HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A field of 10 3-year-olds is expected for Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 at Gulfstream Park, and that means one or two members of the field could be on the outside looking in when post positions are drawn Thursday. The Fountain of Youth serves as the last major local prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby on April 1.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Bandini gave everyone a not-so-subtle reminder why he was the third betting choice in last year's Kentucky Derby by setting a track record Wednesday afternoon at Gulfstream Park.
Away from the races since his 19th-place finish in the Derby, Bandini won a third-level allowance race by 3 3/4 lengths while running one mile in 1:34.19. The final time eclipsed the one-mile track record of 1:34.25 set last year by Nakayama Kun. Gulfstream has only been running one-mile races the last two years.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Dubai Escapade evoked memories of her older half-sister, the Grade 1 winner Madcap Escapade, when she won an entry-level allowance race here Jan. 25 by 7 3/4 lengths. Dubai Escapade appears to have found another field that she should dominate when she runs in a second-level allowance race going one mile Friday at Gulfstream Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Norberto Arroyo Jr. called for an investigation of the stewards after they disqualified his mount from a victory in the third race at Aqueduct on Wednesday.
"The same way there is an investigation of anything, about everybody, at the track, about trainers, jockeys, there should be an investigation of these guys," Arroyo said in a meeting he requested with reporters in the jockeys' recreation room after the race.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Trainer Ronny Werner's last three wins at Oaklawn Park have come with fillies, and on Friday he can add to that streak with Special Hunter and Cheyenne Spirit.
The fillies will start in the ninth and 10th races on the card, which are optional claimers for fillies and mares. Both are leading contenders.
ALBANY, Calif. - Phil the Brit was either incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky in his last start on Feb. 5.
Running in a first-level turf allowance race at Bay Meadows, Phil the Brit had just made what looked like a winning move when Rare Request broke down. Phil the Brit was knocked sideways but re-rallied to finish third. Yet, he was fortunate not to sustain any injuries.
"Most horses would have thrown in the towel right then," said trainer Chris Crowe.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Chinese Dragon is unbeaten in five starts in California since arriving from Ireland in late 2004. Four of those races were stakes, three were run at Santa Anita.
But there is a question of how ready Chinese Dragon is for Saturday's $300,000 Frank Kilroe Mile, a Grade 1 race at a mile on turf that has drawn an outstanding field.
"This is, to me, a pivotal race in the horse's career," said trainer Bob Hess Jr.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Sick and tired of watching Aries Rising finish in front of his starters, trainer Steve Knapp took action on Feb. 17 and claimed the 4-year-old gelding for $32,000.
Knapp and new owners James and Marcia Equils will be looking for a quick payback on Friday when Aries Rising makes the second start of his career on turf in an optional claimer for California-breds at a mile on turf.
"He beat me a couple of times, and I decided it was time to go," Knapp said of the recent claim.
Four horses died in a barn fire at a Fort Erie, Ontario, farm Tuesday night, according to a media release on the Niagara Regional Police Service website.
Police and the Fort Erie fire department arrived at the Helena Street property shortly after 10:30 p.m. and found a barn "fully engulfed in flames."
While the fire was quickly extinguished, the horses could not be saved. Police did not release the name of the barn's owner.
Preliminary indications were that the fire was caused by an electrical problem.
A nasal swab from a horse who was euthanized Feb. 23 at Philadelphia Park initially tested positive for equine herpesvirus, the highly contagious disease that has disrupted racing and training schedules this year in Maryland and other Eastern states, according to reports.
