jockey Cesar Ortega will be sidelined until the end of the year after suffering an injury to his pancreas in a seven-horse accident at Del Mar on Aug. 22.

Ortega, 26, was initially thought to have avoided a serious injury, but further examination in the days following the accident led to a more serious diagnosis, according to his wife, Emily.

Ortega underwent surgery on a lacerated pancreas and was hospitalized for several days in late August, Emily Ortega said.

Wed, 09/22/2021 - 14:46

Goldfarb taking a stand at the claim box

ELMONT, N.Y. – While others spent six-to-seven figures to purchase yearlings who are at a minimum seven months away from the races, owner Sanford Goldfarb preferred to do his buying at the claim box.

Since the beginning of June, Goldfarb has claimed 12 horses for $520,000 on the New York Racing Association circuit – several with partners – and has six each with trainers Rob Atras and Robert Falcone Jr. Goldfarb was particularly active during the Saratoga meet where he claimed eight horses for $340,000, including three first-time starters.

Wed, 09/22/2021 - 14:40

Life Is Good will use Kelso to earn a spot in Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
Life Is Good (left) finished second by a neck to Jackie's Warrior in the H. Allen Jerkens while making his first start in more than five months.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Life Is Good will get his prep for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 6 when he squares off against as many as four rivals in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park.

A race that looked iffy to fill did draw a field of five, including Chance It, third in the Grade 1 Forego; Doubly Blessed, seventh in the Forego; Fort Peck, a recent winner for $50,000 claiming at Saratoga; and Informative, upset winner of the Salvator Mile who is cross-entered in Saturday’s $200,000 Parx Dirt Mile.

Wed, 09/22/2021 - 14:26

Del Mar autumn meet purses raised 20 percent from 2020

Emily Shields
Del Mar autumn meet purses are now on a par with the summer season.

Del Mar has increased overnight purses for its upcoming autumn meeting by approximately 20 percent from 2020, bringing prize money for that season to record levels and on par with the track’s summer season.

The purse increase was announced by track officials at the end of the summer meeting earlier this month and detailed in a statement released Tuesday.

The 15-day autumn meeting runs from Nov. 3-28 and includes the Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 5-6.

Wed, 09/22/2021 - 11:56

Cannon on the mend after surgery

Coady Photography
Jockey Declan Cannon fractured three vertebrae in a Sept. 13 spill at Indiana Grand.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jockey Declan Cannon has begun physical therapy after undergoing surgery in Indianapolis for three fractured vertebrae suffered in a Sept. 13 spill at Indiana Grand.

Cannon’s agent, Tim Hanisch, said doctors are hopeful the 34-year-old jockey will be fully recovered in six months or so.

“He’s back home [in Louisville], doing well for the circumstances,” Hanisch said. “He’s able to walk and climb stairs, so the doctors are pretty happy with that.”

Wed, 09/22/2021 - 11:56

Carribean Caper looks to stay perfect in Dogwood Stakes

Coady Photography
Carribean Caper wins the Audubon Oaks at Ellis Park.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fields for the three $275,000 stakes that anchor an 11-race Saturday card at Churchill were drawn Wednesday, with Carribean Caper being foremost among the marquee names when looking to stay unbeaten in the seven-furlong Dogwood Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.