FLORENCE, Ky. - Trainer Todd Pletcher makes the bulk of his living back East, but he also picks up the occasional pocket change by invading Turfway Park at opportune moments.
Pletcher twice has won Turfway's spring showcase, the Lane's End Stakes, with Balto Star (2001) and Flower Alley (2005), and he recorded his lone victory in the Kentucky Cup series two years ago when Smok'n Frolic won the Grade 3 Turfway Breeders' Cup as the favorite.
Every day along Interstate I-65, thousands of cars and trucks roar past Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., never bothering to stop at the all-turf racetrack that sits along the highway and the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
Now is the time to hit the brakes. Beginning Saturday, and continuing for six racing days over the subsequent nine days, Kentucky Downs is expected to offer deep, competitive grass racing, in its own unique, fair-like environment.
POMONA, Calif. - The $120,000 Barretts Debutante on Saturday at Fairplex Park was going to be a nice, quiet little stakes with minimal ramifications. Forget that idea.
Instead of easy pickings for romping debut winner Catch My Fancy, Grade 3 runner-up Acceleration, or streaking front-runner Sugar Deputy, the Barretts Debutante shapes up as a tough race filled with speed. A 6 1/2-furlong race, the Barretts Debutante is restricted to fillies offered at a Barretts sale.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Leroidesanimaux, a winner of seven straight races, will break from the inside post as a solid favorite in Sunday's Grade 1, $1 million at Woodbine.
A field of nine was announced for the Atto Mile, a Grade 1 turf race for 3-year-olds and upward, at the ceremonial draw here Thursday.
Leroidesanimaux, a 5-year-old horse based in New York and trained by Bobby Frankel, is 8-5 on Daily Racing Form's morning line.
As the only Grade 1 stakes winner in the field, Leroidesanimaux will be the 124-pound highweight under the allowance conditions.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - , like last year's Pucker Up winner, Ticker Tape, was purchased out of England by trainer Jim Cassidy. And like Ticker Tape, she shipped to Arlington Park from California after racing in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks. But whereas Ticker Tape lost by a nose, Singhalese won by a half-length, and that is not the only difference between them.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The top older filly or mare at Emerald Downs, Karis Makaw, will take on the best older females at Hastings in the $40,000 Delta Collen Saturday. With seven stakes winners among the eight horses entered in the 1 1/16-mile feature, it appears to be a very competitive race.
AUBURN, Wash. - Jumpingjupiter may have a slight edge over seven rivals in Saturday's highly competitive Emerald Downs feature, a six-furlong affair to be run under optional $25,000 claiming conditions.
Jumpingjupiter's advantage rests in his remarkable consistency. In five starts this season, the 5-year-old Jumpingjupiter has not finished worse than second. He won a 6 1/2-furlong race for $20,000 claimers in June, and he is coming off a 6 1/2-furlong
EDMONTON, Alberta - Crown's Justice, a 5-year-old trained by Pam McDougall, has won twice against $22,000 claimers this season at Northlands Park, but hasn't been able to handle the $30,000 kind. On Saturday, he will try again to beat $30,000 claimers in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint.
The race, which will go as the fifth on Saturday's card, has drawn a field of five 3-year-olds and up.
