Wed, 09/14/2005 - 00:00

Retama Park track report

Jb's Golden Regret, who won the $100,000 M2 Technology La Senorita for 2-year-old fillies at Retama, could make her next two starts at Delta Downs. Her trainer, Gilbert Ciavaglia, is mapping out a fall campaign that could focus on both the $75,000 Chargedupsycamore at seven furlongs on Nov. 4, and the $250,000 Delta Princess at one mile on Dec. 2.

"That will give us all of September to freshen her up," said Ciavaglia. "We're going to give her a little breather, probably 30 days of just light training. She has already run five times this year."

Wed, 09/14/2005 - 00:00

Remington track report

Whiskey for Me is coming home. The 3-year-old colt, who has won five races in Texas since March, will make his next start in his native Oklahoma in the $40,000 Oklahoma Classics Day Turf, said his trainer, Cody Autrey. The one-mile turf race will be held Sept. 24, and shares a program with six other Oklahoma-bred stakes as part of the Oklahoma Classics Day program at Remington.

Wed, 09/14/2005 - 00:00

Lone Star Park track report

Lone Star Park will host its first Quarter Horse meet since 2003 beginning Sept. 30, and the track has laid out 24 stakes worth $2.7 million for the season. Last year, Lone Star hosted the Breeders' Cup in the fall and its Quarter Horse dates were run at Sam Houston Race Park.

This year's meet will continue through Nov. 27. Among the most prestigious stakes are the $1 million Texas Classic Futurity on Nov. 26; the $450,000-estimated Dash for Cash Futurity on Oct. 22; and the $100,000 Refrigerator Handicap on Nov. 25. Each race is a Grade 1 for Quarter Horses.

Wed, 09/14/2005 - 00:00

Fairmount track report

On occasion, Hollywood actors will put up their own money for projects they believe in if studios just won't bite. Then again, celebrities have loot to burn. Fairmount Park track photographer Jim Ansley doesn't.

On Aug. 27, Fairmount publicly unveiled a final cut of Ansley's 70-minute documentary, "Fairmount Park: 80 Years of Tradition." Available at $25 per DVD, copies of the film have since been relegated to the track's two backstretch tack shops and a website maintained by Ansley (www.vip-il.com).

Wed, 09/14/2005 - 00:00

Great Lakes track report

Bill McNerney Jr., a longtime valet in Michigan, died Wednesday morning at his residence near Great Lakes Downs.

McNerney, 51, was instrumental in preparing Great Lakes for its inaugural meet while working for then-general manager Mike Mackey. After the opening, McNerney was a valet and the colors man in the jockeys' room. He later served as an association clocker. A native of Toledo, Ohio, McNerney's survivors include his daughter, Amanda.

Wed, 09/14/2005 - 00:00

Extraordinary purses at Evangeline

Just a week remains in what can best be described as a tumultuous inaugural season at the new Evangeline Downs.

The buzz and excitement of moving into new racing and casino digs in April quickly gave way after the safety of the racing surface was questioned. Those concerns resulted in a six-week suspension of racing operations in order to overhaul the track's surface.

Tue, 09/13/2005 - 00:00

37-day fall meet agreed upon

Churchill Downs Inc. and the Louisiana division of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association have agreed to conduct a 37-day race meet at Louisiana Downs this fall and winter, a curtailed version of a more than four-month Fair Grounds meet wiped out by Hurricane Katrina.

Tue, 09/13/2005 - 00:00

A rested New Dimension puts streak on line

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Broadway Gold, winless in her last six starts, runs Thursday at Belmont.

ELMONT, N.Y. - New Dimension, who was idle through the second half of the summer after scoring a pair of hard-fought victories in July, returns to action and looks for her third straight win in Thursday's eighth-race feature at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Tue, 09/13/2005 - 00:00

Trailer Queen building on comeback win

POMONA, Calif. - Trainer Cliff Sise was not the only one who wondered if Trailer Queen was ready for her comeback Aug. 22 at Del Mar.

Runner-up in a hot maiden race for 2-year-olds in her debut May 18, Trailer Queen's campaign subsequently stalled because of tender shins. She was just about ready for a comeback Aug. 6, but she coughed and was scratched from a race in which she was the 7-5 program favorite.

Tue, 09/13/2005 - 00:00

Vega rides his 3,000th winner

Jockey Harry Vega gave himself an early birthday present Tuesday afternoon when he guided the 4-year-old filly Quies ($5.20) to victory in the eighth race at Philadelphia Park.

Vega, who will turn 40 on Sept. 21, collected his 3,000th career victory in the mile-and-70-yard allowance race on the turf. As icing on the cake, Vega also won the 10th race with the 3-year-old filly Irish Diva ($6.40).