LEXINGTON, Ky. - What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Closing Argument, according to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, has shown dramatic improvement since McLaughlin agonized over - then ultimately decided against - running the colt in the April 2 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
"When I was trying to decide about the Florida Derby, the colt was a little dull, his hair coat was a little off, and he was still a little sensitive in the foot where he'd had a bruise," said McLaughlin.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Sharp Lisa will get a second chance to prep for the Kentucky Oaks on Friday in the Grade 2, $250,000 Fantasy at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies comes a week after a hind foot bruise forced Sharp Lisa to be scratched from the Grade 1 Ashland.
"This is definitely a big step to the Oaks," said Doug O'Neill, who trains Sharp Lisa.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Cape Hope has established herself as one of the best 3-year-old turf fillies in the country. Friday, she could make a case for being one of the best, period, when she returns to the main track in the Grade 2, $250,000 Fantasy at Oaklawn Park.
"We'll see how it works," said Dallas Stewart, who trains Cape Hope. "If she does good, we'll have a chance to run her in the [Kentucky] Oaks."
ARCADIA, Calif. - The April options for Pacific Ocean Song include a $52,000 allowance race at Santa Anita on Friday or the $150,000 Fran's Valentine Stakes at Hollywood Park on April 24.
The allowance race may not be as glamorous as the stakes, but it is the logical spot for a 4-year-old filly seeking her second win.
"That race looks like it's really tough," said trainer Eoin Harty of the Fran's Valentine. "This is a more conservative approach."
AUBURN, Wash. - Emerald Downs launches its 10th season Friday with purses up about 16 percent from last year to an estimated $106,400 per day, a record for the track. The increase was made possible by a $1.6 million contribution to the purse account from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, which owns the property on which the track sits.
CALGARY, Alberta - Spirit to Spare won four straight races at Northlands Park last year, going wire to wire each time. But the going gets tougher Friday at Stampede Park, when Spirit to Spare figures to get some pressure on the front end in the seventh race, an optional $40,000 claimer for fillies and mares at six furlongs.
Spirit to Spare handled her 3-year-old rivals with ease last year, catching several short fields as the lone speed. She faces older foes for the first time in Friday's $21,300 sprint.
Live Thoroughbred racing returns to western New York on Friday when Finger Lakes launches its 44th season.
The 160-day meet, which will run through Nov. 29, contains 17 stakes worth slightly more than $1 million.
The 33rd running of the $150,000-added New York Derby on July 16 will once again be the season's biggest race.
Large fields are the rule as Indiana Downs begins its third season of racing Friday night.
On Friday's card, the first of 48 for the season that runs through June 18, 11 of the 12 races drew full fields, with 10 having also-eligibles. In all, more than 160 horses appeared on the overnight.
While ontrack business remained essentially the same, the average daily handle from all sources on races at the Turfway Park winter-spring meet that ended last Friday declined 20 percent from corresponding dates in 2004, primarily because track officials refused wagers from New York City Off-Track Betting and various rebate shops.
Sam Houston Race Park closed out its 69-night Thoroughbred meet Sunday with a decline in average daily handle and attendance from the corresponding fall-winter meet in 2003-04, but an increase in average daily purses.
Handle on Sam Houston's races averaged $1,769,035 a night this meet, a decline of 8.5 percent from $1,933,257 a year ago. Of that, an average of $1,653,730 was bet offtrack, down 8.6 percent from last year's off-site handle of $1,809,447.
Attendance this meet averaged 2,939 a night, down 3.6 percent from 3,048 in 2003-04.
