Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Glare on sport's dark corners

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
A One Rocket (above) wins the first race at Aqueduct on Dec. 18, 2003, by 10 lengths, improving his Beyer Speed figure 28 points from his previous start on Dec. 13.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - For the past several years, the racing industry has wrestled with two prominent issues: the use of performance-enhancing drugs and the growth of rebate shops. Committees and conferences have discussed the issues time and again, but progress on any definite plan of action has been slow to come.

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Martin has license suspended by New York Racing Board

IEAH
Greg Martin (above), is accused of aiding a betting coup by giving the horse a milkshake - a banned cocktail that is thought to help prevent fatigue.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Thoroughbred trainer Greg Martin, owner Gerald Uvari, and harness driver Rene Poulin all had their racing licenses suspended indefinitely by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board on Friday after the three were indicted in connection with a doping incident at Aqueduct in 2003.

Track stewards also scratched two Martin-trained horses that were scheduled to run Friday and Saturday at Aqueduct.

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

'Aaron' enters off three wins

PORTLAND, Ore. - Undefeated Typhoon Aaron will attempt to stretch his winning steak to four when he takes on five rivals in Sunday's featured race at Portland Meadows, a $7,000 invitational handicap for 3-year-olds to be run at 5 1/2 furlongs.

Typhoon Aaron, a Washington-bred son of Danjur who races for Standish Stables, cuts back in distance after leading throughout in the $20,000 Juvenile Mile here on Dec. 26. In his first two starts, Typhoon Aaron defeated $10,000 maidens at 5 1/2 furlongs on Oct. 23 and won the six-furlong Columbia River Handicap on Nov. 27.

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Miss Loren drops and scores

Benoit & Associates
Rene Douglas, 37, celebrates his 3,000th win, on Grey Misty in Thursday's fifth race.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Odds-on favorite Miss Loren responded to a drop in class Friday at Santa Anita, rolling to an easy win in the $85,300 Paseana Handicap. With the victory, Miss Loren, dropping off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Bayakoa Handicap, flatters A.P. Adventure, the Bayakoa third-place finisher who runs Sunday in the El Encino Stakes.

Trainer Luis Seglin said Miss Loren will return Feb. 13 in the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap. "This was a helluva prep race; she's a great mare, and I hope next month she proves it again."

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Ema Bovary works five furlongs

ALBANY, Calif. - The $50,000-added Richmond Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares on Monday, drew 10 nominees for what should be a competitive race at Golden Gate Fields.

But the names of the two best female sprinters in northern California were not on the nomination list. Ema Bovary, who recorded a best-of-22 59.20-second five-furlong bullet workout Friday, is gearing up for a summer campaign that could kick off in February.

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Collmus to Big A

Larry Collmus, the regular track announcer at Monmouth Park and Suffolk Downs, will call the races at Aqueduct for about seven weeks beginning on Feb. 19, the New York Racing Association said Friday.

Collmus will take the duties normally held by John Imbriale, who will retire next month. Collmus will call the races while regular announcer Tom Durkin is on vacation. Durkin is scheduled to return on April 6.

Collmus, 38, has called races in New York on occasion during the past three years.

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Sweet Catomine in season bow

Benoit & Associates
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Sweet Catomine, Jose Dominguez aboard, works five furlongs in a bullet 59.80 seconds earlier this month.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Sweet Catomine used to be a secret. That was before she burst onto the scene with three increasingly impressive stakes wins that culminated with a crushing triumph in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Having completely blown her cover, Sweet Catomine returns Sunday at Santa Anita as the odds-on favorite in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes. Her reputation is as big as the racetrack.

"Is that bad?" trainer Julio Canani said, smiling.

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Alternatives to A.P. Adventure exist

ARCADIA, Calif. - A.P. Adventure's five stakes races, including two wins, look better on paper than they looked on the track, yet the widespread sentiment will not prevent her from being favored Sunday in the Grade 2 El Encino Stakes for 4-year-old fillies.

A field of eight entered the 1 1/16-mile race, and standard handicapping suggests that , trained by Wally Dollase, is the right filly. After all, she is dropping into a race for 4-year-olds, and her Beyer Speed Figures in the mid-90's surpass those of most of her rivals.

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

Amazing Buy draws high praise

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Amazing Buy may be the least accomplished of the six 3-year-old fillies entered in Sunday's $75,000 Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct. She may also be the most talented.

, a 10 1/2-length maiden winner on New Year's Day, will face winners and try two turns for the first time in the Busanda, a mile and 70-yard stakes over the inner track.

Though she has only run twice, owner Ernie Paragallo believes Amazing Buy "is the best filly I've ever owned and I think she's got the potential to be one of the best horses I've ever owned.''

Fri, 01/14/2005 - 00:00

So far, so good for Margolis gang

Horsephotos
Steve Margolis

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Last year Steve Margolis shipped to south Florida fresh off a Breeders' Cup victory with Cajun Beat and spent much of the winter in the media spotlight. But after sending Cajun Beat back to owner Satish Sanan's farm in Ocala to be freshened following his fourth-place finish in the Dubai Golden Shaheen sprint, Margolis never saw his star again.

Cajun Beat was ultimately transferred to trainer Bobby Frankel's barn, leaving Margolis with a gaping hole to fill in his stable. When Margolis returned for the 2005 meeting, he shipped in with little fanfare.