The Arlington Heights Board of Trustees on Monday night passed resolutions signaling that local government will attempt to play a role in determining what uses will be allowed for the Arlington Park property if and when it is sold by Churchill Downs Inc.
By unanimous vote, the board passed an ordinance that will prevent Churchill Downs from attaching any restrictions on the use of the Arlington Park property as a condition of its sale, such as prohibiting a buyer from operating a casino or racetrack on the 326-acre site.
Concert Tour, who skipped the Kentucky Derby after a disappointing third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby, will run in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes on May 15 at Pimlico, setting up a match with stablemate Medina Spirit, the Derby winner, their trainer, Bob Baffert, said Monday afternoon.
Mike Smith will ride Concert Tour, both Baffert and Smith’s agent, Brad Pegram, said Tuesday. Smith replaces Joel Rosario, who had ridden Concert Tour in all four of his previous starts.
Colonel Liam and Domestic Spending, who dead-heated for win in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard, are headed for a June 5 rematch in the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes.
The two 4-year-olds were headed early this week to Belmont Park and were said by their trainers to have exited the Turf Classic in good condition.
“He looks fine,” trainer Chad Brown said of Domestic Spending. “If he trains on like we hope he will, it’s on to the Manhattan.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Peter Miller will have a string of about a dozen head in New York, several of whom are shipping in from Kentucky where they performed in stakes races over Derby weekend at Churchill Downs.
“Looking to expand our presence,” Miller said. “California is struggling with entries, so we need to do what’s best for our clients.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Todd Pletcher’s quartet of starters from the Kentucky Derby as well as his Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat were all expected to arrive at Belmont Park on Monday afternoon. Pletcher will monitor their training over the next week and talk with connections to see if any – or more likely how many – may show up in the Belmont Stakes on June 5.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Ny Traffic, away from the races since a ninth-place finish in last October’s Preakness Stakes, returned Sunday with a solid 6 3/4-length score in a second-level allowance for New York-breds going seven furlongs. He covered the distance in 1:21.52 and earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We were obviously hoping he would come back and win nicely, but he won better than we could have thought or hoped for,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said by phone Monday from Florida.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Two members of the 3-year-old class of 2020 made promising 4-year-old debuts over the weekend at Belmont Park. On Saturday, Dr Post, the 2020 Belmont Stakes runner-up, won the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester Stakes to likely earn himself a start in the Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan Handicap on June 5.
On Sunday, Ny Traffic, the 2020 Haskell Invitational runner-up, won a second-level New York-bred allowance going seven furlongs. His connections are not pointing him to the Met Mile.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After four dark days, post-Derby action begins Thursday at Churchill with an eight-race card that gets under way at 5 p.m. Eastern. A pair of turf allowances (races 3 and 8) for 3-year-olds and upward will anchor the first twilight card here since 2019. No twilight or night racing was held all of last year because of the pandemic.
Race 3 is a $102,000 dash in which Searing Chase and Thrill Ride are among the logical favorites. Eight were entered, including one main-track-only designate.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Everybody has a story to tell about their Kentucky Derby weekend experience. Al Stall’s might be a little more eventful – and fun and successful – than most.
Stall saddled five winners during the opening six-day span of the Churchill Downs spring meet, including a 3-year-old colt named Masqueparade who earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a 1 1/8-mile first-level allowance on the Derby undercard by 11 3/4 lengths, getting his final eighth in slightly under 12 seconds.
