OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A strong Thursday program at Aqueduct includes four grass races and two competitive allowance routes on the main track.
The third race, a high-priced optional claimer at 1 1/4 miles, has a South American feel. That is where three of the six older males were bred and won group stakes early in their careers: .
LEXINGTON, Ky. - There is no truth to the rumor that the Ben Ali Stakes has been renamed the Will Farish Invitational. Just because Farish and his longtime trainer, Neil Howard, have totally dominated the Ben Ali in recent years, Keeneland has not yet made such a drastic move.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Few $10,000 claimers are under as much scrutiny as Bluesthestandard will be in race 2 Thursday at Hollywood Park.
But few claimers win graded stakes, run second in the 2003 Breeders' Cup Sprint, and end up back at the bottom. In a nutshell, that is the history of Bluesthestandard, a 9-year-old millionaire who races Thursday for a $10,000 tag.
Recent events suggest Bluesthestandard is a shaky wagering proposition, though new trainer Bob Hess Jr. said, "He's doing great, and if anything happens I won't run him."
Jockey Guy Smith, who suffered shoulder and neck injuries in a spill Saturday night at Evangeline Downs, had surgery Tuesday to fuse his C-7 vertebra.
Smith was injured in the eighth race when his mount, Pronounced, fell and threw the rider to the ground. Fellow rider Sylvester Carmouche Jr., aboard Net Wire, was unable to steer clear and also fell. Carmouche suffered a clean break of his leg and has been released from the hospital pending surgery to insert a rod into the leg.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There is more at stake than the $250,000 purse of the Snow Chief Stakes on Sunday at Hollywood Park.
For the improving colt Sam's Ace, the 1 1/8-mile Snow Chief for California-bred 3-year-olds could lead to a return to the national stage. For horseplayers questioning the quality of the Florida Derby, Sam's Ace will provide a clue.
Sam's Ace started from an almost impossible post (11) in the Florida Derby, and raced wide throughout.
"From the post, and the competition, he ran dynamite," trainer Doug O'Neill said.
ALBANY, Calif. - Six runners are confirmed for Saturday's $400,000 San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile on the turf at Golden Gate Fields, and six others were listed as possible by the racing office as of Tuesday.
The race is the only Grade 2 in northern California.
Local star Adreamisborn is set to run, as are Buckland Manor, Charmo, Hendrix, Romeo Plus, and Sweet Return.
Listed as possible were Aragorn, New Export, Place Cowboy, Red Fort, Sarafan, and Terroplane.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Back in 2004, trainer Mike Mitchell sent out a then-recent purchase, Kela, to win the Texas Mile at Lone Star Park. Saturday, he will return here with another new buy, Texcess, for the Grade 3, $300,000 race. The Texas Mile will be supported by two other stakes, and Mitchell will be represented in one of them, the $75,000 Grand Prairie Turf Challenge for 3-year-olds, with recent claim Quest Venture.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Two grass races are scheduled Wednesday at Hollywood Park. It is welcome news on opening day of the 2006 spring-summer racing meet.
The 61-day meet begins with a new course, and when Icy Ridge starts as a favorite in race 5, he will be running in the first Hollywood Park grass race in nine months.
The meet also is the first spring-summer meet since Bay Meadows Land Co. purchased Hollywood from Churchill Downs last year. Vice president and general manager Eual Wyatt said Hollywood "is conducting business as if we are going to be here for a long time."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The most important turf race run at Hollywood Park this season may not be one of the $750,000 races in early July - the American Oaks or the CashCall Mile. It may be Wednesday's fifth race, an optional claimer at one mile.
That race will be the first time the course has been tested since it was resodded last November. Turf racing at the Hollywood autumn meeting last year was canceled when the course failed to take root after having been replanted late last summer.