Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Mott, Hennig saddle derby's top two choices

MIAMI - Trainers Bill Mott and Mark Hennig have won the last two runnings of the $200,000 , and they will attempt to continue their recent success in the race here Saturday, sending out the likely favorites, Grand Reserve and Tadreeb, in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 3 race for 3-year-olds.

Mott, who won the 2003 Calder Derby with Stroll, will send out Grand Reserve, while Hennig hopes he can duplicate Eddington's 2004 Calder Derby success with Tadreeb.

The Calder Derby and Calder Oaks are the only two turf races among the eight stakes on Saturday's Festival of the Sun card.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

B. B. Best will need top effort in return

MIAMI - B. B. Best, one of the heroes of the 2004 Festival of the Sun, returns to the scene of his most important victory to take on older horses for the first time in the 1 1/16-mile Spend a Buck Handicap. The Grade 3, $100,000 Spend a Buck is one of eight stakes on Saturday's Festival of the Sun card at Calder, which is topped by the final races of the Florida Stallion series, the In Reality and My Dear Girl.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Gun Salute's superiority simple as ABC

CHICAGO - The transitive property says that if A equals B, and B equals C, then A equals C. You can use it on horseracing. If Gun Salute beat English Channel by 1 1/2 lengths in the Secretariat, and English Channel came within a neck of Shakespeare in the Joe Hirsch, then Gun Salute could have beaten Shakespeare in the Joe Hirsch.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Cryptograph faces Niigon in Durham

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Cryptograph and Niigon should both be tough going 1 1/8 miles in the $160,650 Durham Cup Handicap on Saturday at Woodbine.

Cryptograph, a much-traveled 4-year-old owned by Pin Oak Stable, placed in two Grade 3 stakes in 2004, the Lone Star and Oklahoma derbies. He is winless in four starts this year, losing his season opener, in the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap, by a nose.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Raylene looks prima in Ballerina

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - If Raylene runs her race, she's going to be very tough to beat in the Grade 3, $150,000 Ballerina Breeders' Cup at Hastings Saturday. A 5-year-old daughter of Tabasco Cat, Raylene looks like a standout over 10 other fillies and mares in the 1 1/8-mile feature.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Three try to sew up juvenile title

AUBURN, Wash. - Championship honors will be on the line in Saturday's $100,000 Gottstein Futurity, a 1 1/16-mile race that has drawn a field of 10.

With no two-time stakes winners among the 2-year-olds this year at Emerald, any of three stakes winners in the Gottstein field would be assured of a divisional title with another score on Saturday. The three are Tom Two, a front-running winner of the 6 1/2-furlong Strong Ruler Stakes in August, and the Jim Penney-trained duo of Schoolin You and Chestnut Lady, both winners of one-mile stakes here last month.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Million's one-week delay doesn't have Ciresa thrilled

LAUREL, Md. - Last Saturday, Presidentialaffair seemed perfect. Now, trainer Martin Ciresa hopes the glue hasn't dried on his project.

For all the trainers in the rescheduled Maryland Million, waiting a week has been a hassle. For Ciresa, it's been torture. That's because Classic favorite walks a fine line between boil and burn. His physical problems and difficult behavior turn every day into a question. Ship him to the races, turn around, wait a week, and do it all over again - go ahead and grab that dragon by its tail.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Time for Notis Otis to make hay

EDMONTON, Alberta - Vancouver invader Notis Otis missed out on several lucrative opportunities in Western Canada after coming down with a vicious virus last spring. On Saturday, Notis Otis will challenge Alberta's top 3-year-olds in the $50,000 Western Canada Handicap here at Northlands Park.

Notis Otis won the Hastings Sophomore and an allowance and finished third in the Richmond Derby once he got back into action.

With Quincy Welch aboard, Notis Otis is the 122-pound topweight here in the field of 11. A front-runner, Notis Otis has post 2 for the 6 1/2-furlong sprint.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

No derby at storm-affected meet

The abbreviated 2005-06 Fair Grounds season, just more than five weeks away, comprises just 37 racing days, but the meet will be packed with 34 stakes worth $3.5 million.

Thu, 10/13/2005 - 00:00

Meadowlands cancels again

The weeklong rain in the New York metropolitan area continued to take a toll on The Meadowlands, as the track on Thursday announced cancellation of its Friday night card.

The latest rain-out is the third straight full card lost because of the uneven condition of the racing strip.

The problems began Oct. 8 when The Meadowlands ran only one race before canceling. The track got in three races on the Tuesday matinee before the jockeys decided the track was unsafe.