HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Saturday's $100,000 will mark the end of Lilah's racing career, and the pace scenario could be favorable for the 9-year-old mare to go out on a winning note.
Nine older fillies and mares were entered for the 6 1/2-furlong First Lady, led by Maddalena, Trickle of Gold, and Smokey Glacken, all of whom will carry 117 pounds and are at their best when on or close to the lead.
Happy Ticket was far and away the best Louisiana-bred in 2005, but The Beter Man Can has been one of the best horses, male or female, Louisiana-bred or otherwise, to race this winter during the Fair Grounds meet at Louisiana Downs. And the day before Happy Ticket is scheduled to make her 2006 debut, The Beter Man Can starts Saturday in the $100,000 Lagniappe Ladies Stakes.
A meeting between the pair of unusually talented fillies could come next month at Evangeline Downs, but for now, The Beter Man Can appears to be a standout in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile dirt race.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - As the son of two Grade 1 winners, Happy Hunting was expected to be stakes-caliber himself. Saturday, the lightly raced 5-year-old gets his first opportunity to become a stakes winner when he runs in the Grade 3, $100,000 Aqueduct Handicap.
, a son of Seeking the Gold and Furlough, will meet seven rivals in the 1 1/16-mile Aqueduct Handicap, including the 8-year-old Evening Attire, who won this race in 2002.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Achilles of Troy, the 14-length winner of the Count Fleet Stakes here last month, will make his next start in the $65,000 Whirlaway Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 11 before most likely leaving town in his bid to make it to the Kentucky Derby.
Ernie Paragallo, who heads the Paraneck Stable which owns Achilles of Troy, said he considered shipping his 3-year-old to Oaklawn Park for the $250,000 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 20, but decided to stay home.
"I live here,'' Paragallo said. "I don't know about Bill Clinton country.''
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - If the pace is right, Josh's Madelyn will be in full flight through the stretch in Saturday's $50,000 American Beauty at Oaklawn Park.
The six-furlong race for fillies and mares is the feature on the second day of the meet and drew a field of six. Others in the race include More Moonlight, Timeless Dreamer, and True Tails.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - If you thought something like a fractured neck might slow down trainer Cole Norman, then you don't know Cole Norman. For the past several weeks the high-energy horseman has been back training following a serious all-terrain vehicle accident on Dec. 19.
Yet another barn, Barn A, has been placed under quarantine at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore after a new case of equine herpes virus came under suspicion Thursday by the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
The quarantine of Barn A is particularly troubling to state and track officials because it is located in the "old" section of the Pimlico barn area, behind the grandstand, whereas previous known and suspected cases of the virus have been isolated in Barns 5, 6, and 8, located in a newer stabling section on the far side of the racetrack.
Beulah Park's new pick-six bet, the Fortune 6, was hit on the fourth day it was offered Wednesday, with the winner collecting $50,000.
The Fortune 6 is a 25-cent wager that pays off its carryover only if a single ticket has the winners of the six races in the sequence. Wednesday's winners were Frantanic Panic ($26.40), Kipper Kate ($4.20), Mandy G ($12.20), General Mark ($3.60), Expected Flirt ($10), and True Bet ($13.40).
Bob Farinella, the president, CEO, and general manager of the Racing Association of Central Iowa, which operates Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino, announced his retirement Wednesday.
Farinella, 60, has served as president at Prairie Meadows since November 1994, shortly before the track installed slot machines in April 1995.
