OLDSMAR, Fla. - When Joan Scott came to Tampa Bay Downs she had a stable of mostly maidens with promising bloodlines but inconsistent past performances.
When Scott heads back to Kentucky later this spring she will take a number of recent winners, plus a 3-year-old who finished second in a Grade 3 stakes, and a co-holder of a track record.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Noble Causeway worked five furlongs in 1:01 at Palm Meadows on Saturday in preparation for the $1 million Florida Derby. But a similar work scheduled for his stablemate, High Fly, was canceled after trainer Nick Zito discovered the Fountain of Youth winner had come down with a slight temperature the previous afternoon.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Bill White has been dying to run D'Wildcat Speed 1 1/8 miles since the 2003 Puerto Rican champion arrived in his barn last winter. It took a year but D'Wildcat Speed made the most of the opportunity when it finally presented itself by drawing away to a convincing six- length victory over 3-5 favorite Isola Piu Bella in Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 at Gulfstream Park.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Funeral services will be held Tuesday for former steward Charlie Dougherty, 85, who died at his home Friday of congestive heart failure.
Dougherty, who attended opening day at Bay Meadows in 1934 and got his first job in racing with Bay Meadows founder Bill Kyne at Portland Meadows in 1946. He served as a racing secretary on the Northern California fair circuit for 20 years and was a steward at major Northern California race meetings from 1973 until his retirement in 1992 when he became an owner and breeder.
ARCADIA, Calif. - It was in last year's San Luis Rey Stakes when Meteor Storm began his march toward the top of the long-distance turf division, a position he claimed with a subsequent victory in the Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park. After a lengthy vacation necessitated by a bleeding incident at Monmouth Park, Meteor Storm is ready to begin anew.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Like mother, like son.
Nine years ago, when 2-year-old racing was reinstituted at Santa Anita, the very first two-furlong race was won by Truly June's. On Thursday, her son, June's Prince, kept up the family tradition by capturing his debut in another two-furlong race.
Both Truly June's and June's Prince are trained by Cliff Sise, who said mother and son have many similarities.
A longstanding dispute between the New Jersey Racing Commission and the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association is threatening Monmouth Park's selection as the host site of the 2007 Breeders' Cup, according to a Breeders' Cup spokesman.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Miss Victory, an 11-time stakes winner in her native Argentina, will make her U.S. debut in Sunday's $46,000 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park. The five-furlong turf dash for fillies and mares is the highlight of an 10-race Easter Sunday card.
was a five-furlong specialist in Argentina equally adept on turf and dirt. She was sent to trainer Maria Virginia Pascual at Palm Meadows, where she has been working steadily for her first start since July 2004. Cornelio Velasquez will have the mount.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Small fields may be the rule in all five stakes scheduled for Florida Derby Day on Saturday, including the big event itself, which as of Friday had only six confirmed starters.
Racing secretary Dave Bailey on Friday listed only High Fly, Noble Causeway, Bandini, Closing Argument, B. B. Best, and Papi Chullo as definite for the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Noble Causeway was one of two horses made eligible for the race - along with Evil Minister - when late nominations closed Wednesday. Evil Minister is more likely to run in an allowance race on Saturday.
