On the day when her former high school classmates were preparing for graduation ceremonies, Rosie Napravnik rode two more winners at Pimlico.
"I didn't even realize they were graduating tonight," said Napravnik when reminded last Friday that it was graduation day at Hereford High School in Baltimore County.
The $40,000 Rise Jim Stakes is the main event on the live racing program anchoring Sunday's Hot Dog Safari at Suffolk Downs.
With Sprinkle of Gold and Reprized Strike matching up in the six-furlong sprint, the Rise Jim features a clash between the last two winners of the Norman Hall Stakes for statebred juveniles, which Reprized Strike captured in 2004 and Sprinkle of Gold won last year.
CHICAGO - Silver Bid keeps himself occupied between starts munching oats and hay, whinnying, looking around at stuff - you know, being a horse. It's trainer Joel Berndt who spends time looking over his shoulder, wondering how long this can last.
Silver Bid is 8, but except for a whitening gray coat, you wouldn't know it. After briefly slowing during the second part of last year, Silver Bid has come back into form in 2006, and heads into the summer atop, as usual, the Illinois-bred sprint division.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Plate Trial traditionally is the local prep of choice for the $1 million Queen's Plate, which will be run this year on June 25 here at Woodbine.
This year's running of the $150,000 Plate Trial goes Sunday, with a field of eight set to compete over 1 1/8 miles.
While the focus will be on stakes winners Edenwold, Atlas Shrugs, Thinking Out Loud, and Pyramid Park, the others will be looking to take a larger step up toward the Plate.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Florida-based trainer Myra Mora, instead of returning to Calder Race Course, shipped 11 runners here to Fort Erie after the Tampa Bay meet ended.
Her friend and fellow-trainer Bruce Anderson instigated the change. Anderson competes at Tampa and here.
"He ran a horse for me here two summers ago," said Mora. "I decided to try Finger Lakes, but it didn't work out there for me. I took most back to Florida but I sent two to Bruce to train here. He raced one at Woodbine and had one start here."
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Ericka's Lass, one of two stakes winners in the field, will have to be at her best if she hopes to repeat in the $40,000 La Verendrye here at Assiniboia Downs on Sunday. The six-furlong La Verendrye has drawn a field of eight fillies and mares.
AUBURN, Wash. - There is a new cast of characters and a different distance, 6 1/2 furlongs, for Sunday's Pepsi-Cola Handicap for 3-year-olds at Emerald Downs. One thing, however, remains unchanged from the May 7 running of the Seattle Handicap at six furlongs: Trainer Howard Belvoir will send out Courting Seattle and Tusko T., and both appear to be right on target.
Courting Seattle won the Seattle Handicap by 2 3/4 lengths over pacesetter Ballou Slew. Tusko T. finished another nose back in third.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - With 4 wins from his first 13 starters, trainer Rob Van Overschot is off to a very good start at the Hastings meet. He is hoping to add to those totals when he saddles Power Chip in the Jim Coleman Province Stakes at Hastings on Sunday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Some really fast horses have won the Aristides Breeders' Cup since a onetime claimer named Bet the Pot took the 1989 inaugural. Orientate won the Aristides a few months before winning the BC Sprint to earn the Eclipse Award for top sprinter in 2002, and speedsters such as Beau Genius, Lord Carson, Bet on Sunshine, and Champali also captured the Aristides en route to the BC Sprint.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The pick six went untouched for the second consecutive day at Hollywood Park on Thursday, creating a carryover of $526,158 for Friday's eight-race program.
Friday's card begins at 7:05 p.m. The first leg of the pick six is the third race, which is due off at 8:02 p.m., Pacific time.
Friday's pick six features two turf races, one of which is a sprint; and four races on the main track, three of which are sprints.
