EDMONTON, Alberta - Perhaps it has been left to Raylene, returning from Woodbine, to end the domination by Vancouver shippers in Alberta stakes for fillies and mares.
Raylene, Alberta's 2003 horse of the year, will meet Stole One, a winner of stakes at Stampede and Northlands this year, in a field of seven for the $50,000 Madamoiselle at 1 1/16 miles Friday at Northlands.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - At 8 years old, Buckeye Bates isn't as fast as he once was. Nevertheless, the classy British Columbia-bred gelding still knows how to win races, and he looks very live in the feature race at Hastings Friday.
It's a tough spot, though. A very sharp Strategic Intrigue and the speedy Above the Clouds have also been entered in the 6 1/2-furlong claiming race, which drew six horses. It goes as the seventh race.
It did not take long for nationally ranked trainer Cole Norman to make an impact at Evangeline Downs.
Norman arrived two weeks ago, following the conclusion of Lone Star Park's season, and will race here on a daily basis for the first time. He made his presence felt with 7 wins from his first 11 starters, including two wins on Monday.
A benefit dinner that will start a fund-raising drive to build a chapel on the Canterbury Park backstretch area has been rescheduled from Sunday, Aug. 21, to Saturday, Aug. 20. Hall of Fame riders Pat Day and Sandy Hawley will both be on hand to speak, sign autographs, and visit with fans.
Former trainer Steve Erban contributed his services as an architect in designing the proposed 3,000-square-foot chapel, which will be named in honor of the late Dean Kutz, a top rider during Canterbury's early days.
Apprentice Channing Hill has been a frequent visitor to the races at Columbus the past couple of weekends as he recuperates from a sore back and prepares to resume his promising career in New York. Hill said he planned on returning for the last couple of weekends of the Saratoga meet, which concludes Sept. 5.
Trainer Randy Russell, second in the Great Lakes Downs standings, remained in the hospital Wednesday morning following surgery Tuesday evening. The two-hour operation was to repair his left leg, which was broken in a paddock incident Monday evening.
"They used 13 screws and a 14-inch plate for the four fractures and other hairline fractures," said Russell's son Ross Russell, a veterinary student.
"He'll be in the hospital a few more days, then not be able to put weight on it for about eight weeks."
Jockey Quincy Hamilton ranks as the 10th-leading rider in North America by victories after he captured five races on the nine-race card at Remington Park on Tuesday. Hamilton has won 162 races this year, and his mounts have earned $2,078,287.
Hamilton, the defending riding champ at Remington, won the first with Apple's Delight ($4.20), the third with Satin Sun ($5.60), the fourth with Unomes Flash ($4.20), the fifth with Rubiano's Music ($4.20), and the ninth with Live Connection ($11.40).
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a onetime resident of Texas, is among those who will be inducted into the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held at Retama Park near San Antonio on Oct. 1.
Others to be inducted into the Texas Hall are Josephine Abercrombie, a Houston native and prominent owner and breeder who operates Pin Oak Stud; Herbert Graham, a prominent owner and breeder of Paints and Quarter Horses; and Miss Princess, a King Ranch-bred who defeated a three-time world champion Quarter Horse, Shue Fly, in 1947.
Tri Uimet, an easy winner in his only lifetime start on July 29 at Thistledown, is the one to beat in Friday's $40,000 Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes.
The six-furlong race, for 2-year-old Ohio-registered foals, has eight entrants. Fisticuff and Distress Signal could be the main opposition for Tri Uimet.