OCEANPORT, N.J. - The Grade 1 Haskell Invitational was an ambitious spot for Joey P.
In it, Joey P. - a gelding who had shown so much talent as a sprinter - was sent 1 1/8 miles against some of the leaders in the 3-year-old division.
He hung in gamely for seven furlongs before fading out of the picture.
returns to action Saturday at Monmouth Park in the $100,000 Friendly Lover Handicap, a race for New Jersey-breds that poses a different set of challenges.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Le Cinquieme Essai had a change of pace here Thursday morning at Woodbine when he galloped over the main track in preparation for Sunday's Grade 1, $1 million .
"Most of the time he goes to the training track very, very early," said Paul Nielsen, who trains Le Cinquieme Essai for owner and breeder Bill Scott. "I wanted him to have a little open gallop over the main track this morning and have a look around. Then he did his posing for the press, and came home."
SAN MATEO, Calif. - For all her talent, Conveyor's Angel has had her career compromised by health issues and bad luck.
That's why trainer Chris Paasch has her in the $60,000-added Palo Alto Handicap at Bay Meadows on Saturday rather than the Grade 3, $200,000 Pucker Up at Arlington.
"Meaning no disrespect to the other fillies, I was looking for a soft spot," said Paasch, who hopes a confidence-building victory will propel Conveyor's Angel to success back East in her next start.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park will have a new, state-of-the-art grandstand for its 2006 racing season, which opens on Jan. 3, but virtually the same stakes schedule as in 2005.
The 2006 stakes schedule consists of 46 races worth just over $8 million in purses. As usual, the $1 million Florida Derby is the cornerstone of the program, and for the second straight year it will be decided on the first Saturday in April, which falls on April 1.
Last year, the Shiskabob was Witt Ante's launching pad to a winter campaign in which he locked up the award for champion older Louisiana-bred of 2004. This year's $100,000 renewal of the Shiskabob again will serve as something of a starting point for Witt Ante, who will be making his first start since April.
Saturday's Louisiana Breeders' Festival at Louisiana Downs, a 13-race program of stakes for Louisiana-breds worth a total of more than $1 million, should go a long way toward determining statebred honors in several categories.
The Louisiana Breeders' Oaks and the Louisiana Breeders' Derby should provide a golden opportunity for a couple of 3-year-olds to step to the head of their class. The Oaks and the derby, two of the eight Thoroughbred stakes on the card, will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the main track with a purse of $100,000 each.
The $200,000-added Connally Breeders' Cup again leads the 27-race, $1.6 million stakes schedule at Sam Houston Race Park for 2005-2006, but the track has made one major change to its annual $500,000 Texas Champions Day card Nov. 19.
The $150,000 Sam Houston Texan Juvenile, which was the lone open-company race on what is the richest card of the meet, will not be run in 2005.
Eight of the 10 jockeys scheduled to ride in Wednesday's ninth race at Suffolk Downs chose to take off their mounts because of concerns over a section of the turf course that they felt had become uneven after it was watered that morning.
The second race, the only other turf race on Wednesday, was run without incident.
