Some trainers shy away from claiming old racehorses. Trainer Bernie Flint has made a living out of it.
In the fall of 2003, he claimed Ask the Lord for $62,500 for his LTB Inc. stable and owner R.A. Williams, and the horse has since amassed earnings of over $256,000. Then last summer he claimed Discreet Hero, taking him for $40,000. That horse closed out 2004 with two stakes victories, earning Beyer Speed Figures of 109 and 107 in them.
Dixie Talking didn't even make her career debut until December. But she heads into 2005 as a stakes winner.
Stretching out to 1 1/16 miles after winning her maiden in a 5 1/2-furlong sprint on Dec. 8, Dixie Talking ($8.40) defeated 3-5 favorite Take a Check by 1 1/4 lengths in Thursday's $100,000 at Pimlico.
Trained by Robin Graham, Dixie Talking covered the distance on a fast track in 1:47.71.
It was the 11th stakes victory of the year at Pimlico or Laurel for jockey Abel Castellano Jr., one more than Ryan Fogelsonger.
Willie Belmonte, a jockey and trainer at various East Coast tracks for the past 15 years, died Wednesday in Charles Town, W.Va.
Belmonte, 38, a son of former New York-based jockey Eddie Belmonte, was found to have cancer several months ago.
Although it's fairly common for jockeys to become trainers once their riding careers are over, Belmonte did just the opposite. He began training in 1989 and won 666 races until switching to riding in 2002.
Bernie Thurman and Mike Ziegler will head the management team that will run Bay Meadows when its meet begins on Feb. 2, announced Jack Liebau, president of the Bay Meadows Racing Association. This will be the first meet to be conducted by the association, which owns the track and was granted the racing dates for 2005 over Magna Entertainment Corp., which had been leasing the track and running the racing operation.
Golden Glen is spotted to perfection Saturday in the $40,000 Outlook at Delta Downs. Second in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby in his stakes debut last out, he finds a race restricted to horses who have never won a stakes, and should rule as the favorite in a full field of 10.
"He's needing to run, and hopefully we picked the right spot," said Bobby Barnett, who trains Golden Glen for Stony Oak Farm.
The Outlook is a one-mile stakes for 4-year-olds and upward. Special first post for the card on Saturday is 2:15 p.m. Central.
PHOENIX - Newark might have found the waters too deep in the Grade 3 Vernon O. Underwood at Hollywood Park Dec. 5, but returning to his backyard of Turf Paradise will be a heavy favorite in Saturday's $40,000 Cactus Wren Handicap. Newark carries highweight of 126 pounds, taking on six other Arizona-breds at 6 1/2 furlongs.
The Cactus Wren is the third race on a nine-race card that also includes the $21,000 Ocean Bay (race 8) for fillies and mares over 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Those who liked the chances of Above the Wind in last season's Pelican Stakes were rewarded with a $132.40 win payoff after he won the six-furlong sprint by a length. While the final result of Saturday's Pelican renewal may well be the same, Above the Wind figures to have much more support at the windows when he tops a field of 14 runners entered in the $60,000 New Year's Day feature.
ALBANY, Calif. - Friday's Golden Gate Fields feature looks like a replay of a race held Dec. 8.
Four of the six fillies entered in the $50,000 optional claimer at six furlongs met Dec. 8.
Luisathebeachhouse ran second behind Yerevan Star that day. She finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Beezer, whom she had dead-heated with for the win in her previous start. Beezer was a nose in front of Princess Lianna on Dec. 8, with My Charmian three lengths behind in fifth.
NEW ORLEANS - Things haven't been the same for Colonial Colony since he won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs at odds of 62-1 on June 12. Suddenly the 6-year-old son of Pleasant Colony had jumped from allowance company to the upper echelons of the handicap division.
NEW ORLEANS - Dallas Stewart had every reason to smile Wednesday morning outside of barn 4 on the Fair Grounds backstretch. He had just watched his string of in-form runners go through their morning exercises as they prepare for the next three months of competition in Louisiana and beyond.
Stewart, who won 13 races at Fair Grounds during the 2003-04 meet, has already won seven races here and has a few more in his immediate sights.
