Fri, 12/15/2006 - 00:00

Calder bars rider Douglas

Calder track management has barred jockey Rene Douglas from the grounds for an unspecified reason, notifying Douglas of the action during Friday's card.

"Calder Race Course has refused Rene Douglas access to the racetrack for an indefinite period of time as of the close of business on Friday based on our rights as a private property owner," said Calder's president, Ken Dunn. "We have no further comment on the matter at the moment."

Douglas also refused to comment on the situation when reached in the paddock just before Friday's last race.

Fri, 12/15/2006 - 00:00

Spooky' seeks elusive first stakes win

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It's not hard to understand owner Bruce Golden's obsession with the 8-year-old sprinter Spooky Mulder.

With lightning quick speed and a heart the size of a skyscraper, Spooky Mulder has won 28 races from 70 starts in a six-year career spent in several different barns. Golden has claimed Spooky Mulder on three occasions, most recently last month when he took him for $75,000 off Pat Reynolds. On the two previous occasions that Golden has owned him, Spooky Mulder has won 12 races from 28 starts.

Fri, 12/15/2006 - 00:00

Latenite Special best if she's ready

Latenite Special can surpass the $500,000 mark in earnings Sunday with a win in the $125,000 New Mexico Racing Commission Handicap at Sunland Park, but the task will not be easy. Idle for five months, she gives up recency to almost all 10 of her rivals in the six-furlong race for New Mexico-bred fillies and mares.

Fri, 12/15/2006 - 00:00

Illinois horsemen elect Kirby as new president

STICKNEY, Ill. - Longtime trainer Frank Kirby has been elected president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, replacing Joe Kasperski, who was voted out in an election conducted by mail this month.

Kirby said Friday that he would name Greg Szymski the new executive director of the ITHA to replace Justin Cassity, who took over two years ago for Bob Fritz. Szymski, however, said he had accepted the appointment on an interim basis, and didn't know if he would be among the candidates for the permanent position.

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 00:00

Well Said sets sights on New Orleans Cap

NEW ORLEANS - Well Said turned in an exceptional performance last Sunday at Fair Grounds in his first race back since the Gradeo3 Rebel at Oaklawn Park last March. His powerful score at a mile and 40 yards over Red Raymond, who beat him in the Rebel, gave trainer Walter Bindner Jr. plenty to smile about.

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 00:00

Caruso has the ability his Edgar rivals lack

STICKNEY, Ill. - To win last Saturday's Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante - and win it they did - trainer Richard Hazelton and owner Richard Radke needed their 2-year-old filly Copper State to improve in her first two-turn try. In this Saturday's Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity, they only need Caruso to hold serve.

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 00:00

Balance can salvage what's left of '06

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There is plenty of debate over the nation's champion 3-year-old filly, but at the beginning of the year, the pro-tem leader was clear-cut. Balance was unquestionably on top, with victories in the Las Virgenes Stakes and Santa Anita Oaks. But she was upset in the Ashland Stakes, then chipped her left front ankle in the Kentucky Oaks. She has not raced since.

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 00:00

Chief Export a major plus for Bradleys

Chief Export will try to tack on a small measure of consolation to what has been a bittersweet and unforgettable year for the Bradley family when he runs as one of the prime contenders Saturday in the $50,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway Park.

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 00:00

Rivalry resumes at a new venue

MIAMI - What Saturday's $200,000 La Prevoyante Handicap lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality with Royal Highness, Safari Queen, and Barancella among the six fillies and mares entered to go 1 1/2 miles in the Grade 2 event at Calder.

Safari Queen and Royal Highness finished a half-length apart as the first two finishers in the Grade 2 Long Island Handicap at Aqueduct on Nov. 4.

Thu, 12/14/2006 - 00:00

Lack of interest shelves long-standing Ladies

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Once a revered event on the New York stakes calendar, the Ladies Handicap has lost its luster to the point where last year it was no longer a graded event. This year, the oldest stakes race restricted to fillies and mares in this country is simply no longer.

The Ladies, a 1 1/4-mile race reduced to a listed event with a paltry purse of $65,000, did not draw enough entries to be carded on Saturday. It has been replaced by the $65,000 Gold Beauty, an overnight stakes for fillies and mares run at a mile and 70 yards.