California-based trainers Peter Eurton, Carla Gaines, and Michael McCarthy have been given 10-day suspensions this month for recent violations of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s rules regarding intra-articular injections.
Eurton was cited for working Lil Nas at Santa Anita on Sept. 21, six days after the gelding received an intra-articular injection, according to a ruling on HISA’s website. HISA rules state horses may not be given a workout within seven days of such treatment.
The two-time stakes winner Hey Nay Nay is out of serious training after finishing third as the 1-2 favorite in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes for 2-year-old turf milers at Del Mar last Sunday.
Trainer John Sadler said on Thursday that Hey Nay Nay will miss the $100,000 Eddie Logan Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on Dec. 28, the first stakes opportunity on turf for foals of 2023 at the track’s winter-spring meeting.
“Hey Nay Nay will get a little break,” he said. “He’ll skip the first one and freshen up a little bit. He had a lively 2-year-old campaign.”
Om N Joy, a four-time stakes winner since April, is in the midst of a farm rest in central California, and will resume training in mid-December for a 2026 campaign intended to start in the Grade 1 B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile at Santa Anita on March 7.
Trainer Aggie Ordonez said on Wednesday that Om N Joy will have a slow build-up to her return to full training.
“I’ll jog here for a good long time before I work her,” she said. “I can try to make that race in March.
“She’ll need a couple of serious works to be ready for that kind of company.”
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mike Doyle, who was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame earlier this year, has died at age 74.
Doyle conditioned Canadian champions Bessarabian and Wavering Girl, along with Wild Gale, who finished third in both the 1993 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He won 1,178 races, including 120 stakes, and amassed earnings of $44.2 million.
Unrivaled Time, winner of the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes on turf at Del Mar on Sunday, is likely to have a brief rest this winter in advance of a 2026 season geared toward the leading races for 3-year-olds on turf.
Trainer Leonard Powell said on Wednesday that Unrivaled Time is unlikely to start in the next stakes for 2-year-olds on turf in California, the $100,000 Eddie Logan Stakes at a mile at Santa Anita on Dec. 28.
Jockey Luis Fuentes will be sidelined indefinitely due to injuries sustained in a spill in an allowance race on the undercard of the Zia Park Derby. He fractured his femur and four ribs, and suffered a punctured lung, according to his agent, Mike Kelly. Fuentes underwent surgery for the femur in El Paso, Texas.
“He said the operation went good and everything,” Kelly said. “He’s home healing.”
Zero Sugar, who was a close second to Brotha Keny in the $300,000 Zia Park Derby last month in New Mexico, will likely make his next start at Oaklawn Park, according to co-owner Staton Flurry.
Flurry said trainer Cippy Contreras has options for Zero Sugar, who is eligible for a conditioned allowance as well as the $135,000 The Coach, which is a new overnight stakes for 4-year-olds on Jan. 2. The 1 1/16-mile race is named for the late Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
The Tom Amoss trainees Oscar’s Hope and Actis both positioned themselves for opportunities on the 3-year-old trail next season after winning separate two-turn stakes last month at Delta Downs.
In the $100,000 Jean Lafitte for 2-year-olds, Oscar’s Hope was always prominent while nailing down the third win of his young career. He entered the race off a first-level allowance sprint win at Churchill Downs. For his 2 3/4-length win in the Jean Lafitte, Oscar’s Hope equaled his best Beyer Speed Figure, an 82.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There will be live racing Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Aqueduct, the New York Racing Association announced Wednesday afternoon. That card was added to the schedule to make up for the cancellation of the final eight races on Sunday’s card, when the jockeys refused to ride, citing differences with management.
Following this four-day week, NYRA will race Dec. 10-14 before going on holiday break from Dec. 15-25. Racing will then resume Dec. 26.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer John Ortiz will keep a string of 10 to 15 horses in New York this winter as he tries to establish a year-round presence here. The early returns are quite good.
Ortiz has won three races from six starts at Aqueduct’s fall meet. The wins have come with New York-breds Doc Sullivan, Moe Eighty Eight, and Braverthanubelieve, all owned by Glenn Lostritto’s Tristar Farm.
