DEL MAR, Calif. - The first race at Del Mar on Sunday was declared no contest after Thatcher, a 3-year-old filly, broke down on the backstretch and bothered four of the other six runners in the one-mile turf race.
According to California Horse Racing Board rules, the stewards reserve the right to cancel a race if interference occurs that affects the majority of the horses. The stewards reached the decision to declare a no-contest after a lengthy inquiry.
DEL MAR, Calif. - The chances Bashert has of winning the on Wednesday increased when his nemesis, What a Song, suffered fatal injuries last month. Bashert's trainer, Bill Currin, said he felt nothing but sadness when What a Song was put down. It wasn't merely sportsmanship. It was deep-felt empathy.
FLORENCE, Ky. - It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, this opening of the fall meet at Turfway Park. After years of decline in the face of wicked competition from nearby riverboat casinos, Turfway finally had a genuine reason to celebrate with the unveiling of its new Polytrack surface.
FLORENCE, Ky. - A new era in North American racing will begin Wednesday night at Turfway Park when Polytrack, the revolutionary racing surface, makes its long-awaited debut.
Polytrack is a wax-coated synthetic surface made up of recycled rubber, polypropylene fibers, and silica sand. Polytrack has played to the rave reviews of horsemen since it was first introduced in the late 1980's in England by its inventor, Martin Collins. When several exhibition races were run over it at Turfway on Aug. 24, horsemen were unanimous in their praise of the new surface.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Trainer Greg Gilchrist confirmed Monday that Lost in the Fog will run in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Belmont on Oct. 29.
"I think the Breeders' Cup is definite for us, unless we hit a bump in the road," Gilchrist said.
Gilchrist said Lost in the Fog would run in either the Grade 1, $500,000 Vosburgh at Belmont on Oct. 1, which would be Lost in the Fog's first meeting against older horses, or just train up to the Sprint. If Gilchrist opts to run in the Vosburgh, he said he will keep Lost in the Fog at Belmont until the Breeders' Cup.
Saratoga Race Course concluded its 36-day meeting on Monday with its total handle down more than 5 percent from the track's 2004 meet. Although attendance fell more than 3 percent, ontrack handle rose, though less than a quarter of 1 percent from last year's 36-day meet.
The ontrack handle increase this year, by 0.23 percent, saw a daily average of $3,250,009, up from 3,242,486 in 2004. The total daily average handle was $14,946,720, down 5.47 percent from $15,810,918 in 2004.
Average attendance declined 3.17 percent to 25,914 daily, from 26,762 last year
Laurel Park in Maryland will open its 78-day fall meeting on Wednesday, showcasing its new, European-style turf course.
The course, completed this summer after several weather-related delays, has been widened from 75 feet to 142 feet and can accommodate six different configurations. Laurel officials have said that they will schedule at least four turf races a day, continuing a trend in the Mid-Atlantic region toward more grass racing.
CHICAGO - The highest-priced horse on the Arlington backstretch makes an appearance in the featured fifth race here Wednesday.
But it's not like Courthouse cost some ungodly sum at auction. His boxcar prices have come on the odds board, and bettors consistently have underrated Courthouse this meet. Consider that he: won a race at 45-1; has finished second at 70-1 and 27-1; and was most recently third in the Cigar Stakes on Arlington Million Day at almost 45-1.
The outside post in the largest field in the race's 27-year history proved no problem for Sun King, who galloped to a 4 1/2-length victory under Rafael Bejarano in the Grade 2, $750,000 race Monday at Philadelphia Park.
Southern Africa got up for second by a nose over Smokescreen.
