LEXINGTON, Ky. - The king is dead. Long live the king.
Alumni Hall was the king of Keeneland, and the Ben Ali Stakes, having won 4 of 5 at this track, including last year's Ben Ali. But on Thursday, the torch was passed to Wanderin Boy, who remained unbeaten at Keeneland by defeating Alumni Hall and four others in the 76th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Ben Ali.
CHICAGO - If the Wiggins who appeared in Florida this past winter shows up at Hawthorne on Saturday, he is not going to win the Milwaukee Avenue Handicap. But the good Wiggins, the one who won a race of similar quality here last fall, is the one to beat in the $100,000 Illinois-bred stakes race.
CHICAGO - If 8-year-old Silver Bid glances to the right while he stands in the starting gate awaiting the beginning of the Chicagoland Handicap on Saturday at Hawthorne, he will get a look at 8-year-old Take Achance on Me standing in the stall beside him. And the two oldest horses in the six-furlong Chicagoland are the two fastest horses in the Chicagoland.
ALBANY, Calif. - Saturday's 10-race card at Golden Gate Fields might be the best card offered in northern California in many years.
In addition to the Grade 2, $400,000 San Francisco Mile, the day's feature race, the card includes no claiming races and offers five turf and five dirt races. Racing secretary Sean Greely planned to run three overnight stakes on the undercard, but only the $40,000-added Montclair filled. Greely will bring back the 1 3/8-mile Walnut Creek on the turf on Sunday and try to bring back the six-furlong Glen Ellen for 3-year-old fillies next week.
PHOENIX - Turf Paradise celebrates the Arizona-bred on Saturday, with five stakes and two starter allowances for statebreds on the 12-race program, headed by the $50,000 Sandra Hall Grand Canyon Handicap.
Komax, one of the top horses on the grounds at age 8, leads a field of seven in the six-furlong Grand Canyon, which goes as race 4. Trained by Kevin Eikleberry, Komax has won 12 of 37 for more than $296,000. He rattled off two straight victories at Sunland Park most recently, and has a splendid 4-4-0 record in 9 starts at Turf Paradise.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - On Wednesday morning, as trainer Ray Bell grazed Heavenly Ransom on the Hollywood Park backstretch, he took a moment to reflect on the filly's record of 4 wins in her 5 starts.
In a few of the races, Bell thought Heavenly Ransom was overmatched, only to watch her win. "Every time I look at the Form, I think, 'Whoa,' " he said.
After Wednesday's $100,000 Wilshire Handicap, he had the same reaction, but for a different reason. It was Heavenly Ransom who made her five rivals look overmatched.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Sam's Ace, who finished fourth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on April 1, will have seven rivals when he attempts to win his first stakes in Sunday's $250,000 Snow Chief Stakes at Hollywood Park.
The Snow Chief is the highlight of the California Gold Rush program, a 10-race card for statebreds.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Apprentice jockeys Mark Stephen and Jason Pang are hoping to fill the void Justin Stein created when he decided to ride at Woodbine this year. Stein was a runaway winner in the jockey standings in 2005, setting a record for the most wins by an apprentice at Hastings. Pang and Stephen are the only apprentices currently riding at Hastings.
Stephen has gotten off to a good start at the meet. He has had only had six mounts, but already he has won a race and finished third once.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Yes He's a Pistol is a hot horse from a hot barn. A runner on the rise for trainer Doug O'Neill, he will seek his third straight win on Saturday in the Grade 3, $300,000 at Lone Star Park.
A field of 11 was entered in the first major stakes of the meet, and it is littered with shippers.
Habaneros should be sharper in his second start following a long layoff when a field of eight meet Saturday in Fonner Park's showcase event, the $100,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes.
For the first time in several years a defending champion or past Bosselman winner will not be present in the field, but the top four finishers from the Dowd Mile, the local prep for this 1 1/16-mile race, return for a shot at one of only two $100,000 purses in Nebraska all year.
