The top two finishers in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Los Alamitos Million, Value the Man and Higher Fire, start off their 3-year-old seasons in Friday night's trials to the Grade 1, $210,550 Los Alamitos Winter Derby.
Value the Man upset Higher Fire in the Los Alamitos Million when he ran the best race of his career to win by a half-length at 10-1. The Million win, in 19.56 seconds for 400 yards, was his third win in his last five starts.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - It is going on three years since Funny Cide was the toast of racing with his bid for the Triple Crown. Smarty Jones took his place as racing's darling in 2004, and then last year it was Afleet Alex. Those two have both been retired to stud duty, but the 2003 Kentucky Derby winner marches on. As a gelding, it's either racing or retirement, but no funny business, for Funny Cide.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - When you have a barn the size of Todd Pletcher's, one that in 2005 set a single-season record for purse earnings by a trainer, there is bound to be an embarrassment of riches. And now with this year's first major weekend of racing nearing in south Florida, Pletcher is taking aim at a number of stakes races on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, largely with horses that are the understudies to his stable's marquee names.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Everyone knows that Saint Liam won the Breeders' Cup Classic, and most people would probably remember that Flower Alley was second. But you could win some pretty good bar bets asking people to remember who filled out the trifecta and superfecta that day.
Perfect Drift was third. Fourth, beaten only 2 3/4 lengths by Saint Liam despite stumbling at the start, was Super Frolic. It might have been Super Frolic's best performance, something to be said for a horse who had previously run 31 times.
ARCADIA, Calif. - When he is not completely outclassed against Grade 2 competition, Hendrix can put on quite a show.
He scored a 2 1/2-length victory Nov. 26 in a second-level allowance and then was sixth, beaten 4 1/4 lengths, in the Grade 2 .
There is nothing wrong with merely being a good allowance horse, and that is what Hendrix is trying to be. Thursday at Santa Anita, he is in the right spot - racing a mile on turf in a three-other-than allowance with an $80,000 claiming option.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Folklore's first shot at redemption has been postponed by a month. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Tuesday that the 2005 champion 2-year-old filly would skip the Grade 1 Las Virgenes on Feb. 11 and aim instead for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on March 12.
Folklore finished a disappointing third behind stablemate Dance Daily in the seven-furlong Grade 2 on Jan. 16. So when the 3-year-old fillies stretch out to one mile in the Las Virgenes, Lukas and owners Bob and Beverly Lewis will have just one starter.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A common conundrum of handicapping Aqueduct's inner-track routes is what to do when a main contender breaks from the outside post. Bettors must wrestle with that situation in Thursday's eighth race, when Crafty Brutus takes on sharp last-out maiden winner Backchat at a mile.
The $46,000 first-level allowance drew 11 horses, including one also-eligible and two entries. If there are no scratches from the main body of the race, will break from post 10 under apprentice Pablo Morales, and his strategy is preordained, according to trainer Rich Schosberg.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - may be as sharp a horse as there is on the grounds at Bay Meadows, but he will get a stern test as he tries to extend his three-race winning streak in Thursday's feature.
The 6-year-old gelding has five rivals in the $40,000 claimer at one mile for older runners. Although there are several runners in the field with decent early speed, he should be the one to catch.
Rene Amescua claimed Robert E for $40,000 at Hollywood Park on Dec. 8. Robert E was coming off a lifetime-best Beyer Speed Figure of 98, earned winning a $32,000 claimer at six furlongs.
Postmortem tissue from a lame filly who was euthanized last Thursday at Laurel Park tested positive for equine herpesvirus, Laurel officials said Tuesday.
Lou Raffetto, the chief operating officer of Laurel, said that the results of blood and tissue samples from the dead filly from tests conducted by the Maryland Department of Agriculture came back late Monday afternoon confirming the presence of equine herpesvirus, a highly contagious disease that attacks a horse's upper respiratory and neurological systems.
All-sources handle on the Sunshine Millions cards at Gulfstream Park in Florida and Santa Anita Park in California on Saturday was up 5.6 percent from the same day last year, according to figures compiled by Equibase.
Total all-sources handle Saturday for the two tracks was $31,999,903, compared with $30,304,118 in 2005. Both tracks ran 10-race cards this year and last.
The handle was aided by good weather at Santa Anita Park. Last year's California card had a steep handle decline because of rain.
