Sat, 09/22/2007 - 00:00

Silk Ridge dominates Brave Raj

MIAMI - Silk Ridge and Wise Answer left little doubt who reigns over their respective divisions after registering one-sided victories in the $150,000 Brave Raj and $150,000 Foolish Pleasure Stakes at Calder on Saturday.

Sat, 09/22/2007 - 00:00

Bear Now wins Cotillion with 3-10 Octave second

Bear Now won her fourth stakes of 2007 in Saturday's $750,000 Fitz Dixon Cotillion Handicap at Philadelphia Park, overcoming a threat in early stretch from the heavily favored Octave to score the most important win of her career.

Ridden by Jerry Baird, Bear Now led throughout the Grade 2 Cotillion, pulling away in midstretch to win by two lengths over Octave.

Bear Now ($18.80) finished 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.21.

Baird had Bear Now in front shortly after the start, leading by a length over 28-1 shot Exchanging Fire through early fractions of 23.45 and 46.52 seconds.

Sat, 09/22/2007 - 00:00

All Hail Stormy to try a route

MIAMI - All Hail Stormy has competed exclusively at five furlongs since switching to the barn of trainer Phil Gleaves for the 2007 campaign and has been a sprint specialist through his career. But after watching the veteran gelding encounter trouble in several of his races here this season, Gleaves will switch tactics and stretch All Hail Stormy out around two turns for the first time in Monday's $26,000 optional claiming feature at Calder, to be decided at one mile on the turf.

Fri, 09/21/2007 - 00:00

NYRA tries to keep tracks soft

ELMONT, N.Y - In response to numerous complaints from horsemen that the New York Racing Association tracks have been too hard, management has agreed to tweak the way it maintains its dirt surfaces.

Fri, 09/21/2007 - 00:00

Spill results in ruling of no contest

POMONA, Calif. – Jockey Jose Dominguez was still in pain Friday after being injured Thursday in a spill that forced stewards to declare race 6 no contest and refund wagers that totaled $440,341.

The unusual circumstances unfolded when Dominguez's mount, Irish Honor, clipped heels soon after the start of the 6 1/2-furlong race. Dominguez fell off and lay motionless just past the eighth pole.

Fri, 09/21/2007 - 00:00

Crossing the Line out till '08

ARCADIA, Calif. - Crossing the Line, the electrifying winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf in August, will be sidelined until next spring after undergoing surgery to have a bone chip removed from an ankle, trainer John Sadler said.

The surgery was conducted on Wednesday and eliminates Crossing the Line from two major stakes - the $250,000 Oak Tree Mile at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting on Oct. 7 and the $400,000 Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park on Nov. 23.

Fri, 09/21/2007 - 00:00

Slower times, tired horses on deep track

STICKNEY, Ill. - Many of the jockeys came back after the first race on Friday at Hawthorne Race Course with some foreign substance coating their silks and - in some cases - their faces. It was dirt, and Chicago racetrackers are not used to this.

Fri, 09/21/2007 - 00:00

Round 3 for two top sprinters

MIAMI - Sprinters and long-distance specialists alike will be on display Sunday at Calder with the six-furlong Whippleton and 1 3/8-mile Oliver stakes sharing top billing on the 12-race card. Both overnight events offer a purse of $50,000.

Fri, 09/21/2007 - 00:00

Revved Up invades for Sky Classic

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Revved Up, still going strong at age 9, will be paying his fifth visit to Woodbine for Sunday's Grade 2, $300,000 Sky Classic.

A gelding owned by Live Oak Plantation and trained throughout his career by Christophe Clement, Revved Up has won 18 of 39 starts, including 12 stakes, and finished in the money 28 times while earning $1,451,062.

"He likes the course there," said Clement, from his Belmont Park base. "He's training well, and he looks good."

Fri, 09/21/2007 - 00:00

Jamaica Bound's work clinches derby try

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trainer Jim Penney certainly knows what kind of horse it takes to win the Grade 3 British Columbia Breeders' Cup Derby. The last horse he brought up from Emerald Downs for the B.C. Derby was Flamethrowintexan in 2004. Flamethrowintexan ran one of the best races of his career to win the derby by 8 1/2 lengths.