Rain or shine, Chuck Spina is in a good spot Wednesday at Monmouth Park.
The trainer has two 5-year-old mares, Risque Centerfold and Fields of Gail, entered in one-mile races, and the horses have radically different preferences with respect to moisture in the main track.
The card, the first Wednesday of the season on the Jersey Shore, starts a busy stretch at Monmouth. The track will run 11 of the next 12 days, with July 5 the only dark day.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Striking mutuel clerks and their supporters maintained picket lines at all seven Woodbine entrances beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday and continued through that day's Queen's Plate program.
While their presence didn't seem to be much of a deterrent to would-be racegoers, the ontrack handle on Woodbine's card did decline significantly.
EDMONTON, Alberta - Year of the Cat will shoot for her third straight victory in Wednesday's one-mile optional claiming feature for fillies and mares at Northlands Park.
Trainer Dale Greenwood again calls upon Rickey Walcott to ride Year of the Cat after they sped to an easy score over $30,000 company and repeated as a 3-5 favorite in an optional claimer.
Year of the Cat will face a trio of former stakes winners, including Speedy Gone Sally and Kathern's Cat.
Pass Rush has a distinctive class edge over his eight rivals in Wednesday's $40,000 A.J. Foyt Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for Indiana-breds at Indiana Downs.
The 7-year-old Pass Rush is a graded stakes winner, having captured the Grade 2 San Fernando Breeders' Cup as a 4-year-old. Pass Rush's $589,003 in career earnings are more than the rest of the Foyt runners have earned combined.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kelly's Landing, the runner-up to Lost in the Fog in the Grade 3 Aristides Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs on June 3, could be headed for a rematch.
Trainer Eddie Kenneally said Monday that Kelly's Landing is likely to start in the $500,000 Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder on July 15 - a race expected to attract sprint champion Lost in the Fog. The Smile Sprint Handicap is a six-furlong race that is part of the Calder's Summit of Speed program.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - There was a widespread perception that Edenwold was an unlikely candidate to stay 1 1/4 miles heading into the $1 million Queen's Plate here at Woodbine.
Edenwold, who had been named Canada's 2-year-old male champion on the strength of three stakes sprint victories here last summer, came up short in two tries around two turns last fall and in the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial on June 4.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sterwins and Wanna Runner, who had both shipped up last week from Belmont, checked out Monday morning after contrasting displays here in Sunday's Queen's Plate.
Sterwins, making just his third career start, battled gamely to take home $200,000 for his second-place finish, beaten three-quarters of a length as the 4-1 second choice.
Wanna Runner, who was seeking his third straight stakes success, faltered as the 3-2 favorite and finished 10th, beaten 31 1/4 lengths.
Notimetoquit swung four wide into the stretch, then rallied past heavy favorite Trickle of Gold leaving the eighth pole for a one-length victory in the $100,000 My Juliet Stakes at Philadelphia Park. Trickle of Gold held on to finish second by a neck over Baldomera.
Notimetoquit ($8), ridden by Harry Vega and trained by Ramon Preciado, ran the six furlongs in the slop 1:10.89.
The odds-on favorite, True Tails, broke on top and did not look back in winning the $50,000 Suthern Accent Stakes at Louisiana Downs. Picata ran gamely for the place, outfinishing Space Cruise, while Tawnka was fourth.
Ridden by Carlos Gonzalez for trainer Cole Norman, True Tails ($3) crossed the wire 3 1/4 lengths in front, finishing in 1:09.71 for the six furlongs over a fast strip.
Switch Lanes ($15.60) controlled the pace throughout under jockey Glenn Corbett and drew off to a 4 1/2-length victory over Camela Carson in the $70,000 Hawkeyes Handicap for Iowa-bred fillies and mares at Prairie Meadows.
Queansco rallied to gain third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Camela Carson. The 9-5 favorite, Bobs Beauty, raced close up before fading to finish fourth. Switch Lanes, trained by Dick Clark, ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.91.