ELMONT, N.Y. - The disappointment trainer Kiaran McLaughlin may feel about not being able to run Invasor in Saturday's $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup is counteracted by his enthusiasm about being able to run Henny Hughes in the $400,000 Vosburgh Stakes the same day.
Invasor contracted a fever last Thursday, and though he returned to the main track for a jog on Tuesday morning, he missed enough training time to force him out of the Gold Cup and a meeting with leading 3-year-old Bernardini.
The LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, which has done its share of rescuing horses since being founded in 2000, has become the beneficiary of a magnanimous gesture.
The local Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has pledged .25 percent of its purse account to LongRun. The purse account is funded by the horsemen's share of the various wagering pools and 10 percent of the track's slots revenue.
AUBURN, Wash. - Emerald Downs closed its 10th anniversary season on Sunday and established records for average daily handle and average daily purse distribution.
Wagering from all sources on Emerald's live races averaged $843,832 per day, a gain of 4.8 percent. That gain was the result of a sharp increase in out-of-state wagering on Emerald's races, from $480,000 per day last year to $529,640, a rise of 10.3 percent.
Meanwhile, in-state wagering on full-card simulcasts declined from $576,201 per day to $539,156 per day.
All eyes will be on Straight Faced on Oct. 14, when he goes for a sweep of the Florida Stallion Stakes in the $400,000 In Reality Stakes. On Monday morning, however, the only eyes on Straight Faced that mattered were those of trainer Steve DiMauro, who watched intently as Straight Faced worked six furlongs in 1:16.40 and galloped out seven furlongs in 1:29.82 shortly after the renovation break.
Trainer Tom Albertrani doesn't care who shows up to run in Saturday's $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup, just as long as Bernardini does.
"You don't ever want to get overconfident, and you got to respect every horse that's in the race," Albertrani said Tuesday morning. "They're there to win, too. As long as our horse shows up and he's training well, that's all we're really asking for. If he runs his race back to what he's been showing us, he's still going to be the horse to beat."
Cindago sustained a tendon injury Monday in a workout at Santa Anita and will not run in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby on Saturday at Hoosier Park. The injury also jeopardizes his racing career.
Cindago will be out at least six months, said trainer John Sadler.
"We're not calling it retirement, but it is a bad injury," said Sadler.
ARCADIA, Calif. - With the introduction of synthetic surfaces, old-fashioned dirt racing may soon become a historical footnote in Southern California. But as the autumn season hits full swing, turf is still authentic and it remains the surface over which many of the best races are run.
Grass races averaged one additional starter per race than dirt races opening week of the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita (8.8 starters per race on grass, 7.9 on dirt), and the trend continues Thursday, when the two best races are on grass.
CHICAGO - Six older allowance horses with well-established form, or nine still finding their way in the equine world? Take your pick - either race 5, the second-level allowance, or race 8, an entry-level allowance for 2-year-olds, could serve as the feature on Thursday at Hawthorne Race Course.
The eighth seems more interesting; it drew a larger field than the six-horse fifth, and has some horses that seem genuinely talented.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - If the field that Keeneland drew for its Friday feature, the Alcibiades Stakes, is a fair gauge, then Polytrack will be a huge hit. Fourteen 2-year-old fillies, including Spinaway winner Appealing Zophie, will clash in the Grade 2 Alcibiades, which helps to lead off a terrific three-day opening weekend.
