OCEANPORT, N.J. - Foreverness, a graded stakes winner earlier this year, tops Thursday's optional claiming feature on the turf at Monmouth Park.
The 1 1/16-mile race, for third-level allowance horses or those entered for a $50,000 claiming price, attracted eight runners and two alternates, Trieste's Honor and El Provinciano, who will run only on the main track.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Happy Ticket wondered what was going on. She was alert and ready to race as she occupied the first stall in the paddock prior to the third race last Saturday at Louisiana Downs.
But the race was for Quarter Horses.
Happy Ticket was in the paddock to make a personal appearance. She is the second-richest Louisiana-bred of all-time, and was honored before the eight Thoroughbred stakes on the Louisiana Downs Champions Day card.
As a Grade 1 winner of $1.2 million, she is just $33,215 shy of surpassing Louisiana-bred leader Scott's Scoundrel.
AUBURN, Wash. - Flamethrowin-texan seemed to expend every ounce of his energy in his gallant victory in last Sunday's 71st Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs. He had to dig deep to fend off a prolonged challenge from Papi Chullo, all the while absorbing repeated bumps from that rival, to prevail by a neck in 1:34.40.
If Flamethrowintexan was drained by his effort, however, he has remarkable powers of recuperation.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Jim Day, who has been voted Canada's outstanding trainer on four occasions, and Pat Day, the retired rider who is considered to be one of the all-time greats of his profession, will stage a brief reunion on Thursday evening at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame's annual induction ceremony.
Day, the trainer, will be one of 11 new members feted by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame at the nearby Mississauga Convention Centre and will be presented with his congratulatory diamond ring by Day, the jockey, who will be a guest speaker at the dinner gala.
AUBURN, Wash. - Seven fillies and mares will contest Thursday's feature at Emerald Downs, a 5 1/2-furlong test for $20,000 claimers - and they all want the lead.
The contestants have combined to win 17 races, and 13 of those wins were gate-to-wire. The other four wins came from horses who were close to the pace. Thatsthewayluvgoes and Miz Mitzie picked up wins after coming from a half-length off the pace. Bold Tizzy also came from a half-length off the pace to win here June 30, and came from two lengths back to score last July.
Preakness and Jim Dandy winner Bernardini completed preparations for his start in Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes by breezing an easy five furlongs in 1:02.12 Tuesday morning at Saratoga.
With exercise rider Simon Harris aboard, Bernardini went in fractions of 13.08 seconds, 25.91, 38.00, 50.12, and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.36. He pulled up seven furlongs in 1:28.39. It was Bernardini's third and final move in between his nine-length win in the Jim Dandy and the Travers.
DEL MAR, Calif. - No one hit the pick six on Monday at Del Mar, resulting in a one-day carryover of $132,830 for Wednesday's card.
There are eight races on Wednesday, so the pick six will begin on the third race.
One of the key horses of the day will be Master James, who should start as a solid favorite in the sixth race. Master James comes?off a maiden win in which he earned a Beyer?Speed Figure of 103, a number his rivals have never approached. But Master James will be making his third start of the meet, and is coming back just 14 days following his victory.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - has already captured the opening two legs of the OTBs' Big Apple Triple for New York-breds and stands to win a $250,000 bonus if he can complete the sweep by winning Wednesday's $150,000 Albany Stakes at Saratoga.
But even though Ferocious Won figures to be a heavy favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Albany, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. talks like his horse will need everything to break his way to win the race.
The steady improvement that Stop a Train has demonstrated during her nine-race career has been admirable, if not outright remarkable. With virtually every race being better than the one before, Stop a Train will step up to third-level allowance company Wednesday at Arlington Park with a solid chance to parlay that consistency into further success.